The sound of sand being ground could be heard on the empty playground.
Yi Soo suddenly turned her head, then winced at the car headlights and turned her back again.
A moment later, the noise stopped and the light that had brightly illuminated the darkness went out.
“What you’re saying now… is that you have a boyfriend?”
Min Jae asked Yi Soo with a puzzled expression.
‘Yi Soo’s sister clearly said she didn’t have a boyfriend. Can she not know that, being her sister?’
“Yeah.”
Yi Soo spread her hand wide next to her face so the ring was clearly visible.
The ring on her fourth finger glinted in the streetlight.
“I’ve been peeling onions and trimming green onions since I got here, so I took it off.”
She couldn’t do harsh kitchen work wearing the expensive ring she’d just received as a gift.
If she’d kept wearing it, would she have avoided this uncomfortable conversation?
“Haa…”
Min Jae’s mouth fell open as he stared at the ring, letting out a sigh like a lament.
He still had lingering feelings, but he had no intention of trying anything again with Yi Soo.
Yi Soo had been too coldly resolute to the very end, showing not the slightest opening, so he thought it was a feeling he had to let go of on his own.
Occasionally lingering in front of her house before turning away was all Min Jae could do.
But after receiving Yoo Mi’s call, he thought perhaps it wasn’t just his own lingering feelings.
A few words of encouragement from Yoo Mi had given him unprecedented hope, and seeing Yi Soo not being sharp with him here gave him courage.
Min Jae touched the back of his neck with his large hand as he spoke.
“I didn’t know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have said anything…”
As Min Jae had long thought, Yi Soo was not at all different from before.
The comfortable atmosphere between the two over the past few days suddenly became awkward.
If he had just kept quiet, they could have gone on as if nothing had happened, but now he couldn’t even break even.
He couldn’t take back the words he’d already said, and Min Jae bit his lower lip hard with regret.
“Who on earth told you such nonsense?”
Yi Soo asked with an incredulous expression.
She had been curious when Min Jae called her changed number too.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t think of anyone who would have given him her number.
The only friend close to Yi Soo who could have contacted Min Jae was Dong Woo, but it couldn’t have been him.
“Well…”
Min Jae hesitated a bit because of Yoo Mi’s request to never tell Yi Soo.
But thinking this awkward situation wouldn’t have happened if not for Yoo Mi, he felt resentful.
The reason Min Jae had believed without doubt was because it was something Yi Soo’s sister had said.
When she had even called to say she hoped things would work out with her elder sister, it was hard to think that was a lie.
“I was worried elder sister might not be dating because of you, oppa. I just felt bad watching from the side, so I contacted you.”
“I hope you seize this chance, make up with elder sister, and things work out well. I’ll be cheering for you.”
Min Jae, who had been hesitating for a moment, opened his mouth.
“I went to your house a while ago and happened to meet your younger sister. She gave me your contact information first that day.”
“What?”
Yi Soo’s face contorted, having never imagined it could be Yoo Mi.
“She even called me recently, saying she found my number in your phone. She said you still had my picture too, and that you didn’t have a boyfriend then, so I really thought that was true.”
It was more and more outrageous the more she heard.
“Ha!”
Yi Soo was too flabbergasted to continue speaking easily.
She did all this because of Ji Ho?
She still can’t let go of Ji Ho and has lingering feelings?
But how did she even get Min Jae’s number?
‘Jung Yoo Mi, you really do everything, don’t you!’
Yi Soo’s anger rose at Yoo Mi’s actions that were beyond imagination.
“It may be hard to believe, but it’s true. I don’t understand why your sister would tell such lies either.”
Min Jae said, sounding aggrieved as he watched Yi Soo’s expression.
“I don’t know why she did it either.”
Yi Soo said, slowly shaking her head.
She was just astounded by Yoo Mi’s foolishness and stupidity in believing this would change anything.
“She told me not to tell you at all, but thinking about it now, I guess that’s because it was all lies.”
“Haa… The reason is a bit complicated to explain, but don’t accept her calls from now on. Just forget everything you heard from her.”
“Alright. I just ended up looking foolish for nothing.”
Min Jae laughed awkwardly.
Understanding now why Min Jae’s expression had been so flustered until just now, Yi Soo also burst into incredulous laughter.
“Yi Soo, what I said today…”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. I’ve forgotten everything from the past, so you forget it too now.”
Min Jae nodded slowly as he glanced at Yi Soo’s ring.
Though he felt regret at the result being different from his expectations, he also felt relieved to know for certain now.
It became clear there was no room for lingering feelings.
Just then, a man called out to Min Jae in a loud voice from in front of the gymnasium.
“Min Jae!”
It was a booming voice that could be heard even from the end of the playground.
“They’re calling because I left in the middle of drinking.”
Min Jae waved his hand towards the man to show he understood.
“You’d better go in quickly. If he calls one more time, he’ll wake up the whole neighborhood.”
“Alright. You should go in too, right?”
“Yeah.”
Yi Soo and Min Jae walked side by side towards the school building.
Just then, Yi Soo’s phone rang.
She took the phone out of her pocket.
The name that appeared on the screen was clearly visible even to Min Jae standing right next to her.
It was Ji Ho.
“Answer the call. I’ll go in first.”
“Okay.”
Watching Min Jae’s retreating back, Yi Soo pressed the call button while standing in place.
“Oh, Ji Ho!”
Yi Soo put the phone to her ear and turned her steps back towards the playground.
She wanted to focus solely on Ji Ho’s voice somewhere quiet.
As she walked lightly, one step, two steps, the sound of a car door opening and closing came from far away.
Yi Soo stopped walking and raised her head towards the sound.
It was that car that had been shining bright lights earlier.
She hadn’t realized earlier when she’d only glanced at it casually.
“Yi Soo.”
Ji Ho, who had gotten out of the driver’s seat, raised his hand in greeting towards Yi Soo.
Unable to believe what she was seeing, Yi Soo stood in place with her eyes wide open.
‘Ah! Why didn’t I realize?’
It wasn’t a common car, so if she’d looked properly just once, she would have recognized it right away.
She hadn’t even suspected because she never thought Ji Ho would come all the way here.
Yi Soo lowered her phone and ran.
As she ran, her hair rippled like waves over her shoulders.
Yi Soo ran into Ji Ho’s arms as he stood with his arms wide open.
“Ji Ho!”
Yi Soo wrapped her arms tightly around Ji Ho’s waist.
Then, tilting only her head back, she asked.
“How did you come all the way here?”
Yi Soo’s brightly smiling face was dazzlingly beautiful.
‘This is what I came all this way for on this night, to see this.’
Yi Soo’s chest rose and fell heavily, out of breath from running.
Ji Ho smiled as he looked down at Yi Soo’s face.
“I drove here.”
Ji Ho said, stroking Yi Soo’s hair.
Still unable to believe it, Yi Soo buried her face in Ji Ho’s chest while keeping her arms around his waist.
She breathed in deeply the familiar scent that filled her nostrils.
“Thank you for coming. I missed you so much.”
Yi Soo’s eyes welled up with tears without her realizing, overwhelmed with emotion.
“How much did you miss me?”
Ji Ho’s sweet, mellifluous voice was tinged with laughter.
Yi Soo looked up intently at Ji Ho as she answered.
“So much! I really missed you so much!”
Ji Ho looked down at Yi Soo lovingly.
Yi Soo’s eyes, saying she really missed him, were twinkling like stars because of the tears that had welled up slightly.
“I really missed you so much too.”
Ji Ho held Yi Soo’s chin and lowered his head.
Ji Ho’s lips overlapped with Yi Soo’s.
Yi Soo hesitated for a moment, conscious that they were on the playground, but as if it didn’t matter, she raised her hands to wrap around Ji Ho’s neck.
Through Ji Ho’s narrowed field of vision, he could see a man watching from afar.
Ji Ho pulled Yi Soo’s waist in tightly and pressed his lips more deeply, tilting Yi Soo’s head back.
Feeling Yi Soo’s sweet scent washing over him, Ji Ho closed his eyes.
**
3 hours earlier.
As soon as Ji Ho hung up the phone with Yi Soo, he got up from the sofa.
“I miss you so much.”
At Yi Soo’s words, he grabbed his car keys and left the house right away.
He only had to endure one more day, but his feelings of missing her for 3 days had already reached their limit.
It was just as he had gotten into the driver’s seat after coming down to the parking lot.
As soon as he started the car, his phone rang.
The caller was Yoo Mi.
“Hello.”
[Oh, oppa. Did you have a good trip?]“Yeah. Why did you call?”
Ji Ho entered the elementary school where Yi Soo was into the navigation system.
He pressed the route guidance button and grabbed the steering wheel as he watched the road color on the map screen turn green.
[No, it’s nothing else. You know Yi Soo is doing volunteer work now, right?]“Yeah.”
[I really debated whether to tell you this or not before calling…]Yoo Mi trailed off mid-sentence, hesitating.
Today was the last day of the volunteer work, so Min Jae must have said something to Yi Soo by now, but she was unsure how to let Ji Ho know about this.
She had called Ji Ho impulsively, feeling she needed to drop some hint so the two of them would have a misunderstanding or something.
[Do you know? That Yi Soo’s ex-boyfriend is also going to that volunteer work.]Ji Ho’s brow furrowed as he half-heartedly took Yoo Mi’s call.
By ex-boyfriend, did she mean that Min Jae guy Yi Soo’s friend had mentioned before?
He also remembered Yoo Mi babbling about “Min Jae oppa” as if she had made a slip of the tongue.
[You didn’t know? I didn’t think elder sister would have told you. Actually, I found out by chance, but I thought you should know.]Ji Ho hadn’t heard anything from Yi Soo.
She probably didn’t feel the need to mention it.
Knowing this, the veins on the back of Ji Ho’s hand gripping the steering wheel still stood out clearly.
“Why should I know about that?”
[What?]Ji Ho’s unpleasant emotions were directed at Yoo Mi.
He was irritated, clearly guessing why she would deliberately call at this hour to say such things.
It was something he didn’t need to know, and would have been better not knowing.
“Why are you telling me this? What did you think would change by doing this?”
Ji Ho’s tone was sharp.
[Ah, no. I just.]Flustered, Yoo Mi stammered incoherently.
‘Why is he getting angry at me?’
[I told you because I was thinking of you. You don’t know how sly Yi Soo is, do you? You’re being completely fooled right now!]Yoo Mi’s voice became agitated as she felt wronged that Ji Ho’s anger was being misdirected at her.
She had only told him the truth, yet she couldn’t understand why Ji Ho was snapping at her as if she had done something wrong.
“What? Sly?”
Ji Ho frowned.
He could guess how Yoo Mi had been treating Yi Soo all this time.
No wonder she said her wish was to move out and live independently.
“Listen carefully. From now on, never speak about Yi Soo so carelessly in front of me again. Understand?”
Ji Ho hung up unilaterally.
While stopped at a traffic light, Ji Ho closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
His momentarily flared-up emotions settled back down calmly.
On the way to meet Yi Soo.
One excited heart was enough.
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition