Secret Cohabitation Love - Chapter 12
The day Eun’s name frivolously appeared on the lips of the children of the political and business world would be the end.
The Chairman Kwon, who already didn’t believe his dead wife’s words, and thus took so many years to call back Eun who had been abandoned in the countryside, wouldn’t be pleased to learn that such a daughter-in-law candidate was embroiled in various love affairs and gossip.
Especially in this strange situation where Tae Ha had never dated.
Fortunately, it was quite a good situation that Tae Ha wouldn’t refuse this marriage since he didn’t have any woman he was particularly interested in.
Finally, the long-cherished wish could be fulfilled.
“I’m hungry. Buy me a meal.”
“A meal at this hour? You must have eaten in-flight meals too.”
The butler Jang wasn’t quite pleased with her daughter’s insensitivity about her figure.
So how to win Tae Ha’s heart? Even if she looked pretty, it was uncertain if she would catch his eye.
Although the pouting appearance wasn’t satisfactory, the butler Jang decided to let it slide since it was the first day of entry.
“Alright, I’ll let it go just for today. What do you want to eat?”
Having rarely tasted her mother’s home-cooked meals, Eun naturally didn’t have any fantasies about home cooking.
Even though she sometimes missed the meals prepared by the grandmother who took care of her for a few years long ago in the countryside.
It was a shabby house, but that grandmother’s zucchini gochujang stew was really exquisite. She could easily eat two bowls of rice with it.
I wonder how that girl with always fearful eyes is doing? She must still be living a hard life?
“I asked what you want to eat?”
At the slightly strained tone, Eun finally stopped her memories.
“I want to eat pajeon.”
“Driver. We need to get pajeon packed from the Dongrae Pajeon restaurant. And some makgeolli too.”
“But really, who is it? The person I’m going to marry? I’m dying of curiosity.”
“Watch your language. Don’t make mistakes in front of the Chairman. A broken gourd is bound to leak.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
The butler Jang was satisfied with Eun’s docile response without any rebellion.
“When you meet that person, you’ll probably be bowing to me for the rest of your life.”
“Is it that significant?”
Mother and daughter left the airport with bright smiles.
* * *
Her eyes for choosing fruits are quite sharp and meticulous. Red and firm apples go into the basket, followed by plump yellow pears.
Eun Seo picked dried fish and soju, incense and candles, disposable dishes, and then put cheese sausages as thick as a finger into the basket.
Grandmother’s 49th day memorial service.
It seemed she would have to make a trip to Gangwon-do tomorrow. Not having any religion, she couldn’t rely on a church or temple, and not having enshrined the ashes in a columbarium, there was no place to comfortably hold a memorial service.
Being in the position of depending on someone else’s house, she didn’t even consider the thought of holding the memorial service at Tae Ha’s house.
Still, thanks to the village chief’s consideration allowing a mountain burial in that family’s ancestral ground, she had made up her mind to visit that mountain.
49th day memorial. She hoped she had lived well.
In the next life, she hoped she would live happily in a blessed home. Meet a loving husband and be loved, give birth to healthy children with long lifelines, and meet a very pretty granddaughter unlike herself.
So let’s not meet in the next life, she said, and if we do meet again, please come in a truly kind form, and even if the three meals a day don’t fill the stomach, just let warm words be filling enough.
Or how about herself becoming the grandmother instead? Eun Seo spoke to herself as she climbed the Itaewon hill with difficulty late at night.
Still, the past 3 years weren’t bad. Even if not affectionate, it wasn’t harsh either. That was what made it so vexing. If it had been harsh to the end, she would have somehow forgotten, would have hated to the point of nausea, would have roughly forgotten this 49th day memorial.
What were those 3 years?
The hair that was roughly grabbed, the sensation of the sharp cane, the hunger from fasting all day, all threw away sprinkling gray ashes. Even the ten childish excuses that fell hurriedly at each beating.
Grandmother. You really have to live well.
After delivering these calm words, Eun Seo opened the front door with the now quite heavy eco bag on her shoulder.
But unlike usual, a beautiful sound was heard from the quiet house. It was a piano.
It was a sound that made her forget her hardships, if only for a moment.
Wondering if perhaps Tae Ha was playing, Eun Seo moved to the skip floor, abandoning her resolve to stay as quiet as possible.
It was a cautious movement, almost like a stray cat.
In front of the wide front window, at the majestic black piano, was a man she had never seen before, and the hands striking the keys were full of vitality as if buying a heart.
Ten long, delicate fingers flew elegantly over the piano keys. It was as if a heavy rain was pouring down.
That’s when it happened. When the piano’s resonance stopped.
“Who is it?”
Eun Seo, who had been staring as if enchanted, was flustered by the sudden gaze.
Not getting an answer, Jung Woo, keeping his fingers on the keys, turned only his head to ask Tae Ha.
“Who is it?”
Tae Ha, who was at the bar, dropped two drops of water into a glass filled with mahogany-colored whiskey before taking a sip.
Due to Jung Woo’s sudden arrival saying he had returned to the country, he hadn’t even heard a report about Eun Seo. So he couldn’t even figure out if she was in the house.
The subtle vanilla flavor goes down hot along the esophagus.
“Who, you ask?”
As he was pondering an answer to the repeated question, tilting his glass,
“I’m a worker here.”
Eun Seo, having come to her senses, quickly answered.
At this hour, a woman who could be in Tae Ha’s house should be family, a relative, or a girlfriend, but since she was none of these three, the only thing that could satisfy the piano man’s curiosity was an employee.
That is, if Tae Ha hadn’t blabbed about this absurd marriage here and there.
“A worker?”
When Jung Woo asked for confirmation, Tae Ha nodded.
“What’s your name?”
Jung Woo turned his body fully towards Eun Seo and asked.
“Song Eun Seo.”
“Eun Seo? Pretty name. Was the sound too loud and disturbing?”
“No. Just the sound was so good.”
“Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, 1st movement. A bit gloomy, wasn’t it?”
“It was good.”
So much that I wanted to lock it in my ears and play it whenever I wanted to listen.
“It’s my first time. Hearing a grand piano sound in person.”
“You can listen up close. Come here, come here.”
Jung Woo called Eun Seo, playfully wiggling his fingers.
Eun Seo glanced at Tae Ha once more and then hesitantly came down the skip floor.
“Sit there and listen.”
Jung Woo pointed with his eyes to the wing chair next to the piano. Eun Seo sat down, but it was the first time anyone had sat in such an uncomfortable posture in what should be a comfortable wing chair.
“Lean back comfortably.”
After confirming that Eun Seo had leaned back, Jung Woo put his fingers back on the piano keys.
As the performance began, Eun Seo focused. The fingers flowing over the keys, the bangs hitting her forehead like waves, the melody ringing in her ears, it all thumped somewhere in her chest.
Tae Ha, who had been watching Eun Seo, downed his whiskey in one gulp.
It wasn’t the look he usually saw. It wasn’t the look of being chased by something, nor the look of resentment, nor the occasional look of wanting to bite.
It wasn’t dry or sad, and it was a look where even the minimum defensive wall had disappeared.
Did someone sprinkle holy water in her eyes? Why are they sparkling like that?
Can a person unwind like that with just one piano performance?
Before he knew it, the 12-minute performance had ended.
“I listened well. It was so, so…”
Eun Seo had the look of someone who had received an undeserved gift.
“So, so?”
“Amazing.”
Amazing…
Should I tell her she made mistakes around 2 minutes and 6 minutes? Tae Ha laughed incredulously at his own pettiness, which he found pathetic even to himself.
“I really enjoyed today. Then, I’ll go in now. You two rest.”
“Don’t go, come here. If it’s your first time hearing a grand piano sound, then it must be your first time touching it too.”
Jung Woo patted the seat next to him on the chair he was sitting on.
“Come on.”
Eun Seo hesitated and looked at Tae Ha, but he said nothing with an unreadable expression.
“Stop looking at Tae Ha. Have you only lived being scolded?”
Only then did Eun Seo put down her eco bag at the bar and carefully sit next to Jung Woo.
“Have you played the piano before?”
“No. It’s my first time.”
“Okay, this is C.”
Jung Woo first pressed the key and then nodded. Eun Seo’s finger was carefully placed on that spot.
Ding. As the sound rang out, Eun Seo smiled like a child.
“This is D.”
This time too, Eun Seo followed him. And like a student checking if she played correctly, she smiled facing Jung Woo.
“E.”
The distance between the two is barely enough for a fist to fit. Tae Ha gulps down his drink and watches their backs.
It seems like he can’t stand to listen anymore, he wants to say something like ‘go in’, but seeing her smile so innocently, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
With each note getting higher, the discomfort in his heart grew by an octave.
Just go in now.
As if that prayer was answered, fortunately, Eun Seo stood up not long after.
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
“You can’t just leave like that!”
Jung Woo shouted at Eun Seo, who was just lifting her bottom off the chair.
“Pardon?”
“It’s disappointing if you just wipe your mouth and leave. Not everyone gets to hear my performance.”
“I’m sorry. It’s late and I feel like I’m interrupting your conversation.”
Tae Ha filled his fourth glass. When the alcohol reached an appropriate level, he dropped two drops of water. Gentle ripples bloom on the quiet water surface.
“Pay for the performance before you go.”
Here we go again. Tae Ha let out a low laugh.
Thanks to his pretty boy-like appearance, Jung Woo caught the eyes of women wherever he went, and he also fully utilized that charm to always lead a fulfilling love life.
He was always kind when he liked someone, and even when he didn’t like someone, he was affectionate and caring.
People often call that flirting.
“I don’t have much to give.”
Tsk. Tae Ha clicked his tongue.
Even I, who have never dated, can understand that meaning, but such a stupid answer.
It’s clearly not asking for some material thing, but such a foolish response.
“I don’t know what to give. Ah!”
Eun Seo made a short exclamation and then softly said ‘applause’ while clapping her hands together to make a clap clap clap sound. The sound of applause gradually grew louder according to Jung Woo’s expression.
“Not that, peel some fruit as payment for the performance. Tae Ha can’t do that. Look at his hands. Do they look like they’re made for work? He’s completely cut off from kitchen work, so it’s a bit scary to get food from him. Let’s eat fruit and hang out before you go.”
“Fruit?”
Don’t ask again, assess the situation. Tell her your work hours are over and haughtily turn around and go to your room. Before any troublesome situations arise. Since she’s not really an employee, she wouldn’t know where any fruit is.
Tae Ha wanted to answer for her.
“Why, don’t you want to?”
“Your work hours are over.”
In the end, Tae Ha stepped in. A danger signal rang in his head.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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