Not because it didn’t taste good, but because she had no appetite. There were too many things to think about.
With 300 won in her pocket and nothing to sell, she wasn’t afraid of living in Seoul for the first time, but she had nowhere to go as soon as she left this house.
Not even one relative she could call by name, no close friends during school days because she worked part-time and studied, and naturally, no siblings.
“Oh, did you leave your phone? I’ll give it to you later.”
Only then did she realize that she didn’t have a phone. That’s how distracted she was.
“I left my luggage in the warehouse for now. I couldn’t bring anything because I couldn’t rummage through other people’s luggage, and I didn’t know what was what. If there’s anything urgent, just tell me what it is. I’ll bring it to you.”
“I got it.”
“Got it? … Why?”
“Because I have to leave soon.”
It was nothing special, but Wooyoung put down the spoon, covered his mouth, and laughed. Then he coughed a fake cough and greeted her with a still-smiling face.
“If you’re leaving, take me with you.”
“Why?”
“Here, it’s more challenging to leave without Tae-ha’s permission than dying. I’m trying to follow a big person.”
Ah, right. Kwon Taeha.
It was undoubtedly a frightening statement, but for the first time in a while, Eunseo laughed. She intended only to smile, but forgetting her situation, she burst into laughter due to Wooyoung’s playful expression.
“Team Leader Choi is having a meal with a guest.”
Mrs. Ahn, who greeted Tae-ha at the entrance, cheerfully reported.
“As the CEO instructed, I’ve also prepared starch water. It’ll be hearty even if you don’t eat rice.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ahn.”
While taking off his shoes, Tae-ha found an unfamiliar object on the entrance floor. It was a pair of black, low-heeled boots.
The cheap material had chipped off here and there, and there was black mud stuck in various places. Moreover, the back of the heel was worn down more than a centimeter.
An item that could guess the owner.
Seeing the shape of the shoes, which looked as pathetic as her owner’s situation, Tae-ha’s brow furrowed, and he quickly placed the shoes aside, changing into slippers.
The sound heard when he opened the dining room door was a woman’s laughter.
Tae-ha imagined the owner of that laughter. Perhaps the chilly eyes were half gone.
Eyes that couldn’t hide the shabby appearance.
Like a desperate mouse cornered into a dead end, ready to bite like water at any moment.
Clatter, as the door opened, the gaze of the two people turned to Tae-ha simultaneously. It became uncomfortable as if Tae-ha had become an unwelcome guest.
Even though he was the owner, he wondered why he had to be treated like this. Perhaps that was the reason.
“Does the meal suit your taste?”
He said so, but Tae-ha, passing Eunseo, looked at the almost uneaten rice and clicked his tongue low.
“I ate well.”
The courteous greeting and expression were somehow stiff. Like someone else had laughed just a moment ago.
“How about sleep?”
“Well, I slept well. The room was warm.”
“Your eyes are red?”
There was a moment of silence, and then Eunseo’s mouth opened after a pause.
“To be honest, I couldn’t sleep well.”
After Eunseo stole a glance, Tae-ha met eyes with her when she sat down, leaving her seat.
He was perfect as usual. A subdued striped tie, neatly styled hair, and a moderately low-pitched and leisurely voice.
He must have always lived such a life. From the top position, feared by everyone as the top predator.
“Now you’re being honest.”
“I thought I couldn’t deceive you.”
“Why do you keep trying to deceive when you’re not good at it?”
“I thought it was consideration. Despite considering me a fraud, providing a good bed and a good meal as consideration. But then I thought it would be really unpleasant if I said I slept well and ate well. If I said I slept well, it wouldn’t be consideration either, so that’s why.”
“It didn’t mean that.”
“If it didn’t mean that…”
“Your lips are injured.”
Tae-ha used his index finger to gently touch Eunseo’s lips.
“I wondered if I got hit by that guy. My eyes were red, so I thought maybe I couldn’t sleep. I considered getting treatment again. Of course, I don’t like lying.”
Unexpectedly, Eunseo, who had been staring at Tae-ha’s fingers that lightly traced his eyes, was taken aback by the answer that deviated from her expectations.
She thought she might have misunderstood his consideration again.
“I must be very uncomfortable. Don’t feel unjust. It’s natural for me to suspect Ms. Song Eunseo.”
“My clothes aren’t dry yet.”
Tae-ha raised his eyebrows, not knowing why she said that.
“I washed my clothes yesterday, but they haven’t dried yet, so I just put on any clothes in the dressing room and came out. When all the clothes are dry, I’ll change into my clothes and leave immediately.”
“Where to?”
“Whether it’s the police or a lawyer, anywhere. And I’ll look for a place to stay, and also—”
“And?”
“I’ll look for a job too. I don’t plan to run away. I know it’s like trying to escape from the palm of my hand anyway. As soon as I find a place to live, I’ll leave today.”
“Don’t rush too much. Stay here for a few days and slowly find a place to live.”
“I’m not running away.”
It was a low and small voice, but it was closer to a resolute tone than resignation. There was a hint of frustration mixed in, saying, ‘Don’t misunderstand, such treatment is unfair.’
“Don’t rush so much. Having no place to go today is a luxury.”
“I’ve never tried anything luxurious in my life. I want to indulge in even the luxury of pride, but I’ve always lived in a world where it always breaks it on its own. It’s not frustration. I’m sorry, and I have no face.”
Eunseo lowered her gaze with long fingers of a man tapping the table.
If he had come here purely, he would have gladly and happily accepted all the favors now. However, due to the awkward relationship between them, this favor was just like clothes that didn’t fit.
Clothes that he wanted to take off as soon as possible.
Tae-ha’s fingers on the table stopped tapping. The fingers that lightly clenched into a fist slowly swept his chin.
“It’s just my curiosity. I’m very curious about that side.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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