Secret Cohabitation Love - Chapter 7
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking was heard with a time difference.
Eun Seo opened her eyes on the huge bed that seemed unlikely to fall off no matter how many times she rolled. To be precise, it was just at the level of sticking and unsticking her eyelids.
Although the room was extremely spacious, it was warm beyond measure and maintained a pleasant humidity, but Eun Seo’s mind was the opposite.
She felt angry at the current situation, then scared, then sad, then calm – it was as if her heart contained all the seasons.
Even sleeping for just 10 minutes straight was a luxury. So this knock sound now was rather fortunate.
Eun Seo tightly fastened her robe before opening the door. It wasn’t Tae Ha. It was a middle-aged woman.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Who…?”
Unlike the surprised Eun Seo, the woman showed a kind smile and spoke.
“I work here. I’m sorry. You must have been surprised.”
“Hello?”
Eun Seo bowed her head in greeting.
“The meal is ready. Team Leader Choi is waiting now.”
Team Leader Choi…
[Team Leader Choi called. He said you were injured.]Eun Seo vaguely guessed the identity of ‘Team Leader Choi’ while recalling what the nurse had said last evening.
“I’ll wait, so come out when you’re ready.”
The middle-aged woman seemed to want to escort her as well.
Eun Seo closed the door without a chance to think about the fact that Team Leader Choi was waiting for her for a meal and that an elderly woman was waiting for her to come out in front of the door.
Then, seeing her own appearance, she opened the door again. The clothes she had washed yesterday weren’t even dry yet, and she was in a robe.
She couldn’t eat like this.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any clothes. I came in a hurry yesterday without bringing clothes, and the ones I washed aren’t dry yet. I think it would be better if Team Leader Choi eats first.”
“Clothes are prepared in the dressing room. They’re clothes prepared so that guests don’t experience any inconvenience, so you can wear any of them.”
“Ah, the dressing room. Thank you. But it will take some time for me to wash up, so I’m telling you because it might be uncomfortable for you to wait here.”
“Will 10 minutes be enough?”
Eun Seo tentatively concluded that perhaps Tae Ha had given orders in case she might try to run away.
“I’ll come out earlier.”
After closing the door, Eun Seo immediately headed to the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she put on the underwear she had washed yesterday but was still damp and not fully dry, then entered the dressing room.
[The clothes to change into will be in the dressing room.]Tae Ha’s words from last night apparently didn’t mean the robes that were hanging on one side of the dressing room.
As the woman had said, there were plenty of clothes. No, there were many. Clothes for all four seasons were stocked by gender and size.
Seeing more clothes than in her own closet, Eun Seo just let out a hollow laugh.
So many clothes for guests? This really is another world.
Eun Seo found a loose brown dress with a subtle scent and pulled it over her head.
It must have been made of much better fabric than what she usually wore, but every part that touched her skin felt rough.
Eun Seo, who had barely managed to get dressed, tied her hair up in a ponytail and opened the door. The woman still led Eun Seo with a smile.
“I was told to escort you because you wouldn’t be able to find the dining room.”
Not ‘in case you run away’ but ‘in case you can’t find it.’
That might be right.
Only after stepping into the living room filled with dazzling sunlight did she realize. Unlike at night, there were several corridors and doors centered around the living room, which looked like a plaza.
She definitely wouldn’t have been able to find the dining room on her own before Team Leader Choi finished his meal.
The tall and wide white doors with wainscoting decoration opened on both sides. As if entering the gates of hell, Eun Seo swallowed hard. Still, she tried to keep her head up.
Because she hadn’t done anything wrong. Because she was innocent.
But why she kept shrinking back, she didn’t know.
As she entered the room, Woo Young, who had been looking out the window with his hands in his pockets, turned his head. His naturally disheveled bangs waved gently.
“Did you sleep well?”
It was a casual and cheerful greeting, as if they had known each other for a long time, enough to make the resolve she had made before opening the door seem embarrassing. It felt like her frozen body was thawing a bit.
“Please sit down.”
“Thank you for yesterday.”
Eun Seo, who recognized him at a glance, greeted him. Although it was brief, she hadn’t forgotten the face of the man who had covered her with his jacket.
“Tae Ha isn’t here, so it looks like we’ll have to have a meal together, just the two of us. I hope you’re not uncomfortable?”
It would have been uncomfortable with anyone, but if Tae Ha were here, it would have been even more uncomfortable.
Taking Eun Seo’s smile as affirmation, Woo Young pulled out the chair for her to sit and gestured.
After Eun Seo sat down, Woo Young sat across from her.
“Eat a lot.”
There was white rice mixed with black soybeans, rice water, and about eight side dishes, but it was difficult to eat a lot as he said.
Not because it wasn’t tasty, but because she had no appetite. Because there was more than one thing to think about.
300 in cash, nothing to sell. It wasn’t her first time living in Seoul so she wasn’t afraid, but from the moment she left this house, she had nowhere to go.
No one to call a relative even in name only, no close friends from school days because she had to juggle several part-time jobs and study, and of course no siblings.
“Oh, right, you left your mobile phone behind? I’ll give it to you later.”
Only then did she realize she didn’t have her phone. Had she been that distracted?
“I’ve put your luggage in storage for now. I couldn’t go through someone else’s belongings and didn’t know what was what, so I didn’t bring anything. If there’s anything urgent, just tell me what it is. I’ll bring it to you.”
“Everything.”
“Everything? … Why?”
“Because I have to leave soon.”
It wasn’t much, but Woo Young put down his spoon, covered his mouth, and laughed. Then he cleared his throat and responded with an expression still unable to let go of his laughter.
“If you’re going to leave, take me with you.”
“Why?”
“Because in this place, leaving without Tae Ha’s permission is harder than dying. I want to follow someone brave and leave.”
Ah. Right. Kwon Tae Ha.
It was clearly a scary thing to say, a statement that made her realize her situation again, but for the first time in a while, Eun Seo laughed.
She had only meant to smile, but she ended up bursting into laughter because of Woo Young’s playful expression, forgetting her own circumstances for a moment.
* * *
“Team Leader Choi is having a meal with the guest.”
The housekeeper who greeted Tae Ha at the entrance cheerfully reported.
“As you instructed, I’ve prepared rice water too. Even if the food doesn’t go down well, it will be filling.”
“Thank you, Mrs. An.”
As Tae Ha was taking off his shoes, he noticed something out of place on the entrance floor. It was a pair of low-heeled black boots.
Perhaps made of cheap material, the paint was peeling off here and there, and as if they had been in a mud puddle, dried black dirt was stuck in places, and the back of the heel was worn down by more than 1 centimeter.
An item that could guess its owner.
Somehow frowning at the shape of the shabby shoes, like their owner’s circumstances, Tae Ha quickly put his dress shoes aside and changed into slippers.
The sound he heard when he opened the dining room door was a woman’s laughter.
Tae Ha imagines the owner of that laughter. Would the cold eyes have half disappeared?
The eye expression that couldn’t even hide her shabby appearance.
Like a desperate mouse cornered in a dead end, as if ready to bite at anything.
Clank, as the door opened, both of their gazes turned to Tae Ha at once. At the sudden frozen expression, Tae Ha felt uncomfortable as if he had become an unwelcome guest.
Why should he be treated like this when he was the owner, perhaps that’s what he was thinking.
“Does the food suit your taste?”
Though he said that, Tae Ha clicked his tongue lowly as he passed behind Eun Seo and saw the barely touched rice.
“I ate well.”
The polite greeting and expression were somewhat stiff. As if someone other than herself had been laughing just before.
“How about sleep?”
“That too, I slept well. The room was warm, so it was nice.”
“Your eyes are red though?”
There was a moment of silence before Eun Seo’s mouth opened after a delay.
“To be honest, I couldn’t sleep.”
Eun Seo wiped her lips once before meeting eyes with Tae Ha, who was pulling out a chair to sit down.
He looked as perfect as yesterday. A navy striped necktie, neat pomade hair, an adequately low-pitched voice full of composure.
He must have always lived this kind of life. As a top predator, not afraid of anyone, in that terribly blessed position.
“Now you’re being a bit honest.”
“I felt I couldn’t deceive you.”
“Why do you keep trying to deceive when you’re not even good at it?”
“I was thinking of showing courtesy for the consideration. The consideration of providing good lodging and good food even while thinking of me as a con artist. But then I thought you would be quite displeased if I said I slept well and ate well. I realized that saying I slept well would also not be courteous, so that’s why.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“If that wasn’t your intention…”
“The wound on your lip.”
Tae Ha brushed his index finger across his own lips and pointed at Eun Seo’s lips.
“I wondered if you were hit by that guy. Your eyes are red too, so I wondered if that’s why you couldn’t sleep. I was thinking if we should treat you again. Of course, I don’t like lies.”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Eun Seo, who had been staring as if mesmerized at Tae Ha’s fingers gently rubbing the corners of his eyes, was flustered.
Wondering if she had misunderstood his consideration again and jumped to conclusions.
“You seem very uncomfortable with me. Don’t feel wronged. It’s natural for me to be suspicious of you, Miss Song Eun Seo.”
“My clothes aren’t fully dry yet.”
Not knowing why she was saying that, Tae Ha raised an eyebrow slightly.
“I washed my clothes yesterday, but they haven’t dried completely yet, so I came out wearing any clothes from the dressing room. Once my clothes are dry, I plan to change back into them and leave right away.”
“Where to?”
“To the police or a lawyer, anywhere. And also look for a place to stay, and”
“And?”
“I’m also planning to look for a place to work. I have no intention of running away. I’m well aware that I’m in the palm of your hand. I’ll leave today as soon as I find a place to live.”
“Don’t rush too much. Stay here for a few days and take your time finding a place to live.”
“I’m telling you I won’t run away.”
Though it was a low and small voice, it was closer to a resolute tone rather than resignation. There was a mix of stubbornness saying, ‘Don’t misunderstand, it’s unfair to treat me like that.’
“You probably don’t have anywhere to go starting from today, so that kind of stubbornness seems like a luxury.”
“I’ve never experienced anything like luxury in my life. I’m in a position where even pride is a luxury, so I want to indulge in that kind of luxury, but I’ve always lived in a world that breaks it for me like this. It’s not stubbornness. I’m doing this because I feel sorry and ashamed.”
Eun Seo lowered her gaze to the man’s long fingers tapping on the table.
If she had come here purely, she would have accepted all the current kindness very happily and joyfully, but due to the awkward relationship between them, this kindness was just an ill-fitting garment.
A garment she wanted to take off as quickly as possible.
Tae Ha’s fingers resting on the table stopped tapping. The fingers that had lightly clenched into a fist slowly brushed the tip of his chin.
“It’s just my curiosity. I’m very curious about you.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[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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