“Me?”
“It’s an incident that happened within the guild, so you deserve adequate compensation… And you lost your phone, right?”
“……I was planning to buy a new one today…”
“The reporters will be coming too.”
“Reporters, to me?”
“You’re the only non-awakened survivor… And a returnee, right?”
“What?! And how do you know I’m non-awakened…?”
“A non-awakened returnee involved in an irregular gate incident. That’s reason enough to attract media attention… Oh, you’re asking how I know? Even for short-term hires, we conduct basic background checks. Even if it’s not on the resume…?”
I was dumbfounded by Cheon Shinwoo’s blunt admission of a background check.
Is it okay to say that so confidently? More importantly, this makes it sound like I’m some kind of anomaly responsible for triggering the gate sync!
As I was swallowing my silent screams, Minyoung unni stepped forward.
“It’s a sudden matter, so Hayoung needs time to think. Ho ho, let’s start with today’s discharge and give her time to consider, shall we?”
“I wasn’t talking to her.”
“……But her opinion matters first, right?”
Minyoung unni spoke firmly, her teeth clenched. I thought again, she really had guts. To stand up so boldly against the ranking 1, others would have crumbled by now.
Regardless of what unni said, Cheon Shinwoo’s gaze remained fixed on me.
“Do you dislike it?”
“It’s not that I dislike it, I’m just… unsure.”
“Why?”
“…….”
Why? That question came out of nowhere. Words I couldn’t say aloud circled in my throat.
If the president suddenly offers you a house, would you just say yes? Oh, maybe you would. You’re Cheon Shinwoo. But I’m not.
“……I appreciate your kindness.”
“A rejection?”
“Well, for now?”
“Why?”
“…….”
“You wouldn’t be at a loss.”
True, I might regret not accepting his offer. But it felt too risky to accept it just like that.
If he really cared for the victims, he should pay more attention to the families of the deceased.
There’s no such thing as baseless kindness.
As I fidgeted with my fingers, a voice tinged with amusement said,
“……You should take it when it’s given.”
His eyes curved into a smile. It was scarier to see him smiling while speaking.
I glanced sideways; Minyoung unni was making a face like she’d seen a ghost. She really doesn’t control her expressions.
“Well, I understand. If I change my mind, I’ll contact you and…”
Following my gaze, Cheon Shinwoo’s eyes also moved sideways. His previously kind eyes seemed heavier.
He turned to Minyoung unni and asked in a slightly subdued voice,
“What about transportation home?”
“Oh, this unni will drive me.”
“Unni? You’re not real sisters, are you?”
“……She’s a close unni I always rely on. She works at the Association… with returnees.”
“Ah, I see.”
Finally, his probing gaze dropped. Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
Glancing sideways, I noticed unni’s expression was stiff, not so much scared, but more like contemplating something with dissatisfaction.
Why is she like that? Just as I wondered, Cheon Shinwoo suddenly turned around and walked briskly towards me, extending something. It was his business card.
“This is my personal contact.”
“Me?”
“It’s only for personal use, so please don’t give it to anyone else.”
“Thank you, but why to me…”
“Why do you think?”
“……”
Not for researching a non-awakened returnee, right? As I hesitated to answer, he raised his hand. Instinctively, I stepped back, only for him to pinch my cheek.
“Ouch…”
“I see you’re making wild guesses, but it’s not what you think.”
“…….?”
“You’re unattractive…”
“Why bring that up all of a sudden!”
“…….”
“You think you’re good-looking, is that it?” Frustrated, I couldn’t help but raise my voice, causing Cheon Shinwoo’s expression to fade. When I stepped back in fear, he ruffled my hair into a mess.
“……Excuse me?”
“Park Hayoung.”
“……Yes?”
“Never mind, just call me if you need anything.”
The way to upset someone has two methods, and one of them is to stop talking halfway…
Cheon Shinwoo, who had called me, sent an expectant and strange look my way, making me feel uneasy.
What does he want from me? I wish he would just say it directly.
“Call me if you change your mind.”
Leaving with a laugh in his voice, Cheon Shinwoo finally headed out of the room. Only after he completely left did I feel all the tension release.
It felt like a storm had passed.
“Phew…”
As I sat down and exhaled, Minyoung unni spoke to me in a serious tone.
“Hayoung.”
“Yes?”
“Tell me honestly. What’s your relationship with Cheon Shinwoo?”
“……Do you think I’m being taken to a lab for experiments? Does Cheonrang have a secret research facility, and I’m there with my brain open?”
“You have quite the imagination. Cheonrang doesn’t engage in such activities. Probably.”
“……Probably?”
“Just kidding. Anyway, Cheon Shinwoo acting like that makes me think there’s something going on…”
“……Unni?”
“You know about that, right? Cheon Shinwoo’s younger sister.”
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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