With anxious eyes, Na Young looked at his hand and said, “Professor, the movie has already started. We don’t have time for this. We need to go in quickly.”
But Professor Choi Tae Hyuk showed no signs of moving.
The kids, who had been watching him eat popcorn earlier, were now looking at her.
She felt like she was about to break into a cold sweat.
“What’s with these kids?” Na Young asked Tae Hyuk, glancing at the children.
“Are they part of your plan?”
“I don’t know these kids,” Tae Hyuk replied, handing over his entire bucket of popcorn to them.
The children swarmed the popcorn bucket like bees to honey.
Na Young felt a sense of dissonance. How could someone who intimidates adults in the hospital get along so well with children in a movie theater?
“Don’t elementary students hold hands too if they like each other?” Tae Hyuk asked the kids.
The biggest kid loudly answered, “Yes! I even kissed!”
Tae Hyuk gave Na Young a look as if to say, ‘See? Even kids do it. Can’t you?’
In truth, if Tae Hyuk had taken her hand first, Na Young might have felt uncomfortable but wouldn’t have pulled away.
But being asked to take the initiative made her hesitant. It was just a hand, after all. They had already kissed, so holding hands shouldn’t be a big deal.
Holding her breath, Na Young slowly extended her hand.
Tae Hyuk quietly watched her. It was just like that time when he, wearing a tiger mask, had extended a teddy bear, and she, after a long while, reached out her small hand to take it.
As her hand reached towards him, memories of that small, pale hand from the past made his heart swell with emotion. After all this time, it had been her.
Just as Tae Hyuk was about to take her hand…
Thump.
Suddenly, a plump hand popped up and grabbed Na Young’s hand. Both Na Young and Tae Hyuk were startled.
One of the popcorn-eating kids had grabbed her hand and was grinning.
“Hey! I even gave you popcorn! Don’t repay my kindness with ungratefulness!”
Tae Hyuk scolded the child in earnest, causing Na Young to tell him not to be so harsh. It was proving to be a real challenge just to watch a movie together.
Eventually, twenty minutes after the movie had started, the two were able to enter the auditorium.
Na Young, having finally found a seat in the darkness, let out a long sigh. Tae Hyuk, sitting next to her, seemed uncomfortable with his long legs, crossing them one way and then the other.
Na Young warned him, “Stay still until the movie ends.”
Tae Hyuk froze, watching her cautiously. Na Young placed her hand under his chin, turning his face towards the screen.
“Now watch the movie.”
Since they had missed the beginning, it was hard to follow what the movie was about. They had bought popcorn for snacking during boring moments, but it was all given away to the children.
Tae Hyuk leaned towards Na Young and asked in a low voice, “But why did you choose to watch a movie?”
With unease in her eyes, Na Young looked at his hand and spoke, “Professor, the movie has already started. We can’t just stand here. We need to go in quickly.”
However, Professor Choi Tae Hyuk did not seem to be in any hurry to move.
The children, who were earlier amazed by his popcorn-catching skills, were now curiously watching her.
She felt like she was about to break out in a cold sweat.
“What’s with these kids?” Na Young asked Tae Hyuk, cautiously eyeing the children, wondering if they were part of some elaborate setup.
“I don’t know these kids,” Tae Hyuk replied, handing over the entire bucket of popcorn to them.
The children swarmed the bucket like bees to honey. Na Young felt a sense of dissonance. How could someone who instilled fear in adults at the hospital be so amiable with children at the cinema?
“Don’t elementary students hold hands if they like each other?” Tae Hyuk asked the kids. The biggest of them proudly replied, “Yes! I’ve even kissed!”
Tae Hyuk then looked at Na Young as if to say, ‘See? Even kids do it. Can’t you?’
Truth be told, if Tae Hyuk had initiated the hand-holding, Na Young might have felt awkward but wouldn’t have pulled away. However, being asked to take the lead made it difficult for her to move. It was just holding hands, after all. They had already kissed, so this should be nothing.
Holding her breath, Na Young slowly extended her hand. Tae Hyuk quietly watched her, reminiscent of the time when he, wearing a tiger mask, had extended a teddy bear, and she had hesitantly reached out to take it.
As her hand reached out to him, he remembered that small, pale hand from the past, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. After all this time, it had been her.
Just as Tae Hyuk was about to grasp her hand, Thump! A chubby hand suddenly intercepted and grabbed Na Young’s hand. Both she and Tae Hyuk were startled. One of the popcorn-eating kids had grabbed her hand, grinning broadly.
“Hey! I even gave you popcorn! Don’t repay kindness with ingratitude!” Tae Hyuk exclaimed in genuine frustration to the child, prompting Na Young to ask him to calm down.
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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