That Night's Circumstance (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Soo Yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
What the old woman held out was a black bag.
Soo Yeon took the bag and checked what was inside.
“This is…”
“It’s a scented candle.”
“But why would you give me this…?”
Soo Yeon looked at the old woman with a puzzled expression.
The old woman smiled kindly and replied,
“To live, a person needs so many things met at a basic level—even if it’s just getting through the day by breathing. Among those, a good night’s sleep makes for a peaceful day.”
Soo Yeon’s eyes, fixed on the old woman, grew increasingly turbulent.
It was strange.
Whenever she couldn’t sleep due to insomnia, she often lit scented candles.
But because of Tae Shin—a meaningless name to her, yet one tied to such a powerful background—she couldn’t even dream of receiving proper treatment for her insomnia.
“On nights when it’s too hard to fall asleep, light this candle. You’ll experience a magic that lets you drift off the moment you blink.”
Soo Yeon couldn’t tear her eyes away from the old woman.
The old woman’s voice had the same effect.
She’d lit countless scented candles before; they were just one of many things she’d tried to overcome her sleepless nights.
Yet none had ever worked.
Still, for some reason, she now wanted to try this one.
She wanted to see if, just as the old woman said, she could fall asleep the moment she blinked.
“You’ve already made up your mind to die—what’s the harm in living a few more days? Just humor me and do as I say.”
At the old woman’s words, Soo Yeon looked once more at the scented candle inside the bag.
Only after confirming this did the old woman resume her halted steps.
Soo Yeon remained rooted to the spot for a long while.
By the time she finally came to her senses, the old woman was nowhere to be seen.
Soo Yeon stared blankly at the black bag in her hand.
Why on earth had she traded what she believed was the perfect moment to die for this?
She might never get another chance like this.
“And yet…”
And yet, for tonight at least, Soo Yeon wanted to live.
She desperately wanted to find out if lighting this candle, just as the old woman said, would let her sink into deep, peaceful sleep.
Late at night.
Soo Yeon entered the hallway with slow steps and kicked off her tight shoes.
Just then, she sensed an unexpected presence.
Startled, she flinched and looked up.
“Where did you go that made you so late?”
It was In Ho.
“Oh…”
Soo Yeon let out an exasperated sigh.
Her mind instantly went blank.
“Well, it’s just that…”
Unable to answer right away, In Ho furrowed his brow,
as if he were waiting for her reply.
She could’ve simply said she’d been to his house, but the words wouldn’t come.
In Ho didn’t know she went to his parents’ house every morning.
“Now that I think about it, there’s more than just one or two things I need to teach you.”
Those were her mother-in-law’s first words after learning about her adoption.
Hearing that, Soo Yeon felt as if a peach pit had lodged itself in her throat—she couldn’t utter a single word.
“You should come home every day. Even if you grew up in Tae Shin Group, we brought in a woman whose very origins are unknown as our daughter-in-law. I can’t just stand by knowing how lacking you are. From now on, I’ll teach you, one thing at a time.”
At that moment, Soo Yeon felt tears welling up.
She wanted so badly to say yes, but her throat kept tightening, trapping the word inside.
Breathing felt unbearably difficult.
She was all too familiar with the label “adopted child” that doggedly followed her life—it had long since grown tiresome.
The accompanying contempt and coldness were just as familiar.
Yet, what made her heart ache especially painfully this time was the painful realization—and acceptance—that even her mother-in-law, who she thought had loved her more than anyone else,
could change so utterly in an instant.
Her mother-in-law had always looked at her with warm eyes, praising everything she did.
Even if it was something as small as picking up a tiny piece of litter she’d seen, she would praise her delicately for it.
Each time, Soo Yeon was caught between a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling.
She remembered her days after being adopted into Tae Shin Group at age four, spending each day with her adoptive parents.
It had felt like, after marriage, she was receiving that same love again—from her mother-in-law.
She’d looked at her with such affection, warmly embracing every one of her actions.
But the moment it came out that Choi Soo Yeon, now the daughter-in-law of TK Group, wasn’t Tae Shin’s biological daughter but an adoptee,
all of that vanished like a mirage.
Just like when Soo Jin was born.
“You wouldn’t possibly think of going straight to In Ho and telling him everything that just happened, would you? Even someone of your lowly origin must’ve picked up some sense of discretion at Tae Shin Group—I trust you that much.”
Though she recognized the clear contempt in every word her mother-in-law spoke, Soo Yeon held it in.
She still didn’t truly understand why being adopted deserved such scorn—but she hid it anyway.
Because the memories of her kind, warm mother-in-law still far outnumbered those of this cold stranger.
She foolishly believed that if she just tried hard enough,
someday her mother-in-law would look at her again with those same warm eyes.
That’s why she couldn’t tell In Ho that she was summoned daily to his parents’ house and subjected there to coldness too cruel to speak of.
Of course, even if that weren’t the case, she likely wouldn’t have confided in him in such detail.
Their relationship had long since become purely formal.
“So I guess asking ‘Where did you go?’ is a question that requires this much deliberation now.”
A low voice cut through her deep thoughts.
Only then did Soo Yeon snap out of her daze and look back at In Ho.
“I… just popped by home. Soo Jin called.”
It was the only excuse she could muster.
But In Ho didn’t seem to believe the excuse she’d struggled to come up with.
“Home…? It’s not like I’d say anything if you told me you went home—but you took awfully long to say it, didn’t you?”
“…”
“You look just like someone who spent too long crafting a believable alibi.”
Disappointment filled In Ho’s eyes.
His jaw tensed as it clenched briefly.
“My father-in-law called. He said he couldn’t reach you and asked if you were with me.”
Soo Yeon was so startled by this oversight that she stopped breathing altogether.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t even seen Chairman Choi’s guards—who should’ve been looking for her—nor had she received more than a single missed call.
Normally, her phone battery would’ve died from the constant calls, and she’d have been intercepted by Chairman Choi’s ever-vigilant guards before she even had time to think.
Yet this time, he’d called In Ho instead of her.
She couldn’t guess what Chairman Choi was thinking.
But that wasn’t what she needed to worry about right now.
“I told him I’d forgotten a prop needed for filming at home and urgently asked you to fetch it for me. Said I must’ve missed your call because I was distracted.”
In Ho’s voice was utterly calm, yet Soo Yeon’s eyes trembled as she looked at him.
She felt she had to say something—but no excuse came to mind.
Where could she possibly say she’d been?
All she’d done today was visit her in-laws and try to end her life.
But she couldn’t confess that truth.
Soo Yeon swallowed the sigh rising in her throat and strained to restart her frozen thoughts.
“Go inside and rest. I have a shoot tomorrow, so I’ll probably leave at dawn—I think I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight too.”
But before she could even think of a proper excuse, In Ho’s broad back filled her vision.
Soo Yeon stared blankly at his retreating figure, as if the sight were routine.
How had things come to this between her and In Ho?
Though theirs was an arranged marriage, it hadn’t started out like this.
He’d turned out to be much warmer than she expected, treating her with care and respect as his wife.
She’d been so grateful and fond of him that, without even realizing it, her feelings for him had quietly grown.
Yet before she could ever express them, their relationship had already fallen apart.
It probably happened right after the truth about her adoption came out.
Soo Yeon let out a heavy sigh.
Then, she slowly turned and walked away.
Her slow steps led not to their shared bedroom, but to what had now become her solitary room.
Soo Yeon stepped out of the shower and leaned back against the headboard of the bed.
On the nightstand beside her sat the scented candle she’d received from the old woman.
She stared at it blankly.
As she did, the old woman’s voice from earlier echoed vividly in her mind.
“It’s a scented candle.”
“But why would you give me this…?”
“To live, a person needs so many things met at a basic level—even if it’s just getting through the day by breathing. Among those, a good night’s sleep makes for a peaceful day.”
“…”
“On nights when it’s too hard to fall asleep, light this candle. You’ll experience a magic that lets you drift off the moment you blink.”
The magic of falling asleep the moment you blink.
She’d forgotten her resolve to die, as if enchanted by those very words.
She still couldn’t understand why she so desperately wanted to test that claim.
What was sleep, after all?
She’d have it forever once she was dead.
Perhaps it wasn’t just the promise of falling asleep instantly—but what followed it—that changed her mind:
“You’ve already made up your mind to die—what’s the harm in living a few more days? Just humor me and do as I say.”
Maybe, deep down, she’d just wanted someone to hold her back.
“What a fool…”
It really was the most foolish thing.
If every day felt like hell, what good could possibly come from living longer?
Maybe she really should’ve ended it earlier—regret washed over her too late.
“Sigh.”
But regret was useless now.
She’d already chosen to cling to life again and had returned home.
Tomorrow, she’d have to head back to her in-laws early in the morning.
Since things had turned out this way, she hoped—just as the old woman said—that she’d truly experience some magical, restful sleep.
She wished to sleep deeply, without a single thought troubling her mind, if only while asleep.
With that thought, Soo Yeon lit the candle.
The flame caught the wick, sparked faintly for a moment, then glowed with a clear, gentle light.
Soo Yeon stared blankly at the flame for a while.
Soon, a sweet fragrance began to drift to her nose—
closer to the scent of dessert than a floral aroma.
Instinctively, she took a deep breath.
And then, astonishingly, her body began to feel pleasantly heavy and drowsy.
What on earth was happening?
She’d never fallen asleep this quickly without her usual nerve-calming pills prescribed under the pretense of headaches.
Though puzzled, she didn’t have time to dwell on it.
Before she knew it, Soo Yeon had closed her eyes tightly and sunk into deep sleep.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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