“Are you crying over another man now?”
Blurred by tears, Yulri couldn’t clearly see Je Ho’s expression. But his voice sounded quite angry.
“Who is this guy?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing? Then why are you crying if it’s not about a man?”
Yulri couldn’t respond and just looked at the man in the laptop.
How should she explain this?
One hour earlier.
Yulri had a brief call with Hyun Kyung. Even though it was a secret to everyone else, Hyun Kyung needed to know. She didn’t take it too seriously.
―Secret dating for a while isn’t a bad idea.
She didn’t mention not being attached to the future. She didn’t want Hyun Kyung to worry.
Despite feeling pathetic for wanting to stay by Je Ho’s side in any way possible, she had no choice.
After hanging up, another unknown international call came through.
[Yulri, are you okay?]It was Aunt Mi Yeon in Europe.
[I called Ahn Mi Suk today to send you a wedding gift, but she said the wedding was canceled.]Mi Yeon referred to Mrs. Ahn by her full name, knowing well her infidelity.
“Yes, that’s what happened. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
[The groom didn’t show up at the wedding, and your father didn’t even complain? He’s so conscious of other people’s views.]After So Yeon’s death, Mi Yeon stopped calling Chae Congressman ‘brother-in-law.’ To Yulri, he was ‘your father,’ and to others, ‘Congressman Chae.’
“Um, Aunt?”
Yulri felt an urge to ask if Mi Yeon knew about her mother and Congressman Jung Tae Hyuk’s relationship.
[Yes? Why?]“…When are you coming to Korea?”
She couldn’t ask directly. Maybe Mi Yeon didn’t know. It seemed better to ask in person.
[I’ll be in Korea soon for some business. Let’s meet then.]“Okay, Aunt.”
The short conversation with her aunt reminded her again of her mother’s relationship with Congressman Jung.
How much must her mother have suffered, breaking up with the man she loved and living with another man? How sad must she have been, giving birth to a child by a man she didn’t love? Was her own existence a burden to her mother?
Of course, So Yeon was a perfect mother. She loved Yulri sincerely and never made her feel lacking. But it must have been hard.
Yulri fiddled with her mother’s necklace and started searching online for Congressman Jung. Until now, she had only seen him as her father’s political rival. Online, there were plenty of happy family photos.
She felt bitter. It seemed like he had completely forgotten her mother and was happy with his wife. Why did he reappear and disturb her mother’s life? She resented him.
She wanted to see the young man her mother had loved. She searched his photos without much thought and enlarged the best-looking one. A young man in his twenties, Jung Tae Hyuk, was beaming in the picture.
As she gazed at the photo, Yulri found herself crying. She felt her mother’s unhappiness and a bit of understanding for her father, who had been hurt by loving her mother.
While looking at the photo, Yulri found herself crying. She felt her mother’s unhappiness and somewhat understood her father, who had been hurt for loving her mother.
Yet, she couldn’t forgive the infidelity. She worried about Yuri, who had to live with the label of being a child born out of wedlock. All these complex feelings made her cry.
But Je Ho caught her in this state.
What to do now? It was too late to hide it, but she couldn’t spill the truth either.
“It’s Congressman Jung Tae Hyuk. He’s a strong candidate for the next presidential election.”
“That man?”
Je Ho narrowed his eyes incredulously.
“It’s an old photo. I just stumbled upon it while searching… It’s really nothing. I was just reminded of the time when I worked on the election campaign. It was a tough time, right after mom passed away.”
Whether it was the truth or an excuse was uncertain.
Je Ho silently observed the man in the photo. Indeed, it was Congressman Jung Tae Hyuk in his youth, which he hadn’t recognized initially. While Yulri’s reason for crying seemed insufficient, Je Ho chose to quietly accept it. He didn’t want to cause a conflict over a trivial matter.
“I’m sorry for getting angry.”
Closing the laptop, he gently embraced her, apologizing. Yulri hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his back.
“……You came home early.”
“Yeah, I was worried.”
He whispered softly and cupped her cheek with his palm.
“I was worried you might be crying alone like this, with something troubling your mind.”
“I’m not a crybaby.”
“You always say that, but…”
Yulri looked up at him defiantly.
“Why does it seem unbelievable?”
“When did I say it’s okay to cry?”
“Ah.”
Je Ho looked momentarily confused. She was referring to the time she tried to hold back her tears in the car.
“I meant cry when I’m with you, not alone like this.”
“Anyway, I…”
Before she could further argue, Je Ho quickly silenced her. It might sound crazy, but from the moment he entered the house and saw her crying silently, he wanted this.
He yearned to make her cry out of overwhelming pleasure, not sadness. He wanted her tears to be due to unbearable joy and ecstasy.
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.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
