“Mother?”
“Grandma?”
The confused voices of two men, Jin Woo and Seo Il-joon, Chairman Seo, emerged simultaneously.
“Huh?”
Next was Ji Na, surprised to see the grandmother she had once guided to the executive office at the company.
“Grandma, how come you’re here…”
As the three of them looked on in astonishment, Madam Kang Bok-hee, not an ordinary presence, strode confidently into the living room.
“Mother!”
“I didn’t come to see you, Seo Il-joon.”
Interrupting Chairman Seo, who was about to express his emotions again, Madam Kang approached Ji Na directly.
“I knew you’d become my eldest grandson’s wife. I have a remarkable intuition for people.”
“Grandma…”
Madam Kang, holding Ji Na’s hand, spoke with emotion-filled eyes.
“Thank you for agreeing to marry my child.”
“Thank you. No, I am the one who should be thankful,” Ji Na responded, awkwardly yet politely.
“Mother, I would have sent someone if I knew you were coming. How did you get here? It must have been difficult.”
Chairman Seo was noticeably flustered, contrasting his earlier demeanor.
“Do I lack feet or hands? Don’t worry about me.”
In contrast, Madam Kang brusquely replied to Chairman Seo.
“Grandma, I was planning to visit you…”
“There’s no need to bother visiting an old lady when you’re busy with your U.S. business trip preparations. I have plenty of time to come here.”
Madam Kang’s face overflowed with affection as she continuously smiled at her grandson. Ji Na felt a bit perplexed by Madam Kang’s completely opposite attitudes towards Chairman Seo and Jin Woo.
“Yes, I’ll stay strong until your wedding, so have a safe trip to the U.S. And you, my future granddaughter-in-law, take care of yourself.”
“Yes, Grandma.”
Madam Kang’s grip was frail yet surprisingly strong.
“Well, I should be leaving now.”
As if she had finished what she came for, Madam Kang turned to leave, prompting Chairman Seo to call out again.
“Mother!”
His voice was filled with unspoken hurt.
“You’re being too loud.”
Madam Kang, who couldn’t forgive her son for abandoning his loving wife, dismissed him coldly.
“Mother, I was wrong. Please…”
Chairman Seo quickly stood up and followed her. Despite his repeated pleas for forgiveness, Madam Kang continued to ignore him.
“I can’t stand this noise any longer.”
Her voice was as cold as the winter wind.
“Please forgive me before I die, Mother.”
“Don’t concern yourself with my death.”
“It’s me. I don’t have much time left.”
At this revelation, Madam Kang’s steps halted.
“What?”
Shocked and disbelieving, she stared at Chairman Seo with a hardened expression.
“I’m in the final stage of cancer, Mother.”
“You…”
Madam Kang’s lips trembled.
“You’re driving a nail into your own mother’s heart.”
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
“You’re trying to precede your mother in death?”
Madam Kang’s frail body shook with a mix of anger and shock, her form appearing vulnerable and unstable.
“Mother, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
As Chairman Seo apologized, a solemn silence enveloped everyone in the living room.
“You! Until the very end!”
Madam Kang, about to yell, staggered. Jin Woo quickly rushed to support her.
“Mother, please forgive him.”
Chairman Seo’s wife hurried to Madam Kang’s side and knelt before her, gasping for breath. Madam Kang, gripping her cane firmly, looked stern.
“I have no daughter-in-law like you. My daughter-in-law is Jin Woo’s mother.”
“I’m sorry.”
Madam Kang, looking coldly at her son and his wife, both prostrated before her, turned away.
“I’m sorry for showing you such an unpleasant sight.”
Yet, she even managed to apologize neatly to Ji Na.
“Grandma, let me escort you.”
“My legs are still strong. Walking a lot keeps one alive longer. I’ll see you when you return.”
Her wrinkled eyes softened. After Madam Kang left, Chairman Seo, seemingly unable to face his son and Ji Na, entered his room without a word.
Both Jin Woo and Ji Na felt awkward. After bidding farewell to Chairman Seo’s wife, they left the mansion. Even in the car, there was silence for a while.
“I’m sorry. You must be shocked?”
As Jin Woo drove onto the highway, leaving the bustling streets of Seoul, he spoke awkwardly.
“No… It’s okay.”
While Ji Na was initially shocked by learning that Jin Woo was Chairman Seo’s son, the subsequent events were equally jarring.
“Our family situation is a bit complicated.”
“Where is your birth mother?”
Ji Na realized she had essentially only greeted Jin Woo’s father.
“She’s in the U.S. I plan to tell her in person when I go there.”
Jin Woo spoke calmly.
“I see.”
The scenery outside the window, indicating they had left Seoul, passed by. The sight of modest mountains stretching endlessly offered a sense of calm.
“Where are we going?”
Ji Na asked, momentarily enjoying the view, to which Jin Woo looked at her.
“To a beautiful place.”
Ji Na tilted her head at Jin Woo’s cryptic response.
“Like you.”
Feeling bashful at his added comment, Ji Na awkwardly shifted her gaze.
“Weren’t you in the U.S. since your sophomore year of high school?”
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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