Jinwoo’s voice still lingered in her ears. Whenever she thought of him, a corner of her heart ached. It felt like her heart was being squeezed tightly.
She had decided not to think about him until he came back, but before she knew it, whenever she regained consciousness, she kept thinking about him.
“Jina, let’s eat sweet potatoes.”
Jina got up at her mom’s voice.
The sweet aroma of sweet potatoes vibrated in the living room. On the tray placed on the table, various-sized sweet potatoes revealed their golden skins.
“Where’s Dad?”
Jina picked up a moderately sized sweet potato and peeled off the skin with a laugh. Like a well-cooked sweet potato, the skin came off smoothly. The hidden yellow flesh revealed itself in a moist figure.
“Dad went fishing early in the morning. He said it’s good for your health to eat seasonal fish… How’s your husband doing?”
“Yeah, he’s doing well.”
In response to her mother’s question, Jina smiled brightly. As she chewed on the sweet potato with her front teeth, a warm feeling surged through her.
With her gaze fixed on the sweet potato, her mom hesitated as if there was something to say. Seeing that her mom couldn’t easily speak, it was clear that it was about Jinwoo.
“I have something to tell Mom and Dad…”
“What? What is it?”
In response to Jina’s words, her mom’s eyes widened.
“What is it, tell me!”
Instead of answering, Jina mumbled with the sweet potato in her mouth.
“Mom, you can sell sweet potatoes now.”
“No, what are you trying to say?”
In an anxious face that clearly showed concern, Jina casually spoke.
“It’s nothing. Well, it might be something.”
“Why are you hesitating so much, like it’s a big deal?”
An irritated voice rose from her mom.
“I was going to tell Dad when he came.”
“Why? You’re not…?”
The gaze Jina had fixed on the sweet potato turned to her mom.
“I broke up with Jinwoo?”
The worry that had been evident on her mom’s face all this time suddenly emerged.
“What? No.”
In the end, Jina burst into laughter.
“Phew, that’s a relief. Again.”
“Why break up? Absolutely not. No, we can’t break up now.”
“Then what is it?”
With a sigh, her mom finally asked while quickly peeling the sweet potato skin.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Oh… I thought it was something again.”
Answering absentmindedly, her mom’s hands stopped.
“What?”
Jina, who met her mom’s eyes, raised the corners of her mouth.
“Now you’ll be a grandmother. Congratulations.”
“Goodness. My goodness!”
Her mom’s mouth, wide open in surprise or laughter, displayed various expressions.
“Does your husband know?”
“Yes, Jinwoo told him.”
“He said he’d come after a year.”
Realistic worries seemed to flood in, and her mom’s forehead wrinkled.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I’ll wait for Jinwoo to come.”
She didn’t specify when exactly, but she believed Jinwoo.
“What about the company?”
“I have to go. We need to save money for formula and diapers.”
“…,”
Her mom remained silent for a while.
“You can talk to your husband, right?”
Anxiety filled her mom’s question.
“No.”
“What?”
Surprised, her mom dropped the sweet potato.
“We didn’t break up.”
“Why not make a call. What’s he up to? Rather than trusting texts. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but calls are much more convenient and better than texts.”
Her mom expressed her dissatisfaction in a grumbling voice.
“Do you know what he’s doing?”
“Yep. He told me a year later.”
“Is he okay with it?”
Her mom’s question was full of anxiety.
“Yeah. We don’t call, but we exchange texts frequently.”
“What nonsense. How can you trust texts? Perhaps it’s because I’m old, but calls are much more comfortable and better than texts.”
Knowing what her mom was worrying about, Jina tried to explain. With an irritated voice, her mom muttered.
“Phew, why is this sweet potato so tasteless today? It’s making my chest feel stuffy.”
In the end, her mom, who had been complaining about the sweet potato, suddenly stood up.
“I’ll take a walk.”
Jina, who spoke behind her mom, came out to the porch and put on her shoes. The chilly wind reached even her chest, so Jina quickly buttoned up her clothes. The rural wind was certainly different from the city.
I walked out of the main gate and along the road endlessly. Beyond the road, the well-ripened rice in the fields seemed to be waiting for harvest, along with green plants whose names were unknown, neatly arranged at regular intervals.
Although I pretended to be unconcerned to my mom, it wasn’t entirely without anxiety. It wasn’t about worrying that Jinwoo would leave me.
I was worried that he might come back late. I had to endure the entire pregnancy period alone… and if he got even later, would I have to give birth alone?
Various thoughts weighed heavily on my chest.
“Jina!”
It was my dad.
“Taking a walk?”
“Yeah.”
“Dad caught a lot of fish. Let’s go home and eat something delicious.”
When I got in my dad’s car, we arrived home in just 5 minutes. My dad proudly took out a container full of the caught fish and seemed to show off to my mom.
“Oh, you fished well.”
Dad laughed happily at mom’s compliment.
“You caught grouper, sea bream, and even flounder, right?”
“I fished diligently to feed our daughter.”
Dad sat on the sofa and laughed heartily.
“I’ll make sure our grandson eats well.”
“We have to feed our grandson well. Right? Grandson?”
Almost unconsciously, Dad, who was speaking casually, lifted his head.
“Grandson?”
The moment Dad and Mom, who met eyes, looked at me.
“Oh, that’s…”
With a bewildered face, I confessed the truth to Dad. There was no significant change in Dad’s expression, but he suddenly went into the room.
“Well, he needs time to think.”
Understanding her husband, Mom started to prepare the fish. Feeling like a sinner, I quietly entered the room.
I read the messages from Jinwoo several times a day. In every text, I could feel his worry about me.
“I want to hear your voice.”
It was a longing that couldn’t be satisfied with just texts.
However, I didn’t know Jinwoo’s situation well enough to call him first.
“Pride is hurt too.”
Feeling frustrated, I stared at my useless phone and eventually opened a web browser.
[ K Group ]
As I entered the search term, numerous articles appeared.
[“K Group’s Leap, Will It Be Successful in the U.S.?”] [Successful Contract for the Texas Factory Site.] [“K Electronic Technology Core Finally Unveiled in the U.S.”]I could see that his business was making significant progress.
As my gaze scrolled through the screen, it paused for a moment.
It was because of a certain article featuring Jinwoo’s photo.
Unconsciously, I traced Jinwoo’s face with my finger. A yearning emotion welled up within me.
At that moment, the phone rang.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
