“Well…… After the appointment, I have plans to go somewhere with Director Shim.”
“With Director Shim? Where?”
“To the art museum. Director Shim said he had exhibition tickets and invited me.”
Art museum? Did Director Shim have an interest in such a place?
“At that time? Isn’t it a bit late to go after the appointment?”
“I think Director Shim has a connection there, so he’s been granted a favor. Besides, sir, are you going to the workshop this time?”
“Yes. I go every year.”
“Then will you be there until late this year too?”
“This year too, you say?”
Tae Jo tilted his head. Although he attended the workshop every year, he usually returned to Seoul before the evening.
“I heard from Senior Seok Ju that you stayed late with Deputy Kang last year.”
“Ah, that time, Seok Ju was dragging it out. I’m not sure about this year. Why, are you planning to go, Se Kyung?”
“I’d like to attend once, but I don’t know how my schedule will turn out. It seems like Je Hoon also wants to go.”
Tae Jo looked at Se Kyung suspiciously. Why was she suddenly silent?
While I was wondering if I had said something wrong, Tae Jo spoke.
“But for how long are you going to call me ‘Director’?”
“Pardon?”
Se Kyung blinked at the topic that had suddenly sprung up.
“Calling the Director, Director, then what should I call you?”
“Manager Shin calls me Je Hoon, Seok Joo calls me Sunbae, but you call me Director?”
“……”
“I’m not named Director.”
Se Kyung froze midbite with her chopsticks. Now he was suggesting, I should call him by his name…..
“Because since we first met, I’ve been calling you that.”
“But now, both the situation and our relationship have changed.”
Se Kyung swallowed the meat left in her mouth.
She remembered mentioning Tae Jo’s name to the restaurant manager the last time they arranged to meet alone.
She had always called him Director, but had uttered Tae Jo’s name. She remembered the ticklish feeling and her toes began to wriggle.
“Or have you forgotten my name?”
“No…I haven’t.”
How could I forget? His name saved in my phone is ‘Director Jin Tae Jo’.
“Then call me.”
Tae Jo, who had his arm stretched over the table, leaned forward. His thick eyebrows twitched, urging her to get on with it.
Se Kyung slightly opened her mouth several times like a fish. To suddenly change the way she addressed him. If not Director, what should she call him?
Mr. Jin… Tae Jo? Mr. Tae Jo? Or maybe, Tae Jo Oppa?
Se Kyung screamed in her mind.
Her limbs curled up as if she had become the meat on the grill.
Nothing seemed to easily roll off the tongue. Although it was just a change in address, the difference in distance felt substantial.
“Tae….”
She barely opened her mouth, but her mind was still in fierce conflict.
Mr. Tae Jo sounds odd, Mr. Tae Jo seems the safest among the three. If she called him Tae Jo Oppa, he might get flustered.
She wanted to see the always composed Tae Jo flustered, but the transition from Director to Oppa seemed too overwhelming for her.
“Mr. Tae Jo.”
Eventually, Se Kyung chose the safest title and called him. An awkward silence seemed to linger more than it should have.
“……”
Feeling awkward, Se Kyung took a bite of meat and looked at Tae Jo.
His eyes curved softly. Upon seeing his mouth twitch upward, she was instantly reminded of the day they first met.
When he jokingly tapped his nose while greeting me as I got into the car.
“Goodbye, Ms. Se Kyung.”
It overlapped with his current demeanor…
“Yes, Se Kyung.”
Se Kyung’s heart was beating wildly like meat being thrown onto a grill.
After finishing her medical examination, Se Kyung sat in the waiting room, looking at the ultrasound picture.
The tiny bean had grown into the size of an almond.
Little hands and feet sprouted a bit from the round shape. The heart was beating so vigorously, its sound was as loud as her own heartbeat.
Se Kyung waved the flimsy picture back and forth to air it out.
As he had promised two days ago, Tae Jo came to her house at 4 p.m. and took Se Kyung to the hospital.
There was a little friction in the car. It was due to Tae Jo’s title, which had reverted back to “Chairman” in just two days.
‘Why are you back to ‘Chairman’ again?’
‘It’s hard to correct it in just a few days……. If I get used to calling you by your name, I might make a mistake in front of other people.’
Tae Jo looked oddly unsatisfied, even though he agreed with her words.
So he proposed a compromise. Call him “Chairman” in front of others, but in exchange, she had to call him by his name twice a day.
“Miss Se Kyung, did you wait long? Let’s go now.”
Doctor Shim, who had finished his rounds, came out in his regular clothes. It felt new to see him in his casual clothes, as she was used to seeing him in a doctor’s coat.
Wearing a dark blue jacket, Doctor Shim turned his key round and round and came down to the parking lot.
“Make sure you wear your seat belt. Then, let’s get going.”
Doctor Shim checked Se Kyung’s seat belt and started the car.
The car moved out of the parking lot at a slow pace, in contrast to the loud exhaust sound. He played soft classical music and asked Se Kyung,
“You said you had some morning sickness earlier. How about eating? You should take good care of it when you’re pregnant.”
“I am eating well.”
“Did you say the baby’s fetal name is Angko? Is Angko’s dad taking good care of you?”
“Yes. He buys me anything I want to eat.”
Doctor Shim glanced at Se Kyung. He wondered if Angko’s dad was older than Se Kyung, judging by the way she said, ‘He buys me anything?’
“Why?”
“No, I just wondered if Angko’s dad is older than you.”
“Oh…….”
Well, as long as she doesn’t reveal the exact age difference. It should be okay to reveal whether he’s older or younger.
Se Kyung nodded once.
“Yes.”
“Well, I hope he’s younger than me.”
“Why?”
“Well, it’s easier to talk about things…….”
Because he could grab him by the scruff of the neck or the hair if needed?
Doctor Shim asked, hiding his boiling inside.
“Do you do prenatal education? Any particular activities?”
“I don’t do anything special. I’m quite busy.”
“It’s still a careful time. I’m a bit worried. You said your schedule will get busier from next week. Morning sickness can get worse than it is now. Please ask Chairman Jin to take care of you. It’s better to have someone who knows the situation around.”
“Chairman Jin is also taking good care of me. Um, but it seems like you’re quite close with Chairman Jin, Doctor Shim?”
Se Kyung asked cautiously.
She had heard from Tae Jo that they had known each other for a long time. But the casual attitude of Doctor Shim, no different from Senior Seok Ju, appeared to be more than just a simple acquaintance.
“Me? Did Chairman Jin not tell you anything?”
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
