Ji An bit her lower lip hard.
“People don’t grow old to be alone. If anything happens to your father, it’s because you kept your mouth shut. So don’t even go there and cry.”
The words of her mother, Eun Ji, kept circling in Ji An’s ears.
Dan Woo input the hospital’s name into the navigation and started the car. A dull ache gathered in his temples as he saw the sunken eyes of Ji An looking at the dashboard.
“Even when I can feel your despair so keenly, there’s nothing I can do. How must you feel? You can’t even shed a tear.”
Dan Woo let out a low, long sigh, his face drained of expression.
As the café came into view, he slowed the car and looked back at Ji An.
“Perhaps we should have a warm cup of something.”
Ji An shook her head, gripping his wrist.
“My father is waiting. I want to go quickly.”
“Alright? …Let’s do that.”
Dan Woo folded his heart, looking at Ji An’s cloudy eyes and pale face, and restarted the car.
Yes. If you want it that way, let it be.
Dan Woo could faintly guess Ji An’s state, bereft even of sadness. It would be hard to breathe facing the reality his mind recognized.
“It will take an hour. So lean against the seat.”
“…I will.”
Ji An replied softly and turned her gaze out the window. The wish for it to be untrue was losing strength.
Once they got onto the highway, Dan Woo accelerated to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
The road illuminated by the headlights was dark, and the lights of oncoming cars were harsh in the night.
Rrrrr, Rrrrr.
As they neared the hospital, Ji An’s phone rang again. The name displayed was ‘Dad.’
She answered calmly.
“Hello?”
[Dash] Baby. Ji An. Where are you? …Your father has passed away.“Ah!”
When Ji An couldn’t continue with a heartbroken expression, Dan Woo took over the call worriedly.
“We’re almost at the hospital. It will take about ten minutes.”
[Dash] Then you’ll have to come and remove the respirator yourself. Drive carefully.“Yes.”
Ji An felt her already constricted heart suddenly cooling, unaware that it was even beating.
The swirling emotions settled low as she questioned, ‘Why did dad do this?’ and her head went numb.
It was odd how calm she was, given that she’d just heard about her father’s death.
At that moment, she felt as if she were aimlessly walking on an endless road, numb in her head.
The navigation ended its guidance in front of the National Cancer Center.
Before Dan Woo could even finish parking, Ji An pulled the door handle and got out of the car.
“Ji An!”
Dan Woo got out and called after her, looking beyond the car. As he rounded the hood, he saw Ji An sitting huddled beside the passenger seat.
She hugged her knees, unsure where to focus her trembling gaze.
Seeing the emergency room lights, the reality she couldn’t grasp inside the car rushed in all at once. She was here to confirm her father’s death.
When Ji An showed signs of extreme anxiety, Dan Woo thought her heart-wrenching expression was somewhat a relief.
Dan Woo grabbed both her shoulders and asked,
“Can you get up?”
Ji An looked back at Dan Woo, took a deep breath, and struggled to her feet.
She had never thought about her father’s death; it was too frightening. Yet she pushed aside her heavy heart and urged herself forward.
I wanted to be a daughter who didn’t have to worry. I wanted to be a daughter who made you proud. If I stay like this, I won’t be able to see Dad.
“Kim Ji An. You wanted to see Dad, right? Dad will be waiting for you too.”
As soon as I entered the emergency room, a middle-aged man who had been lingering in the waiting room approached me. It was Kim Jong Goo, who had introduced himself as my uncle.
“Ah, there she is. …… It’s Ji An, alright. You look just the same.”
When Ji An bowed to Jong Goo, Dan Woo also greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
Jong Goo opened his mouth as he looked at the pale, exhausted Ji An.
“You’ve had a hard time getting here. I’m Uncle Jong Goo. Remember? ……Go on in.”
As Ji An entered the emergency room, Jong Goo’s voice followed her.
“Why isn’t Je Su answering his phone? At this point, I’d at least call to find out what’s going on. He should hurry up and get here.”
As I approached the bed that the medical staff pointed out, Jae Yoon lay there with his eyes closed. The oxygen saturation and pulse rate displayed on the monitor next to the bed were ‘0.’
Jae Yoon, who had overcome the critical moment, looked peaceful.
In Ji An’s eyes, Jae Yoon’s face was darker than usual, but he looked like he was just asleep.
It seemed like if I called him ‘Dad,’ he’d respond with ‘You’re here’ and open his eyes. But I didn’t have the courage to face the reality of him not opening his eyes, so my lips didn’t part.
A nurse asked Ji An, who was blankly looking down at Jae Yoon.
“What is your relationship with the patient?”
“He’s my father.”
As Ji An revealed her identity, the emergency doctor began to explain about Jae Yoon.
“Do you know that your father is a terminal cancer patient?”
“……?”
Ji An didn’t respond, but the emergency doctor continued.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
