Before opening her eyes, Ji-an, who regained consciousness first, felt Dan-u’s presence and gently pursed her lips.
As she slowly opened her eyes, Dan-u was lying there, looking at her. His arms wrapped around her back, suggesting he had slept deeply.
It was the first night spent in Dan-u’s penthouse.
Memories of tossing and turning in a dream and groaning softly surfaced as she sighed involuntarily. In the dream, she had moved desperately, but now she felt completely drained.
Ji-an carefully slipped out of bed without waking the still-sleeping Dan-u.
Leaving the monochromatic bedroom, she moved quietly, taking in the still-dark interior, tiptoeing on the cold marble floor of the living room.
She hadn’t expected to live in this house.
She silently climbed the short staircase connected to the balcony, hugged her knees, and sat in front of the glass door.
Looking at the pre-dawn sky, memories of numerous sunrises she had seen in Jeju came to mind. It was a time when she decided to move to distance herself from Ha Jun and worked hard to consolidate her feelings.
Recalling the moments when she believed in herself and supported herself, Ji-an took a deep breath.
The empty bed, which had been deeply asleep for a long time, felt lonely. When Ji-an woke up and shed tears, it felt like her heart was tearing apart.
Dan-u, who woke up from a long sleep without Ji-an knowing, came out to the living room and leaned against the wall, looking at Ji-an, who sat alone in the darkness. It felt oddly painful.
Although the sleeping time had been long, if Ji-an woke up and started crying, it would hurt as if her heart was tearing apart.
Dan-u went to the kitchen, took out a bottle of water, and climbed the short staircase.
Feeling guilty for not waking Ji-an up and blaming himself, Dan-u opened his mouth.
“Did you have the same dream again?”
“Oh! Are you awake?”
Surprised by Ji-an’s sign, he turned around, embracing her back, and tilted his head to the side.
Feeling the warmth from his back, Ji-an also turned her head to the side, and her eyes sparkled.
Without anyone saying it first, they approached each other and their lips met. The sound of their lips separating, making a moist sound, repeated as they kissed.
One kiss, and then another.
As the kisses continued, their laughter blended together, creating a sweet harmony.
Dan-u, with his lips wet on Ji-an’s neck, took a deep breath.
Only then did Ji-an ask.
“Why did you wake up? You could have slept more.”
“I think it’s become a habit. I woke up in the middle of the night and felt empty without you.”
“You felt my absence?”
“Yeah. I’m used to your body temperature. It’s nice to look at you, even better to touch you, and when I hold you, it feels like I can’t breathe.”
Dan-u, with his face buried in Ji-an’s neck, opened the cap of the water bottle next to him and offered it to Ji-an.
“Drink some water. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know where all those tears are coming from in your small body. …You cried a lot.”
“…Not a little?”
“No. Quite a bit. Oh! And we need to go to the hospital this morning.”
Ji-an turned her body to look at Dan-u. Not understanding what he meant by going to the hospital again, she questioned him.
“Me? I’ve been eating well.”
“Not that. It’s for psychological counseling. You keep having dreams at night. Facing you is difficult because of the unexpected death of your father. I can only comfort you. In times like this, it’s right to seek help from a professional.”
“You went through that too?”
“I did.”
Ji-an turned her body back and took a sip from the water bottle.
During Jaeyoon’s funeral, tears didn’t flow, so she hadn’t thought about going to the hospital. But now, tears were overflowing, and the need to go to the hospital arose.
She sighed, stood up abruptly, and opened the balcony window.
Dan-u watched her with his chin in his hand.
As Ji-an stepped on the deck, feeling the cool pre-dawn air, her heart fluttered like a feather laid on it.
Turning back with another step, Ji-an smiled brightly. Thankfully, her vitality had returned in the past few days.
Dan-u gestured to the balcony with a gaze that meant, “Wait here,” and went to the kitchen.
A moment later, with two apples in one hand and a knife in the other, Dan-u returned to the balcony.
He sat down, pointing to the deck with his eyes, and motioned for Ji-an to sit cross-legged. Dan-u, cutting the apple into bite-sized pieces, fed Ji-an, who sat facing him. Then, he fed himself a piece and smiled.
“Since you’re on leave today, you can go to the hospital and rest well. But I have to go to work after visiting the hospital.”
“I need to go home to get clothes for work. And I should call my friends to let them know I’m in Seoul.”
As Ji-an opened her mouth like a baby bird, Dan-u fed her another piece of apple. Ji-an, with her mouth full, continued talking.
“I’m going to my hometown this weekend. I’ve been thinking, maybe Dad was concerned because I didn’t go home often. Reading the diary with my sister would be the best thing.”
“That’s a thoughtful idea.”
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.”
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