As soon as he woke up in the morning, his arms reached out to find Jian before opening his eyes.
Having woken up several times because the side felt empty in her sleep, it didn’t improve.
When Taeyoon left, Danwoo entered the kitchen’s cooking area.
He watched the process of making seaweed soup step by step with the monthly pad in the kitchen.
Jian said she ate seaweed soup, which Yeonwoo, Hanjun’s mother, made on her birthday.
Muttering to himself, Danwoo said, “Now it’s my turn.”
He placed the pieces of sliced rockfish he had bought from the fish market in the early morning in a large bowl and squeezed out the moisture from the soaked seaweed.
The warm midday had already turned into a hot season.
Soon, the spring that had passed would deepen into summer, and August would quickly arrive.
August 27th.
0827 was both the door lock password for Lake Tower and Jian’s birthday.
Danwoo wanted to personally cook seaweed soup for her birthday.
While the seaweed soup, with bubbling broth, boiled on the induction stove, Hyesu returned from hiking.
Hyesu, with eyes wide open at the vibrating scent of seaweed soup in the house, told her assistant, Im, who was following her like a shadow, to take a break and headed to the kitchen.
“What’s this seaweed soup for?”
“Were you out?”
“Come here.”
Hyesu snatched the ladle from Danwoo’s hand, lifted the lid of the pot, and then checked its contents.
“Rockfish?”
“Jian likes seaweed soup with fish. When I went to the fish market, they said they even put rockfish in it during spring.”
Hyesu smiled and tasted the broth, her gaze meeting the salty seasoning. Despite the mild seasoning, the broth tasted rich.
“Have you eaten rice?”
“Not yet. Did your mother eat?”
“I had lunch with Secretary Im.”
She pointed to the dining table, preparing a late lunch for Danwoo.
A while later, the two sat facing each other at the dining table.
Over the past few days, the side dishes on the table had been filled with dishes made by Danwoo’s mother.
“So, Jian brought all that seaweed soup for you?”
“It’s not that. I practiced.”
“Practice?”
“Jian has lost a lot because of me, so I want to do what I can for her. Seaweed soup is one of those things.”
‘Because of me, a 27-year-old friend and his warm mother can’t meet anymore.’
Danwoo swallowed the rest of his words inwardly.
Hyesu, who seemed to know that Danwoo might say something more, just nodded in response to the following silence.
Even without asking, it seemed like she knew her son’s heart.
Hyesu had seen enough to know how affectionate Danwoo thought of Jian.
Putting down the chopsticks for a moment, Danwoo pushed the tablet forward.
“I looked into several houses, so please take a look first and let me know.”
“…….”
“I mainly looked into houses. How about it?”
Hyesu glanced at the tablet but then put it down sneakily.
“Don’t say it’s impossible or anything. Just listen. Mom has already made up her mind.”
“Mother.”
He didn’t know what to say, but there was an unusual atmosphere in the air.
“Why are you hesitating? Mom’s condition is much better than you worry about. So, I’m going to live as an activist.”
“Mother.”
Danwoo replied briefly and waited for Hyesu’s next words.
“Of course, Mom could think this way thanks to your success in your position.”
Although Hyesu’s words were calm, there was still lingering anger in her heart.
The reason she had lived quietly was solely to protect Danwoo.
But now, there was no need for that anymore.
While I was away, Danwoo had become an adult enough not to be protected.
So, Hyesu wanted to live with an apology to those who had become unhappy due to her choice.
“Don’t mind me and do what you want.”
Danwoo couldn’t find a reason to oppose Hyesu’s choice.
She had lived a suppressed life against her will for a very long time.
He dared not say that it couldn’t be done again.
“Before that, I hope you get married.”
“Huh?”
His question was not ‘Why?’ but rather ‘How did you know my feelings?’
“Jian is a good girl. Both of you are at the right age. Are you thinking of getting married?”
“Yes.”
Danwoo, who had only thought about “What if we get married?” finally became certain. He wanted to marry Jian.
“We should get married.”
“Then propose first.”
“What?”
This time, it was a surprised response. He hadn’t thought that far yet.
“Did you seriously plan to set a date for the wedding without even proposing?”
“That’s not it.”
Danwoo belatedly cleared his throat with a grin.
The marriage he had been contemplating alone after a short conversation with his mother suddenly seemed to be approaching.
It felt like he was already standing side by side with Jian in front of Virgin Road, and his heart was pounding.
Having suppressed the expressions that came to mind, Danwoo asked Hyesu what he had been curious about.
Upon hearing that he had contributed to the recovery of Hae Song Group at the shareholders’ meeting, Hyesu only responded with, “It’s a good thing.”
However, there was no way she could hold back resentment against those who had lived such a vacillating life.
Moreover, she wondered if it was really okay for the blood to flow through her veins as it had been.
Suddenly, she had such doubts.
“Have you never resented me, Mother?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“According to what Taeyoon said, he heard countless times that ‘I can’t live because of you,’ but I don’t remember hearing such words.”
Hyesu smiled as she thought back on her actions.
When she found out about Danwoo’s pregnancy, her first thought was, ‘How can I protect this child?’
Despite disdain for Woo Soo-ho, she firmly identified the baby in her womb as her own.
“Why not? There were many.”
“Many?”
“I hated it every time I threw a tantrum about side dishes. When you put vegetable side dishes in your mouth, you spat them out. It was heartbreaking.”
“Mother?”
“And I threw a fit asking for meat side dishes.”
With such a common answer, one side of Danwoo’s chest felt choked up.
Vague memories flashed of picture books filled with various vegetable drawings, pumpkin side dishes, or stir-fried carrots she used to feed him.
“Then look. Your stomach hurt a lot because of the PC room. After the exams, you went straight from school to the PC room. Then, seeing you come home late, I wondered how you could make a person like that.”
Hyesu spoke, reminiscing about a few memories.
Incidents like playing soccer and getting hurt, fighting with friends and having to go to school.
She also mentioned the time when he went around in chilly weather wearing only short sleeves, causing her distress.
All these were trivial and ordinary, but Danwoo’s heart ached.
His mother had never thought that her life had gone wrong because of him.
It suddenly became apparent to him that his mother had genuinely given him nothing but love.
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.]
