A look of surprise appeared on Ji-oh’s face.
“Yeo-un. Are you really…”
Holding the clothes she was about to put away, Yeo-un covered her face with both hands. It seemed like she might burst into tears again, but she held back with all her might.
With her hands wiping her face, Yeo-un, with restrained tears in her eyes, spoke to him.
“Why did you deceive me?”
“….What?”
“You lied to me.”
His lips parted for a moment. His eyes looking at her were shaking with unease.
“Did you…?”
“Yeah. I found out about your lies.”
He looked at her in disbelief. A sudden sense of terror descended over his face.
“How could this happen…”
“How long did you think you could deceive me? Did you plan never to tell me until the end?”
“…”
“I must have been really… foolish. Even though you were deceiving me like this, I didn’t know and happily laughed about it. Saying I love you, wanting to get married… Ha.”
It felt like the tower I had diligently built collapsed in an instant. The relationship, trust, and love I had built with him all turned into bubbles in an instant.
How could this happen?
How much did I love you…!
Seol Ji-oh sighed frustratingly, running his hand through his hair.
“It’s not like that, Yeo-un. Please don’t misunderstand, and listen to me. I’ll tell you everything. I’ll explain everything.”
Yeo-un looked at him without saying a word.
With his promise to explain everything, Yeo-un foolishly held a futile hope again.
That he would have a reason convincing enough for her to understand.
That he didn’t deceive her from the beginning because he wanted to.
He started speaking, his tongue running over his lips.
“First… I’m really sorry, Yeo-un. I know that what I did, deceiving you, is unforgivable no matter what I say. That’s why… I couldn’t say more. I was too afraid.”
Seol Ji-oh’s face contorted, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“I was so scared of losing you, Yeo-un.”
“…”
“It’s still frightening now. Before it’s too late, I wanted to tell you first, but I never thought you would find out like this.”
Yeo-un turned her head. Seeing Seol Ji-oh shedding tears, she immediately disliked the pain returning to her heart.
Even after being betrayed like this.
She had to admit it. She still loved Seol Ji-oh.
Seol Ji-oh wiped away tears with his large hands. Then, looking at Yeo-un, he began to speak.
“Pretending not to remember was not to mock you or hurt you… I swear. I never had such feelings.”
Seol Ji-oh closed his eyes. His voice trembled slightly, as if the current situation was burdensome.
“I liked you continuously, Yeo-un.”
“…”
“Since I was young. For so long that I can’t remember exactly when.”
“What?”
Yeo-un’s eyes widened.
Liked her for so long that he couldn’t remember?
What does that mean?
Did he mean that he had a crush on her when they were neighbors?
Suddenly, the words she heard from Hee-won a while ago came to her mind.
“Ji-oh really liked you. Since you were young.”
Yeo-un blinked.
Did Seol Ji-oh really like her since he was young?
He looked at Yeo-un with pleading eyes.
“I never wanted to be just friends with you again. I always saw you as a woman, but you always saw me as a friend.”
“…!”
Seol Ji-oh’s words sounded unfamiliar to Yeo-un.
In her younger days, she never dreamed that he saw her as a woman.
During the time they spent together every day as neighbors, he was looking at her with a slightly different perspective.
“You’re my first love… I never wanted to miss you again when we met.”
What? First love…?
Yeo-un’s lips slightly parted. It was hard to believe that those vague words were referring to her.
Yeo-un was perplexed. Apart from Seol Ji-oh deceiving her, this was also a huge shock to her.
Why didn’t I know anything about this?
“When you suddenly disappeared, I regretted it so much. Why didn’t I confess to you even once? Why didn’t I express my feelings even once? I always joked, teased, and said mean things to you.”
“Ji-oh.”
“I only had you by my side…”
Tears flowed down his cheeks.
“There was really only you for me…”
Yeo-un swallowed her tears at his words. Now that she knew about the childhood he had, his pain was keenly felt.
Yeo-un closed her eyes in frustration.
“If that’s the case, you could have told me when we met again. We’ve changed since we were young, and even if you didn’t lie like this, I… would have liked you. I would have loved you!”
“Would it have been that way? Would you have really seen me as a man if I got to know you again and approached you like before?”
“…”
“I couldn’t be sure. I just thought that if I pretended not to know you, I could definitely attract your attention.”
His words were not entirely wrong.
Since the moment Yeo-un thought Seol Ji-oh couldn’t remember her, her mind had been filled with nothing but Seol Ji-oh.
But no matter how much he liked her, accepting that he had lied to her from that moment until now was truly an unbearable thing.
How can I believe your words from now on…
Seol Ji-oh took a step towards the crumbling Yeo-un.
“It was my greed, Yeo-un. I just wanted you by my side in any form. When I tried to turn back… I had already come too far, and I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I’m really sorry… Truly sorry.”
“…”
“Should I kneel? If I beg, will you forgive me?”
Seol Ji-oh lowered his body as if he would really kneel. Yeo-un, with one hand on her forehead, shouted.
“Please! Please stop.”
“I can do anything as you say. Please… please don’t leave me. Please don’t abandon me, Yeo-un.”
The words of abandonment shattered Yeo-un’s heart.
Now she knew too well what being abandoned meant to him.
How could I…
Yeo-un closed her eyes.
She needed time. She didn’t want to hear any more of his excuses.
She wanted to be alone.
Yeo-un opened her closed eyes and spoke to him.
“Let’s take some time. I’ll go back to Korea first. Until I contact you… don’t contact me.”
He looked at her with an expression as if the world had collapsed.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
