Hye-yoon’s communication was like this. Around 6 a.m., she sent a short greeting message and then promptly turned off her phone. The next contact was around midnight, another good night greeting.
On the first day, Jiho found it odd that the power was off and immediately called when the night greeting came. He wanted to convey a sincere joke-like message, asking if this was not too extreme, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Wow, it’s Jiho…”
“Is it over now?”
“Yeah…”
“…I must be tired. I’ll go to sleep quickly.”
It was a voice that welcomed him but struggled, reluctantly enduring sleep. So, he could only say those two words. From the next day, they continued to communicate through calls like that for the first few days, but from the third day onwards, Jiho replied only through messages.
And now, after five days, even though he knew it was turned off, he developed a habit of pressing Hye-yoon’s number from time to time. Suddenly, emotions surged uncontrollably.
“I miss you… I miss you…”
Was his patience really so lacking? A relentless thirst, as bitter as his self-disappointment, gradually gnawed at his sanity.
“Hey, but what about you…”
Bong-gi seriously scrutinized Jiho, who was sitting on the sofa in the representative’s office. Without even realizing the weight of the paper pile held in both hands, he stopped approaching. The more he carefully looked from head to toe, the more stunned he became, and a bitter smile escaped him.
Jiho, who belatedly raised his head under that explicit gaze, had not seen Hye-yoon for ten days as of today. All stimuli around him had dulled, and he was only focused on the singular emotion.
“…Huh?”
“Well, did you go after exercising?”
“Yeah. Since I took a break, I have to work hard.”
Despite wearing a loose-fitting knit, Jiho’s angry muscles seemed to play with the fabric. The teasing in Bong-gi’s eyes was evident, like saying, ‘Isn’t not learning acting with that face and body like mocking the creator?’
“…Yeah. It seems like you’re working hard. Looking at your body.”
With a softening remark, Bong-gi also sat on the opposite sofa. Massive bundles of paper were casually placed on the table.
“Is resting unfamiliar to you?”
“What?”
“Your face is lively, your body is lively. But your expression seems to be dying.”
Bong-gi, as much as the time they spent together, easily understood Jiho’s mood. He also knew about Jiho’s tendency not to like delving into deep topics.
Trying to change the subject, Bong-gi pointed to the table with his chin. There were quite a few books piled up on the table.
“Just take a look during your break. Think of it as reading. Even though you refuse to take it, what can I do? I can’t throw it away.”
Jiho, who had sat up from the sofa, placed his hand on the script. Just by looking at the titles, one could anticipate various genres. Each cover featured directors with names as powerful as his.
The news that Jiho currently has no upcoming projects had already spread throughout the industry. Consequently, an unusually large number of scripts were pouring in, and those with a bit more insight were sharing different rumors.
Even though the contract period ended at the end of the year, it was said that no renewal had been made, and advertising extensions were on hold from Jiho’s side. Considering how fast rumors spread in this industry, it might soon become a topic in the media.
Bong-gi, lost in thought, subtly dropped a hint.
“And as for other advertisements, I don’t know, but reconsider the coffee. You’ve been the face of that brand since the brand launch six years ago… If you suddenly decide to quit, how surprised do you think they’ll be? It’s an emergency.”
“…True.”
Tap, tap. Jiho’s fingers on the script made a clean sound. His nodding head also matched the rhythm of that sound. Watching Jiho’s positive response, Bong-gi systematically laid out the stories he had organized.
“Since the movie release is scheduled for mid-May, we need to start promoting it from late April. Before that, we should do a few photo shoots starting from early April.”
“…”
“There are quite a few overseas interviews we postponed due to our Busan schedule. Since we were the ones who wanted to coordinate the schedule, it’s better to do as much as possible…”
In the midst of the voice that seemed like it could chatter on for hours, Jiho abruptly interrupted.
“If it’s like this, I’m not taking a break.”
It sounded like a complaint, but a faint smile appeared on his face.
“You… got busier. Taking care of the writer’s work too.”
Jiho leaned back on the sofa again. Fatigue settled into Bong-gi’s face as he looked at him closely. He was still laying a carpet for Jiho to walk on. Just walk on this path. Even if it’s the last glimpse of him leaving.
Feeling sorry, the gaze in his eyes conveyed that clearly. Bong-gi, with an out-of-place voice that didn’t match his size, spoke.
“It’s okay… I’ll continue to work hard. I’ll silently work and act pitiful. That way, even if you feel sorry, you’ll act again, right…”
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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