The disappearance of moisture from Hye-yoon’s red eyes was entirely due to Ji-ho’s words.
“Wow… Director, you’re giving a wrap-up gift.”
Wiping his eyes, he turned his gaze to where his affection lingered. On the TV screen, the names of the staff were slowly rising as the final credits rolled, including the two main characters in a behind-the-scenes cut.
The photo was filled with joy that the drama couldn’t capture. The cast gathering, Ji-ho helping with equipment, Hye-yoon avoiding the pouring rain with the assistant director.
And after the ending credits, one last photo appeared. Ji-ho and Hye-yoon, smiling while looking at the same place. Neither of them remembered where they were looking or why they were smiling. Perhaps they had enjoyed this happiness countless times during the shoot.
“So beautiful.”
“Beautiful…”
Simultaneously bursting into the same admiration. Along with the overlapping voices, their eyes also turned towards each other.
“Have you cried enough now?”
Ji-ho seemed to be examining her while taking in the memories on the TV. As she cried so loudly like the world’s biggest crybaby, Hye-yoon felt embarrassed. In a slightly absent-minded moment of rolling her eyes, a sudden thought flashed. As she wiped her eyes quickly and got up.
“Huh? Where is it?”
Gradually, embarrassment emerged on her face, and she rolled her eyes, then got up.
Ji-ho, who was watching her cuteness, followed her back with his eyes. He thought she might be going to wash up, but that wasn’t the case. Hye-yoon was rummaging through the bag she brought. And when she returned to her seat, there was a folded paper in her hand.
Without the need to secretly inspect it, she unexpectedly thrust it out.
“…This.”
“Huh?”
“This is my wrap-up gift.”
There was still sadness in her voice. Out of curiosity, Ji-ho reached out too. After receiving it and looking at it, it turned out to be a thin book she had made herself. Folding thick paper in half and stapling the center, it seemed like she had imitated bookbinding to neatly display a few pages.
But even if she had made it quite messy, it wouldn’t have mattered. Because of the eye-catching cover. In the middle of the cover, there was a wolf drawn beautifully with colored pencils. Various other animals surrounded the edges.
Although he chuckled at the title , he soon stopped. The small letters next to the title, ‘Author Jang Hye-yoon,’ were too impactful.
What kind of emotion was it to write Jang Hye-yoon instead of Jang Yoon? Just imagining that feeling was already touching. The warm heart was completely melted in Ji-ho’s gaze as he looked at Hye-yoon. That’s why Hye-yoon spoke with a slightly shyer voice.
“Consider it a bit cheesy.”
“Cheesy.”
“Originally, fairy tales are kind and gentle, so…”
“Like Jang Hye-yoon?”
The memory of crying was embarrassing, and the upcoming evaluation was nerve-wracking. Ji-ho sent a smile towards Hye-yoon’s gently wavering eyes. Then, he soon unfolded the book. Each page contained a few short sentences and meticulously colored drawings with colored pencils.
In the green forest, a cute baby wolf lived. One day, a fierce wind visited the peaceful baby wolf. When his precious house flew away in the wind, the baby wolf began to wander the forest.
Smoke rose from chimneys in lit houses. The delicious smell made the baby wolf’s stomach growl, but he just stared. The closed door inside the fence looked too big.
That’s when a friend peeked through the small wooden house door crack. A pink baby pig gestured to the wolf.
“If it’s okay, do you want to stay here together?”
Inside the house were a black father pig and a spotted mother pig. The baby wolf awkwardly entered the house but soon felt warmth.
A week passed. The neighboring rhinoceros and deer friends worried that the baby wolf might eat the pigs, but it was a wrong thought. The baby wolf protected the pig family well.
The baby wolf was no longer alone. He had a family and friends who loved him despite looking a bit different. Eventually, all the animals in the village came to like the baby wolf.
The baby wolf lived happily, receiving warm love.
With each page turned, a distant happiness spread over Ji-ho’s face. The drawings, the content, and even the handwriting were all characteristic of Hye-yoon. It was cute and warm, but deep emotions were also felt. Ji-ho thought about the meaning of the pig family, different in size and color from the baby wolf.
Someone must have wished for someone’s happiness and gifted the baby wolf a beautiful ending.
The short fairy tale ended here. The next two pages were empty white sheets. The ink stains were visible in the middle of the white paper. The writing on the back cover came through the perforated holes. He quickly turned the last page.
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.”
