Memories of the child I lost three years ago, Mrs. Jeong who never saw me as human, and Jae-hyuk, who always coldly turned away, tore through my mind.
Jae-hyuk, after parting with Ahrin, leaned back in the car seat and closed his eyes. Though closed, Ahrin’s face became even clearer.
Being hated was much more painful and torturous than expected. But I couldn’t resent her. The wounds I inflicted were deeper.
Swallowed by a painful regret, Jae-hyuk’s heart surged.
‘I shouldn’t even feel this hurt. No, it’s selfish to feel this way. Jae-hyuk, what have you done? You only suffered for a brief moment. Ahrin endured pain because of you for a long time. So this is nothing…’
I had to endure.
Jae-hyuk bit his lower lip, recalling that night three years ago.
I found her location soon after she left.
Seeing Ahrin walking into the pitch-darkness, I ran without thinking.
Had I not been there that day… The mere thought was horrifying.
Watching Ahrin approaching the tumultuous night sea, my body moved on its own.
I wanted to fly if possible. Even if it meant my death, Ahrin had to be saved.
‘Only after she left, I realized it was love.’
A cliché from dramas and novels.
Jae-hyuk felt the same. He realized his love for her only after losing her.
But it hit him when he pulled the unconscious Ahrin from the water and held her cold body close.
He understood then, with a sigh of relief, that his feelings were far heavier and deeper than he thought.
‘That Jae-hyuk loved Choi Ahrin far more than his own life. That without Choi Ahrin, Jae-hyuk couldn’t live.’
It was a realization that came only after losing everything he had held dear.
During the time Ahrin was asleep in the hospital, he had a brief chance to watch over her. Gripping her hand, he whispered to her for a long time, driven by cowardice.
“Ahrin, I really love you.”
“I’m sorry for being childish, for not loving you when you loved me.”
These were words he dared not reach her. He thought of them as eternal sins he had to bear.
Why do humans do things they regret?
Since then, he often headed to Jeju Island on his days off. But he never once appeared in front of Ahrin.
The first year after she left him was a time when he merely hovered around her. He couldn’t face her as he watched her fall apart.
Knowing his presence would only cause her more pain.
He tried to help her shop and do small things to earn forgiveness. Jae-hyuk loathed his cowardice but also alleviated his guilt.
Gradually, he grew more desperate.
If there was even one more chance, he’d use all his luck for it. Just to be by Ahrin’s side once more.
That’s why he appeared before Ahrin today.
Her reaction wasn’t much different from what he expected.
Good. Just seeing her up close warmed his empty heart.
‘She seems to have gained a little weight recently. I’m glad she’s eating well.’
Though Ahrin said seeing him made her feel suffocated, Jae-hyuk felt like he could breathe when he saw her.
Her scent thawed his frozen heart. A gentle floral fragrance, not perfume, but her natural scent.
Feeling that warmth, his deadened senses came alive.
His dormant heart fluttered.
Ahrin hating him was natural.
He selfishly acted when she gave him boundless love.
‘I still love you…’
“Ahrin…”
Just thinking her name made his heart feel like bursting.
Then, his phone vibrated.
“Ah.”
It was too noisy.
Without checking the caller, Jae-hyuk turned it off. Then Han, his secretary’s phone in the driver’s seat, rang. The car stopped by the roadside.
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
Soon, Han’s troubled voice reached Jae-hyuk’s ears.
Jae-hyuk opened his eyes to find Han looking at him awkwardly.
“What’s going on?”
At Jae-hyuk’s question, Han slightly removed the phone from his ear and whispered softly.
“It’s Mrs. Jeong.”
Jae-hyuk frowned, puzzled by the mention of his mother.
A clear female voice came through the speaker.
“Tell the vice president to come back from Jeju Island.”
“Ah.”
The only ones who knew he was in Jeju were his secretaries, including Han. His trip was top secret.
Knowing my whereabouts means someone close to me could have leaked the information. Jae-hyuk clenched his lips in anger.
‘Is there a loose-lipped person around me? They wouldn’t have investigated my flight records, would they?’
However, Jae-hyuk didn’t want to doubt his secretaries, whom he trusted. Moreover, he knew all too well that his mother wouldn’t hesitate to use any means, legal or not, to keep tabs on him.
‘No, my mother would definitely go to such lengths.’
Even after experiencing all this, Jae-hyuk couldn’t help but let out a cynical laugh at his mother, Mrs. Jeong, who still hadn’t changed her ways.
“Mother really is something else.”
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
