The things the woman left behind became sharper wounds to him than kindness with each passing moment.
Ki-joo muttered curses under his breath. Angrily grabbing his car keys, he left home. He got into the car that had already been started in the underground parking lot and stepped on the accelerator.
After the meal, Eun-chae brought cold medicine. She had been worried about the persistent cough. Eventually, Geum-bun lay down.
Watching over her until Geum-bun fell asleep, Eun-chae covered her with a blanket and went out to the veranda.
The laundry hanging on the clothesline was swaying in the moonlight.
Without a moment to think, Eun-chae ran straight to it. She quickly collected the laundry before it could get wet with dew.
Finally, when she pulled out a completely dry towel, a camellia flower fell from the one that was spread out in front of her.
It’s not even withered. Eun-chae’s movement, reaching out with a feeling of pity, stopped for a moment.
‘Congratulations on your graduation.’
That day was unusually warm.
Kwon Ki-joo, who usually emitted a mysterious and tense scent, seemed to carry a refreshing and warm soap scent mixed with Cologne that day.
That’s when she realized. The other person’s scent could also be perceived differently depending on one’s mood.
Eun-chae clenched the outreached hand. Her slightly trembling lower lip quivered.
At that time, she thought strangely that her chest was fluttering.
Now, thinking back, it was excitement.
Tears welled up in Eun-chae’s large eyes in an instant. In the moment she wet her head so that the tears wouldn’t flow, they suddenly fell.
That was just the beginning.
Suddenly, her vision blurred, and tears uncontrollably streamed down.
She felt both deeply resentful and sorry when she thought of him. It would have been better to cowardly leave and abandon him. Back then, she could have hated him unconditionally.
Now…
Eun-chae hugged the laundry to her chest, sat down hesitantly, and sobbed quietly.
If he came for revenge, he didn’t properly exact revenge. It was all because of Song Eun-chae. Even though she knew, she couldn’t muster the courage. She ran away cowardly.
From her mother’s sin. From the difficult love.
Eun-chae’s vibrating shoulders froze for a moment. It was because of Geum-bun’s coughing sound, which was heard again. She quietly got up, put the laundry on the veranda, and left the house.
Not knowing where to go, she walked wherever her feet took her. Like a child, she sobbed, wiping away tears until her eyes were swollen.
“I haven’t changed.”
“…”
“If my feelings are the same, do you want to be with me again?”
The words she thought were deceitful turned out to be sincere.
“…Pretty.”
Preparing for marriage with another man. Wearing a wedding dress. He said she was pretty when he saw that. What was his expression like? It was faint, as if a cloud had passed over his face.
“I…”
“…”
“I didn’t let go and fly away. I fell off a cliff.”
Until the very end, busy confirming his feelings, Eun-chae staggered, recalling her misdeeds. Then, leaning against the wall, she slowly sank to the floor.
She laughed.
Because he was trying to handle all the painful things, she thought that she had firmly developed the wrong habits.
No longer hiding. What’s the use of doing something for me?
By giving her the opportunity to escape like this.
Eun-chae took a deep breath. His words that he fell off a cliff were not an exaggeration. Now she felt the same way.
In the end, we both dropped each other into the abyss. There was no need for anyone to blame each other.
Eun-chae exhaled a long breath.
Suffering tends to end as time passes.
Eun-chae resolved to endure that time.
“I told you not to come out alone at night.”
In the chilly night air, Eun-chae lifted her head at the voice that cut through, spreading widely. At the approaching footsteps, she huddled her shoulders. Breaking through the darkness, the one who came was Seol Woo-seok.
The moment Kwon Ki-joo crossed Eun-chae’s mind, her previously constricted heart began to beat normally again.
“You really don’t listen, huh?”
“Uh…”
“What’s with that expression? I feel like I’m going to get hurt.”
Woo-seok’s neat eyebrows gathered playfully above his eyes. Perhaps he noticed that she looked at herself and thought of someone else.
Although she should say no, her mouth dried up with embarrassment. To avoid revealing that she was crying, she quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand. Then Woo-seok reached out his hand.
“You can’t even walk straight, how do you plan to live in this tough world?”
Grabbing that hand in the surging waves, Eun-chae stood up with a puzzled face. It seemed that Woo-seok understood the situation that she had tripped over her shoelaces. Perhaps it was better this way.
Heh heh. Heh heh.
Eun-chae seemed to be surprised as she hiccupped. Then Woo-seok burst out a forced breath. After that, leaning against the well wall, he spoke crookedly.
“You’re a mess. Such a mess.”
As he said that, Woo-seok lifted her chin.
While Eun-chae’s gaze was taken by the tree, Woo-seok reached out his hand impulsively but sighed.
“Doing this and that. You’re quite a handful.”
While saying this, Woo-seok raised her chin with one hand.
Hawthorn blossoms entered Eun-chae’s eyes, which were facing upward due to the other’s intervention. Hawthorns seen at night somehow had a charm. Perhaps because they were above the well.
While she was captivated by the tree, Woo-seok blindly reached out, then sighed.
Holding down her hand reaching for her face, Eun-chae looked shocked when he pulled down the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe her face.
“Uh… I’m okay…”
Upon hearing that, Woo-seok lowered her shoulder with one hand.
“Stay still. I find it annoying even doing this.”
But for someone annoying, he didn’t seem irritated. Despite grumbling, his touch was delicate.
Knowing that it was clear goodwill and kindness, Eun-chae obediently offered her face. Once she became calm, Woo-seok, seeming embarrassed, took a step back.
“Hey, don’t press your face too much.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“But don’t apologize.”
“…”
Eun-chae was starting to get annoyed. Why are there so many things he tells her not to do? When she made a pouty face, Woo-seok, who had reddened cheeks from crying, spoke.
“Geesh. Relax your expression.”
“……Yeah.”
Due to her crumpled face, her answer was distorted. Fortunately, Woo-seok seemed to understand and released his hand with a satisfied expression.
“Do you have any worries?”
Eun-chae, with eyes full of concerns, remained silent and fiddled with her fingers. As expected, Woo-seok pointed it out directly.
“You really can’t lie, can you?”
Putting his hand in his pocket, he casually asked, “Is it hard to live in the countryside? I also live there, why?”
“No. It’s just that now… I like it. Ordinary. Like this.”
“That doesn’t sound very ordinary.”
He deliberately responded in a stiff manner. It didn’t seem malicious; rather, it felt like he was trying to be amusing.
In the end, Eun-chae smiled softly, and Woo-seok, avoiding eye contact, pulled the hem of her sleeve.
“Go to bed quickly. Our grandmother made bulgogi for tomorrow. Whether you come to eat that or not, is it different from what you ate in Seoul?”
Eun-chae asked while walking forward, worried that her sleeves might stretch.
“How?”
“It’s spicy. She added red pepper paste.”
“Like spicy stir-fried pork?”
“Yeah. Here, they call it bulgogi.”
Eun-chae nodded, understanding, and suddenly asked, “But why did you come out at this hour?”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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