After closing the door, Ki Joo walked around to the driver’s side. Eun Chae pretended to look out the window, but she stole glances at him as he got into the driver’s seat.
Instead of starting the car immediately, Ki Joo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Eun Chae. Although she was already dry, she accepted it obediently and pressed it against her cold cheeks. It was imbued with Ki Joo’s distinct scent.
She suddenly felt a knot in her stomach for reasons unknown.
Meanwhile, Ki Joo kept his gaze fixed straight ahead. Eun Chae felt an odd tension, making her thighs tense up.
“…Just be worth it.”
Hearing his murmur, Eun Chae turned to look at him.
“So you believe me. That I want Song Eun Chae like a dog.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he started the car. One hand wrapped around the steering wheel, he looked at her sideways.
“And that I won’t leave you alone again.”
Eun Chae clutched the handkerchief tightly.
Maybe she already believed it.
Perhaps that was the reason for her unease.
Eun Chae maintained a proper distance from Han Seong Yoon as they walked along the path. She expected him to contact her again, as he clearly had no intention of calling off the engagement and was trying to mend their relationship.
“What’s the use now that everything’s already fallen apart?” she thought. Surprisingly, Seong Yoon was doing his best.
“Stop making me look ridiculous and wear the ring,” Seong Yoon said, holding out a new ring box. The design was much simpler, seemingly influenced by the ring Ki Joo gave her.
Eun Chae just looked at it without accepting.
“Put two if you got two.”
His words implied she should remove Ki Joo’s ring. Eun Chae straightened her neck and looked up at him. Seong Yoon, feeling awkward, avoided her gaze.
“I’m sorting out my relationships. So Hee too… I’ll settle things.”
“So what?”
“Why are you so confident? I can’t do that.”
Seong Yoon seemed to be backing down, fearing the consequences of their relationship becoming public. “You think you have the upper hand because you did some background check on me?”
Seong Yoon’s grip on her shoulder tightened, forcing Eun Chae to grimace. Her gaze shifted towards Ki Joo, who was watching from a distance. He started walking towards them.
She tried to signal him to stop, but to no avail. Eun Chae struggled to free herself from Seong Yoon’s grasp.
“Enough already. Do you want us all to be ruined? Huh?”
Seong Yoon’s voice rose in anger. Ki Joo, now close, reached out his arm.
Eun Chae finally broke free from the grip. Ki Joo halted, his expression unreadable, deep as an abyss.
“This afternoon, I have a visit scheduled with Assemblyman Han. Seems like I’ll be late. Better go early.”
Ki Joo’s thoughts were inscrutable.
“If we get married, you’ll have to see this every day. Since you’ll be hanging around with a bodyguard every day.”
Ki Joo stood still, his gaze like a sunken abyss.
“Better head off early for Assemblyman Han’s visit this afternoon.”
Eun Chae found herself oddly reassured by Ki Joo’s calm voice, while Han Seong Yoon seemed to be getting increasingly heated.
“How do you know my schedule?”
“Isn’t knowing it the important part?”
Seong Yoon couldn’t believe the brevity of the response and let out a sarcastic laugh. As always, he lacked the nerve to confront the oppressive atmosphere. Instead, he turned his warning gaze back to Eun Chae.
“As I said, I’ve sorted everything out, so you sort out this guy too. Cleanly.”
After barely managing to say that, Seong Yoon left the scene irritably. Ki Joo watched him until he was out of sight, then lowered his eyes.
“How long should I keep watching?”
He casually brushed his hair back.
“Aren’t you depressed, with your future husband being like that?”
Eun Chae inadvertently swallowed hard, seeing the dangerous curl of his lips. Was it an illusion?
She knew she couldn’t promise anything.
What promises could she make when she couldn’t even keep them?
That was known from the start.
With her emotions set aside, Eun Chae spoke.
“He’s right in a way. It’s something I have to do eventually.”
Ki Joo’s brows furrowed deeply, an unusual display of frustration.
“Whose decision is that?”
“…”
“I haven’t sorted it out yet.”
Normally, this would be termed as clinging, but Ki Joo didn’t seem to be pleading.
As Eun Chae looked up at him, he met her gaze.
“Don’t leave me.”
His expression was ambiguous, more commanding than pleading.
“I’m more pitiful than I seem.”
He deliberately put on a pitiful face. Did he know how transparent it looked?
Eun Chae was speechless at his blatant play for sympathy.
Was this cunning? Too transparent to be so, it was ridiculous.
She couldn’t help but laugh.
Eun Chae turned her head to avoid looking at him and casually tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Shall we stop by home before heading to school?”
Upon her words, Ki Joo reached out his hand. Eun Chae willingly placed hers in his. Soon, her hand was captured in his grasp.
The two walked hand in hand along the quiet path, the chilly weather adding to the solitude of their stroll.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
