“Come here.”
Seung Joo looked at Eun Seo, who put down her chopsticks and stood up, with eyes that seemed to say, “What are you doing now?”
As she approached, Seung Hyun gently embraced Eun Seo’s shoulders.
“She’s my girlfriend, elder brother.”
At that moment, the mask of ‘Kwon Seung Joo’ shattered.
The cold and arrogant man disappeared in an instant, and the eyes of a wounded boy turned towards Eun Seo.
“El……”
Seung Joo, who almost called her “elder sister,” hurriedly shut his mouth. Seung Hyun, as if he hadn’t noticed anything, continued with a smirk.
“We haven’t been dating long, but I’m serious. That’s why I wanted to introduce her to you first, elder brother.”
Seung Joo couldn’t respond. He just stared at Eun Seo with wide eyes.
“By the way, it looks like you two were in the middle of a conversation. I’ll leave so I don’t interrupt further.”
Seung Hyun lightly kissed Eun Seo’s hair and whispered, loud enough for his frozen elder brother to hear.
“Later this evening, alright?”
The lukewarm breath brushing against her ear made her whole body shiver.
“Well then, continue your conversation.”
Even after Seung Hyun left, Eun Seo stood there as if nailed to the spot. Looking at the man who, like her, remained motionless as if he had turned into a statue, she wondered.
What will Seung Joo say now?
Will he burst out in anger? Will he demand to know what’s going on? Will he reproach her, asking how she could do this?
But Seung Joo’s first words were this:
“Did that person know about my memory loss?”
Eun Seo’s heart sank as he immediately hit the mark.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because elder sister wouldn’t do this unless you were being threatened.”
Seung Joo was already asking with certainty.
“What did that person say to you? Did he say he’d date you, or else he’d tell father the truth and have me kicked out?”
Eun Seo suddenly understood Seung Joo’s words that he had simply lost his memories after eighteen, not that he was actually eighteen. How could he see through everything as if he had witnessed it?
Eun Seo gritted her teeth. Why are you so smart? This makes it even harder for me to lie.
“You don’t have to do this. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself for me.”
Seung Joo approached and tightly held both of Eun Seo’s hands.
“I’m fine without being the successor or anything. I just need you, elder sister.”
“It’s not like that.”
Eun Seo muttered, avoiding his gaze.
“I’m seeing Seung Hyun because I like him.”
“Don’t lie. Why would you……”
“Why do you never consider my position?”
Eun Seo violently shook off Seung Joo’s hands and glared at him.
“Kwon Seung Hyun calls me junior, but he’s three years older than me. He treats me so lovingly and adorably. I want to date an older man who showers me with affection. I’m tired of always being in the position of protecting and providing for someone while being called ‘elder sister’.”
Eun Seo precisely aimed for Seung Joo’s weakest point. She thought herself cowardly, but she had no choice.
As expected, Seung Joo looked hurt.
“I’ll be returning to the company soon. Then I’ll be earning a salary, and I won’t be a burden to you anymore. No, I’ll be able to give you everything you want.”
“Even if you return, how long do you think you can hold out without your memories? You’re already out of favor with the chairman!”
“I can do well. You know I’m smart, elder sister.”
Despite hearing consecutive harsh words bordering on personal attacks, Seung Joo didn’t get angry. He tried to persuade Eun Seo in any way he could. That he would do better, so please don’t abandon him.
“Please wait just a little longer. I can treat you much better than that person.”
“You, who can’t even hold hands or kiss?”
When she spoke mockingly, Seung Joo flinched. That was an issue he couldn’t do anything about unless time passed.
“I’m a woman too. Do you think I don’t want to be held and kissed?”
“……”
“It’s not that I didn’t have feelings for you, but it can’t be you. That person can fill all the voids you can’t. That’s why I chose him.”
“……”
“Feel free to call me materialistic if you want. But this is my decision.”
Without even touching the lunchbox Seung Joo had packed with difficulty, Eun Seo turned and left the office.
Please hate me.
Please endure and endure, even if it’s with the power of hating me.
So that you can safely reach that position you so desperately want.
As she turned away, Eun Seo prayed.
*
The smile never left Seung Hyun’s face.
[She’s my girlfriend, elder brother.]The expression on Kwon Seung Joo’s face at that moment……!
No matter how many times he recalled it, the same thrilling joy spread through his heart. He regretted not having taken a picture. Who would have imagined that such an arrogant and perfect human could make such a devastated expression?
It was undoubtedly the most exhilarating moment of his life. He felt like he wouldn’t even feel hungry if he starved for a week.
The woman who gave him such a sense of victory became even more precious to him. As long as this woman was by his side, Kwon Seung Joo would always have to look at him with the eyes of a loser.
“We should go shopping for clothes. Do you have a favorite brand?”
After work, Seung Hyun got Eun Seo into his car. He asked, ready to willingly raid luxury boutiques, but Eun Seo replied while looking out the window.
“Forget the clothes, let’s go to a hotel.”
“What?”
Even the great Kwon Seung Hyun couldn’t help but step on the brakes in surprise.
“I can’t go back home now that this has happened. How can I live under the same roof with Seung Joo after saying I’m dating you?”
Ah, so that’s what she meant. Seung Hyun was slightly disappointed.
“Seung Joo will return to the company soon. Then he’ll move out of our house too.”
Seung Hyun recalled his elder brother declaring in front of the executives that he would return within the year. As it was already the second week of December, his return wasn’t far off.
“So I want to stay at a hotel until then.”
Eun Seo cut him off.
“And I’m paying for the hotel?”
“Why, don’t you want to?”
“No, of course not. It’s just that I’ve never paid for a hotel room without being able to enter the woman’s room.”
Eun Seo snorted.
“I told you, didn’t I? If you want to sleep with me, make me want to.”
“Yes, yes, princess.”
Seung Hyun nodded obediently and asked.
“Then shall I take you to a luxury hotel? How about the trendy Grand Hotel?”
“Sounds good.”
Yoon Eun Seo can be as expensive as she wants. Because she’s worth it.
Thinking this, Seung Hyun drove towards the hotel.
*
Returning home with the untouched lunchbox, Seung Joo collapsed onto the porch and covered his face with both hands.
[You, who can’t even hold hands or kiss?]No matter how fierce Eun Seo’s expression was or how harsh her words were, Seung Joo could see through it all. That not a single word was sincere.
[It’s not that I didn’t have feelings for you, but it can’t be you.]While her mouth spoke coldly, her eyes were saying something else.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Seung Joo.’
Sun Ah had said something like that before.
[The problem is that flies are swarming now that Eun Seo has become pretty.] [What do you mean?] [Your younger brother is pestering Eun Seo! Didn’t you know?]Sun Ah openly called Kwon Seung Hyun a fly, and even though Eun Seo verbally told her not to say such things, she couldn’t hide her disgust.
How could she genuinely like and date such a man?
The reason was obvious. As he had guessed, she must have been threatened by Kwon Seung Hyun.
In the end, it was he who failed to protect Eun Seo.
The problem was that even though he knew, there was nothing he could do right now. Even if he told her that he knew everything and that she didn’t have to do this, Eun Seo would still stubbornly insist.
Seung Joo hated himself for being so powerless. Why did that kind-hearted Eun Seo have to because of him…
If there was anything sincere in what Eun Seo said earlier, it was probably this part.
[I want to date an older man who showers me with affection too.]If only I were my original self. Then I could really shower her with love and affection to the point where she’d be sick of it. I could do anything she wanted. All the love she didn’t receive from her parents when she was young, I could pour it all out for her…
Clutching his head as if to mess up his hair, Seung Joo prayed with all his heart.
Please, please let my memories return.
Before it’s too late.
*
The suite room of the luxury hotel, which she was staying in for the first time in her life, was truly another world. She indulged in room service lavishly, from last night’s dinner to this morning’s breakfast. Her intention was to spend Kwon Seung Hyun’s money without any regret.
After spending a night at the hotel and arriving at work, Sun Ah rushed over like a house on fire, grabbed Eun Seo’s wrist, and led her to an empty conference room.
“Did you see the announcement? The CEO is ending his sick leave and returning today!”
“I saw.”
Eun Seo replied briefly. She had seen it on her phone in the taxi this morning.
“Shouldn’t he come back after thoroughly familiarizing himself with as much material as possible? I thought he’d come at the end of the month, why is he back at work already?”
Sun Ah still didn’t know about what had happened between Seung Joo and Eun Seo. Of course, she also didn’t know that Eun Seo was seeing his younger brother.
Eun Seo was surprised too. Returning after just one day. She thought it might be because of what happened yesterday, making him anxious.
Of course, Eun Seo had no intention of going back to Seung Joo even if he returned to work. If she did, Kwon Seung Hyun would immediately tell his father about Seung Joo’s memory loss.
In the end, to escape from Kwon Seung Hyun, there were only two options. Either Seung Joo’s memory truly returns, or he establishes himself so firmly that no one can shake him. Eun Seo saw that point as after the success of ‘First One’, the premium brand that Kwon Seung Joo was ambitiously planning.
Either way, it wasn’t now. All Eun Seo could do now was to buy as much time as possible.
Pressing the vending machine button, Eun Seo said,
“You know Seung Joo. He wouldn’t have returned if he wasn’t confident. He’ll do well.”
Sun Ah looked at her with suspicious eyes.
“But why are you talking like it’s about someone else? Did something happen between you and Seung Joo?”
Just as Eun Seo flinched at the sharp observation, a tall man appeared at the end of the corridor, accompanied by secretaries. It was Seung Joo.
Eun Seo and Sun Ah quickly stepped aside and bowed their heads.
“Good morning, sir.”
Seung Joo passed by the two without even a glance, let alone a response, creating a gust of wind as he went.
__________
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Synopsis:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
He even had his eyes on another woman.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
Su Mu expressed her disdain.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
She also wanted to embrace Xie Yi, who had silently stayed by her side in her previous life and committed suicide by taking poison after her death.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
—–
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.