She couldn’t erase Chadoha’s face from her mind after uttering those words.
The gap between scorching heat and icy coldness was almost terrifying.
Yet, part of her felt a strange excitement.
Just as she was about to step into the villa complex.
“Hey, Seoyeon.”
A lazy voice ominously echoed in the parking lot of the villa at night.
Brought back to reality, Seoyeon turned to look.
From deep within the villa parking lot, men in shabby suits approached slowly.
Her jaw clenched tightly.
She knew them all. They were the creditors of her brother, Intae. More precisely, employees of Sanwoo Capital, or illegal loan sharks.
“Late night, huh?”
The man who seemed to be the leader, with a long scar on his left cheek, approached menacingly.
“Still no contact with your brother? He’s been ignoring our calls.”
Seoyeon stepped back and shook her head.
“He’s not answering my calls either.”
A sly smile spread across the man’s face.
“If it’s hard to contact Seoyeon, it must be a hassle for you too, right? If your brother ran away with the money, it’s only fair you pay it back. You’re his sister.”
Right?
The man looked for agreement from his colleagues, who chuckled and nodded with noisy comments.
“See? That’s what I’m saying. In the great Republic of Korea, a sister should rightly pay her brother’s debts.”
The man tauntingly grabbed Seoyeon’s handbag.
“Why are you doing this?”
Startled, Seoyeon yelled, and the man put his finger to his lips.
“Keep it down. You’ll wake up the whole neighborhood in this cheaply built villa with poor soundproofing.”
“Give it back.”
She reached out to get her bag back, but it was futile. Another man had grabbed her arm, and yet another covered her lips to prevent her from screaming.
His dirty palm smelled of filth.
“Our pretty Seoyeon usually carries cash around, right?”
The man sneered as he opened her handbag.
He then pulled out her wallet and started taking out the cash inside.
“Eh, only sixty thousand won? What kind of a capable manager is this?”
It was clearly illegal.
But she knew all too well there were worlds where the law didn’t apply.
That’s why she didn’t resist any further.
She just watched helplessly as the man crumpled the cash and stuffed it into his pocket.
Just sixty thousand won. She realized this was her reality, unable to even protect that small amount of money.
The excitement from her encounter with Chadoha instantly faded.
“Don’t make that face. I’ll deduct it from your brother’s interest. Don’t ruin your pretty face with wrinkles.”
The dirty hand flicked her chin.
“Next time, carry more cash. Or if you don’t have money, figure something else out. I’ll value it highly.”
The man leered at her body before gesturing to his colleagues.
Just like their arrival, the men left noisily from the villa complex.
Watching them walk away, Seoyeon muttered weakly.
“This is reality.”
A reality as grimy as a sewer.
It felt as if the stench of the sewer was emanating from her body.
Entering her house, she limped to the bathroom.
Even though it was only September, a bone-chilling cold seeped into her.
Filling the bathtub with hot water, Seoyeon submerged herself in the tub, surrounded by rising steam.
Only after soaking for a long time could she finally fall asleep.
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
