As soon as I opened the door, I grabbed the air conditioner remote control and pressed the button as if I were fishing for it. The cold wind, which had just begun to form, started pushing the hot air out of the house. Still, the house remained uncomfortably warm in the midsummer. Wanting to cool down quickly, I stood in front of the place where the air conditioner wind was coming out.
“Ah, it’s refreshing… Now I can live.”
“For today, if you suddenly stand there and breathe in such cold air, you might catch a cold. Come over here.”
Instead of going to the sofa, Jun grabbed my wrist and pulled me. Even though I thought I might dislike it, he didn’t exert much force, probably realizing that I wouldn’t like it. Due to that, I twisted my hand while expressing my displeasure, and when I did, the wrist that was quickly caught was released.
“Kim Jun, don’t. It was really hot today, too much…”
I closed my eyes, making a crying sound, and felt the air conditioning breeze. I sensed the warmth-filled skin gradually finding my temperature from the outside.
“Haru, if you stay so close to the air conditioner, you might catch a cold.”
“I won’t. How can I catch a cold in this heat?”
“Just now, you said it’s hot because you went out and came back… Ah, really, isn’t it coming?”
“No. Really not going.”
“Well, then, nothing we can do.”
That’s when it happened. Suddenly, I felt Jun’s body against my back, which was standing in front of the air conditioner. Jun tightly embraced my shoulders and collarbone with his arms. It seemed like he was trying to block the cold air from directly touching my body. Even though I knew he was doing it out of concern, it didn’t feel sweet.
“Ah, stop it. It’s hot.”
“No. It’s not good to expose yourself to such cold wind directly.”
“No. I need to feel the breeze now. It’s too hot.”
I pulled Jun’s arms away as if throwing them off. Since Jun didn’t exert much force when he raised his arms forcibly because of me, they were surprisingly easy to remove. I found it strange, but there was no reason to complain. As if I were a recovering seaweed, I stuck to the air conditioner.
But then.
“Huh? Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Me? Just worried about you.”
Jun supported my waist and legs and lifted me from below. In that moment, Jun, who appeared in my upward gaze, had a thick expression that seemed to ask why I was doing this right now.
Jun pushed up the corner of his lips boldly and walked toward the sofa. The air conditioner gradually moved away from my sight.
“Ha, Kim Jun, do whatever you want.”
“When have I ever done everything my way? I only did it once just now.”
His footsteps, which continued without caring about my words, were leisurely. After Jun put me on the sofa, he took a seat right next to me and looked at me with a dissatisfied expression.
“Can’t even let the wind blow as you want.”
“I didn’t say not to blow. Hey, look, it’s quite cool here already.”
I slightly lifted my head to gauge the temperature of the air with my skin. I felt cool air touching my skin. Unbeknownst to me, the hot air had all hidden somewhere between the window gaps or in the plant pots. My temper had quickly faded.
“Why are you silent? Isn’t it cool?”
“…Yeah.”
As Jun’s laughter faintly seeped into my ears when the previous grumbling started to sit quietly, my eyes closed at the gentle touch that softly swept my sideburns behind my ears.
“Haru.”
“Yeah.”
“You respond well?”
“I’ve always responded well. You were just annoying earlier.”
“If you find this annoying, what will you do if I stick to you as much as I like when I decide to do so?”
My eyes, questioning whether he was still doing that enough, subtly shook.
“Moreover, we’re the only two in the house.”
Jun, who had been looking at my lips that had opened wide, laughed lightly.
“You didn’t even say anything, and you’re already so tense?”
“I’m not tense at all.”
“…Really.”
“…Yeah.”
“Then. What if I do what I want to do right now?”
As Jun, who was gradually lowering his head, approached, my chest, unaccustomed to it, began to beat as if it were about to pop out.
Having claimed not to be nervous and then completely revealing that it was a lie, I felt it when Jun’s straight nose started to press against my skin.
“Pfft, Haru. You’re really something.”
“…Huh?”
Jun lifted his head momentarily. With a smile, he lightly kissed my lips, making a sound, and then withdrew his head.
“Now, just by looking at your eyes, I know what you’re going to say.”
“…”
“If you’re trembling like this with just this, is it really okay for you to be with me?”
“…You suddenly approached, so.”
“Is that so? Then from now on, should we report like this, ‘I will now kiss you’, ‘Oh, I won’t do it first’?”
“…I’m really starting to hate you.”
Intentionally, I sat a distance away on the sofa, appearing nervous. Jun, with a face that still hadn’t erased his mischievous smile, sat down closely, following me.
“No. It’s a joke. I only said it like that.”
“If it’s a joke, does what I said just now become nonexistent?”
“Then I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then…”
“Let’s hug.”
Now, Jun’s body overlapped mine, which had regained its temperature as the heat dissipated.
Due to my earlier complaint about the heat, I let Jun do as he pleased. It was a feeling that his solid yet warm embrace calmed the momentarily sharp emotions.
As I nestled comfortably, Jun spoke as if relieved.
“I have something to say.”
“Something to say?”
“No, a request.”
“A request?”
“No, a wish.”
Something to say, a request, a wish. I didn’t know well, but I wondered if Jun had something he urgently wanted from me. Moreover, it seemed like Jun was considering that I might not readily agree to that something. I wanted to know what it was. And if I could, I wanted to fulfill it.
To that affectionate gaze, my feelings naturally responded.
“Should I say it?”
“Yeah.”
Wait a moment. Jun, seeming disappointed, separated our connected bodies and headed somewhere. I glimpsed him carrying a shopping bag that he had brought with him after finishing the shoot.
There was a faint blush on his smiling face. Curiosity surged for what was still hidden inside the unopened shopping bag.
“What do you think this is?”
“Obviously… Your wish.”
“Haha, you know it well.”
Jun opened the shopping bag. I wonder…
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
