“Alright, you two, take your time and have a slow chat.”
Caught in the act, Yeo Jin, who had just given them an accusing look, disappeared in a hurry.
‘Yeo Jin, seriously? You’re leaving like this? Come with me!’
“T, Team Leader, I’ll just…”
As Jae In hastily got up from her seat, attempting to rush out of the lounge, Do Hyuk swiftly blocked the lounge entrance with one arm.
Then, he looked at her with narrow eyes and spoke calmly, “Seo Jae In?”
Jae In, whose spine had grown cold, hastily stepped back.
With a sly smile, Do Hyuk spoke, “Don’t we have something to discuss?”
Jae In, worried about who might be coming, whispered as if grumbling, “Team leader, why are you doing this?”
“Team leader, why are you doing this? This is the company, you know!”
Do Hyuk didn’t pay attention and approached Jae In with a slow smile.
Thud.
Jae In, stumbling backward, hit the wall with her back.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
Jae In didn’t know what to do and lowered her head deeply.
She could feel Do Hyuk’s intense gaze on her head.
With one hand against the wall, Do Hyuk remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, “How are you going to take responsibility?”
“Well, what do you mean?”
Jae In’s voice, pretending not to understand, trembled.
Do Hyuk lowered his head and stared intently into her eyes.
“Do I have to say it for you to understand? Fine.”
“Yes?”
“If you hadn’t covered my lips yesterday…”
“Team leader!”
Jae In protested, using both hands to block Do Hyuk’s mouth.
“What are you talking about right now?”
“Mmm! Mmm!”
Do Hyuk mumbled as if he was trying to say something he hadn’t finished.
Hoo. Hoo.
After catching her breath, Jae In began to recite the prepared model answer.
“Team leader, about what happened yesterday, it was just an accident. It was like stumbling over a stone on the road.”
Do Hyuk, whose mouth was blocked by Jae In, raised an eyebrow in a crooked manner.
“Regardless of what happened, I made a mistake, so I apologize. I’m sorry. So please forget about it, Team leader.”
“That’s a bit difficult.”
Do Hyuk lightly removed Jae In’s hand that was covering his mouth.
“I need to repay what I received several times to satisfy my anger.”
“How many times?”
What is he planning to do?
Is it an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?
With a vivid imagination, Jae In’s face reddened as if it were on fire.
At that moment, Do Hyuk smoothly added fuel to the fire.
“I will definitely hold Seo Jae In responsible for this in the future. For a lifetime.”
“Don’t joke around! What are you going to do with that…?”
Jae In, who was furious, looked at Do Hyuk and was taken aback.
Because in Do Hyuk’s eyes, it was written, ‘100 percent sincere.’
Oh my goodness.
The person she was dealing with is Cha Do Hyuk.
Jae In said with a resigned feeling.
“Team leader, let’s not do this at the company for now. Let’s talk later. I’m too nervous that someone might see us.”
“Why? Are you afraid of getting caught by Team Leader Na Min Woo?”
“No, it’s just that Team Leader Na is just a close senior, that’s all.”
“Just a close senior calling in the middle of the night?”
“Well…”
“Judging by your inability to answer, it seems like you’re quite bothered.”
“Bothered by who!”
Ugh, frustrating!
She couldn’t talk about Min Woo and Seo Yeon’s personal lives.
Jae In was about to explode.
“Really? Let’s talk about it again at home during dinner.”
Do Hyuk’s declaration reminded Jae In of her dinner appointment with Seo Yeon.
“Team leader, I suddenly have an urgent appointment in the evening.”
“Who are you meeting? Am I your team leader?”
“Why would my team leader be there again?”
Now, even Jae In was confused about whether Do Hyuk was genuinely suspecting Min Woo or simply acting out of jealousy.
“No.”
“She’s just a senior colleague.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
With a penetrating gaze, Do Hyuk looked at Jae In for a moment and then disappeared, leaving behind a parting word.
“Let’s trust what Seo Jae In said.”
Jae In found Do Hyuk’s open display of emotions unfamiliar.
‘Team Leader, today you seem more confident and charismatic than usual.’
She couldn’t take her eyes off Do Hyuk’s back, which seemed to be getting farther away.
Seo Yeon’s company was not far from Jae In’s workplace.
Jae In entered the cafe near Seo Yeon’s company, the designated meeting place.
“Jae In, over here!”
Seo Yeon greeted Jae In with a somewhat troubled expression on her face.
With her unbalanced cut hairstyle and an elegant demeanor, Seo Yeon appeared to be a beautiful woman who exuded an enigmatic charm.
“Unni, are you feeling better now?”
“No. The more I think about it, the more I resent Min Woo for not being able to find his balance.”
“Senior Min Woo says he can’t live without Unni. Please try to persuade him.”
“Tsk. It’s too late now.”
She said that, but Seo Yeon’s gaze wavered.
“Tell me in detail what happened.”
Jae In smiled and held Seo Yeon’s hand.
After a brief pause, Seo Yeon calmly began to speak.
“You know, all this time, I’ve been living a lie.”
“Why?”
“I went to Minwoo’s house yesterday evening to discuss wedding preparations. But you won’t believe what I found out. Their family is really wealthy.”
Minwoo, my senior colleague?
I had no idea since he never flaunted it.
“What happened?”
“Well, my mom wasn’t sure all this time if I’d become part of their family, so she kept quiet. But now she said it’s time to speak up and handed me the wedding list. She even wrote down the brands and price ranges.”
“Oh, that must have been surprising.”
“Yeah, and she openly said that I should take care of the household chores and asked if I’d keep working at the company. She said I’d probably quit once I have a child.”
“I see…”
Seoyeon, a jewelry designer, loved her work.
But being disregarded like that was frustrating.
Jaeyin understood Seoyeon’s feelings.
“What does Minwoo senior say?”
“Just ignore the company talk and coordinate the wedding with the money he’s saved. It’s not about the money now, but the problem is that the plans we’ve been preparing step by step with Minwoo are falling apart, right? It’s obvious that even after marriage, he’ll continue to dominate, and Minwoo’s attitude that everything good is good infuriates me, so I said let’s just quit.”
Seoyeon finished speaking, wiping away the tears that had gathered in her eyes with a tissue.
“But still, Unni, there’s no one like Minwoo senior. Take some time to think it over.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he hid things from me that I can’t trust him anymore, and the more I think about it, the more irritated I become.”
“It probably won’t be like that. You know what kind of person Minwoo senior is.”
In this way, Jaeyin comforted Seoyeon, who had been tearful for over an hour, soothing her troubled heart.
Seoyeon, who had poured out all her pent-up emotions, offered one last piece of advice to Jaeyin.
“To live in peace, it’s better to meet people from similar backgrounds. It can be troublesome when there are too many differences. Jaeyin, you should consider it too.”
When it comes to differences, Mr. Cha Do Hyuk is the best choice.
Suddenly, Cha Do Hyuk’s face popped into Jaeyin’s mind, leaving her puzzled.
“Why is Team Leader appearing again?”
The thoughts about him that she had momentarily forgotten while listening to Seoyeon’s story relentlessly resurfaced and tangled up in her mind.
“Jaeyin, are you okay?”
At that moment, when Seoyeon, with a worried expression, looked at Jaeyin, whose complexion had darkened, the café’s door opened, and a man walked towards them.
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
