Ho Jeong asked Yoon, who was returning to her seat after the class, having read an article about Kang Hyun.
“Yes, I watched it.”
“Isn’t Kang Hyun so cool? His acting has improved so much this time. How can someone be so handsome and act so well?”
“Yes. Indeed.”
Nodding to Ho Jeong’s words, even to Yoon, Kang Hyun’s performance in this drama seemed impeccable. He was the very embodiment of the ‘Brutal Killer’.
“But there was a woman in episode 4, right? The one taken hostage with Shin Young Joo, wearing a red checked dress. I thought it was you, Miss Seo. She looked so much like you. Even my husband, who’s usually not observant, thought it was you.”
“Really?”
Hearing that even Ho Jeong’s husband, who had rushed over the other day when she mentioned she would help with the paperwork, had recognized her, Yoon was so surprised that she accidentally dropped the pouch she was holding.
“Why are you so surprised? As if it was really you.”
Ho Jeong joked with a laugh.
“Uh…”
Due to Ho Jeong and her husband recognizing her so easily, Yoon was so flustered that she couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Don’t you want to become an actress now? It’s such a waste to let such a face go unnoticed.”
Just then, they heard a commotion from Shin Joo’s seat. Yoon and Ho Jeong turned their heads to see. Shin Joo was talking with two teachers she was close to, and they all had serious expressions.
“What happened today? They’re usually so cheerful, but why are they so serious today?”
Ho Jeong tilted her head, noticing the unusual atmosphere.
“Is it gangsters?”
Teacher Lee Joo Na asked in surprise, “Gangsters?”
“……Yes. I saw them when I went to the restroom during our last dinner outing. Their demeanor was really… They threatened the surrounding men without reason. Everyone was so startled that they ran away.”
Shin Joo spoke in a dispirited tone.
“Really? Gangsters in this day and age… How can anyone date such a man? No matter how much money he has. So, he’s dating another teacher while still having a girlfriend?”
“……It seems so.”
Shin Joo’s eyes became teary.
“I never thought of Teacher Seo like that. Anyway, I really dislike people who snatch away others. But are you sure about Teacher Hong and Teacher Seo?”
Teacher Lee Joo Na sternly looked at Yoon as she asked Shin Joo.
“……It seems that way. Otherwise, Teacher Hong wouldn’t have… suggested they break up.”
Shin Joo murmured weakly. She felt like she would feel better if she put all the blame on Oh Yeong Hoon and Yoon.
‘They’ll probably meet again. Come to think of it, they do make a good pair. All lovey-dovey. I’m the victim, so I might as well enjoy some popcorn and watch them get criticized. Let’s see how well they do.’
Shin Joo smirked.
“Ha! She looks so innocent, but you never know just by looking.”
Joo Na scoffed while glaring at Yoon. Yoon, confused, looked back at them.
Ding!
Yoon was interrupted by a message and took her phone.
It was a message related to Kang Hyun and Jeong Ha Na that she hadn’t received in days. Initially, she didn’t think much of it, but continuous messages and pictures from different numbers had started to make her uneasy.
She had thought that these were the acts of an uninformed stalker. However, considering the number of different numbers used, she planned to consult with Kang Hyun and report to the police once his schedule settled down.
‘Huh?’
Yoon accidentally clicked on a photo that was sent. Unlike the usual old news photos, this time it was a picture of Kang Hyun and Jeong Ha Na standing side by side.
The two were facing each other in front of an elevator.
Ding!
Another message promptly arrived.
‘Hotel?’
It seemed they were at a hotel.
‘The 13th is…’
The day he had a meeting with the officials of TOC Entertainment, which he had taken over. That day, he returned home well past midnight.
‘Why at a hotel? Well, they must have met for work.’
Yoon shook off thoughts of the two of them, but three people, including Shin Joo, were still glaring at her.
“Keep sending.”
After ending a call with someone, Min Sook pushed her cold tea cup aside and gestured for an employee to bring more tea.
‘They looked quite close.’
Hyun Seung had mentioned that he coincidentally saw Kang Hyun and Yoon together. He said they looked so affectionate that he thought she was Kang Hyun’s new girlfriend.
‘She looked pretty but seemed naive. I wonder how she managed to charm Kang Hyun.’
Kang Hyun wasn’t very interested in women. She had tried to push some beauty pageant winners onto him, but he never showed any interest.
In the process, her manipulations were discovered, causing a backlash.
Kang Hyun snatched the woman’s phone and sent a message directly. For some reason, his cold voice seemed to echo in the text, sending chills down one’s spine.
‘Looks like he didn’t inherit the trait of revealing his women from my father.’
So, she considered other approaches. Given his foul temperament, she wondered if digging into his darker side would reveal something.
Thus, she gathered rumors about his unbecoming behaviors and spread them.
However, because there were already rumors of his quirky personality, the public’s reaction was surprisingly lukewarm.
‘Unlucky bastard!’
While most have some dirt that can be dug up, Kang Hyun surprisingly didn’t have any major scandal. Not even the typical celebrity arrogance.
‘Seo Yoon…’
Her innocent face somehow reminded her of Kang Hyun’s biological mother, Song Ki Sun.
‘She would be his biggest weakness.’
Considering that Kang Hyun, who showed no interest in women, was now smitten by her, shaking her up a bit might indeed hurt him this time.
She needed Kang Hyun’s attention on Seo Yoon so she could deal with Yu Hyun.
‘This marriage turned out to be an opportunity for me.’
While touching up her makeup, Min Sook glanced at her reflection in the mirror, a cold smile gracing her lips.
While sending pictures to Yoon previously had not elicited any significant response, she felt that the picture sent today would be different, something she couldn’t just ignore. The corners of Min Sook’s lips curled up even more in satisfaction.
Min Sook despised Kang Hyun.
‘My mother hated Kang Hyun so much, yet he was the perfect dutiful son.’
At some point, when Kang Hyun was in middle school, he had stormed into her shop and caused a ruckus. After that incident, she had stopped sending pictures to Song Ki Sun. Yet, as if she had played a part in Ki Sun’s death, he had tormented her.
‘What did I do so wrong? Blame your weak-hearted mother.’
Memories of the humiliations she had endured at the hands of Kang Hyun resurfaced, contorting Min Sook’s face in anger.
At that moment, an employee, trying to be cautious and attentive to her mood, gently placed down a fresh cup of tea. Seeing Min Sook’s twisted expression, the employee was startled, took a step back, and quickly disappeared.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
