In the silent playground, the sound of grains of sand rubbing together could be heard.
Isu momentarily turned his head, squinted at the car headlights, then turned his back again.
After a while, the noise stopped, and the light that brightly illuminated the darkness went out.
“Now, your words… Does that mean you have a boyfriend?”
Minjae asked Isu with a puzzled expression.
‘Isu’s younger sibling clearly said he doesn’t have a boyfriend. Can he not know even though he’s his sibling?’
“Yeah.”
Isu spread his hand wide to make the ring clearly visible, raising it to the side of his face.
The ring on his fourth finger sparkled in the lamppost light.
“As soon as I came, I kept peeling onions and trimming green onions, forgetting to mention it.”
He couldn’t perform rough kitchen work while wearing an expensive ring received not long ago.
If he had kept wearing it, perhaps he wouldn’t have to hear such uncomfortable stories.
“Sigh…”
Minjae, looking at the ring, opened his mouth with a sigh that seemed like a sigh.
The regret remained, but that didn’t mean he had any intention of trying something with Isu again.
Isu remained too indifferent until the end, showing no room for ambiguity. Therefore, Minjae thought he had to fold it alone.
Wandering in front of the house and then turning back was all Minjae could do.
However, after receiving Yumi’s call, perhaps it wasn’t just his own lingering feelings.
With a few words of encouragement from Yumi, new expectations arose, and seeing Isu, who didn’t make a move on him even now, gave him courage.
Minjae, touching his back with large hands, opened his mouth.
“I didn’t know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought it up…”
A long time ago, Isu didn’t seem to have changed at all, as Minjae had thought.
The atmosphere between the two who had been comfortable for a few days suddenly became awkward.
It might have been better to stay quiet and pass the time as if nothing had happened; instead, he ended up in this pitiful situation.
Unable to retrieve the words he had already spoken, Minjae bit down on his lower lip in regret.
“Whose ridiculous story did you hear?”
Isu asked with a bewildered expression.
He was curious even when Minjae called with the changed number.
No matter how much he thought about it, no one came to mind who would reveal the number.
Minjae was a friend who could contact Isu besides Dongwoo, but Dongwoo wouldn’t have disclosed it.
“Well…”
Because of Yumi’s request not to tell Isu under any circumstances, Minjae hesitated a bit.
But if it weren’t for Yumi, this awkward situation wouldn’t have occurred, making him resentful.
The reason Minjae believed without suspicion was that it was what Isu’s younger sibling said.
She had expressed her hope that they would get along well, and it was hard to think it was a lie.
“I thought maybe it was because my sister doesn’t date due to you, Oppa. I just contacted you because it’s pitiful to watch from the side.”
“I hope you seize this opportunity to reconcile with your sister and have a good relationship.”
After a moment of hesitation, Minjae spoke.
“A while ago, I happened to visit your house and coincidentally met your sibling. On that day, your sibling gave me their contact information first.”
“What?”
Isu’s face contorted in disbelief.
“Recently, you called me from your phone, saying you found my number. You even mentioned back then that you didn’t have a boyfriend. I genuinely believed that was the case.”
The more he listened, the more absurd it became.
“Ha!”
Isu was so astonished that he couldn’t easily continue speaking.
Was all of this orchestrated because of Jiho?
Is he still unable to give up on Jiho, and is that why he still harbors lingering feelings?
But how did Minjae find out Isu’s number?
‘Jung Yumi, she’s really doing anything!’
Isu was filled with anger at Yumi’s actions beyond imagination.
“It may be hard to believe, but it’s the truth. I also don’t understand why your sibling went so far as to lie.”
Minjae spoke, seeming to feel unjust, while observing Isu’s expression.
“I also don’t know why they did that.”
Isu slowly nodded, lifting his head.
Yumi’s unreasonable and foolish lingering attachment and belief that something would change with this action were just astounding.
“She told me not to tell you under any circumstances. Now that I think about it, it’s all because it was a lie.”
“Sigh… It’s a bit complicated to explain the reason, but from now on, don’t contact them. Forget everything you heard from them.”
“Sure. I’ve just made a fool of myself for no reason.”
Minjae awkwardly laughed.
As Isu understood why Minjae’s expression was so embarrassed just now, he burst into a surprised laugh.
“Isu, what I said today…”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. I’ve already forgotten everything from the past, so you should too.”
Minjae, glancing at Isu’s ring, slowly nodded.
Although there was regret for the unexpected outcome, it felt relieving to know for sure at this moment.
There was no room for lingering feelings.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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