Taking a quick peek inside, Si Hyun saw Tae Ha, who was seated neatly at the dining table he used as a desk, studying. He looked pleased to see Si Hyun.
“Big sister.”
She wasn’t sure if she heard him or not. The child, who was not very talkative, didn’t usually express his emotions.
The only time Tae Ha expressed emotion was about Si Hyun. Even though he was left alone for days without food, he never complained, but he welled up for the first time when he saw Si Hyun’s wornout hands.
Si Hyun brought out a Castella cake from the room, put it on a plate, stuck colorful candles in it, and lit them.
“Happy birthday, Tae Ha.”
Tae Ha’s eyes widened slightly. It seemed he had not expected to receive a birthday celebration.
Other children would have meals out with their parents on their birthdays and receive toys as gifts.
Looking at the child, whose face was astonished at the sight of candles stuck in a Castella cake rather than a proper cake, Si Hyun felt her heartache again. If only she had enough money to buy a cake.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Tae Ha, happy birthday to you.”
After singing the birthday song, Si Hyun urged Tae Ha.
“Quickly blow out the candle. Make a wish too.”
“If I make a wish, will it come true?”
She wanted to tell him yes, for his innocence, but if he made a wish like wanting to meet his parents, it would be a big problem.
After a moment’s hesitation, Si Hyun spoke honestly.
“Well, I haven’t had a wish come true yet, but you never know.”
“Then I won’t make a wish.”
As she was wondering if she had said something wrong, Tae Ha blew out the candle.
“……I will grow up to be a great adult.”
In the darkened room, a voice, which was hard to believe belonged to a child because of its seriousness, resonated.
“If you make a wish on your birthday, big sister, I will make sure to fulfill it when I grow up.”
((()))
“Tell me, who was crying.”
Her tears retreated instantly. Si Hyun asked urgently.
“Do you remember now? Can you recognize me now, huh?”
But Tae Ha continued to interrogate insistently.
“Answer the question first. Who was crying?”
Feeling ashamed of being caught crying so foolishly, Si Hyun quickly wiped her tears with her clothes.
“Who said I was crying?”
As she mumbled and turned around, Tae Ha grabbed her hand.
“Answer me!”
At that moment, she felt a sharp pain, and Si Hyun screamed out unknowingly.
“Ah!”
When he was taken aback, Tae Ha released Si Hyun’s hand. Then, he carefully held her arm again, examining her hand up close.
Seeing Si Hyun’s hand swelling red, a shock passed over Tae Ha’s eyes.
“Why is your hand like this?”
She tried somehow to pull her hand away, but Tae Ha didn’t let go. With no choice, Si Hyun muttered, turning her gaze away.
“I just touched some chili powder. It’s nothing serious.”
“Your hand is in this state and you say it’s not serious?”
Even though he rebuked her harshly, his concern was the first to show. Tae Ha exhaled a long sigh to calm himself down and then his voice softened a little.
“Do you have something like ointment?”
“In here…..”
As she pointed towards the desk drawer, Tae Ha opened it himself and took out the ointment.
“Give me your hand.”
Tae Ha kneeled on one knee in front of Si Hyun, who was sitting in the chair. He gently spread the ointment on Si Hyun’s hand and spoke.
“You used to touch a lot of water, so your hands always had cracks and dermatitis.”
That’s right. Because her stepmother constantly sent her to the kitchen under the excuse of learning household chores, Si Hyun had always lived with housewife dermatitis on her hands, unlike other high school students.
She remembered young Tae Ha, who had insisted he would do the dishwashing even if it killed him.
‘The memory really has returned.’
No matter how carefully she cared for her rough hands, they never improved and remained the same till now.
In the winter, if she forgot to apply hand cream for just one or two days, the skin on the back of her hand would immediately become rough and harden.
Even Woo Jin, when he saw Si Hyun’s hand, would silently furrow his brows.
That’s why Si Hyun did not like to show her hands to others. She was so afraid that her hands would be noticeable, she didn’t even wear a ring, let alone nail art.
Tae Ha treated Si Hyun’s hands, as if he was handling fragile glass, applying medicine very carefully.
“No one in their right mind would handle chili powder barehanded.”
Unlike her ugly hand, Tae Ha’s hand was beautifully masculine. His large hand, with pronounced veins on the back, moved with extreme precision.
More than the pain, it was ticklish, so Si Hyun turned her gaze to the darkening window outside.
Being so close, the scent of Tae Ha was noticeable. That scent that had calmed Si Hyun’s flipping stomach when she was nearly dying of a hangover. She thought the bitter yet refreshing scent suited Tae Ha perfectly.
Just as she was about to ask about the perfume, Tae Ha asked again.
“Tell me. What on earth happened?”
Seeing that he would not just let it pass, Si Hyun eventually told the truth.
“I visited my boyfriend’s house for the first time today. They said it was his mother’s birthday.”
“Today is your birthday, isn’t it?”
Si Hyun wasn’t particularly surprised by the term ‘you’.
Since around the time she entered high school, Tae Ha had stopped calling her sister. Besides, he was now the head of the department, it was too much to ask him to call her sister.
“My mother shares the same birthday as me.”
“So, what does a birthday have to do with chili powder?”
“They asked me to help in the kitchen. They asked me to rub the kimchi, so I put on plastic gloves and started rubbing. Then they said the kimchi tastes better if rubbed with bare hands……”
For a moment, Tae Ha’s face showed intense emotion. He closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.
“…….”
Si Hyun, who had watched Tae Ha for a long time, knew well what that expression meant. It was what Tae Ha did when he was extremely angry, trying to calm himself.
Seeing Tae Ha so angry at her made her heart heavy. Her wish was really coming true. The wish she had made earlier, it was coming true.
Tears welled up in her eyes from the joy of having someone on her side. She was no longer alone. No matter what happened, Tae Ha would stand by her until the end.
But the next moment, Tae Ha opened his eyes and said bluntly.
“Don’t get married.”
Avoiding her hurt hand, he held her wrist tightly and looked into Si Hyun’s eyes up close.
“Listen to me. Don’t, that marriage.”
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
