I was such trash. Thinking of it as self-reflection, Taekyu raised his eyebrows and downed a cocktail placed in front of him in one shot.
“I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t call me when that bastard is here.”
Muttering quietly enough to be heard only by the friend next to him, Taekyu got up from his seat without hesitation.
“Hoseok, what’s your girlfriend’s name? Shall I look it up in the album?”
“Inarim.”
“What, what did you say?”
“Inarim.”
Thump. The fist that flew in an instant hit Hoseok’s cheekbone.
The space filled with conversation and noise suddenly quieted, as if water had been poured in, and all eyes turned toward the two.
Hoseok glared at Taekyu, holding his cheek.
“What are you doing? You crazy bastard.”
Then, as if nothing happened, Taekyu, who had swiftly swallowed the vodka in front of Hoseok, slammed the glass down with a loud dash sound and stared at Hoseok with remorseful eyes.
“Sorry, got drunk. My hand slipped.”
“Where are you going?”
In contrast to the calm tone of Seonwoo’s everyday conversation, Eunjae’s face was pallid as if drained of color.
I was so startled that my hand lost its grip. The eco-bag I was holding fell to the ground weakly, and the few items inside spilled out, rolling down the stairs.
I thought he was asleep, but he was definitely sleeping.
My heart was pounding wildly, and I couldn’t move as if something sticky was attached to the soles of my feet.
“Why are you so surprised? Like someone running away.”
At the end of his words, a hint of laughter shone through. The sound of slowly sliding into slippers could be heard. Although he was standing straight with his back turned, just by his presence, I could tell what he was doing.
It felt like he was gradually closing in. The sound of slippers dragging on the floor was getting closer.
Eventually, his hand, which had stuck tightly to my back, gently moved up to my shoulder. The hand that touched my rounded shoulders felt warm.
“It rained a lot. My clothes are too thin.”
Seonwoo’s cool gaze turned toward the items scattered below the stairs.
Snick.
His warm laughter clearly echoed through the sound of rain.
“Even if you run away, avoid this time. The main gate will be locked.”
“….”
“Your mother didn’t tell you that.”
In his kindly spoken words, a creepy aura could be felt. Goosebumps rose on my skin at his touch arranging my hair.
He wasn’t asleep.
Thinking that he had caught all the actions I had just taken, my face turned red.
“What did that jerk say?”
“….”
“How much did he offer? 300 million? 500 million?”
“Even though you knew everything, how could you…”
Before I could finish my sentence, Seonwoo grabbed Eunjae’s shoulder and turned him around.
“You knew everything too. You’re anxious that I might leave, and you want to hold on!”
The hand gripping the shoulder, the eyes looking, and the voice calling. Everything about him was shaking dangerously.
“What did that jerk say to me? You were going to leave me. I told you not to talk nonsense. I thought you might make a slightly different choice.”
“What other choice? Is it enough if you and I close our eyes? What about the shock our families will receive later? The pain and loneliness! You said it was like a lonely star. You exchanged your pain for happiness. You’re going to break it all, aren’t you?”
“I don’t care. It’ll be known soon anyway. What’s important to me is that you’re trying to leave me right now.”
Eunjae’s small hand grabbed the hem of Seonwoo’s shirt.
“Mr. Seonwoo, please…”
In that moist voice, the emotions that I had grasped so helplessly seemed to flow away weakly.
I told you not to go so many times, and you must have understood the meaning of my words.
Yet, in the end, to you who made this choice, the betrayal I felt for abandoning my emotions, anger, frustration, and loss, as well as the sense of betrayal about my steadfast belief, all these emotions inexplicably retreated in the face of your voice alone.
I wanted to grab even the hem of your skirt. I wanted to kneel and plead with you not to go. Even if I could do that, even if I could turn your thoughts around, I wanted to do it somehow.
“If you leave like that, will it be as if nothing happened?”
I was always like that. No matter how angry I was, seeing your face made me forget why I was angry in the first place, and I just smiled, saying it’s okay.
After confirming that I had fallen asleep and entering the room while you were packing, I had countless thoughts. Even though I knew you would leave tonight, my initial reaction was disbelief.
But not anymore.
“Wearing clothes thin for this weather, just the national flag, an album, and one wedding invitation. Going somewhere with just those useless things. Can’t you take something to eat or live with? Is that all you have in this house?”
You, today, tore apart even the last hope I held in my arms.
“Did you search through my suitcase?”
“I would have preferred if you had asked for a divorce. If you had left with alimony…!”
“Do you think I’m trying to leave here to receive something like that from you? How can I accept that? I can’t take anything from this house, and that’s why I’m like this.”
“Then at least you won’t have to worry. You can eat well and live well wherever you go.”
How much more do I have to show you my heart for you to trust me? How much more do I have to do here so that I can be placed at the top in your choice?
“Saying you like me, you love me. Or maybe, was the love you had only at this level?”
Or was it possible from the beginning? What was I to you?
“Why am I doing this even though I know why…”
“You’re sorry to me. Don’t you know that if you leave like this, I won’t be able to forgive my father even more!”
“Then what should I do! Every time I see you, it feels suffocating, like I’m going to die, like I’m going crazy. It feels like I’m being punished every day…”
“Even if you feel suffocated, stay by my side. Even if you feel like you’re going to die, stay by my side. Even if you feel crazy, stay by my side! If that’s punishment, then stay by my side like that.”
Every time moisture gathered in Eunjae’s large pupils, my heart fluttered.
Usually, without thinking, I would have wiped away your tears and hugged you already. I would have comforted you.
“Why am I…”
“…….”
“Why do I have to receive punishment?”
In Eunjae’s words, Seonwoo couldn’t say anything. Instead of feeling sorry for me, the words that had been rising from my throat to the tip of my tongue every moment were pressed down. The emotions that had come forward, all tarnished.
Was it so difficult for thoughts and spoken words to align? It was clear that if I loosened up even a little, you would take advantage of that gap and run away.
So I didn’t wipe away your tears. I didn’t hug you. I didn’t comfort you. I felt that keeping you by my side, even like this, would allow me to breathe.
“I’ve lived like this all my life because of Dad, so why me again… Why is it me again?”
In the end, I made you cry. As your shoulders trembled, your eyes gradually became warm.
Seonwoo tightly held the hand that had been reaching towards Eunjae’s head, pretending to cover his own eyes.
“Jieunjae, can you abandon me?”
I didn’t want the reason you’re crying, the reason you’re sad, to be me.
“I can’t let you go.”
“……. ”
“You can’t leave.”
Eunjae looked up with swollen, bloodshot eyes. His tear-stained face made Seonwoo’s chest feel stifled.
“Is it sincere or fake?”
Without you, I feel like… I feel like I can’t breathe. I feel like I might die. I feel like I might go crazy.
“You keep making me into a bad person.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
