Surrounded by pitch darkness, I couldn’t see anything, whether I looked down at my feet or up at the sky. Even when I bowed my head, I couldn’t see my own legs.
I had no idea where I was, or even who I was. All I felt was cold, loneliness, fear, and excruciating pain throughout my body.
“Mom, Mom.”
Unable to bear it, I sobbed, and then someone held my hand.
“It’s okay, I’m here.”
It felt like a lifeline had descended from the heavens. Even though I didn’t know who the person was, I desperately clung to them.
That person held my hand firmly with their cool hand, and suddenly the darkness didn’t seem so scary anymore.
It was only after waking up to the morning sunlight that I realized who it was.
She must have stayed by my side all night, for she was asleep leaning against the wall, still holding my hand.
I quietly got up. My body, which felt like a soaked sponge yesterday, now felt considerably lighter.
“…….”
I watched her sleep quietly, holding my breath.
Truthfully, I didn’t even know how old she was, or even her name. All I knew was that she was a tenant in this house and an employee at the company where I was the president.
One thing was clear: she was a very kind person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let a complete stranger like me stay in her house. Although she seemed to have a poor opinion of me, I guessed it was because of how the original me must have behaved.
I knew it was unreasonable to insist on staying, even though it was an emergency.
“…….”
I looked down at my own body. My large frame felt unfamiliar to me.
I wasn’t a cute child, or even a teenager. How burdensome it must be for a young, unmarried woman to live with someone like me. Moreover, I was penniless.
I did want to continue waiting for my mother in this house, but I knew it was hopeless. What are the chances of finding someone missing for 16 years?
I had nowhere else to go, nowhere else I knew in this world. I just wanted to make an excuse to wait for my mother.
“Do you not consider my feelings at all?”
Thinking back to how upset she was yesterday, I felt ashamed. I had noticed her discomfort, but I didn’t realize she felt so burdened.
Yet even after she was angry, she took care of me all night, held my hand tightly, soothed my forehead with her cool hand, and gave me medicine.
I didn’t want to trouble such a kind person any longer.
I decided as I watched her sleep. She was so small compared to me, with slender shoulders and wrists that seemed fragile to the touch. It was no surprise, given that I had never seen her eat properly.
“Would I be able to eat with you across from me?”
Could that also be because of me? I felt sad.
Morning sunlight crept through the window, casting light on her tired face. It was heartbreaking, knowing she was exhausted because of me.
After watching her for a long while, I made up my mind. I gently let go of her hand, got up, and quietly left the room.
“Thank you, Nuna.”
I had nothing to pack. As I left the room, making sure not to wake her, I hoped my memory would return soon.
I wanted to repay this kind Nuna and, more than anything, to know her name.
[Star Icon]Waking up to the sunlight, I realized Seungju was gone, and his place was neatly made up with a blanket, just like the day we first met two years ago.
A sense of foreboding overcame me.
“Director? Where are you?”
I quickly got up and looked around. The house was deathly quiet.
“Director? Are you there?”
No answer came. He wasn’t in the bathroom, the kitchen, or the yard.
Realizing he wasn’t inside the house, I felt a surge of fear. Where could he have gone?
He wouldn’t have taken the bus or a taxi since he had no money. He wouldn’t have gone to his father’s house, and he had no friends to contact…
Where could someone with nowhere to go under the sky have disappeared to? I hurriedly slipped on my slippers, barely covering my bare feet, and dashed outside.
“Director? Where are you?”
I scoured every alley and shouted, but received no response. Where could he be? He’s a big guy who knows nothing of the world, and without a penny…
Before I knew it, I found myself calling his name.
“Kwon Seungju! Seungju! Where are you?”
Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu hit me.
“Eunho! Eunho! Where are you?”
That day, frantically searching for my brother in the neighborhood, the same anxious and helpless feeling vividly returned, blurring my vision. It felt like losing my brother all over again.
I had thought a thousand times why Eunho never returned. One of those possibilities was that he might have lost his memory.
What would I have felt if someone scolded a memory-lost Eunho like I did? And yet, why had I been so harsh to that gentle and kind boy?
I frantically searched every corner of the neighborhood.
“Seungju, where are you? Answer me!”
People passing by looked at me as if I were crazy as I ran around, screaming in my slippers and without a coat.
Even after circling the neighborhood, there was no sign of Seungju. On the verge of tears, I suddenly noticed a group of high school students in uniforms.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
