“Yahoo! See, what did I say? Didn’t I say that Vice President Baek might come?”
[Ha, you did. I never dared to imagine that our Vice President would take a plane to Japan himself.]“Well, anyway, it’s a good thing. It’s much more effective for Vice President Baek to move than our CEO! Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything perfectly here.”
[Yes. Please take good care of it.]“Oh, I told you not to worry!”
[Once our Vice President boards the plane, I’ll contact you again.]“Got it!”
After hanging up, So Dam clapped her hands with an excited face.
It was a close call, but her trick had worked! What’s more, she felt a greater sense of achievement because she hadn’t expected Seo Rin to make the first move.
But suddenly, the image of Hanako clearly flashed through her mind.
Of course, she trusted Tae Joon. If he had a dinner appointment with Hanako, it would certainly not be a personal meeting but a business one. However, So Dam couldn’t trust Hanako.
Moreover, with Seo Rin coming to Japan in person, she had to ensure that Hanako couldn’t get between them.
“This is a complete emergency. What should I do?”
No matter what, when it came to seducing men, Hanako was beyond common sense and propriety.
Therefore, if Seo Rin misunderstood something, things could go downhill beyond repair.
That must never happen.
Absolutely.
That afternoon, Hanako finally received an email from Tae Joon.
In response to her email suggesting dinner in her room where they wouldn’t be seen by others, he invited her to his room and gave her his hotel room number.
At this, Hanako smirked with satisfaction. She knew all too well what it meant for a man to give her his hotel room number.
“Acting all coy and not coming over, in the end…”
It made sense to her.
Yes, excluding Tae Joon from her life, she had never been rejected by a man. So what could be different with Tae Joon?
He might resist once, but he couldn’t resist twice.
She took a shower and dressed herself in an elegant slip dress. It was a seductive dress that revealed the sensual silhouette of her body.
No matter how indifferent Tae Joon might be, he wouldn’t be able to overlook her in such a state.
Just one night would do.
After that one night, Tae Joon would never be able to break away from her.
With half excitement, half anxiety, she left her room and headed to the hotel where Tae Joon was staying, her seductive dress carefully hidden beneath a trench coat.
Her steps were as light as a feather as she entered the hotel where Tae Joon was staying and took the elevator. Despite wearing high heels, her walk was as smooth as if she were dancing.
Finally, with her brisk stride, she stood in front of Tae Joon’s room.
She needed to knock, but her hand wouldn’t readily rise. She was breathless from the excitement in her heart, as if she were a woman meeting a man for the first time.
Hanako forcefully suppressed her pounding heart and calmed her trembling breath with a deep inhale.
Then, she gathered her courage and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door did not open. So, just in case, she knocked again urgently.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened.
Finally, it was the historic day when her wish was granted.
Having just finished checking his emails and completing his work, Tae Joon rose from the sofa, rubbing his tired eyes and massaging around his jaw.
Unlike when he was in Korea, he was able to sleep well, but the sleep was not restful, so his fatigue grew day by day.
“What could Seo Rin be doing…”
Just as he was about to call her, as if telepathy had worked, he received a call from her.
“Yeah, I was just about to call you.”
[Where are you?]“At the hotel. Just finished checking a few emails, now I’m taking a break.”
[What about dinner?]“I’ll have it soon. You?”
[Me too. Soon.]There was a pause in the conversation. But Tae Joon was happy just listening to her quiet breathing.
What could she be thinking right now?
[Tae Joon, I have something to tell you.]Her calm voice created a sense of tension. Tae Joon switched the hand holding the phone and opened his mouth.
“Sure. Go ahead. I’m listening.”
[You know, right? I often have nightmares.]“I know. Did you have one again?”
[No. Not that… I just, want to talk to you about that nightmare.]Her voice, even in its stillness, carried a numbing weight.
The thing he dared not ask, she was finally willing to tell him. So Tae Joon sat back down on the sofa to listen more attentively.
Her story began from the other side of the phone.
[Tae Joon, I have nightmares. And in those nightmares… all the things I loved appear. My deceased mother, sister. And the nanny I first opened my heart to, the puppy I first raised.]“……”
[And now… my father who passed away recently.]Pain was felt in her calm but intermittently broken voice. Tae Joon, who knew she was having nightmares, but not that the dead were appearing in them, was momentarily lost for words.
[On days when I have such nightmares, I go back to that terrible day. The day I can’t forget, no matter how hard I try.]“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. That you were tormented by such nightmares…”
How much pain must she have been in?
How much agony?
Having to return each time to the moment of losing someone was like living each day in endless pain.
Only now did he recall that day when she had sobbed without even being able to scream.
She had been returning to the moment when she lost the one she loved.
Back into that unbearable pain where she could barely breathe.
“……”
[Love… is a curse to me.]Suddenly, he recalled her words from the day they broke up eight years ago.
I’m sorry, Tae Joon. But to me… love is a curse.
At that time, he thought it was just an absurd excuse she had found to break up.
But to think that she had been living alone in that pain all those years, he couldn’t even dare to offer words of comfort.
“Seo Rin…”
His heart felt like it was about to burst.
He wanted to persuade her that there was no such thing as a curse, but the words would not come out.
Then a knock sounded.
Was there someone due at this time? He wasn’t even sure. But Tae Joon’s mind was so filled with her words that he couldn’t think properly.
All he wanted was to focus on finishing this conversation with her.
“Baek Seo Rin, I don’t know what to say to comfort you, but… damn it!”
When the knocking sound was heard again at a critical moment, a low curse unconsciously slipped out of his mouth.
The interrupter seemed to have no intention of retreating. Eventually, fueled by rising irritation, he got up from his seat and walked towards the door.
“Just a moment, Seo Rin. Don’t hang up the phone.”
He was desperate.
Love is all about timing.
Instinctively, Tae Joon thought that if he missed this timing, he could lose her forever.
He had to hold onto this call somehow.
And he had to convince her.
First, he had to send this unwelcome guest away.
Finally, when he opened the door and turned his gaze, his pupils, previously filled with irritation, widened in an instant.
“How did you get here…”
It was an utterly unexpected intruder.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
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.”
