Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: T-Bagging
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Early morning.
My daily routine always started a little earlier than my husband's.
I was a bit tired.
I carefully slipped out of Hoon's arms that were holding me.
— Zzz...
Seeing him sleeping with soft snores from exhaustion made me smile without realizing it.
But that smile quickly faded.
A swan on the water.
Underneath the surface, it was this fierce.
Always, at every moment, without a single lapse, showing a composed appearance to my husband.
After marriage, it was what I cared about most—no, what I obsessively fixated on.
I entered the bathroom and took off my robe, and my pure white body reflected in the mirror.
Since childhood, I'd thought of this skin color as a symbol of a curse.
My husband said he loved it, but I... was still scared.
Scared that this abnormal appearance would one day cool his love.
Shhhhh...
Water streamed out from the showerhead.
I deliberately started showering with cooler water to snap myself awake.
'Yesterday... I wasn't beautiful at all.'
I regretted letting a bit of my true feelings slip out uncontrollably.
What if he thought I was too jealous?
What if he saw it as obsession?
Worrying over every action and thought of Hoon's had become my daily life.
But I never let it show. Never.
I didn't know when I'd become so greedy.
But... isn't it okay to be greedy for just one thing?
My parents, who were my whole world as a child, and the dolls or fairy tale books they gave me.
After that, I'd lived giving up everything.
So...
Hoon. My husband. Isn't it not so bad to be greedy for just one thing?
I rationalized it to myself in my head.
The light who reached out to me in my despair.
The only one who tells me every day that he loves me, that I'm precious.
My life could be completely divided into before and after meeting Hoon.
After the shower, my mind was fully awake.
I looked at myself in the mirror and made a vow.
'I'll make him love me even more.'
'I'll strive to be a perfectly lovable wife.'
'Even if I'm jealous, I can endure it. No, I must endure.'
Please.
Don't leave me.
I always wanted to show him only my beautiful side.
That way, his love for me would never fade.
I meticulously applied sunscreen to my face, neck, and all exposed areas of my limbs without missing a spot.
Then, I adjusted the lighting to a soft glow, sat at the vanity, and pretended to hum a tune as I started my makeup.
— Hm hm~
It felt good how my makeup skills improved day by day.
Is this the feeling of learning something to make myself more beautiful?
With my wet hair wrapped in a towel, doing my makeup looked a bit funny even to me.
Hehe, all done.
Dawn was breaking before I knew it.
I unwrapped the towel and started drying my hair.
Drying my hair in the morning took the most time.
— Whirrr~
The hairdryer hummed.
I dried it thoroughly for about 20 minutes, brushed it to a silky sheen, and applied conditioner.
Lustrous white hair.
Finally, I put on the prettiest outfit Ji-min had picked out for me and waited for Hoon to wake.
Watching the person you love sleep was truly blissful.
About 30 minutes passed?
Hoon's body started trembling slightly.
Hm? Is he waking up?
I moved a bit closer to the bed.
Messy hair, slightly puffy face.
But in my eyes, he was cooler and cuter than anyone in the world.
Hoon's eyes, which had been tossing, slowly opened, revealing mysterious black irises.
The complete opposite of mine.
My white world might already be dyed in Hoon's black.
Like black ink spreading on a white canvas.
To Hoon, who stared blankly at me with sleepy eyes, I showed him my brightest practiced smile.
"Husband! Did you sleep well!?"
At my words, Hoon grinned sleepily.
"You must be tired, why'd you get up so early to get ready? You're so pretty today too, my Lily."
Hehe. Perfect.
Praise always made me feel good.
It felt like my efforts were rewarded.
"Mmm~ I woke up early and got ready! You get up and prepare too, husband!"
"Yawwwn~"
As Hoon stretched and got out of bed, his bare body emerged from under the covers.
Last night's traces came to mind, and I blushed without realizing.
"Ugggh~ Feels refreshing."
My husband got out of bed, drank a glass of water, and headed to the bathroom.
I heard the water running and quickly tidied the bed.
Then I took out the clothes for him to wear today and laid them neatly on the bed.
Sitting on the chair, I thought for a moment.
'Hoon should only ever see this pretty side of me.'
This time with Hoon was so happy... yet so terrifying at the same time.
Shhhhh~
Ahh~ Feels good.
Waking up to see Lily first thing lifts my mood.
Like the thrill of locking eyes with a golden toad photo while scrolling the gallery?
Thanks to Lily, my self-esteem was skyrocketing.
Men have a trait.
"Wanna meet? -> Pretty?"
"GF looks like ㅇㅇ -> Pretty?"
"New girl at company. -> Pretty?"
Yeah.
The first thing out of men's mouths when talking women: 'pretty?'
Truly simple creatures.
Lily at the absolute top of that 'pretty' scale.
Just looking at her makes me happy, and knowing she tries to look pretty for me... my self-esteem pierces the heavens.
'Bet you guys don't have a wife like this?'
Men seem simple, but they quickly pick up on pure love directed at them.
Only top-tier handsome guys usually get that.
Average guys never feel that affectionate gaze or actions in a lifetime.
Heh heh.
Divorce pissed me off back then, but feeling what I'd never known made me think my ancestors grabbed the King of Hell by the collar.
All those ancestral rites weren't in vain!
Well, Mom and aunts did most, but I bowed hard.
Waaah, the reward's too much, ancestors~!
But something bugged me.
I felt it inside but hadn't voiced it—alone in my thoughts.
Lily trying to show me only her 'perfect' side.
Wanting to look pretty is instinct, but in marriage, it was intense.
Even at home, she usually woke first to prep perfectly.
A little sloppy's fine...
Her obsessive behavior worried me a bit.
But saying it would make Lily sad, so I'd just keep it to myself.
After shower and brushing, I put on a robe and entered the room to see Lily sitting primly on the chair.
A smiling face.
Completely different from the dark face when we first met—a happy one.
Felt good knowing I was keeping my promise to 'make her happy'.
And...
A sense of incongruity.
Childlike behavior craving love.
We lived with it unspoken, casually.
Marriage doesn't mean spilling everything.
"Husband! Refreshed?"
"Yeah. Bored waiting?"
"Hehe, no. Clothes are out here, put 'em on."
My clothes neatly laid on the bed.
Ultimate homemaker vibes.
"Thanks."
"No biggie~ It's a wife's duty."
Always striving to be a good wife.
I gave a wry internal smile.
I patted Lily's butt a few times and got dressed.
Then planted a light kiss on her lips.
— Mwah!
Her delighted reaction to my affection, always.
'You don't have to be so perfect...'
We gazed at each other, smiling as always.
But why?
Thin masks on each other's faces.
"Shall we go?"
"Yeah!"
Lily linking arms with me, beaming.
Yeah... if that's happiness, we'll live smiling like this forever.
What's the psychology of a woman having an affair with a married man?
Simple, in a way.
'Verified goods.'
Means a man already vetted and chosen by another woman.
Women do massive background checks before marriage.
Rich in minerals? Diligent?
After all that vetting, the final pick.
That's the married man.
Even in trashy auntie dramas, young girls falling for married men—rooted in this trope.
Currently in Korea, Ji-hoon faced polar extremes.
Female-heavy communities daily roasted him mercilessly; male-heavy ones praised him to the skies.
Why the hate?
Obvious.
"Divorce only hurts men."
"So treat your wife right."
The massive gaslighting women had subtly inflicted on Korean men.
Ji-hoon shattered it head-on.
Plus, property division they assumed was a given post-divorce.
He didn't pay, fled to America, remarried a stunning foreigner, living happily ever after and got rich?
Bound to piss them off.
The societal brainwashing didn't apply to Ji-hoon at all.
Men needed to suffer post-divorce—lose everything, rot in a flop house—for other men to fear and simper more as doormats.
But he thrived, so men realized: 'Ah! Happiness is out there!'
International marriage rates would explode.
Good men already snatched up; competition fiercer.
The more famous Ji-hoon got, the hotter 'intl marriage' interest.
But no easy hooks to bash him.
Millions of subs, gorgeous wife flaunting love for husband in videos.
Stuff of novels.
'Maybe... me too?'
Men dreaming vainly from videos—driving them mad.
Hero, beauty wife, rich.
Only real gripes: no alimony, wife terminally ill.
So attacks on Lily went beyond imagination.
New alternative meant men who'd been rugs inflating women's value now looked overseas en masse.
A massive threat to their survival.
And...
They quietly got served lawsuits.
Reason simple.
Unpeaceful Stock Gallery.
[Attacks on Gal Lord = attacks on me!]
The crazy bastards usually dead serious about bashing women stepped up.
They scoured female galleries and domestic fem communities, collecting every personal attack on Ji-hoon and Lily.
Sent it all to Ji-hoon.
The massive volume even stunned him.
But Ji-hoon ignored attacks on himself.
Laughingly so.
He'd trashed others online too, saw hate as 'extreme praise'.
He sorted only materials targeting his wife, 'Lily'.
Handed it all to his maternal uncle in Korea.
"Use all settlements as your fee, Uncle."
Attackers vs. defenders.
End up 'personally fucked' were the attackers.
Today's Stock Gallery: peaceful as ever.
Ji-hoon dropped a daily shitpost flaunting wife love.
[Our wife speaks 5 languages ㅇㅇ]
Author: Loser Male
— Korean. English. Cute. Lovely. Pretty. Rebuttal = Korean woman marriage.
And soon after, another conceptual post went up.
Today too, the Stock Gallery was remarkably peaceful.