Even if I Fall into the Mud, I Will Bloom

by sunhae

Seo-hwa’s fiancé, Won-ui—whom she believed died five years ago—returns alive as a war hero. But instead of love, he comes back filled with hatred, declaring that he survived only to kill her. Years earlier, Seo-hwa’s father, the paranoid emperor of Songyang, allowed political schemes to destroy Won-ui’s family under false accusations of treason. Unable to save him, Seo-hwa watched helplessly as his family was executed and believed Won-ui himself had died. After the emperor’s death, Seo-hwa’s jealous brother forces her into a miserable marriage, dragging her life into ruin. Five years later, a rebellion topples the tyrant, and Won-ui returns victorious. Though he hates Seo-hwa as the daughter of the man who destroyed his family, he still cannot bring himself to kill her. Instead, he asks the new emperor to hand Seo-hwa over as a servant to his household. Now, the two former lovers—both broken by tragedy, revenge, guilt, and lingering love—are trapped in a painful relationship neither can escape.