By Zephyria 
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“Ju-ho.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Is it the absolute worst to ask the other person, something like, ‘I wonder how long we can actually live together,’ before getting married?”
“Abso! Lute! Ly worst.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Yes! To someone you’re about to marry, that’s… wow… that’s just not right. I’m more curious as to why someone would even get married if they’re wondering about that!”
Watching the driver pour out words more frantically than usual due to his excitement, Cha Se-jin toyed with his chin before speaking again.
“I received an apology, but it still keeps coming back to me.”
“Once you’ve heard it, an apology doesn’t make you forget. You’ll probably think of it every time you see them for the rest of your life.”
“Really?”
“Yes! By any chance… did Young Master Eun-won say that? He didn’t seem like the type to say something like that…”
“You’re good at reading people, Ju-ho. You’re right, Eun-won didn’t say it; I did.”
“……What?”
“I said it in the car earlier, didn’t you hear me?”
“…Ah, yes…. Uh… I’m sorry…. Uh, thinking about it again, I feel like if you receive a sincere apology, you could just forget it all as a simple mishap….”
“Too late.”
“…I’m sorry….”
“Forget it. It’s already happened.”
Cha Se-jin glanced at the driver’s seat, where Ju-ho had gone quiet while reading his mood, and let out a long sigh as he looked at the familiar walls near the house visible through the window.
An uncomfortable sensation he had never experienced before weighed heavily on the pit of his stomach. This foreign feeling deep in his heart was something he could neither spit out nor swallow, and it continued to scratch at his insides.
Ah, why do I feel like this over something that’s already over?
Shaking his head lightly to escape the unfamiliar feeling, Cha Se-jin opened the window and took a deep breath of the cool night air. Despite this, the image of Eun-won—looking hurt and telling him to let him know if he came to hate him—continued to linger in his mind for a long time.
* * *
Famous experts who had arrived at the house early began working on Eun-won’s hair and face. Even though it was dawn, the experts marveled every few seconds at Eun-won’s clear and beautiful face, which showed no signs of swelling, before finally helping him into his wedding attire.
Once he was dressed in a white tuxedo with a ribbon tie that fell beautifully, the staff—who remained gathered instead of dispersing even after their work was done—burst into exclamations of admiration at how Eun-won became even more beautiful.
Eventually, as they continued to shower him with praise—saying he looked beautiful every time he moved, that anyone would think a celebrity was getting married, and that few celebrities look that good in person—Eun-won became embarrassed. He felt as though his mind was drifting, as if he had exhausted all his energy before the wedding had even begun.
Though he tried to smile amidst the pouring praise, a corner of his heart fluctuated with the memories of the day before yesterday.
‘We aren’t in love, Darling.’
He knew it was true, but the words kept resurfacing. It had only been a little over a month since they met. Moreover, they both knew this was an arranged relationship… he couldn’t understand why those words kept wandering through his heart.
There was another reason his heart felt so unsettled. If it had just been those words, he might have been fine… but the memory of the kiss, which was completely contradictory to those words, was far too vivid.
The sensation of the kiss—where the heat in his heart and face felt as if it would explode—still lingered on his lips and inside his mouth. The feeling of Cha Se-jin’s tongue pushing into his mouth… the rubbing of the tip of the tongue, the frantic mingling of breaths, and the way his whole body gasped for air were all too clear.
“…….”
How could he do that to someone he wasn’t in love with, and someone he didn’t even know how long he could live with…?
His head knew there was no reason to feel slighted or upset, but his heart would not follow his head.
Why am I like this, really…
In truth, Eun-won didn’t know what this feeling was—this heart that fluctuated based on Cha Se-jin’s words. He just knew that at some point, meeting Cha Se-jin became better than going home; that he didn’t dislike it when the man touched him; that something inside him tickled when he saw him smile; and that his world could crumble with a single word from him, only to be rebuilt and sparkle again instantly. It was far too difficult to define this dizzying emotion.
‘Just. I was curious about how long we could live together.’
…Still, that was too much.
A small sigh escaped as he recalled Cha Se-jin, who spoke as if he were calculating an expiration date for their relationship before it had even begun.
In the end, will it end someday? A marriage, a meeting, a heart that started like this… is it destined for a bad end?
“Young Master, Executive Director Cha Se-jin has arrived.”
Breaking his reverie, Eun-won looked up at the sound of Butler Kang’s voice. When he went downstairs, his father and stepmother, who were already prepared, greeted him.
“My goodness… you’re so beautiful, my son. Eun-won, many important people are coming today. This will be the greatest debut for my son. After the wedding, you’ll be attending many important events, and since these are the people you’ll be seeing, don’t forget to greet each and every one of them properly at the reception.”
“…Yes.”
“No matter what happens, you must live well, my son. Our family’s future is practically in your hands now, Eun-won.”
Stepmother, who had given the same warning every day since the wedding date was set, pressed and bound Eun-won with a heavy burden once more on the actual day.
“Our Eun-won, you can do this for your father, your mother, and your late mother, right?”
“…Yes….”
After finally extracting an answer by bringing up Eun-won’s deceased mother, Yeo Hee-jin smiled and patted his back. Then, she left the house with Eun-won.
A black limousine was waiting in front of the house. Its presence was so imposing that it felt overwhelming just to look at. As Eun-won stepped out, the driver opened the rear door. From inside, Cha Se-jin stepped out, wearing a perfectly tailored black tuxedo. In his flawless formal attire, Cha Se-jin was handsome enough to make anyone stare blankly.
Forgetting the complex thoughts he had been having until a moment ago, Eun-won looked up at Cha Se-jin’s face as he gazed down at him. He had once seen people say that truly handsome people have a halo, and it really felt as if light were sparkling behind Cha Se-jin.
“I knew you’d be pretty, but you’re even prettier than I thought.”
A strange glint appeared in Cha Se-jin’s eyes as he looked at Eun-won. It was the first time he had seen someone suit a white tuxedo so well. No, to be honest, he wondered if the person was even human. He was so dazzling that the word ‘fairy’ seemed more appropriate than ‘human.’
Cha Se-jin stared at Eun-won in silent admiration for a long time. The foreign feeling that had been lodged in his chest since he dropped Eun-won off the day before yesterday—and throughout yesterday, when they didn’t meet so Eun-won could rest before the wedding—was now overtaken by an intense visual shock. He was so beautiful that Cha Se-jin wanted to say more, but he found himself speechless.
“Should we skip the wedding and just go straight to the hotel? I want to do what we did at the hotel.”
Startled by the whisper that could easily be misunderstood by others, Eun-won quickly checked their surroundings, grabbed Cha Se-jin’s sleeve, and shook his head.
“Shut up and get in the car?”
Whispering again, Cha Se-jin smiled and helped Eun-won into the back seat of the limousine first. He then greeted the two people standing there as Eun-won’s parents and climbed into the car from the opposite side.
“Ju-ho, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
He could see the people outside waiting for him to open the window and say goodbye one more time, but Cha Se-jin had absolutely no intention of responding.
Once the car departed heartlessly and left Eun-won’s house, a satisfied Cha Se-jin took the small, white hand resting quietly on his thigh and entwined his fingers with Eun-won’s.
“Why are your hands so cold? Are you nervous?”
“…A little.”
“You just have to walk in holding my hand, so what’s there to be nervous about?”
“…They said many important people are coming….”
“So what? It’s the day we get married, not a day to impress the guests. You don’t have to care about that. You weren’t the one who invited them; the person who invited them will handle it.”
After hearing Cha Se-jin’s straightforward words, Eun-won’s tension eased slightly. Whenever Cha Se-jin made things he worried and stressed about seem like nothing, he felt like a true adult.
“If it’s difficult or scary, just hold my hand and follow me.”
“Yes….”
“You really don’t need to worry about that. Oh, how do I look today? I put in effort so you could marry the most handsome husband.”
“…You look wonderful….”
“And?”
“Your clothes, your hair… everything really suits you.”
“Am I handsome?”
Eun-won nodded without hesitation at the question that had such an obvious answer, and he stared blankly at Cha Se-jin’s face as he smiled at the reaction.