Ye-jin had some free time, so she started tidying the house and came across a familiar box. Its contents were so unmistakable that it felt strange she hadn’t noticed it until now. From the moment she found it until now, her clear eyes trembled faintly. Her palms were damp and, for some reason, her eyes burned as if she might cry, making her blink quickly.

The box was close enough to touch, yet she couldn’t bring herself to reach for it. After staring at it for a long time, Ye-jin swallowed dryly. She couldn’t stand there forever. He would be home soon.

Summoning her courage, she finally reached out.

“This… why…?”

She had known it felt familiar of course it was exactly what she thought it was.

“I definitely… threw this away…”

Why was it here? Confused, she tilted her head.

Back when she was still married to him, she had placed all their memories into a box: her pointe shoes; the shoes of the babies she had lost; and the maternity record book. When she chose to leave him, she threw the box away. Yet here it was now, right in front of her.

The moment she opened the lid, memories spilled out.

Ye-jin’s pale, delicate brow tightened. She was happy now, but painful memories of the past swept through her mind.

“……”

The past was just that: the past. If she couldn’t move on from it, she would never be happy.

Only then did she open her mouth. Yes. It was all just the past. As long as she didn’t make the same mistakes again.

Gently brushing her fingertips over the maternity booklet, Ye-jin turned at the sound of someone entering.

“What are you doing over there?”

“Ah… when did you get here?”

“There it is again. Honorifics.”

He came closer, tugging his tie loose—and suddenly, her eyes stung, tears rising without warning.

“Why are you crying?”

She rushed forward and threw herself into his arms.

“Ye-jin… did something happen?”

Held against a voice that sounded as if it could break at the sight of her tears, she shook her head.

“Then? Are you feeling sick?”

She shook her head again. The arms holding her tightened. No—she could feel them trembling. He was weak to her tears. Terribly so.

“Then…? Why are you crying? Hm?”

Feeling the anxiety he could no longer hide, she slowly lifted her gaze. His face had gone rigid as he awkwardly wiped her tears.

“This…”

She pointed at the box, and her nose stung again.

“Why is this here?”

“Ah…”

When he finally noticed the box, he pulled her into a tight, unbroken embrace.

“The housekeeper said she couldn’t throw it away. So I kept it.”

His voice trembled. Guilt seeped through every word.

“I guess… seeing something I never thought I’d see again made me cry for no reason.”

She smiled faintly, saying she was fine now, but it didn’t fool him.

“I should’ve thrown it away then. But I couldn’t.”

“…You did well.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest, almost like a child seeking comfort.

“How do you feel about the wedding?”

“…What?”

His eyes widened, confused, and she couldn’t help laughing.

“It means I’m asking you to marry me.”

If she waited for him to propose, she felt she might grow old first. So she said it first. Then, startled by the way he froze, she bit his shoulder hard.

“Aren’t we getting married?”

“A… no. I—”

“I can’t take this anymore. Let’s just get married!”

Once, he had made her life difficult by being too forceful. Now he was so careful it was sometimes frustrating. But what could she do? He was the man she loved.

“You’ll marry me, right?”

“Of course. Ah—wait!”

He suddenly jumped to his feet and disappeared in a hurry. Moments later, he returned with a small ring box in his hand.

“What? You even bought a ring.”

She thought she understood and didn’t understand why he had kept delaying the proposal. Her lips jutted out in mild hurt, but then he knelt on one knee and held out the box.

“I should’ve said it first. I’m sorry.”

“……”

“Will you marry me?”

They had already been married before, and they were already living together now. She thought she wouldn’t feel anything. No dramatic emotion, no tears.

But—

“Hh… yes. Yes, let’s get married.”

“Thank you. Ye-jin, I’ll do better.”

She felt sincerity in the promise that he would be better than he was now.

“Just stay the way you are. That’s enough.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

He stood, took out the ring, and slipped it onto her fourth finger. She stared at the gleaming band, then lifted her gaze. His face was already close.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The moment their lips touched, Ye-jin knew. Their future would be filled with nothing but happiness.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Isn’t the bride way too precious for him?”

“Jae-woo, thank you.”

Sitting in the bridal waiting room, Ye-jin brightened at the familiar voice.

“Congratulations.”

“Was it tiring to come all the way here?”

It was Jae-woo, who had gone back to Russia.

“Tiring? No way. It feels nice to be in Korea again after so long.”

“Is Sophia doing well?”

“Yeah. She’s fine. She wanted to come with me.”

“I talked to her on the phone yesterday.”

Ye-jin smiled, remembering Sophia’s disappointed voice early in her pregnancy, she wasn’t allowed to fly.

“How does it feel to be a dad?”

“How else would it feel? It’s good. It just makes me want to work harder.”

He spoke as if burdened, saying he had two people to take responsibility for now.

“You’ll be a great dad, Jae-woo.”

“Obviously. Do you know who I am?”

She felt genuine gratitude toward the friend who had given her courage and direction whenever she was struggling or ready to give up.

“Really… thank you.”

“It’s good seeing you happy.”

When someone announced that the ceremony was about to begin, Jae-woo left the waiting room.

It wasn’t her first time, yet she still felt nervous. Alone in the bridal room, she slowly let out a breath.

“Ready?”

He stepped inside, taking one slow step after another until he stood before her. She quietly took him in with her eyes.

“…You look beautiful.”

“You look handsome too, Do-han.”

For today’s wedding, they invited only people precious to them. It wasn’t a grand ceremony, but it was filled with people who truly celebrated and wished them happiness.

“Let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

He reached out his hand. Ye-jin smiled and took it.

“I’ll never let go of this hand.”

“Me too.”

They walked down the aisle together, step by step.

“Let’s live happily.”

Her mother, seated in the front row, looked happier than anyone.

<Congratulations.>

Their eyes met for a moment, and she read the shape of her mother’s lips. She shouldn’t have looked at her mother.

On the happiest day of her life, she felt like she might burst into tears. She bit the inside of her cheek hard to hold them back.

“So pretty! My Ye-jin!”

Su-yeon, her husband and Jae-woo were all wishing them happiness.

She made herself promises over and over again. That she would live more happily than anyone. That she would show only her best side to the people who had come to share this day with her.

She was so happy. When she turned to look at him, he looked happy too. In fact, he looked happier than anyone else in the world.

Just looking at him made her heart swell with happiness, filling her chest and rising all the way to her throat, leaving her overwhelmed by the feeling.

Her whole body tingled, even her heart, and she knew exactly what that meant. She welcomed the feeling.

She embraced the happiness boldly, knowing they would experience even more of it in the days to come.

❖ ❖ ❖

They decided to delay the honeymoon. She had struggled to stop him when he insisted they had to go.

“No, we should go. I’ll push back my schedule—”

“Honestly! I said we’ll go once things calm down.”

She suggested they postpone the wedding for a while.

But he refused outright. Then he was caught trying to hide how busy he was; he could barely find time to eat.

When she suggested postponing the wedding itself, he took a step back and agreed to delay the honeymoon instead.

Nevertheless, he seemed unhappy that they couldn’t go right away.

“But we’re staying at a hotel together.”

She traced her fingers along his arm, saying that being together was what mattered.

“That’s… true, but…”

“You don’t like it?”

“Being alone with me?”

They were alone at home too, of course but this was different.

“…It’s not that I don’t like it.”

His eyes darkened. Ye-jin instantly understood what he meant and swallowed hard.

“Wait. Just wait a second.”

As if something had suddenly come to him, he got up quickly and walked out to the living room.

What is he doing?

“I brought this for today.”

“What is that?”

There was a shopping bag in his hand.

“Do you remember this?”

He tipped the bag upside down. The contents spilled onto the bed, and Ye-jin gasped, her eyes widening almost painfully.

“So you do remember?”

“Why is this… why… Why didn’t you throw this away?”

“I didn’t. I kept it.”

She took a step back not from him, but from the things scattered across the bed. However, this didn’t help once she was already on the bed.

Her eyes asked the question again. Why hadn’t he got rid of them?

He chuckled lightly.

“Just in case I might need it.”

“…Pervert!”

“It was a friend’s gift. I couldn’t throw it away.”

The high heels, the whip and several adult toys that Suyeon had bought for her years ago during her honeymoon had spilled from the bag.

“Let’s try them properly today.”

He said he had held back for years, wanting to use them more than once. He approached without hesitation.

“Kyaa! Pervert! Stay away!”

He picked something up from the pile. When Ye-jin saw the toy in his hand, she squeezed her eyes shut.

She tried to escape, but it was too late — he had already grabbed her ankle.