Epilogue

It was a lazy afternoon, a day just like any other. A dog barked in the distance, grandmas laughed together after drinking Bacchus, then got up saying they were busy with fieldwork.

“They’re building that resort so fast—must be because it’s Wigang.”

“They say they’re giving residents passes, did you hear?”

“The hot spring discount is always on. I’ll have to go every winter.”

The sound of construction at the resort no longer bothered her. It was just another daily noise, like birdsong.

“How’s Eun-gyu’s ENT clinic doing?”

“It’s going okay. More kids come than he expected.”

“Kids? Children?”

“Yeah. Maybe because Eun-gyu looks kind, kids like him. There aren’t many pediatricians here, so kids come when they have a cold.”

Grandma Soonbok spoke proudly, glancing at her with regret. In the end, Eun-gyu had opened a small ENT clinic in a different area.

“I wanted Pharmacist Jung as my granddaughter-in-law… I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

She smiled softly. The grandmas laughed and patted Grandma Soonbok’s shoulder.

“That’s why you shouldn’t jump to conclusions—should’ve asked if she had a boyfriend first!”

“You old hags, seriously? You all said the same thing! That since no men ever came around him, she must be single!”

“How were we supposed to know her boyfriend was overseas!”

The grandmas laughed among themselves, then hurried off, saying they were late. At that moment, a familiar sedan stopped in front of the pharmacy. A tall man got out, and the grandmas shrugged their shoulders.

“There’s her boyfriend. He doesn’t seem like an aristocrat.”

“Let’s get out of the way.”

The grandmas, who didn’t know much about cars or the internet, thought of Ryu-il as just “the handsome office worker from Wigang Construction.” That’s because he always came to the pharmacy alone, without a chauffeur.

When asked by the curious grandmas how long he’d been dating Pharmacist Jung, he answered, “We’ve been close since childhood, like brother and sister, then got serious. We were apart for a while because of overseas work, but I’ve just returned.” That way, they wouldn’t talk about introducing their grandsons to her.

“That reminds me—do you know why I didn’t come back to the pharmacy after that time?”

“No idea. Why didn’t you? To avoid ruining my happy ending?”

“…I was afraid you might be doing well with that doctor who came with that grandma. If I saw it, I’d go crazy.”

“How crazy?”

“I’d probably sleep with you again, telling you to pay off the Wigang Home Shopping debt.”

“So you just cut yourself off? That takes some willpower.”

“That’s why I drank and smoked like crazy. I probably lost ten years off my life.”

Ryu-il, remembering those days vividly, now openly enjoyed the attention as he visited the pharmacy.

With the jingle of the bell, the grandmas left in a group, still glancing at Ryu-il. He smiled leisurely, waited, then walked into the empty pharmacy. Like marking his territory, he gently patted her head as soon as he entered. The grandmas disappeared outside, chatting, “It’s a good time, a good time.”

After they left, Ryu-il kissed her forehead playfully.

“One bottle of Bacchus, please, Pharmacist.”

“You don’t even like it. Try something else.”

“I do like it. It clears up all my fatigue.”

“It’s not that effective.”

She grumbled but handed him a bottle of Bacchus. Ryu-il smiled and took her hand.

“Then maybe something else helps with the fatigue?”

“What else?”

“You’re the pharmacist, you should figure it out.”

Arrogant as ever, he whispered sweetly and kissed her ear. It was a lazy, happy afternoon.

It had been a year since they started dating. In that time, Wigang Resort had nearly been completed, and she was faithfully fulfilling her contract with the Director at the pharmacy. It meant they’d both stayed in the area for some time.

“Did you see the Chairman?”

“Yes. He’s healthy.”

Ryu-il leisurely opened the Bacchus bottle. He’d gone up to Seoul just yesterday to see the Chairman.

“He could handle a few more great-grandchildren.”

She smiled nervously. The Chairman already had at least three great-grandchildren, since Ryu-il was not the eldest grandson. All the other Wigang third-generation heirs had arranged marriages.

A year ago, when she’d gone to Ryu-il’s hotel room, she hadn’t thought about marriage. She just wanted to try dating him, even if it meant getting scolded. Like when she was eight, she just wanted to obey and not drift away. She regretted not having stayed close, even in secret.

But Ryu-il apparently thought differently. That day, he went to Seoul and declared to the Chairman.

“I’ll ask that girl the same question. How much would it take for her to break up with you? If she gives a different answer than your mother—if she chooses you over money…I’ll approve your relationship.”

Hearing that, an old memory flashed through her mind. But Ryu-il had taken that old incident and said,

“Hee-won already gave a different answer than my mother. She said she wanted a life unrelated to me, not money. So, as per your promise, you have to allow our relationship.”

To that old businessman, ‘relationship’ meant ‘marriage,’ yet Ryu-il had settled it that very day.

For her, who had braced herself for all sorts of criticism and scorn, it was an almost anticlimactic ending. According to Ryu-il, Won-jong was already quite old, and since there were plenty of other blood relatives besides himself, this much could be allowed. The relatives, unable to expand their own territory, would all clap and welcome it. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.

“Hee-won.”

Ryu-il fiddled with her hand as he spoke.

“How much time is left on your pharmacy contract?”

It was a question he asked almost every day, even though he already knew. She smiled gently as she answered.

“Three months. I got word about it too. The Director is coming back in three months.”

“By then, I won’t need to be at the resort site anymore.”

Ryu-il looked at her intently and whispered slowly.

“How about we decide the location of our newlywed home before signing the next contract? It’ll be Seoul, either way.”

“What?”

“I got permission.”

He reached out his hand to her. She thought he was still holding the Bacchus cap, but suddenly there was a round ring in his palm.

“…Ah…”

“I thought a lot about where to propose.”

Ryu-il slipped the ring directly onto her finger as he spoke. It fit perfectly. She couldn’t guess when or how he’d measured her size, but it was clear he’d been thinking about it for a long time. Maybe he’d even gone to Seoul yesterday just for this ring.

“I wanted to do it here, like this.”

The large diamond sparkled in the sunlight.

“In the place where I had no choice but to come find you myself.”

She took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, the reality she’d feared rushed in like a wave.

For the past year, she’d dated as if in a dream. This place was far from Seoul and felt like the coastal town she’d once walked with Ryu-il. Everyone here thought of Ryu-il as just an office worker, and at some point, she did too.

They both worked, met whenever they could during the week, and went out for good food or drives on weekends. There were no elders around Ryu-il telling them to break up, nor nosy people around her advising that their worlds were different.

But marriage… moving to Seoul…

She was honestly afraid. She’d always been running away. She worried that even her child might resent her for being labeled “the daughter of a servant from Ryu Gil-jae.”

“Hee-won.”

Ryu-il spoke with a trembling voice.

“Marry me.”

It was as serious and brief as the day he confessed his love. No matter what stories they’d accumulated in the past, no matter how miserable the process had been, none of it mattered.

The day he confessed his love, she’d been vaguely afraid of the future and stayed silent like a child. She’d thought if she nodded, the Chairman’s wrath would fall immediately. But… the reality wasn’t like that. The worst she’d imagined never came.

She’d spent too long distancing herself, fearing that worst-case scenario. So today, she decided not to stay silent. She wasn’t unafraid, but maybe it wasn’t as scary as she thought.

“…Yes.”

She answered with a smile. And then tears came.

“Yes, I will oppa.”

Ryu-il let out a loud laugh of relief. She cried again before him. And to those tears, Ryu-il willingly kissed her. It was an afternoon that felt as if they could stand together like this forever.

She was proudly happy.

〈The End〉