“Ah, really… You shouldn’t be doing this instead of thinking about sleeping!”

Ye-jin flailed her arms and legs in an attempt to break free from his embrace, but he refused to let her go.

Instead, he opened her pyjama top and began to explore her body even more obsessively. Licking her snow-white skin, he slipped his hand beneath her bottoms and teased her most sensitive spot wickedly.

Ye-jin dug her nails into his shoulder and let out low m*ans.

‘I should say no, I should get him to sleep right now.’

But it was difficult to maintain her sanity amidst the tingling pleasure that dominated her entire body.

“Ye-jin, you want me too.”

In a husky whisper, he provocatively wiggled his wet, sticky finger in front of Ye-jin’s eyes.

She quickly turned her head away, looking embarrassed. He chuckled, lifted her up and laid her on the desk.

Carefully pushing back her tangled hair, he pressed his lower body against hers. The solid, rising heat pressed heavily between her legs, setting her entire body on fire.

“I don’t need to sleep. Not if I can devour you.”

His voice, cracked with excitement, brushed her earlobe and sent shivers down her spine.

Then, the metallic sound of his belt buckle opening assaulted her ears, and his hot, overwhelming desire plunged mercilessly into her like a flaming rod.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

Autumn passed in the blink of an eye, and winter arrived abruptly.

Hope had grown noticeably. Just a while ago, he had started crawling and eating baby food.

Seeing him happily accept the food into his small mouth, wearing a bib the size of his palm, was so endearing that it brought tears to her eyes.

He had become so healthy that it was hard to believe he had undergone liver transplant surgery, and he was no longer required to attend hospital check-ups as frequently.

Meanwhile, Ye-jin had finally finished knitting the scarf she had kept secret all this time.

She carefully placed the neatly woven scarf in a box and tied it with a ribbon.

Her heart beat fast.

‘What expression will he make when he receives the gift? He’ll surely like it, right?’

The last time she crocheted a doll for Hope, he had seemed a little envious…

Recalling his brightly smiling face, Ye-jin smiled faintly.

That night, as soon as he came home from work and stepped into the living room, Ye-jin quickly presented the box. She couldn’t wait to see his happy reaction.

“It’s a gift. Open it.”

“A gift?”

He untied the ribbon and opened the box.

“A scarf?”

“Yes. I knitted it myself. Try it on.”

Ye-jin took the scarf out of the box and draped it around his neck.

The moment she did so, his face turned as white as a sheet. With a rough gesture, he tore the scarf off and threw it onto the floor.

He clutched his chest tightly, breathing raggedly and irregularly. Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead.

“What’s… wrong?”

Startled by his strange reaction, Ye-jin asked him what was wrong. She had never seen him so panicked and flustered before.

This wasn’t just a matter of whether he liked the gift or not. Something was definitely seriously wrong.

He also seemed to be suffering from a headache, gripping his head fiercely.

He then ran to the terrace, grasped the railing, and began to regulate his breathing while facing the cold night air.

“Did I make a mistake?”

Ye-jin picked up the scarf from the floor and approached him cautiously, asking a question.

He couldn’t answer immediately. He just continued to gasp for air for a while. Several minutes passed like that.

Once he had calmed down somewhat, he let out a deep sigh and slowly moved his lips.

“Ah, I… I can’t stand anything that constricts my throat.”

This was a side of him she had never seen before.

Ye-jin stared blankly at his neck. He wasn’t wearing a tie and had undone three buttons on his shirt.

He always dressed like this. No matter how important the occasion, he never wore a tie and always left his shirt open.

“I can’t button my shirt up tightly to my neck, and I can’t wear anything around my neck. Ties, bow ties, scarves, necklaces—none of them…”

“Why…”

“The psychiatrist said it’s due to a trauma.”

“Trauma?”

“My father frequently choked me until I almost suffocated.”

Suddenly, her heart ached as if it were being torn out. Her heart always hurt when she thought of his dark past.

‘Then, the reason he didn’t wear a tie at the wedding wasn’t to mock our marriage, but simply because he couldn’t wear one?’

Her heart ached even more over her past misunderstanding.

‘I didn’t even know that and was holding a grudge and nurturing discontent all by myself.’

“And I didn’t even know that…”

Ye-jin quietly wept.

‘What’s the big deal about a tie? Why did I resent him for it?’

“No, I failed to tell you. You don’t need to cry.”

He cupped Ye-jin’s face with both hands, delicately wiping away her tears with his fingertips.

“Thank you for the gift. I truly love it. I may not be able to wear this, but I’ll treasure it instead.”

He took the scarf that Ye-jin held in her hands. He then rubbed his cheek against the scarf. The soft texture of the yarn was very warm.

“No! I’ll unravel this, buy more yarn, and make you a sweater. You can wear a sweater, right?”

Ye-jin suddenly snatched the scarf back and spoke clearly and distinctly.

He smiled faintly.

“Yes. I can wear a sweater anytime.”

He stretched out his arms and securely trapped Ye-jin in his embrace.

‘She is too lovable to bear.’

He gently pressed his lips to the crown of her round head. Ye-jin then lifted her face and looked straight at him.

“I… have something similar to a trauma.”

Ye-jin moved her lips slowly, as if confessing.

“I… I can’t have a short haircut.”

She revealed a small part of her dark past to him.

‘Perhaps this man would love even the dark and awful parts of me.’

“My birth mother suddenly cut off my hair with scissors because she needed money. It wasn’t my current mom.”

“…”

“At the time, the scissor blade was just grazing my earlobe… I was so terrified and creeped out that my ear might be cut off. So, ever since then, I just can’t bring myself to have short hair.”

“…”

“The short cut that Seo Jung-hoo likes, I can’t do it again.”

Ye-jin said softly.

‘It’s just a shame that I can’t satisfy the preference of the man I love.’

But he smiled tenderly.

“It doesn’t matter. The only reason I liked short hair was because you had that haircut when I first saw you.”

Gently stroking Ye-jin’s long, grown-out hair, he said softly.

Ye-jin opened her eyes wide and carefully thought over his words.

“Then… the reason you kept dating only women with short haircuts… was because of me?”

She couldn’t believe that she was the cause of his short-hair f*tish.

“Then who else would it have been for but you?”

“But I was a high school student then…”

“I planned to raise you and then eat you.”

“W-What was that? Ugh, you lowlife!”

Ye-jin lightly hit his chest with her fist. Even after being hit, he just laughed happily, as if delighted by it.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

The seasons changed again.

Before they knew it, spring had arrived. The weather became milder, and light pink cherry blossom began to bloom all over the streets.

“What did you just say?”

Ye-jin, who had been feeding the baby, put down the spoon and asked sharply.

“The bear hunting season has started, so I’m going to Montana for a few days.”

He answered with utterly unashamed cheek.

“If I asked you to come with me, you wouldn’t, would you? You hate hunting.”

“Of course, I hate it! And bears? Are you out of your mind?”

“My mind is perfectly fine, so stop denigrating me like that.”

“You idiot! Bears will tear a person apart…!”

Ye-jin shouted, a vein popping out on her neck.

She hated the fact that he had harmed a defenceless creature so mercilessly. But what she hated even more was the possibility that he might get hurt.

‘Well, it’s not like he’d lose to a bear, but still.’

“Hope, you don’t want Daddy to go bear hunting, do you?”

Ye-jin picked up the spoon again and fed Hope his baby food.

Hope chewed and swallowed the food, then babbled.

“U-gya-gya-gya-ha-gya-uh-ba.”

“See? Hope doesn’t like it either.”

“How can that be interpreted as a sign of dislike? That kid just made a sound that means absolutely nothing.”

“Hope, don’t you want to go out and play with Mommy and Daddy?”

Ye-jin ignored him and continued to question Hope. Hope smiled brightly and moved his lips.

“Eeu-eung-eu-woo-ruum!”

This time, a quite plausible answer came out. Ye-jin smiled triumphantly.

“Forget Montana, let’s go somewhere close, just the three of us.”

“Somewhere close, where?”

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

That place was Jinhae.

It was the seaside in Jinhae, where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The gentle sea breeze blew Ye-jin’s long hair gently.

“You said you didn’t like the sea.”

“It’s fine when I’m with you.”

They took a leisurely stroll amid the cherry blossoms and the sea.

Hope seemed to enjoy the view of the sea dotted with cherry blossom, his eyes shining as he smiled broadly.

“I’ve waited for too long.”

He slowly spoke, looking at Ye-jin beneath the cherry blossoms with an emotional expression.

“To walk this path with you.”

He suddenly stopped pushing the stroller.

After safely parking the stroller with Hope inside, he knelt on one knee in front of Ye-jin.

“…?”

Ye-jin stared wide-eyed at him.

He took something out of his pants pocket. It was a small, square case. When he opened the case, a five-carat diamond ring sparkled brilliantly.

“Thank you for marrying me.”

“…”

“I won’t ever hurt you again.”

“…”

“I love you.”

Ye-jin shed a few tears when she saw the touching confession. She rubbed her reddened eyes and held out her hand, revealing its absence.

He slipped the diamond ring securely onto her left ring finger. At that moment, Hope, sitting in his stroller, clapped his hands.

“A-pee-bah-uh-buh-muh-mah-mah!”

“Did our Hope just say ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mommy’? Are you happy that Daddy and Mommy came here with you?”

Ye-jin leaned close to Hope and asked gently.

“Uh-gya-uh-uh-woo-woo-um!”

Hope clapped his hands again and replied enthusiastically. Ye-jin smiled faintly.

“Let’s come together again next year. Just the three of us.”

“No, I don’t think that will work.”

Ye-jin blinked blankly at his negative answer. She hadn’t expected a “no” at all.

“Why not? Are you busy?”

“It’s not that. Next year…”

He paused briefly before drawing out his words. Then, with a meaningful smile, he said forcefully.

“We should come as a group of four.”

“Four?”

Ye-jin’s voice rose in surprise.

“We need to do it again, don’t we?”

“Ah, I hadn’t even thought about a second one…”

Since he hadn’t wanted a child in the first place, she hadn’t expected him to want another one. She was just happy that he had accepted Hope. The idea that he was planning for a second child made her heart pound.

“We need to make a cute sibling for this little guy.”

He said kindly, stroking Hope’s plump cheek.

“Hope, do you want a sibling?”

Ye-jin asked Hope in an excited voice. Hope wiggled his lips as if he’d been waiting for the question and babbled loudly.

“Ooo-oo-oong-oong!”

“Good, then next year, let’s come here as four with your sibling.”

“Wooh-oo-oong!”

He pushed the stroller forward again. He reached out his hand to Ye-jin. Ye-jin grasped his hand tightly.

‘Let’s walk along the seashore together next year, and the year after that, and every year after that — forever.’