Unexpected Epilogue

“You were excited to eat some expensive food, so why does your face look like that?”

They were in the middle of a crowded lobby filled with wedding guests. When his irritated voice flowed into her ears, ChaYoung stopped walking and turned her head to look at KunHyung.

Just as she’d expected. When their eyes met, she could see that he did not know what he’d done wrong. No, rather than saying he was wrong, it would be more accurate to say that he was just different from her. One could say that the problem arose from the fact that she was racing forward while he was following behind her at a slow pace.

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They were currently at a hotel that was known for being popular for celebrity weddings. A bride or a groom would often dream of having their wedding at this famous venue. However, due to the price, it was near impossible for most people.

Therefore, this place always ended up on the news whenever a chaebol or a celebrity got married. For today’s wedding, she was told that the groom was the Mo Group chairman’s grandson.

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The reason why she attended a stranger’s wedding was because of something KunHyung had said in passing.

“I need to attend a wedding next Saturday. Do you want to come with me?”

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It was an unexpected offer, so ChaYoung responded cautiously.

“Whose wedding is it?”

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“A classmate.”

“By classmate, you mean…”

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The moment she recalled the faces of her college sunbaes, he answered back.

“Not college. Elementary school.”

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His answer was far from what she’d expected. ChaYoung’s eyes widened as she asked.

“Elementary school?”

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“Yeah.”

Her elementary school days were so far away that she could barely remember her friends’ faces from that time. But to think that he was still close with an elementary school friend to the point that he was attending his wedding made her see him in a new light.

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“We’re not close.”

As if he’d read her mind, he quickly corrected her.

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“It’s basically just keeping up appearances. Even alumni get-togethers can bring business opportunities.”

His dry answer sounded cold but pitiful at the same time. Children of political or business families probably attended a private elementary school. They probably never ran around, kicked sand, or ate unsanitary foods. They probably never made a proper childhood memory.

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The passing thought caused her face to turn grave. Either way, it was his friend’s wedding. His other friends would definitely be there. By asking her to go with him, he could be trying to introduce her to his friends.

Suddenly, her heart raced. Compared to what happened at the birthday party, this was a huge difference.

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“If it’ll be too uncomfortable for you, you don’t have to come.”

When she didn’t answer him, he spoke up. She should have told him that that was not the case, but she hesitated. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself and ask him if it was appropriate for her to attend something like this.

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“I guess I’ll go. Where is it?”

“S Hotel.”

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“Wow. I guess I’ll be eating some expensive food.”

She laughed to hide her true thoughts. Her heart fluttered at the thought of meeting his friends, but she wanted him to think that she was excited for the expensive food.

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So when she made the decision to go, several worries began to take over her mind. What should I wear? How should I style my hair? Everyone else will look so elegant. What if I’m the only one who looks shabby? Because of this, she began to flip through fashion magazines, something she’d never done before. Like this, she continued to worry about what she should wear to the wedding.

When she opened her closet, she felt like she had no clothes. Therefore, she began to start shopping at various stores to find something appropriate. In the end, she found a wrap dress with a deep blue belt.

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The wedding was a lot more magnificent than she’d expected. Just the flowers alone would have cost tens of millions of won, and the scale of the decorations made her mouth open in awe.

Even though she knew this was all an empty formality for these people, she couldn’t help but admire them. The elegant, sparkling chandelier, the countless flower decorations flanking the aisle, and more than anything else… ChaYoung could not rip her eyes away from the wedding dress that the bride was wearing.

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And so the wedding ceremony proceeded. While the bride and groom were changing their clothes, the meals were brought out. The reverent atmosphere quickly changed to a lively one. During this time, several friends approached and greeted KunHyung.

Realizing that she was finally going to be introduced, ChaYoung did her best to keep a poker face as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. Even the bride and groom who had been greeting the various guests came up to them.

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As he accepted the congratulations coming his way, the groom lightly tapped KunHyung’s arm and asked.

“Who is this?”

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The groom and the rest of the friends’ eyes focused on her. ChaYoung flashed them a bashful smile and waited for KunHyung to introduce her with bated breath.

“My hoobae.”

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Suddenly, she felt as if something tore apart. Her smile turned stiff and began to tremble.

She did her best to keep smiling as she greeted them. ‘Hoobae?’, their eyes seemed to ask. They seemed to lose interest and changed the subject. From their perspective, she may have not seemed like an important person.

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Everything after that moment was a blur. She couldn’t taste the food to see if it was even good or not. She tried to pretend as if everything was fine, so she deliberately cleared her plate.

She thought she was successfully hiding her feelings, but seeing as how he was asking her now, it seemed that she did not do a good job. She vowed to never get ahead of herself again, but as expected, the heart was fickle and weak.

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“It didn’t taste as good as I expected. The balsamic vinaigrette on the crab was too strong, and the steak was overcooked, so it was difficult to chew.”

Actually, it was the complete opposite. The food was truly amazing. Even though she knew it was a ridiculous excuse, she didn’t know what else to say. If she really told him how she felt, she felt like she’d seem too pathetic.

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“……”

She pursed her lips, oozing with displeasure, and he merely stared at her in silence. A few moments passed, and she finally calmed down. She began to feel embarrassed.

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What if we’re not on the same page when it comes to where we’re at in the relationship?

Suddenly, she recalled the events that had occurred two months ago.

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She had spent her birthday alone at Gangneung, and they had passed their 100-day anniversary at the hospital. Because the major milestones had passed by without any celebration, she had looked forward to their one-year anniversary.

However, despite the anticipation, nothing happened. Unable to hide her disappointment, she asked him.

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“Do you know what day it is today?”

“Yeah.”

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If he had said ‘What day is it?’ instead, she would have better understood. But he had merely said ‘Yeah’, so she didn’t know how to respond.

When he saw her grow dispirited, he continued.

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“It’s also the day you broke up with that punk.”

His unexpected remark caused her mouth to open in surprise. As their eyes met, he added.

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“I’m sure you’ll always be reminded of it at this time every year, and I don’t want you to dwell on it.”

He wasn’t wrong. Every anniversary, she wouldn’t be able to help but remember Kim SeungHoon. Even if she didn’t want to, it would inevitably happen.

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When she realized this, all the words she wanted to say disappeared. As her mouth opened and closed with frustration, he suggested that they should instead celebrate the day they first slept together.

And so their first anniversary was changed to a later date. Their first anniversary was one month ago.

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He always argued logically. But the problem was that she was strangely convinced every time.

Maybe today’s incident would be the same. The vague thought made her stiff face relax. She approached him and looped her arm around his.

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“Let’s go.”

His lips relaxed into a smile, but she pretended she didn’t see it as she began to walk. She didn’t have to see his face to know that he was looking down at her with the gentlest of eyes.

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She often wondered how many changes and uncertainties she would have to go through. But she was also worried that this fickle passion of theirs would one day come to cease.

What a beautiful dilemma.

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* * *

“How much longer are you going to stay at the hotel? Are you not planning on coming home?”

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They exited the wedding hall and waited for the valet to bring their car around. Because there were so many people, it was taking some time.

As ChaYoung walked with KunHyung, the voice she heard made her frown. It sounded familiar, but she wasn’t happy to hear it.

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“Your older sister called me again. Did you know?”

No way. The woman’s voice also sounded familiar. A pair of cockroaches appeared before her eyes.

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“It’s not like you’re a beggar bastard. How can you always ask for money so shamelessly?”

“Beggar bastard? Watch your mouth!”

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“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“Why you little…!”

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“This is why it’s important to look at a person’s family background. Huu. It’s all my fault. All because I was blinded by love, I fought for someone like him. I’m the crazy one.”

As the woman pounded her chest, their eyes met. The woman froze. SeungHoon followed her gaze and froze as well.

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There was a moment of silence. ChaYoung could see the embarrassment creep up their faces at having been caught in such a wretched scene.

What kind of expression should she make? ChaYoung mulled over this.

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Pfft.

ChaYoung came to a decision and flashed them a crooked smile. It must have been an excellent choice because the cockroaches’ faces immediately twisted into a scowl.

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Meanwhile, the valet driver parked KunHyung’s car in front of them. KunHyung stopped the approaching driver with a look and personally opened the passenger-side door for ChaYoung.

Their eyes met in an affectionate gaze, and ChaYoung got inside. She could feel the cockroaches’ piercing stares on the back of her head. Her shoulders went up with a childish sense of victory.

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It felt like the insulting events that occurred one year ago were being washed away in an instant. Although she didn’t forgive them, she felt a tiny bit of pity for them.

She felt satisfied. Her chest felt refreshed as if she’d just drunk a glass of cold, crisp soda.

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She wondered if KunHyung had recognized Kim SeungHoon. ChaYoung shook her head at the thought.

It didn’t matter. These people had nothing to do with her anymore.

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* * *

“This place is…”

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The car slowed down as it entered a familiar alleyway. ChaYoung had looked a bit uncertain for a while, but now she turned her head to look at him.

The walls that held the marks of time and the recycling bin covered with advertisement stickers… It was an ordinary house, but she of all people knew it better than anyone.

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“I told you there was a place we needed to stop by.”

KunHyung got out of the car first and opened the passenger-side door for her. ChaYoung remained seated with a confused look on her face. He bent down and unbuckled her seatbelt.

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Click. When she heard the sound, she returned to her senses. She suddenly realized how much she’d missed this house.

Even though she missed it, she never dreamed of coming here on her own. It was a house that was full of traces of her grandmother. She was worried that the house had changed, so she felt afraid to go inside. She wasn’t sure how he had found this place, but it seemed that he had wanted to come here with her.

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She held back the tears from dripping out of her reddened eyes and got out of the car. KunHyung affectionately wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began to walk towards the house.

What if the locks changed? Just as the thought popped into her head, she saw the same keyhole on the door of the gate. The same climbing rose clung to the walls. As she looked at the gate that had remained unchanged, something warm surged up in her heart.

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Suddenly, her mouth opened in shock. KunHyung rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out as he began to approach the gate.

“Why are you entering someone else’s…”

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Just as she grabbed his sleeve, the gate opened with a clang. He waved the key in his hand. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Her face looked even more surprised than when they’d first arrived at the house.

“It’s been a while since I went on a spending spree.”

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He murmured in an indifferent voice.

Spending spree? As she thought back, she came to realize why he had the key that opened the gate.

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“You… bought the house?”

Her eyes widened even more with emotion. It’s not like this purchase cost a couple of pennies. He had suddenly spent so much money on a house. She didn’t know what to do with this information.

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“Just why would you…”

The moment she opened her mouth, he grabbed her hand and began to walk. As she was dragged inside, the wide yard appeared before her eyes.

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The blooming garden full of flowers and even the vegetable garden on the side. It was as if she had gone back in time.

ChaYoung momentarily forgot what she was going to ask him. She gazed at this place that was full of memories.

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“Thankfully, they remembered.”

As she wondered how this place could be the same as it was three years ago, he opened his mouth.

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“How everything looked when they first moved in.”

Her surprised gaze turned to him. It wasn’t that nothing had changed. It was that he had everything changed back to the way it was. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and her throat closed up.

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“I was originally planning on having it finished by our one-year anniversary. But this took longer than expected.”

He pulled out a velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her. She received it with trembling hands and carefully opened it.

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“That took five months to make.”

She heard his remark before she could see what it was. She lifted her eyes and looked at him. Did it take five months because he personally made it himself or did it take five months to be made by a master jeweler? She couldn’t tell.

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“The prong setting looked too commonplace, so I was disinclined to use it. The channel setting looked nice, but they told me it was too high level for me to do on my own.”

The technical terms used in jewelry-making began to flow out of his lips. ChaYoung realized that he had personally made this himself. She stared blankly up at him as she stood still in disbelief.

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He grumbled awkwardly before walking up to her.

“But I still wanted to make something a bit special for you, so I decided to do this. You know I’m not a person with a lot of free time, right?”

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He pulled out the ring and slowly placed it on the ring finger of her left hand.

“But I liked doing it so much that I managed to make time for it.”

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He felt like he could somewhat understand what his mother had meant when she said that people knit and cross-stitched with this kind of intent.

He used to think that people would be happier to receive a perfectly crafted gift that had been created by a master craftsman rather than receive a clumsy gift that he had personally made. But for someone who was very special to him, an expensive gift made with someone else’s hands didn’t seem like it would be enough.

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ChaYoung looked down at the small flower that had bloomed on her ring finger with tears in her eyes. KunHyung was told that the final steps needed to be done by a professional jeweler, so he had only managed to receive the finished product this morning.

Even from a glance, one could tell that this was not manufactured in a factory. The five overlapping petals looked like fluttering butterfly wings, and at the center of those petals was a diamond oval secured by a bezel setting.

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Thanks to the master jeweler’s hands, the gems did not seem loose on the band.

“But you just said… I was your hoobae.”

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He had made her heart ache when he introduced her as his hoobae and not his girlfriend. She didn’t know how to handle his unpredictable nature.

“You told them I was your hoobae.”

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Her sadness began to surge out with her tears. The tears trickled down her cheeks. He protested with a mortified look on his face.

“Should I have told them and ruined the surprise?”

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“That’s not what I mean…”

He had spent five months making the ring, and he had purchased and decorated the house that she had missed all these years. He had prepared for today in his own way. She couldn’t get mad at him.

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He awkwardly stood in front of her and brought her into his embrace.

“Don’t cry. It seems that I reacted that way because I was nervous.”

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Holding her tightly to his chest, he stroked the back of her head. He had wanted to see her face bloom with happiness, but in the end, he made her cry.

He regretted not cutting back on sleep and spending more time on creating the ring. If only he had finished this ring one day sooner, he would have placed it on her finger yesterday and confidently introduced her as the woman he was going to marry to his friends.

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“There was no middle. Sorry¹.”

Sniffling inside his arms, ChaYoung shook her head when she heard his apology. Just like how people had different methods of eating, people could also have different ways of expressing their emotions.

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“I’ll take care of the recycling bin and pull out all the weeds in the garden.”

When she heard him, she suddenly stopped crying. Her head burst up as she stared at him. When their eyes met, he continued.

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“Let’s live here together.”

It was a proposal. He had bought a house and renovated it. He’d spent months making a ring and placed it on her finger today. The reason for all this…

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Her heart fluttered, and she couldn’t say a word. Her eyes as she looked at him, her finger that now held the ring… Everything trembled. He also trembled as he waited for her answer.

“Seriously, why is there no middle with you?”

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She lightly hit his shoulder with her fist as she sobbed.

Despite the tears, a sweet smile formed on her lips. When KunHyung saw this, he leaned down and kissed her.

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The afternoon sun sparkled as the flowers swayed in the wind. Just like the smile of this man, the most special and precious man in the world.