II - 23

The wedding ceremony was completed without a hitch, and they boarded the plane heading to Greece. 

This was I-ryeong’s first overseas trip, and her excitement was at its peak. First-class seating on her very first trip abroad—it was almost too much to take in. The tension over the marriage registration had completely dissipated, leaving her feeling unusually relaxed. 

She closed the sliding door of the first-class cabin, separating herself from the aisle, and turned on a movie. Though she put on headphones to avoid disturbing I-jun, who had fallen asleep shortly after takeoff, the dialogue didn’t register. 

Once she settled into the comfortable seat, fragments of the ceremony that she had rushed through began flooding back to her. Surrounded by dazzling flowers, the solemnity of the event had kept her on edge until the very end. 

But for one fleeting moment, that tension shattered. 

“Will you love only your bride for the rest of your life?” 

At the officiant’s question, I-jun had paused, smiling faintly but remaining silent. At the time, she thought he was just as nervous as she was, delaying his response. But now, looking back, that silence weighed heavily on her mind. 

Why? I-ryeong stared at I-jun, who was sound asleep on the other side of the partition. 

He was a man who had worked right up until coming to the shop earlier. It made sense that he’d collapsed into sleep after pushing himself so hard to finish work before their long vacation. 

“He must’ve been exhausted.” 

Their marriage had its own reasons, and she knew better than to expect love from him. 

What did it matter if he stayed silent during the ceremony? She tried not to dwell on it. 

“Don’t get your hopes up, I-ryeong.” 

She tried to console herself, attempting to erase the memory of the ceremony. But a tightness gripped her chest, and a dull ache spread through her heart. 

Maybe she should’ve just watched the movie instead of recalling the ceremony. 

“The groom seems utterly smitten with the bride. He’s so busy smiling that he can’t even answer!” 

When the officiant prompted him again after the delay, I-jun simply gazed at her intently, wordlessly. 

Her mind spiraled. Had she unknowingly stepped into her own personal hell? The cost of ruminating over it was proving far more devastating than she anticipated. 

Just as she began to fear he might call off the wedding in front of all the guests, his lips finally parted. 

“…For the rest of my life, I will love only my bride.” 

His tone carried an impression of reluctance, as though he were answering only because time had forced him to. 

I-ryeong’s throat tightened, making it difficult to breathe. She gently touched the wedding ring he had placed on her finger, but her rapid breathing wouldn’t subside. 

She remembered the lack of emotion on his smiling face—none of the sweetness he had shown her in bed. 

Why couldn’t she stop clinging to hope, wallowing in these emotions? 

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, swallowed down along with the lump in her throat. 

They arrived at the Royal Villa in Lagonisi, Greece, said to be the most exotic location in the area. 

I-ryeong postponed unpacking and stepped out onto the living room terrace. 

Beyond the infinity pool stretched the endless, tranquil emerald waters of the Mediterranean in March. She tried to wash away the discomfort she had carried from the plane into the sea. But the ache pressing against her chest refused to fade. 

“Haa…” 

It was at the moment her dry lips exhaled a broken sigh that his voice startled her. 

“Have you eaten?” 

Surprised by I-jun’s sudden presence, she turned around. 

“I’m not really thinking about food.” 

“You barely ate anything on the plane either. Let me call for room service.” 

Dressed casually, he waited for her response, but she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. 

“From today onward, I’ll treat you more comfortably. After all, we’re married.” 

Were they truly husband and wife now? His changed tone tangled her thoughts once again. 

“I can’t keep track of everything. So make sure you take care of yourself.” 

His abruptness stung, leaving her feeling hurt. 

If they were truly husband and wife as he claimed, why did it feel like the distance between them had grown even wider? 

“…Alright.” 

I-ryeong turned her back to him, directing her gaze toward the Mediterranean. She didn’t want him to see the turmoil brewing inside her. 

“I need to handle some things I couldn’t finish in Korea.” 

“You’re not a child. Don’t worry about it.” 

He was a man busier than anyone else in the world. 

“Are you really okay?” 

“Yes, of course.”

She reassured him in a calm voice, trying to put his mind at ease. 

She didn’t want to cling to I-jun, who was always so perfect when it came to work. She was afraid he might push her away if she seemed too needy. 

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept over her, sending a chill through her body. I-ryeong wrapped her arms around herself and gently stroked her arms to ward off the cool sensation. 

“The ring?” 

He grabbed the arm she had been rubbing and stared at her finger, now missing the wedding band. His expression was stern, almost as if he were angry. 

“I took it off while unpacking earlier.” 

“Why would you take off something I gave you to wear?” 

“It’s expensive. I was worried I’d lose it.” 

As if it were no big deal, I-ryeong shrugged her delicate shoulders. 

The wedding rings were something they had picked out together. The ring, made famous by a Monaco princess, was quite pricey. 

“Does that even make sense?” 

“The diamond’s huge! What if I lost it while wearing it here?” 

The ring, with its center diamond the size of a pinky nail surrounded by smaller diamonds, was worth as much as a mid-sized car. 

Given its value, it was easy to justify her excuse. 

“Don’t worry about that. Just wear it.” 

But I-jun was persistent. 

“If you lose it, I’ll buy you another one.” 

He furrowed his brow, showing an unusual level of fixation on the ring. 

“I’ll only wear it on special occasions. On regular days, I’ll wear the proposal ring you gave me.” 

Since they had already confirmed their status as a married couple in front of others, she considered the ring more of a formality than anything meaningful. 

“Are you saying you need a daily ring?” 

“I-jun, this is enough for me.” 

Her response made it sound as though she were indirectly asking him to buy her another ring, which left him looking at her quizzically. 

“It’s a symbol of being husband and wife.” 

He held up his own hand, showing the matching wedding band he still wore. 

“If you take yours off, it loses its meaning.” 

“It feels like too much to wear every day.” 

I-jun refused to let the matter drop. 

“When we return, I’ll buy you a new one you like. Okay?” 

Watching him refuse to back down, I-ryeong swallowed a sigh. 

His dual nature—drawing lines while still wanting to be close—left her with much to ponder. 

“I-jun, do we have to show something to the public?” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

I-jun narrowed his eyes, genuinely seeming confused by her question. 

“I’m asking if there’s some reason we need to prove we’re married by showing off our rings.” 

His gaze darkened momentarily, as if she had struck a nerve. He fell silent, clearly mulling over her words. 

Though he had escaped his mother’s pressure to marry, he still seemed obsessed with the idea of marriage itself. 

She should have thought more deeply about this marriage, but her feelings for him had rushed her into it—and now the aftermath was crashing down on her. 

Perhaps she shouldn’t have dug deeper into the reasons behind it all. Trapped in the emotional inferno she had created, I-ryeong’s mood only worsened. 

“If there is something, I don’t have to tell you.” 

“So you’re hiding something?” 

She met his languid gaze head-on and asked directly. 

“Let’s just say that’s true.” 

Leaving behind an ambiguous answer, I-jun walked out of the terrace. The space she was left in felt eerily cold, sending shivers down her spine. 

His deliberate attempts to conceal his emotions and expressions hurt her. 

“And yet you call us husband and wife…” 

She bit down hard on her trembling lips. 

A sudden, anxious thought crossed her mind: Did he have another woman? 

Carrying this complicated mix of emotions, I-ryeong returned indoors. 

From the closed living room, the sound of typing leaked out. She stared blankly at the door for a moment before retreating to the bedroom. 

She lay down on the bed, burying herself in the plush comforter, and closed her eyes. 

“This is so frustrating.” 

Her gaze lingered on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. 

She wanted nothing more than to drift off without thinking, but a loud buzzing noise jolted her awake.

The messages poured in relentlessly. 

[Chaeyi, did you get married?] 

[I-ryeong! I heard you got married? Why didn’t you tell me? I’m starting to feel hurt.] 

[Chaeyi! The whole team is in shock! Couldn’t you at least have sent a message? We need to get back all the condolence and celebration money you’ve given us over the years!] 

They were from her former teammates at Jael Apparel, where she had worked before transferring to AE Cosmetics. They asked for her account details, insisting on sending wedding money as a gift. 

“…So they found out.” 

A shadow fell over her face. 

When she left Jael Apparel to join AE Cosmetics, she hadn’t written a single line about her previous work experience on her resume. 

To I-ryeong, her old workplace was a wound she wanted to cut out, a past she wished to forget. 

“…I guess it’s fine if I delete my SNS posts, right?” 

It seemed that the post she had reluctantly made announcing her marriage—after I-jun’s request—was how they had found out. After much deliberation, she decided to take down the announcement. 

She thought that after switching jobs, no one would care about her personal life anymore. But she was wrong. 

Like hyenas drawn to fresh prey, they had discovered the juicy topic of her marriage and pounced to satisfy their curiosity. 

Instead of replying, she deleted all the messages and blocked them. 

“You used to work at Jael Apparel too, huh?” 

She recalled her mother-in-law’s casual comment from before. 

“I’m not curious about why you transferred to our company as a non-regular employee.” 

Her mother-in-law had claimed not to care, so I-ryeong had let her guard down. 

Could it be that I-jun also knew? 

The realization that she might have overlooked something important sent a wave of unease crashing over her. She gnawed on her nails as she painstakingly retraced her memories. 

“Ah…” 

He hadn’t invited a single friend. 

“There’s no way he doesn’t have any friends.” 

Most of the guests on the groom’s side who filled the wedding hall were acquaintances of his parents. Especially those from his mother’s circle—entrepreneurs whose numbers overflowed into the bride’s guest seating area. 

“Could it be that all those guards weren’t there for security but to block someone like Jo Dong-ha? No, that can’t be… No…” 

Given that the majority of the guests were verified entrepreneurs, the only person she could think of him blocking was an ex-lover. 

But to station so many guards just to keep one person away? It was hard to believe. 

“What could his secret be?” 

The man who had stubbornly proposed marriage. 

The man who was affectionate one moment and coldly sarcastic the next. 

“Could it be…? No, it can’t be. It shouldn’t be.” 

He had been fixated on the ring but refused to explain why. 

In the end, her overactive mind latched onto one conclusion: 

“Why am I assuming it’s not true?” 

She shook her head, trying to shake off the disturbing thoughts, but they only grew larger, filling her mind completely. 

“It’s because I’m tired, just tired…” 

She pulled the blanket over herself and wrapped it tightly around her body. She violently shook her head, trying to erase the intrusive thoughts, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep. 

But the doubts continued to grow, refusing to release her. She jumped to her own unfounded conclusion: the reason for their marriage wasn’t just to appease his mother. 

There must be a woman lingering by his side. 

“Who cares anyway? He never told me anything.” 

She began to suspect that he was using her to get rid of another woman. 

If the only place they’d show their rings as a married couple was at the company, then it made sense—he must still have unfinished business with a woman at work. 

That’s why the security was necessary. That’s why guards were stationed everywhere. 

“…I’ve gone crazy, Chae I-ryeong.” 

Even to herself, this train of thought felt like rock bottom. 

Suddenly bolting upright in bed, I-ryeong grabbed her phone and stepped outside. Maybe a walk along the beach would help clear her chaotic mind.