Chapter 161.2

Chapter 161.2

“I’ll carry you in my arms all my life, what’s there to worry about?”

His honeyed voice tugged lightly at her throat. Seoryeong winced as a sharp pain stabbed her temples.

Before she could steady her ragged breathing, someone knocked. It was the landlady.

“Let’s go,” he said, offering his hand.

It was time for the bride to make her entrance.

Now, she was certain, during her first wedding, when she had been nothing but shy, it had been a blessing she couldn’t see clearly.

If she had properly faced Kim Hyun back then, she would’ve turned as red as a roasted sweet potato. And this time, of all times…

“Haa…”

The warmly smiling faces of the crowd burned vividly into her vision.

The landlady must’ve spread the news, everyone from white-haired elders to little children had gathered to celebrate the young outsider couple. Strangers showered the bride with unearned affection, their expressions making her heart churn.

They clapped as they shared generous plates of lamb and raised their glasses. The melody of the tar (a lute-like instrument) spread through the air like a warm breeze.

Under the wisteria, its purple blossoms hanging low, Seoryeong forced a smile, her cheeks trembling.

Her expression must’ve been hilarious, soft giggles tickled the air. Wooshin watched only her, his faint smile unwavering. His relaxed eyes and lips made him look completely at ease.

Seoryeong clenched her fists, itching to wipe that shameless look off his face. Yet when she saw how effortlessly handsome he was in that tuxedo, something inside her chest clenched.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I still can’t believe it.”

“Believe what?”

“That you said you love me,” He said smugly.

“…”

“Don’t you dare take it off.”

Wooshin pulled a ring box from his pocket. Against her will, Seoryeong remembered her first wedding. Back then, they had exchanged rings too, but she had lost hers without even remembering what it looked like.

A quick trip to wash her hands had ended with the ring slipping down a public restroom drain. She had been devastated.

She didn’t know how much she had hated herself back then, how wretched and burdensome she had felt to Kim Hyun.

Too ashamed to admit it, she had agonized for days, until one day, he awkwardly confessed he had lost his ring first.

How could I not have known? He had manufactured a mistake just to spare her. That was the kind of man he had been, so unbearably loving.

“I had it sized a little small. Tight, so it hurts just enough.”

“…”

“Even better if it reminds you of how cramped I’ve been inside you.”

She smacked his shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, when he wiggled his eyebrows. He coughed dramatically, but Seoryeong stared at the silver ring with tangled emotions.

It was beautiful. That was exactly why she didn’t want to wear it. Yet she extended her hand, and the tiny shackle slid onto her fourth finger. The spectators erupted in applause again.

“I can’t live without you now, Han Seoryeong.”

“…”

“You’re every reason I have. The only reason to do, or not do, anything.”

He smiled brilliantly and bowed his head. His grip on the back of her neck tightened as he kissed her stiffened lips.

The soft kiss, a promise of a new beginning, made her eyes close instinctively. It wasn’t their first, but it felt strange. Something inside her burned.

‘The first and last. The beginning and the end…’

She tilted her head and parted her lips willingly. Heat spread instantly. His tongue pushed past the seam of her mouth, his scorching body heat, his rough-soft breaths, his unbelievable confession, all of it flooding into her.

Their lips locked tighter. Close enough for their noses to brush, he didn’t retreat an inch. I love you, he whispered against her lips.

The crowd’s cheers buzzed near her ears before fading like a lie. When their parted lips met again, only the hungry pull of his mouth felt vivid. The only thing real was him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed an eagle cutting across the sky. Then she shut her eyes. Wooshin looked happy.

So Seoryeong was happy too.

Finally, Wooshin is ready.