Chapter 43
A brief silence fell between them. Only the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the chirping of insects reached their ears.
Lily waited for Dongbaek to speak. There must be a reason she came to find her in the middle of the night. Lily decided not to make any assumptions until Dongbaek spoke. She feared that misinterpreting Dongbaek’s intentions with hasty expectations might lead to resentment.
Dongbaek was the first to break the silence.
“I apologize for coming so abruptly in the dead of night. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“R-rudeness? I just…”
“I heard the news. They say you’re getting married.”
“…!”
Lily’s body jolted. Her lowered head snapped up as she gazed intently at Dongbaek. Dongbaek continued speaking calmly.
“Is this marriage what Lady Dan desires?”
“No. No, it’s not! But…”
Lily shook her head desperately in denial. Just as her feelings were about to spill out in a desperate attempt to explain the situation, Dongbaek raised a hand to stop her.
“Before any misunderstandings arise, there’s something I must make clear. I… I do not harbor romantic feelings for you.”
As Dongbaek’s words ended, the leaves clashed noisily against each other.
Lily wondered if she had heard correctly. She stared blankly at Dongbaek, unable to properly gather her thoughts.
Thinking Lily hadn’t heard properly, Dongbaek gave an awkward smile. Then repeated the same words with the same tone.
“I do not harbor romantic feelings for you, Young Lady Dan.”
Hearing it for the second time, Lily realized it wasn’t a hallucination. Tears welled up in her eyes. But she couldn’t bring herself to cry in front of Dongbaek. She didn’t want to burden her.
I should say I’m fine. I should say it doesn’t matter…
Lily tried to smile as her lips trembled, but the rising tears prevented any words from coming out.
“…You don’t have to force yourself to smile. It’s okay to cry. No one will blame you.”
Dongbaek reached out toward Lily’s trembling lips, gently tugging at the corners of her mouth. With that small touch, Lily’s composed facade crumbled, her face melting into pure sorrow. Her round eyes, brimming with unshed tears, flared with an almost wild grief.
“Why did you come to tell me this? You should have just let me think what I wanted. Even with just the memories of that spring day under the peach blossoms… With only the silk shoes you gave me, I could have lived forever in that dream!”
Lily’s young voice rose in anguish, trembling with the intensity of her emotions. Her small frame trembled with anger she couldn’t contain, breathing heavily for a while.
Belatedly realizing what she had said, Lily turned pale and clung to Dongbaek.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry. I just… just…”
“Lady Lily… do you love me?”
At Dongbaek’s question, Lily looked up at her intently. Through her tear-blurred vision, Dongbaek’s figure appeared both distant yet remarkably clear. Like a jewel gleaming in the depths of an unreachable lake.
How wonderful it would be to remain in Dongbaek’s eyes forever. To be the only reflection in those glass-like, transparent eyes. Lily answered quietly.
“I love you so much that my heart flutters just holding your hand, so much that I can’t think straight just hearing your voice.”
“Even though I don’t love you?”
“Even though you don’t love me.”
There was no hesitation in Lily’s words. Though tears swam in her eyes, they held firm conviction that this feeling would last a lifetime.
“My feelings won’t change. Even if it’s just my love alone, that’s enough. Just…. just don’t tell me I can’t even have these feelings of love for you.”
At Lily’s declaration, Dongbaek let out a quiet sigh. She wore the expression of someone who had anticipated this outcome. Dongbaek made a proposal.
“Will you become my wife?”
“What?”
“Not He Jin, but marry me instead.”
“But you just said you don’t love me.”
Faced with Dongbaek’s unexpected statement, Lily could only blink stupidly with her mouth hanging open. She couldn’t connect the statement about not loving her with this proposal of marriage.
Dongbaek shook her head once more to affirm.
“I don’t love you romantically. But that doesn’t mean I’m indifferent enough to ignore you marrying such a man. To me, Lady Dan, you’re… like a younger sister.”
This was purely Dongbaek’s selfishness. The kind of selfishness that would interfere with Lily’s life by reshaping her future according to her own standards, regardless of how much Lily might be hurt by the disruption to her future caused by Dongbaek’s intervention.
Dongbaek continued solemnly.
“I will never lay a hand on you. Even if you grow tired of me and seek someone new, I won’t mind at all. But I can promise you this, you will be my only wife. As your husband, I will protect you from everything in this world. I’ll let you do whatever you want.”
With each word Dongbaek spoke, Lily’s heart beat harder. Though she called her a younger sister, Dongbaek’s words were too sweet. Lily almost wanted to pinch her cheek to see if she was dreaming.
Being young and naïve, Lily didn’t fully understand what “never lay a hand on you” meant. But how could she not be happy when Dongbaek said she would be her only wife and would protect her? She felt like Dongbaek would chase away her father and her fiancé.
“So… will you come with me?”
Lily was so eager that she nodded repeatedly before Dongbaek even finished speaking.
“Yes, yes! Anything is fine as long as I can be with you…!”
As Lily continued to say “yes” over and over again, Dongbaek smiled awkwardly. Lily couldn’t help feeling she was being too hasty, but she felt like she was walking on clouds.
Smiling slightly, Dongbaek gently pulled the back of Lily’s head. Lily’s body followed the motion easily. With the window between them, Dongbaek held Lily’s shoulders lightly and whispered in her ear.
“Then I’ll contact you again soon.”
Leaving only those words, Dongbaek swiftly climbed the persimmon tree and jumped over the wall. Suddenly left alone, Lily felt dazed.
“Was that… a dream?”
But she could still feel Dongbaek’s breath on her ear. It was real… Dongbaek had truly come to see her.
That day, Lily understood what it meant to be so happy you could die. In that surreal sensation of floating, feeling like she could fly to the heavens, Lily kept replaying and savoring Dongbaek’s words about taking her as a wife.
Lost in thoughts of her conversation with Dongbaek all through the midnight hours, Lily ended up staying awake all night without a wink of sleep.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Early the next morning, Dongbaek burst into Zhang Rang’s bedroom. Though the sun had just begun to peek through the hills, pushing away the darkness, Dongbaek didn’t mind.
Elder Hwang was flustered by Dongbaek’s sudden visit at dawn.
“The master hasn’t risen yet.”
“Then I’ll wait here.”
Hearing the murmuring voices of Elder Hwang and Dongbaek, the light-sleeping Zhang Rang soon awoke. Though he wasn’t in the best mood, having to wake earlier than usual, he had no choice but to get up at the sound of Dongbaek’s voice outside.
Zhang Rang put on a casual vest and straightened his disheveled clothes. Then he cleared his throat to signal that he was awake.
Elder Hwang, regretful for disturbing Zhang Rang’s sleep, showed his unease with a furrowed brow but quickly adjusted his expression as he approached his master.
“My lord, Young Master Dongbaek wishes to see you.”
“Let him in.”
With Zhang Rang’s permission, Elder Hwang stepped aside from the door he had been blocking. Dongbaek crossed the threshold without hesitation, wearing an unreadable expression.
“I apologize for the early morning visit.”
“You must have something important to seek me out at this hour.”
Zhang Rang clicked his tongue at Dongbaek’s greeting. Dongbaek poured water from the pitcher by Zhang Rang’s bedside and handed it to him. After gulping down the water to wet his throat, Zhang Rang sat at the table in the middle of the room.
Zhang Rang gestured for Dongbaek, who was standing stiffly at a distance, to sit. Once seated, Dongbaek looked directly into Zhang Rang’s eyes and spoke.
“Yes. I’ve come to tell you that I intend to marry.”
At this calm statement, Zhang Rang had to reconsider if he’d heard correctly. It was quite an unexpected topic. The topic felt so abrupt and out of place that he questioned whether his hearing was failing him.
“…Marriage?”
“Yes.”
Confirming that he had heard correctly made Zhang Rang even more confused. This wasn’t an urgent matter to bring up at such an early hour.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Thank you for reading! ♡
