“Episode 18”
“Hurry up!” Jen chimed in, and Yuliana exclaimed, “Got it!” Before the housekeeper could catch her, Yuliana rushed out of the bride’s waiting room. Her outfit and makeup weren’t even finished, she moved so fast. Bewildered, Jen could only hear the voice of the Duchess echoing from afar, “When that girl ‘Anna’ from the countryside shows up in two years, she must pass! Got it?!”
* * *
“Huff…”
Yuliana grabbed the hem of her dress and swiftly passed through the guests.
Guests were startled, dropping their delicate tarts and wine. Nevertheless, Yuliana didn’t stop and dashed into the groom’s waiting room where Evan was supposed to be.
“Evan!”
Servants, surprised, turned to look at her. As they tried to distance themselves while cleaning the waiting room, Yuliana shouted, “Where’s Evan?!”
“D-Duke, are you referring to him?”
“Yeah!”
“The, he was just here, but where he went…”
“Got it!”
With just another word, Yuliana prepared to disappear again, opening the door to the waiting room.
And there, in front of her, stood Evan.
With the appearance of a groom, his perfectly fitted suit hugged his robust frame as he looked down at her. When their eyes met, Yuliana couldn’t help but embrace him tightly.
“Evan! You’re alive! Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness…”
Burying her face into his broad chest, Yuliana sobbed uncontrollably, feeling a faint sense of unease. She lifted her head, finding Evan looking at her somewhat dazedly.
“Oh… maybe he doesn’t remember.”
Her heart sank at the realization that he might not remember their time together. Nevertheless, Yuliana forced herself to hold onto her trembling emotions.
“But he’s alive. That’s what matters. That’s all that matters.”
“Evan. So much has happened. I’ll tell you everything this time…”
“Yuliana.”
“Hm?”
With a sniffle, Evan, holding back tears, murmured against Yuliana’s tear-streaked cheek.
“Will you marry me again?”
“…What?”
After gently kissing her tear-stained cheek, Evan whispered against her lips.
“My lady, will you marry me twice?”
“Do you remember? You haven’t forgotten anything?”
Yuliana stuttered as she followed his lips, her voice trembling with each breath she took.
“…You haven’t forgotten me. Thank goodness. Thank goodness.”
“Yuliana.”
As Evan embraced her tighter, trying to hold back her tears, she smiled through her tears. Then, alternating between his lips and the corners of his mouth, she spoke.
“I want to marry you again. Even three or four times.”
“Thank goodness.”
“And this time, I won’t hit you.”
Yuliana, who had a record of hitting her groom at the wedding venue, sighed and wiped his cheek with the back of her hand.
Evan, holding her hand, confessed with a blissful smile.
“I love you.”
The happiest bride in the world continued the confession.
“Yeah. I love you too.”
As she alternated between smiling and kissing his lips, she suddenly remembered the vow she made early on.
“I have one more thing. I promise I won’t ask for a divorce!”
Hearing that vow, Evan laughed out loud. It was the laughter of the happiest groom in the world.
Epilogue 1
Bang bang!
The woman with short hair turned around at the honking sound.
After quickly extinguishing the cigarette in her hand, she got into the car that was honking incessantly. The luxury sedan, as if waiting, picked her up and drove straight ahead.
“Yuna.”
The woman, who seemed to have dozed off with her head bowed, only lifted her eyes. Before the person in the driver’s seat could call her name again, Junyoon said, “Mom, my name isn’t Yuna, you know.”
The woman in the driver’s seat sighed as if she didn’t like it.
Soon, the woman parked the car at a nearby cafe and frowned as she looked at her daughter sitting in the back seat.
“You, did you really try to die?”
Not long ago, after seeing her daughter found in critical condition, the woman felt her remaining patience evaporating.
As she watched her daughter, who still had her lips sealed, the woman spat out a curse while rummaging through her bag for a cigarette. There was none.
Since her biological mother’s actions, Junyoon had been quietly observing. Coldly, she replied when her mother lit up and spoke openly.
“Hey. Put out the cigarette.”
Junyoon, who twisted the cigarette so deeply that her cheek was hollowed, replied coldly.
“Who are you to give orders?”
“Miss Junyoon.”
“Why?”
Frowning, Junyoon openly smoked a cigarette. The inside of the car quickly filled with smoke. The woman, with her eyes shining dimly through the cigarette smoke, continued to speak openly.
“Do you still resent me?”
“What?”
“Your father, after he died, I raised you. Gave you an apartment, an allowance, did all the support I could. I even paid for your psychiatric treatment. Isn’t this enough as a birth mother? I’m really tired, Junyoon. How long are you going to keep this up, huh?”
At her mother’s words, Junyoon exhaled her last cigarette smoke. Then, she squeezed the butt in her hand.
“Who told you to keep me?”
“Ha.”
Through the cigarette smoke, the woman’s dimly shining eyes still seemed to be mocking. Frowning openly, she spoke between the pauses.
“Do you still hold it against me?”
“What?”
“After your father died, I kept you. I gave you an apartment, an allowance, did everything I could to support you. I even paid for your psychiatric treatment. Isn’t that enough for a birth mother? I’m really exhausted, Junyoon. How long are you going to keep this up, huh?”
Tired of her mother’s obvious behavior, Junyoon spat out her last cigarette smoke. Then, she squeezed the butt in her hand.
“Who told you to keep me?”
In a cafe, Jong-yoon muttered as he confirmed the person waiting for him from afar. “How long will this go on? I don’t know either.” Then, swiftly, he opened the car door and got out. The chill rising from the ground reminded Jong-yoon that his world was in winter.
Jong-yoon, after getting out of the car, looked beyond the car window at his mother who was still staring at him. His mother had always been wealthy. Being born from her mistake, she, who had lived well as the daughter of a wealthy family, considered herself a flaw she wanted to erase. The fact that this flaw survived and still wanders in and out of mental hospitals must have been an unbearable tragedy for her.
With a wry smile, Jong-yoon calmly said, “Mom. Mom was a really bad person to me.” Instead of the hand holding the cigarette, Jong-yoon extended his other hand and waved gently. As her mother’s finely made-up face contorted, Jong-yoon said, “But still, she was generous with money.”
As Jong-yoon laughed cheerfully, her mother, as if annoyed, drove away in her sedan. With a shrug, Jong-yoon, dragging her shoes, entered the cafe. As Christmas was approaching around this time, Christmas songs were spreading in the air.
Jong-yoon, who was looking around anxiously, spotted a nervous woman sitting across from her and sat down. The woman wearing thick glasses blinked and said, “Excuse me… are you the author?”
Jong-yoon threw the cigarette into the trash can under the table. Smiling wryly as she looked at the cigarette in the unfamiliar trash can, Jong-yoon said, “Oh. It’s really you.”
“You?”
“No, nothing. I just find it hard to believe.”
With a nod of her head, Jong-yoon, who had been nodding her head, spoke to the person across from her who had brought a laptop and various stationery.
“The contract is nothing special. You give me the contract, I sign it, and as long as you have my bank account and resident registration number, it’s all good, right? But if we exchange it by mail, how do I know if I’m dealing with a human or not? That’s why I got scammed. By a rabbit doll.”
The publishing company employee, who had been preparing to offer coffee, with eyes wide open, said, “What would you like to drink? Should I order coffee for you?”
Despite the slightly flustered attitude of the person in front of her, Jong-yoon, instead of being intimidated, mumbled something.
“It was something I experienced, and I just couldn’t handle it. That’s why I suggested meeting.”
“…Yes?”
The publishing company employee, who said “yes?” several times, broke into a cold sweat. Jong-yoon, who was leaning her chin on her hand, murmured.
“I thought my mom was giving me money through some weird company because she felt guilty. But it wasn’t. It was money from a real publishing company. But why is the publishing company named ‘Future and Sunset’? It’s not even a dog company.”
“Um, author?”
The publishing company employee, who had already lost her patience waiting for hours, held out the cold tea in her hand. She regretted preparing to discuss the next work.
Once again, Jong-yoon smiled wryly and extended her hand. The publishing company employee, who accidentally held that hand, awkwardly said, “Um, author. Don’t you have any thoughts on a sequel?”
Although she had no intention of getting to the point, Jong-yoon, who quickly got up, seemed desperate as she looked at the publishing company employee who had let her guard down.
“I don’t think it’ll work because my friend died.”
Waving her hand lightly, Jong-yoon left the cafe. The only person left behind, the publishing company employee, watched Jong-yoon disappearing beyond the glass window in a daze, feeling overwhelmed.
Whether the person behind cursed or not, Jong-yoon, who was walking away, shrugged her shoulders. Fine snow mixed with fine dust was falling little by little. It was evidence that winter was deepening.
Although she still couldn’t be sure whether to endure this winter, Jong-yoon walked with the thought of trying it once. She had no other choice.
At that moment, she remembered the “world” she had left behind. Although she had never wanted it, giving it up hurt her heart.
Now she was truly alone.
Jong-yoon recalled the memory for a moment and then smiled weakly.
As the fine snow fell, the sky was unusually bright with stars.
Just like that world.
* * *
“Fuche!”
Early summer in the empire.
The newlyweds, a duke and his wife, were taking a walk. When his affectionate wife, holding hands and strolling through the garden, coughed, Evan, with a worried voice, asked, “Are you catching a cold?”
“Uh-huh. No, it just suddenly came out. My ears are itchy too, like someone’s cursing me.”
“Who would dare?”
Evan looked displeased. Seeing his wife, the most lovely and beautiful person in the world, being slandered, his eyes flashed with a determination to retaliate. It was a look that promised to punish anyone who dared to speak ill of her. Seeing his gaze, Yuliana chuckled contentedly. She was secretly satisfied.
“Who would dare to curse you? Of course, it must be your friend.”
“Who’s my friend? I’ve never had any friends.”
Evan frowned. Yuliana, leaning her head against his shoulder, chuckled softly as if finding solace in the warmth of the sun-drenched large stone.
“Because ‘that person’ is rushing over so eagerly now, right? To apologize to you. No, ‘that person’ isn’t someone who would do that. It’s just that they’re feeling impatient because they’re losing their position
