Just as he had promised Haerin that they’d spend Christmas Eve together, Jaeyoon came over to her house like always and joined them for dinner. After the meal, he brought out a Christmas cake and a bottle of wine he had picked up.
It wasn’t anything grand, just a simple, familiar evening—but everyone had a relaxed smile on their face.
Everyone except Jaeyoon, who seemed oddly tense.
“Oh dear, Jaeyoon still doesn’t have a girlfriend this year? He’s at the age when he should be out having fun. Is it really okay for you to be spending the night with us?”
Haerin’s mother said it while slicing the cake and handing it out, the words sounding more like a playful jab than genuine concern. In truth, she always seemed slightly disappointed when Jaeyoon wasn’t there for holidays.
“What do you mean~? He is spending it with his girlfriend.”
Under the table, Haerin slid her hand along Jaeyoon’s thigh.
He flinched slightly at the touch, glancing awkwardly around at the adults.
She had just dropped a bomb, but everyone else looked unimpressed or indifferent.
“Oh goodness, stop teasing Jaeyoon already.”
“What, is Jaeyoon dating Hyungwon or something?”
At that, Haerin’s face filled with frustrated disbelief.
Sure, her crush had always been obvious and chaotic, but to be dismissed like this even by her family—it was actually a little heartbreaking.
The only one in the room who knew the truth, Hyungwon, was quietly watching the scene unfold with an amused smile.
Spurred by pride, Haerin declared more clearly, more firmly:
“I’m dating Jaeyoon oppa.”
Still, no one paid her statement much attention. They simply went on commenting about the cake.
“Mmm, goes perfectly with the wine.”
“Yeah, not too sweet. I like it.”
Just how low was her credibility in this house?
Haerin’s hands began to tremble on the table as if she might flip it over in rage.
Maybe realizing things were about to go south, Hyungwon finally chimed in.
“She’s right. They’re dating. Not joking—for real.”
At that, Jaeyoon turned to scold him.
“Hey… I should be the one to say it.”
“Then you should’ve said it earlier. What were you waiting for? Planning some dramatic ‘Please give me your daughter’ speech like in a soap opera?”
“Still, this isn’t exactly how I imagined it…”
As the two bickered quietly, the adults finally turned their attention toward Haerin.
She proudly intertwined her fingers with Jaeyoon’s and beamed.
“Crush is over! He’s mine now—officially!”
The adults’ eyes all settled on Jaeyoon, whose face had gone red. Their expressions were not exactly joyful.
The first word that came out of Haerin’s mother’s mouth was just one syllable:
“Why?”
The question was clearly directed at Jaeyoon, not Haerin.
Her father, wearing the same confused expression, followed up with something even more ridiculous:
“Did she… threaten you or something?”
Haerin, who had been grinning moments earlier, instantly froze and shouted, offended.
“Seriously?! This is mutual! Look, he even gave me this!”
She shook her left hand at them, a ring glittering on her fourth finger, but their eyes were all still fixed on Jaeyoon, who was smiling faintly.
“Father, Mother… I didn’t want to shock you, so I was trying to tell you slowly. But yes—Haerin and I are officially seeing each other. Since a few days ago.”
“…Father? Mother?”
Her father mumbled under his breath, clearly thrown off.
Jaeyoon had only ever called them “Mister” and “Ma’am” before.
Even Hyungwon seemed to squirm uncomfortably at the new titles.
“Ugh, that sounds so cringey… I can’t handle it…”
Unlike Haerin, who was spinning with joy, her parents looked more serious than ever, as if trying to process what they’d just heard.
Haerin was about to speak again, thinking they still doubted whether this was consensual, when her mother let out a small sigh.
“Well… I mean, I’m happy your long crush finally worked out, but… I can’t help being a little worried…”
She stared at Jaeyoon as she spoke softly, her voice tinged with affection and concern.
“I’m glad… but also scared. Scared we might lose Jaeyoon.”
Her words left a heavy silence hanging over the table.
Probably, everyone there felt that same fear.
Haerin glanced sideways at Jaeyoon’s eyes, flickering with emotion, and squeezed his hand tightly.
She was confident she could hold on to him forever—but what about him?
Just then, Jaeyoon finally spoke in a soft, steady voice.
“I’ve always been jealous of Hyungwon. Living in a warm, happy family like this with kind parents and a cute little sister… That was impossible for me. I always dreamed of having a family like this, too. That’s why, more than anyone, I’m terrified of ruining this relationship.”
Jaeyoon’s heavy gaze dropped to his hand, still entwined with Haerin’s.
“I want to stay here.”
With a gentle smile, he slowly lifted his eyes and looked at everyone around the table, pausing last on Haerin.
“I want to be with Haerin… for the rest of my life.”
The words overlapped with something she herself had once said:
*“I want to be with this person… for the rest of my life.”*
Realizing they felt the same, facing each other with the same sincerity, a deep sense of relief swelled in her chest. She never wanted to let go of this happiness. And from the way Jaeyoon’s eyes shimmered with a mix of joy and fear, it seemed he felt the same.
“Will you marry me, Haerin?”
“…….”
“Be my family. Even if I’m more flawed than you think… just promise me you’ll stay by my side forever. I don’t want to let you go. I’m scared I’ll wake up from this dream.”
Lost in the gaze fixed solely on her, it felt like the world had disappeared, leaving just the two of them.
She never imagined unvarnished sincerity could feel so precious.
This was the happy ending she always secretly hoped for, even while pretending not to believe in it.
And her ending always had…
“Of course. I’m never letting you go.”
She leaned in and gently kissed him. A soft smooch echoed over the dinner table as their faces lit up with joy.
“Oh, what is this, a drama now…”
Hyungwon tilted his head with a smirk and clapped sarcastically. Jaeyoon, unfazed, turned to formally ask for permission.
“Please allow me to be with Haerin. I know I fall short in many ways, but—”
“What? You, fall short? You’ve always been more than enough for us. Our dear Jaeyoon.”
Their mother cut him off with a gentle smile, her tone suddenly teasing.
“Marriage, huh… We’d be grateful if you took that silly girl off our hands. But do you know? She’s super messy. Always leaves her socks inside out…”
“Mom!”
Before Haerin could stop her, the men of the Joo family chimed in as well.
“Geez, I always thought Jaeyoon would marry someone sweet and proper… Why mess up his fate like this?”
“Hey, no returns. Even if you regret it later and realize she’s a complete nutjob, we’re not taking her back.”
Their tone was as if they were offloading some overstocked item. Haerin jumped up in mock fury, demanding a paternity test, and laughter returned to the table. It felt like true, complete happiness had finally arrived.
“But… is there a need to rush it? You can think about marriage slowly while dating…”
Her father cautiously voiced his concern, and Jaeyoon glanced at Haerin as he answered.
“I’m scared she’ll run away…”
“…What?”
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, barely believing their ears—except Haerin, who just smiled sweetly and tapped Jaeyoon’s shoulder.
Ignoring the stares, she spooned a bite of cake and fed it to Jaeyoon, her eyes twinkling.
“As if I’d leave you. I’ve been in love with you for over 20 years—you still owe me a lot for that.”
“Guess I’ll have to keep paying it back forever, huh?”
Their exchange was nauseatingly sweet, but the couple remained unbothered. Meanwhile, Hyungwon’s face contorted in visible discomfort as he dropped his fork with a clatter.
“What the hell… gross…”
Haerin, unfazed even by that, continued playing with Jaeyoon’s hand, her face beaming.
“He’s just jealous. Don’t mind him. Oppa, since we didn’t get to spend tonight alone… let’s make sure we spend New Year’s, just the two of us…”
Before she could finish, Hyungwon suddenly interrupted.
“Jaeyoon, you’re coming with me to Jeongdongjin for the sunrise. It’s a yearly tradition since we were kids, no exceptions.”
“What? What are you talking about! Stay out of this!”
“You stay out! He’s my friend!”
At Hyungwon’s outburst, Haerin shot back with blazing eyes, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“What are you talking about? He’s my boyfriend!”
At last—finally—she had a title to call him by. The bitterness that had been sitting deep in her chest seemed to dissolve in an instant, replaced with a refreshing satisfaction. It felt like she’d finally been handed the card that could put Hyungwon in his place.
The Joo siblings, both fiercely competitive and unwilling to back down, stared each other down without yielding an inch—then simultaneously turned to Jaeyoon.
Neither said a word, but their eyes clearly asked, “Well? Choose. Is it her or me?”
Jaeyoon glanced at Hyungwon and gave a tiny arch of his brow before leaning on Haerin’s shoulder with a small, satisfied smile.
“Why are you acting like this, hyung?”
Haerin practically soared at his words, her shoulders rising higher than the sky. Hyungwon, meanwhile, let out a hollow laugh like he’d just aged ten years.
“Wow… Ha! Twenty-one years of friendship down the drain!”
Bitter to the core, he poured himself a full glass of wine. One by one, everyone had a drink, and before they knew it, the wine Jaeyoon had brought was gone. Their father, saying he’d been saving something for a special occasion, brought out a bottle of whiskey no one even knew they had.
“Let’s see how much our son-in-law can handle. You only see a man’s true self when he’s drunk, after all…”
He poured whiskey into a glass filled with ice as he spoke. Haerin beamed at the word son-in-law, but then she suddenly remembered how Jaeyoon got when he was drunk—and quickly tried to stop them.
“No! Don’t give him enough to get drunk! That stuff’s super strong. If he’s gonna keep drinking, switch to soju instead.”
Despite her protest, Hyungwon snatched the bottle from their father and filled Jaeyoon’s glass to the brim.
“Don’t worry. Jeong Jaeyoon could drink this whole bottle by himself and still be fine. He has no limit. Back when I got totally wasted on my twentieth birthday, he was stone-cold sober and even dragged me home.”
“Oh yeah, that’s true. Now that you mention it… I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jaeyoon drunk either.”
Their mother chimed in, and their father turned to Jaeyoon again.
“That right? You really never get drunk?”
What was this nonsense? She knew exactly what Jaeyoon was like when drunk. Haerin raised a brow and stared at him.
Feeling her eyes, Jaeyoon glanced at her briefly, rubbed the back of his neck, and answered slowly.
“Ah… yeah.”
He avoided her gaze as he raised his glass.
That was… not the answer she expected. Haerin’s mouth slowly opened in disbelief.
Not drunk? He’s never been drunk?
‘…Huh?’
Her mind chilled as a memory from that night flickered through her thoughts.
‘You always warned me, remember? Said if I got too close, you’d just kiss me. But you never had the guts.’
‘Do you not like me anymore?’
No way…
Suddenly, all the pieces began falling into place, like a puzzle snapping together. Her blood ran cold.
‘I was scared you’d run away…’
She thought about Jaeyoon, who held her hand tightly so that his hands turned white as he drank the alcohol without being troubled.
‘Our Hyerin.’
This man she loved may not have been a princess, but a devil.
‘You’re mine.’
The ring shining from Hyerin’s fingers gave off a particularly cold light.
