Chloe opened her eyes before dawn had even lifted. Her body felt exhausted, as if it would sink into the mattress, yet her stomach was so empty it felt stuck to her back. She had entered this room in the middle of a meal and stayed until late at night… so it was normal to be hungry.

But Hugrey was sleeping soundly beside her, as if unaware of hunger despite eating and exerting himself just as little.

They wouldn’t serve breakfast this early… But her stomach kept growling. Finally deciding to go down to the first-floor dining room, she carefully opened the door and blinked. She poked her head out into the hallway and looked left and right. There was a food tray only in front of this room, not the others.

Though she had stayed at this inn several times, they had never brought food at dawn before. It was amazing how the innkeeper knew she’d be hungry so early and prepared food. Anyway, since it was left in front of the room, it must be okay to eat. She excitedly brought the food inside. The bread and soup were still warm, as if freshly made.

As she was drinking milk after choking on a scone, she suddenly put down her cup at the sound ringing in her head like a bell.

Ah! That’s right, I had that dream.

Perhaps because her hunger had subsided somewhat, the dream that had evaporated from her mind the moment she woke up suddenly came back to her.

In the dream, she was dining with Hugrey at a restaurant. It was a spacious, crowded place, and all the women sitting around them were smiling at Hugrey. Eventually, a sensual silver-haired woman approached and stared openly at Hugrey’s face.

“What would you like to order?”

The woman’s face, bent at the waist, was getting closer and closer to Hugrey’s.

Why is she like that! Why is she getting so close to someone else’s man while taking an order…

“Your mate isn’t some tiger woman, it’s me, the wolf shifter…”

Reina Tilbot.

The woman’s face had suddenly changed to Reina Tilbot’s.

That woman is dead. Did she somehow survive? Why is she saying such things to my husband! I hate this!

“Hugrey Ulpaz is my man. He’s mine.”

Chloe stood up abruptly and shouted at Reina.

“Hahaha! Yours? As if. You’re just a tiger shifter.”

At Reina’s mockery, Chloe was overcome with a fierce desire to bite her.

He’s mine, he’s my husband!

“Hugrey and Chloe are destined for each other.”

As if to calm her down just as she was about to lunge at Reina, Hugrey whispered in her ear.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said I’m your destiny.”

Suddenly, everyone in the restaurant disappeared, including Reina Tilbot who had been standing to take their order, leaving only Hugrey and her.

“And you are my destiny.”

At Hugrey’s final, definitive words, Chloe burst into tears like a fool.

She cried because she was so happy, relieved, no longer anxious, grateful, joyful, and so in love with him saying that Hugrey was Chloe’s destiny and Chloe was Hugrey’s destiny.

“Don’t cry, Chloe. You’re pretty when you cry, but even prettier when you smile.”

Hugrey said as he wiped away her tears.

The two who had clearly been sitting across from each other at a restaurant table just moments ago were now lying side by side on a bed, with Hugrey holding her in his arms and wiping away her tears.

Was it around that time? She seemed to vaguely think, ‘Ah, I’m dreaming.’ But she was still in the dream. It was a state of being aware it was a dream while still remaining in it. She didn’t want to wake up because Hugrey’s embrace, holding her tight, felt so good. After that, she seemed to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep again…

At some point, the dream started again. A young wolf and an even smaller tiger cub were rolling together entangled in a field.

What cute siblings.

“Aren’t you hungry? Crying must have made you even hungrier.”

Hugrey suddenly asked. When did this man appear? She thought she had been in a field, but now she was on a bed.

“Yes, I’m hungry. I’m hungry but… the baby tiger was so cute, I wanted to look at it a little longer.”

“Go eat breakfast now.”

Was this a dream too? It was unclear whether it was a dream or reality. Hugrey kissed her forehead.

“Yes, I’m really hungry… I’m hungry. I’m so hungry…”

When she finally woke up, the only thought left in her mind was ‘I’m hungry, I want to eat something.’

Chloe returned to bed with a smile, remembering Hugrey’s sweet voice saying they were each other’s destiny and the images of the cute baby animals. Hugrey was still sleeping, breathing evenly.

“Hugrey, my destiny, my love, my own, my husband.”

Thinking he wouldn’t hear since he was asleep, she called him by all sorts of embarrassing names. Chloe moved a little closer to Hugrey’s face.

“Do you know something? That you’re my destiny? And that I’m your destiny? So you’re mine. Mine forever.”

She wanted to engrave it like a brand on the sleeping man’s chest and head. That Hugrey was hers.

“Ah!”

She screamed as she suddenly fell on top of Hugrey, pulled by a force grabbing her arm.

“Did you sleep well? My destiny, my love, my own, my wife?”

Hugrey whispered, and Chloe, despite being on top of him looking down, was so flustered that she closed her eyes. As if closing her eyes could pretend she was asleep.

That’s how embarrassed she was.

Why did this man pretend to be asleep while he was awake! How embarrassing!

“Open your eyes.”

“No.”

“Won’t you? It’s a request from Hugrey Ulpaz, who is yours forever?”

“Oh, fine!”

Chloe opened her eyes wide and glared at Hugrey’s eyes right below her nose.

“Pretty even when glaring, pretty with a red face, pretty on top of me, pretty under me, pretty in the morning and pretty at night, Chloe Ulpaz.”

Chloe thought that not just her face, but her whole body must be red now.

“Kiss me. You’re my destiny, and I’m your destiny, so people who are each other’s destiny should kiss first thing when they open their eyes in the morning.”

“What are you saying?”

Did this man enter and leave her dream?

“I’m asking for a kiss.”

“Tch, what’s the big deal about a kiss.”

Chloe lightly kissed his lips as if shaking off her embarrassment and tried to get up from him. But Hugrey’s large hand had already come behind her back, subtly pressing her down. It was just enough force to prevent her from getting up from him.

“Hugrey? Remove your hand…”

“Right, what’s the big deal about a kiss. You’ve had breakfast so you must be full, so shall we do something that is a big deal now?”

“What?”

How does he know I ate breakfast? Ah… Was he awake the whole time? Then was he the one who ordered the meal?

“‘What,’ that’s a very accurate answer.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“No? What do you mean no, my destiny, my love, my own, my wife?”

“…”

It was strange. He was clearly teasing her with the words she had said to herself, words she had said to him first, yet why did her ears and heart feel like they would melt at his words?

Ah, I don’t know. I like it. I just like this man so much. I don’t care about embarrassment or shyness. I like this man, so…

“I like you.”

“Huh?”

Hugrey’s face, which had been smiling with a relaxed expression, stiffened slightly. She knew that expression. Whenever she said she liked him, he would freeze like that for a moment. It was only for a very slight 0.5 seconds, but it was an expression she could never see except in moments like this.

I like you. I like that expression, I like your voice, I like your hair, I like your hands, I like your nose, I like your smell, I like your eyes, I like everything about you.

“I just don’t care about anything else. I just like you. I like everything about you so much.”

It might seem foolish. Revealing all her heart like this without knowing if it’s embarrassing, pouring out overflowing emotions. But what else could she do? Loving this man. To the point where nothing else really mattered.

“I love you.”

At that moment, Hugrey’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Chloe, I’m sorry, but… can we stay here one more day?”

“What?”

For a moment, she sobered up as if waking from the intoxication of Hugrey.

“You’re tempting me like this as soon as you open your eyes, so I have no choice.”

“No! Really!”

I’m telling you I love you, and that’s what you say? Besides, it’s morning now! You beast.

“I can’t express it all in words. I was just trying to express it with my body.”

“How can you say that. Really, you…”

“I love you too.”

Just as Chloe was about to snap something at Hugrey, he suddenly blurted out the words. She couldn’t remember at all what she had been about to say to him.

“I don’t want to take my eyes off you for a moment. I want to hold you all day long. I want to touch you, smell you, see you, feel you, I don’t want to be apart from you.”

Chloe trembled slightly. His gaze, filled only with her, and his voice, speaking as if whispering, seemed to envelop her, rendering her motionless.

“Because you love me, I love you so much that it makes me love myself more. Because you love me, I feel like I’m more worthy of being loved. Because it’s me who receives the love of you, the most lovable being in the world.”

At that moment, when the most lovable man in the world was professing his love to her, sunlight was seeping through the window, though she didn’t know when it had risen.

“It’s the same for me, I also…”

Hugrey’s large hand pulled her head, and Chloe’s words were cut off by his kiss.

Was it because of the sunlight, or because of the warmth felt from each other’s bodies touching? Chloe thought that this morning was the sweetest and warmest of all the mornings she could remember.

− End of Side Story −