“What on earth is going on?”

Hyunkyung burst into the bridal waiting room with a pale face. Amid the confusion, the bride Yuri sat quietly holding her bouquet.

Wrapped in a pure white wedding dress, the bride was more beautiful than anyone in the world, but her tightly closed lips were trembling ever so slightly.

“The groom isn’t coming!”

As Hyunkyung cried out in a hoarse voice, Yuri stood up, clutching the hem of her wedding dress. After standing, she silently looked down at the bouquet in her hand. Her expression remained unchanged.

After a moment of silence, Yuri suddenly raised her hand and threw the bouquet forcefully towards the trash can. The bouquet traced a large arc, scattering white petals.

“Hyunkyung, please take care of things here.”

Yuri took off her silver tiara and veil, tossing them aside, and walked straight out of the bridal waiting room.

“Hey? Where are you going?”

Hyunkyung called out anxiously from behind, but Yuri paid no attention. Her only thought was to get out of there as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she felt like she might burst. The faster she walked, the tighter she gripped the hem of her wedding dress.

Even after leaving the wedding hall, Yuri didn’t stop walking. She needed the cold wind to cool her overloaded mind. Some passersby glanced at her in her wedding dress, but most just went about their own business.

How long had she been walking? As she stopped and lifted her head towards the sky, a painfully bright blue filled her vision.

Yuri’s seemingly indifferent, cold eyes flickered coldly.

[This is the timeline separator]

Several months earlier.

[What? You’re meeting the wedding planner alone?]

Hyunkyung’s booming voice came through the Bluetooth earphones. Yuri got on the elevator that had just arrived, delaying her response.

[What about Minwoo?]

Hyunkyung seemed more excited than Yuri, the person actually involved. Today, Yuri was supposed to meet a wedding planner with her fiancé, Kwon Minwoo. But early in the morning, she received a call from Minwoo.

―I’m really sorry… but an urgent business trip to Jeju came up.

She couldn’t say anything to Minwoo, who seemed like he would die from guilt. It was work-related, after all.

“He’s busy.”

[No matter how busy, this is about the wedding!]

“It’s fine. The wedding isn’t that big a deal.”

Yuri muttered indifferently, turning her gaze to the glass walls of the panoramic elevator.

Bright sunlight poured over Yuri’s smooth skin, casting deep shadows along her distinct features. Her moist eyes and elegant facial lines in harmony elicited involuntary exclamations of admiration from onlookers.

A unique aura, beyond mere beauty, captivated others’ attention. However, the happiness and excitement expected of a bride-to-be were not apparent.

It couldn’t be helped. The upcoming wedding felt distant and unfamiliar, as if it belonged to someone else.

With a ‘woong’ sound, the elevator began to ascend, and the bustling interior of the shopping mall came into view. Arcadia Mall, boasting the largest scale in the country, is a complex shopping mall combining shopping centers, department stores, hotels, and theaters, which Minwoo had put tremendous effort into.

From site selection to completion, his touch was everywhere, and as soon as it opened, visitors flooded in, making it one of the top 3 complex shopping malls in the metropolitan area within a year.

With this success, rumors spread that KG Group Chairman Kwon Geonchul would pass on management rights to his grandson, Kwon Minwoo, rather than his second son, Managing Director Kwon Woosik. Perhaps because of this, Minwoo threw himself into work like a madman, and as a result, most of the wedding preparations fell to Yuri.

[Aren’t you angry at all?]

Hyunkyung couldn’t understand Yuri’s constant nonchalance. As expected, Yuri’s indifferent reply followed.

“No, I’m not.”

It wasn’t a lie. Yuri wasn’t angry at all. Why would she be? It’s not like they were bound by love… If she could escape from her insufferable family, she could go through dozens of these arranged marriages.

She had wanted to be independent for a long time, but her father’s strong opposition made it impossible. Congressman Chae Hyungsik, elected to the National Assembly four times, said he would keep his firstborn Yuri by his side until she married and started a family, out of love.

Of course, it was a blatant lie. The reason for keeping Yuri close was to conceal Congressman Chae’s own faults while projecting an image of a harmonious family to gain even one more vote.

She had run away from home once on impulse. But before a week had passed, she was dragged back to her family home. After several more failed attempts, she finally realized that marriage was the only way to escape from home.

That’s why she accepted the arranged marriage with KG Group’s Kwon Minwoo. She first met Minwoo at a charity event she attended with Hyunkyung during their college years. Being the same age and having similar majors, they naturally became acquaintances.

The change in their relationship came at last year’s Christmas party. Out of nowhere, Minwoo proposed an arranged marriage. He said he was being forced into an arranged marriage at home, and if he had to do it, he wanted it to be with a comfortable friend at least.

―Nothing will change even if we get married. Let’s think of each other as roommates.

Yuri accepted the proposal at the mention of a “formal marriage.” Since they were familiar with each other, even if they married, it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. But her best friend Hyunkyung vehemently opposed it.

―Don’t you know Minwoo is obsessed with you beyond friendship? He must have some ulterior motive.

Of course, Yuri knew how Minwoo felt about her. But there was no need to worry. It would pass eventually.

She didn’t believe in the emotion called love anyway. Love, even when it burns fiercely, eventually turns to ashes. How miserably had her parents’ love, which once seemed eternal, shattered!

Yuri swallowed a bitter smile and gently bit her lip.

As she ended the call and stepped out of the elevator, she noticed a familiar face among a group of suited individuals across the balcony.

“…Minwoo?”

He, who should have been in Jeju, was having a serious conversation with someone.

Was the business trip just an excuse?

Yuri frowned and shifted her gaze to the person standing next to Minwoo. With his back half-turned, she couldn’t see his face clearly, but the man boasted a perfect physique like a model. Since Minwoo had mentioned recruiting a promotional model, he might actually be one.

But something felt different. The man’s attitude seemed too poor to be a model. Unlike Minwoo’s serious expression, the man appeared uninterested in the conversation itself.

With one hand in his pants pocket and his head slightly tilted…

Who on earth is he to be so brazen?

There aren’t many in South Korea who can treat Director Kwon Minwoo so casually. Indeed, Minwoo’s brow furrowed more and more, seemingly displeased with the man’s attitude. The expressions of the attendants watching from behind also grew increasingly awkward. The atmosphere seemed far from normal.

Should I make my presence known, or not? Yuri was momentarily conflicted.

Just then, the man suddenly turned his head towards Yuri, and their eyes met directly before she could avoid it.

Though the distance made it hard to see his features clearly, she could tell he was dangerously beautiful. Skin so fair it was almost transparent, a sharp nose bridge visible even from afar, dark lips. Though ‘beautiful’ might not suit a man, no other word came to mind.

Noticing Yuri looking at him, the man slightly twisted his lips and nodded towards her.

Why? Somehow, that seemingly sneering gesture felt strangely familiar. She naturally thought of that man, but Yuri denied the possibility.

As the man continued to look elsewhere, Minwoo also turned his head to follow the man’s gaze. Soon, he spotted Yuri across the shopping mall.

Minwoo’s face contorted with embarrassment, visible even from a distance. Unable to pretend not to notice any longer, Yuri took a step towards Minwoo.

But then.

Beeeeeeeep―.

A sharp fire alarm rang out. Simultaneously, water poured from the ceiling sprinklers, blurring her vision.

“Kyaaaah!”

In the suddenly chaotic shopping mall, terrified shoppers ran helter-skelter searching for exits. Soaked through, Yuri wiped the water from her eyes with the back of her hand and looked for Minwoo, but he had already disappeared.

“…Ah.”

A sigh of disbelief escaped her.

He left his fiancée behind alone in this situation?

But now wasn’t the time to be dumbfounded by such trivial matters. If there was a fire, she needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. Yuri hurried towards the emergency stairs.

The wet marble floor was so slippery it was difficult to walk. People rushing towards the emergency stairs began to fall one after another.

One of them fell and crashed hard into an event decoration structure, which wobbled precariously with a dull sound. Right underneath it, a child who had lost their guardian’s hand stood crying.

Dangerous!

The moment Yuri threw herself to embrace the child, some powerful force pulled her and the child aside. Simultaneously, with a loud bang, the structure collapsed onto the floor. Yuri instinctively shielded the child and curled up as much as possible.

What happened?

Surely the falling structure should have crushed her body, but she felt no pain at all.

“Are you alright?”

Then a low voice whispered near her ear. Yuri gently opened her eyes.

…Who are you?

The man whose eyes had met hers earlier was looking down at her.

“Seems you’re fine.”

After confirming Yuri was unharmed, the man then checked on the child’s condition. Thankfully, apart from being shocked, the child seemed fine. The child’s guardian, who had rushed over from somewhere, took the child away with words of gratitude.

“Can you stand up?”

At those words, Yuri realized she was still sitting on the floor. Flustered, she tried to get up but collapsed again. The shock seemed to have drained the strength from her legs.

“This won’t do.”

Muttering to himself, the man put his arm around Yuri’s shoulders and lifted her from the floor in one motion. Staggering to find her balance, Yuri fell right into the man’s arms.

“…!”

Though it was an unavoidable situation, she couldn’t help feeling bewildered. Her mind went blank at the warmth enveloping her body. It was unfamiliar yet familiar, uncomfortable yet comfortable, a strange paradoxical feeling that swept over her.

The fleeting moment in the man’s arms felt like an eternity.

Shh―. Shhhh―.

The sprinklers that had been spewing water nonstop gradually slowed to a hiss.

Yuri stepped out of the man’s arms and brushed back her wet hair with one hand. The man silently gazed at her. Unlike Yuri, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, his face showed no sign of agitation or emotion. So calm that for a moment she forgot the current situation…

“The fire alarm was likely a malfunction due to a design flaw.”

The man finally spoke.

“Still, let’s go outside for safety.”

Led by the man’s large hand, they headed towards the emergency stairs. Most shoppers had already left the building, so the emergency stairs were empty. As they descended from the 5th floor to the 1st floor, the man kept one arm around Yuri’s shoulders as if embracing her.

Leaving the shopping mall building, the outside was also in chaos. Several fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, and numerous shoppers who had evacuated the building densely filled the road.

“You should be able to manage on your own from here.”

Before Yuri could thank him, the man turned his back on her. But after taking just a few steps, he turned back and draped his jacket over Yuri’s body.

“Wear this.”

Only then did Yuri realize that her wet clothes were clinging to her skin, making her underwear clearly visible. But her embarrassment was momentary, as her gaze shifted to the man’s reddened shoulder revealed when he took off his jacket.

…Blood?

“Are you hurt?”

As Yuri cried out in surprise, the man glanced down at his own shoulder.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The man turned his back without giving Yuri a chance to respond. She hurried after him, but his steps were too fast, and the distance between them grew.

“Wait, please wait a moment!”

Yuri called out to the man, reaching out her hand, but his figure soon disappeared into the crowd. She stopped in her tracks, wearing a perplexed expression.

―It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.

It was as if she could hear a whisper from the past in her ear.

“Kwon… Jeho.”

The three syllables of the name slowly fell from Yuri’s lips.

The son of former KG Group Vice Chairman Kwon Jewoong, who had stepped down long ago, and the man who had almost become Yuri’s first fiancé, Kwon Jeho.

He had returned.