Seo Jun’s rushing to the Gangneung beach was very much planned.

As expected from a meticulous woman.

When So Yeon was carrying Hyun Woo, she recorded the ultrasound images of the growing child along with the things she occasionally wanted to say to Seo Jun, whom she could never meet again.

「Today I felt the baby move for the first time. I don’t know if it’s the feet or hands, but even now, it keeps tapping my lower belly. It’s drumming so excitedly that I feel like I’ve become a drum. If you had felt this lovely fetal movement too, what expression would you have made and what would you have said? In this moment when I’m about to become sad, the thought of you happily smiling for me makes me smile that way too.

I woke up from sleep. My belly feels heavy and my solar plexus feels stuffy. I think I have a slight fever too, so it will be hard to fall back asleep. In this pitch-black dawn, where are you and what are you doing? The warm touch gently embracing me, telling me it’s okay…… I miss you so much……

Today too, like yesterday, I woke up early in the morning because I was in pain. But it’s nice that I can see the pretty stars. A thought suddenly occurs to me. That you must be looking at the moon, stars, and sun in the sky every day too. You may not know me like this, and it makes me feel lonely, but when I look at the things I can be together with you through, I’m glad that I’m not alone. So I’m going to watch the sunrise later too. Even if you and I can never meet again, the sun, moon, and stars will be able to see you every day in my place.」

These kinds of stories she couldn’t tell anyone else.

Besides that, she left the things she wanted to go to, eat, and see, and her situation that she couldn’t express out loud, all over her diary.

How desperate must she have been for there to be so many tearstains on top of her round handwriting? What flowed from her lovely large eyes must have been the pitch-black despair and loneliness originating from him.

That was why.

His heart, tracing the traces of her sadness with his long fingertips, ached even more painfully. And his tears falling on top of the smudged black letters were love and pity that couldn’t be fully expressed, and more than that.

Seo Jun carefully put So Yeon’s diary, which he had no intention of returning to its owner, in his own drawer like a precious treasure he wanted to keep for life.

The reason was that while Eom So Yeon filled countless days with longing, he was no different from her. He wanted to remind her one by one, even if late, that it wasn’t a time when she loved alone.

Seo Jun took So Yeon to the tranquil night beach where no sound could be heard except the waves.

Just like his excessively tall height and broad chest, Seo Jun’s winter coat was large enough to easily hide her alone. Pulling So Yeon into his own coat while stepping on the beach sand, Seo Jun stared at the fishing boat lights illuminating the dark horizon and let her know.

That while she looked up at the sky and poured out her desperation, he prayed to the earth and sea to let him meet her again. That maybe it was because we missed each other from there that we went through a difficult time to reach this point now.

So Yeon was surprised at Seo Jun’s words. How did he know that she often looked up at the sky on the nights she couldn’t sleep? To that, Seo Jun made a lighthearted joke with an elegant expression and a wonderful voice, saying that the crashing waves had told him.

The large shadow tenderly embracing the small frame was clearly the appearance of a man who deeply loved a woman.

After finishing their date at the beach like ordinary lovers, Seo Jun diligently searched for a place to spend the night and made a reservation.

It was right after entering that ocean view private pool villa.

“Oppa, this place is really pretty, isn’t it?”

When So Yeon looked around the clean and spacious place with satisfaction, Seo Jun gloated as if he had added extra padding to his shoulders.

“Right? My discerning eye would never disappoint our baby.”

“Ba- baby?”

“Yeah. Our baby.”

“Since when did I become a baby?”

“Since when did I become your oppa?”

“Well that’s……”

Even while having a conversation like ordinary lovers, the villa employee still didn’t readily withdraw their suspicious gaze.

“Excuse me…… You two, could you possibly be a celebrity couple……”

The superior aura flowing through Seo Jun’s entire tall figure, the natural grace emanating from So Yeon’s petite frame, seemed to be hard to hide even when wearing a deeply pulled hat and covering their faces with masks. Especially their sunglasses that they didn’t take off even at night were a dead giveaway.

“Oh my, what are you saying! No, we’re not.”

“Hmm……”

So Yeon jumped up from her spot and waved her hands strongly denying it. Seo Jun, who had nothing to say, cleared his throat and shifted his gaze elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the employee informed the two of the villa’s facilities here and there with a calm expression, as if having noticed that they were celebrities dating in secret.

“Ah, and if you’re worried about rumors spreading, don’t be. Many famous people have stayed here, but not once has word leaked out. All the villa employees are tight-lipped. Then, please have a comfortable and good time.”

After the employee finished the explanation and added that reassuring service, they withdrew from the private residence.

Only then did So Yeon and Seo Jun, who had taken off their sunglasses, look at each other and chuckled. It was a slightly absurd laugh for the effort they had made to not get caught.

Some time later, So Yeon came out of the bathroom.

He, who had showered first, seemed to have fallen asleep in the meantime. It made sense, as it was late at night. So Yeon, who got on the bed and lay down next to Seo Jun, traced her fingers from the man’s smooth jawline downward while looking down at him.

The delicate fingers touching there trembled finely. Even though she was just touching her man’s face, So Yeon’s heart pounded as if she were stealing.

Then, at one moment.

“Oh my!”

So Yeon, whose eyes met dark pupils, was greatly startled.

“Ah, you weren’t asleep?”

“I woke up because someone kept touching me.”

“You were sleeping well, but you woke up because of me. I won’t touch anymore, keep sleeping.”

When So Yeon pretended to be upset and turned over, Seo Jun, who raised an eyebrow diagonally and smiled, tightly squeezed her waist with his long arms and legs.

“Do it like before. I like it when you touch me.”

“Hehe……”

So Yeon, who broke into a bright smile, made Seo Jun’s cheeks hollow. Then, Seo Jun mumbled through the lips that protruded out, pressed by her two hands.

“Ms. Eom So Yeon, you have no fear now?”

“You said I’m yours.”

“Did I raise a fox? Do you not need my liver by any chance?”

“I can take just that, right?”

“If you take out my liver, I’ll die. Just take all of me.”

“That sounds like a good method.”

So Yeon’s playful touch became even more persistent, as if he were truly hers. Seo Jun slightly furrowed his eyebrows and finally laughed. It was an absurd laugh that came out dumbfounded, but it was also a warning that he would pounce soon.

“Haven’t you done enough?”

“Done what? We’re just getting started. Hehehe, this is fu-!”

Seo Jun, who gently grabbed the wrist that was kneading his face like dough, covered So Yeon’s upper body with his broad back. From now on, So Yeon had to fully pay the price for bothering a sleeping beast.

Their hot breaths mingled for a while. And by the time their rough breathing softened,

Seo Jun, who was stroking her round shoulders, and So Yeon, who was snugly nestled in his warm embrace, threw their gazes out the large window while reminiscing on the long lingering feeling of the breathlessly hot moment.

The faint light beginning to rush in through the window where the sound of waves could be heard was the dawn expelling the darkness.

“Now that it’s morning, you should sleep a little at least.”

So Yeon, who had been silently watching the sun gradually swelling its form above the horizon sea, asked in a calm voice.

“Later. I have something to do once the sun rises a bit more.”

“What is it?”

Seo Jun, who had lifted his upper body at an angle with his elbow, poured his low voice into So Yeon’s ear.

“I’m going to swallow them at the same time.”

Seo Jun tightly hugged her slender waist while showing a terribly lewd eye smile.

“The eternal sun and my love.”

“!”

So Yeon had no chance to reply. At this moment when the rising red sun was taking in the sea and sky at once, Seo Jun, who pulled her small chin towards him, softly swallowed So Yeon’s lips.

Eternal love.

Only now understanding what Seo Jun’s words meant, So Yeon tightly hugged his sturdy back with both arms and deeply accepted his lips, the sensation digging in.

The sky and sea burned up simultaneously.

In that way, the two also became one and were dyed by the hot sunlight.

Three days later.

Chairman Gu and Assemblywoman Yeo gathered as a couple at the high-end Korean restaurant in Gangnam because of the news of Yeo Do Soon’s pregnancy and the related marriage issue.

“Are you even going to lie now?”

In the midst of the faint scent of pine characteristic of a traditional Korean house, Cha Yeo Jin’s voice broke the silence of the separate building.

“No, Lady Cha, what are you saying now!”

Ji Myung Sook’s sharply rising gaze turned towards Cha Yeo Jin who was unhesitatingly spitting out absurd words.

Though she had let slide the unsavory incident that occurred at the art gallery at Do Soon’s request, she couldn’t forgive the attitude of spouting nonsense instead of congratulating a joyous occasion.

That fury stuck to Ji Myung Sook’s words as Cha Yeo Jin also countered with a stiff voice.

“I can’t believe it so I’m asking my son, aren’t I.”

“Those words were only heard by Lady Cha’s son? No matter how ill-mannered, within reason, aren’t you disregarding our child right now. Apologize!”

“Wh- what? Manners? Does Lady Ji even have the right to say such a thing? No matter how much you got slapped, to threaten me, who will become an in-law, at such a young age. I can very well see how Lady Ji educated her child at home!”

Even while speaking, Cha Yeo Jin glared at Ji Myung Sook with a cold gaze. Because the hair that was brutally grabbed at the art gallery still felt throbbing, Yeo Jin’s elegantly styled hair trembled with rage.

“What more needs to be said. Even for the sake of my precious daughter, this marriage cannot happen!”

“I too have not the slightest intention of accepting that brazen child as my daughter-in-law! Even if the pregnancy is real, your daughter is absolutely not an option, Lady Ji!”

The conflict between the two ill-matched families that was meant to be smoothed over at this gathering could not end with the sharp words of the women. But wasn’t the saying that having a daughter is a sin an old way of thinking now? Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for a woman to give birth and raise a child alone, but it wasn’t an era where it would be such a disgrace either. Thus, Ji Myung Sook grabbed and shook her husband’s arm and said,

“Honey, you clearly saw it too, right? Not yielding a single word. How can there be any conversation like this? I absolutely cannot become in-laws with this kind of family so let’s hurry and get u-!”

“Please stop it.”

While the assemblywoman silently listened to the women’s stinging back-and-forth, he pulled down his wife who was trying to get up from her seat with a quiet voice. But Myung Sook still continued to express her anger to her husband.

Then Cha Yeo Jin, who had been intently watching the assemblyman and his wife from across, snorted.

“That’s what I should be saying! Do you know how brazen your daughter is? Every time, she talks back articulately and even climbs to the top of my head.”

“How frustrated must Lady Cha have been for my daughter to do that? These days, it’s not a disgrace for a woman to raise a child alone!”

“No matter how much times have changed, the world still isn’t so easygoing towards unwed mothers. Of course, it will also significantly hinder your eldest daughter’s marriage prospects because of your second daughter.”

“Ha! Are you threatening our eldest daughter too right now?”

“Threatening? It has nothing to do with me, but Lady Ji seems to be very ignorant of how the world works, so I’m saying this out of pity for you, aren’t I!”

The crude words of the two ladies whose dignity had crumbled continued endlessly. In contrast to their wives, Chairman Gu and Assemblyman Yeo only deeply sighed. That noisy atmosphere sucked away even the slightest possibility of the two families joining, let alone coming together.

However, Do Soon was strangely silent. As if she had closed her ears, she only blankly stared at the cloud-filled sky visible through the cracks of the loose lattice window frame.

Then, Do Soon’s single remark thrown at Won Hoo, who was also silently sitting like her, embarrassed all the elders of both families.

“Representative-nim, our baby’s ears will rot before it’s even born.”

“It does seem so.”

Won Hoo, who sympathized with Do Soon’s words, had also been gazing out the window.

“Oh? It’s snowing!”

When Do Soon spoke, everyone’s gazes shifted to the window.

“Do you like snow?”

“Yes.”

Do Soon’s eyes crinkled beautifully like a half moon as she answered while looking outside where pretty snow had begun to fall, as if the sky had been grumbling since morning to show this.

“Then we should go outside? To be snowed on.”

“I want to, but…… Is it okay to do that?”

“What are you hesitating for. If you want to do it, then do it. Especially Ms. Do Soon, you should only see and hear good things, right?”

As if he really intended to leave this place, Won Hoo lifted Do Soon from her seat.

“As you all heard, we have something to do, so we’ll get going now. And this is……”

Won Hoo, who got up from his seat, placed a square card each in front of the elders of the two families facing each other.

Groom, Gu Won Hoo.

Bride, Yeo Do Soon.

Inside the square wedding invitation card, only the names of the parties involved were engraved. No matter how much they rubbed their eyes and looked, the names of the parents were nowhere to be seen.

As soon as they saw that, the eyes of the four simultaneously grew wide.

“We’re getting married next spring. We called you here to tell you that.”

That’s right.

While arranging this meeting, Do Soon and Won Hoo had sufficiently anticipated the situation becoming noisy.

Therefore, without any hesitation, their wedding invitation clearly conveyed their firm intention that the parents of both families could attend if they wanted to, and if not, then don’t. That it would be fortunate if they congratulated them, but even if not, it didn’t matter.

“Please do have the prepared meal before you go. That is all Ms. Do Soon and I wish for.”

Won Hoo, who delivered his final wish, bowed his head in a straight posture together with Do Soon to pay their respects. And the two left the separate building with leisurely steps, affectionately holding each other’s hands.

As if walking into a happy world of just the two of them.