“Oppa.”

“Things I’ve seen without much excitement felt special because you were by my side.”

In the soft but warm voice, love was felt. Deep love was conveyed through the warm gaze that looked at her.

Arin’s heart raced. Her emotions swelled to the point where she couldn’t breathe. Jaehyuk kissed the back of her hand.

“Let’s continue to go to good places together, eat delicious food, and create many memories in the future.”

“Oppa…”

Arin’s eyes turned red.

‘In the past, I cried because of sadness, pain, and agony… but now, I’m so happy that tears are welling up.’

Just having her by my side changed the world.

It was an emotion I had never felt in my entire life.

Jaehyuk wanted to give Arin everything.

He wanted to show her his heart, show her how much he loved her, and how precious she was to him.

“Arin-ah.”

Unable to do that, he had no choice but to confess his feelings to her.

Jaehyuk placed Arin’s hand on the palm of his hand.

‘Beautiful. Even her fingers.’

Her white and slender fingers were truly beautiful.

Others might call it an armful if they saw it, but Jaehyuk was willing to become an armful for her.

A fool for a wife?

‘If people say that, it might actually be nice.’

To express the love he felt to the extent that others could notice it.

Then Arin would know that he also had overflowing love for her.

Unable to hide the overwhelming emotion of love, Jaehyuk, with the fourth finger of Arin in his hand, pulled out a long-prepared gift from his right pocket.

“Oppa…”

Confirming something from the pocket, Arin’s eyes widened. Her voice trembled and soaked in.

“I’ll give it back to the owner who I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Jaehyuk put it on Arin’s fourth finger. It fit perfectly, as if measuring it together.

“…”

“Five years ago, I wanted to give it to you on your birthday.”

“…Five years ago?”

“Yeah, five years ago.”

Nodding slightly, Jaehyuk smiled faintly.

‘I couldn’t muster the courage.’

Even at the moment when he mentioned divorce, he couldn’t throw away the ring that represented the end of their relationship.

“I never dreamed of giving it to you. It was something I shouldn’t have done, even daring to stand in front of you.”

Nevertheless, the ring with her birthstone was still in the third drawer of his desk.

“Every time I took out this ring, I regretted the things I couldn’t do for you, and I wondered why I hurt you. Why did I make you so difficult… I was stupid and resentful.”

“…”

“But now, even when I look at this ring, it doesn’t hurt.”

After deciding to give it to its rightful owner, he no longer felt sad looking at the ring, and the things he couldn’t do no longer brought painful longing.

She shed tears.

“Even though I made you suffer a lot and hurt you…”
As her large eyes filled with tears, emotions surged within him, and he, too, was moved.

Every time he tried to express his love for her, he felt a thirst. Words always seemed insufficient.

“Thank you for choosing me.”

“…Oppa.”

Uncontrollable tears flowed down her white cheeks without a pause. She eventually covered her face with both hands and bowed deeply.

Jaehyuk reached out, took both hands covering her face, and lifted it.

“It may not be enough, but I’ll try harder and love you more. I’ll love you with all my heart.”

Jaehyuk kneeled down. Holding Arin’s left hand, he kissed the ring that had found its place in its position.

While still kissing her, he looked up at her.

“Will you marry me? Let’s become a real couple.”

“…”

“Be my wife, Arin.”

Without avoiding his gaze, she began pouring out tears as she looked at him.

“…Okay.”

After a not-so-short silence, she spoke with a voice full of sobs and cracks.

“I’ll be your wife, Oppa.”

She was crying uncontrollably.

Jaehyuk felt like his heart was about to burst. It was too overwhelming, almost maddening. He hugged her, never letting go of her hand.

“Thank you, Arin.”

With her face buried in his chest, she nodded slightly.

Whatever happens, let’s be happy together.

“I love you.”

She ended up shedding tears once again.

The woman in the mirror had swollen eyes.

“Wow… What do I do with my face?”

Arin sighed as she looked at her face in the mirror.

She couldn’t remember how much she cried.

Despite putting on makeup for the date, there was no trace of it left.

‘A bare face!’

Not only that, but she cried so much that her nose and eyes were red, and her face was blotchy as if a flower had bloomed.

Jaehyuk stood next to Arin as she came out of the bathroom. When she lowered her head, he said,

“You’re beautiful.”

He had somehow bent down and was gently stroking Arin’s reddened eyes.

‘I looked in the mirror!’

Thinking that there must be something wrong with his vision if he found this face pretty, Arin kept involuntarily smiling.

Arin covered her face with her hand to hide her feelings. Then, looking at Jaehyuk for no reason, she pretended to sulk.

“Don’t make fun of me. How can my face be pretty like this?”

Despite Arin’s puffy words, Jaehyuk didn’t seem bothered and burst into laughter.