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Chapter 31
One dress, two dresses, three dresses. This was already the fourth wedding dress. Even while wearing a dazzling wedding gown, Hyeonjeong’s face was deathly pale.
She looked less like a bride about to enter a happy marriage and more like someone with only a few days left to live.
The three people around her critiqued the dresses without paying any attention to Hyeonjeong’s complexion. Their minds were entirely consumed with picking a formal, expensive-looking wedding dress for the ceremony.
Jae-seok, who had been photographing the fourth dress from every angle, sat back on the sofa, focusing on Myung-hee and the photos on his phone.
“Mother-in-law, wouldn’t the second dress be a bit better?”
“Hmm, in my opinion, the first dress suits her better.”
The first dress was a design that even Hyeonjeong, who had no interest in this marriage, thought was unattractive. After seeing Myung-hee’s bare face, Hyeonjeong realized that none of her words were meant for her benefit.
“Can I just choose for myself?”
Thinking she had done her best so far, Hyeonjeong asked, but no one responded. They continued arguing over whether the first or second dress was better, talking only among themselves.
By this point, Jae-seok couldn’t understand why he wanted to marry her at all. His gaze on her was filled with obsessive possessiveness, but there was little sense of affection. It wasn’t like some childish “you’re the first woman to ever reject me” kind of thought—this wasn’t a child, after all.
Even the little things seemed off. They were talking back and forth with Myung-hee and Young-wook without listening to a single word she said. It was strange, as if they had some ulterior motive.
“Now, let’s try on the last dress.”
At the employee’s words, Jae-seok didn’t even look in their direction and waved his hand as if to say, do whatever you want. Even though the curtains were drawn again, outside they were still fussing over the first and second dresses while looking at the photos.
Sigh… she thought. If that’s the case, they should’ve just let me try two dresses.
Wedding dresses were surprisingly heavy, and it felt like her energy was draining. Just standing on one leg was exhausting enough.
“Is it difficult?”
The employee unzipped the dress and loosened the tightly tied laces. She looked at Hyeonjeong’s legs, wrapped in bandages from thigh to below the knee, and asked sympathetically.
“I’m fine.”
Hyeonjeong answered calmly, but the employee still looked concerned.
“One moment.”
The employee, having helped Hyeonjeong out of the dress, opened a small door inside the curtain. The last dress was apparently kept inside.
Hyeonjeong, wearing only her undergarments, stared blankly at her own thin reflection in the mirror. Then, something large and black suddenly sprang out from the small door.
Startled, she stepped back. Before she could even scream, a strong, large hand covered her mouth.
“Shh.”
The faint scent of perfume she had been missing came closer with the man’s breath, seeping deep into her lungs.
It was Kang Tae-gun.
A week ago, Hyeonjeong had begged him with tears, almost fainting, to stop Young-wook from reporting Tae-gun to the police.
She knew well that his reason was that he didn’t want to cause trouble, but he had no intention of backing down. He wanted to just take Hyeonjeong and leave, but she refused. Seeing her tears intensify, he eventually had no choice but to leave, worried she might be harmed.
And then he regretted it. There was no one else to help her. How was she enduring such a grim situation?
The next day, Hyeonjeong was discharged. Even the phone he had given her was now useless, so he went to the caregiver who had been looking after her.
“The phone that the coffee guy gave Hyeonjeong? Her father searched the entire room and took it. He just threw it out the window from the 13th-floor ward.”
“Was Hyeonjeong okay after that?”
“Don’t even ask. I nearly lost it. Her father wrestling with Hyeonjeong… it was terrifying.”
The caregiver recounted the night’s events, shivering at the memory.
“Did he hit her?”
“Constantly. I’ve never seen someone slap their daughter like that. It wasn’t just slapping—it was more like beating.”
Tears welled up in the caregiver’s eyes thinking about Hyeonjeong.
“Grabbing her by the hair, dragging her around the ward, hitting her face and head repeatedly—her mother there was horrified too.”
“….”
“Me and the head nurse were clinging to his pants trying to stop him. It was chaos.”
“Did she get seriously hurt?”
“I begged him to stop and looked after her until morning when she went home. She looked like she’d been stung by a beehive—completely battered. It wasn’t just once or twice. Hyeonjeong doesn’t remember, but her body was used to it, not resisting at all.”
Hearing that she had been beaten made his blood run cold.
Perhaps her one-night escapade was her way of seeking freedom from that household. Why hadn’t he read the loneliness reflected in her brown eyes all this time?
Thinking of all the suffering Hyeonjeong must have endured twisted his heart.
“Even after beating her like that, when her fiancé called, the father’s expression completely changed. He fawned over the fiancé—it was disgusting. How can someone’s face change so quickly?”
For the first time, Tae-gun felt true malice. His usually mild temperament had never experienced this level of hatred toward someone.
If Young-wook were in front of him now, he wouldn’t let him go. He might even twist his neck.
He felt uneasy knowing that Hyeonjeong had suffered because he was discovered at the door. But he couldn’t leave her in that place either.
She had been a kind, pure child who had never known a mother’s love. She cherished the warmth of people. He wanted to protect her.
Tae-gun clenched his fists and closed his eyes. His breathing was rapid, and his eyes burned.
“With all that commotion, the hospital must have taken some measures.”
The doctors had a duty to protect their patients. Witnessing children brought in for abuse, it was their natural obligation to notify the police.
Of course, Hyeonjeong wasn’t a child, but he assumed the staff wouldn’t have just stood by if an adult man was assaulting a woman.
“I even tried pressing the emergency bell secretly and begged at the desk, pretending to step out briefly, but they didn’t even look at me.”
The hospital Hyeonjeong had been in belonged to the Joshu Group, so it seemed Jae-seok had already interfered. A sly and despicable man.
“I tried to report secretly, but Hyeonjeong begged me not to, fearing something might happen to me. At the end, she held my hand and thanked me—it made me tear up. She was so pitiful.”
Tae-gun handed tissues to the caregiver wiping her tears.
“I’ll make sure Hyeonjeong stays by my side. If that happens, I’ll contact you.”
It meant he would stop at nothing. He would never let Hyeonjeong go by anyone else’s hand.
“Oppa, will you really always stay by my side?”
“Yes.”
“Then will you marry me?”
“What?”
“To live happily ever after as the prince and princess, we have to marry.”
Recalling Hyeonjeong’s cute, loving face brought a smile to him even in serious times.
“Promise!”
“What promise?”
“When I grow up, you’ll have to buy me a huge ring and propose! You’ll even have to give me a kiss to ask me to marry you!”
Struggling on his back earlier, she now extended her pinky finger as soon as she touched the ground.
“Promise quickly.”
Seeing her tiny, adorable finger, he hooked his own in, feeling apologetic for making her cry.
Her little lips parted, and she smiled sweetly.
“I love you so much, oppa.”
Hyeonjeong, feeling his warmth, whispered.
“So you have to like only me, oppa?”
On the day he carried a crying Hyeonjeong home, he wanted to keep that promise no matter what.
