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chapter 10
Even though it was indoors, the wedding hall felt like a season of blooming flowers and radiant moonlight.
The floral decorations hanging from the ceiling were so grand they overwhelmed the guests. White petals fluttered down like feathers, making the elegant bride stand out even more.
Guests seated around the tables spooned up their amuse-bouche of beef tartare while waiting for the bride and groom to appear.
At last, the emcee, a famous announcer, grabbed the microphone and called out energetically:
“Now, the groom will enter!”
As Doheon walked along the black carpet, hundreds of camera flashes exploded all at once.
He was already handsome, but dressed in a perfectly fitted tuxedo without a single flaw, he looked more like an actor invited to an international luxury brand event.
Those who had never seen him in person before murmured in awe.
“He really has it all! He’ll probably inherit all the group shares too. Just look at his brother—there’s no contest. And with a face that even celebrities would envy…”
“Seo Doheon was famous even back in high school! Every girl liked him… the only reason they couldn’t approach was because he was the heir of a chaebol family.”
“Wow, seriously! And the bride is just a gardener’s granddaughter, right? Maybe her grandmother is some kind of cultural heritage holder or something? Still, how pretty must she be to have caught Seo Doheon’s eye?”
After the groom’s entrance, Yeonseo began her slow steps to the sound of the softly flowing orchestra.
When the heavy doors of the hall opened, every guest’s gaze turned toward the bride. They were eager to see who would star in this “wedding of the century.”
Everyone held their breath as she walked gracefully under her veil. The dress made her pale skin glow, and her slender jawline, soft nose, and tear-bright eyes created a delicate, pure impression—like a lily of the valley in bloom.
At last, when she reached him, Doheon stepped forward and offered his arm.
In a low voice, he said,
“You look beautiful.”
Yeonseo’s expression made it clear she didn’t believe him. Seeing her unchanged face, he chuckled.
“You look like you just heard nonsense.”
“…Thank you. Even if it’s just empty words.”
Though she’d been told she was pretty countless times since childhood, she couldn’t accept his words so easily. To her, it was nothing more than scripted dialogue for their performance.
For a moment, he faltered. After a silence, he murmured with a faint sigh:
“Empty words.”
Yeonseo turned to glance at him.
His gaze had deepened, carrying an ambiguous air—was it mockery, or was it hurt? She couldn’t tell.
When the bride and groom finally stood arm in arm, a congressman with close ties to the Seo family began the officiant’s address with a grave expression.
“From this day forward, you two are one, and you must vow to love each other for eternity.”
Yeonseo quickly realized how foolish her earlier thoughts had been. What wound could she possibly inflict on a man who held the world in his hands?
Though their arms were linked, the warmth that touched her skin felt cold.
They stood in the same place, yet somehow felt worlds apart.
After what seemed an endless speech, it was time to bow to their parents.
A distant relative of Yeonseo’s volunteered to stand in as her father. He was a paternal relative she’d met back when her family was still whole. She had asked him discreetly, securing his promise not to tell Yeonjae.
Seeing him sit alone in the parents’ seat, Yeonseo couldn’t hide the bitterness on her face. How could a day meant to be joyful hurt so much?
She bowed politely to him, her stand-in father, and thought of her scattered and vanished family.
Next, it was time to bow to Doheon’s father, Vice Chairman Seo Jinbae, and to Geum Seonae.
“Welcome, Doheon. And our new daughter-in-law.”
Geum Seonae smiled artificially as she hugged Yeonseo.
To strangers, she might have seemed the picture of a kind mother-in-law. But the contrast with the words she’d whispered in the bridal waiting room couldn’t have been sharper.
“Yes, Mother…”
Yeonseo blinked in confusion, unsure how to respond.
As the time to leave drew near, cheers erupted from the guests’ seats—sons and daughters of powerful political and business families, all of whom were just a search away online.
Yeonseo suddenly realized that she was acting on stage in front of countless eyes. She was smiling like a happy bride in a perfectly crafted movie.
Finally, as they stood again at the end of the carpet, the emcee requested a kiss.
Doheon stepped closer to her hesitation, clearly aware of her fluster.
“Just follow my lead.”
He wrapped an arm gently around her waist and lowered his lashes. To anyone watching, even to Yeonseo herself, it seemed tender.
In this moment, he was the only person she could lean on—and yet, he was also the one she could never fully trust. For an instant, she forgot that truth and let herself feel reassured.
But it was all still an act.
Just as he had taught her.
Doheon brushed against her lower lip before sliding his tongue inside. Yeonseo obediently accepted it as it slipped between her teeth.
Her eyes closed on their own. She softly grazed his tongue with hers, then wrapped around it in a slow entanglement.
Pink petals scattered from above. The kiss of two people vowing love looked not just beautiful but intoxicating. Guests held their breath, enthralled by the private play unfolding before them.
“So in the end, this is how I get married…”
There would be no simple life of love and shared daily moments for her. Despite the beautiful scene, Yeonseo’s heart felt hollow.
When the kiss ended, applause and cheers roared like midnight fireworks.
Their eyes locked deeply. Doheon furrowed his brows as he stared into hers. Yeonseo’s lips remained slightly parted, unable to contain the lingering sensation.
Three seconds passed, stretching into eternity.
All surrounding sounds faded.
It felt as if only she and Doheon existed in this world.
Now there was truly no turning back.
Her false marriage with this man had begun.
Even if its end led to ruin.
Turning her head away, Yeonseo forced herself back into composure. Doheon, too, slowly withdrew his gaze.
“You’ve improved, in the meantime.”
She heard his low murmur.
***
At dawn, with faint light slipping in, Yeonseo awoke to the fierce vibration of her phone.
Through half-open eyes, she saw the clock.
4:30 a.m.
Life at Myeongseonjae always began at that hour.
Since moving there, her days felt even more suffocating than those spent in a hotel before the wedding.
Doheon’s family expected her to follow the household’s strict rules and become like them in every way.
So she had to be trained by the elders of the household—on how to dress inside, how to do her makeup and hair, what food to eat, even what books to read.
If she failed to adapt quickly, she would appear out of place. She lived constantly on edge, like a puppet on their strings.
And Doheon himself almost never came home, too busy with work. Each morning she would glance at the space beside her in bed, but it was always, of course, empty.
She touched the dry sheets with her cold hand. Staring into the air, she sighed faintly, bracing for another day just like yesterday.
Dressed neatly in a pale beige dress, she walked softly toward the kitchen.
At the dining table sat her father-in-law, Seo Jinbae, her grandfather-in-law, Chairman Seo, and Geum Seonae.
“Daughter-in-law, Doheon didn’t come home again last night?”
Seo Jinbae asked as he picked at his grilled fish. It was his usual question whenever she sat at the table.
“Yes. He seems too busy with the TK International M&A project to come home, Father.”
She repeated the excuse like a parrot, not wanting to invite suspicion over his absence.
“No matter how busy, really! It’s been fifteen days since the wedding, and he hasn’t shown his face once! You must be so disappointed.”
Chairman Seo muttered in his husky voice, seeming more concerned about his granddaughter-in-law’s loneliness than his grandson’s exhaustion.
What on earth is he doing, staying away for half a month…?
Indeed, Doheon hadn’t returned home in fifteen days.
Eating amid such tension so early in the morning made it hard for her to swallow.
Though every meal was a feast fit for royalty, nothing went down easily. With eyes constantly on her, she couldn’t relax, and her weight had dropped noticeably.
At least in front of the family, she could never show unease or anxiety. After all, on the surface, she was supposed to be the new bride who had fallen head over heels for Doheon at first sight.
