Chapter 7

The Pure White Bride

Do-gyeong returned to the silent house and sank down onto the bed. In his hand was the medicine bottle he had once taken away from Yu-ju.

Perhaps rain was on its way, because the leg he had seriously injured in the past had begun to throb. Grimacing in pain, Do-gyeong poured the tiny amount of liquid remaining in the bottle into his mouth instead of taking a painkiller.

The bitter liquid slid down his throat, and after a while, the pain subsided somewhat.

What were you feeling when you swallowed this tasteless stuff? Were you hurting as much as I was?

He then opened the drawer of the bedside table in the most secluded corner of the bedroom and placed the medicine bottle inside.

Beside it were every single one of the movie reviews Yu-ju had written back in high school. She had collected them, saying she was going to submit them to her teacher, but she had never actually turned them in.

He had taken every last one of them home and read them again and again in his own private space. Some days they were short, some days long. Some were dry, while others were drenched in emotion. They were all so unmistakably Yu-ju that reading them made him happy.

At some point, Yu-ju seemed to have realized what Do-gyeong was doing, but she pretended not to notice and continued writing these tedious reviews every week, giving them to him.

Even the breath and scent Yu-ju had left behind in those pages, the atmosphere of that time—it all remained vividly in his memory.

“Do-gyeong.”

A cautious voice, tinged with a slight tremor, came as the door opened. It was Do-gyeong’s mother, Mrs. Lee Yeo-myeong.

But she was not the wife of the chairman of Dosung Group.

Her son was the heir, yet paradoxically, his biological mother was practically a nonexistent person within Dosung Group.

“I heard you collapsed. Are you feeling any better?”

She must have rushed over as soon as she heard the news. If so, she must certainly have heard that the young woman who had accompanied him was Yu-ju.

“I’m fine, but you seem to be the one who isn’t.”

At Do-gyeong’s pointed remark, Yeo-myeong’s beautiful face trembled just as her voice had.

He had hit the nail on the head.

In truth, Yeo-myeong had barely slept over the past few days.

After much hesitation, she finally asked her son,

“…Why did you do that that day?”

On the day Yu-ju’s engagement was announced, what Do-gyeong had done had been utterly shocking.

People whispered about his rude behavior, while the media churned out article after article questioning Do-gyeong’s qualifications as Dosung’s heir.

“The chairman is furious. You promised your mother. We’ve come this far… We can finally see the end, can’t we? So why did you do it?”

Yeo-myeong herself had spent her entire life living in hiding, but she had wanted her son to live proudly in front of everyone.

More than anyone, she had wanted Do-gyeong to become Dosung’s heir, and she had been the greatest force behind his success in competing against his half-siblings.

“Even now, let’s go to your father together and apologize.”

“I’m not going. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Do-gyeong.”

“Mother.”

“If you give up your position here, you’ll have to live like your mother for the rest of your life. Being ignored, being looked down on…”

“Do you love Father?”

“What?”

“Then how far could you go for him?”

Unlike his rebellious image, Do-gyeong had always been extremely close to his mother. But today, he was different.

Even though he knew his mother was suffering, Do-gyeong did not stop.

“Do-gyeong.”

“I might lose everything and end up pathetic and miserable. But even then?”

“Do-gyeong!”

To Yeo-myeong, those words sounded as though the sky itself had collapsed.

No matter how hard she tried to deny it, it seemed that, for Do-gyeong, what had happened nine years ago was still an ongoing reality.

Could her son perhaps still… that girl…

“Why are you saying such frightening things?”

“Because I’m scared of myself, too. I don’t know how far I might go.”

Perhaps it had been the arrogance of adults to assume that a pure first love between immature young people would quickly fade away.

The days when she had felt reassured simply because the two had no contact now seemed almost laughable.

“Yu-ju keeps saying strange things. She says I abandoned her. That the reason we broke up was because of me.”

Yeo-myeong’s heart sank.

Do-gyeong’s empty eyes captured his mother’s agitation.

“That’s strange, isn’t it? I’m the one who was abandoned. I never abandoned Yu-ju.”

“Do… Do-gyeong.”

“Did you ever meet Yu-ju before?”

“……”

He had realized that there had been countless schemes and lies behind their misunderstanding, but he desperately hoped his mother was not involved.

Anyone else would be different, but he wanted his mother alone to remain an outsider to this whole affair.

His mother was the only person, apart from Yu-ju, who had ever loved him.

If he discovered that even his mother had contributed to his suffering, he did not think he could bear the betrayal.

“Is there some secret you’ve been hiding from me?”

“……”

Then why can’t you answer me?

A surge of fury swept through Do-gyeong, and he abruptly rose to his feet.

Yeo-myeong collapsed helplessly and burst into tears.

Just like that frail child at the train station all those years ago.

“Mother.”

“Do-gyeong. I’m sorry, Do-gyeong…”

“Mother!”

Do-gyeong’s voice rose.

Even if it had been something beyond his control, even if there had been some misunderstanding, there was one undeniable fact: Yu-ju had felt that he had abandoned her.

At last, he understood completely why Yu-ju had been so hostile toward him.

Perhaps it would have been better if he had simply been the one-sided victim of abandonment.

“The bride is coming out.”

Ha-jin, who had been exchanging secret messages with someone, put down his phone.

The curtains opened cheerfully, revealing Yu-ju in her wedding dress.

Perhaps it was because the lighting complemented her skin tone, or because her hair had been styled to match the dress, but Yu-ju looked especially beautiful today.

She seemed to swallow even the dazzling embellishments of the dress itself. She was both pure and elegant.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say that the phrase “the pure white bride” had been created for Yu-ju.

Even the employees could not help but gaze at her in genuine admiration.

“You’re absolutely beautiful.”

Ha-jin stared at her, completely mesmerized.

He had always thought she had a refined face, but once she was dressed like a bride, her appearance transformed into something dazzling.

Without a doubt, at this very moment, Yu-ju was the most beautiful woman Ha-jin had ever met.

“How do I look?”

Unlike Ha-jin, who was completely dazed, Yu-ju asked with an indifferent expression.

The gaze of the fiancé she had met for their mutual benefit had subtly changed ever since the day their marriage was announced.

Yu-ju did not want to know what that meant.

No, to be precise, she did not have enough room in her mind to worry about something like that.

Ever since Do-gyeong had appeared, Yu-ju’s thoughts had been filled with nothing but him.

Unfortunately, there was no room there for her fiancé.

“Really, really beautiful, Ms. Yu-ju.”

“Really?”

Ha-jin stepped toward Yu-ju and instinctively took her hand.

The sudden physical contact triggered a rejection in Yu-ju, and she quickly slapped his hand away, almost making the gesture awkwardly obvious.

“People are watching.”

Yu-ju gave an awkward smile, using the employees as an excuse.

Ironically, although these two people had promised to marry each other, they were still uncomfortable even holding hands.

Especially Yu-ju.

The hand that had just touched hers had not made her heart flutter in the slightest.

“Isn’t that a little too cold? People are going to misunderstand.”

Ha-jin whispered, clearly offended.

It was the first time he had shown such a chilly side of himself despite always being kind to her.

He seemed almost like a different person.

Just as the contrast began to feel particularly strange, Ha-jin’s phone rang repeatedly.

When Yu-ju’s gaze fell on the phone, Ha-jin hurriedly turned away and checked the screen in a suspicious manner.

She should have been angry that he seemed to be hiding something from her, but for some reason, Yu-ju felt like laughing.

“Ms. Yu-ju, let me take some pictures for you. This is something you should treasure for the rest of your life.”

Ha-jin returned to his usual demeanor and pointed his phone camera at her, seemingly trying to change the subject.

“No…”

Yu-ju was about to refuse, but then, as though she had suddenly changed her mind, she turned to face Ha-jin directly.

“Okay. Take them.”

Perhaps, foolishly, she thought that the pictures Ha-jin took might somehow reach Do-gyeong as well.

These days, Ha-jin seemed eager to get along with Do-gyeong and had a tendency to show off in front of him.

Unaware of the thoughts behind her decision, Ha-jin happily began snapping away.

“I’m actually terrible at taking pictures, but you look beautiful from every angle, Ms. Yu-ju.”

Yu-ju stared intently into the phone camera as though she were engaged in a staring contest.

Eventually, she called for an employee.

The employee, who had been about to give the couple some private time, hurried over at the unexpectedly early call.

“Yes, ma’am. Shall we have you try on the next dress?”

“No, it’s fine. My fiancé says this one is beautiful, so I’ll go with this one. I’m fine with it too.”

“…Pardon?”

The employee asked in surprise.

This upscale wedding salon catered exclusively to women from the upper classes, and countless brides had passed through its doors.

Yu-ju was among the most prestigious of them all.

Moreover, numerous luxury brands that valued her star power had eagerly offered to sponsor her wedding dress, waiting for Yu-ju to make her choice.

Whichever dress Yu-ju wore would undoubtedly attract everyone’s attention the moment she appeared in public.

And yet she was going to settle on the very first dress she had tried on, chosen completely at random?

She was almost too easygoing.

“It’s okay, Ms. Yu-ju. You can try on some others.”

Even Ha-jin joined in, encouraging her, but Yu-ju firmly shook her head.

“You have a trial coming up soon, don’t you, Ha-jin? I also have an important meeting later, so I don’t have much time.”

At Yu-ju’s words, which neatly wrapped up the situation, the wedding salon employee who had helped her with the fitting felt strangely disappointed.

More exquisite dresses, dresses that would have suited her perfectly, floated through the employee’s mind.

“But you should look your most beautiful on that day…”

The employee had so much regret that she accidentally murmured the words aloud.

“Pardon?”

Yu-ju, who had been setting down her crown, turned her head.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The startled employee quickly apologized.

“It’s okay.”

Fortunately, Yu-ju was not fussy or temperamental like the women from other chaebol families.

“You don’t have to be the most beautiful.”

Still, she looked so sorrowful, as though she had a tragic story of her own.

Why did a woman who had been born into a prestigious family and was about to marry a star prosecutor as popular as a celebrity look not the least bit happy?

“It’s enough if I’m just pretty enough.”

The employee could not bring herself to say anything more and quietly helped Yu-ju out of the dress.

Looking down at the hem of the dress as it fell to the floor, Yu-ju suddenly found herself wondering.

If I had been marrying you instead, what kind of wedding dress would I have worn?