Prologue
She had nothing to her name, yet she was steadfast.
Steadfast yet clumsy.
Clumsy yet sincere—Oh Seoyeon.
On a cold winter day, she came to me and disappeared with the warm spring.
Like her fingertips, always stained with color,
she dyed me in her hues and left.
The feeling that could never be erased
was blindness.
Amor ciego.
Blind love.
Ding, ding, ding—
The bells of the cathedral rang out.
Sunlight streamed through the stained glass on one side of the prayer room wall. Beneath the light, dyed in countless colors, sat a woman in a white wedding dress.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A soft, graceful voice spilled from the woman’s lips. Soon after, the door to the prayer room opened and familiar faces began to enter. They were villagers, neatly dressed instead of their usual comfortable clothes. The once quiet space filled with chatter and warmth in an instant.
“Oh my, Seoyeon, you look so beautiful! We thought your husband had run off far away, leaving his pregnant wife all alone—but look at that fine man you’ve got!”
“Look at our bride all dressed up—like an angel, truly an angel!”
“Such a pretty thing. Now you need to live happily with your baby and your husband!”
Seoyeon gave a faint smile as she listened to the villagers’ blessings. Her hand gently caressed her round belly.
“Thank you, everyone. Now… I’m going to find happiness too.”
“That’s right, that’s right! You must. Our bride’s been through so much heartache~”
“For that baby growing inside you, the mother has to smile. Does smiling a little make you feel better?”
She looked at the villagers, her eyes warm. They were the ones who had reached out a helping hand when she’d come here, carrying that man’s child, fleeing from him with nowhere else to go.
“Then we’ll wait in the hall over there, so rest until the ceremony starts, alright?”
“Yes. Thank you, ma’am.”
Once the villagers left the prayer room, the silence returned as if the noise had never been there. The ticking of the clock on the wall echoed clearly.
Is this really right?
This wedding was for the child. When she’d fled from him, someone had told her that the baby needed a father—and that decided everything. Because the child’s real father would only ever try to erase the baby.
So she promised to marry the man who would soon become her husband.
She pictured the baby’s father—his features always neat and sculpted like they’d been carved. His cool eyes that softened when he’d smile, calling her, Seoyeon-ah, in that low voice that had caressed her countless times. His cold hands that had touched her so tenderly. The winter scent that clung to his coat suited him so perfectly—it overwhelmed her mind all over again.
Then, a faint jolt came from inside her belly.
The small yet strong kick from the baby helped Seoyeon steady her wavering heart.
Yes. This is for the best.
Seoyeon glanced at the clock on the wall.
Only ten minutes left until the ceremony.
A strange sense of unease tightened her grip around the white lily bouquet she held.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the prayer room door.
Maybe it was because she was so tense—at the small knock, her body flinched. Her head whipped toward the door so quickly it made a soft snap.
Knock, knock.
The sound came again.
Seoyeon thought of the people who’d already visited the bride’s waiting room.
There shouldn’t be anyone else coming with only ten minutes left…
Her heart started pounding wildly. A bad feeling crept in.
The chair scraped against the floor as she stood up.
Her instincts screamed in alarm. Her palms, still clutching the bouquet, started to sweat.
She hadn’t felt this kind of tension when the villagers visited.
Seoyeon hurried toward the door. Her footsteps grew faster and faster. Just as she grabbed the doorknob to lock it, someone on the other side began to turn it.
No…!
Seoyeon gripped the handle with both hands, blocking the door with her whole body.
The door creaked as it started to open, but she forced it shut again.
She thought she heard a faint scoff from the other side.
Her hands fumbled at the lock in a panic. How many times did she miss the latch?
Just as she managed to lock it, whoever was outside twisted the knob more forcefully.
“Ah…!”
A sharp gasp escaped her lips. The old doorknob rattled violently, shaking in its frame.
It felt like the door would splinter any second under that force.
Fear and tension clawed up her throat as Seoyeon backed away from the door.
I have to get out of here.
Her eyes darted around the prayer room. But all she could see were the stained glass windows, awash in color—no way out.
Then it happened.
Crash!
“Kyah!”
A deafening crash. The door burst open.
Startled by the sudden violence, Seoyeon squeezed her eyes shut and instinctively wrapped her arms around her belly. A sharp scream tore from her throat.
A musty scent of dust reached her nose—mixed with a familiar cologne.
That man’s scent, layered with a heavy wood note. So familiar. So distant now. It drifted in through the doorway.
Thump, thump.
Her heart felt like it would leap from her chest.
Even with her eyes closed, she saw his face clearly.
“….”
“….”
Silence settled over them for a moment.
In the suffocating stillness, Seoyeon slowly lifted her eyelids.
And… she despaired that her premonition had been right.
She couldn’t say a word.
The bouquet slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.
Standing in the doorway was a man, looking far more haggard than in her memories.
Had he run here in a rush? His black hair, always so neatly slicked back, was now wildly disheveled. The chest of his suit rose and fell heavily with rough breaths.
A hoarse, cracked voice spilled from his lips.
“Hello, Oh Seoyeon.”
“……”
At his short, ragged greeting, Seoyeon’s eyes lost focus and trembled.
His dark eyes, so deep she couldn’t see the bottom, stared quietly down at her.
A scene that had replayed countless times in her dreams flashed through her mind like a panorama.
“How would you feel if a woman carrying your baby suddenly showed up?”
“I’d make her get rid of it.”
“Even if it’s your baby…?”
“What’s the point if I don’t want it.”
Seeing her so clearly terrified made his brow twitch. He let out a low, hollow laugh and stepped toward her.
“A lot must’ve happened in six months.”
“Don’t come any closer.”
Seoyeon wrapped her arms around her belly.
The sharpness in his eyes as they locked onto her stomach made her feel like he’d erase the child at any moment.
The child she’d carried inside her for over six months.
“Stay back!”
“…”
Her scream froze his steps.
Only three steps apart.
That was all that stood between them.
“Don’t come any closer to me or my baby.”
“Your baby?”
“Yes. My baby.”
He looked down at Seoyeon, who was desperately shielding her stomach.
Her fingertips, once always stained with paint, were pale now. And Kang Ryun… he’d missed her exactly for as long as that paint had faded.
He missed Seoyeon.
Seoyeon couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pitch-black pupils that slowly met hers. This was the man who wanted to get rid of her child. The man who had hurt her countless times.
Have I finally lost my mind?
It looked like his eyes were rimmed red—though the depths of his pupils stayed frozen cold.
“Your husband’s child?”
“…Yes.”
She answered his question half a beat late, without even realizing it.
He tilted his head slightly at the sight of Seoyeon, tense like she’d bolt at any second. A faint smile curled on his lips.
“Then that child is mine.”
At the chilling words, Seoyeon’s eyes widened in shock.
And as if he’d been waiting for this moment, he closed the distance between them in an instant.
Seoyeon flinched and tried to stumble backward, but his arm had already wrapped tightly around her waist.
A dark shadow of defeat crossed her face as she realized too late. She struggled, pushing at him with all her strength.
“What is this…! Let me go. Let me go!”
“I told you once before.”
He pulled her tighter, ignoring her thrashing.
He couldn’t lose her again. Not now that he knew how hellish life was without her.
He leaned in, their faces close, locking eyes with her. His tousled hair brushed her forehead. Seoyeon trembled at the possessive, obsessive glint in his eyes and bit down on her lip.
When her lips turned an even deeper red, his gaze dropped to them.
“Only ask me for things I can give you.”
“Cha Kang Ryun, you—”
“That’s right, Oh Seoyeon. You know well enough. The name of the man you’re about to marry.”
Not that worthless bastard.
Kang Ryun muttered the last words under his breath—then devoured Seoyeon’s lips in a single, fierce breath.
Their lips, reunited after six months, were tender—
but the months they’d been apart made the kiss rough.
