Prologue
He seemed to have just stepped out of the shower. His hair was wet, his bare torso glistened with water droplets, and he had only a towel hastily wrapped around his waist.
Drops fell from his wet hair, trailing down his neck and over the thick line of his shoulders. Confronted with this scene in my drunken state, it was a temptation I couldn’t look away from.
His body, with water streaming down it, looked mesmerizing, like sweet syrup flowing over him.
I want to suck it.
My irresistible, unstoppable oral fixation that acts up at the sight of skin.
Jaeha flinched, noticing my gaze fixed on his body.
A drop fell from the ends of his hair, down his neck, and onto his firm chest. My eyes naturally followed the droplet’s path, moving down to his solid abs.
Without realizing it, I took a step forward.
“Why are you coming closer?”
His voice was tinged with panic.
Unable to resist the impulse, I brought my lips to his chest, where the sweet syrup was flowing. The droplet trickling down his chest was incredibly sweet. Jaeha’s pectoral muscles tensed, becoming even harder.
“Wh-what are you doing!”
Jaeha panicked and pushed me away, but I rushed back at him.
“What’s wrong with you! Is this what your oral fixation is normally like?”
As he dodged, my body, which had been lunging at him, wobbled and lost its balance, starting to fall. As I fell, I instinctively grabbed onto something to save myself.
Thud! Along with the sound of me falling, the towel was in my hand.
Huh? Why is the towel in my hand…?
I raised my gaze and took in his body. His smooth, well-built frame stimulated my impulse to suck on anything skin-colored.
In the end, I couldn’t stop myself. His body grew even more rigid, and he tried to stop me, but I just wouldn’t let go.
“Ahh… W-wait a second…”
When I finally detached myself, I looked up at Jaeha. His eyes were wide, and he was puffing out rapid, short breaths from his parted lips.
“Remember this clearly. You’re the one who started this.”
Before I could even ponder what his words meant, Jaeha picked me up in his arms and headed for the bedroom.
Chapter 1
“Ouch! That hurts, be gentle!”
“Oh my, you’re more buxom than I thought. The zipper just won’t go up!”
The bride’s waiting room in Seoul’s most high-end wedding hall. Decorated in Renaissance style, the heavy wood-tone interior and soft lighting created an atmosphere as splendid as a photoshoot.
But the bride at the center of it all—me—felt less like a model and more like the protagonist of a disaster movie. Three experts were waging a war around me.
One was busy smoothing out the wrinkles in the dress, another was utterly preoccupied, comb in hand, fixing my hair. In the midst of it all, the designer was using all her strength to pull the dress zipper all the way up.
“The tiara! Where’s the tiara?”
“It’s in the bag with the veil.”
Despite everyone moving about frantically, the expression on my face reflected in the mirror, clad in the wedding dress, was full of dissatisfaction.
Rrrrrrrrr
And as if to add insult to injury, my cell phone started ringing incessantly. I didn’t even need to look. It was probably Hyeona. The time was 12:35 PM. We were supposed to meet at 11:00, so it made sense. We had originally planned to meet briefly before the wedding to hand over a used laptop, but who knew things would turn out like this?
“Please, my bag.”
“Bride, we don’t have time! The ceremony starts in less than 30 minutes!”
The designer and the manager, fighting against time, already had expressions as if their souls had left their bodies, their hands moving busily.
“But my phone keeps ringing.”
Finally, the dress zipper was closed, and I moved toward the bag containing the ringing phone. The manager following me urgently said,
“Bride, you mustn’t move right now.”
“Don’t call me ‘Bride’!”
I snapped irritably and pulled the phone from my bag. The moment I pressed the call button, Hyeona’s annoyed, high-pitched voice assaulted my eardrums.
[Hey! Han Yeseol. Why aren’t you answering your phone?]
At the sharp sound of Hyeona’s voice from the other end, I momentarily pulled the phone away from my ear before putting it back. Then I got straight to the point.
“Sorry, I can’t make it today.”
[What? You’re canceling now? I’ve been waiting here for over an hour!]
“I said I’m sorry! Ugh, forget it! I’m so pissed off I could die right now! Anyway, I can’t come.”
[Why can’t you come?]
“I have to get married right now.”
[What?]
“I said I have to get mar-ried!”
[Get married? Pfft! I left in the middle of giving birth to be here! Aren’t you coming or what?]
“I’m serious! I’m hanging up! I don’t have time.”
I threw the phone back into my bag. Behind me, the manager from the famous Cheongdam-dong hair salon was still moving his hands with elegant grace as he fixed my hair.
A true veteran. Clearly, I was fighting for breath, but he, in the midst of it all, perfectly finished a neat updo, even placing the tiara on top.
Finally, a veil, white as snow, was placed over my head. Until I put on the dress, it hadn’t felt real, but the moment the veil went on, the thought hit me: Am I really going through with this damn wedding?
“You look so beautiful, Bride. The dress suits you perfectly too.”
The wedding assistant, demonstrating professional spirit, poured out compliments. Was this a case of ‘seeing a leg and stretching out your own’? Giving compliments in this situation, she really had no tact.
“The ceremony is starting soon, are you ready?”
Everyone except me was restless, looking like they had a fire lit under them. Just then, the door to the bride’s waiting room burst open and my mother entered with an anxious face.
Seeing me in the veil, Mom finally let out a sigh of relief, then, as if someone might see, quickly closed the door and came in.
“Manage your expression! Can the bride make her entrance with a face like that? Even if you can’t smile, you can’t go in with that expression!”
“Do I look like I’m in a state to manage my expression right now, Mom?”
“Let’s talk after the ceremony. The Minister of Education and the Minister of Environment are here, and all the business and political figures have arrived. If you don’t want to disgrace your grandfather and father, go in quietly and just finish the ceremony properly.”
Was this how Simcheong felt, being sold for three hundred sacks of rice? No, wait. Simcheong volunteered to throw herself into the Indangsu Sea. She probably didn’t feel as wronged as I do.
“Ugh! If I get my hands on that wench Han Yeji! I’m going to tear her to pieces!”
“Oh my goodness. Yeseol—ah, no, Yeji! Watch your mouth!”
Mom looked around as if someone might hear and covered my mouth with her white-gloved hand. How could she so naturally call me by my older sister’s name? I was so dumbfounded that one side of my lip jutted out as I looked up at her.
“Bride, it’s time to come out.”
At the assistant’s words, I picked up my bouquet and slowly left the waiting room. The train of the dress, flowing like a mermaid’s tail, was held and followed by the assistant. Step by step, as if to heighten the tension, I walked towards the grand hall unfolding before me.
The high ceiling, sparkling marble floor, and walls adorned with magnificent Turkish coral stone. This wedding venue was the epitome of luxury, anyone could see that.
My father, holding my hand tightly, had a slight tremor in his. It seemed Dad, taking on the role of father of the bride for the first time, was nervous too. Knowing I wasn’t the only one trembling made me feel a little better.
At the entrance to the large hall, reminiscent of an 18th-century palace, was a large sign with the names of today’s wedding couple.
Groom: Yoon Jaeha. Bride: Han Yeji.
Han Yeji. It was the name of my older sister, two years my senior. Today was my sister’s wedding day.
When I woke up this morning, I had been determined. I vowed to hold back my tears while watching my sister, forced into a loveless marriage under the name of a strategic alliance. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry seeing my sister, born the eldest daughter of a chaebol family, having to marry a man chosen for the family’s interests.
But right now, the one wearing this damn wedding dress was me.
Damn it!
If only my sister hadn’t run away with her boyfriend of three years, I wouldn’t be in this situation. In my life, the word ‘marriage’ was something I could have thought about in at least a few years!
And yet, I was chosen as the perfect stand-in for my sister. I was the one standing here as the protagonist of this lavish wedding hall, holding the bouquet!
Damn you, Han Yeji!
Just you wait until this is over. No matter where my sister is hiding, I’ll find her and pull out her fingernails, one by one!
Flashback: Wedding Morning
“Let’s meet a bit earlier since it’s my sister’s wedding today. How about 11? Let’s have brunch.”
[You’re really selling it for 500,000 won? Are you insane?]
“It’s practically new! I barely used it. You saw the pictures I sent, right? Pink color. That’s a limited edition. 500,000 is a steal. A steal. I need quick cash, so I’m letting it go for a super low price.”
[Are you paying for some kids’ tuition fees again? The ones you sponsor?]
“I told you, there’s this kid who draws. Her talent is too good to waste. The costs for art education are pretty high, it turns out.”
[Ugh, let’s not even go there. Mother Teresa has arrived, I see. Don’t be late later.]
I ended the call after finalizing the plans to meet Hyeona. To attend my sister’s wedding, I needed to get my hair and makeup done, so the perfect schedule was to go to the salon first, meet Hyeona, and then head to the wedding venue. Thinking this, I headed towards the bathroom.
As I went down the stairs, I glanced towards the living room and paused for a moment. Not only were my grandfather, father, and mother there, but also my father’s company’s chief of staff and a lawyer from the legal team were gathered. This was a sign that this wasn’t a normal morning.
I should have left the house quickly right then. Really.
As I descended the stairs, my grandfather’s sharp gaze followed me. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed his cane at me and shouted.
“Yeseol! Put Yeseol up as the bride.”
At his words, over ten pairs of black eyes in the living room turned towards me all at once. Bewildered, I just blinked and looked around.
The bride?
“You’re saying we should trick everyone and have the ceremony with Yeseol posing as Yeji? Father?”
