CHAPTER 1
The moment she stepped into the entrance of the Royal Palace Hotel, each step she took felt unbearably heavy.
She had rushed out in a frenzy, so her shoes didn’t even match, and her clothes were disheveled.
Her hair, which she hadn’t had time to check in a mirror, stuck out awkwardly to one side, and her eyes were red and swollen.
She could feel people glancing at her, but she had no room to care.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t still have a sliver of hope.
But the wedding board set up at the entrance instantly crushed that last bit of expectation.
[Jung Siho ♡ Kim Mijeong]
“…Ha.”
A hollow laugh slipped out, then quickly froze.
“So it was real….”
She bit her lip to suppress the surge of emotion rising within her, and the metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
In the photo, Siho was smiling brightly.
A neatly tied bow tie, his hand wrapped around the bride’s waist.
That smile was no longer directed at her.
It was the face of someone who had erased all their promises without a second thought.
Her legs wobbled.
Her vision blurred, and the memories piled deep inside her shattered into pieces in an instant.
—
Two hours earlier.
— Hey! Lee Damju, something huge happened!
The urgent voice of Bokyeong, her city hall colleague and best friend, burst through the phone.
“What’s with all the noise? It’s the weekend—did a complaint case explode or something?”
— That’s not it, Siho oppa is getting married!
A dumbfounded laugh escaped her.
“Hey, April Fool’s is over. That’s not funny at all.”
— I’m not joking, it’s real! Your boyfriend is getting married, you idiot!
On a warm spring day, the words sounded completely absurd.
Bokyeong grew even more frantic.
— I’m in Seoul right now for a friend’s wedding, and the next ceremony is Siho oppa’s. I just saw the wedding board and almost fainted.
Only then did Lee Damju push herself up from the sofa where she had been lounging.
“You must’ve seen it wrong. Oppa is in the Philippines right now. He said he’d be there at least another week for international cooperation work.”
— Why won’t you believe me? Then how do you explain this?
And then a photo arrived.
The moment Lee Damju saw the screen, her heart dropped.
A man smiling in a tuxedo.
Jung Siho, who was supposed to be in the Philippines—the man she had supported for three years to become a prosecutor—was standing next to a woman in a wedding dress, smiling brightly.
“…Why is oppa there.”
A short groan slipped from her throat.
She tried to deny it, but no matter how many times she looked, it was Jung Siho.
Her hand holding the phone trembled violently.
— Hey, Lee Damju, are you okay? You didn’t faint, did you?
Suddenly, her ears rang and all surrounding sounds cut off.
Clearly, he had said,
“A wanted criminal was caught in the Philippines. They requested international cooperation, and the higher-ups need someone to help organize the data, so I have to go there too. What will I do without seeing you, Damju, during that time?”
He had said it in a voice full of affection.
It did seem a little strange—a rookie going on an overseas assignment—but he was always someone who stepped forward when needed.
So she hadn’t questioned it further.
But…
‘So he didn’t go for international cooperation… he went to get married?’
Her chest tightened painfully.
Her lips pressed together from anger and betrayal as she barely managed to speak.
“Bokyeong… where are you?”
—
In the photo, Siho was still smiling brightly.
Shamelessly so.
The corners of her lips twisted slowly.
“Yeah, keep smiling. Let’s see how long that lasts, you bastard.”
Tap—.
The photo flipped over in her hand.
Clenching her fist, Lee Damju strode straight into the wedding hall.
“Next, we will proceed with the bride and groom’s vows!”
At the host’s announcement, she gritted her teeth and shoved the door open with all her strength.
With a creaking hinge, the heavy door slammed against the wall, the dull thud echoing throughout the hall.
The venue fell silent in an instant.
Siho, standing at the center of the aisle, looked at her as if he had seen a ghost.
“……Da-Damju?”
Cutting through the stares of the crowd, Lee Damju strode down the aisle.
“You said you were going for international cooperation…”
With every step she took, murmurs spread among the guests.
“Is this what you call cooperation? Do people call marriage cooperation these days?”
Siho’s face turned pale.
The bride’s hand trembled as she clutched her bouquet.
Lee Damju clenched her teeth and stepped closer.
“You said you’d marry me once you became a prosecutor! You said that yourself, you bastard!”
With her shout, the wedding hall descended into chaos.
Siho, flustered, glanced between her, the bride, and the guests before hurriedly waving his hands.
“N-no! It’s a misunderstanding! That woman and I have nothing to do with each other!”
‘…What?’
Lee Damju stopped in her tracks.
Ignoring her reaction, Siho pointed at her and raised his voice.
“That woman is a stalker! She’s been following me for a long time! Even though I kept telling her to stop, she kept contacting and chasing me, and now she’s even barged into my wedding! It’s true!”
At that moment, Lee Damju’s face froze.
‘What the hell is he saying right now? …A stalker?’
It was the word that came from the mouth of the man who had whispered “I love you” to her until just yesterday.
Her eyes shook violently.
That single word struck her like a blow.
“I waited for you and supported you all this time, and what? A stalker? Hey, Jung Siho, just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you can spew whatever you want!”
At her sharp shout, the guests held their breath.
Meanwhile, Siho grabbed the bride protectively and said,
“L-look at her. Mijeong, do you see her eyes? She’s completely insane. Why would I call her a stalker for no reason? She’s mentally unstable.”
The corners of Lee Damju’s lips twisted.
Anger surged within her.
“You’re the crazy one, you bastard! I’m going to rip that mouth of yours apart today! I won’t let this go!”
Grinding her teeth, she stepped forward.
But at that moment, security personnel and police rushed in at once.
“We’ve received a report for obstruction of business. Please calm down and step outside first.”
“Let go! He’s the one who did wrong, so why do I have to leave!”
Her arms were grabbed as she was dragged out of the hall.
“Let go! I said let go!”
Uncomfortable stares and murmurs from the guests overlapped.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Only then did an indescribable feeling—whether humiliation or shame—rise up.
Lee Damju lowered her gaze with difficulty.
But she didn’t know.
That there was a man watching everything with cold eyes.
Quietly, from a corner of the hall, dressed in a neat suit.
And that his gaze would one day completely shake her life.
—
Dragged out of the wedding, Lee Damju was handed over to a nearby police substation.
More precisely, it was due to Jung Siho’s firm request.
“Please don’t release her until the wedding is over.”
In the end, she had to sit there until the ceremony finished.
The fluorescent lights were blinding.
The smell of paper cup coffee mixed with unfamiliar scents stung her nose.
A detective across from her watched with arms crossed.
His gaze briefly scanned her appearance.
He said nothing, but his thoughts were obvious.
Reflected in the glass beside her, she didn’t look normal to anyone.
Her red, swollen eyes, messy hair, and disordered clothes.
The thick-rimmed glasses perched on her nose made her look even more pitiful.
“So, what is your relationship with Mr. Jung Siho? How exactly do you know him?”
Lee Damju only moved her lips slightly.
“……”
The detective frowned.
“Are you really a stalker? The groom’s side is being very firm about this.”
‘The groom.’
That word tore through her ears.
Her stomach churned.
No matter how much she swallowed, the boiling emotions wouldn’t go down.
‘Jung Siho, you bastard. You’re really going to go this far?’
The detective sighed and put down his pen.
“If you continue to stay silent, we have no choice. We’ll have to record this as stalking.”
She clenched her phone.
Inside it was more than enough evidence—photos of them together, messages, call logs.
If she showed them, this situation would end immediately.
But the man she had been with for three years had labeled her a stalker.
She realized that even if she showed the evidence, nothing would change.
Because he had already chosen another woman.
“……”
Her mouth wouldn’t open.
At that moment, the door burst open.
“Hey! Lee Damju!”
Both she and the detective turned their heads at the same time.
It was Bokyeong.
Her face was flushed as if she had run all the way there.
“Huff, huff… thank you for your hard work.”
The detective raised an eyebrow.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m—huff—her friend. Her friend.”
Bokyeong quickly vouched for Lee Damju’s identity and explained the situation.
The detective nodded.
“Understood. We’ll conclude this with a warning. She’ll be released.”
As they stepped out of the station, the chilly air brushed against her face.
Bokyeong lightly hit her shoulder.
“Seriously, I can’t live because of you. I thought my heart was going to stop.”
Lee Damju stared blankly into the air and gave a weak smile.
“He called me a stalker. Isn’t that funny?”
Bokyeong said nothing.
She simply held Lee Damju’s arm tighter.
