Chapter 01
“It’s cold. You should dress warmly.”
“…”
Despite the calm voice, my hands were trembling. I had never buttoned someone else’s coat before. People had done it for me, sure—but this was definitely my first time doing it for someone else. Because of our height difference, I had to tilt my head all the way back, and now my neck hurt. I wouldn’t have known unless I’d done it myself.
I was starting to feel embarrassed by my own awkwardness when I suddenly caught sight of Axion’s eyes.
‘Is he thinking, “What the heck is she doing?”’
His eyes, looking down at me, were calm as always, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Trying to act natural, I gently adjusted his shoulders and then carefully wrapped the amber scarf I’d prepared around his neck. That should do it, right? I stepped back, satisfied with the scarf I’d put on him. Since I’d wrapped it all the way around, it now looked like he had a huge medical neck brace on—like an injured soldier.
“All done.”
I stepped away without hesitation. Axion still said nothing.
‘Please, say something!’
Doing something I never do was making me really nervous.
Maybe it was because he usually wore thin clothes even in the dead of winter, but with the scarf on, he looked kind of… funny.
‘Actually… kinda cute?’
But then I quickly felt like I had made a mistake. The expressionless look on his face killed the warm feeling I had a moment ago. What if he didn’t want this? Maybe I’d overstepped.
“Your Highness.”
“Hmm?”
“…Your Highness.”
He kept calling out to me like a broken puppet. I had a bad feeling.
“…Yeah?”
“…Zen.”
“…!”
I flinched. He hardly ever called me by name.
Even though I gave him permission to, he still refused to say it.
Maybe—maybe right now, Axion was truly touched. So happy he was calling me by name…
“Did I do something wrong?”
…Huh?
I was so shocked I froze and forgot to respond. I thought he was joking—but no, he wasn’t the type to make jokes. And he especially wouldn’t joke with me. So he must seriously think he did something wrong.
But he hadn’t. All I did was wrap a scarf around him because it was freezing out. That was it. He didn’t do anything wrong.
Well… it’s not like I was 100% innocent, either.
There was a little guilt behind the scarf. I’d yelled at him, thrown tantrums, even hurt his feelings just yesterday. I admit, I kind of hoped this scarf would make up for some of that.
‘It’s not like I thought this alone would fix everything.’
Even I wasn’t that shameless. But I thought maybe, just maybe, this small gesture would make him stop and think.
“…Are you crying?”
My thoughts stopped the moment I noticed his eyes had turned red.
He was tearing up.
This tall, handsome man—on the verge of tears.
His eyes shimmered with moisture, and he quickly turned his head away.
‘He really is crying…!’
Turning his head was basically the same as saying yes.
My heart, which had been thumping in hope, crashed into a pit of despair.
‘I can’t help it. I made Axion cry again. I’m hopeless. Forget being a sweet partner—failure again.’
Panicked, I leaned to the side to peek at his face. The first thing I noticed was how red his cheeks were. Thankfully, no actual tears had fallen yet. But he was clearly trying to hold them back, his jaw tight.
“Are you seriously crying?”
Most people cry harder when you ask that. But I was so surprised I forgot that.
“So… what did I do wrong?”
He asked again. His voice wasn’t angry—it was way too calm. That made it even worse.
He must have really misunderstood.
I swallowed hard and answered.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why… are you being nice to me?”
Why, he says. Isn’t it obvious?
He was my longtime fiancé. Do you need a reason to be kind to your fiancé?
Actually, his question made sense. I wasn’t just a fiancé—I was a terrible one.
I was so awful, I probably deserved to rot in the hell of laziness.
Just yesterday, I’d yelled things like:
“You think you’re good enough to stop me, your own fiancée?”
I’d even thrown vases at his feet in rage.
‘Yeah… this is my karma.’
For someone like me to suddenly act sweet? No wonder he was shocked.
Normally, when I saw him wearing thin clothes in winter, I wouldn’t ask if he was cold—I’d scream at him for trying to get me sick.
‘I’m insane. Absolutely insane.’
If I could spit at myself, I would.
All the regrets I had about how I treated him came rushing up.
I realized I needed to change tactics. Trying to be “nice enough” had made him cry. I needed to be just a little kind. Not too soft. A kind of firm kindness with a dash of my usual roughness.
“…It’s not kindness. I just don’t want you catching a cold and using that as an excuse to skip work.”
That sounded like me—not too sweet, not too cruel.
I swallowed nervously and waited for his response. Finally, Axion looked me straight in the eye.
His long eyes, tinted red because of me, blinked slowly.
“I would never leave Your Highness for something like that.”
Yeah. I knew that.
He was more loyal to me than anyone.
“I know. Still, don’t catch a cold.”
…This still felt very wrong, but it was the best I could do.
Axion finally seemed to understand my actions and nodded—calm and composed as always.
I resisted the urge to scold myself. I just gave him a scarf! And he nearly cried! How the heck am I supposed to act in the future?
Maybe I’d underestimated just how awful I’d been to him.
Seeing me act like my usual rude self again seemed to relax him. His face returned to its usual stoic look.
Then he gently touched the end of the scarf with his fingers and lifted it to his nose.
“I’ll never take it off.”
His determined eyes made me nod without thinking.
Which is why I made a mental note: Burn that scarf before summer.
It wasn’t even a special scarf. But the way he kept touching it so gently made me stop.
For now, I was just thankful he was alive and standing in front of me.
****
A long time ago, even before this…
I was a regular office worker.
Well, except I had a pretty twisted personality.
That twisted side really showed in my love life. I was the type who didn’t chase after guys who left—and didn’t hold back ones who came.
And I won’t deny it.
Meeting new men was the only thing that made my miserable life bearable.
Luckily, I was pretty enough to never run out of suitors.
“What, you think you’re that great?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Pfft!”
Some guys wanted serious, committed relationships. They didn’t get me.
Sure, it felt nice when someone said they’d love only me. But that was it. I never developed the kind of feelings they wanted from me.
If they said they couldn’t love me unless I loved them back—well, to me, that wasn’t real love.
So even when they cried and begged, I just laughed. They’d get over it eventually.
And for a while, I thought everything was fine.
“…Manager Kim, can I talk to you? I didn’t want to say this, but…”
“Yes?”
“…Are you… involved with the director?”
“…What?”
Then came that conversation.
Professionally, I was doing great. I had talent and ambition. My promotions came fast.
I had worked for weeks without proper sleep to prepare a presentation for a big client. When I landed the deal, I was more thrilled than any new romance ever made me.
So I expected praise. Maybe a raise. Recognition.
Instead, he looked me up and down and gave a forced laugh.
“Look, I’m not saying this without reason. Just be honest with me.”
He clearly meant: Did you really earn that on your own?
“What evidence do you have?”
I was furious. Sure, I didn’t turn away guys—but I never dated anyone at work. I was too busy working to bother hiding a relationship.
So his suspicion was completely baseless.
“Someone said they saw you coming out of a hotel with the director.”
Whoever that was—definitely had dead fish eyes.
I don’t remember how I replied.
I ended up drinking myself to death that night, overwhelmed by anger and humiliation.
****
But even that wasn’t the end.
Whether it was karma or a curse—I didn’t die.
And the moment I realized I could still move, I found myself in a completely new world.
