After Story 4. Can't Give Up
Today, Noh Eun-ah is getting married.
The day has finally come to wish for her happiness and send her off with a joyful heart.
Eun-ha, who woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready, had complicated feelings.
He was so distracted that he was sitting blankly on the bed without even going to wash up.
Jeong Ha-yang couldn't help but sigh seeing him like that.
"Are you going to keep sitting there?"
"...Ha-yang."
"Aren't you going to wash up?"
The person who shared the bed with Eun-ha last night was Jeong Ha-yang.
She, wearing only a robe, chided him as soon as she came out of the bathroom.
Under the towel wrapped around her head, her wet hair was as dark and blue as the predawn sky outside the window.
"You should hurry and wash up. The makeup artists are already here waiting. Or are you planning to go to the wedding venue like that?"
"..."
"Do you think Eun-ah unnie would be happy with that? This will be a memorable day in Eun-ah unnie's life, do you want to be remembered with messy hair and looking unkempt?"
"No, that's not it..."
"And."
"..."
"Chang-jin oppa will dress up incredibly well today, do you want to be compared to him? If you want to be compared, well, you can go like that..."
"I'll wash up quickly and come out."
When Jeong Ha-yang deliberately provoked him, light returned to Eun-ha's eyes that had seemed to be wandering.
Being compared to Han Chang-jin?
For him, it was like a humiliation.
So he tried to get up to thoroughly wash his body.
Before that.
Flap!
"...What are you doing?"
"Let me charge up a bit."
Eun-ha untied Jeong Ha-yang's robe belt and boldly opened it.
Then he hugged her waist and rubbed his face against her still damp stomach.
It was just like a child whining that he didn't want to go to kindergarten.
She indulged his sudden behavior as if she had no choice.
Since giving birth to Noh Yu-ran, she had naturally become overflowing with maternal love.
She gently stroked his head and back as if dealing with a child.
"Why? Do you need my energy?"
"Give me energy to endure today."
"How much?"
"A lot."
Eun-ha, who was much taller than her, acting cute was just adorable and lovable.
However, the point not to forget is that he's not really a child.
Eun-ha, who raised his face from Jeong Ha-yang's navel, had a mischievous expression.
He suddenly pushed her down onto the bed.
"Huh? Kyaa!"
Jeong Ha-yang's silky smooth hair came undone, and her white robe completely opened.
Eun-ha pounced on top of her who had fallen onto the bed to prevent her from escaping.
Her eyes were full of emotion.
As her gaze deepened, he slyly moved his hand.
"I need to charge up more energy."
"By force like this?"
"Why? Don't you like it?"
"No, I like it. But honey."
"What?"
"Isn't this me charging up rather than you?"
"Who cares who's charging up!"
"Kyaa! Uh... But we... really don't have time..."
"Then should we stop?"
"...Considering the time for Seo-hyeon unnie and Yu-jeong, Yeon-hwa unnie and the kids to get their makeup done, it might be okay..."
"Then shall we continue like this?"
"Yeah, I guess we'll have to wash up again later."
After the lovemaking from last night, round 2 was about to begin.
But unfortunately, the two of them had to get up from their spot in the end.
"I came down because you two weren't coming downstairs, wondering if you were still sleeping... Well, you were sleeping. No, were you about to go back to sleep?"
"Sorry, did we interrupt? Then do you want to play together until we come back from getting our makeup done?"
"..."
Han Seo-hyeon and Lee Yu-jeong entered the room.
The two spoke without being flustered after seeing Noh Eun-ha and Jeong Ha-yang tangled on the bed.
Nevertheless, Eun-ha and Jeong Ha-yang couldn't help but freeze in place.
The smiles of the two, whose inner thoughts were unreadable, were scary and chilling.
"Yeon-hwa unnie is getting her makeup done, and it's almost our turn now. You two should hurry and come down too. Stop fooling around in bed."
"Yes..."
Han Seo-hyeon subtly gave a warning.
Eun-ha and Jeong Ha-yang awkwardly got up, looking ashamed.
* * *
Eun-ha, who had gotten all dressed up after receiving makeup, left for the wedding venue with his family.
In the bride's waiting room.
Eun-ah welcomed them cheerfully.
"Welcome everyone! Are you tired from coming early in the morning? I'll treat you all generously when I come back from my honeymoon! By the way, you all look so beautiful today! It's like you're the brides, not me? Aren't Yu-seong, Yu-ran, and Yu-rin too cute today? Come here, kids! Let auntie give you a hug!"
"Unnie, congratulations on your marriage! And aren't you too beautiful?"
"Congratulations on your marriage, unnie. The wedding dress seems to suit you so well."
"Yeah, you look really beautiful today."
"That's right. How beautiful must unnie be for Eun-ha to be staring blankly like that now."
Noh Eun-ah in a pure white wedding dress.
She was radiating a beautiful presence as if she was today's protagonist.
Eun-ha's wives praised her beauty, and the children were completely captivated by her too.
"..."
Eun-ha also couldn't hide his admiration.
He couldn't take his eyes off Eun-ah, whose face was glowing and whose wedding dress sparkled under the lights.
'Noona looks like a different person...'
Noh Eun-ah feels unfamiliar and distant.
Seeing her in a wedding dress makes him newly realize that she's leaving his side.
A bitter feeling raises its head.
"Noona, congratulations on your marriage."
Nevertheless, Eun-ha swallowed his emotions and wished for Eun-ah's blessing.
She, who was hugging Noh Yu-seong, Noh Yu-ran, and Noh Yu-rin and squealing with them, smiled softly.
"Yeah, thank you. Eun-ha, don't you look too handsome today too?"
"It's your wedding that will be memorable in your life, so of course I should dress up nicely, right?"
The distance was momentary.
Eun-ha approached Noh Eun-ah and found the face of the noona he knew, exchanging friendly conversation as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, oppa and unnies came too. How is it? Isn't unnie too pretty today? But... Aren't the kids too cute today? Look at Yu-seong in his tuxedo... Aren't Yu-ran and Yu-rin too pretty too? They're my nieces and nephews but they're too cute... Kids, do you want to come to auntie?"
In the meantime, Eun-ha's parents and Eun-ae, who had gone to prepare for the wedding, returned.
Eun-ae couldn't contain herself and freely touched the nieces and nephews sitting snugly next to Eun-ah.
The children, who had liked her from before, didn't reject her touch and burst into laughter.
"It's nice to see."
"That's right."
Lee Yu-jeong, Han Seo-hyeon, and Jeong Ha-yang were standing a few steps away from them.
The three didn't want to disturb the warm time the three siblings and their children were spending together.
"The photo came out well."
The picture is very bright.
Jeong Ha-yang took out her smartphone and took a picture.
She should send it to the three of them later.
She smiled as she examined the photo she had taken.
Then she realized.
"But where did Yeon-hwa unnie go?"
Ryu Yeon-hwa, who had been nearby until just now, was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared somehow.
Jeong Ha-yang, who realized her absence, tilted her head.
'Did she go to the bathroom?'
Contrary to her expectation.
Ryu Yeon-hwa was in Han Chang-jin's groom's waiting room, which no one had visited yet.
She opened the door and entered, moving her feet in heeled shoes with big strides.
There was discipline in the sound of her heels clicking.
"Ah, Yeon-hwa. You must be tired from coming early in the morning, thanks for coming... Yeon-hwa?"
Whether Han Chang-jin welcomed her or not.
Ryu Yeon-hwa approached him unhesitatingly to the point of making him uncomfortable, exuding a solemn atmosphere.
Even though she wasn't holding a spear in her hand, her eyes looked as if she could stab him anytime if she wanted to.
"Ye-Yeon-hwa, what's wrong?"
Han Chang-jin, overwhelmed by her atmosphere, was naturally frightened.
He reflexively stepped back, trying to distance himself from her.
But after a few steps back, his back hit the wall.
Unable to avoid her anymore, he trembled as he watched her approach until she was almost pressed against him.
"Han Chang-jin."
"Uh, uh... Yeon-hwa."
Thwack.
Ryu Yeon-hwa placed one hand on the wall next to Han Chang-jin.
Despite the height difference between them, he fell into the illusion that he was looking up at her.
That's how much he feared her.
At that moment, she spoke with her blue eyes flashing fiercely.
"If you make Eun-ah cry... You know, right?"
"..."
The mana that spread from Ryu Yeon-hwa's hand on the wall froze the surroundings.
Han Chang-jin felt chilled to the bone by the cold energy he felt right next to him.
It was her warning that she really wouldn't let him off if he violated her warning.
To this, he hurriedly nodded and answered her.
"I'm not confident I won't make her cry ever in my life. But I'll try to make the days she smiles outnumber the days she cries."
The appearance of trembling from earlier had completely disappeared.
Han Chang-jin's eyes were infinitely serious.
Ryu Yeon-hwa smirked at his gaze that didn't avoid her eyes and looked straight at her.
"Alright, I'll be watching to see if you can do that."
He could have reassured her by lying that he would never make her cry.
It wasn't exactly a satisfying answer, but it wasn't an unsatisfying answer either.
In a way, it was an answer like Han Chang-jin.
Ryu Yeon-hwa removed her hand from the wall.
Then she distanced herself from Han Chang-jin and opened her mouth to bless her precious friends.
"Congratulations on your marriage."
* * *
The wedding ceremony will start soon.
As the time drew closer, more guests visited the venue.
Eun-ha was in charge of receiving congratulatory money and greeted people who came to see Eun-ah with his father in front of the venue.
"People keep coming endlessly. I'm not sure if it's okay to receive congratulatory money without knowing who's giving it, I feel like I'm just mindlessly accepting it."
"But it's good that there are many people. They say sorrow is halved when shared, and joy is doubled when shared. By the way, I guess I'm not washed up yet. Seeing so many people come even though I've retired."
Because there were so many guests, receiving congratulatory money and writing in the guest book wasn't as easy as he thought.
Eun-ha couldn't help but click his tongue at this task he was doing for the first time in his life.
Then his father said:
"Eun-ha."
"Yes, Dad."
"Is it hard?"
"It is hard."
"I've done this four times. Greeting people coming with 'Your son is getting married again, haha' and receiving congratulatory money four times. When I married Yu-jeong, I was so embarrassed when someone said, 'Chief of Staff, this is really the last time, right?'..."
"..."
"I have to return four times as much as I received when those people have celebratory events. So do you think it's okay for you to say it's hard in front of me, or not?"
"...It's not okay. I should work hard."
"That's right."
It's a sin to have married four times.
Eun-ha belatedly realized his father's hardship.
After that, the two stopped talking and focused on greeting the guests.
During this, Yu Do-jun came.
"Wow, what a rare sight is this? You're not the one getting married, Eun-ha, but you're in charge of receiving congratulatory money. I came thinking you were getting married, but I guess it's really Eun-ah noona who's getting married?"
"You came."
Yu Do-jun, the chairman of Hana Group.
He came with his attendants and spoke glibly.
Eun-ha, who was dealing with his father's acquaintances, gave a bitter smile.
"Hurry up and give the congratulatory money. It's our noona getting married, so make it generous."
"I already prepared it generously, you know? One for you and one for Eun-ah noona."
"Huh? Why one for me?"
"You're going to get married again, aren't you? I was going to give it in advance while I'm at it."
"What are you saying."
Yu Do-jun said playfully while taking out two envelopes.
Eun-ha let out a laugh of disbelief.
"I have no intention of getting married again. I'm going to be faithful to my current family, so don't say things that might cause misunderstandings if others hear."
"How could someone who welcomed four wives not welcome a fifth? As someone in the financial industry, I'm telling you, Noh Eun-ha, you've already lost your credit."
"Well well. Alright, there's no reason not to accept if you're giving money. Thanks, I'll gladly acc..."
"Actually, I brought this to give to Chang-jin hyung. That hyung probably doesn't have many friends, so I should give him some financial treatment instead."
"I knew it. Chang-jin hyung is over there now. It looks like he's dealing with people from the darkness side. By the way, aren't you going to see noona?"
"It'll get messy if I go find her, and I'll see her at the ceremony later anyway. Just tell her later that I came."
"Okay, I'll do that. Anyway, thanks for coming today. I'll give you meal tickets. Eat with the people who came with you."
"I'm not sure if I'll have time to eat, but I'll eat well anyway."
Unfortunately, they didn't have the leisure to have a long conversation.
Eun-ha, after briefly exchanging recent news, sent off Yu Do-jun who was going to meet Han Chang-jin.
The person who came after that was <Maestro of Creation> Byeok Hae-su.
"Hey, Eun-ha! I think it's the first time I'm seeing you in charge of receiving congratulatory money? It's my fourth time seeing you at a wedding venue, but seeing you like this feels strange yet unfamiliar, you know."
"You're saying that too? Welcome."
"I'm sleepy... Congratulations on your fifth marriage. But... Can't you stop now... It's annoying and tiring to wake up early and come to the wedding venue..."
"Hyun-yul, it's not Eun-ha's wedding but Eun-ah noona's wedding, okay? Sorry, Eun-ha. You know how Hyun-yul is in the morning. Please understand."
"...Welcome, both of you."
Byeok Hae-su was wearing a black suit.
It contrasted with his usual appearance of wearing clothes that were good at absorbing sweat and comfortable for activity while living almost locked up in his workshop.
To Eun-ha, it seemed awkward as if he was wearing clothes that didn't fit him.
In fact, the suit seemed to uncomfortably constrict the muscles trained by workshop work.
Meanwhile, he had brought <Light Manipulator> Baek Hyun-yul and Yeon Seong-jin, who work together in the workshop.
The two, who had known each other since childhood, congratulated Eun-ah on her marriage.
"I thought you would hold onto Eun-ah noona and not let her go, but you allowed noona to get married, what's the occasion?"
"Noona has her own life too, so of course I should let her go, right? But when are you getting married, hyung?"
"Hey, I need to have someone I'm dating to get married or not."
"After conquering the <Dungeon of the Abyss>, your and Hyun-yul's popularity skyrocketed, so there must be many people showing interest in you."
"Well... There are some."
"No one you like?"
"Not yet. I don't think I should get married in the first place."
"Why?"
"I live almost entirely in the workshop, so it would be hard for me to devote myself to a family. Making weapons is my top priority, so I would probably put family on the back burner. That would be unfair to my partner. And even more so if we had children."
"That's true... You're really obsessed with making weapons, hyung."
"And you're obsessed with women."
"..."
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Eun-ha was at a loss for words.
Byeok Hae-su shrugged his shoulders.
"We should go in now since you have to deal with other people too. Take care."
"I'm sleepy..."
"Eun-ha, hang in there! Hyun-yul, let's go."
Byeok Hae-su, Baek Hyun-yul, and Yeon Seong-jin said goodbye to Eun-ha and entered the wedding hall.
After that, Eun-ha had to spend a busy time in a daze.
At that moment, someone called him.
"Noh Eun-ha! Have you been well?"
"..."
It was a very familiar voice.
He couldn't not know its owner.
Eun-ha, who was shaking hands with guests, turned his head towards the direction of the voice.
"Congratulations on your marriage again... No, congratulations on Eun-ah's marriage."
"Pandora Clan Lord, no, Eun-ha, it's been a while. Have you been well?"
'...The crazy squid came too.'
Former Twelve Seats, <Yama> Kang Hyeon-cheol.
Sure enough, he was walking over from the other side.
Beside him was Park Hye-rim, who was now his wife and the real <Holy Mother>.
And.
"Poop!"
"..."
Kang Hyeon-cheol's second child, with a pacifier in his mouth.