Side Story 2
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Wedding
It’s supposed to be every woman’s ultimate dream, but in truth Baek I-hae felt almost nothing about it.
“It’s just a formality we put on for other people.”
She honestly couldn’t understand why everyone else was making such a commotion.
If it were up to her, she’d have happily skipped the whole ceremony and gone straight to gorging herself at the buffet. Because of that attitude, Seo Do-gyeom had taken charge of nearly all the preparations—the dress, the venue, everything—with genuine enthusiasm.
The day before the wedding she spent mostly lying down, pleading pregnancy as her excuse while Seo-yeol and Chai Ryeong brought her whatever she craved. That day was no different.
“Noona, you’re eating like it’s any other day, even though it’s the night before your wedding.”
Seo-yeol had carefully sliced the mango she’d asked for into perfect, bite-sized pieces. For someone so huge, he’d arranged them with surprising delicacy.
Baek I-hae smiled with satisfaction as she accepted the piece he held out on a fork.
“What’s the problem? Once my belly’s this big, everyone will just assume it’s pregnancy cravings.”
“I’m glad the morning sickness passed, but… aren’t you nervous at all?”
“Not really. If anyone’s nervous, it’s the old man and everyone else, right?”
Seo-yeol thought for a moment at her calm reply, then nodded.
Seo I-heum, just as invested in the wedding as Seo Do-gyeom, rarely spent an entire day at home. He always seemed to have stacks of documents waiting.
“That might be true. Dad’s really going overboard. I never imagined he’d be this excited about your wedding, noona.”
“Maybe because Do-gyeom’s the eldest son?”
“If hyung had married someone else, Dad would’ve just shown up on the day after hearing the time.”
Baek I-hae scratched her cheek, unable to deny it. Seo I-heum cherished both his sons, but at heart he was a detached man.
“So I’m the one who gets all the love from father and sons. Pretty impressive, huh?”
“…You don’t sound impressive at all when you say it with mango in your mouth.”
She lifted her chin with a deliberately prim air, but it only made him laugh.
“Yeol’s gotten so cold to me lately. When you were little you trailed after me calling ‘I-hae noona’ in that adorable voice.”
“If you don’t like the cold treatment, want to come over to my side now?”
Seo-yeol grinned with practiced mischief, and Baek I-hae flinched—not because his words flustered her, but because Seo Do-gyeom was standing right behind him wearing the darkest expression imaginable.
“Seo-yeol.”
“Hyung! It’s not what you think—it really isn’t!”
“I’m pretty sure I warned you clearly not to say pointless things to I-hae.”
Perhaps it was because Seo-yeol had grown even larger than his older brother, or perhaps because he kept tossing out remarks that left openings, but lately Seo Do-gyeom’s attitude toward his younger brother had turned outright murderous. Right now he had Seo-yeol’s head in a grip that looked ready to crush it.
“I’d better not tease Do-gyeom.”
It would never happen to her, of course, but if even the massive Seo-yeol was groaning under that strength, it was seriously impressive. She found herself wondering, quite seriously, whether she should suggest he become a bodyguard once he left the life.
“I-hae-ya.”
“Yes?”
“We’ve decided Old Man Oh will walk you down the aisle. The Baek faction complained, but it was settled fairly—rock-paper-scissors.”
“Oh, Old Man Oh is perfect.”
Baek I-hae nodded happily. But when she heard that the Baek faction had enthusiastically volunteered to prepare the congratulatory song, she finally burst out laughing. They really were the cutest old men.
And so the wedding day arrived.
“Our I-hae is absolutely beautiful today.”
Chai Ryeong, dressed in navy suit trousers and a crisp shirt, visited the bride’s waiting room with a bright smile. Baek Yeong, looking as though he’d been dragged along, stood beside her, and Ye Eun-seol followed soon after.
They must have run into each other just outside, because all three poured in at once. Baek I-hae greeted them warmly.
“You’re beautiful too, unnie.”
“What does my beauty matter? The bride has to be the prettiest—that’s all.”
“It’s nicer when everyone’s pretty together. Oppa Baek Yeong, Eun-seol—you’re both gorgeous. The waiting room feels like a garden in full bloom.”
Ye Eun-seol pulled a sulky, incredulous face at the compliment, while Baek Yeong—the one who truly possessed a stunning face—showed no particular reaction.
He stepped closer, offered a faint, sincere smile, and said,
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
“…Thank you.”
She had never imagined a day when Baek Yeong would congratulate her. Especially not him—the man who had once loved her.
She couldn’t begin to guess what feelings lay behind his words. All she could do was trust that he meant it when he said he was fine.
At the photographer’s urging they took pictures together. There weren’t many friends or relatives visiting, but as if to make up for it, members from both organizations streamed in endlessly, turning the room into a lively chaos.
“I heard guests in the other halls whispering whether some gangster couple was getting married here.”
“Well… it’s not entirely untrue.”
Baek I-hae gave an awkward smile at Ye Eun-seol’s offhand remark. Seo Do-gyeom had decided to leave that world, but almost everyone else looked exactly like what people imagined when they heard the word “gangster.”
“Bride, please prepare to enter!”
While she was chatting lightly with Ye Eun-seol, a flurry of urgent voices came from outside.
Somehow the urgency made everything feel suddenly real; a wave of nerves washed over her. Ye Eun-seol lightly tapped her shoulder.
“Don’t shake. This is the best ending you chose, isn’t it?”
Ending.
In almost every dating-sim game, the marriage ending was considered the most perfect happy ending.
“The best ending I chose.”
Thinking of it that way calmed the trembling. Baek I-hae nodded decisively and rose.
“Yes. Since it’s come to this, I should see it through properly.”
Guided by the staff, she walked forward with a smile on her face. From behind the firmly closed doors came the emcee’s voice.
“And now, the entrance of our beautiful bride!”
As the doors began to open, the people inside came into view: Seo I-heum, Seo-yeol, Baek Yeong, Chai Ryeong, Ye Eun-seol, and many others seated and watching her.
In the center stood Seo Do-gyeom in a black suit, smiling as he waited.
“The family member who will escort our bride is waiting eagerly… wait, what?”
Old Man Oh extended his hand with a triumphant expression, but another man smoothly slipped in beside him and offered his own—a Baek faction member who hadn’t been part of the plan.
He was familiar; when Baek I-hae had stayed at their house he’d often brought her snacks and looked after her in small ways.
“That crazy bastard…!”
Somewhere Chai Ryeong’s voice hissed through gritted teeth; it was no hallucination.
The Baek faction member extended his hand with a pitiful, almost tearful face. Clearly he had coveted Old Man Oh’s place desperately.
Baek I-hae rolled her eyes in distress.
“Oh dear! The bride is already so popular before even reaching the groom! Ha ha!”
The emcee tried to smooth over the sudden incident with an awkward laugh, but the atmosphere in the hall had turned icy.
If this weren’t a wedding, Chai Ryeong would already have grabbed the man by the collar. He spoke hurriedly.
“I treat her more like a daughter than Old Man Oh ever could—I can’t yield! Even if Captain Chai beats me to death later, I’ll regret it forever if I back down now!”
“You little—?”
“If it isn’t someone we can all truly accept, I refuse to yield!”
Please don’t say things that can be misunderstood at a wedding.
Baek I-hae looked pleadingly at the emcee. He wore an expression halfway between tears and enlightenment yet refused to let go of the microphone.
“Ha ha! Then how about someone everyone can acknowledge steps forward? We can’t proceed until the bride enters!”
With every eye in the room focused, no one would dare volunteer.
It seemed the situation wouldn’t resolve easily unless Seo Do-gyeom himself stepped in. Baek I-hae blinked—and then it happened.
Seo I-heum rose from the groom’s family side. At the same moment Baek Yeong, pushed by Chai Ryeong’s insistent pressure, stood as well.
The emcee’s face lit up like sunrise.
“Oh! Incredible figures have volunteered! As handsome as the groom himself! And the father-in-law’s love for his daughter-in-law is already overwhelming!”
Suddenly the bosses of both factions had stepped forward in place of ordinary members.
At the sight of Seo I-heum and Baek Yeong, Old Man Oh and the Baek faction member blanched, then quietly retreated without a word.
“And now—the bride’s choice?!”
Why is there suddenly a choice? And why does the emcee sound strangely excited?
Baek I-hae stared down in bewilderment at the two hands extended toward her.
A refined middle-aged man in glasses and a man prettier than most women—this was practically a courtship scene.
Baek Yeong still looked reluctant, but she brushed it aside lightly.
“Well, this is awkward.”
She hid her mouth behind her bouquet, feigning trouble.
But anyone watching closely—especially Seo Do-gyeom—would have noticed the corners of her lips rising uncontrollably.
“A little chaos like this might actually be fun.”
If Seo Do-gyeom hadn’t later, blinded by jealousy, pulled her forward as though claiming her in an embrace, she might have savored the sweet moment a little longer.
There was chaos, yes—but it was the most joyful and unforgettable wedding imaginable.
“This is my ending, and my new beginning.”
When the emcee announced the bride and groom’s kiss, Baek I-hae drew Seo Do-gyeom down by the nape and kissed him with a radiant smile.
It was the moment their new story began.
