Yeoheon Jin's hand stopped in front of her eyes.
Haeon Ki looked at it.
His palm was facing upward.
Just like in her past life.
The moment her father let go of her hand and the officiant naturally tried to connect the two of them.
Yeoheon had held out his hand.
But in the end, he hadn't taken hers.
It had been an incredibly brief hesitation.
Such an insignificant moment that no one else would remember it.
But Haeon remembered.
She even remembered how long she had stared at that hand that day.
She thought it would be exactly the same this time.
So she didn't hold out her hand first.
She decided not to wait, either.
It didn't matter if they didn't hold hands.
This marriage would end in a year.
She hadn't intended for them to become a couple in love in the first place.
And yet.
A warm sensation touched her fingertips.
Haeon's eyes slowly widened.
Yeoheon Jin took her hand.
He hadn't merely brushed her fingertips in a formal gesture.
He pressed his entire palm against hers.
And wrapped his fingers around hers as if he had no intention of letting go.
The sounds around her receded in an instant.
The congratulatory music.
The guests' applause.
The officiant's voice.
She couldn't hear any of it.
Haeon looked down at her hand.
It was unmistakably inside Yeoheon Jin's.
It was warm.
Different from her memories.
"Mr. Jin."
Only her lips moved as she called him softly.
His gaze lowered to her.
"Why..."
Why did you take my hand?
She had been about to say it, but stopped.
It was a strange question to ask the groom at a wedding.
Even though Yeoheon couldn't have known what she was about to say, he tightened his grip slightly.
"Let's go."
That was all he said.
The two of them headed side by side toward the stage.
Even as she walked, Haeon found it difficult to tear her gaze from their joined hands.
It was the exact same wedding ceremony as in her past life.
And yet it had gone wrong from the very beginning.
No.
It had changed.
The fact frightened her in a strange way.
It was only natural that the future would change after she made different choices following her regression.
But this wasn't because of a choice she had made.
Yeoheon Jin had changed it.
On his own.
The officiant-free ceremony proceeded quickly.
Greetings from the representatives of both families.
Marriage vows.
Ring exchange.
And photographs.
For the most part, the order was exactly as she remembered from her past life.
The difference was that this time, she was seeing every moment with excessive clarity.
"Bride and groom, please face each other."
At the photographer's request, Haeon turned.
Her eyes met Yeoheon's.
"A little closer together, please."
The distance between them narrowed.
"Groom, please put your hand around the bride's waist."
Haeon's shoulders tensed.
It had been the same request in her past life.
Back then, Yeoheon had only put his hand on her waist after the photographer asked twice.
His palm had barely touched her.
Haeon had taken that caution as an unwillingness to touch her.
Today's Yeoheon was different.
He looked at Haeon first.
"Is that all right?"
The photographer looked bewildered.
So did Haeon.
"What is?"
"I'm asking if it's okay for me to hold you."
Even with people around them, he naturally asked for her permission first.
She remembered the clause they had written into the contract that morning.
They would not engage in physical relations without mutual consent.
Was he really applying it even to something like this?
"It's just for a photo."
"Even so."
Haeon looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
"It's fine."
Only then did his hand touch her waist.
His body heat came through the thin dress.
He didn't pull her close.
But neither did he merely place his hand there for show, where it would be visible in the picture.
He supported her comfortably.
Even while looking at the camera, Haeon felt as if all her awareness had been drawn to her waist.
"Bride, please smile just a little."
She belatedly lifted the corners of her mouth.
The flash went off.
"Great. This time, please look at each other."
She turned her gaze.
They were closer than she had expected.
Yeoheon's eyes were right in front of her.
The eyes she had seen behind his glasses last night.
Today, nothing covered them.
"You both have wonderful expressions."
Haeon had no idea which of them he meant.
She wasn't even smiling.
Neither was Yeoheon.
But the photographer seemed satisfied and continued pressing the shutter.
"Finally, groom, please hold the bride's hand."
Since he had already held her hand once, Haeon thought it wouldn't be difficult.
But this time, Yeoheon didn't immediately hold out his hand.
Haeon didn't miss that faint pause.
So.
Had he only taken her hand earlier because he had no choice while accepting her from her father?
The moment she thought that.
Yeoheon lowered his hand.
Haeon almost laughed for no reason.
Right.
This was the Yeoheon Jin she knew.
But the man's hand passed by hers.
Then he picked up a small beaded ornament lying near the hem of her dress.
"This had come loose."
Haeon looked down.
It was one of the ornaments caught on a loose thread.
Yeoheon handed it to the stylist nearby.
"She could trip if it catches on something. Please check it."
"Oh, yes. I'll take a look right away."
The photo session paused while the stylist inspected the hem of the dress.
Haeon quietly looked at Yeoheon.
He sensed her gaze and turned toward her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing."
"You look like you have something to say."
"I don't."
Haeon closed her mouth.
She had thought that the Yeoheon Jin from her past life probably hadn't even known what her dress looked like.
Would that man have noticed something like this?
Even a single small ornament falling off.
She had no memory of it.
What she knew for certain was that he was noticing it now.
That kept throwing her off balance.
The stylist stepped away.
"It's fine. You can continue the shoot now."
The photographer raised his camera again.
"Then please hold hands."
This time, Haeon held out her hand first.
It was only a formal photograph.
And Yeoheon took her hand with astonishing naturalness.
The flashes went off one after another.
In that moment, Haeon suddenly realized something.
In her past life, she had remembered for a long time the groom who hadn't held her hand.
But this time.
She had been the one to hold out her hand first.
That alone made her feel strange.
After the ceremony, the two of them greeted the elders from both families.
There were so many guests that they didn't have a chance to hold a proper conversation.
Only much later were they able to step briefly into a small lounge beside the bridal suite.
As soon as the door closed, Haeon kicked off her high heels.
"I feel alive again."
The words slipped out as a thoughtless mutter.
Only afterward did she realize Yeoheon was standing right in front of her.
When she raised her head, he was looking at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"What is it?"
"Make yourself comfortable."
"I already am."
The bride was sitting barefoot on the sofa, and he didn't say a word about it.
Haeon rolled her ankle once.
It didn't hurt, but after wearing high heels for several hours, her toes felt numb.
Yeoheon opened a bottle of water on the table and handed it to her.
"Drink."
"Thank you."
She took a few sips and set the bottle down.
Silence fell.
It was strange.
They had just gotten married, yet they had nothing to say to each other.
In her past life, it had been a familiar silence.
But now it was awkward.
Haeon spoke first.
"Earlier."
"Yes."
"Why did you hold my hand?"
Yeoheon's gaze stopped.
In the end, she had asked.
"Because it was our wedding."
As expected, it was a perfectly normal answer.
"Right."
"Then why do you ask?"
Haeon fidgeted with the label on the water bottle.
"I was just curious."
"Is there any reason I shouldn't hold your hand?"
"No."
There couldn't be.
This man knew nothing about her past life.
Haeon tugged the corners of her mouth up as if smiling.
"It just doesn't seem like you, Mr. Jin."
"I've heard that several times today."
"You really have been acting strange."
"In what way?"
"You seem different from the person I know."
After letting the words out, Haeon watched his reaction.
Yeoheon's expression didn't change.
Even so, the silence stretched a little longer.
"How much do you know about me, Ms. Ki?"
The question came back to her.
Haeon couldn't answer immediately.
Seven years.
I lived with you for seven years.
I know what kind of coffee you drink in the morning.
I know how you touch the arm of your glasses with your right hand when meetings run long.
I know that on days when you come home in a bad mood, you turn on only one light in your study.
I know that the more tired you are, the less you speak.
And yet.
Even knowing so much, she didn't know why he had cried at her funeral.
In the end, did she really know this man?
"I don't know you as well as I thought."
Haeon answered softly.
A faint tremor passed through Yeoheon's eyes.
"So I won't go out of my way to get to know you."
"Why not?"
"Because you're someone I'll be parting with in a year."
His expression hardened as if something inside him had closed.
Haeon pretended not to see it.
"We only need to know each other as much as necessary, don't we?"
"Is that the way you want things, Ms. Ki?"
"For now."
"I understand."
He accepted it that easily again.
But this time, his voice sounded slightly different.
When Haeon raised her head, he had already turned his gaze away.
A little while later, the secretary announced the next events from outside the door.
A commemorative photo with both families.
Greetings at the wedding reception.
And the move to their newlywed home.
Yeoheon stood first.
At that moment, Haeon asked,
"The house we're going to today really isn't in Hannam-dong, right?"
He stopped walking.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
This time, Yeoheon didn't answer immediately.
He stared quietly at Haeon's face.
"We won't have any reason to go back there."
Her breath caught.
It was because of that one word.
Back.
Haeon's eyes sharpened.
"Go back?"
Silence.
Yeoheon's expression hardened very slowly.
"What do you mean?"
She waited for his answer.
A few seconds.
Time that would normally have meant nothing stretched out interminably.
Yeoheon finally spoke without looking away.
"I mean that we won't have any reason to go there going forward."
"You just said 'go back.'"
"It seems I phrased it that way."
"Mr. Jin."
Haeon stood, forgetting that she was barefoot.
"Could it be..."
She took a step closer.
"Do you know why I don't want to go into that house?"
Their eyes met.
Yeoheon's face was calm.
But his hands were not.
The fingers hanging at his side slowly curled inward.
Haeon didn't miss the small movement.
"Answer me."
This time, she wouldn't let him avoid it.
"Do you know?"
After a long silence, Yeoheon's lips parted.
"I don't."
A firm answer.
But for the first time, Haeon was certain.
That man was lying.