Side Story 1 – The Trend is a Proactive Heroine.
It’s bewildering.
To suddenly bring this up is even more bewildering.
Right after starting the side story, and the first thing that comes up is this nonsense.
I completely understand, but still, I had no choice but to express it that way.
“Shinwoo, are you awake?”
“……Where am I?”
Because.
“At the wedding hall.”
“Whose wedding?”
By the time I came to my senses, I was already at the wedding hall.
“Whose wedding, you ask? It’s ours!”
“We already sent out all the invitations, so it’s disheartening for you to just show up like this!”
“……Why am I hearing all of this for the first time, f*ck.”
It’s about my wedding, of all things.
“If I’m a proactive heroine, this is what I need to do…”
“Are you saying you even kidnapped me to be so proactive?”
“Should I add ‘rape’ to the list too?”
“I’m really going crazy.”
Isn’t there a saying that marriage is the grave of one’s life?
Since I’ve been squeezed dry every day, I hardly stayed conscious for long.
But when I finally regained consciousness, I realized that without knowing it, I had half my body buried in that grave.
No, it would be more accurate to say I was buried head to toe.
[Kidnapping and imprisonment, such harsh words. I even promised to take you out for a walk once a month, you know.]
“We call that being kidnapped, you crazy woman.”
And at that moment, seeing Piece, who had somehow joined the heroines’ side.
It was hard to easily wipe away the rising betrayal in my heart.
Circumstantially, Piece was definitely one of the main culprits plotting this situation with them.
Of course, when I was dragged home, I had begged Piece to accept me.
Due to days of pleading, they reluctantly accepted.
And looking at the current situation, it seems like things have worked out somewhat.
[You pleaded so much, it was a bit pitiful.]
‘Who do you think caused this, f*ck…’
Instead, they set one condition.
They’d give me what I wanted.
Piece would also be accepted as part of the group.
Since it was my request and no one else’s.
However, intercourse was forbidden until someone became pregnant.
I was about to protest that this was too harsh.
But Piece surprisingly agreed to that proposal easily.
As a result, I found myself becoming quite embarrassed.
[Thanks to that, I can have a wedding now, so I’m satisfied.]
‘But is that really okay?’
[Don’t worry. I have everything planned out.]
However, separately, this situation was too unrealistic.
No, it would be strange to say anything else, especially how prepared they all were.
It didn’t seem like much time had passed since I was captured.
Is it really possible to reserve a wedding hall at such an early stage?
These days, booking a wedding hall usually takes at least six months.
“Stop lying, everyone. Is reserving a wedding hall this easy?”
“There’s no task that cannot be accomplished with enough money.”
“……Hah…”
It was possible.
I couldn’t even imagine how much money they spent to make this happen.
The moment Ayeon mentioned a lot of money, I figured the amount had to be substantial.
Especially since they must have pushed aside all existing reservations, it was definitely not something that could be settled with vague funds.
If a regular person saw that amount, they would definitely curse at their madness.
“As for your outfit, we have people waiting in front of the men’s changing room.”
“How did you manage that?”
“We went together to fit the clothes. It was a bit tough since you weren’t awake.”
“……Let’s not talk, f*ck….”
They even prepared an outfit for me that I didn’t even remember.
By this point, preparations I could call tedious were all done.
One might think all I needed to do was get married and be done with it, but I couldn’t feel very good about that.
“I… I oppose this marriage…”
“What are you talking about, Shinwoo?”
“We have the right to get married too!”
It was a lavish wedding enough to say there was nothing missing.
But still, there was definitely one essential thing lacking.
And that was something truly important to me.
“I don’t have any rights.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Shut up and change your clothes quickly.”
“F*ck.”
Of course, getting that value was out of the question.
[Rights belong to ‘people’.]
“You son of a b*tch.”
Instead, I could only lament my situation.
In any case, since Piece sided with the heroines, escaping with regression was impossible.
After quietly parting with the heroines, I weakly moved toward the changing room Ayeon had mentioned.
And there, just as she said, an employee was holding my outfit.
“Oh! Shinwoo! Here! Long time no see! You remember me, right?”
“……No, it’s our first meeting.”
“Is that so? You were definitely sleepy back then too.”
Moreover, there were quite a few other people, so they seemed to have come directly for my makeup.
Honestly, it was hard to gauge how much money they spent on this wedding.
Especially since I didn’t know much about clothes myself.
“But how much is the rental fee for the outfit…?”
“It’s not a rental; it’s a purchase. You said you’d keep wearing it after today.”
“Oh, f*ck…”
Even I could see that they must have spent quite a bit on this tuxedo.
Anyway, that was now an irreversible past, so I decided to graciously accept their good will.
Since I didn’t have many choices left.
“Would you like to try it on?”
“……Yes.”
After receiving the tuxedo, I entered the changing room and started changing.
At first glance, it looked uncomfortable, but when I put it on, it was a comfortable black tuxedo.
To be honest, I wasn’t one to particularly prefer expensive clothes.
But for this occasion, I didn’t think it was bad to invest in clothes.
I could understand why people wanted to wear expensive tailor-made suits to some extent.
And the moment I came out of the changing room and saw myself in the full-length mirror.
“Are you done getting dressed?”
“Yes.”
The word marriage, which felt foreign to me, began to feel quite realistic.
[You finally look a bit more like a groom.]
‘Your body is separate, but it seems we can still share vision like before?’
I never thought the weight of those two characters would feel this heavy.
[From that day on, you and this body have completely shared souls, so it’s only natural.]
‘My personal life is f*cked now.’
On the other hand, in some ways, I thought this was a perfectly natural thing.
Until now, I hesitated due to unknown dangers in the future.
Now that the crisis was overcome, all that was left was a life filled with congratulations.
Looking back now, it felt quite late for tying the knot after all we’ve been through.
In fact, the patience of the heroines who had waited until now seemed pretty impressive.
Meanwhile, thinking about actually tying the knot, various thoughts came to mind.
I hardly knew what kind of different life I would have once married.
I was also slightly worried about whether I could fulfill my role as a proper husband.
More than anything, the thought of my remaining lifespan concerned me.
‘But really, what are you planning to do about my lifespan?’
[Don’t worry too much. It’s not time yet.]
Of course, I didn’t distrust Piece’s words.
It’s just that quite a few days had passed since then, and there hadn’t been any significant actions.
I worried my lifespan would run out before the time Piece mentioned arrived.
What if I ended up dying shortly after getting married?
At that moment, the worried voice of the employee interrupted my thoughts.
“Oh? Shinwoo, wait a moment!”
“What is it?”
What he said was not about future worries like mine, but rather a current concern.
“It’s a big problem! The measurements don’t fit!”
“Ah.”
Hearing the employee’s frantic voice brought a guilty memory to the surface.
During the time I was trapped with them, every time I regained consciousness, I had eaten like a madman.
Probably because of that, I gained weight, which they claimed was the reason my tuxedo didn’t fit right.
Despite that, I cursed my past self internally, and immediately apologized to the employee.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been eating too much lately…”
“It’s too loose.”
“……”
But the issue the employee pointed out was a slightly different aspect.
“You seem to have dieted too excessively. Have you been starving up until today?”
“I didn’t starve…”
Somehow I felt that the tuxedo was too comfortable for good reason.
[That’s strange. I measured your size a few days ago.]
‘……A few days ago…?’
As soon as I heard Piece’s words, my body started trembling without my consent.
Though there were no fragments of memories left in my head, it was as if I remembered the nightmare of that period vividly.
I was curious about what had happened, but I didn’t want to recall it.
At that moment, the employee presented a special measure.
“You still have time until your wedding, so I’ll alter it a bit.”
“Isn’t that unnecessary?”
To be honest, I thought it would be okay.
Looking in the mirror, nothing seemed particularly odd about specific parts.
The tuxedo felt too comfortable to warrant alterations.
But the employee wouldn’t compromise even a little bit here.
“Please, just a little will do.”
“Fine.”
Now, he was almost on the verge of tears, pleading.
“If Ayeon sees you poorly here, the succubus comment squad will lower your ratings.”
“I’ll give you, so don’t hold me back.”
In the end, I willingly took off the tuxedo and handed it to him carefully.
As soon as he accepted the suit, the employee and the others swiftly moved somewhere.
Leaving only the promise that they would contact me later.
“We’ll contact you once the alterations are done!”
“Yes, got it.”
The serious faces they wore might make anyone think they were the ones getting married.
‘What now?’
[It’s ambiguous.]
Before stepping into the grave called marriage, I was granted a moment of grace.
