Sunwoo, "Wait Sh*t…"
Haeun looked up. "What?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up, pulled out his phone, and walked toward the window. "My dad… he was the only male heir in his generation," he muttered. "What about before that?"
He scrolled furiously, trying to trace the family tree. It was patchy—some public records, a few archived posts, and a whole lot of silence. After a moment, he dialed his grandmother.
"Halmeoni," he said casually, trying not to give anything away, "I was just thinking… in harabeoji's time, did he have any brothers? Male cousins? You know… Han family heirs?"
There was a pause. Then her voice, distant and brittle, "No. He was the only one. The other lines ended in daughters, or… no children at all."
Sunwoo's heart sank. After the call, he searched online again desperately trying to dig up any trace of a Han from a distant branch. But nothing lined up. There were Hans, sure—but not their Hans. Not their tree.
He sat back down, defeated. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "How can something reach our hands and disappear before it touches our mouth? There's no one else left in the line. The clause cuts it clean."
"We're doomed," he said at last, his voice hollow.
Across from him, Haeun sat motionless, her lips slightly parted, her fingers clenched tightly around the wrinkled inheritance page. The soft hum of the old fridge buzzed in the background, mocking the stillness.
After a long pause, she murmured, "Unless…"
He sat up a little. "Unless what?"
She looked at him, eyes darting away the moment they met his. "Never mind."
He exhaled, letting his head drop back. "Don't do that. Don't say 'unless' and leave it hanging like that. If you have something, anything we need it now."
There was a long, tense moment. She said nothing. But he saw it—the way her fingers twitched, how her jaw tightened.
And then it hit him.
He turned to her, the realization dawning like slow fire. "Do you mean…" His voice dropped. "Us?"
"No, I don't," she said quickly, too quickly. "Stop that."
"But think about it." He leaned forward, voice urgent but calm. "If we… if we got married. If you marry into the Han family again, that clause, it wouldn't matter. You could register the land in your name without dispute."
She stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "No. No way. It's insane. That's not right. That's not even close to right."
"I know," he said quietly, nodding. "You're right. It's insane."
And for a moment, neither of them spoke. The room felt colder. More hollow.
Then her phone buzzed.
She hesitated, saw the name flash on the screen — Loan Shark #3 and stepped away, slipping into the other room as if distance could shield her from the venom that awaited.
She answered."Hello—""Haeun, do you think we're running a charity?" The voice was sharp. Mocking. "You got two days. After that, I swear to god, we'll take back everything. Furniture, appliances… whatever holds value in that shoebox you live in."
"Please," she whispered, already shrinking. "I just need—"
Click.
The call ended.
Before she could even gather herself, the doorbell rang.
She stiffened.
Moments later, the apartment owner an older man with judgment in his eyes and a woman beside him who couldn't stop glaring—stood at the door.
"You're short," he said bluntly. "Five hundred dollars short of the installment."
"I—I know. Just a few more days, please."
"If you can't even pay the interest of your debts," the woman snapped, arms folded, "how do you expect to buy this place?"
"I will. I promise. Just a little more time—"
The way they looked at her—like filth. Like a joke that wasn't even funny anymore.
She bowed her head, murmured apologies, and shut the door with trembling hands.
When she returned to the room, her eyes were glassy. Her voice, flat.
She looked at Sunwoo and asked, simply:
"What do we gotta do?"
He looked at her, and the paper between them.
He inhaled, steadying his voice. "Well… technically, we don't have the right to claim the land right now."
"But you," he cut in, gently, "you can be eligible. Once you're married to someone from the Han family."
He said slowly, "the only way we can access the land… is if we get married. Legally."
She stared.
He pressed on. "Even then, because you're female, the clause says you can't sell it. But you can use it. Or transfer it."
"After two years of marriage, you can legally transfer it to me. Then I'll have the right to sell. Just a few acres enough to wipe out the debt, shut the mouths at the door, and give us more than breathing room."
She remained silent, trying to absorb it.
He continued, voice lower, serious. "And in the meantime, we use a portion of the land as collateral. That alone will qualify us for a major loan. We handle the loan sharks, the landlord, all of it. Then when the transfer clause matures… we cash in a few acres. Just a few. We'll still have land left worth millions."
She sank into the worn couch, arms folded tightly across her chest.
"A fake marriage…?"
"A legal one," he corrected. "But… yeah. Just on paper. For now."
The silence thickened. The ticking clock on the wall suddenly felt deafening.
Then she whispered, barely above the silence:
"Sunwoo… this is crazy."
"I know," he said. "But so is everything else right now."
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Let's do it."
Sunwoo watched her, surprised. "You're sure?"
"No," she said, voice steady, "but I'm tired of being helpless."
A beat of silence passed between them.
He gave a faint nod. "Then tomorrow… we get married."
Back To Present....
"You may now kiss the bride."
The pastor's voice echoed through the empty room. There was no music. No guests. Just a pastor, a photographer, me and my stepmother.
Her in a white bridal dress. Me in a suit I didn't even iron properly.
Haeun glanced at Sunwoo, her thoughts spinning. What am I doing? Do I really have to kiss my stepson? Her heart pounded. I'll just tilt my head slightly at the last second… avoid the lips.
Sunwoo's mind raced. How did I end up here… marrying my stepmom? And now I have to kiss her? He swallowed hard. I'll tilt my head. Just… make it quick.
And so, both tilted their heads.
To the same side.
Their lips met.
Both froze, startled but before either could pull back, something shifted. Sunwoo, caught in the softness of her lips, forgot everything else. He deepened the kiss, instinct taking over. Haeun let him, her eyes fluttering shut as the moment swallowed her.
Click.
The shutter of the camera snapped.
They jolted apart, stumbling back awkwardly, eyes wide, breathless.
The pastor, unfazed, smiled."I now pronounce you husband and wife."
A strange, lingering and awkward tension clung to them.
And little did they know… another twist was quietly waiting around the corner.