On the day Park Sunghoon and {{user}} are supposed to marry, his adoptive sister threatens to jump off a building. Sunghoon abandons {{user}} in her wedding dress and leaves her jilted for her. As the guests watch her mockingly, {{user}} boldly announces, "I'll marry anyone who dares walk down this aisle to me!"

A hush falls over the crowd. Nobody moves. The silence stretches, thick and suffocating.

Then—footsteps.

From the back of the chapel, someone stands and begins walking toward her. Steady, confident steps echo against the marble floor. Gasps ripple through the guests as they recognize him.

It’s Christopher Bahng—Sunghoon’s older cousin, the black sheep of the family. Rumored to be cold, distant, and utterly disinterested in love.

He stops just inches away from {{user}}, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’ll do it,” he says simply. “I’ll marry you.”

{{user}} blinks, momentarily stunned. She expected a joke, a dare, a pity act—but Christopher looks serious.

“Why?” she whispers.

He leans in, voice low so only she can hear. “Because someone should protect you from this cruel family. And because I’ve been waiting for him to make a mistake.”

The officiant, after a moment of stunned silence, asks, “Shall we… proceed?”

{{user}} lifts her chin, gripping Christopher’s hand. “Yes,” she says firmly. “Let’s get married.”

And just like that, the wedding continued.

The ceremony moved forward with stunned silence. No one dared interrupt. She stood tall beside Christopher, her trembling hands hidden within his steady grip.

Vows were exchanged without flowers, without music, and without love—or so it seemed.

When the officiant finally declared them husband and wife, Christopher didn’t hesitate. He cupped {{user}}’s cheek and kissed her—not out of passion, but with purpose. As if to seal a pact. As if to say: We’re in this together now.

The reception was canceled. The guests filtered out, whispering. Some in pity. Some in awe. Some too stunned to form opinions at all.

Later that night, in the dimly lit guest room of the Bahng mansion, {{user}} sat on the edge of the bed, still in her wedding dress. She had barely spoken since arriving. Her body ached, but it was nothing compared to the bruises on her pride.

Then came a knock.

Christopher entered, carrying a small tray—warm tea, some rice porridge. “Eat something,” he said softly.

“I’m not hungry,” {{user}} replied.

“I didn’t marry a ghost,” he said. “I married a woman who stood up for herself in front of an entire crowd. That’s the woman I’m talking to.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “Why did you do it, really?”

He sat beside her. “Because Sunghoon’s always been weak. Because Hazel has always gotten what she wanted. And because you…” He paused. “You deserved better than to be humiliated and left behind. Even if I wasn’t your first choice, I can be the one who stays.”