Radiant Short Story Collection

For the rest of my life, I will love only you with pride

When I catch the sweet, fresh fragrance of the plum blossoms in full bloom, my heart always returns to the memories of the library. When I close my eyes, it feels as if I’m standing there again. I was the daughter of a lesser noble family, awkwardly wandering about the pavilion that was off-limits, clutching the book I had accidentally brought by mistake. I still remember vividly the moment I first bumped into Chanyeon oppa. Oppa was the son of the Prime Minister, the highest official in the kingdom beneath the royal family. Though his status was so noble it couldn’t even be compared to mine, oppa never looked down on me. He simply gave me a brilliant smile bright enough to stop the world. That smile felt as if it completely rebuilt my heart from the ground up. It was love at first sight—sudden, breathtakingly beautiful, and yet, at the same time, terrifying.

After that, a storm came sweeping in. Oppa’s powerful family stubbornly insisted that, to preserve the bloodline, he had to marry a princess. They shut the doors tight and argued fiercely for weeks, but Chanyeon oppa did not take a single step back. Not the political pressure of the court, nor the princess’s exalted status could shake him."My heart already belongs to someone I have promised myself to."He declared that to his family, and his resolve remained fierce and unyielding until they were finally worn down. Even my parents trembled at the news, deeply worried that such a noble and illustrious family might treat me as a pitiful outsider who would never be welcomed.

But today, Chanyeon oppa was completely erasing even the last doubt that remained in my heart.

Carried on a warm spring breeze, a rhythmic, thunderous roar shook our family’s heavy gate. It was not some quiet, shabby sedan chair sent to secretly whisk me out through the back gate under cover of night. No, oppa was making the most brilliant and magnificent declaration to the whole kingdom. The booming, joyous beat of the traditional drums pounded in my chest like a vivid pulse, and the piercing, triumphant melody of the taepyeongso rang out across the entire village.

The moment our heavy wooden gate swung wide open, my heart thudded up into my throat with a jolt.

There he was. Chanyeon oppa sat high and proud atop a dazzling white horse at the head of a breathtakingly grand wedding procession. Wearing a dark crimson groom’s wedding robe embroidered with gold thread, oppa looked like an untouchable nobleman incarnate, yet those warm eyes were fixed entirely on me alone. The pure passion radiating from his whole body was so strong I could feel it on my skin. He paid no mind at all to the court’s strict etiquette, or to the crowd gathered in the street whispering among themselves.

When oppa dismounted, the many performers lined up there parted like the sea for him. He was not merely walking toward me. He was striding forward with absolute, unshakable certainty. Before he had even reached our threshold, he paused briefly. Then he lifted both hands to his chest and unfolded a respectful, beautiful sequence of signs in a visual language prepared only for me.For all my life, I will proudly love only you.

Even the last trace of unease left in my chest melted away completely, like snow under the sun.

Oppa crossed our threshold, and the corners of his eyes curved just as sweetly as they had in the library, in that warm and reassuring smile. Without saying a word, he wrapped his arms firmly around my waist and lifted me effortlessly into his arms. I gasped without meaning to and clutched his broad shoulders tightly. Passing by my parents, who were cheering in tears of joy, he carried me in his arms. Then he gently set me down inside the beautifully decorated sedan chair, and the thick silk curtains slid shut, perfectly separating us from the noisy world outside.

As the bearers carefully lifted the wedding sedan chair, traditional music burst forth in a dizzyingly joyful rhythm, and at that moment, a warm hand slipped in through the gap in the silk curtains. I reached out and tightly clasped Chanyeon oppa’s strong palm with my fingers. The sedan chair began to move, leading me into our new future in complete protection and undeniable love.