The rain had just stopped when the Marry U in Joseon book launch finally ended.The sky outside was painted in soft silver, the air thick with the scent of wet earth.Through the glass walls, the last light of dusk shimmered over the city.
Han Eun-bi stood alone on the balcony behind the event hall, holding a cup of coffee gone cold.Inside, the faint laughter of guests echoed, but her mind lingered elsewhere—on the man she thought she saw in the crowd.
That face.That calm smile.The posture she could recognize even in her dreams.
"No," she whispered. "It can't be. It's just… my heart playing tricks again."
She exhaled deeply, her eyes tracing the fading horizon.Then came it—the sound of footsteps approaching behind her.Measured. Steady. Familiar.
Her breath caught.It couldn't be.
"Been a while, Miss Han."
Eun-bi froze.The voice. That deep, steady tone—soft, yet commanding.She turned slowly.
There he was.Standing under the soft gold of the setting sun.
Kang Jun-yeol.
But not the one from her memories in hanbok and silk.This one wore a modern gray suit, a white shirt open at the collar.Yet his gaze—calm and unwavering—was the same.
"...Jun-yeol?" Her voice trembled.
He smiled faintly. "It took me long enough to find the path to you."
Eun-bi shook her head, tears already gathering in her eyes."This—this isn't possible. You can't be here. You—"
He reached into his jacket and pulled out something small.A wooden pen.
Eun-bi's knees almost gave way."That's…"
"The pen stopped glowing after you wrote the last page," he said softly. "But one night, it shone again.And when I touched it…"He looked around at the neon lights and the cars streaming below."I woke up here."
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Then… time really brought you here?"
Jun-yeol shook his head slowly."Maybe it wasn't time that did." He looked at her. "Maybe it was you."
The words hit her like a heartbeat."Why now?" she whispered.
"Because your story is finished," he said gently."And time has no reason to keep us apart anymore."
Silence stretched between them—a silence filled not with distance, but relief.
Eun-bi took a small step forward.Her hand lifted hesitantly, shaking.When her fingertips brushed his cheek, warmth met her skin.Real. Solid. Alive.
"Jun-yeol…" she breathed.
He clasped her hand in his, firm yet tender."In my world, I couldn't protect you," he said quietly. "In this one, I won't let time take you again."
Tears fell freely now, mingling with her smile."You still talk like a nobleman," she said, laughing through her tears.
"And you still laugh at me the same way," he replied.
They sat side by side on the balcony as night crept in, the city glowing beneath them.For a while, neither spoke.The hum of traffic below blended with the soft sound of rain dripping from the roof.
"So…" she finally asked, "where do you live now?"
Jun-yeol chuckled. "I'm not sure. I simply appeared in a park nearby, right after the light faded."
"And no one found you suspicious?"
"Many did," he admitted, amused. "But they assumed I was a lost actor."
Eun-bi burst out laughing. "Oh, of course. Even the universe has a sense of humor."
Jun-yeol gazed out at the skyline, the neon lights flickering like strange constellations."This world is… peculiar," he murmured. "Metal carriages that move on their own, voices coming from tiny boxes, and paintings that live inside walls."
"You'll get used to it," she said warmly.Then, after a pause, "Aren't you afraid?"
He turned to her. "I've already lost a world once, Eun-bi. There's nothing left to fear."
Her eyes softened.She leaned her head gently on his shoulder."So you're staying here now?"
He smiled. "As long as you're here, yes."
Silence again—but this time, it was the kind that made the world feel perfectly still.
Weeks passed.
Rumors began circulating online."Author Han Eun-bi has a new boyfriend?""Who's the mysterious man always with her?""He looks like someone straight out of her novel!"
Eun-bi laughed when she saw the headlines.Jun-yeol sat beside her, frowning at her phone."These people type faster than palace scribes."
"It's called the internet," she said between giggles. "You're officially trending, Lord Kang."
He looked unimpressed. "Should I bow to this 'internet' as well?"
"Please don't," she warned. "You'll actually go viral."
Their laughter filled the small apartment—simple, genuine, and more real than anything time had ever tried to take from them.
One evening, they walked together through a small park.The air was crisp, and to her surprise, the plum blossoms were blooming again—out of season, glowing faintly under the lamplight.
Eun-bi stopped, staring up at them in awe."It seems time still likes meddling with us."
Jun-yeol looked at her, his voice gentle."Then let it. As long as it sides with us, I won't complain."
He took her hand.And under the city's quiet night sky, they walked on—two souls who had finally found the same world,after too many chapters written apart.
Later that night, in their room, the old wooden pen lay quietly on the desk.It no longer glowed, yet peace radiated from it.On the paper beneath it, faint blue ink formed a single line on its own:
The end? No. This is the beginning that no longer needs to be written.
Eun-bi smiled softly as she read it.She looked toward the sleeping man beside her and whispered,
"Welcome home, Lord Kang."
And for the first time, time itself stayed silent—not as an enemy,but as a witness.
Because finally,it had nothing left to separate.