Just Because I Have Narrow Eyes Doesn’t Make Me a Villain!

TN: Thank James Baily for the chapter.

Is this what they mean by being so busy that time flies by?

Such busy days passed by that it made me think that.

I understand now why people start planning months before their wedding.

We went through all sorts of trouble for carelessly saying we’d have a wedding without much thought.

Fortunately, it ended properly thanks to the help of those around us.

“…Alright, it’s done.”

“Hmm, you look beautiful. He might not even recognize you at this rate.”

“Don’t joke.”

“I’m serious! You don’t know how beautiful you are.”

I smiled bitterly at Dorothy and Amelia’s exaggerated voices.

No matter what, that’s not possible.

They’re being too dramatic.

“You don’t believe me? Fine. Don’t blame us if Siwoo faints later.”

“Yes, yes.”

“…How do you feel, Arte?”

Amelia, who was adjusting the veil on my head, suddenly asked me.

How do I feel?

“I’m not sure. What kind of feeling is this?”

Truthfully, I didn’t think the wedding ceremony had any particular meaning.

Siwoo and I were already living together in a common-law marriage.*

The reason for still having a wedding ceremony wasn’t anything special.

It had a symbolic meaning.

It seemed like a good idea to have a wedding ceremony when two people live together.

I hadn’t thought much beyond that.

So naturally, I thought there would be no reason to be nervous.

…But the reflection I saw in the mirror said otherwise.

The image of a woman in a pure white dress, with an expression of disbelief.

The bouquet she was holding was trembling slightly. Was it due to nervousness?

“I thought I wouldn’t attach much meaning to the wedding ceremony.”

“Are you nervous?”

“…Yes.”

It was a complex feeling.

Anticipation for what’s to come, nervousness, joy, and more.

Numerous emotions were swirling in my head.

I thought it was just an event without much meaning, something done because everyone else does it.

I had no idea I would be this nervous about the wedding ceremony I had decided to have so lightly.

“It’s natural to be nervous.”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. It’s the day you declare to the whole world that this man is yours, right?”

“…”

The day to declare to the whole world that Siwoo is my man.

Thinking of it that way made me feel a bit lighter.

It’s only natural that Siwoo is mine.

“Waaah, uuu… Uuuung…!”

“Ah, wait a moment… What’s wrong, baby? Do you need the bathroom? Are you hungry?”

In the middle of preparing, when the baby suddenly started whining, I hurriedly put down the bouquet I was holding and took the baby in my arms.

Let’s see, not the bathroom… Is it food?

It is about time she’d be getting hungry.

Babies need to eat more often than you’d think.

I loosened the chest area slightly and brought it to Irene’s mouth.

Her whining subsided, and only the sound of the baby suckling at my breast could be heard for a while.

How much time had passed?

Irene detached her mouth and started to smack her lips softly.

“Are you done? That’s right, good girl.”

I patted Irene’s back, who had finished eating, and laid her in the cradle as she seemed sleepy now that her belly was full.

Maybe because Irene is still young?

She started falling asleep almost immediately after being put in the cradle.

…How cute.

I boasted to the two people standing beside me, staring blankly at my daughter.

“See, isn’t she cute?”

“…Yeah, she’s incredibly cute.”

“She gets cuter every time I see her. Maybe it’s because she takes after her mother.”

Geez, nonsense again.

Sensing the conversation might veer into strange territory, I quickly wiped off the spilled breast milk and put my dress back on, leaving the sleeping Irene behind.

“… You’re used to it.”

“Well, of course. It’s been several months already.”

Of course, I wasn’t this skilled from the beginning.

For months, I spent every night wide awake, unable to sleep due to the crying baby.

After numerous trials and errors, I could confidently say I was somewhat accustomed to the role of a mother.

Unlike when I used to panic, not knowing why she was crying, now I could tell what she wanted even with just a little whimper.

Is this what it means to grow as a mother?

My shoulders rose involuntarily with pride.

See, I’ve come this far.

However, instead of praising me, Amelia and Dorothy just kept looking back and forth between me and Irene with ambiguous expressions.

“Geez, shouldn’t the order usually be reversed?”

“Reversed?”

“Usually, you don’t soothe a child at the wedding venue.”

“… Let’s not talk about that.”

Even I thought it was a bit odd.

A mother with a child at her own wedding venue.

It is a bit strange, even though I’m the one in this situation.

However, ignoring my request to stop, they started talking among themselves.

“I was so surprised when I heard you were pregnant again. Already a second child.”

“Me too… How good must their relationship be…”

“It’s fortunate that your belly isn’t showing yet. We might have had to find a new dress otherwise.”

“W-we agreed not to talk about that! Stop teas-”

“Uuu, uuuung…”

At Irene’s whimper, we all froze and turned our attention to the cradle.

…Did she wake up? Were we too loud?

This is bad.

Once she starts crying, it’s not easy to stop her.

We were almost done with preparations, but… There were still a few things left to do.

The other two seemed to realize the crisis too as they looked at the cradle with tense expressions.

Fortunately, Irene didn’t seem to have woken up, as she soon fell back into sleep with even breaths.

“Phew… That was close…”

“…Shall we be a bit quieter?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. The wedding is about to start. We can’t have the baby waking up.”

For a while, we quietly began the finishing touches.

How many minutes passed as we readjusted our disheveled clothes and refined the decorations once more?

Outside the bride’s waiting room door, we heard someone knocking.

“We’re about to start! Are you all ready?! Miss Amelia, please come quickly too! We need to check the equipment!”

“Oh my. It’s already this time.”

“We’ll be going then. Good luck!”

“Hey, don’t forget to take Irene!”

“Ah, right.”

The two hurriedly got up, left the waiting room, and headed to their respective positions.

Dorothy to where the guests were located.

And Amelia to where the wedding officiant should stand.

“I’m ready.”

“Good. When you hear them calling for the bride outside and the door opens, please come out slowly. You remember what we practiced, right?”

“Yes.”

After the wedding staff briefly disappeared, they began the proceedings, saying something along with the music.

…The nervousness that had decreased while chatting with the two returned, and the bouquet kept shaking.

I’m nervous.

But this time, it wasn’t just nervousness mixed with fear.

It’s nervousness from joy.

The joy of creating an unforgettable memory with Siwoo.

Because of that joy, my hands were trembling.

“Now, please welcome the beautiful bride!”

Where did the noisy wedding venue from earlier go?

I took a step into the wedding hall, now filled only with soft music flowing, with my white shoes.

Step, step.

With each step, I could see the guests staring at me intently.

Dorothy, who had taken her place up there with a smile, and Irene in her arms, staring at us.

Ha-Yul and Teacher Claire in women’s formal wear, watching me with pride.

Spira indulging in the drinks on the table as if uninterested, and Lyla trying to stop her.

My classmates gathered in a group far away, and the frontline heroes gathered on the opposite side.

All the connections I had made so far were gathered here, looking at me.

But I couldn’t focus on them.

Because Siwoo, who had come out of the groom’s waiting room first and was waiting for me, was right in front of me.

“… You’re beautiful.”

I responded to Siwoo, who was staring at me blankly and muttering.

“You look handsome too, Siwoo.”

Everything we had practiced for the wedding ceremony was erased from my mind.

Who said practice makes perfect?

That’s a lie.

If that were true, Siwoo’s suit, which I had seen many times before, wouldn’t look this handsome.

It wasn’t just me who thought this way.

Siwoo was also staring at my dress as if mesmerized.

Originally, we were supposed to say things like thank you for coming and that we’ll make our love last forever.

Something like that.

But Siwoo looked so handsome that I didn’t even think about saying such things.

Maybe because Siwoo and I had been staring at each other for too long?

Amelia hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“Oh my… It seems the bride and groom are so stunned by each other’s beauty that they’ve lost their senses. This wasn’t part of the plan!”

Hahaha!

The wedding venue became noisy with the laughter of the guests at Amelia’s half-serious joke.

Only then did Siwoo and I come to our senses and were shocked.

…We messed up.

Amelia threw away the paper in her hand as if to say there was no need for a script anymore.

“Well, that’s fine! Let’s ask the bride and groom!”

Thump, thump.

How hard must my heart be beating to have the illusion of hearing my heartbeat in my ears?

I unconsciously thought that if the Author was still inside my body, she might have fainted instead of complaining about dizziness.

“Do you swear eternal love to each other?”

“…That goes without saying.”

“The same for me.”

“Then, the kiss of oath.”**

This is a mess.

Our mistakes ruined everything we had planned, and now we’re suddenly told to take the kiss of oath.

But I like it.

I threw away the bouquet in my hand and embraced Siwoo, kissing him.

So that the whole world could know about our love.

Translator’s Corner

*I’d like to think I’m not the only single person reading this and have no clue what this meant. Common law marriage is basically being together but not legally recognized. The individuals are considered married by habit and could be living together. In comparison, civil marriage is recognized by law through the proper procedures.

Also, researching this called me single in at least 3 different languages. Being multilingual has its downsides.

**I don’t think this is the proper name, and it is most likely meant to be the “kiss of peace.” Realistically, I think they’re too in love with each other to have any drama, so I guess oath works well.

Also felt single af.

Update 1: Another person called me single in discord in another language. That’s 4 now.

Update 2: Make it 9 languages now. Thanks for the encouragement fr.

Update 3: Now it’s 18. One guy just his polyglotness by roasting me.
-Ruminas