Boundless

재25 장

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Min Jae Eun –

"She's not coming, Jae."

Minhyuk's voice came soft as a sigh, his hand firm but gentle on my shoulder, grounding me. My fingers tangled restlessly in my hair, tension unraveling through every strand.

"We're boarding soon," he murmured.

But I shook my head like a man possessed by hope. "She is coming," I said, louder than I meant to. The terminal around us stilled for a moment, eyes darting in our direction. I didn't care. I couldn't care. "Athena's lying. I know her. She's not pushing me away because she stopped loving me—she's doing it because she loves me. She thinks I'm safer without her."

Minhyuk sat beside me, exhaling defeat. "Don't delude yourself, Jae Eun. You saw her. With him. They're together. He looks at her like the world begins and ends with her. And she..."

"She doesn't love him," I cut in, standing. "She loves me. I am the father of her child."

Minhyuk stood, trying to be rational, but his voice grated. "Then fight for custody, Jae Eun. Before another man raises your son."

My hands found his collar before my mind could catch up, fury bleeding through my skin. "Don't you dare say that. No one is raising my son but me."

He blinked at me with a sorrow that hurt worse than anger.

This wasn't me. I released him and stepped back, ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just—broken. I don't know how to make sense of any of this."

Minhyuk's grip returned to my shoulders, this time stronger, steadier. "You're not broken. You're human. But you're also Min Jae Eun. And Min Jae Eun doesn't fall apart—he endures."

His words lit something small inside me, something stubborn and bright. Still, I hung my head like a wounded animal, unsure of where hope ends and delusion begins. My heart dragged behind me like heavy luggage.

"She's not coming," he said again.

And I almost believed him—until I turned toward the gate...

...and there she was.

Athena.

Tears in her eyes. Her body trembling with truth. The goddess I thought I'd lost, waiting for me in the light.

"Jae."

My name—soft and shattered—left her lips and I dropped to my knees in front of her, hands cradling the life blooming within her.

I kissed her belly. A prayer. A promise. And then I stood and kissed her—truly kissed her—for the first time in forever.

"I knew you'd come," I whispered against her mouth, velvet and trembling.

"I'm sorry," she wept into me. "Josiah is just my best friend. I didn't mean any of what I said. I just didn't want you to suffer anymore."

My arms encircled her like a harbor around a storm. Her scent—jasmine and honey—folded into my soul again.

"It's alright," I breathed. "You're here."

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Athena –

"This is my boyfriend," I said, my voice proud yet uncertain, "and the father of my baby. Jae Eun. Jae, this is my... well, my mother."

Jae bowed respectfully, his smile soft and reverent. My mother wrapped him in an embrace warmer than springtime.

"Thank you for loving my daughter," she said, her hand resting on his cheek. "And what a handsome young man you are."

"Thank you, Ms. Jackson," he replied.

Before the moment could bloom, my brother's voice cut through the air.

"So I don't exist now?"

I sighed.

"Apollo, this is Jae. Jae, my annoying younger brother, Apollo."

Jae extended a hand. Apollo ignored it, scowling.

"I don't think you've done a very good job of protecting her."

A thwack came from my mother's palm to the back of his head.

But Jae—graceful even under fire—nodded. "You're right. I failed her once. But never again. I will protect my family now. With everything I have."

My heart swelled.

"Come," my mother beckoned. "Dinner is ready."

As I reached for Jae's hand, he paused.

"Wait," he said, voice laced with a sacred nervousness.

"What's wrong?" I asked, watching his eyes flicker like candlelight in wind.

He turned to my mother, then back to me. His voice dropped into something sacred.

"I came here with a mission. To take you back to South Korea... not as my girlfriend. But as my fiancée."

Gasps and joyous exclamations followed, but I could hardly hear them. My ears were filled with the thunder of my heart.

He knelt, a silver ring catching the light like moonlight on water.

"Athena," he said, his voice trembling like poetry, "I love you with all that I am. I want to marry you, raise our family, and live a life full of joy and honor beside you. I vow to protect your heart, your womb, and your spirit. Will you marry me?"

Tears slipped down my cheeks like stardust.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I will."

He lifted me, spun me in the air, kissed me so fiercely I melted into him like dawn into sky. Joy like fireworks burst from my mother. Even Apollo clapped, if only bitterly.

That night, we ate together—a family. I packed my things, kissed my mother goodbye, and we returned to Jae's hotel.

There, we made love like we were remembering each other all over again. The rhythm of our bodies was poetry, the melody of our hearts—symphony.

I laid my head on his chest, dreaming of becoming Mrs. Min.

Mrs. Athena Min.

Min Athena.

Mrs. Min.

Our son, whom we had named Pierre, would carry the name, too. A bridge between worlds. A symbol of us.

Jae kissed my forehead gently. "I can't wait to make you my wife."

I smiled shyly. "I'm excited too."

He ran a hand over my cheek, reverent.

"So am I."

I rose from the bed, letting the sheets fall, baring the curve of my pregnant belly. He reached out, his hands soft on my skin.

"I want to be a good father to Pierre. Better than my father ever was."

"You already are," I said. "You are nothing like him. You are kind, and you love hard. I've seen you with children. You were born to be a father."

His eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you."

And in that room, in that quiet, sacred moment, love wrapped us in its eternal vow—soft and strong.

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