The place they visited with Kessler was a jewelry shop located in the lower neighborhood of the affluent district. It might not have been the biggest or most expensive gem in the world, but before our eyes was the blue diamond ring said to be the priciest in the entire county.
“What do you think? Pretty, right?”
“…Well.”
I’d expected it to be extravagant. Still… I smiled as I looked at the ring, carefully placed before me.
“Do you like it, Kessler?”
“It’s the most expensive one here.”
“So that means you want to give me the best, right?”
“Of course. You’re my precious baby Arctic Fox.”
It was one of those moments where I was deeply grateful the shop clerk didn’t understand Korean. I gave Kessler a look to suggest we talk, then led him over to a table toward the back.
“But, Kessler. This is a wedding ring. Aren’t you supposed to wear it all the time?”
“Yeah. I’ll wear it every time I breathe.”
“Well, I do use my left hand for the keyboard as naturally as breathing.”
“Yeah. I thought about that too, but I figured it’d look pretty on screen and make a statement. It’s not like you game with the back of your hand anyway. Plus, it could totally intimidate the other team—”
“Let’s go with a simple band.”
“……”
Silence. Only our eyes moved.
“…You don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just…”
I wasn’t sure how to gently say it might be a bit too much.
“I think it might get distracting.”
“……”
“You don’t like the idea of something simple? But we can make it special—engrave your name and mine on the inside of the ring.”
“Your name and mine?”
“Since it’ll go on our fourth fingers, where the skin touches, it’s like engraving each other’s names directly onto our hearts.”
That seemed to pique Kessler’s interest. His eyes widened and he bit down on his lower lip. He looked just like a bunny.
“You don’t like that?”
“I like it.”
“Okay then. Let’s do that.”
We picked a simple silver band and requested an engraving of both Kessler’s and my name inside. That was how we chose our couple rings.
I put a decent amount of thought into this… I hope it’s okay?
I snuck a glance at Kessler, checking his mood. I decided I’d make sure everything else matched his tastes from here on out.
***
The next stop was the wedding venue. Although it was called a venue, it was really more of a cozy space for an intimate wedding with only our closest friends.
“What do you think about this place?”
“Uh… it’s nice?”
“We’ll decorate this area with flowers. And this is where the cake will go.”
Hand in hand, we toured the venue. The glass door next to the full-length windows opened to a terrace overlooking the lake—plenty of space to play, eat, and relax.
“My mom and dad are going to love this so much.”
Mist was rising from the far end of the lake, creating a breathtaking view. We sat on a gently swaying wooden bench, soaking in the fresh forest air.
“If you ate your favorite pizza here, baby Arctic Fox, it’d be perfect.”
“Feels like a real vacation. Well, technically, it is a vacation.”
“Do you like marrying me?”
“I’m freaking thrilled.”
“I’ll do my best to make every day feel like a vacation for you.”
I reached my hand past the bench’s armrest, and Kessler took it in his. The way he playfully shook our joined hands—it was adorable.
***
A week later, Kessler’s father—the Branch Manager—returned to the country, and the following day, his own parents arrived.
As travel YouTubers who had recently hit 700,000 subscribers, they had enough international travel experience to avoid drawing too much attention, yet still came fully decked out in gear that any savvy traveler would recognize.
Thanks to that, Kessler’s father, who had come with me to greet them, took a great interest in their camping equipment, and they quickly bonded.
Given his current focus on expanding marketing efforts throughout Asia and his regular overseas business trips, it wasn’t surprising he had a thing for travel bags and gear.
“Our dear Woo-rim, have a drink too!”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Kessler’s father—the Branch Manager—referred to Yeo Woo-rim as “our dear Woo-rim.”
“This is fate, fate itself.”
He launched into a passionate explanation, saying that it was destiny for the person who created the character and the one who made the best use of that character to become family.
All four parents were outgoing types, so the wedding the next day felt more like a lively club gathering than a solemn ceremony.
“This place is crawling with foxes~ Oh my, honey, look at this.”
To be more precise, it was more like the “Yeo Woo-rim Fan Club.”
♡ We’re Getting Married ♡
On one side, Kessler had carefully arranged and posted all his treasured A-cut photos. The entire place was decorated with baby foxes and balloons, and even the thank-you cookies had a smiling baby fox design. Even the wedding cake was baby fox-themed.
We exchanged rings, thanked our parents, and enjoyed delicious food together in a warm and cozy atmosphere.
“Shall we have the cake now for dessert?”
“Sounds great.”
Kessler and I stood together for the cake-cutting ceremony. But the cake knife trembled in our hands, stubbornly refusing to slice through the cake.
Before long, a tug-of-war began between us as we both gripped the knife.
“…I can’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“How could I… cut your face…?”
But in the very next moment, the knife came down and sliced through the smiling baby fox’s face. As Kessler covered his eyes and winced, I quickly cut the cake into six pieces and handed them out.
“Why did you even order this if you weren’t going to eat it? Which piece do you want? Pick one.”
“I want the part with your lips…”
“Here.”
I gave the ears and eyes to our moms and the cheeks to our dads.
True to its origins from a professional patissier, the cake was absolutely divine.
“This is honey-sweet. So good.”
As we were enjoying the cake, the familiar echo of karaoke speakers suddenly filled the room. Kessler, who had been just staring at his slice, reached into his pocket and pulled out a wireless mic.
“Yeo Woo-rim… I prepared this for you.”
“…?”
“Will you marry me…”
Kessler quietly began to sing the classic proposal song. It was a surprise performance, and our parents clapped along with bright, cheerful smiles. It was like watching a talent show.
“…Thanks for marrying me. Let’s live happily together, for life.”
“Everyone, applause!!”
Amid the faint clapping from the four parents, Kessler came over and kissed me.
“Oh my, look at these two.”
“Woo-rim, you have to sing something back!”
“Come on, what is this, a school festival…”
“This is exactly when you do it! When else are you gonna sing it? Come on, do that one you sang at the last fan signing! The English one!”
“…Why are you making me do this. That one’s in English. It’s embarrassing to sing that in front of native speakers.”
As I cringed, both sets of parents burst into delighted laughter, finding the whole thing endlessly amusing.
After the cake, our parents went out to the terrace and settled in. While the adults sat by the peaceful lakeside chatting about life, Kessler played the dutiful son-in-law, bringing baby fox blankets for everyone. He even draped the last remaining one over me, as I sat on the couch.
“Honey.”
“Mm?”
“You call me honey too.”
“Oh, come on.”
“We’re married now. C’mon, pleaaase?”
“Fine, honey.”
We rolled around together for a bit, fingers interlaced with our ringed hands, playing like kids.
Laughter from the adults drifted over from beyond the sofa. After a round of camping stories, the conversation had somehow shifted to games. Kessler’s parents, naturally representing their game company, promoted their product and even gifted a limited edition VR gaming console.
“But even if they got that fancy console, my parents probably won’t use it.”
“But they seem to enjoy watching. Why don’t they like playing? If their son’s a pro gamer, wouldn’t they usually be into playing too?”
I scratched the back of my neck. Of course, there was a time when my parents had taken an interest in games, given my career. But back then, Nexus had a notoriously toxic culture where players would trash talk each other’s parents with brutal language.
Because of that, announcements constantly popped up urging users to “use kinder, more respectful language.”
“My mom and dad once did a duo match… and got hit with parental slurs.”
“…Oh.”
They were slow typists, so they couldn’t even respond properly and ended up getting wrecked by elementary schoolers. I vividly remembered that day—how they’d stared at the monitor, hands trembling, then slammed the laptop shut yelling, “Rotten little bastards!”
“One of those kids asked my dad if his mom was dead… and she really is. So…”
Ever since then, they stopped touching games.
“They never went back. I think for my parents, all they need in life is peaceful, carefree camping. That’s their ultimate joy…”
But the moment I finished that sentence, I spotted my dad on the terrace putting on the VR headset.
“…Huh?”
He thought maybe he just tried it on for a second—but no, he’d been at it for a while.
“…He’s gaming?”
Maybe I seriously need to double down on my goal to be more attentive to the people around me.
