Chapter 1
The Night My Father Sold Me
"The tea is ready, Father."
Hinari gently knocked on her father's study door while carrying a tray with two cups of freshly brewed tea. It was already late at night, yet her father was still entertaining a guest inside the room. This was not something unusual anymore. Ever since he lost his job a few months ago, more and more strangers had been coming to their house for reasons Hinari never truly understood.
But tonight felt different.
The old house was filled with the scent of expensive perfume mixed with the faint smell of cigar smoke drifting through the gap beneath the door. From inside the room, Hinari could hear her father's laughter. It sounded light and genuine, like the laughter of someone who had finally found happiness again.
It had been a long time since she had heard him laugh like that.
After her mother passed away three years ago, their lives had slowly fallen apart. Their savings were gone, and one by one, her mother's precious belongings had been sold just to survive.
Even so, Hinari never complained.
She always believed that difficult times would not last forever. Someday, everything would get better, and they would return to the peaceful life they once had.
That was why seeing her father smile tonight gave her a small sense of relief.
Maybe...
Their nightmare was finally coming to an end.
She raised her hand to knock again, but before her fingers could touch the wooden surface, a voice from inside the room made her body freeze.
"She's still a virgin."
Hinari fell silent.
Her fingers tightened around the tray in her hands.
Who was her father talking about?
Without realizing it, she stepped closer to the slightly opened door.
"I guarantee you won't find another girl like her anywhere in this city."
A chill ran down her spine.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Humans were fragile creatures who spent their lives lying, betraying one another, and blaming fate for the consequences of their own choices.
I had lived for thousands of years.
I had watched great kingdoms rise and fall, witnessed wars that drowned the world in blood, and seen human glory turn into forgotten dust.
Yet nothing disgusted me more than a father who was willing to sell his own daughter.
I sat silently in the black leather chair across from the middle-aged man, watching the greedy smile spread across his face. His eyes were filled with desire, as if tonight was the greatest opportunity he had ever received.
"She's young, beautiful, and untouched."
I did not answer.
I had no interest in hearing another word from him.
The only reason I allowed this man to remain in front of me was because there was a possibility that his daughter was the woman I had searched for through countless lifetimes.
The woman who had always disappeared from my grasp.
Then...
I heard it, A heartbeat.
Fast, Uneven, Filled with fear.
Someone was standing outside the study.
Hinari bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from trembling. Every word that came from her father's mouth made her chest tighten, as if the air inside the room was slowly disappearing.
"...You will take her with you tonight."
No.
This couldn't be happening.
They had to be talking about someone else.
It couldn't be her.
With her heart pounding violently, Hinari slowly pushed the study door open. The quiet creak of the hinges caused both men inside the room to turn toward her.
Her eyes immediately met those of a man dressed in black sitting across from her father.
He was handsome.
Far too handsome to look like an ordinary human.
But it wasn't his appearance that stole Hinari's breath away.
It was his eyes.
Eyes that felt cold and unfamiliar, yet carried something far older than any human existence. As if they had witnessed the destruction of countless civilizations and carried the sorrow of endless lifetimes.
The man stared at her without blinking.
For a moment, it felt as if the world itself had stopped moving.
There was something about him that felt strangely familiar.
Even though Hinari was certain they had never met before.
---
My chest tightened as I looked into those eyes.
I knew them.
Or perhaps...
I simply wanted to believe that I knew them.
Lunaria...
Have I finally found you?
Please...
Don't let fate play with me again.
I have waited for far too long.
I have lost far too much.
---
"Hinari."
Her father's voice broke the silence.
"Come inside."
Hinari didn't move. Her body remained frozen in place while the stranger continued staring at her with an unreadable expression.
Her father smiled.
"There she is."
He pointed toward the man beside him.
"He is your future husband."
"F-Father...?"
Her voice was barely audible.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what you heard."
His smile never faded.
"You will leave with him tonight."
Hinari felt as if the entire world had collapsed around her.
"This isn't funny..."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"I'm serious."
"I won't go!"
Hinari stepped backward, then another step.
"I won't marry someone I have never even met!"
Her father's expression turned cold.
"You don't have a choice."
Those words shattered the last piece of hope inside her.
The man dressed in black slowly rose from his chair. His tall figure and overwhelming presence made the room feel much smaller. Every step he took caused an unnatural pressure to fill the air.
"Don't come any closer!"
Hinari backed away until her shoulders touched the wall.
There was nowhere left for her to escape.
The man stopped directly in front of her. He did not touch her; he only placed one hand against the wall beside her head.
"You're trembling."
"I hate you."
"Hate me if that makes you feel better."
His voice was low and steady, like a decision that could never be changed.
"Because from this night onward..."
"...your destiny will never be the same."
