Love After Love...

Chapter 66: "Now and forever."

~1 month later~

Author's POV:
It's wedding day.

The bride and groom were ready.

Neither were nervous.

They weren't this sure of anything else.

Hyejin and Wheein were helping Jieun with her day since Jimin and her had agreed to not meet till the wedding.
"I wanna lie down and eat chocolate and watch TV," Wheein said, very pregnant. "Sorry, Wheein," Jieun said sheepishly. "Why did you guys wait so long for the wedding anyway?" Wheein asked. "Well, Jimin is writing his first novel. And it's sort of a big deal. We didn't want the wedding to come in the middle of that," Jieun responded. "How long does that take?" Hyejin asked. "Actually, I had predicted a year. But it took close to four-five months. His agent is printing it out and whatnot. It's a whole thing," Jieun said. "Ooh. All guns blazing, huh?" Wheein said. "Yep. He's taking this one pretty seriously," she replied.

The group of three spoke a little more about their lives until it was time for Jieun to get ready. Once she wore her beautiful wedding dress, and the bridesmaids were ready, her parents joined. "Sweetheart... You look so beautiful..." her mother said with tears in her eyes. "If Jimin doesn't faint after looking at you I'm breaking that pretty face of his," Jiwoon said. "Dad, we agreed, no threats for Jimin today," Jieun replied, earning a laugh. "Also, no! My husband is not fainting," she said, Hyejin and Wheein giving her googly eyes over 'husband'.

~At the venue, before walking down the aisle~

Author's POV:
"Sweetheart?" Jiwoon said. "Yeah, dad?" she asked. "I'm proud of you," he said. "Not a great time to make me cry," she replied. The father-daughter duo hugged and he walked her down the aisle.

Jieun's eyes not pulling off of Jimin, as she took in how incredible he looked in his tux. Jimin's mind went blank when he saw Jieun. He was astonished at how she could make him speechless time and time again. He felt tears in his eyes blurring his vision.

She stood before him and wiped the tear from his face.

"We are gathered here today for the union of Mr. Park Jimin and Ms. Jeon Jieun..." the priest started but the couple could barely hear him. They were so consumed by eachother.

"Would you like to exchange vows?" he said. "Oh, I'll go first. It's too much pressure if I'm speaking after the writer," Jieun said, making the guests giggle.

She looked at Jimin and began, "So, Park Jimin... First off, my husband-to-be is the most handsome man I've ever seen. Okay, coming to the vows. You have often teased me that I love iced tea more than you. It's still sort of true, but over the years, the only tough competition to iced tea has been you. No amount of words are enough to describe you, and no amount of time is enough to be spent with you, but let's start with spectacular and forever. I am in awe of who you are, and continue to be as a person, and as my partner. You inspire me, constantly. I vow to be as honest and as helpful as I can... It hasn't been the happiest journey for me, but knowing that you'll always be by my side now and by the end of it makes everything okay... I love the way you make me feel, I love who I am when I'm with you, I love the way you make me smile and laugh, I just love you so damn much. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I choose you, now and forever."

"And Jimin, now you," the priest said.

Jimin looked at Jieun and took a deep breath, still recovering from her vows, and began, "I'm trying not to cry more... Before we begin, Jieun, you look gorgeous. No other human is as bright as you are today. Otherwise, the only human brighter than you is Aera. But I won't even choose her today. Sorry, Tae and Hyejin... Okay... Well, Jeon Jieun, my lovely dork, my beautiful bride... As much of a writer as I am, you make me speechless, every day, with how strong you are. I have realised how difficult it has actually been for you. You said that I inspire you, but sweetheart, I am persistently encouraged, inspired and motivated to be a better human because of you. I guess, you just... overwhelm me. I am overwhelmed by how much you mean to me. To be honest, I can't complain. All my dreams have come true because of you. I mean, my life's a rom-com," he said, cheekily, earning a laugh from Jieun. "Marrying you is the best decision I've ever taken. And I promise you, we'll always have a way back to each other. It probably won't always be sunshine, but I promise you, on the rainy days, I'll make sure we see a rainbow. We have forever to fill a thousand more scrapbooks with a million more pictures... Jeon Jieun, my partner, my best friend, I choose you, too."

"Do you, Jeon Jieun, take Park Jimin to be your husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the priest said.

"I do," she said, sliding the ring on his finger.

"Do you, Park Jimin, take Jeon Jieun to be your wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I absolutely do," he said, doing the same.

"I now declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the priest said.

The couple took a step towards each other and Jimin said, "Well, looks like you're stuck with me forever, Mrs. Park." She smirked and replied, "I'm sure I can handle it."

Their lips met in an electrifying kiss and they both smiled as her hands went behind his neck and his on her waist, securing her close to him. The kiss held a promise for the future, where they were always together. Not perfectly, but happily.

~After the wedding~

Author's POV:
After their first night as a married couple, the two lay under the sheets, naked and bare, and so peacefully content. "We're married, baby," Jieun said, unable to stop smiling. "I love you so much," he said. "I love you, too," she replied with a kiss.

"Hey, I have to show you something," Jimin said, walking towards the living room and coming back with a wrapped gift. "Oh, who's this from?" she asked. "Me," he replied, "Open it."

She opened the package and gasped once she saw what was inside. "You finished your book?" she said, still mesmerized by how stunning the cover photo was. It was a picture of the two of them, with a sunset background, so their faces weren't visible, but their silhouettes were. But she knew it was the two of them. That was the first picture in the scrapbook.

"Yeah. Jinyoung called yesterday. He gave me the uneditted copy. The release may take a while with all the editting and advertising and stuff, but this is the raw edition. And it's yours..." he said. She hugged him tight and pulling away, she said, "It's beautiful, Jimin. I love the title too. 'Love after love...'. Its gorgeous! And fitting..."

"Read the dedication," he said. "What is it this time?" she asked, expecting another funny dedication.

"Jieun... before you check, I should tell you... After you told me each detail with Namjoon, I felt like such a jerk for the way we fought before we began dating. I understand now, what it was like for you... The constant parallels, how much that must've hurt... I wanna apologize... Baby, you're one of the strongest people I know," he said, sincerity oozing from his eyes. She smiled and said, "It's okay, husband. I was a jerk, too. It's not like I've not messed up... We have our lives to make it up to eachother, no?" He smiled and their lips met again, in a kiss so full of love. He cupped her cheeks and she held his neck. They parted.

Jieun checked the dedication page and her eyes filled with tears.

I dedicate this book to Kim Namjoon. I promise to take care of her, and make sure that she's the happiest version of herself.

The two couldn't stop thanking the stars for making their paths cross, and promised themselves that they'd love the other for as long as they could.