Forget Me Not

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Cho is meeting with a monk at the local temple on the sly because we want to get married within the next two months. But there's no way our parents are going to bypass the selection of the most auspicious date. I wanted to give all our friends the longest notice possible so there's no excuse not to make it."

That was very thoughtful. Korn knew he wasn't the only one who would benefit from that. Fai would have to fly in and while he assumed Knock and Farm were already in on it, it wouldn't hurt to have the advanced notice.

"So...before we go—," Yihwa continued, "—are there any dates that you think you can't make it for?"

"Don't worry about me." Korn assured her, "You could get married in the middle of the week on a deserted island and I'd find a way to get there. I am not missing this for anything."

"Really?"

Was she crying? Korn hoped not.

"Definitely."

"Okay. We'll head to the temple this week and see what we can sort out in advance. Then I'll see you this weekend."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed. My parents have been planning this since I turned 18. Now that it's happening, they've gone just a little crazy."

"How is Cho's family taking it?"

"I thought for sure they were going to be the voice of reason but his mom and my mom are kind of scary when they get together."

"It should keep things interesting."

"There is such a thing as too interesting," Yihwa said sounding like her old self.

Korn's excitement was tempered and he could not blame the distance. There was a niggling in the back of his mind. A feeling of some miscommunication or disconnect. Had he misread the situation or made some gran faux pas? He couldn't think of anything. More specifically, he couldn't think of anything new.

Was he too hopeful to think all was forgiven? That the past was really in the past? He knew it wasn't reasonable to think Yihwa or anyone else in their gang would hold a grudge after this long; she wasn't that kind of person. It still felt like he was stuck on the outside; watching them do their thing without truly being a part of it.

It shouldn't have felt like a test of their friendship but it did.

Only when Korn hang up did he finally figure out what he was really worried about. He was happy for his friend. He was looking forward to spending their special day with them. He couldn't wait to stand as a witness to them making their status official in the eyes of everyone including the government.

Korn just couldn't figure out where Mew fit in all this.

Unwilling to make any more assumptions, he called the man himself. He didn't know what he expected. But the return of his pounding heart was damning. Korn hated waiting for the other man to pick up and he was just about to start pacing when Mew put him out of his misery.

"Hey, Korn."

Mew's greeting immediately calmed him. It was like a tether, holding him down to solid ground. There was no need to let his thoughts and fears get the better of him. "Hey...how are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you," Mew said with the same formality. "How are you?"

"Good." Except it wasn't. Korn didn't know how to begin. "Uhmm...something came up."

"Oh?"

"I don't know if you heard, but Yihwa and Cho are getting married."

"No, I didn't. That's great," Mew said enthusiastically.