ALWAYS You: Swan's Shadow [YOONGI] (Book 3)

Chapter 1

As soon as she stepped foot inside, Soo-ji immediately caught Taehee's eyes. Taehee, beautiful and elegant as ever in a simple white dress, looked nervous and anxious. Her face bearing a worried look as she fiddled with her fingers, waiting for Soo-ji to tell her the good news.

Soo-ji pursed her lips in her thin line, shaking her head at her to tell her for the final time that Chanyeol was still uncontactable.

That he wasn't here to attend his own sister's wedding.

Taehee's head dropped to her feet, her shoulders sinking slightly at the disappointment.

"Let's start." Taehee muttered to everyone with a small deflated voice, facing the front of the church.

Namjoon stood before Taehyung and Taehee. Their toddler son, Hobi, sat atop of Jimin's lap at the benches, swinging his legs back and forth with a big smile on his face as he watched his mummy and daddy get married.

Namjoon cleared his throat. "Today," he began, "we're gathered here to witness the ultimate Taetae couple's wedding..."

Hobi squealed at this point, cackling away as he bounced on Jimin's lap excitedly.

"... to keep it short and sweet," Namjoon continued, "does anyone object?" Everyone looked around, Soo-ji rolling her eyes at the unnecessary formality of all of this.

It baffled her, up to this point, that they were having a wedding when there were people dying out there. But she reluctantly agreed, after much persuasion from Yoongi, when he told her to let them be, that if they didn't have the wedding now then they wouldn't know when their next chance would be. The church didn't have much, some old outfits laid around the basement and the Hope Gang made use of that.

"If Park Chanyeol was here, he'd be the first to object." Yoongi chuckled next to her.

At the mention of Chanyeol's name, Soo-ji's mood plummeted to the bottom. Her worried thoughts clouded her mind again, her shoulders feeling heavy with weight as a sickening feeling bloomed at the pit of her stomach.

"Smile, will you?" She felt Yoongi nudge her elbow. Soo-ji looked next to her, a handsome Yoongi donned in a black suit so old that it could be called vintage stared back at her. "You're gonna worry Taehee if you keep looking like you got a stick wedged up your ass."

"Shut up," Soo-ji rolled her eyes, taking a deep breather to focus on Taehyung and Taehee.

"Standing here today," Taehyung started as he took Taehee's hand in his, "is the best day of my life-..." Soo-ji smiled finally,  Taehyung's loving soft eyes towards Taehee was all she needed to know that her best friend was in good hands, that Taehyung would look after her until the very end. And that was all Soo-ji could hope for. Her feelings towards Taehyung remained neutral. She couldn't bring herself to call him a trusted friend any longer after learning that he was the catalyst of her parents' deaths, but remaining neutral and civilised with him was the only way forward, especially when there were bigger issues at hand.

"... -I know this isn't the most lavish wedding," Taehyung continued, a sheepish tone settling in his voice, "but when everything is over, I promise to give you another bigger one, one that my one and only beautiful wife deserves-..."

Soo-ji's thoughts rushed through her head. She would never say it out loud to worry her gang members, but she feared for the worst to happen. What if her decisions and leadership led to the big lavish wedding never happening? What if, because of her, something happened to either Taehyung or Taehee, or to any one of them?

"... -But even though I'm unsure about what's gonna happen in the future," Taehyung interrupted her heavy thoughts, "I am certain that I love you and I will continue to love you forever."

"I love you." Taehee whispered to him, a tear rolling down her cheek, "you're the best thing to happen to me and Hobi and I will stay with you forever, I promise."

"I love you." Taehyung said back. He raised his hand, brushing a gentle thumb across her cheek to wipe away her tears. Settling a tender palm under her ear, he leaned forwards, sealing their love declaration in a promise towards each other.

"When is it our turn?" Yoongi teased, leaning his head on Soo-ji's shoulder as he watched the romantic scene with a goofy smile adorned on his face.

Soo-ji glared down at him, knowing fully well that he was ignoring the scowl on her face as he clapped away with the others. "Your hair stinks," she told him.

"I love it when you notice the littlest things about me."

Soo-ji took a deep breath, joining in the clapping with the others. "If you don't get your head off my shoulder, I'll snap your neck personally with my bare hands."

He chuckled, snuggling closer to Soo-ji to annoy her. "Aww," he cooed in a giddy voice, "my baby girl is so gangster now I don't even know what to do with her."