"We have to leave right away!" Teresa announces frantically as she enters the bathroom where Leela has just given me a makeover and whipped my hair into a beautiful updo.
When Teresa's eyes meet mine, she pauses instantly. Her tense features soften and her red-painted lips form into a smile. "What do you say?", I ask nervously, looking down at myself. "You look stunning," she assures me, pressing her lips together. Obviously, this must be a touching moment for her, because her eyes fill with tears, which she struggles to hold back, otherwise they would ruin the makeup she's wearing today.
"You've grown up so fast," she states in a brittle voice, pulling me into a careful hug. I wrap my arms around her to return her embrace. Teresa... My birth mother, who has lived by my side all my life as our maid to see her only child grow up. For this she even put up with not being able to separate from the man who must have destroyed her life.
Of course, this news has been like a slap in the face for me, but instead of being angry with them, I rather consider myself lucky. Because with Teresa and the woman who I believed all my life was my mother, I now even have two mothers who love me unconditionally.
"I love you, Teresa," I say with a smile on my lips, burying my face in the brown hair that falls wavily over her shoulders. "I love you too, mi cariño," she replies, breathing a kiss on my forehead.
"I hate to break the moment, but we really should get going or we'll be late," Jungkook's voice sounds from behind us. Sunghoon's driver stands in the doorway dressed in a black tuxedo with his fingers crossed in front of his body, looking expectantly back and forth between Leela, Teresa, and me.
Excitedly, I smooth the flowing fabric of my wedding dress. The heart in my chest races and my breathing is also rapid and uneven. "Take a deep breath," Teresa reminds me, putting a hand to my cheek. "You will never forget this day, because it will be one of the most beautiful days of your life." She's right. Even as a little girl, I dreamed of this day for hours. Now it has come.
Together with Leela, Teresa, my mother and Jungkook, we head to the car. My mother and Leela help me with the dress into the car and make sure that nothing gets dirty, while Teresa and Jungkook put the wedding rings and baskets with the petals into the trunk.
The mood in the car is exuberant and although I am infinitely looking forward to this moment, for whatever reason, I am suddenly overcome with this fear and doubt. What if something doesn't go according to plan? What if Sunghoon changes his mind after all and doesn't want to marry me?
"We're here," Leela announces joyfully, gently shaking my arm to pull me out of the thoughts I'm just getting lost in. My gaze falls out of the window to the church, whose door is open and in front of which many people have already gathered. Among them I recognize Jay, who is standing in front of the door and greeting a few friends and co-workers of Sunghoon, whom I have only met briefly so far. Nevertheless, I am glad that they have appeared.
A few meters away, I discover my maternal grandparents, who have traveled all the way from Valencia to join us in Madrid. They only met Sunghoon a few weeks ago by phone, but they have taken him straight to their hearts.
It takes what feels like an eternity until the last guests arrive at the church and go inside. During this time, my anticipation and excitement increase immeasurably. And then it is finally time; Leela opens the car door and together with my mother she helps me out of the car, while Teresa and Jungkook hurry towards the church with the wedding rings and the petals.
They accompany me to the church door, where I am already awaited by Eun-Ji and her daughter Iseul. Iseul is our flower girl and Eun-Ji will help her. "Wow, you look stunning, Dolores," Eun-Ji states as her eyes pattern me intently. She herself is wearing a beautiful, knee-hugging dress of navy blue fabric and lace trim. She wears her hair up. Dangling from her ears are earrings with tiny diamond stones.
"I'm nervous," I confess to her quietly. Her lips form into a wide smile. "I felt the same way you did at my wedding. I didn't eat anything all morning and almost fell over on the way to the altar if Sunghoon hadn't held me," she tells me, gazing rapturously into the air. She then puts a hand on my shoulder. "But you know what?" she asks. "That was the best day of my life, next to the birth of my daughter. And this is going to be one of the best days of your life."
"Thank you," I say. The pressure on my chest has actually lessened a bit. "You should have seen Sunghoon. I don't think I've ever seen him so nervous before," Eun-Ji tells me, chuckling softly. Somehow it's a comforting thought that Sunghoon also feels this excitement and that I'm not completely alone in this.
Suddenly, music sounds from inside. That's my signal that it's time to go. Eunji hands me my bouquet and reaches for the basket with the white and red rose petals. I stand immediately in front of the church door and close my eyes to take a deep breath through my nose and count to ten before letting the air escape through my lips again, and with it some of my doubt.
I then clasp the bouquet of flowers in my hand a little tighter and watch as the church door slowly opens. The pews are filled with all the people and when they catch sight of me, they rise and turn to me. But my gaze immediately moves forward to Sunghoon, who is standing at the front of the altar with his fingers intertwined, looking down at the floor.
I take one step after another in his direction and when he finally takes his eyes off the ground and looks in my direction with a soft smile on his lips, all doubts and fears fall away from me. My steps quicken and the closer I get to Sunghoon, the wider the smile on my lips becomes and when I finally reach him and, after letting Leela take the bouquet from my hand, stop in front of him, I realize one thing; I have no regrets. Not one moment that I experienced with Sunghoon. Because all of those moments, both the good and the bad, have led us to the point where we are now. And I couldn't be happier than in this another beautiful moment I get to experience with him.
"You look beautiful," Sunghoon murmurs softly, reaching for my hand. He gently strokes the back of my hand with his thumb and smiles broadly at me. His brown eyes sparkle with joy. The music fades out and all the guests return to their seats, whereupon a silence spreads.
"Dear guests," the pastor finally begins, standing to my left and looking around the rows. "We have gathered here today for a very special reason. We have gathered to celebrate life. Life and the love that life brings us. Two lovers who wish to enter into the bonds of matrimony."
Tears come to my eyes as I listen intently to the pastor's words. But they are not tears of sadness, fear or doubt, but tears of joy and happiness. I am happy. "Love is not just a word. Love is long-suffering and kind, love does not jealousy, love does not wantonness, it does not puff itself up, it does not behave unseemly, it does not seek its own, it does not let itself be embittered, it does not reckon evil," the pastor continues, alternately looking back and forth between Sunghoon and me.
"God is in your midst and He sees you and your love for one another. And today you have come to enter into the covenant of marriage and seal your love before God as your witness." At a gesture of his hand, Leela hands us the wedding rings. "Before you exchange your rings, I ask you, Dolores Rey -" the pastor resumes.
I turn my face in his direction. "Do you take Park Sunghoon, who is here present, to be your husband?" I turn my eyes back to Sunghoon, whose brown eyes look at me hopefully. In response, I nod. "Yes, I do," I bring out just barely. My voice is trembling...
The pastor turns to Sunghoon and asks him too, "Do you, Park Sunghoon, take Dolores Rey, present here, to be your wife?" Sunghoon laughs, his eyes filling with tears. "And how I do, yes," he replies, reaching for my hand again.
"Then now exchange your vows and put the rings on each other's fingers," the pastor instructs us with a smile, taking a step back. Sunghoon takes the smaller of the two rings and twists it around in his fingers and I hear him take a deep breath.
"I, Park Sunghoon, promise to love, respect and honor you, Dolores Rey, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I don't want to spend another second of my life without you by my side," he says in a trembling voice. While he can still pull himself together, the first tears are already running down my cheeks.
Until today, I never understood why the bride and groom in all the movies start crying at the latest when they say their vows, but today I understand. I just can't describe these feelings; this love, this happiness, the hope and confidence.
Everything around me seems so close and yet so far away. I don't even notice the guests sitting immediately to my right, watching us. I don't notice the pastor standing to my left. He is all I see. It is simply overwhelming.
Sunghoon reaches for my right hand and puts the ring on my ring finger. He then strokes the back of my hand again with his thumb. Now it's my turn and I reach for Sunghoon's ring. I don't know if I can even get a word out without being completely overcome by my sobs. And yet I try to pull myself together, reaching for his hand with a smile, looking deep into his eyes.
"I, Dolores Rey, promise you, Park Sunghoon, my undying love and loyalty in good days and bad, in health and in sickness. I will love, respect and honor you and I want to spend my life with you by my side until death do us part."
Sunghoon wipes away a tear that has escaped from the corner of his eyes and runs down his cheek. Carefully, I too place his wedding ring on the ring finger of his right hand, never wanting to let go.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the pastor announces joyfully. Sunghoon wraps his arm around my waist pulls me to him to kiss me. I put my arms around his neck and return the kiss. Our guests rise from their benches clapping and cheering us on.
"I love you, Jagiya," Sunghoon murmurs, pressing his forehead against mine. He smiles. "I love you too," I reply, smiling as well.
After we thank the pastor and the music from the beginning plays again, Sunghoon grabs my hand to stride towards the exit together with me as we are now heading to our wedding venue. Our guests follow us outside, the first already congratulating us, before getting into his car.
Unlike the outward journey, I now get into the same car with Sunghoon, while Teresa, my mother, Leela and her boyfriend Jake drive with Jungkook. Jay drives, so Sunghoon and I sit in the back seat together and kiss again.
"Even though you're probably on cloud nine right now, I'd still ask you to buckle up," Jay says with a grin on his lips and doesn't start the engine until we comply with his request.
It's a twenty-minute drive to the location, during which Sunghoon holds my hand uninterruptedly. Only when we reach the location, which is already beautifully decorated from the outside, and get out, he lets go of my hand.
One by one, all of our guests arrive as well, sending us more congratulations and even having wedding gifts for us, which we store in an empty corner of the hall for the time being. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, which offer a wonderful view of the city, is the buffet, on which the catering team is gradually laying out the wonderful dishes that we have chosen together.
The fully set tables are covered with white tablecloths and on each table there is a vase with white and red daisies. The red is also found on the garlands hanging from the ceiling. It looks great, even better than I imagined.
"Dolores, Sunghoon," my mother says as she, Leela and Jake also enter the room, pulling first me and then Sunghoon into a tight hug. "That was such a wonderful wedding ceremony, very emotional." Leela also hugs both of us in turn and I look at Jake, her boyfriend, who introduces himself to Sunghoon as Leela's boyfriend and congratulates us as well.
"Where are Teresa and Jungkook?", I ask in confusion as there is no sign of them so far. "They're still outside," Leela replies, shrugging her shoulders just as confused as I am. Sunghoon and I exchange brief glances before I turn back to the three of them.
"Go ahead and sit down at that table," I ask my mother, Leela, and Jake. At that moment, Jungkook and Teresa also enter the lounge. "There you are," I say, glancing back and forth between the two of them scrutinizingly.
Teresa presses her lips together and lowers her gaze. I get this feeling that something is going on between the pretty middle-aged woman and Sunghoon's driver. Obviously, Sunghoon seems to think the same as I do, because when I give him a quick glance, he grins.
"We were out for a moment. Please excuse us," Jungkook answers in Teresa's place. His dark eyes dart back and forth between Sunghoon and me. "I'm very happy for you, I'm sure your eomma would be proud of you, Sunghoon," he adds in response, giving my husband a fatherly pat on the shoulder before reaching for my shoulders and blowing a kiss on my cheek left and right.
"I wish you both the best of luck in your marriage and take good care of each other, you really more than deserve each other" Teresa now says and hugs us both at the same time. Smiling, I return the hug and allow Teresa to breathe a kiss on my cheek as well. "Thank you," I say, touched, whereupon we all sit down.
Sunghoon, however, rises with his glass in his hand and taps his fork against it, drawing the attention of our boisterously conversing guests. Gradually, silence settles over the room and everyone looks to him; curious as to what he has to say. I, too, am curious.
"Before we enjoy the good buffet, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming," Sunghoon begins, looking around the room. He still holds the filled champagne glass in his left hand and the fork in his right.
"There are a few people I'd like to thank personally. One is my best friend Jay-" Sunghoon continues, pointing to his best friend who is sitting at the table next to us along with Jungkook. "You are my best friend and the brother I have always wanted. You've always supported me and stood by me. Thank you Hyung." Jay grins and nods appreciatively at Sunghoon.
"Jungkook-," Sunghoon continues, addressing the man sitting immediately next to Jay. "I think you know exactly all that you have done and continue to do for me. You are like a father to me."
"Eun-Ji and my wonderful niece Iseul-" Sunghoon continues to list, smiling at his cousin and her daughter, who looks truly adorable in her pink dress with the bow on her head. "I don't think I need to say much about that. You are my family."
When I think Sunghoon is done with his thank you speech, I look up at him again with a smile, but suddenly he turns to me. "My greatest thanks, however, go to my wonderful wife-" he resumes, returning my gaze with a smile on his lips. "As many of you know, life has not always been kind to me over the past decade. The death of my mother, my bad relationship with my father, our accident together.... I've completely withdrawn and buried my feelings deep inside."
Sunghoon lowers his eyes. I am incredibly proud of him for speaking so openly about his thoughts and feelings in front of all our guests.
"My mother once said that I will fall in love when I least expect it," Sunghoon finally continues. "When I first met you, I had no idea that I would fall in love with you. The circumstances were just... difficult. But the more time we spent together, the easier life became for me. Feeling after all those years of emptiness. Lola, you bring out the best in me. And as my mother predicted, I fell in love with you at a moment I didn't expect. I love everything about you; your loving, understanding nature, the way you laugh and the way you look at me. I love it when you tell me you love me. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that phrase. I love falling asleep next to you, just like I love waking up next to you. I love the child that is growing inside of you. You and this child you are my greatest gift, my greatest treasure; you are my life. Thank you, Jagiya."
Sunghoon reaches for my hand and leans forward to breathe a kiss on the back of my hand before glancing around. Our guests look back and forth between us with smiles on their lips. "Bon appetit!", Sunghoon finishes his speech and sinks back into his chair next to me to rapturous applause.
"Thank you for those beautiful words," I whisper to him and place a fleeting kiss on his lips, which he returns with a broad smile. The choice of food seems to satisfy each of our guests.
During the meal, the mood is boisterous; everyone is chatting with each other and there is a lot of laughter. The first alcohol is already flowing, so the mood continues to loosen. When Sunghoon suddenly asks me to dance, I'm a little overwhelmed because he knows I'm not the best dancer.
"Come, the bride and groom open the dance," Sunghoon explains to me with a laugh. It's an old tradition that's obviously important to him, because he still holds his hand out to me and looks at me pleadingly.
Smiling, I grab his hand and allow Sunghoon to pull me onto the dance floor under the eyes of our guests, where he presses me against his body and places his hand at my waist while reaching for mine with his other hand. "I'll lead you, just like we practiced," Sunghoon winks at me.
I trust him and adapt to what he is doing. At first, the whole thing probably seems a bit hesitant, but eventually I get the hang of it and even let Sunghoon spin me around once. Gradually, other dance couples join us on the dance floor, including Eun-Ji with her husband, Leela with Jake and Teresa with Jungkook?
"Did Jungkook tell you anything?", I ask with a glance in his and Teresa's direction. Sunghoon follows my gaze before shaking his head in denial. "It's obvious that there's something going on between the two of them," he states with an analyzing look.
"Teresa would have told me," I reply with conviction, but the longer I see her and Jungkook together, the more I get the feeling that Sunghoon might be right. "I would be happy for them," Sunghoon begins, gently twirling me around before putting his hand back on my waist.
"Jungkook lost his wife and unborn child... It's the first time I've seen him so relaxed and happy in the presence of a woman." Again, I watch Jungkook and Teresa talking to each other while dancing. Both are laughing a lot and seem carefree. I haven't seen Teresa this lighthearted in ages either.
After years of oppression by my father, she too seems to have found the joy of life again. And if Jungkook contributes to that, I'm happy for her. "They're kind of cute together," I confess to Sunghoon with a smile.
Suddenly, he wraps his arms around my body and squeezes me gently. "We're cute together, too," he replies, breathing a kiss on the tip of my nose. Smiling, I look up at my husband. "If we make an effort," I agree with him with a big grin on my lips.
I think back to his speech and how he said he fell in love with me at a moment he didn't expect. I'm curious; I need to know when it happened with him. "You said you fell in love with me in a moment by not expecting it-" so I put in, tilting my head slightly. "When?"
Sunghoon lowers his eyes with a smile. "I knew you'd ask me this question," he replies with a grin, as if he was just waiting to hear that question come out of my mouth. He looks thoughtfully into the air, his features relaxing.
"When I first saw you in a wedding dress, it was the first time I considered it. But it didn't really click until the day we were at the lake." The anniversary of his mother's death, the day my father nearly beat me to death. I have to swallow, yet I smile.
"The way the light fell on your face, your eyes.... You looked beautiful that day," Sunghoon recalls. "Even though I was miserable, you made me smile and I didn't feel lonely that day for the first time in over ten years."
At the time, I was confused about my feelings for Sunghoon; on one hand, I wanted to hate him, and at the same time, he triggered something in me that I couldn't resist. But now I'm sure about my feelings; to be exact, I've never been so sure about anything as I am with my feelings for Sunghoon.
"I love you," I whisper and kiss his lips. Smiling, he returns my kiss and wraps his arms around my waist a little tighter, pulling me even closer. Slowly, he pulls away from my lips and looks down at me with a warm expression in his brown eyes. "I love you too," Sunghoon replies in a soft voice.
With no one by my side, I feel as complete as I do with him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him by my side.
Forever.
A/N: This was the longest chapter i have ever written... Holy fucking shit, 4K words