Jennie
"Ren, where the hell are you?" I pace back and forth in front of the bridal shop. I clutch the phone to my ear and glance through the shop window. "The bridal party is waiting inside and if they start throwing food in here, that's a million-dollar mistake we can't eat, literally..."
As I'm talking, I spot Ren's long limbs climb out of the back seat of a car. He rakes his fingers through his slicked hair as he starts toward me.
"Oh my God, forget everything I said, I love you." I finish my voicemail and quickly hang up the phone, stuffing it in my bra.
Ren closes the gap between us, and I hug his navy blue suit. "Thank God you're here." I say.
He presses a swift kiss to my cheek and then peels back. "What's the damage?"
"They're all inside, but if this goes anything like the cake tasting, I'm going to need backup."
"Copy that." Ren says. He opens the door for me, and we slip inside together.
There are a couple of long, plush sofas, and the bridal party is all spread out on them. They're sitting as they would on the aisles, with Mina's girls on one side, Bambam's girls on the other. Irene sits on Bambam's side. Roxanne sits in the middle of it all, making small talk across the aisle.
"Irene is here." Ren observes. "I'm guessing you didn't shag Lisa into submission?"
"Words were... had." I say. "Submission happened. And then Mina wooed the jilted lover all on her own."
"Imagine that." Ren says. "Perhaps you have an angel on your side."
"Is everyone ready?" The voice is Mina's, a small squeak from behind the fitting room curtain.
The bridal party claps and hoots. "Show us your bod!" Momo calls out.
Mina throws the curtain back and makes a grand entrance. "Tada!"
"Oh." Ren and I say simultaneously.
The dress is... well. Terrible. It cuts off short above her knees with thin straps over her shoulders. A diamond pattern runs up the white fabric, while climbing her form. The whole mess is topped off with a small tiara.
"Oh, Mina." Roxanne says and then falls silent.
Mina flashes a smile. "What do you think?" She spins.
"You're beautiful, darling... just a moment." Ren grabs my arm and pulls me to the side. "You have to talk her out of that." he hisses at me.
"She likes it." I wave him away. "It's her wedding, not yours. She can wear whatever makes her happy."
"Trust me. As soon as she takes one look at the wedding pictures, she's going to seppuku herself straight through that dress."
I put my hands on Ren's chest to slow him down. "Stop. Just... stop." My phone buzzes in my pocket. I've got my eyes on Ren, so I answer the phone without checking the caller. "Yes?"
"Jennie?"
Oh. Crap. That warm, and velvet-smooth voice catches me off guard. My veins fill with ice, and I stumble out of Ren's questioning gaze.
"Taehyung." I whisper, with my voice curt. "You need to stop calling me."
"And you need to pick up your phone, buttercup."
Buttercup. How many times did he whisper that word into the shell of my ear? My stomach clenches and a flurry of emotions batter around my chest like confused birds stuck in a chimney.
"We need to talk." Taehyung continues.
"No. We don't need to do anything." I can feel my voice rise in the lobby of the bridal shop, and I can feel the stares that come with it, but I can't be bothered. My temper makes my face red-hot. "You left me standing at the altar like an idiot... there's really nothing to talk about."
"Jennie..."
"Stop calling me. Please."
I hang up quickly and catch my breath. My heart pounds at a million beats a minute, and my head feels hazy.