A month has passed. Leaves fall and leaves grow. Everyone grows a little older. Many things can happen within a month even if its short span but for a broken hart it feels like eternity.
Love is somewhat precious. You may love someone and they love you back but someties the weight of it overwhelms you. It makes your question if you've loved enough, if you've done enough, and even question if they really do love you.
And that was the weight Jungkook would have to carry for the rest of his life as he watched the love of his life get married to someone else.
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J.JK
I've always been a sucker for sad love stories. They always made for a good cry. A good way to let out built up frustration. It was fascinating to see how a love so pure and beautiful would be diminished as it is wrapped with tragic circumstances. Yet I thought my love story with her would be a happy one. I thought our love story would be different.
Long behold it would only turn to be a sad one to tell.
Every kiss with her felt electric. Every touch of her hand, every sound of her voice, and just her mere presence was addicting.
Her very being was my lifeline.
Though there were not much exchange of loving words between us, we both knew how we both felt.
We fell in love silently. Like a spark crackling into an ember. A slow torturous burn and you'd think it'd had been a flame by now. But it wasn't, it was snuffed out.
Loving her felt like burning in my own inferno. Every kiss and every touch guaranteed pain.
We both knew that when our eyes first locked at each other in our high school hallways, we knew that it was going to hurt if whatever passion between us was over.
I was so mad at the universe. I was mad at everything. She's supposed to be mine. She should be on my side. She is my other half. Every inch of my being was made for her.
Yet even if I know she was meant for me, I'm now watching her helplessly in a beautiful white dress and her hair done beautifully as she walks down the aisle to be joined with a man that wasn't me.
Even if I knew she was going to marry someone that wasn't me, right in front of my eyes. I couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked. She's come a long way from always wearing jeans and wearing ruby red lipstick.
Her look was plain and simple and her dress was plain too yet she outshone everyone in the room with her natural beauty.
She slowly walked down the aisle and every step she took tore a bit of my heart but still she was so beautiful. She looked at the guest at the wedding and smiled all the way until she finally saw me and her smile faltered for a moment. Then she steeled her nerves and gave me a genuine smile.
A smile telling me, "Thank you for everything."
Then there was Eunwoo, lovingly staring at her. Clearly ready to call her his wife.
If circumstances were different, I would have whisked her away from this wedding because I knew she was mine but the circimstances aren't different.
The circumstances were simple. I messed up. I meddled too much and forced her hand and now I begrudgingly watched as her witch of a mother gave her away to Eunwoo. Well her mother looked unhappy because it was clear that Haewon was in charge now, the company and the money is under Haewon's control.
I felt a hand squeeze my arm lightly and I saw Lisa with a worried look on her eyes. I looked at her hand and there on her ring finger shone a diamond ring.
Then I remembered how my hand was forced too.
As soon as my parents caught a whiff of the fact that the Kyong Laboratories had a new CEO and completely established a partnership with the Cha family, my parents forced me to get engaged with Lisa.
Lisa was overjoyed and my parents forced me to make ths engagement out of my own feelings rather than a business proposal. This way her parents wouldn't doubt my intentions with their daughter and would be more than happy to support our company.
Then I heard the words that I dreaded to hear.
The marriage officiant then said, "From this place, a beautiful beach decorated beautifully with tulle, lace, and flowers, we take ourselves out of the routines of our daily living to witness a unique moment in the lives of Eunwoo and Haewon."
He then continued to say, "Today they join their lives in the union of marriage."
My whole body stiffened as I watch Haewon find reassurance in Eunwoo. It was clear that this whole ceremony made her nervous. Who she was just didn't fit what this wedding was for.
Yet Eunwoo took her hands in his and subtly soothed them with his thumbs and gave her a reassuring smile to which he smiled back.
"To all their guests, they are happy to share this moment with you. They have known most of you for many years. You watched them grow up, you went to school with them, or you worked with them. Because you are the ones who have supported them and known them so well, it is only fitting that you are the ones to share this once-in-a-lifetime moment with them," the officiant continued.
Haewon smiled at the guests politely then when her eyes feel on me, she spared a painful glance then forced herself to avert her eyes back to Eunwoo.
The officiant then continued to speak, "Haewon and Eunwoo are pleased to have their parents in the front row, close to the ceremony."
"Haewon thanks her mother for providing her with every opportunity possible and being the best mother anyone could ask for," he added and Haewon did her best to hide a visible scowl while her mother smiled and waved at the guests to which they did not react.
She was definitely forced to include this part.
"Eunwoo appreciates all the love and support his parents gave him over the years," the officiant continued and Eunwoo lovingly smiled at his parents.
"A wedding day is often a day when couples miss family members no longer with them. I'm sure Haewon's father would be smiling down at her daughter from heaven knowing that she looks beautiful on her wedding day and is truly happy," the officiant said and Haewon bit her lip, clearly trying to suppress a tear.
Yeah right, Ahjussi wouldn't be happy, she's clearly unhappy and marrying the wrong man.
"And so it is that Eunwoo and Haewon present themselves to be married today…surrounded by the people they love the most," the officiant said, "As Eunwoo and Haewon prepared for the ceremony part of this wedding celebration, they reflected on what it is that they love about each other. And this was the easiest part of planning this wedding!"
I rolled my eyes.
This is a sham. This marriage was rushed and both of them are too young for this. They are robbing them of their youth.
Oh for f*ck's sake Jungkook, you're about to do the same thing anyways....just not with her.
Then the exchange of vows began and Haewon started it off, "Eunwoo.....I love that you are patient with me. I know I can be an irritable person and a day with me always feel like you've been sucked into a game of Russian Roulette. Thank you for that. You are a sweet, funny, and kind person. You make life so much easier when you're around."
Eunwoo smiled and I felt tears prick my eyes as she genuinely smiled back and continued to say, "I love that you always want to be close with me even if I'm like a prickly cactus. Loving me is hard but even when I'm at my worst, you've never made me feel inadequate. You only expressed that you'd go through storms with me rather than be away from me but in peaceful horizons."
Every word that left her mouth tore me apart.
Then it came time for Eunwoo to say his personal vows, "Haewon, I can never grow tired of you. You bring thrill to my life that no one else can ever bring. You challenge me everyday and you help me grow and no one can ever replace who you are in my life. I love you for all of you. I love you for you and I could never ask for a better person to marry because you're the perfect person for me."
I watched as Haewon's eyes widened in surprise and elated joy. The words truly touched her. It was as if those words were something she wanted to hear for a long time. But it came from his lips and not from mine.
The officiant smiled then said, "You both look to a shared future that includes raising a happy & healthy family. That future also includes a richly lived life together…going out to restaurants, hanging out with family, relaxing at home in front of the TV, singing and dancing…Bride will do the singing, and Groom will do the dancing.
The years will come and go…you won’t take each other for granted, you will laugh a lot, you will be the best parents you can be, you will grow older and wiser together. It’s a good story,and the ending is not in sight!"
My heart clenched. What the officiant said was the future I wanted with her but that's about to be the future she'll have without her.
The officiant fixed his tie then said, "Before we move on to the reading of the final vows, if there is anyone who wishes to object this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."
I watched as Haewon gave me a longing look but looked away in an instant as she shook her head in disapproval as if to signal me not to do anything. My mind was telling me to say something but my lips stayed pursed and I didn't object.
The officiant smiled at the silence then said, "We come now to the words Eunwoo and Haewon want to hear the most today....the words that take them across the threshold from being engaged to being married.
A marriage, as most of us understand it, is a voluntary and full commitment. It is made in the deepest sense to the exclusion of all others, and it is entered into with the desire and hope that it will last for life.
Before you declare your vows to one another, I want to hear you confirm that it is indeed your intention to be married today."
I could see Haewon's body tense for a moment. She was doing this marriage agaisnt her will yet she knew the consequences if she went through with it.
"Eunwoo, do you come freely and without reservation to give yourself to Haewon in marriage?," the officiant asked and Eunwoo answered without hesitation, "I do."
The officiant then turns to Haewon and asks, "Haewon, do you come freely and without reservation to give yourself to Eunwoo in marriage?"
"I.........," she answers but she doesn't finish. She takes one last look at me and I knew that my expression right now was telling her not to push through yet she still answered, "I......I do."
I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. The intensity of my sadness blurred my vision with tears and it was as if my body tuned out the exchanging of their vows to save me from the pain.
Then next thing I knew they were exchanging rings and I watched as Eunwoo placed a ring on her finger and say, "I give you this ring.Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end,
My love is also forever."
Then Haewon placed a ring on his finger and said the same, "I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, My love is also forever."
The officiant smiled then said, "May the wedding rings you exchanged today remind you always that you are surrounded by enduring love
And so now by the power vested in me, it is my honor and delight to declare
you husband and wife. You may seal this declaration with a kiss."
I scornfully watched as their lips meet in a searing and passionate kiss. With fervor and sweetness. Like the marriage didn't even feel like a sham but rather it felt real.
The guests clapped and cheered but I remain unmoving and just staring at them in pain.
Then the words I didn't want to hear were spoken by the officiant, "I am pleased to present the newlyweds, Cha Eunwoo and Kyong Haewon!"
That very moment, my world fell apart. Crumbled. Withered. Washed away.
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A/N:
Dear readers, I know this a terrible chapter to start the new year off but rest assured there are more chapters to come.
<3 Bellaetriz