a couple of years later
Harry has been preparing for this exact moment ever since he caught the way Niall would steal a glance at Brooklyn as they worked on their articles at their desk and the way she would return that look a second too late. There were a lot of stolen and missed glances between those two and yet Harry has always known that they would end up together. If you ask him how he knows it, he'd give you the classic "best mate's intuition" answer. But the truth is, he doesn't have an answer for it. He just knows.
And this evening, as the sun is setting low in the sky, he gets to tell everyone all about it through his best man speech -- a speech that he prepared a while ago.
He tells everyone how he first met Niall and Brooklyn, how he knew right from the beginning that these two would get along well (it's what he said to them when they met on Brooklyn's first day), and how he's not surprised at all that they're all gathered here today to celebrate their love. Their decision to take their relationship to the next level.
In his speech, Harry also talks about how he admires Niall and Brooklyn, how when he looks at them he sees genuine love between the couple and how he used to wish that he'd find a love like that someday. He catches Min Ji's eyes when he talks about that and when she flashes a smile at him, he can feel it all the way to the tips of his toes. It's electrifying. It's something that he'll never get used to even though they've been together for two years now. Now he understands how Niall feels when he's around Brooklyn. He used to talk about it and Harry didn't understand it because he had never experienced it and was convinced he never would, but now he does.
"...And last but not least, I'm excited to see what the future holds for the both of you. I know it'll be filled with adventures, as Brooklyn said earlier in her vow, and I know it'll be filled with laughter and smile because I know Niall would do anything in his power to make his wife smile and laugh. They're disgustingly cute, I know."
Brooklyn leans against Niall who wraps his arm around her, a smile adorning her lips. Harry thinks that it might be his imagination, but if it isn't then she definitely has tears in her eyes right now. Niall looks like he's about to cry too. He hopes the photographer manages to capture this moment because he would very much like to look at it again in the future.
"To the perfect couple, Niall Horan and Brooklyn Cooper."
Everyone toast to that and the ceremony continues with Niall and Brooklyn cutting their cake. When it's time for the couple to have their first dance, Harry makes his way to Min Ji. When he reaches her table, he pulls out the empty chair next to her and presses a kiss on her lips.
"Hi," he says quietly as he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hi," she whispers back. She takes his hand in hers and squeezes it. "You were great just now."
"Thank you," he replies. Although he spent a lot of time on the speech, preparing it and practicing it, he was still very nervous to deliver it in front of Niall and Brooklyn's family and friends. "Are you having a good time?"
"Yeah," Min Ji nods. "It's a beautiful wedding."
"It is," Harry agrees with a nod.
The two of them redirect their eyes to the dance floor where Niall and Brooklyn are sharing their first dance. Niall whispers something in Brooklyn's ear and whatever it is that he says makes her throw her head back, laughing.
"You're right," Min Ji says. "He really does like to make her laugh."
"Probably not as much as I like making you blush," Harry counters. Min Ji looks at him, her cheeks flushing. "See." Harry grins as he touches her cheek. "My favourite sight."
"You're ridiculous," Min Ji tells him. Her cheeks turn redder and her attempt to duck her head and hide her face is futile because Harry has his thumb on his chin. Min Ji meets his eyes and Harry forgets how to breathe. "You look good today."
Harry looks down at his suit that Niall helped him pick out. "It's alright," he says with a shrug. "You, on the other hand, look breathtaking."
"Breathtaking?" Min Ji repeats, brows raised.
Harry nods. "Breathtaking. Beautiful. Gorgeous. I'd give you more but I'd love to have a dance with you first." Getting up from the chair, he offers Min Ji his hand. "Can I have this dance?"
Min Ji looks up at him, lips stretching into a smile. She places her hand in his and stands up. "It would be my pleasure."
Harry leads his girlfriend to the dance floor, snagging the spot next to the bride and groom. As Harry pulls Min Ji closer to him, his arms wrapped around her waist and hers around his neck, Niall and Brooklyn say their hi to them.
"Your wedding is beautiful," Min Ji says to Niall and Brooklyn.
"Thank you," Brooklyn replies with a smile on her face. This is the most Harry's seen her smile. He suppose that's what happens when you're getting married to the love of your life. "It feels like a dream."
"It does," Niall chimes in. "I keep pinching myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming it."
Min Ji laughs softly whilst Harry smiles fondly at two of his best friends. The four of them chat for a bit before they circle on the dance floor and Harry and Min Ji find themselves near the band. They're playing slow songs now and that gives them an excuse to just stay in each other's arms without having to move around much. Harry tells himself that if he gets married someday, he'd want to get a live band too.
Head resting on Harry's chest, Min Ji says, "Today's been wonderful."
"Mhmm," Harry agrees. He knew this day would come but never in his wildest dreams did he think that he'd be here with the love of his life. In all of the scenarios that he had made up in his mind over the years, he had always envisioned himself to be alone at Niall and Brooklyn's wedding. It's pathetic and sad, but for the longest time, he was okay with it. Then came Min Ji and she turned his life upside down -- in a good way. And to think that it all started with a, "Spider."
"What?" Min Ji removes her head from Harry's chest, her eyes widening. "Is there a spider?"
Harry chuckles. "No no. I was just thinking about how we met."
"Oh," Min Ji lets out a sigh of relief. "You had me worried just now."
"You know that I'll always protect you," Harry grins, to which she responds with a roll of her eyes.
When Harry tried to convince Min Ji to move in with him, he told her that he'd always protect her against spiders. She no longer had to knock on his door or ring him out of nowhere just to ask him to come over to get rid of the spiders. With them living together, she could just call out his name and he'd be there. Of course that's not what really sold her on the whole living together thing, but they like to think that it was. It makes better story than them deciding out of the blue that they should live together because they hate spending the nights apart.
"What got you thinking about how we met?" Min Ji asks.
"Just reminiscing," Harry says as he brushes her hair away from her face. "I didn't think I'd be at Niall and Brooklyn's wedding with the love of my life."
Min Ji frowns. "Why?"
Harry shrugs. "I guess I got so used to being alone and then you came and you made me realise that I like being alone with you even more."
A smile touches her lips. "You're so sweet, do you know that?"
"I have an idea," he grins.
Min Ji slaps him on the shoulder and then says, "You made me realise that too. Being alone with you beats anything else."
Closing her eyes, Min Ji returns her head on Harry's chest. They sway back and forth and Harry runs his hand up and down her spine as he kisses her hair.
"I love you," he whispers. Even though they have been together for a couple of years, he's still trying to wrap his head around the idea that he gets to say those three words to Min Ji anytime he wants.
"I love you too. So much."
"Yeah?" Min Ji pulls back and meets his gaze. She nods. The sincerity in her eyes prompts Harry to ask, "Does that mean that if I propose to you -- not now but in the future -- you'd say yes?"
Min Ji's mouth fell open. They've never talked about marriage before but Harry can't lie and say that he hasn't been thinking about it. He thinks about it a lot, sometimes too much that he has to force himself to stop thinking about it. He's constantly worried that he's rushing into things, though Min Ji has assured him plenty of times that they would always be on the same page. And if they aren't, they can always talk things out. They both agree that communication is key.
"I--What--"
"You don't have to answer that," Harry says quickly when he realises that it might've been a mistake to bring that up. "Let's just... Just forget about it."
"No," Min Ji says. Harry looks at her, a line appearing between his brows. No what?, he wants to ask but his throat has gone dry. "I can't forget about it because my answer would've been yes."
"Yeah?"
She nods. "I love you, Harry, and I don't have to think hard to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You're it for me."
Harry feels tension seeping out of his body. He leans forward and captures Min Ji's lips with his and then whispers, "And you're it for me too."
~*~
aaand that is it for harry and min ji, my friends! thank you for following this journey with me (and harry & min ji), it means a lot to me that you'd take the time out of your day to read what i write for fun.
hopefully i'll see all of you again in my upcoming fic, matchmaking for experts! x