Evening rolled around sooner than expected. I thought I would have broken into the guest house's liquor cabinet by now, but I was actually enjoying myself. After we tried on our dresses, we were pretty much left to our own devices until dinnertime. Minji and Yoohyeon had wanted to meet with their families to discuss some more wedding stuff, so the bridesmaids were free to play while the brides were away.
Siyeon, as expected, retreated to her room to be alone. This time she at least had the decency to make up an excuse for her coldness, claiming that she wanted to practice her song for the wedding. Yoobin had excused herself to her room as well, explaining that she had a lot of work to do for a course she was taking. Apparently Yoobin was a graduate student in the literature program of some bigshot university. This left me, Handong, and Gahyeon free to do as we pleased. We ended up having tea together in the sunroom, chatting away. I was already close with Gahyeonie, but it was nice to get to know Handong better. I found out that she moved here because she wanted to be closer to Yoohyeon's family, who had all been so kind to her, and because there were a lot of great veterinary schools here. She was already cute enough without mentioning her love for animals. Handong was restoring my faith in humanity, and making me think that this wedding could actually be an enjoyable experience. At least I had met one nice person this week. My time getting to know her came to an end when the front door burst open.
"We're back! Who's ready for dinner and drinks by the pool?" Minji and Yoohyeon's voices chorused as they entered the house.
"Hooray! I've already got my favorite sundress on!" Gahyeon cheered, jumping up from the table.
Handong and I smiled at her eagerness and rose up from our seats more gracefully. I made sure to clear our dishes before anything else. No matter how much I disliked Yoohyeon, manners were manners. I wouldn't let my distaste for the hostess turn me into a heathen of a guest.
"Did I hear you say it's time for dinner? I'll be out in a moment. I just need to finish a few more pages of my required reading for class," Yoobin explained, poking her head out of her door.
"Ah, doing schoolwork while on vacation. You're such a nerd sometimes, Yoob," Yoohyeon teased.
"Be nice! She took time off her busy life as a student to be in our wedding. We should let her finish whatever she needs to. Plus, at least she's not locked away playing RPG games unlike a certain someone," Minji scolded playfully.
"Yeah, listen to your fiance! I'm glad you're marrying someone who makes up for your stupidity," Yoobin fired back, closing the door before Yoohyeon could retaliate.
Yoohyeon pouted at the sick burn she'd just received. Minji, Handong, and Gahyeon lost it laughing, and I couldn't help but smirk. Even though Yoobin didn't really mean it, it sure was satisfying to watch Yoohyeon get knocked down a peg.
"Ha ha, very funny. Let's all laugh at Yoohyeon. Anyways, has anybody seen Siyeon? I'm guessing she's in her room too. She's always been a bit of a homebody. I'll go check on her," Yoohyeon huffed, marching off.
Minutes later, Yoohyeon returned with Siyeon by her side. The latter looked like a ray of sunshine as usual, her eyes red and puffy. It was hard to tell whether this was because she had been napping, or because she'd been crying over Yoohyeon. Whichever it was, she was clearly annoyed about having been interrupted and being forced to interact with us all again. Minji could sense that she was unhappy, and like the angel she was, tried to take everyone's attention away from her.
"Perfect, now we're all here! Bora, I have been telling everybody what an amazing cook you are. Do you think you could make dinner tonight? I'm sorry to spring this on you, but Yoohyeon and I thought everyone would appreciate a home-cooked meal, and neither one of us is any good at making food. Would you mind?" Minji turned to me, giving me the adorable expression she always used to get her way.
She didn't have to resort to using the cute face (even though I fell for it every time), I actually didn't mind at all. It was a big boost to my ego knowing I was good at something that Yoohyeon wasn't. Considering how much Minji loves food, it was nice to know that my cooking was still special to her. They always say the quickest way to somebody's heart is through their stomach. Plus, cooking would give me an excuse to hide out alone in the kitchen and keep myself busy for a while. Even though this whole thing was becoming somewhat less terrible, I wouldn't say I was having the time of my life. Any excuse to avoid being in the same room as the soon-to-be newlyweds was welcome as far as I was concerned.
"It's no problem at all! I'd be happy to do it. Let me check out what's available in the kitchen, and I'll get started right away!" I assured her.
Minji clapped in excitement, and Gahyeon's mouth was practically watering already. Both of them had tasted my recipes many times, and were talking up my skills to the others. Maybe it was my fragile ego imagining it, but Yoohyeon looked a tad jealous of the praise I was receiving. Man, did it feel good to feel like the one on top for once. I wanted to keep standing there and revel in the glory, but I had a dinner to make.
~
Soon enough, the fruits of my labor were laid out on the table for everyone to enjoy. Not to toot my own horn, but I had really outdone myself this time. The scent wafting from the plate was irresistible. I could see everyone's eyes fixated on the meal before them. I beamed with pride as I served everyone my fabulous creation. It didn't take long at all for all of them to begin chowing down.
"Wow, it has been way too long since I last had your food. I didn't realize how much I missed it. This is way too delicious!" Minji complimented with a mouth full of food.
"It really is good. Thanks for making us dinner," Yoohyeon added, although her tone was much less enthusiastic.
"I'm glad you enjoy. I'm happy to cook for you whenever, although I may have to start charging you for it after a while," I joked.
Dinner went on without much conversation after that. Gahyeon and Minji were eating as if this was their last meal, Handong and Yoobin were being pleasant dinner guests, and Yoohyeon and Siyeon were picking at their food like pouty children. I tried not to pay much attention to any of them, and focused on my own plate.
Dinner eventually finished and after everything was put away, the real fun began. We had all had a drink or two with dinner, but Yoohyeon was ready to play bartender with the fancy setup by the pool. Yoobin had shot her down before she could do so, claiming that the drinks she mixed were almost poisonous. Apparently ratios were not her strong suit. Yoobin had actually worked as a bartender for a few years, and offered to do it instead. Yoohyeon was once again sulking like a dejected puppy as she watched someone else get all of the glory.
I had not yet decided how I felt about Yoobin, but it was hard not to like a person giving you alcohol. Her drink-making skills were pretty impressive, and instantly made her much cooler. Even though I was ready to wrestle somebody for a drink, I hung back and let her serve the other girls first. I even let Siyeon go ahead of me. If there was one person in this place who needed a drink more than me, it was that girl. I watched her inhale whatever Yoobin had mixed for her, probably trying to speed up the process as much as possible. I was quick to chug my own drink, hoping that Yoobin had been generous with the alcoholic portion.
"Wow, looks like Siyeon and Bora are ready to have a good time tonight! Bottoms up, everybody!" Minji squealed, shotgunning her drink.
"Sweetie, I don't know if it's a good idea for us to stay out too late. We have a lot to take care of tomorrow morning, and the tailor will be coming after that. We'll want to look and feel our best for the final dress fitting," Yoohyeon objected, putting her hand on her fiance's shoulder.
Leave it to the girl built like a stick to be an actual stick in the mud. She had a point though, those two were under a lot of pressure this week, and getting wasted on the first night was probably not the best idea. It wasn't just those two who needed to be prudent about their drinking. The bridal shower was the day after tomorrow, and Handong and Gahyeon would probably want to be in the right mindset to finalize the plans for that. I could see both of them sipping their drinks cautiously. Yoobin had said flatout that she prefers serving drinks over having them herself, and was abstaining from any alcohol until the bachelorette party. It looked like Siyeon and I would be on our own if we wanted to drown our sorrows in whatever Yoohyeon's family stocked in the poolside bar.
"Okay, fine, you're right. I'll just have one more drink and then we can head to bed," Minji conceded.
Yoohyeon smiled, "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of chances to party this week. Everybody, Minji and I will be out handling some more wedding stuff, but you're free to have breakfast whenever you'd like tomorrow morning. We'll meet you all in the parlor at noon, and the tailor will make any final adjustments on your dresses. Good night, and thanks once again for coming!" she announced once she and Minji had finished their final drinks for the night.
"Handong, we should get to bed early too. We can finish getting everything ready for the shower tomorrow morning while they're gone," Gahyeon whispered once the brides-to-be were inside.
Handong nodded, and the two bid us all good night and went away. Yoobin shrugged and looked at Siyeon and I, who were both content to keep drinking.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna head in with the others. It's getting kinda cold out here, and I have some more reading to do for my classes. Not to be rude or anything, but please try to take it easy tonight, okay? I'm sure you're both capable of handling yourselves, but as a bartender I've seen it all. Just remember that we have a lot to do tomorrow, and none of it will be fun with a hangover," she warned us before heading in.
I found myself glaring holes into Yoobin's retreating figure. Was she seriously trying to lecture us about responsible drinking? Just when I was starting to like her too. I should have figured that anyone who could be best friends with Yoohyeon for her entire life was just as annoying. Once she was inside, I turned to Siyeon. She had been silent this whole time, probably counting on me to go to bed as well, and leave her alone with the booze. Too bad, buttercup. You're not the only one with sorrows that needed to be numbed with liquor. I could already feel what I'd had so far start to take effect, but that wasn't going to stop me from having a lot more. I was a big girl and could handle myself.
I scoffed, "Can you believe her? I'm Minji's best friend, for crying out loud! I would never do anything to ruin the best week of her life. A few drinks never hurt anybody," I insisted.
Siyeon smirked, "They may not hurt anybody, but in your case, they sure seem to work fast. You're pretty tiny, I suppose it makes sense that you'd be such a lightweight. You should probably head to bed soon," she pointed out.
Her words made me see red. For starters, she was probably lying so that I would let her have the bar to herself. Second of all, where did she get off thinking she could be so condescending? She hardly spoke a word all day to anybody, and suddenly she wants to mock my size and treat me like a kid getting drunk for the first time? I was pretty sure I was older than her, that brat. Not to mention, she sure didn't seem to think of my ass as a "tiny thing" when she was ogling me in the dressing room earlier. For most of today, I had had to play nice because there was an audience, but now that it was just the two of us, and alcohol was involved, she would get the full experience of my wrath. I stormed over to the bar and yanked one of the open bottles of liquor off the counter. I marched back over to where she was sitting, and slammed it hard on the table. The forcefulness of the action startled her. She had been used to seeing the forced-to-be-polite Bora, now it was time for the real Bora to come out to play, and she was a real bitch sometimes.
"You know what? I'm real sick of your attitude, and I'm even more sick of pretending to be okay with the load of bullshit I've had to face since getting here. Obviously I know what's bothering me, but it has been driving me crazy trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with you. Both of us clearly need to take our minds off of something, so how about you shut up and we finish this bottle together? This isn't my first rodeo, I'll have you know. I've gotten wasted more times than I can count, and have handled plenty of critical life moments while recovering from the effects of alcohol. I get the vibe that you've done the same, so what's stopping us? A hangover can't make tomorrow any worse than it's already going to be," I ranted.
Siyeon blinked, stunned by my outburst. Once the initial shock wore off, Siyeon grabbed the bottle and took a generous swig. It seemed like she was on board with my plan to get wasted and forget our troubles. Pleased with her cooperation, I took the bottle from her and drank from it after she was done. We were beyond the point of using glasses now. The ones we had been using were probably expensive, and the last thing I needed was to owe Yoohyeon's family anything if we broke one. Besides, Siyeon didn't seem to be carrying any weird mouth diseases or lip fungi. In fact, I found her lips rather nice.
Time passed, and with each sip, Siyeon and I found ourselves loosening up more and more. I had actually managed to get her to give me a genuine smile, and made her laugh too. I did not expect such a cutesy giggle to come from someone with such a tough exterior. She could wear all the leather she wanted, but being happy suited her way more than this angsty act. I found myself warming up to her, even though it was probably just the alcohol warming my insides. The two of us were having a grand time sitting by the pool, sharing the massive bottle of liquor and erupting into laughter over the silliest things. Our conversations were becoming more and more nonsensical, but we were still having a blast. Siyeon hit my arm excitedly as some random thought struck her drunken mind.
"I gotta admit, I didn't think I was gonna like anybody here except Yoohyeon, but you're alright, you know that? I actually wanna tell you something. You can't tell anybody, okay?" she prefaced, slurring her words and staring into my eyes intensely.
I clumsily placed my hand over what I thought was my heart.
"I'll take your secret to my grave, cross my heart and hope to die. See? See my heart?" I giggled, grabbing her hand and putting it on my "heart" (which in hindsight had probably been my boob).
Siyeon grinned, "Wow, you have a nice heart, madame," she declared with a squeeze before removing her hand and continuing, "so, uh, what was I saying? Right, I was gonna tell you my secret," she leaned in to whisper in my ear, exhibiting the typical drunk person's sense of personal space.
I, being just as drunk, did not notice nor care how close she was. Instead, I leaned in as well, eager to hear what she had to say. She was practically nibbling on my earlobe as she kept talking.
"I'm in love with Yoohyeon," she confessed before clumsily pulling away from me and putting a finger in front of her lips.
"I knew it! That's why you were so grumpy all day!" I shouted, jumping up and pointing at her.
She frowned at me, "Shh, keep your voice down! Everybody's sleeping, and I told you it's a secret!" she hissed.
"Whoopsies," I giggled, falling back to the ground.
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I have a secret too," I told her, "I'm in love with Minji! Isn't that funny, how each one of us is in love with one of the brides?" I snickered as I grabbed her hands.
Siyeon's eyes widened. The expression of pure shock on her face was so innocent it made me want to pinch her cheeks. She seemed genuinely stunned that I had the same problem as her.
"Wait a minute, if we both like Yoohyeon and Minji, maybe we should team up! We could get them to realize that they're making a mistake and that each one of them should be with us!" she gasped.
I stared at her, trying to decipher what she meant. Was she telling me she wanted to try and break them up? Even my hammered self knew that was a bad idea. What good could possibly come from destroying my best friend's marriage?
"What are you on about? Are you telling me you want to join forces and get them to call off the wedding? That's totally bonkers, dude! Minji's my best friend!" I chuckled.
Siyeon frowned when I started laughing at her. Clearly, I had hurt her feelings. She clasped her hands together and shrunk away from me, looking completely dejected. It made me feel a smidge guilty.
"Forget it, it was a stupid idea. I'm sorry," she apologized.
Actually, there was a small part of me that was drawn to what she had said. The thought of having Minji to myself was almost too good to be true. In my drunken state, I found myself falling prey to my own selfish desires. The next thing I said was something that was about to change the lives of many people over the course of this week.
"It may be a stupid idea, but I'm not sure I'm all that opposed to it. I mean, I don't think Yoohyeon is right for Minji, and it seems that you feel the same way vice-versa. Maybe we'd be doing them a favor if we split them up. We'd be saving them from a potentially miserable life together and messy divorce later on," I reasoned.
Siyeon's face lit up.
"Exactly! Yoohyeon and I are meant to be together, we're soulmates! Plus, it seems like you really care about Minji, and you two have known each other forever. You'd make her happier than anybody else ever could," she insisted.
I grinned, "Well then, madame, it looks like we have ourselves a deal. Tonight let us celebrate the formation of a beautiful alliance! Let us drink to our newly generated bond!" I declared, handing the bottle to Siyeon after taking a generous swig.
At this point, we were both too drunk to be responsible for anything we said or did. Siyeon took the last sip and tossed the now empty bottle into the sky. It landed in the pool with a splash, reducing us to a mess of giggles. I dove in after our lost treasure, and Siyeon chose to follow my actions. The two of us bobbed our heads up after landing in the water, turning to stare at each other. I lost it laughing at Siyeon's wet hair that clung to her face like seaweed. Siyeon, offended by my laughter, splashed me in retaliation. This prompted me to jump on her back and playfully tickle her, which caused her to squeal and squirm in my grasp. There we were, two drunken idiots roughhousing in the pool, not thinking about the fact that everything that had taken place on this night was irreversible. Come tomorrow morning, everything would be different between Siyeon and I, as well as everybody else involved in this wedding.