Have you ever been whacked in the head repeatedly with a blunt object and then hit by a train on top of it? If you have, then you might be able to understand how I felt the following morning. While numbing your pain with liquor may seem pleasurable, the hangover you wake up with is a brutal punishment. How I made it back into my bed was beyond me, but the smell of chlorine wafting off of my body hinted that I spent some time in the guest house pool before heading to my room. Honestly, everything after I started drinking was a blur. I felt that someone had been with me, but it was beyond me who it was or what we did. Waking up alone was a good sign that nothing too disastrous had happened. Accidentally sleeping with a member of the wedding party or someone from Yoohyeon's family would have made this week even worse than it already was.
Suddenly, there was an urgent knock coming from my bedroom door. I groaned and sunk deeper into the covers. My head was still pounding, and I felt pretty nauseous. The last thing I wanted to do was face the world of the living. Unfortunately, it looked like I wouldn't have much of a choice. Whoever was bothering me took my silence as their cue to burst inside.
"You're still not up yet? The tailor's gonna be here in twenty minutes! Geez, what did you do last night? You smell like a watered down distillery!" Gahyeon yelled, holding her nose when she caught a whiff of me.
"Crap, the tailor! I totally forgot. Minji's gonna kill me! Twenty minutes should be enough time to take a quick shower and get dressed. Thanks for coming to get me," I jumped into action despite my impaired state.
I dragged myself towards the nearest bathroom as fast as I could. On my way, I noticed Siyeon emerging from her room. I'm sure I looked like no picnic myself, but she looked like hell. Based on her disastrous state, I figured that she must have been my drinking buddy last night. She must have been much easier to deal with when drunk, because we clearly did some damage. Maybe she would have a better recollection of what we did. Sometimes ignorance was bliss when it came to drunken shenanigans, but given my current situation, I was wary of what I might have said or done. I didn't want to take any chances. As we crossed paths, we each gave the other a curt nod and headed our separate ways. Asking her would have to wait-I needed to gear myself up for this damn tailor's appointment.
~
Where there's a will there's a way, and that is my only explanation for how I survived the meeting with the tailor. Minji and Yoohyeon were as chipper as ever, overflowing with excitement as they welcomed her in. They were so excited that the entire conversation happened at an earsplitting volume. If that weren't bad enough, I had to watch Yoobin look at me with a face that screamed "I told you so" for the entire appointment. Curse her and her powers of observation. I wondered what gave me away. Perhaps it was my inability to stand up straight, or my look of pure exhaustion and misery. Either way, the bitch was right and she knew it. At least the brides were oblivious to what was ailing me. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I had disappointed Minji during her big week. I had really blown it by being so selfish. I would just have to deal with the consequences of my actions and not let it ruin things for her. On the bright side, misery loves company, and Siyeon was right there suffering beside me. She looked like she might keel over at any moment.
"Well, that should take care of everything. It looks like all loose ends are tied up, and everyone's dresses fit them like a glove. I must say, you lot make a beautiful bridal party. I wish you all the best for the big day. Cheers!" the tailor declared before exiting with a flourish.
Minji and Yoohyeon escorted her to the front door, giving me a chance to fall to the floor in relief. It sure was a blessing to be out of that damned dress. I would normally be grateful that Minji considered my figure worthy of something so tight, but not when I was recovering from a rough night. Between the harsh lighting of the fitting room, and the discomfort of the material, it was a miracle I didn't yack all over the tailor while she was cinching everything in place.
"Thanks, guys, that couldn't have gone any better. I'm sure the shower tomorrow will be just as amazing. This is the best week ever!" Minji cheered, causing both me and Siyeon to wince.
"Sorry to keep leaving you guys, but we still have some some more to take care of. My family invited us to afternoon tea to discuss the remaining details. Do you all mind if we skip out for the afternoon? I promise we'll be back as soon as possible and we can all do something fun tonight," Yoohyeon explained, taking Minji's hands in hers.
"That won't be a problem at all. Handong and I can use that as our chance to finish setting up for the shower. We didn't want you guys to see any of the surprises we have planned," Gahyeon assured her with a grin.
Minji clapped her and Yoohyeon's hands, "I'm so excited to see what you guys come up with! I'm sure it will be brilliant. Yoobin, Siyeon, Bora, you guys are okay with us heading out too, right?" she directed her question at the three of us who had yet to weigh in on the matter.
"Yeah, it's fine," Siyeon muttered, clearly lacking the energy to say much else.
I chose to just nod, exerting myself as little as possible.
"I think we could all use this chance to rest. After all, it's gonna be a busy week. I would love the chance to keep working on my coursework," Yoobin added, looking at Siyeon and I as she spoke.
"Very good! We'll see you guys later. Thank you for being so understanding. We look forward to spending more time with you!" Yoohyeon proclaimed before she and Minji headed off.
Once they were out the door, Gahyeon and Handong set to work on finalizing things for the shower. Thankfully, they insisted that they were basically done and wouldn't be needing any additional help. I might have actually exploded if I had to use my brain much more in its current state. With the two of them gone, Yoobin was left to stare Siyeon and I down with a look I knew all too well. She was about to chew us out with the classic, protective best friend speech. I had given it myself many times on Minji's behalf, so I knew what was coming.
"Do you two have anything to say for yourselves? I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt if this is a one-time thing, but Yoohyeon's my best friend, and I'm not gonna let you abuse her family's hospitality or ruin her wedding week. If I'm not mistaken, you and Minji have a similar relationship, Bora. I'm surprised I even have to give you this lecture. As for you, Siyeon, I know about your problematic history, but Yoohyeon has never had a bad thing to say about you. She has full faith in you as a person, you should at least try and live up to her expectations. You're lucky that today went well. I hope you two will think twice before doing anything else stupid that might jeopardize this week. Remember that this isn't about either one of you, it's about Minji and Yoohyeon. You should be putting them first instead of yourselves. Anyways, I'm gonna head to my room, see you later," Yoobin stated before giving us one last glare and exiting the premises.
"She really wants me to hate her, doesn't she? Put Minji first, does she not know that's what I've been doing ever since we became friends?" I grumbled from where I was still laying on the floor.
Siyeon snorted, "Yoobin's always been like this when it comes to Yoohyeon. I remember when Yoohyeon introduced us back in undergrad. She saw me light one cigarette and thought I was the devil incarnate or something. She acts like one of those moms in horror movies from the seventies," she chuckled, grimacing at the pain caused by the action.
Perhaps it was from our newfound solidarity in our shared state of misery, but I found myself laughing with her. Soon both of us were reduced to groaning pathetically, our hangovers taking their toll. Siyeon had joined me on the floor, unable to tolerate standing any longer.
"You know, I'm glad we get a moment alone. I was wondering if you remember anything that happened last night. I have a feeling you're the one I was drinking with since we're the only ones who look and feel like death. I have a vague recollection of downing some kind of bottle, and I know we went swimming because this morning I smelled like a waterpark mixed with booze," I turned to look in her eyes as I spoke.
Siyeon frowned, "Sorry, I was actually hoping to ask you the same thing. I don't even know how I made it back in one piece. All I can tell you is that yesterday sucked enough, but today was ten times worse. At least this time, I wasn't the only one who was miserable though," she admitted.
Something about her words activated something inside me. Despite being wasted last night, it seemed that I was able to recall bits and pieces of the night's events. What did us being miserable together have to do with whatever shenanigans we got into? It seemed like we had made some sort of promise or deal. Maybe if I brought this up, it would jog Siyeon's memory as well and she could help me fill in the missing pieces.
"Say, Siyeon, now that you mention it, I think I remember us coming up with some kind of arrangement. Granted, drunk people come up with stupid ideas all the time, but that's what's standing out to me about last night. Does this ring a bell with you?" I pondered, scratching my chin.
Then I remembered yesterday's events before alcohol was involved. Siyeon's terrible mood and cold behavior towards everyone and everything. Her expression when she was helping Yoohyeon with her dress, and the way her entire demeanor changed when she was watching her. I had been wondering about her relationship with the woman about to marry my best friend, maybe we had discussed it in our drunken state. Did that mean that my feelings for Minji had come to light as well? My eyes widened as the puzzle began to finish itself. It looked like Siyeon's thoughts had followed a similar course, because we ended up staring at each other in shock.
"I'm gonna seriously regret even bringing this up if I'm wrong, but did we conspire to break up the wedding?" I finally broke the silence.
"I think we did. There's probably also a special place in hell being reserved for us as we speak," she confirmed.
"Oh my god, I'm the worst best friend in the universe. I don't deserve to be in the same room with Minji, let alone be in her wedding," I groaned.
"Relax, you were just really, really drunk. Alcohol makes everybody lose control. Just because you said that stuff after downing a bottle of hard liquor doesn't mean that you would ever actually do it," Siyeon tried to comfort me.
"Yeah, but does that change the fact that both of us admitted to being in love with one of the brides? Face it, that alone is already bad enough," I countered.
Siyeon shrugged, "As much as I wish we could, we can't take any of it back. Why don't we just pretend this never happened?" she suggested.
My eyes narrowed, "Wait a minute, you only applied the stuff about being too drunk to actually go through with the plan to me. Does that mean you're actually gonna try to sabotage my best friend's wedding? Are you trying to get me to play dumb and let you off the hook?" I demanded.
Siyeon sighed, "Look, I know you probably think I'm the worst, but I can't pretend to be happy for them. Maybe if you knew my story, you'd understand where I'm coming from. Yoohyeon and I have history, and I can't lie to myself about my feelings for her. How could I possibly pretend to be okay with her marrying someone she met a few months ago in another country? You've gotta be in a similar boat when it comes to Minji. I mean come on, you've been her best friend since childhood! How are you gonna let her get away?" she argued.
"It's because I'm her best friend that I can't do anything to ruin her happiness, no matter how I feel," I insisted.
She shook her head, "If you ask me, you're just hiding behind that excuse because you're afraid of what you really feel. I said that alcohol makes people lose control, but it also reveals their true intentions. Face it, what you said last night is everything you're trying to run away from. Unlike you, I intend to embrace what I'm feeling. You miss every shot you don't take, and right now you're letting the person you claim to love get away. You know, you never told me the full story of how you fell for her. Maybe if you did, you'd see what you giving up if you let her go through with this wedding. Why don't you tell me all about it now? We've got plenty of time," she offered with a smirk.
Maybe it was the hangover, but I found myself too exhausted to protest any longer. Siyeon's words were starting to affect me, and I found myself actually wanting to continue the conversation. She had a point, I had a habit of putting aside my feelings when it came to Minji. I am one of the most outspoken people I know, but my love for my best friend was the one thing that made me zip my lips. Perhaps telling someone about it would set me free. Besides, I was dying to hear about this "history" Siyeon had mentioned. Between Yoobin's words about her problematic past, and Siyeon's determination to break up this marriage, my curiosity was insatiable. At the very least, this would buy me some time to figure out what to do. If Siyeon was as hellbent on sabotaging the wedding as she seemed, I needed to gather information to decide on the best course of action. As awful as it sounded, I wasn't sure whether stopping Siyeon would be the right thing to do or not. Besides, she could always use the events of last night against me. I had to be careful.
"Alright, fine, let's go to my room and we can keep chatting. The floor of a changing room is not what I'd call an ideal spot to talk. We should go somewhere with more privacy. I'm not telling you anything without getting something in return, though. I'll dish my history with Minji, only if you enlighten me about your past as well. Maybe if we know more about each other, we can reach some kind of agreement on this entire issue. Sound like a deal?" I compromised.
Siyeon smirked, "That sounds perfectly fair. Now then, who's up for some girl talk?" she snickered, getting up and offering a hand to help me up.
The two of us made our way to my bedroom, shutting the door and locking it tight. Everything that was about to be said needed to stay between us, at least for now.