MY shoulder has been tingling ever since last night and I don't know whether it was a good sign or not. All I can think of is at least it's not stinging or anything, so that would mean all bad signs would be crossed out, right?
Months have passed and the day of the wedding has come. In between the many days, Seonghwa and San were discharged from the hospital a week after they woke up respectively. The younger took longer than his cousin to regain consciousness, almost a week later but when he did, San really had to put up a pretty... interesting... show.
That day, Wooyoung and I were visiting Seonghwa and Yoonjin who was staying at a relative's house nearby. It was nearing lunch time and Yoonjin was almost done in the kitchen with her cooking. Wooyoung and I were keeping Seonghwa company. He was to go through rehab for his difficulty in walking and had just started his first session that week, telling us the story of how the therapist was a chatty old lady with a pencil stuck in her bun.
Just before I could get up and help Yoonjin with the table set-up, the landline rang. Yoonjin answered and not a second after placing the telephone down, she was out the door with her coat flying behind her.
"Mum! Where are you going?" Seonghwa called as Wooyoung wheeled him out into the hallway just as Yoonjin rushed by.
"San!"
Immediately, Seonghwa tried to scramble off his wheelchair to catch up with his mother. Thankfully, he was held down by Wooyoung and the older shot him a glare.
"You're injured!" Wooyoung scolded him and slapped his uninjured shoulder lightly.
"But San!"
"You literally have Wooyoung to push you on your wheelchair, San isn't going anywhere," I remember myself saying and took Seonghwa's jacket off the back of the couch before handing it off to him. "Come on, let's go."
Just like a normal person would, we rushed to the hospital. Yoonjin told us the doctors didn't say a specific reason as to why we were needed there; all we were given was a "please come quickly". A million possible occurrence could've happened, we needed to be sure. Yoonjin was about to ask what exactly but the line cut off before she could say anything further.
And of course, after all that trouble of getting Seonghwa to calm down and rushing to the hospital, we found San sulking on his bed with his arms crossed. "You guys are mean, when Seonghwa hyung woke up, you were all there and when I did you guys were not," I remember him say with a pout.
That resulted him into possibly gaining a bruise when Seonghwa reached out to him and pinched his arm out of annoyance.
I still find myself snickering at San's weird stunt as I pull on the tan coloured blazer over my shoulder.
As I find that today is still pretty breezy and chilly, I resort to a more simpler yet comfortable look. San joked about me showing up to the wedding in an extravagant dress that I managed to snitch from a prom dress shop or something (I wonder just how he got that idea... but it sounds like something I would do, just not at this wedding) whereas Yeosang told him I'd come in a hotdog suit if I could. I can't deny anything though, both sound very tempting.
Not this wedding, somewhere deep inside of me says I need to make a good impression, not an... authentic... impression.
The second I slip my feet into my heels (trust me, it pains me to think I'll be wearing this the whole day), there is a series of knocks on my door and I immediately know it's Seonghwa. After doing last minute checks of the stove (and anything that can potentially burn the house down), I open the door.
"Hi," he says, leaning on the wall. At this I frown.
"Hwa, where are your crutches?" I ask him as he pushes himself off the wall with a huge grin on his face.
"I'm strong enough. It doesn't hurt anymore, remember?" I hear him say as I lock the door behind me.
"Yeah but..."
"Don't worry; I'm getting better. I ran from the front door to mum's car to get her groceries yesterday..." he snickers smugly, "... in the rain."
My jaw drops. "I hope your hip is fine."
Seonghwa waves me off as he brushes his back (or what he can reach of his back anyway). "Eh, it's okay... now," he places his hands on my shoulders, "you look beautiful, by the way. When did you get this dress, the blazer fits too... I swear I've never seen this befo―don't kick my shin!"
I pause in the middle of retracting my leg. Seonghwa sheepishly giggles, "don't even try. I know what you're gonna do, besides, I'm not lying."
My eyes squint at him for a moment before walking ahead of him to the elevators (obviously to hide the apparent rosiness on my cheeks but let's pretend Seonghwa doesn't already know). I hear him laugh behind me, telling me to wait for him.
"You didn't even greet me properly," he says once he's caught up by the elevators. There's a pout to his voice and honestly, could I even get mad? Was I even mad in the first place?
So I turn and face him properly for the first time. Oh wow.
Seonghwa wears a fitting olive green tux (olive green, wow) that coincidentally matches in tone with the colours I'm wearing. He wears a black dress shirt underneath and I snicker at the shiny silver tie around his neck. Instead of the usually windswept locks he'd wear on a normal day, his hair is now styled to loop around his forehead. It would be an understatement if I said he looks good because... just seeing him like that makes me stare in awe.
The man in front of me grins, noticing that I've been gazing for a second too long. "You like?" he asks then proceeds to point at his crown of hair, "I did this Seonghoon-style. Cool huh? Mum helped me do it, San said I look ridiculous but you don't think so... right?"
The elevator dings and the doors slide open.
"Personally, I like Juyoung's hairstyle better," I mutter loud enough so that Seonghwa could hear. We both step into the elevator and I see Seonghwa's reflection on the mirrors on the elevator walls. He frowns a little and I can tell he's holding back from saying something.
The door closes after Seonghwa presses the 'G' button. At his still sullen look, I laugh, taking his hand in mine and swings them back and forth. "I like this on you, Juyoung can never pull this off," I say.
"DoN't Kick mY sHiN," I jokingly tease him, realising he's now biting the inside of his cheeks to hide the visible red creeping up his neck.
"Don't say that," he mumbles. "I wasn't going to kick your shin."
"Yeah but you're about to do something."
"It's a win-win for you and me, and like you said I didn't greet you properly so..." I squeeze his hand a little tighter, feeling the sinking feeling the elevator makes as we make our way down the building. "Good morning, hello, you look amazing today. Don't listen to San."
Seonghwa leans down and plants a small kiss on the top of my head.
San's and Seonghwa's uncle goes by the name of Park Jongha. He's a lively person; bright and bubbly and just like the two cousins, anyone could tell he was a man of his looks. The procession doesn't start until half an hour from now and despite that pretty long while, Park Jongha doesn't seem to be nervous at all. As if today wasn't his wedding day.
When Seonghwa and I arrive at the venue (a small hidden cliff-edged gorge at a secluded beach; there is a big carnation of flowers at the altar and rows of seats with a long white carpet going through the middle―simple yet elegant), Park Jongha greets us with a wide smile and a big laugh.
"Seonghwa!" his voice booms, "you must be Hyeshin! Come, come, everyone's excited to meet you!"
"Uncle Jongha, aren't you supposed to be preparing?" Seonghwa asks, following right behind his uncle. "You're not supposed to be running around right now!"
"Hush, watching people like this is fun," Jongha waves his hand airily, "Hyeshin! You're Seonghwa's junior in uni, am I correct?"
"Oh?" I tilt my head to the side, "how did you know?"
"Merely guessing," Jongha joyously shrugs, "so I'm right?"
"Yeah, I'm a year below him," I answer him. Jongha's expression is curious.
"Ah! Like Sani?"
"Yeah! But San takes English, I do Fine Arts," then I look around the venue, "wow, this is an amazing place. Where did you find this?"
Jongha chuckles giddily. "This place was a place Hana and I went to on our... uh... third date? I'm not quite sure. But we discovered this place entirely by accident; that day we were supposed to have a date elsewhere but my car broke down just by the road up there so while waiting for the tow truck to pick us up, we did a little bit of wandering."
"Enough of me. Where has Seonghwa taken you on your dates?"
Both Seonghwa and I choke on air, not expecting a question as such.
At our reaction, Jongha quirks his eyebrows mischievously. "How long have you been together? I hear the talks between you and all your cousins, you know, Park Seonghwa."
"A few months, but we've known each other for almost a year already," Seonghwa defeatedly says. "Uncle, isn't it best if you―"
"―wATCH OUT!!"
A stray ball flies by our field of view, very narrowly missing Jongha's head. From the side, we hear a series of rushed footsteps and sounding a little muffled due to the sand. There is San, calling after a child, still on his crutches. There's another boy, maybe a little younger than San but older than the child, he too was calling after the kid.
"SORRY UNCLE!" San yells and his voice a little distorted due to the wind.
"MINJUN DID IT!" the other older kid cries.
"IT WAS THE WIND!" the child―Minjun―runs after the ball.
"You kicked it!"
Jongha, who had previously been watching the banter with amusement, loops his arm around the younger teen's arm and watches the child run after the ball. "Now, now, save the yelling for later when the wind's not taking over you," he muses.
San finally catches up, cursing his leg as he almost trips face first on to the floor. "I hate this," we hear him murmur, drawing circles into the sand with the tip of his crutch, "this sorry excuse of a walking stick keeps going under the sand―what is this, I asked for walking stick not a sinking stick."
"At least you have a pair of crutches," Seonghwa points out, in which San gives an exaggerated eye roll at.
He lifts up his injured arm, wrapped in the cast full of multicoloured scribbles. "Not when you have this, my dear cousin."
"Ah, seriously, Hyeshin, how do you keep up with him?"
I snicker.
"Anyways, I have to go, you better be ready too in a bit," Jongha then smiles at me, "it was nice meeting you, Hyeshin, you should come to our gatherings more often!"
I rub the back of my neck sheepishly, "you too."
With that, Jongha jogs along the sand toward the row of seats as a person calls him. Now, the four of us are left; Seonghwa, San, (I assume) their other cousin and I.
"For a second there I thought he'd never leave," the cousin comments. Every pair of our eyes follow Jongha (who now seem to finally get the idea of his wedding day knocked into his head) and laugh at his (frustrated?) laugh in the distance.
Wedding day jitters, I shudder.
"Oh! That's right― Hyeshin, this is our cousin Jongho," Seonghwa gestures to the teen. Jongho flashes me a boyish gummy smile. "That over there is Minjun, Jongho's brother and gets in trouble a lot."
"Your name is similar to your uncle's," I point out.
Jongho shrugs, "I guess it is. My dad liked Uncle's name so he twisted it? I think that's how I got the name."
"Since what time were you guys here?" I ask as we walk together to the seats as more people start to arrive and are taking their seats.
"Since it was too early to function," San blatantly answers then groans, "Hwa hyung got to go later because he was picking you up, I wanted to come but everyone said no."
"That's because they knew you'd probably wander off somewhere," Jongho snorts. San's jaw drops.
"Shut up, you don't know everything."
"But I do."
"Well then, shut up, I'm older."
"Don't play that card on me, I'm gonna get your serving of the wedding cake," Jongho threatens his cousin, wiggling a finger to his face before walking ahead. "I'm going, bye. Hyeshin noona I hope you stay sane."
"Jongho I will not hesitate to throw you to Mercury!"
"Not to burst your bubble or anything, San, but if anything, instead of him you'll be the one catapulted to Jupiter," Seonghwa chuckles and San huffs in annoyance.
We both watch them leave, still engrossed in a meaningless banter.
"Come, let's find you a seat," Seonghwa tells me.
I meet Yoonjin as soon as we get to the wedding aisle and she invites me to sit near the front along with the rest of the family. She tells me that Jongha is her youngest brother and that he'd been chasing his very-soon-to-be wife ever since they were in high school. That's why I'm sitting in between her, San's mother as well as their grandmother who sits two chairs away from me.
The day is sunny, the atmosphere is beautiful. Today, the sky is full of wispy clouds and seagulls dance across it. We are at the bottom of the gorge, two cliffs enclosing the beach at an almost majestic stand. It's windy, a perfectly toned salty air that brings in the waves in soft rolls. Apart from us, nobody else was there. It's serene, picture perfect, I'm convinced there are no better places to hold a wedding. Yoonjin tells me all about how she agrees.
"Where's Seonghwa?" I ask her.
"He's one of Jongha's groomsmen, so is San," Yoonjin tells me before fixing her posture on her chair.
I nod. So that's why they both got fitted into their suit; wearing the same colour and design.
"I'm so glad you could make it today," Seonghwa's mother leans in closer to speak more easily, "you look amazing, as always."
"Thank you," I say, feeling a light blush dust my cheeks, "so do you."
Yoonjin laughs airily, "well, I did put some effort into my look today. Oh! I also did Hwa's hair, do you like it? He said it was uh... something did in the style of... oh Lord I forgot the name."
"Park Seonghoon?" I grin.
The woman next to me claps her hand in recognition of the name, "ah!! Yes!! The B-TEEZ member he talks about often. Do you like it?"
"I think it suits him," I say honestly, "I think it's a job well done."
"Don't tell him I said this but this morning when I asked him why he wanted to style his hair, he said he wanted to impress you."
I freeze. Impress? Inside, I laugh internally. Why did he think he needs to put an effort to impress me, someone who gets impressed by literally everything? The picture of Seonghwa begging his mother to style his hair that way early in the morning pops up in my brain. I chuckle, he's so adorable.
"Quit the blushing, Hyeshin, you know he does it to impress," Yoonjin playfully scoffs and if anything, that makes me want to drown myself even more.
"I'm not blushing," I mutter, slumping on my chair, "it's just a bit hot."
"As you say!" Yoonjin sing-songs. "OH! It's starting! I'm so excited!"
I almost flinch when Yoonjin suddenly grabs my hand, clutching it tightly as she squirms on her seat in excitement. When I do turn around to face forward on my seat, the groom walks to the podium, followed by his groomsmen and best man.
Seonghwa stands there, next to San, who stands next to Jongho and a few other men dressed in similar coloured tuxes. His hair is a little tousled due to the beach wind, it's cute how he tries to blow them away from his eyes. Maybe he needed a little bit more hairspray. His eyes search mine and when they meet, he grins so wide.
"Hi," he mouths.
A certain fluttery feeling builds up in my stomach.
"Hi," I gush back.
Yoonjin nudges me teasingly, but I try to ignore her.
San makes my way into my field of view my knocking his head to Seonghwa's. "Don't ignore me!" he whisper-shouts.
"Hi San," I roll my eyes.
He grins in satisfaction.
Then, the wedding march plays and all of our heads turn to the back of the aisle. Jongha's bride appears from behind a few screens and I feel Yoonjin's hand tighten around mine. I can't help but let out an excited squeal too―she looks so beautiful.
All eyes are on Hana and how she walks the aisle with the most meaningful smile I've seen. Her eyes are glossed over, as if trying to prevent her tears from falling and her hand gripping her father's arm tightly. If she was nervous, she doesn't show any of it.
When she gets to the podium, I see Jongha biting his bottom lip. His hands shake as he takes hers and the gazes they hold with each other are so filled with love and endearment, it's almost too cute to watch.
However, my heart almost drops out of its place in my chest when suddenly, the view of Jongha and Hana distorts into a flash of Seonghwa and I. My eyes blink rapidly and the image turns back into the couple. I quickly chase the thoughts away, tearing my eyes off Hana and Jongha, looking elsewhere. Though I can not say the thought didn't make me feel warm inside because it did and a part of me wishes that some day it would really be real.
For the rest of the ceremony, I couldn't quite meet Seonghwa's eyes the same way. My mark burns and I'm not sure if those are some form of intense tingles or a cooling wave.
+
hi good day heuhue something (hopefully) cute to make your day<33 also there are so many time skips in this story like i cant even JKSHFJDSJF but its essential to the storyline if i don't want to bore you with 100+ chapterskjs (oh and i think ill only be able to update once a fortnight sjfhds its sad ik but im trying my best aaaaa)
anyways, if you havent done it today, pls stream<3
oof my man on the thumbnail looking fine aaaaaa god i love sani so much<33
p.s. OH IF ANY STAYS ARE READING THIS SKJDSFK i have a new thing called 'skittles with legz' hehe you can check that out oof