#who apparently ruined a girls honor and left her at the altar when she was engaged to someone else | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inyournightmares97 · 6 years

Text

The Seventh Wedding

Part of the Thirsty Days of September series, a collaboration with @ijustwantacue. Find her version here!

It took Choi Youngjae seven weddings to fall in love with you.

Genre: Pure fluff.

Word Count: 15k+

Nobody knows how long it takes to fall in love. Some people think a few seconds is enough, others say it is a matter of weeks, while still others believe that you can’t really be in love until you’ve known the person for at least six months.

If you asked Choi Youngjae, he would tell you that it took him seven weddings.

Wedding Number One: Mark

The first time Youngjae saw you was at Mark’s wedding. It was a deliberately fancy affair considering that Mark had made a small fortune through his enterprising business and his wife to-be was equally rich. The young couple had spared no expense. They had hired an enormous outdoor garden locale which had stone fountains, lush beds of green, beautiful flower beds and a little river that flowed through it with a stone bridge.

In such a romantic place, almost anyone could be persuaded to fall in love.

Mark had reluctantly agreed to let Jackson be his best man. After all, the couple had only met due to Jackson’s convenient interference. It was at one of Jackson Wang’s wild and raving parties that Mark had first met the woman he would eventually grow to love and marry, which meant Jackson had been walking around with a puffed-out chest and a painfully arrogant attitude while telling anyone within earshot that he was responsible for this entire marriage. It was only amusing for the first two weeks. It got progressively more difficult as Jackson shirked even the most basic of his best man duties in order to stop and claim credit for the entire wedding.

While Jackson was constantly describing the magical moment when Mark’s and his fiancée’s eyes had first met to anyone that would listen, Jaebum and Jinyoung were running around on the morning of the wedding to make sure that everything was in place. Youngjae had been briefly yanked aside by Jaebum, who looked annoyed.

“Listen, I need you to take Jackson and go to the venue early,” Jaebum insisted.

Youngjae glanced doubtfully at Jackson. The man was on the phone, saying something along the lines of fate and knew it from the start while sounding extremely smug but Youngjae had heard the conversation a million times before.

“Me?” Youngjae whined reluctantly. He didn’t want to be stuck with Jackson while he was being so unbearable.

“It’s hard enough keeping the groom calm without this buffoon stomping uselessly about the place. It would be better to have Jackson go there and inflict himself on Mark’s guests. Besides, we need somebody to make sure that the arrangements at the venue are all right. I’ll send you a list of what should already be set up; the tables, the seating for the ceremony and the caterers van should be there. Oh! Also, the flower delivery guys should have finished by now so make sure they didn’t do a sloppy job.”

Youngjae looked at his friend with a pout. “Hyung…”

“Would you want us to slack off during your wedding?” Jaebum demanded sternly.

If I ever get married, Youngjae thought miserably. He was fairly confident that such a thing would never happen. Jaebum had a steady girlfriend and their nuptials would no doubt take place soon. Jinyoung had been in love with Jaebum’s sister for a while now, a badly hidden secret that they were all aware of except for poor Jaebum himself. Jackson and Bambam had girls swarming around them and no doubt sweet and friendly Yugyeom would find some nice girl to spend his life with.

Honestly, Youngjae was left feeling rather bitter about his future prospects.

“Fine, I’ll take Jackson-hyung and go to the venue,” he agreed. It took a lot of persuading to convince Jackson to get into the car. It was only when Youngjae pointed out that they could greet all the wedding guests themselves if they got there early that the best man agreed that it was a good idea. They drove down to the gardens where the staff were setting up tents. Caterers were bustling about the place with the vans parked to the side and everything was coming together nicely.

“There aren’t any guests here yet!” Jackson complained, looking at the rather deserted wedding venue. It was beautiful, but there was nobody except hired staff around. Understandable, since it was barely 7 am. The wedding didn’t start until 9. Youngjae looked down at the list of things to check that Jaebum had texted him.

“So hyung, we’re supposed to make sure the caterers are setting up in the right place and that the tents are all ready by 8 am because guests could start arriving and apparently the florists should have set up all the floral decorations already-“

Jackson looked disappointed. “Fine. I’ll go talk to the caterers. You go do… something.”

Youngjae sighed as Jackson disappeared in the direction of the caterer’s vans, most likely trying to get a few bites of some spare food since there was nobody to talk to anyway. He looked around at the decorated venue. The enormous tent where food would be served was already set up, the tables and chairs placed according to the seating plan. Youngjae nervously went over to the large tent that had been placed over the ceremonial altar. It was brightly decorated with purple lilies, apparently Mark’s fiancée’s favorite flower and looked gorgeous.

And, as he stood admiring the beautiful wedding venue, he suddenly spotted you.

Youngjae would later deny having fallen in love with you at first sight since it wasn’t the first time he’d seen you. He had caught glimpses of you at the rehearsal dinner (although he’d admittedly turned up rather late for that) and mentally noted that you were one of the bride’s party. But you stood there now, in one of the pale purple dresses that had been specially designed for bridesmaids, your hair looking a bit of a mess and your heavy eye makeup looking slightly out of place considering the rest of your face was devoid of any cosmetics. Clearly you had stopped applying the makeup midway.

Most importantly, you looked extremely distressed.

Youngjae watched for a few moments as you weaved in and out of the rows of seating, evidently looking for something urgently. Your fingers were running through your neatly made hair and you were breathing heavily. After watching you look around helplessly for a few minutes, Youngjae finally stepped closer to you and cleared his throat.

“Um, hi,” he greeted you carefully.

Your head snapped up to him and he was shocked by the intense and desperate look in your eyes as you blinked. “Have you seen a pure white flower bouquet lying around here anywhere?” you asked bluntly, your voice cracking.

Youngjae bit his lip. “Um, I don’t think so. Is it important?“

“Important? It’s the bridal bouquet!” you cried. Youngjae shifted uncomfortably as you stepped closer to him. Your lower lip was trembling and your voice kept cracking as you spoke. “The florist was supposed to bring it to my sister’s apartment this morning but they forgot and they said that they probably left it at the venue when they came to set up the lilies but I can’t find it anywhere and if I don’t have a bridal bouquet by the time I go back then everything will be ruined!”

Youngjae watched in horror as you sat down on one of the seats and collapsed into a sobbing mess. You covered your face with your hands and let tears stream down your face as your shoulders trembled. He sat down next to you and hesitantly placed a comforting hand on your back. Was that okay? Fuck, he’d never really comforted a crying girl before.

“Are… are you okay?” he asked softly. “Look, please don’t worry. There’s plenty of time until the wedding and I’ll help you find the bouquet, all right? Even if we can’t find the original one we can just make one using some of the flowers here. There are plenty of lilies around and I have some ribbon and decoration paper in my trunk because Jackson-hyung made me handle everyone’s wedding presents…”

You looked up at Youngjae, eyes shining with tears. He seemed a little nervous but he was giving you a sweet, comforting smile. Wow. He was extremely handsome. Why were you humiliating yourself like this in front of such a handsome, sweet guy?

“S-sorry,” you mumbled, wiping your tears. “I’m not a freak, I swear. And I’m not really crying about the bouquet. The last couple of days have just been so stressful because it’s my older sister’s wedding and she trusted me enough to make me the Maid of Honor even though she has so many friends that wanted the position and I just love her so much, I don’t want to let her down.”

Youngjae smiled and shrugged. “I can understand. I’m one of Mark’s friends and things have been pretty messy at the groom’s end as well.”

Your eyes widened. “Oh my god, there’s nothing wrong, is there?”

“No, no, no! Don’t worry! Everything is completely under control!” Youngjae insisted, waving his hands to reassure you. The last thing he wanted was to see you cry again. To his surprise, you let out a soft giggle that made him blush. He smiled back at you and cleared his throat. “So, um, we should probably look for that bouquet, huh? Why don’t you finish checking here and I’ll go check out the lunch tents and the stage for the DJ…”

You smiled at him softly. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

You spent almost forty minutes scouring the venue with Youngjae for the bridal bouquet but you were forced to accept that it was nowhere to be found. Youngjae had even offered to call the florist for you but they were closed this early in the morning and the delivery boys seemed mostly clueless. “What do we do?” you whined miserably. “No other florist will be open and it’s not like they keep bridal bouquets lying around anyway, they almost always have to be pre-ordered. I have to get back to my sister’s apartment in half an hour and I can’t go without a bouquet!”

Youngjae folded his arms across his chest. “So we have no other choice. We’ll have to make one ourselves. I have some colorful tissue paper and ribbon in the trunk of my car. Let’s just pick some flowers off these decorations. There are way more lilies wrapped around that pillar than anyone needs.”

You folded your arms across your chest and raised an eyebrow at Youngjae. “You don’t know very much about wedding traditions, do you, Youngjae-ssi?”

Youngjae flushed. “Well, I’ve only been to two or three...”

“The bridal bouquet has to be white. But my stupid sister insisted on the entire wedding having a purple theme. Purple bridesmaids’ dresses, purple tablecloths, purple lilies. I don’t see a single white flower anywhere in this area, do you?” you whined. You sat down and sighed heavily as you ran a hand down your face in frustration. “This is a huge mess. Where am I going to get enough white flowers to fill a bouquet? My sister is going to walk down the aisle empty handed and all the other bridesmaids will kill me because she won’t be able to do the bouquet toss and-“

“There’s a white rose bed on the other side of the garden.”

You sat up and looked at Youngjae sharply. “You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not. I noticed it on the way to the venue. There was an enormous rose bed down behind that grassy hill and some of them were white, I swear,” Youngjae insisted. He grabbed your hand and pulled on it so that you were forced to follow him as he hurried down the grassy slope. You had moved a good distance away from the wedding venue and you weren’t sure if you were even allowed to be here because Mark and your sister had only rented a portion of the garden for the wedding.

“Yes! White roses!” you cried once you saw the enormous flower bed. There were lots of roses and at least ten of the rose bushes had pure white roses. You hurried down but you stopped short at a small wooden sign that was just next to the rose bed.

Please do not pluck the flowers.

Your shoulders slumped. “Oh no. We’re not allowed to pluck them.”

Youngjae turned and looked at you with a small twinkle in his eye. He had never been one to break the rules but the heartbroken expression on your face made him want to do something bold. In a brief instant of foolish bravery, Choi Youngjae decided that he would never respect himself again if he couldn’t get you the white flowers for the bridal bouquet. “There’s no one here,” he pointed out, even though his heartbeat was thudding unnaturally. “I’ll hide some in my jacket. You wrap a few in your dress shawl and we’ll make a run for my car.”

You stared at him. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Let’s do it now, before anyone who works at the garden comes by.”

You swallowed. “Fuck it. They’re just flowers. Let’s do it.”

Both of you laughed nervously as you raced around the rose garden, plucking white roses as quickly as you could. You bundled whatever amount of roses you could under the shawl that came with your bridesmaid dress and Youngjae carefully draped his jacket over one arm and hid his share of roses underneath it. Clasping your spare clammy hands together, the two of you made a dash for the parking lot where Youngjae’s car was parked. Once you were sitting in the car you looked at him and you both started laughing.

“Wow, that was crazy,” you giggled.

Youngjae beamed at you, his angelic smile causing you to smile even harder. He had a beautiful laugh and you couldn’t take your eyes off him even as he pulled the roses out from under his jacket. He set them in his lap and then winced as he looked at his finger. “Ouch. I pricked my thumb on the thorns, I think.”

You leaned over. “Oh no! Let me see that. Hold on, I have a handkerchief.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a little prick, it’ll go away“

“No, no, it’s an occupational hazard,” you told him with a laugh as you wrapped your handkerchief around his finger. “You sustained that injury while saving your friend’s wedding, you should wear the scar with pride. But you should also put some antiseptic on it the first chance you get.”

Youngjae nodded as he started the car. “Well, we should get these flowers to the bride first.”

“We should. Thanks for your help, Youngjae.”

He smiled at you softly, blushing. “No problem.”

Youngjae was nervous as the wedding hall filled up with guests and the time for the ceremony approached. You had gone back to your sister’s apartment after Youngjae had helped you wrap up the roses into a makeshift bouquet and you would only return to the venue with the bridal party. Youngjae couldn’t get you off his mind. He misplaced the rings while thinking about you twice, after which Jinyoung snatched them from him with a dirty glare.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful and so were you. Youngjae was positive that your eyes had met as you walked up the aisle with the bridesmaids. You gave him a small smile and he smiled back, his entire face flushing a furious red. Jinyoung, who was standing right beside him, frowned.

“Why does the maid of honor keep looking at us?” he muttered.

Youngjae bit his lip. “I don’t know.”

Jinyoung merely raised an eyebrow but kept silent as the ceremony progressed. Youngjae tried to concentrate on the wedding. It was amazing that Mark was getting married to somebody he loved so much. Jackson and Yugyeom both shed tears at the wedding and Youngjae had to admit, it was all very beautiful and overwhelming. He was disappointed to have gotten a seat far away from you during lunch but when the band started up at the reception and everyone began to dance, you made your way over to Youngjae yourself.

“Hi,” you greeted shyly. “Join me for a dance?”

Youngjae felt embarrassed. You looked much prettier than you had this morning with your hair finally done properly and the rest of the makeup on your face finished. He panicked when you held your hand out to him with a shy smile. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not much of a dancer…”

“Please? You can’t be worse than Jackson. He asked me to dance, said something about the best man dancing with the maid of honor but all these other girls keep trying to cut in and I hate having to fight women off for a guy that I don’t even like,” you pointed out.

“Y-yeah, okay.”

Youngjae was extremely flustered as you led him out to the dance floor during a slow dance. You placed your hands on his shoulders while Youngjae carefully placed his own on your waist and you looked up at him. Wow, he was handsome. “So, Youngjae, I tried asking around about the mysterious, chivalrous man who was willing to commit such a daring act for me this morning but my sister doesn’t seem to know very much about you,” you teased.

Youngjae bit his lip as he looked down at you. “There’s nothing very interesting about me, frankly. Plucking those flowers was the most daring thing I’ve done in a long time.”

You giggled. “To be honest, me too. I guess we don’t think about breaking the rules so much after we become adults.”

“But it was kind of fun,” he admitted.

“It was, wasn’t it? I wonder what poor bridesmaid will catch the bouquet later. I just hope she doesn’t get framed for our crimes.”

Youngjae chuckled. “What if it’s you?”

“I think I’ll let some girl who actually has a man in her life catch the bouquet,” you replied dismissively. “Not because I don’t want to get married but because I love the horrified expression on the boyfriend’s face when he sees that everyone is staring at him with that you’re next look.”

“Wow. That seems almost cruel,” Youngjae joked but his eyes were looking down at you with adoration. You couldn’t help but blush. Why were you so flustered in this man’s presence? Was it possible that both of you felt this sudden, exciting connection? You opened your mouth to say something bold but before you could, somebody tapped you on the shoulder. You turned around to see one of the other bridesmaids looking apologetic.

“Hey. I’m sorry to interrupt, but uh…” she gave you a sympathetic look. “It’s your mother again. She’s crying behind the catering tent.”

You sighed. “Damn it. I’ll go talk to her.”

“Thanks, darling.”

You turned to Youngjae but he had already released your waist and stepped back. He looked a little disappointed but he forced a smile. “Well, you should probably go comfort your mother, I’m sure it’s not easy to see one of her daughters get married away. I’ll see you when you get back?”

You nodded. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

But you were. You were so long that no matter how much Youngjae waited, he just couldn’t get another moment alone with you at the reception. Youngjae went back home with Jinyoung and Jackson, disappointed and cursing himself for not being more bold and making a move sooner. After all, when would he ever get the chance to see you again?

Wedding Number Two: Jinyoung

Everyone expected that Jaebum would get married next including, it seemed, Jaebum himself. But a few weeks after Mark returned from his honeymoon and when the boys all gathered to grab a drink at the local pub, an intoxicated Jinyoung blurted out the secret that he’d been hiding for almost an entire year from his closest friend.

“Hyung, I’m madly in love with your sister. I want to marry her.”

It hadn’t gone down well. Almost everyone had been drunk, nobody was in their senses and Jaebum hadn’t been able to take the shocking revelation with much dignity. He threw an entire pint of beer at Jinyoung’s face and created a mild ruckus in the pub; all of which Mark and Jackson had to apologize and pay for afterwards. Youngjae briefly worried that their group was broken forever. But it only took Jaebum a few hours to sober up and apologize to his best friend.

A few warm, brotherly hugs and cautionary words later, the break had been mended and the date for the next wedding was set.

“Thanks for giving me a hand with the invitations, Youngjae,” Jinyoung told him with a grateful smile while Youngjae helped him address the envelopes that were to go out the next day.

While Jinyoung’s wedding wasn’t nearly as expensive or extravagant as Mark’s had been it was very meticulously planned down to the last detail. Youngjae had to admire the patience and perseverance with which Jinyoung and his fiancée planned their cute little church wedding. “Honestly, I’m glad you’re around. Mark is too busy with his newly married life. Jackson is completely useless at everything except sweet-talking his way into discounts and I feel like Jaebum has these brief moments when he regrets giving me permission to marry his sister.”

Youngjae smiled up at his friend and patted him on the back. “It’ll all work out fine, hyung.”

“You think so?”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay. Well, we’re not really inviting anyone except close friends and family because we don’t want to splurge too much on a lavish wedding,” Jinyoung muttered. “So the guest list is pretty small. But I did invite Mark’s sisters-in-law.”

Youngjae looked up, his heart skipping a beat. “Sorry, did you say Mark’s sisters-in-law?”

Jinyoung looked down at him with a mischievous grin. Nothing escaped this man’s sharp eyes and he had certainly noticed Youngjae’s behavior during the last wedding. “I’m sure you remember them. The older one was the Maid of Honor at Mark’s wedding? She kept making eyes at you but you were too shy to do anything about it. You can’t stay alone forever, Choi Youngjae.”

Youngjae flushed and opened his mouth to protest, but there was no use. “Thanks, hyung,” he admitted finally.

Jinyoung grinned and clapped him on the back. “At least make a solid move this time, yeah?”

Youngjae nodded. He planned to.

Youngjae was extremely nervous. Jinyoung had left him in charge of greeting the guests at the entrance and showing them to their seats because he didn’t trust any of the other boys not to run their mouths. Both Jackson and Bambam had been kept as far away from the guests as possible. But that meant that Youngjae had the seating plan in his hands and your name was on it. He would have to show you to your seat.

Youngjae had just finished helping an elderly couple (Jaebum’s grandparents) to their seats when he spotted you walking up to the church with your sister. He gaped at how pretty you looked in a cute dress and with your hair swept over your shoulders. You approached Youngjae with a bright, happy smile that made his heartbeat thump faster. He found himself subconsciously adjusting his black coat and smoothing down his hair.

“Youngjae-ssi!” you greeted him excitedly. “It’s so nice to see you again! How are you?”

Youngjae cleared his throat. “I’m-uh, I’m doing great. You… you look wonderful.”

You blushed prettily. Youngjae looked extremely handsome himself and it seemed like he’d gotten even better-looking even though it had been barely three months since you saw him last. You smoothed down your dress and tried not to look too flustered. “Thank you so much. I was a little surprised that Jinyoung-ssi chose to invite us since we don’t really know him personally but I love weddings so I couldn’t resist,” you explained happily.

Youngjae smiled. “I’m glad you came-“

“Is Bambam here?” the girl beside you interrupted.

Your youngest sister was standing by your side and she looked a little bored with the conversation. You glared at her, telling her to behave herself but you both knew that the only reason she had come to this quaint little church wedding was because she had an enormous crush on Bambam. She hadn’t been able to stop talking about him ever since they met at Mark’s wedding. Youngjae rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh; Bambam is helping with the caterers right now but he should be back soon. Can I help you both find your seats?”

Your sister looked disappointed but you beamed at Youngjae.

“That would be wonderful, thank you so much.”

Youngjae couldn’t take his eyes off you during the ceremony. You and your younger sister were sitting two rows in front of him and a little bit to the right, so he could see most of your profile while you watched the wedding. Jinyoung and his wife kissed sweetly and chastely at the altar. Jaebum, meanwhile, walked around the church with his jaw clenched and tried to appear manlier than he felt. He glared daggers at anyone who accused him of having watery eyes and even choked up a little while delivering his best man’s speech to the amusement of everyone present.

Youngjae made a beeline for you once the band started to play. You were standing around and looking a little uncomfortable because you didn’t know too many people here and your younger sister had abandoned you in search of her crush. Youngjae took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked up to you confidently.

“Hi there,” he said with a smile.

You beamed at him. “Hi.”

“So, um… we never got to actually finish that dance at Mark-hyung’s wedding,” he said shyly. “I couldn’t find you afterwards. Would you like to dance right now?”

“I would love to.”

You allowed Youngjae to guide you onto the dance floor and you were surprised to note that he seemed much more confident than the last time you had met. He placed his hands on your waist gently and pulled you closer to him. Youngjae had a beautiful innocent smile so you couldn’t help but smile back. The band was singing a sweet love song, and everybody was cooing at how cute Jinyoung and his bride looked together as they danced. But Youngjae had eyes only for you.

“I, uh, I was really looking forward to seeing you again,” he admitted bravely.

You smiled shyly. “Me too. I was surprised to get an invitation, since this is such a small and reserved wedding. I thought it might be awkward not knowing anyone except my sisters but I really wanted to see you again.”

Youngjae beamed. “Really?”

“Yeah. I had fun with you last time,” you admitted. “I’m sorry I acted kind of crazy, breaking down into tears when we couldn’t find the bridal bouquet and everything. I felt like I had to prove to you that I’m not insane. I’m really not. I’m actually a rather boring person. I mean… not super boring, I can have a little fun, but I, um... wow, I’m not sure what I’m trying to say.” You looked up at him with an embarrassed smile. “You probably think I am crazy, right?”

“No, I think you’re really cute,” he blurted out.

Both of you became extremely flustered as soon as he said that, and you couldn’t speak for a few moments. Youngjae couldn’t believe that he had such a sweet, beautiful girl in his arms. The band kept playing slower songs and by the third song you and Youngjae had moved closer to each other and you rested your head on his shoulder. He kept the conversation going, talking about how he had helped Mark and Jinyoung so much with their weddings that he could probably plan a wedding single-handedly if it came down to it. You loved listening to Youngjae talk. He sounded like an angel and you bit your lip, deciding that you wouldn’t let this wedding end without asking him out.

“Weddings are kind of weird, aren’t they?” you mused as you both swayed to the soft music. “I’ve never really wanted to be married because I’ve never found the right guy but… I think even people who don’t want to be married would like to have a lovely wedding.”

“But they can be super stressful. All the planning and the money you have to spend…”

You grinned. “Yeah, but I think there’s something romantic about successfully planning a wedding with someone you love. It’s like the first test for your married life isn’t it? It’s like saying well, if we can pull off this together then we make a great team and we can pull off life itself together. How are you going to spend your life with someone if you can’t even plan a wedding with them?”

“I never thought about it that way,” Youngjae admitted.

“That’s because you’ve only been planning other people’s weddings so far, Youngjae-ssi,” you teased.

He raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Oh? And how many of your own weddings have you planned, then?”

You sighed and pouted. “None. Please don’t rub it in. If I get invited to one more wedding while I’m still hopelessly single then I might just cry. It doesn’t bother me normally but attending a wedding alone is just so sad and makes me feel bitter. Especially ones like this where I barely know anyone.”

Youngjae’s hands tightened on your waist. “You know me,” he pointed out gently.

“That’s a nice thought but you can’t help me with every wedding that I have to attend,” you joked. “All my college and high-school friends are hitting their mid and late twenties now, I’ve been getting an invitation almost every month. In fact, one of my seniors from college is having her wedding today at a different venue. I had to choose which wedding I wanted to attend.”

“And you chose to come to this one?”

Ah, shit. Would Youngjae think it was weird that you came here merely in the hopes of seeing him? What if you scared him off? You had only met once before and everything was rather delicate. You cleared your throat and tried to stop the blood from rushing to your cheeks. “I mean…um… I never really liked that senior anyway. And my younger sister! Yeah, she’s had a huge crush on Bambam since Mark’s wedding so she insisted that we come here. Apparently they really hit it off.”

Youngjae looked a little disappointed. “Oh. Right, of course.”

“But I’m glad I came,” you told him honestly.

He gave you a soft smile as he noticed the sparkle in your eyes. You could feel this too, he was sure of it. Why else would you look up at him with those big eyes of yours and smile at him shyly like an angel? Youngjae was suddenly tempted to make a bold move. He leaned down until his face was right in front of yours and smiled at you. “Maybe we should get through this wedding season together. Let’s be each other’s date to whichever wedding comes next so that we’re not alone and bored.”

You bit your lip to hold back your delight. “That’s an interesting idea. I like it.”

“A-are you sure? I meant that it’s a real date…” he clarified hesitantly, suddenly feeling shy.

“Oh, I know.”

“Okay, then. It’s settled. The next wedding invitation either one of us gets, we go together,” he told you with a laugh. You nodded and smiled back at him. Why was he so adorable? You felt the urge to lean up and kiss Youngjae right then, to cut off his sweet laugh with your lips. But you couldn’t gather the courage so you merely stepped back from him as the song ended. You hadn’t even realized how much time had passed since you’d started dancing. It was getting dark outside, and the celebrations were coming to an end. You were about to ask Youngjae to get one last drink with you when the bride suddenly weaved her way through the crowd of dancers, making a beeline for you and Youngjae.

“Youngjae! I need your help!” she insisted, struggling to hurry towards him in her white gown. Her expression was a little irritated and Youngjae blinked at her in surprise.

“Is everything okay, noona?”

The bride huffed while running her fingers through her hair. You felt a tinge of jealousy; she was so beautiful in her gorgeous gown and with the afterglow from her wedding. The bride merely shot you a polite, apologetic smile before she turned to Youngjae. “No, everything is not okay. Both the men in my life are enormous idiots who thought it was a good idea to get shitfaced on my wedding day. Can you please help me get them home? Jaebum-oppa’s girlfriend is mad at him so she won’t come and my husband will definitely regret his actions in the morning so I’d rather keep it all on the downlow.”

Youngjae blinked. “Is it that bad? Noona, I had a few glasses earlier, I can’t drive.”

The bride looked distressed and you piped up softly. “Um, I can drive if you want. My car is in the parking lot and I haven’t had anything to drink.”

She looked at you hopefully. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not.”

You followed Youngjae and the bride to the smaller tent nearby, where both Jaebum and Jinyoung were alone with empty bottles of champagne and wine littering the ground around them. To your surprise the two men were embracing each other and both of them had red, tear-filled eyes. You and Youngjae froze in shock as drunken Jaebum let out a loud wail.

“Jinyoung-ah! I-I’m so sorry I thought you weren’t good enough for my sister!” Jaebum cried out loudly. He was patting Jinyoung’s back in a clumsy manner as he sniffled. “You’re the best person my sister could have found, I would never trust anyone more than you!”

Jinyoung’s own voice cracked at he looked at his friend. “Hyung, that means so much to me, you have no idea!” he insisted, his words slurring from the effect of the alcohol. “I-I’m so sorry we went behind your back! I wanted to tell you! I really did! It was all her idea to keep it secret! You know I would never lie to you, hyung, you know that, right?”

Jinyoung’s finger jabbed out to point accusingly at his newly wedded wife, who was glaring daggers at him with her arms folded across her chest. Jaebum nodded emphatically and reassured Jinyoung that he trusted him not to lie and the men exchanged I love yous before hugging each other. Youngjae’s lips were pressed together tightly as he held back a laugh and you had to admit that the whole situation was rather amusing. You’d never seen two such rigid and well-behaved men humiliate themselves this way. When you let out a stray giggle though, the bride glared at you.

“Do you think this is funny? It’s my wedding night and my husband is drunkenly confessing his love to my brother. I want them out of my sight,” she insisted, her fingers rubbing her temples. “What was I thinking, marrying one of Jaebum-oppa’s friends? God, I’m such an idiot.”

Youngjae chuckled. He knew that she loved Jinyoung more than anything in the world and that they fought often. He gave the bride his usual blinding smile and reassured her that he would get both Jinyoung and Jaebum to their respective homes before anybody saw them. The bride merely thanked Youngjae tersely and left the tent to go meet her relatives. You gave Youngjae a confused look and he smiled at you apologetically.

“Sorry for getting you roped into this.”

You laughed. “No, it’s very interesting!”

“Would you mind starting the car? I’ll bring these two idiots to the parking lot. Oh, and I’ll message Bambam to take your sister home safely so don’t worry about her.”

You went out into the parking lot and started your car while Youngjae struggled to support the two heavy men and convince them to get inside. Jaebum stumbled a little and Jinyoung paused to throw up in a nearby bush for a few moments but somehow Youngjae managed to buckle them up into the backseat together. You started your car and turned to Youngjae, who had slid into the passenger-side seat beside you.

“Are they going to be okay?” you wondered. “Where are we taking them?”

Before Youngjae could respond, Jinyoung suddenly leaned forward and poked his head in between you and Youngjae, giving you an open-mouthed look. His finger pointed at you as he beamed. “Hey! You’re that girl! The one who was making eyes at Youngjae at Mark’s wedding! What are you doing here?”

Youngjae felt nervous. “You invited her, hyung.”

Jinyoung looked dazed. “Right, right, of course…”

“Hyung, just sit back and try not to puke in her car, okay? Don’t worry about anything,” Youngjae insisted, pushing Jinyoung back before he said anything embarrassing. How had these two men gotten so drunk out of their senses? Youngjae turned and smiled at you. “Jinyoung was supposed to spend the night in a hotel they’d booked with his wife so we’d better drop him off there. But Jaebum has to go home. His girlfriend is likely waiting for him.”

You nodded and started the car. “Yes, sir.”

It was all a very amusing series of events that night. You and Youngjae had to help Jinyoung up to the honeymoon suite of the hotel that they’d booked. It was a struggle to convince him to get up there because he kept alternating between apologizing to Jaebum for keeping his relationship a secret, and loudly proclaiming that he was extremely drunk. Jaebum, on the other hand, found a cat in the hotel lobby that he refused to leave without petting. The cat looked distressed and you had to apologize to the owner several times. Jaebum only agreed to let go when it hissed and scratched him across the arm.

“Wow, this is exhausting,” Youngjae said with a laugh. Jinyoung had been unceremoniously dumped on the bed of his honeymoon suite for his wife to find whenever she returned, and Jaebum shoved back into your car. You turned and looked at the gorgeous man sitting beside you. You normally hated dealing with drunken people but nothing seemed too bad when Youngjae was laughing that angelic laugh of his. You had to admire how he never lost his temper at the two drunken men and only dealt with them with his bright smile. How could somebody be so positive and bright? Jaebum started making loud groaning noises in the backseat as you drove to his apartment and you and Youngjae couldn’t help but exchange looks and giggle.

“Okay, hyung. Try and sober up now, you know that noona will be upset if she sees you this drunk. Remember your girlfriend? She’s waiting for you at home? She probably just got off work so let’s not upset her, okay?” Youngjae asked as he coaxed Jaebum into the elevator. The older man was slumped against his friend and his eyes were unfocused.

Jaebum nodded. “Hmm. Let’s not upset her.”

“Good, good.”

“What if she’s already upset?” Jaebum asked, eyes widening. “What if… what if…”

Youngjae patted him on the back. “I’m sure she wouldn’t be upset without a reason.”

Jaebum shook his head and he suddenly straightened up, his eyes filling with tears. “But she does have a reason! I’m a terrible boyfriend! I know that she was hurt that Mark got married before us even though she never said anything about it but now Jinyoung is married now too and I’ve kept her waiting for so long. What if she doesn’t want to wait anymore? What if I lose her?”

Youngjae looked helpless so you interrupted in with a gentle smile. “I’m sure that a woman would wait any amount of time for a man that she loved and trusted. You should have more faith in her,” you insisted.

Jaebum blinked at you. “Who are you again?” he demanded.

Youngjae sighed. “Hyung, don’t be rude. I told you a hundred time, she’s Mark-hyung’s sister-in-law-“

Jaebum snapped his fingers and grinned at Youngjae. “That’s right! She’s the girl from Mark’s wedding, the one you had a huge crush on! Jinyoung told me all about it but he said not to say anything to you because you were probably embarrassed,” Jaebum said with a cheerful laugh. He turned to look at you with a smile. “Youngjae really likes you but he’s shy and kind of stupid. But he’s a really nice boy at heart, aren’t you, Youngjae?”

Youngjae looked like he wanted to die. “Hyung, please…”

You smiled despite the blush reddening your cheeks. “I know. I think Youngjae’s great too.”

Jaebum beamed and clapped Youngjae on the back a little too hard. “See? She likes you, you idiot! Now don’t mess things up. Take her home safely and don’t forget to get her number and show her your guitar, girls love guitars-“

Youngjae looked horrified as he avoided eye contact with you and he breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator opened up on the right floor. He hurriedly dragged Jaebum towards his apartment and rang the doorbell. A few moments passed before a beautiful women opened the door, dressed casually in sweatpants and with her hair tied up. She sighed when she saw her boyfriend being supported by Youngjae.

“Thanks for bringing him home, Youngjae,” she said gently, before turning to frown at her boyfriend. “Your sister called me nearly in tears because you and Jinyoung made a big scene at her wedding. Are you proud of yourself? I should never have let you go to that wedding alone, I knew you couldn’t handle it but I had to work and-”

Jaebum had fallen silent and he was staring at her, an odd look in his eyes. “I love you.”

She was flustered. “Huh? I-I love you too Jaebum, but… what are you doing?”

Jaebum had stumbled down to the floor. At first you thought that he’d just fallen over because he was drunk, but he gingerly balanced himself on one knee and dug into his pocket to pull out a small ring box. He opened it and held it up in front of her while she grasped the doorframe to steady herself from the shock. “I love you so, so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I’m sorry for making you wait so long. Can you forgive me? Will you be my wife?”

The scene made you feel warm. Jaebum’s girlfriend burst into tears and pulled him up to his feet before they both entered into a passionate embrace. You couldn’t hold back a smile of your own. Love was so beautiful, it made people so happy. You wished you could find a love of your own that could make you as happy as the woman in front of you.

“Well, this is awkward,” Youngjae mumbled with an embarrassed chuckle as the couple went back into their apartment, kissing and ignoring the both of you. He turned and gave you a soft smile. “I’m sorry you had to put up with all of this tonight.”

You shook your head and smiled back. “No. I’m glad I got to see that. That was beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.”

You turned and looked at Youngjae in surprise. His cheeks were red and he looked a little flustered, but his eyes were staring straight into yours. You felt a sudden burst of hope inside of you. You barely knew Youngjae but there was something about him that made you feel that perhaps you could find that sort of love with him. Unable to resist, you leaned up and gently pressed your lips against his in a shy kiss. Youngjae’s eyes widened and he froze for a moment, unable to react before you pulled back and smiled.

“I guess we know whose wedding our first date will be at, huh?” you joked.

Youngjae grinned. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

Wedding Number Three: Jackson

“Hyung, are you sure about this?”

Jackson nodded firmly. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

Youngjae felt uneasy as he helped his friend fix his suit. Despite the fact that they were all headed to a wedding, there was something extremely uncomfortable about the atmosphere. Jackson had disappeared for a few weeks after Jinyoung’s wedding and had been completely out of contact. When he returned, he suddenly announced that he was getting married in a few days. Apparently the girl he had been casually seeing had gotten pregnant and he now had to step up to take responsibility for his child.

Bambam was quite vocal about his disapproval. “Hyung, there are ways to take responsibility for the child without having to marry her. You could offer child support, you don’t need to get trapped into a legal relationship with this woman-“

Jackson paused mid-way through fixing his suit and glared at Bambam through the mirror. His voice was icy. “Her family were very clear about the fact that they would disown her if she had a child out of wedlock. Besides, my child isn’t going to grow up in a household without a father. Do you think I would sit and let that happen?”

Bambam recoiled. “I didn’t mean it like that. But you never wanted to get married and I don’t know if this is a good enough reason to bind yourself to a woman-“

“Then what is a good enough reason, huh? Tell me, Bambam. How could there possibly be a reason more important than the safe upbringing of a child? I know what it’s like to grow up in a dysfunctional family and I would rather die than put another child through that. I was the one who got drunk and failed to use protection. I have to take responsibility for this. I can’t leave a woman to raise a child that I am equally responsible for bringing into this world. This is my choice and if you don’t like it then don’t come to the wedding.”

Bambam looked hurt. “Of course I’ll come to the wedding. I would never miss it.”

Youngjae bit his lip. He hated this tense atmosphere. Jackson was normally such a frivolous and carefree person that it worried everyone to see him so serious and stressed. The wedding wasn’t a proper one either. The bride’s parents had refused to come due to the ugliness of the situation and Jackson insisted that he wanted it done as quickly as possible in order to avoid too much talk. A small church had been booked for the ceremony and they would all go out to a restaurant for food and drinks later.

Jackson took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of his bed before looking up at Jinyoung. “Do you know how she’s doing? She’s been having morning sickness and if she doesn’t feel well enough to come to the church…”

Jinyoung patted his friend on the back, reassuringly. “She’s fine. My wife’s gone to help her get ready. Everything will go smoothly, Jackson. Don’t worry about the wedding. You’re doing the right thing, I promise.”

“I hope so.”

“We should head down to the church. I’ll call and ask how the girls are managing and the priest is waiting there already. Youngjae… don’t you have to go and pick up your date?”

Youngjae bit his lip. “Are you sure I can bring her? I mean, if it’s not appropriate for me to bring a date to something like this…”

Jackson forced a bright smile and stood up, clapping his friend on the back. His loud, falsely enthusiastic voice boomed in the small room. “Don’t be stupid. You have to bring her Youngjae, everyone knows how crazy you are about this girl and we want to meet her. Can you guys stop acting like this is a funeral? It’s a wedding for heaven’s sake. I’m getting married and you guys are supposed to be the ones cheering me up! Where are the dirty jokes and the teasing? Do I have to do everything myself?”

Bambam rolled his eyes. “We’re not worried about you, we’re worried about this poor girl that’s going to be stuck with you for the rest of her life.”’

Jackson beamed. “That’s the spirit!”

You smiled as you stood beside Youngjae and watched the wedding.

Youngjae had called you a few days earlier and told you frankly about the circumstances; that this was a shotgun wedding arranged because the bride had gotten pregnant and that there would be nobody there except for close friends. But you couldn’t resist the opportunity to spend time with Youngjae so you had agreed. You had made a deal to attend the very next wedding that you got an invite to, after all, and Jaebum’s invitations hadn’t gone out yet.

The bride was very different from what you expected. Unlike the gorgeous, confident model-like women that Jackson Wang was known for playing with, she was a naturally pretty and shy girl. She seemed extremely nervous and her face turned a brilliant red when you mentioned to her that she looked beautiful in her plain white wedding dress. The ceremony was over quickly and without much fuss. You got into Youngjae’s car as the entire group drove to a hotel that they had made reservations at for dinner.

“Do you think it’s okay to marry someone you’re not in love with?” Youngjae asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the road. You noticed that he seemed a little bit tense. Nobody at that wedding seemed entirely happy somehow and it suddenly struck both of you that maybe, weddings weren’t always places of celebration and love and beauty after all. Maybe, for some people, it was a lifetime of being bound to the wrong person.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Maybe love and marriage don’t always go hand in hand.”

“What do you mean?”

You sighed and shrugged, leaning back in the passenger-side seat. “Sometimes you’re not always compatible with the person you fall in love with, if you get what I mean? Love is an emotion. It’s unexplainable and it’s just a rushed feeling. But what really holds a marriage together is compatibility and understanding. If you ask me, two determined people who want to make a marriage work and have honest intentions can make a marriage work even if they’re not in love.”

Youngjae bit his lip. “Sort of destroys the romance aspect of it, though, doesn’t it?”

“True. But real life isn’t always so romantic.”

“But there are people who manage to find both love as well as happiness in marriage, right?”

You gave him a small smile and nodded. “I’m sure there are.”

Youngjae reached over and took your hand, squeezing it gently. You had both been talking a lot over the last couple of weeks; through text messages and the occasional phone call. The more you talked to Youngjae and heard his angelic voice and saw how much of a wonderful person he was… you found yourself falling harder and harder for him. His hand was warm as it enclosed over yours and you found yourself gripping it tightly, that same hope filling you once more.

Maybe this was the man that you could finally experience love with.

You had fun at the wedding dinner.

Youngjae’s friends were all loud and wild, there was no end to the ruckus that they caused. Glasses of wine were passed around the table to everyone except the bride (and Jackson, who refused to drink in order to keep an eye on his pregnant wife). Before long, Youngjae was tipsy enough to confidently put his arm around your shoulder and gently pull you into his side. You blushed deeply at the comfortable yet exciting feeling of sitting so close to him.

“Are you okay?” Youngjae asked you with a smile as the meal came to an end. You had been quiet for a while but it wasn’t because you didn’t have anything to say; it was just difficult to get a word in edgewise with the noisy group. You merely looked up at Youngjae and nodded with a giggle. You were slightly drunk and you were worried that you had a stupid smile on your face but Youngjae grinned back at you.

“You’re adorable,” he told you softly.

You flushed, your hands coming up to cover your warm cheeks. “I think I’m a little drunk,” you admitted lightly. “It’s kind of warm in here.”

“Do you want to go outside and walk it off?”

You nodded eagerly and waited while Youngjae told the rest of the group that you were both going to get some fresh air. Bambam said something that made Youngjae frown at him but you were a little too drunk to care. Your heart leapt as Youngjae took your hand in his and led you out of the restaurant. It was getting dark outside and you both walked down the street while swinging your entwined hands together. Youngjae laughed when you skipped slightly on the sidewalk and turned to face him.

“I want ice cream,” you decided randomly.

“Ice cream? Right now?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, right now. There has to be a convenience store somewhere around here, right? Let’s go find it! I want ice cream, Youngjae-oppa!”

Youngjae blushed a furious red as he looked at your small figure smiling at him adorably while you squeezed his hand. He had never been so completely smitten with a girl before and his heart skipped a beat when you blinked at him cutely. “O-oppa?” he stammered, with a nervous laugh. The sudden endearment made him flustered. You had typed out the word while texting him once but it was his first time hearing it from your lips.

You nodded firmly. “Yup. You’re my oppa for today. Please buy me ice cream?”

“Okay, let’s go.”

You smiled before moving closer to him. Youngjae was disappointed when you let go of his hand, but you wrapped both of your arms around his instead, and tucked yourself into his side as you walked. Youngjae blushed when your head came to rest on his shoulder and you cheerfully talked about the ice cream flavors you liked.

“Dark chocolate is for sad days,” you explained to him with the patience of teaching a child. You tended to ramble about stupid things while tipsy. “Because it’s bittersweet and that’s how life is sometimes. Normal chocolate is for happy days. Toffee and cookie dough are for celebrations. Coffee ice cream is for cold days. Mint chocolate chip is for rainy days,” you listed off happily, ticking off the flavors on your fingers as you leaned your head against Youngjae’s shoulder.

“What about vanilla?” Youngjae interrupted.

You looked at him, aghast. “Who eats vanilla ice cream? That’s so boring!”

“I like it,” he told you with a small pout.

You bit your lip and sighed, looking up at him for a long moment. Your mind was clouded over since all the wine you had drunk was hitting you a little harder than you’d planned but you remembered thinking that Youngjae was so sweet, you would give up all the ice cream flavors in the world for him.

“Okay. I guess vanilla can be for lovely days,” you teased. “So now you have to make sure we get vanilla ice cream, since today is a lovely day.”

Youngjae grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

You managed to find a convenience store a few streets down and Youngjae went inside to buy vanilla ice cream for both of you. You sat on a bench outside and ate your ice cream, swinging your legs and chatting about random things. Youngjae was a little nervous in the beginning but once he opened up he became rather fun to be with. He laughed at you when you dropped your first ice cream on the ground. It was only when you almost burst into tears that he hurried inside to buy you another one. Youngjae liked you, but he wasn’t eager to see you cry again.

“Don’t drop this one,” he warned you lightly, his hand closing over yours to help you hold the ice cream cup. His fingers were warm and you smiled as he helped you eat it without your drunken butterfingers spilling it all over you. You enjoyed the attention and couldn’t help but admire how gently he helped you hold the ice cream and placed a paper napkin on your lap in case you spilled it.

“Youngjae,” you said suddenly.

He looked up at you and blinked. “Yeah?”

“You’re really sweet and caring and handsome. Why don’t you already have a girlfriend?” you blurted out.

Youngjae looked embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. You stared at him, struck by how gorgeous this man was and how completely unaware he seemed to be of his own charm. You had never felt so warm and comfortable in someone’s presence before. Youngjae cleared his throat and his lips twisted into a small smile. “I guess I’ve never really found the right girl.”

You blinked at him. “I want to be your right girl.”

Youngjae stared at you as you leaned in to kiss him. Unlike the sweet peck that you’d shared outside Jaebum’s apartment this was a proper kiss. Your heartbeat thudded while your hands came up to slide into Youngjae’s hair and you pulled him down towards you. His lips pressed back against yours eagerly, tasting the vanilla ice cream and wine on your tongue and smelling your soft perfume. You were breathing hard when you pulled back and Youngjae’s gaze had turned from his sweet, friendly expression into something more dark and lustful.

“Are you too drunk?” he asked you doubtfully.

“No, I’m just the right amount of drunk,” you reassured him. “Please kiss me again.”

You’re not sure how long you and Youngjae sat on that bench outside the convenience store, just kissing and whispering while you leaned against each other. Youngjae was extremely attentive once he relaxed. He placed sweet kisses on your eyelids and your forehead that made you giggle and you both talked and laughed and kissed until the ice cream had melted onto the bench, completely forgotten.

“It’s completely dark,” he pointed out after a while. “We should head back to the restaurant…”

You both walked back to the restaurant where you realized that everyone else had already gone home. Their cars were gone from the parking lot and only Youngjae’s was left. He fished his keys out of his pocket and looked down at them doubtfully. “I’m not sure I should drive after all that wine. Should I call us a cab?”

You looked up at him for a moment, a sudden burst of confidence hitting you. You weren’t sure where it came from. You were normally extremely nervous around men and made sure to tread carefully. But Youngjae was different. Youngjae was sweet and warm and he made you feel safe instead of the other way around. You suddenly grabbed his hand, closing your fingers over his cellphone as he started to call a taxi. “Youngjae…” you said, biting your lip as you looked up at him. “Let’s not call a cab. Let’s stay here tonight.”

Youngjae blinked down at you, confused. “Here? You mean… in the car?”

You gestured towards the restaurant which was on the ground floor of a hotel. “They have rooms.”

His entire face flushed red when he realized what you were insinuating. You wanted to spend the night together in a hotel room and Youngjae knew the moment your lips formed an adorable pout that he was helpless to say no. He cleared his throat and looked down at you, heartbeat thudding as he nodded. You entwined your hands together and leaned up to kiss him once more.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Wedding Number Four: Jaebum

“Youngjae. Youngjae… Youngjae!”

Youngjae jerked his head up from his cellphone and blinked at Jaebum, who was frowning at him. He hadn’t realized that the older man had been trying to get his attention; he was too busy texting you. You had just sent him a couple of selfies with your dog and Youngjae was admiring how gorgeous you were, as well as how adorable your pet was.

“Sorry, hyung. What were you saying?” he asked, confused.

Jinyoung laughed. “Leave him alone, Jaebum. The poor guy’s in love for the first time in his life. He hasn’t stopped texting her since Jackson’s wedding. Clearly something happened there. Didn’t it, Youngjae-ah?”

Youngjae blushed and lied. “Nothing happened!”

Neither Jaebum nor Jinyoung looked like they believed him. No wonder, because you and Youngjae had spent a wonderful night together at that hotel. Even though it wasn’t easy for you both to meet often due to your busy schedules you had managed to have dinner a few times since and even caught a movie together once. Youngjae had been secretly pleased when you referred to yourself as his girlfriend the last time you went out together. He still couldn’t believe that he was dating somebody as beautiful and wonderful as you. You and Youngjae texted each other almost every day and nothing made him happier than seeing a notification from you on his phone.

“Yeah, they’re in that honeymoon phase,” Jaebum grumbled. “I went through it too. But it ends eventually and the women become monsters. Speaking of which, my fiancée is going to kill me if I go back home without having picked out a wedding suit. What do you guys think of that last dark blue one?”

Jinyoung tsk-ed. “Black looks classier, hyung.”

“Youngjae?”

“Uh, yeah. Black is good. The blue one is nice too.”

Jaebum frowned. “Do you mean that, or are you just saying it so that you can go back to texting your girlfriend?”

Youngjae looked up suddenly, eyes widening. “Hyung, I can invite her to the wedding, right?”

Jaebum looked like he was going to explode as he tossed the clothes hanger he was holding aside. “Yah! How many times do I have to say this? There will be no fucking wedding if I can’t pick out a goddamned suit by today! Are you two dickheads going to help me or not? Damn it, I should have brought Bambam instead…”

“Hyung, relax, we’ll help…”

You beamed as soon as you saw Youngjae, running over to him and throwing your arms around his neck. He laughed and hugged you back despite feeling a little flustered. Youngjae’s arms stayed around your waist as you let go of him and stepped back, admiring how he looked in his suit. You ran a hand down the smooth, dark material.

“Somebody’s extremely handsome today,” you teased him lightly. “Why do you keep looking better in a suit every time I see you? It’s like there’s no end to your charms.”

Youngjae blushed and leaned down to kiss your lips briefly. “You look beautiful,” he told you honestly.

You giggled and kissed him again despite a few of the wedding guests glaring at the two of you and your little display of affection. No matter how many times you saw Youngjae, your heart still skipped a beat as if every time was the first. He was looking particularly handsome today. You had called him up earlier that morning and begged him to style his hair up so that it revealed his forehead. Youngjae had sounded reluctant but finally agreed; now your cute and lovable boyfriend suddenly looked extremely sexy and you wondered how you were going to keep your hands off him.

Jaebum’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous. Youngjae told you in a low voice while you found your seats in the enormous abbey, that Jaebum had gone way over budget while planning it and his girlfriend had been so furious that she’d forced him to cut their honeymoon two days shorter than originally planned. You laughed at the anecdote and squeezed Youngjae’s hand. You were seated next to Jinyoung and his wife, both of whom greeted you warmly.

“I heard Bambam invited your younger sister,” Jinyoung told you with a casual smile. “I heard her arguing with Mark’s wife earlier, noona didn’t seem happy…”

You blinked. “Really? I haven’t heard about this. Why would my unnie have a problem if Bambam invited my younger sister?”

“She probably doesn’t think Bambam is a very good influence. He has a good heart but he tends to act first and think later, which causes problems sometimes. Maybe you should talk to your younger sister and tell her to be a little careful,” Jinyoung told you frankly.

You merely nodded and turned away. Jinyoung didn’t know your younger sister the way you did. She was just as much of a brat as Bambam and telling her not to do something would only make her want to do it even more. Besides, she had always been able to handle herself. You turned to Youngjae sitting by your side and smiled at him. You were much more excited to spend quality time with your boyfriend. You both sat with your hands entwined in your lap and watched the wedding.

Whatever arguments Jaebum and his wife might have had before the wedding, there was no doubt that they were madly in love. They both looked at each other with pure adoration in their eyes and you couldn’t help but feel extremely warm inside. Watching a happy couple promise to spend their lives together would never fail to make you happy… and for once, you didn’t feel quite so bitter. Instead, you felt extremely hopeful as Youngjae put his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer to him.

“I’m happy for Jaebum-hyung,” Youngjae told you with a chuckle as the bride and groom kissed. “But to be honest, I’m hoping that we’re done attending weddings for a while. It’s getting kind of exhausting, going through the same routine.”

You smiled. “For once, I don’t have any wedding invitations left with me.”

“Yeah and I doubt either Bambam or Yugyeom are going to get married soon, so that leaves me with like a huge gaping hole in my schedule,” Youngjae explained. He looked down at you with an amused smile. “Wow, it’s so weird. I can’t remember a time in the last six months when I wasn’t helping at least one of the hyungs plan their wedding.”

You grinned and entwined your arm with his. “I would be glad to help you fill that gap in your schedule.”

Youngjae leaned down and kissed your forehead fondly. “That sounds wonderful.”

The wedding dinner was extremely entertaining.

Jinyoung was the best man and he made full use of the opportunity to poke fun at Jaebum, reminding everyone of his own emotional and tear-filled best man’s speech as Jinyoung’s wedding. You laughed along with everyone as Jaebum turned visibly red and looked like he wanted to die. Jackson gave a speech as well, by the end of which Jaebum had slid down in his chair and looked like he wished the earth would swallow him up. You spotted Jackson’s heavily pregnant wife scolding him lightly for making so much fun of the groom, but he merely kissed her on the cheek and laughed.

Everyone seemed extremely happy. Too happy, somehow.

Youngjae kept his arm around your chair and smiled at you whenever he saw you laugh. He fell a little harder for you each time he saw you and he was suddenly struck with the image of you in a bridal gown, sitting beside him and looking beautiful as ever. The thought was a little scary yet somehow exciting and Youngjae kept it to himself as he enjoyed the dinner.

As the meal neared a close, you were approached by your older sister who had wrenched herself away from Mark’s side to come and talk to you. She greeted Youngjae with a kind smile before turning to ask you if you had seen your younger sister recently.

“Uh, I can’t remember,” you admitted. “I think she and Bambam were sitting a few rows behind us at the ceremony… Is something wrong, unnie?”

She sighed but shook her head. “No, never mind. I just have this nagging feeling that those two are up to something fishy. Just let me know if you see her, will you?”

You nodded as she hurried back to her seat beside her husband. Youngjae squeezed your hand and looked at you, worried. His hand came up to caress your cheek gently. “What was that about? Is everything okay?” he asked you softly.

You shrugged. “Yeah, fine. I guess unnie just doesn’t like the idea of my younger sister dating Bambam. She’s always had a preference for quieter, more mature men and I guess loud and spontaneous Bambam doesn’t inspire a lot of trust in her. But it’ll be fine. They’ve disagreed before. I’ll just go home and play peacemaker once this wedding is over,” you said with a sigh.

Youngjae smiled and wrapped his arm around your shoulder. “Ah, the struggles that the soft-spoken ones like us have to go through,” he joked.

You rolled your eyes at him. “You are not soft-spoken, oppa.”

Youngjae pouted. “Why would you say that?”

You giggled, leaning up to whisper into his ear while your hand slid onto his thigh and caressed the soft fabric of his suit. Youngjae stiffened when your lips brushed his ear and your soft hair tickled his skin. “Because we both know exactly how vocal you were at my apartment last week. Do I need to do what I did that night again to show you how loud I can make you?” you teased.

Youngjae flushed and his hand came to rest on yours, stopping it from creeping further up his leg. “Yah! Not here!” he hissed although he was laughing.

You giggled and withdrew your hand. “Okay, okay. Later tonight.”

“You’re scary,” he told you with a pout. “It’s not fair. You look so cute and innocent at first glance.”

“So do you. We were both fooled on that front so it’s no use complaining to me.”

Youngjae tucked a strand of hair behind your ear gently before leaning down to give you a soft kiss. The band had started playing nearby and many couples were getting up to dance, including the bride and groom themselves. You kept your hand on Youngjae’s thigh. He got more and more flustered as you whispered mildly suggestive things into his ears and after a while he suddenly grabbed your wrist and looked down at you with dark, heavily-lidded eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”

You laughed. “What do you mean, out of here?”

“I mean somewhere where no one can see us.”

You were surprised when Youngjae took hold of your arm firmly and stood up, leading you away from the dancing couples and out of the building entirely. It was deserted outside and rather dark as well. Before you could ask Youngjae where he was planning on taking you, he suddenly spun you around and pushed you lightly against a wall outside the building. His arms pulled you against him and his lips covered yours hotly.

You had to admit, Youngjae’s hungry kisses excited you. You loved the cute, cheerful and innocent side of Youngjae but you were definitely pleased to find out that he was hiding a darker, more passionate side that only came out when you pushed him a little. His eyes would narrow and his breathing become heaver as he whispered into your ear in a soft husky voice.

“Do you think you’re cute, playing with me and getting me excited like that?” Youngjae growled into your ear while he placed kisses down your neck. His teeth grazed your skin and you couldn’t help but gasp lightly. Youngjae’s hands were around your waist, one of them slowly travelling up your back and sending shivers down your spine.

“Yes,” you admitted breathily as his lips came down on yours again.

You pushed yourself against him excitedly. You had never made out in public like this, especially not at a friend’s wedding where somebody could come by at any moment and the two of you could get caught. You had always been too scared to do rash and risky things like that. But somehow, with Youngjae, you felt safe. You knew that he would never take advantage or go too far, you knew that your comfort was more important to him than anything else. You grabbed hold of your boyfriend’s suit lapels and giggled as you pulled him closer. Your lips danced together eagerly.

Youngjae’s phone buzzed.

“Shit,” he mumbled, keeping one arm around you while he dug in his pocket for his phone. He pulled it out to reveal the caller ID: Bambam. “Why the hell is he calling me now?”

You bit your lip. “Answer it. Is my sister with him?”

Youngjae held the phone up to his ear and shrugged. “Bambam, what is it? Huh? You’re where?” he demanded, suddenly releasing you and clutching the phone harder. You tensed as Youngjae listened to Bambam’s response. “Why did you take her with you… you’re getting what? Look. Stay there, don’t move and don’t do anything.”

He hung up and looked at you nervously.

“What’s happening? Is my sister with him?”

Youngjae cleared his throat. “They uh… they just ran away and are getting married, apparently.”

“What?”

Wedding Number Five: Bambam

“We have to tell somebody and stop them.”

You shook your head. “We can’t. My older sister would completely flip her shit if she found out about this. You don’t know how scary unnie can be when she’s mad. Besides, we can’t let this ruin Jaebum-oppa’s wedding. Imagine if we went in there and caused a scene and everyone went running over to stop Bambam from getting married? It would be our fault that their special day is ruined.”

Youngjae frowned. “It’s would be Bambam’s fault, if you ask me, but okay. We should go and talk to them ourselves first. Maybe they’re just messing around. Maybe they won’t really do it.”

You both hurried over to Youngjae’s car and he started it quickly, inputting the address of the small, non-descript church that your sister and Bambam had apparently escaped to during the noise and distraction of Jaebum’s wedding. You felt tense and worried. Why the hell would the two of them think it was a good idea to run away and get married in secret? Did they consider themselves Romeo and Juliet?

You sighed and leaned back in your seat as Youngjae peeled out of the parking lot. You could only imagine the sort of chaos this would cause once your older sister and your parents found out. They would never be okay with your sister marrying somebody like Bambam. Especially not without a proper wedding or any of the usual formalities.

“Do you think they’re drunk, or high or something?” you asked Youngjae nervously.

“Bambam sounded pretty sober to me.”

“I thought he was a playboy? That’s all I’ve heard about him. I can’t believe that he and my sister want to get married. They can’t seriously have thought this through, can they? They’re being stupid and reckless and we have to stop them from making a mistake, right?”

Youngjae’s fingers on the steering wheel were stiff. “Honestly? I have no idea.”

You groaned. “Fuck.”

“Let’s just go there and see what happens, okay? Don’t worry too much.”

You arrived at the tiny church to see your sister and Bambam waiting outside. They waved at your car as it approached and you stared in horror to see that your sister had already changed into a simple, cute white dress and was carrying a little bouquet of flowers.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” you demanded, your voice rising hysterically as you nearly leapt out of the car the moment it stopped. Youngjae reached out to grab your hand and calm you down but you couldn’t believe what was happening and you shook him off as you glared at your sister and Bambam, both of whom winced at your anger. “Are you two insane? When did you even leave Jaebum-oppa’s wedding? Do you think this is some kind of amusing joke?”

Youngjae laughed nervously. “Baby, calm down…”

You frowned. “Don’t tell me to calm down.”

Bambam piped up. “Noona, we can explain. Honestly, we just wanted-“

You pointed a finger at Bambam and frowned. “Don’t call me noona. I’m not your noona. What is wrong with the both of you? If you wanted to get married then why wouldn’t you do it like normal people by setting a date and inviting your families and maybe not by running away to a creepy, abandoned church?”

“It just seemed like such a hassle. We wanted to do it quickly and without a lot of fuss,” your sister told you with a pout. You were surprised when she came closer to you and grabbed your hand, her eyes looking straight into yours. You were shocked at how genuine her expression was. For once she didn’t seem to be joking around or playing. “Unnie, I love Bambam a lot. I’m not joking and I know what I’m doing. I know it’s hard for you to understand because you’ve always dreamed of a grand wedding and our older sister got married in such a beautiful place and with all our relatives and friends, but… we don’t want all that. We want it to just be the two of us. We don’t want to expose ourselves to people who are just going to judge us or criticize us. We prefer it this way.”

You stared at her. “You’re not making any sense. Are you pregnant?”

“God, no. I know you don’t agree with me, but… can you try and understand? Please? For me?”

You paused for a moment, confused. Youngjae was standing beside you and when you looked up at him he merely gave you a small smile. It’s your decision, his soft gaze seemed to tell you but he placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

Bambam cut in. “Noona, we’ve thought about this a lot. It’s not a rash decision, I promise. We’ve been planning this for a while now and we both know what we’re doing. We just need you both to be our witnesses for the official ceremony.”

You felt yourself crack. “I… I can’t… Mom and Dad and unnie would kill me if they found out I helped you two with this insane idea…”

“Please?”

You couldn’t deal with the pleading eyes staring at you. You had never been one to deny true love and something about this whole situation seemed eerily genuine. Taking a deep breath, you pointed a finger at Bambam and frowned. “If you hurt my little sister, I will track you down and cut your balls off so don’t even think about pulling anything funny.”

Bambam smiled. “I won’t, I promise.”

You turned and looked at Youngjae, who gave you a small smile and a slightly helpless shrug. His eyes were shining and you could tell that he was gently encouraging you to say yes. Damn it. If you were making a huge mistake then Youngjae would have stopped you by now, right? You took a deep breath and then looked at your sister.

“Fine. Let’s go in and get you two married.”

Youngjae squeezed your hand as you got back in the car after the simple wedding ceremony was over. He looked a little worried and he reached out to cup your cheek gently.

“Hey, babe. Are you okay?”

You bit your lip and turned to him worriedly. “We didn’t make a mistake, did we? I mean… they’re going to be okay, they’re not going to get the marriage annulled in a month or something are they? Did we help two people in love get married or did we help two kids who don’t know what they’re doing commit a foolish mistake?”

Youngjae took a deep breath and sighed. “Maybe we should give them more credit than that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Everyone wants different things. If they don’t want a huge wedding and they wanted to get married in private then… who are we to judge?” Youngjae wondered. He entwined your fingers together and leaned over to place a soft, gentle kiss on your forehead. “Love is different for everyone, baby. Maybe just being married is more important to them than having a grand ceremony and making a big deal out of it. We can’t tell them what to want or how to live their lives.”

You smiled at him. “You’re right. When did you become so profound?”

“I was always profound!” he told you with a laugh although he looked a little flustered. You beamed and suddenly realized how grateful you were to have Youngjae by your side. Filled with a sudden rush of affection for the handsome, kind and caring man sitting beside you, you leaned up and pressed your lips against his hard. Youngjae chuckled against your lips but let you kiss him.

“Why the sudden affection?” he asked you.

You smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just realized that I’m really glad to have you.”

“I’m glad to have you too.”

Wedding Number Six: Yugyeom

You couldn’t make it to Yugyeom’s wedding.

It was apparently a rather scandalous event; Bambam was the best man and he’d taken his responsibilities with plenty of liberties. Youngjae explained to you that apparently bling was a mandatory part of the dress code and Bambam himself had stood at the entrance to the venue and handed out gold chains to the people who had failed to comply with the code. You were shocked that Yugyeom’s bride was all right with something like that… but it turned out that he was marrying a blind girl that he’d met back in college and she didn’t care since she wouldn’t be able to see what the guests were wearing anyway.

It was sweet yet slightly amusing. You only hoped that they had told the poor girl, even if she couldn’t see it herself.

You had to work that day and your boss refused to give you a day off. It was the fifth wedding that you were attending that year and he’d grown a little tired of hearing your excuses. You’re not taking any more days off unless you decide to get married yourself, he told you firmly and you had called Youngjae to tell him that he would have to attend this wedding by himself. He whined a little bit but there wasn’t anything that could be done. You weren’t going to lose your job over something like this.

You came back home after a night of working late and planned to just take a shower and go to bed, when there was a knock at your door. You opened it and were surprised to see your boyfriend in a rather handsome suit. Youngjae beamed when he saw you.

“Baby!” he greeted you happily, stepping into your apartment to wrap you into his arms. You laughed and patted him on the back as he squeezed you. You could smell a little bit of alcohol and realized that he was probably tipsy.

“Hello, there. Had too much to drink, did we?” you cooed as you led him inside and sat him down on the couch. Youngjae bobbed his head in a nod, still smiling at you a little stupidly. You laughed and reached out to pinch his cheek. Youngjae was good at handling his alcohol so it was hard to tell when he was drunk, but once he crossed a particular limit he became extremely cute. “Do you want a drink of water, sweetie?”

He pouted and wrapped you into his arms, pulling you down beside him on the couch. “No, stay with me.”

“Okay,” you said with a smile and leaned up to peck him quickly before smiling at him. “How was Yugyeom’s wedding, then? I hope everything went well?”

Youngjae sighed. “It was really boring.”

“Even with Bambam there? And all the gold chains and sunglasses?”

“It was boring because you weren’t there,” Youngjae told you honestly, his voice a little bit slurred. He tightened his grip around you. “I felt so lonely and miserable for a long time and I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so down. Then I came out of the wedding and I sat in the car for a few minutes and then it hit me. I felt miserable because you weren’t there with me. I don’t like going to weddings without you.”

You giggled and rested your head on your shoulder. “I promise I’ll come to the next one. Is there even anyone left?”

“That’s not enough.”

“Huh?”

“The promise of the next wedding isn’t enough,” Youngjae told you firmly. “I want you to be there for every wedding. And not just weddings. I want to do everything together. We… we make a good team, right? Everything just seems so much better and easier and just more fun when you’re with me.”

You bit your lip and held back a smile. “I feel the same way, Youngjae.”

“Do you really?”

You nodded.

He cleared his throat and you were surprised when he suddenly let go of you and stood up. Youngjae kneeled down on the floor beside your couch and you watched as he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box. He held it out in front of you and bit his lip, looking at you nervously. His dark eyes pierced into yours and for a moment he looked completely sober, completely genuine. His fingers were trembling as he showed you the ring.

“Then promise me,” he whispered. “Marry me and be with me forever.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as you looked down at him and nodded.

“Yes,” you said softly. “Yes, let’s get married.”

Wedding Number Seven: Youngjae

“Thank God this is the last one,” Jinyoung muttered.

Youngjae pouted as he adjusted his suit. You had called him the night before and insisted that he wear his hair up, so he had struggled to get his dark strands to stay in place with hair product. He wasn’t sure if it looked all right but it was too late to fix it now. He was already standing at the altar of the church and waiting for you to turn up. Youngjae took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down before glaring at Jinyoung.

“Hyung, that’s hardly fair. I addressed over 120 invitations by hand for your wedding. How can you complain at mine?” he hissed, hoping that none of the guests would hear him.

“It would be kind of nice if you hurried this one up though, Youngjae. My wife’s due date is coming up soon,” Jackson pointed out with a chuckle, from his own position. Youngjae stopped fumbling with his suit and turned to glare at his friends.

“Hey! This is supposed to be a special moment for me-“

Jaebum laughed. “Relax, you know they’re only messing around and trying to get riled up, Youngjae. Stop looking so nervous. It’s not like you have anything to worry about. The only one of us likely to get ditched at the altar on his wedding day was Bambam and he solved that problem nicely by making sure that nobody could attend his wedding.”

Bambam stuck his tongue out. “Hyung, you’re just bitter that your anniversary and mine are on the same day-“

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “Why would I care about something like that-”

“Would you guys shut up? She’s coming! Do I look okay, is my hair fine? Do I have anything on my face?”

Yugyeom beamed and gave him a big thumbs up. “You look great, hyung! Just go for it!”

Youngjae stiffened and hurried to his original position as the doors opened and you entered, hand-in-hand with your father. Youngjae felt his heart racing as he looked at you. You were beautiful and his mind went blank when your deep, sparkling eyes met his. You were giving him a shy smile. He gaped at you as you approached him and climbed up onto the altar to stand across from him. Your cheeks were flushed pink and you bit your lip.

“Hi,” you whispered with a flustered giggle.

“Hi,” Youngjae replied, beaming at you. “Nervous?”

“Why would I be? I have you.”

In that moment, as he looked at the woman who stood across from him in a gorgeous white dress and prepared to commit to spend the rest of her life with him, Youngjae was absolutely positive that he was marrying the right woman. He was madly, passionately and deeply in love.

And it had only taken seven weddings.

#got7 #got7 scenarios #got7 scenario #got7 fluff #got7 fanfiction #got7 fanfic #choi youngjae #got7 youngjae #youngjae fluff #youngjae scenario #youngjae scenarios #got7 reactions #got7 imagines #got7 drabbles #got7 romance

534 notes · View notes

smolfangirl · 6 years

Text

A little fresa wedding II

Hello hello I am leaving this here so @miris-xo is too busy to murder my duck :D Though I also have to thank her, for bearing with me during my “I hate everything about this part” phase, my endless messages of possible wedding dresses and all the other things I put you through. Without you, this wedding truly wouldn’t happen! And I could still look at Rugge in a bathrobe...

Special Thanks go out to @lightwoods5ever for being the exact beta reader that I needed in that moment, I love you more than I love koalas ♥

And surprise, surprise, the same procedure as every year post: @ac-ars and @sky-girls used the name Rory first. I used my own brain to end up with this name (also because of my roommate who is obsessed with Gilmore Girls and keeps trying to talk me into watching it), which is why I didn’t give them any credit.

Word count: 2.7k

///

Pt. III - Getting ready

Since she woke up from her nap after breakfast, Aurora loves to play with the buttons of Matteo’s shirt. Her baby fingers constantly reach out for them, tossing on them, while he holds her in his lap.

Opposite to them, Gastón leans against the window frame, where he checks the view and throws a glance at his watch every few seconds. “The photographer is late,” he states, clearly annoyed.

“Will you relax?” Matteo asks, bouncing his daughter on one leg now, laughing along with her. “It’s been five minutes, there’s still plenty of time.”

“I should relax, that’s priceless,” he mutters under his breath. It’s been going on like this all morning – given his behavior, it’d be easy to think Gastón was the one who got married today, not Matteo. “I am relaxed,” his best friend continues, “but shouldn’t you be nervous? Just a little? Or did you spend all of that on your proposal?”

“Haha, had a clown for breakfast again?”

Gastón has a point though. Back when Matteo planned to ask Luna the big question, he had no chill whatsoever. Zero chill, really. It was a miracle to him how his best friend endured all the second-guessing and doubting and overthinking over every single tiny little detail. While Gastón listened to all his whining, he never complained. Too much.

“No, I mean it,” his best man now says. “Aren’t you afraid she changes her mind and dumps you at the altar?”

Matteo chuckles, then shrugs. “Nope, not really. She loves me too much,” he explains, copying the grimace Rory pulls at him before he snickers at her frown. “The only thing I’m afraid of is this little one here. Hm, Lily Aurora, don’t cause daddy any trouble today.” Lifting her so she can gawk back into his eyes, he puts on his most serious expression. “Will you promise?”

Her answer is to spit all over his shirt.

“Nice,” Gastón comments, although his laugh cuts off half the word.

A sigh hushes over Matteo’s lips while he gets up to clean what’s left to save in the bathroom. “At least it’s not the shirt Luna has to see me in.”

///

Of course, his daughter holds her own opinions on acting well-behaved even after ruining his favorite sleeping shirt.

He’s not done yet scrubbing her spit out of his shirt when her high-pitched voice cuts through the silence, abruptly ending it. With curses muttered under his breath, Matteo runs back into the room, where he finds Gastón cooing over his goddaughter.

“Don’t bother,” Matteo tries to tell him over the screams and cries while he strokes the back of his little girl. “When she screams like this, she’s hungry, so the only thing we can do is get her to…”

Knock knock.

“Matteo? Gastón? Can I come in?”

“Luna,” he finishes. By then, Gastón already jumps at him and covers his eyes with his hands, effectively taking his vision. “What the…”

“You can come in!”

The door opens. Frantic breaths panted into the air. The sound of a long skirt brushing over the floor. Little footsteps, as if Luna wore no shoes.

Just the possibility of her wearing her dress already makes his heart skip a beat. Not a single hint at how it looks has passed her lips in the last months, not that he doubts it will be anything but breathtaking. Maybe she’ll go with a glamorous look close to the ones she pulls off for the red carpet every single time, or maybe she’ll look like the princesa from his songs – either way, Matteo isn’t sure how he will be able to keep the tears away when he finally sees her.

“Let me get her,” he hears Luna saying, and perhaps it’s a good thing Gastón sticks his sweaty palms on his face. In her arms, their daughter already calms down, or at least enough for his best friend to scold the bride. “You could’ve ruined the whole surprise, moon girl! Why didn’t you send Nina over? Or one of the bridesmaids?”

“She’s getting her hair done right now, I thought it’d be faster this way.”

During the short silence that ensues, Matteo wonders if his best friend is shaking his head in disapproval. He feels stupid, too impatient to sneak a glance at his soon-to-be wife, but unable to see anything except darkness.

And he didn’t even get a chance to put his shirt back on.

“You do look beautiful, though.”

Matteo groans. “Just shut up, Gastón.”

Before he can reply, a small hand suddenly rests on his shoulder for support, and soft lips press a kiss on his cheek. “See you later, chico fresa.” Then, the door closes, and Rory’s whines fade and fade.

Sighing, Gastón releases Matteo out of his grip and lets himself fall on the bed. “You two will make me lose my sanity today.”

///

She wrote the note for him early in the morning.

When she woke up and Nina left to pick up breakfast, the sun still stood low enough to hit her directly through the window, dancing over her face. Her maid of honor told her to get ready for plates of croissants and scrambled eggs and whatever else she desired, but Luna already knew she’d only nibble on some toast.

Grabbing a piece of heavy paper from the drawer of the hotel desk, she sat down on the antiqued chair, thoughts lost in memories of last night. Sneaking outside with him, hand in hand. Watching the stars, too happy to find a single thing to ask them for. Soaking in his warmth, hearing his every breath in the quiet night…

She’d write a whole essay based on these moments alone, but she had to keep it short and sweet in order to slip it under his door in time.

What Luna didn’t expect was to receive a gift in return.

The photographer just walked in as she hands her a little box, almost like the one from his proposal. “The groom asked me to give this to you,” she explains in a whisper. The smile sticks to her face before Luna even opens it.

There’s no ring inside.

Instead, it reveals a strawberry USB stick and a note telling her to play it. She can’t get to the radio station fast enough.

///

The first song surprises her.

He isn't singing. Nothing but a piano tune fills the air, a melody she never heard before. Warm and light, she's sure it's a love song for his next album. It's not even the first demo of him that she listens to, but it messes with her heartbeat too much and brings tears to her eyes. For the first time today, she’s grateful for the waterproof make-up. Her bridesmaids watch her wipe back the teardrops, and Baby Aurora pats her hands completely out of rhythm, smiling. When Luna presses swift kisses on her daughter’s cheek, it turns into a happy giggle.

She plays the demo a second time, still unsure whether to smile or sob.

While the song starts again, Luna closes her eyes. Feels. Feels her chest tighten, and goosebumps running all over her body, down her arms, even to her legs.

Matteo hasn’t been much in the studio lately.

More than once did he mutter in helpless frustration how he much he missed those hours between microphones, guitars and scrambled notebooks, more than once did he convince her he had absolutely no time to fit a studio session in between preparing the wedding and spending time with his chica fresa.

She wonders how he managed to record just a sample like this, or when he composed it.

On second thought, however, it doesn’t matter much. What matters is his gift, the effort he put into making her smile, into soothing her jittery nerves on this day.

When the song fades out, familiar tracks follow it. Half of them are from her favorite relaxing playlist – they help her to take a deep breath and enjoy being treated like a princess. The other half, however… He made a chronology of their relationship, told by songs he wrote for her throughout their lives, from the very first one to the one from his last album that she played for two weeks straight.

Those help a little less with calming down.

///

She gasps when she sees herself in the mirror for the first time.

Simple as it may be, her wedding dress fits her perfectly. The lace top clings softly to her body, while the skirt flows towards the ground like a waterfall, swaying when she whirls around. Her hair falls in curves down her back, the veil held in place by her braid crown. She told her make-up artist to go for something light, but when she sees the carefully placed shimmer highlighting her eyes, Luna can’t help but to feel like a princess. A fairy princess.

If she ever worried her look might not be stunning enough for Matteo, there’s not a single doubt lingering in the back of her mind anymore.

Turning around to her daughter, Luna smiles. “Do you think mommy looks pretty for your daddy?” Aurora sits on the floor, fingers wrapped around an old make-up brush, a focused frown on her face. So far, her little one followed her every movement instead of paying attention to the toys around her, even when the brush left a lasting impression, apparently. Luna hopes Rory will feel exhausted enough from the morning to sleep through the whole ceremony.

In this moment, however, her daughter stares back at her out of those intense brown eyes, taking everything in.

“Do you think daddy might cry?” Luna caresses her little cheeks, before she gently tickles her belly. Rory giggles.

There might be a happy tear in the corner of Luna’s eyes.

“I think Gastón made a bet with Ramiro over his reaction to the dress,” Nina chimes in from the chair by the window. The hairdresser is pinning the last strands of her hair into their designated space, and Luna’s bridesmaids snap some pictures of the process.

“Do you know what they bet for?”

Nina shakes her head, then quickly apologizes to the young woman finishing her hairstyle. “No, I thought it’d be better if I didn’t ask. If he loses we’ll find out soon enough.”

The photographer asks Luna to stand in front of the door for a few photos. She smiles for the camera and tries to keep her hands from shaking. “We’ll know anyway, one is too much of a sore loser and the other one too happy over being right about Matteo”, Luna jokes. But her laugh sounds nervous suddenly.

Her gaze hurries to the clock on her bedside table. There’s plenty of time left, contrary to all the haunting stories of hectic mornings and messed-up schedules she heard before. For all the anxiety and stress Luna expected, the hours before her wedding went surprisingly smooth.

Maybe too smooth?

Luna shakes her head. No, she won’t fret over a problem that isn’t one, she won’t freak out. Not everything had been perfect, anyway. Her chica fresa almost terrorized the whole house until she picked her up, the complaint from Gastón included. (Seeing Matteo shirtless made it worth it, though.) The photographer hadn’t been here quite on time. Shoes got mixed up, one even going missing, until Yam found it had been kicked underneath the bed.

No, it hadn’t been picture-perfect, but everything is still okay. Those incidents are meaningless, and Miranda is there to handle everything else. Luna will probably have forgotten about this moment of second-guessing by the evening and it won’t matter the same way it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is Rosecliff, is walking down the aisle to Matteo. Matteo.

Thinking of the promise she’ll make to him, of the beautiful unity they’ll build makes her feel like an over-excited teenager again.

And she loves it. (Him.)

///

Pt. IV - First look

The moment the wedding march begins to play, Matteo thinks there’s a real chance of him fainting. A smile covers his face, he can sense it tugging on his lips until his cheeks hurt, but the anxiety still bites into his bones, takes over his whole body.

His heart races in his chest, speeding up, faster and faster.

His legs feel weaker by the second.

His head is empty. Completely blank, a haunted house in a body full of emotions.

There’s so much happening inside him in every moment, he doesn’t know how to focus on anything happening around him.

Except when Luna appears in his vision, walking down the aisle.

Towards him.

Tears. They drown his eyes before he even fully sees her.

She’s beautiful, of course she is. His princesa, his moon, his sun. His everything. Endless dresses have graced her body, but this masterpiece becomes Matteo’s favorite one in an instant. It wears her name in the delicate movements of the skirt, in the simple yet elegant top, in the way it makes her look like she’s floating above the ground.

Every step towards him takes an eternity. Every second in which she smiles at him without being by his side makes him want to hurry to her. The only reason why he doesn’t is because his body is frozen on his feet.

Tears, and a hundred more in line, and he lets them.

Matteo imagined this moment often. Laying eyes on her in a gorgeous dress, thinking how she’ll soon be his wife. Thinking of the life they spent together already, the life they’d build from now on. He imagined it when he was barely 20 years old, struggling to fall asleep in the darkness of his room without her by his side. He imagined it with a bitter taste on his lips when they took a break and tried to figure out their careers instead of their relationship. And he imagined it while he planned his proposal, when it was the only picture in his head able to calm him down and tear his thinned nerves at the same time.

With so many scenarios for this unique moment of his life, he’s surprised that none of them live up to reality.

Nothing comes to his mind. No memories, no words, no pictures of their future, nothing but a hurricane of emotions crashing down on him.

He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Luna reaches him. In his peripheral vision, her dad holds her hand and offers it to him, although Matteo is too charmed, hexed, starstruck by his bride to divert his attention from her. Her eyes brighten up at his touch, green and warm and filled with a love that burns every doubt or insecurity he ever had about their relationship.

“You are the most beautiful woman in this whole universe,” he whispers. With a chuckle, she presses a kiss on his hand. “So, you’re saying our daughter isn’t the most beautiful?” He follows her gaze towards their little chica fresa, sleeping in her stroller as if this wasn’t one of the most important days in the life of her parents.

Matteo grins. “Of course not.”

The officiant clears his throat. Matteo’s hand intertwines with Luna’s, and with one last smile to each other, they face the man about to marry them. “Dear friends and family, today we have gathered to celebrate the union off…”

A strange noise cuts through his voice. Loud, and rattling. The officiant falls silent, frowns. In the following seconds, Matteo can hear his own heartbeat. Nothing was supposed to go wrong today, absolutely nothing and yet they didn’t even make it past the formal opening of the ceremony. Shit.

The noise comes back. From behind him, familiar, like the taste of a missing word on the tip of his tongue. But he heard it before, he knows that much.

Luna did, too.

A third time. A snore. And another one.

Slowly, they take another glance at their daughter. Resting her head on the side, with eyes closed and relaxed, she looks too innocent to produce this kind of eruption. But she snores again, and there’s no doubt, their little one is the sound hazard for their own wedding.

Gastón bursts into laughter. Waves and waves of hysterical giggles break out of him, and every attempt to calm down fails before it even begins. Soon, Luna grins sheepishly as well, along with the rest of the wedding party.

In the end, the ceremony starts ten minutes later than planned. Rory notices none of that.

#soy luna #lutteo #my sl fanfiction #a little fresa story #there are so many references in this one #one to a German New Year's Eve tradition #one to another au idea of mine #one scene was straight up a silly joke I came up with but Miri insisted on it #kinda #anyway wow things are getting real here

17 notes · View notes