Weddings are a joyous occasion. It should be. It’s supposed to be. Especially this particular wedding. She should be ecstatic, crying tears of joy and not leaving a dry eye in the room as she delivers her speech as the Maid of Honor in the most genuine way she possibly can.

“It’s almost like a joke - the way Henry came into our lives,” Amber starts, gripping the glass of champagne in her hand - a lifeboat that will guide her out of this hopefully unscathed (she doubts that). “I was actually the one who met him first.” she chuckles and hopes no one notices the bitter undertones. “I was in New York and he helped me out of a sticky situation. Fast forward to a few months later, we met again at my dad’s party and now he’s marrying my sister. Someone up there must have really wanted you to be in our lives.”

The audience laughs and Amber smiles at Sunyoung’s direction. Her sister laughs with the rest of the crowd, smiling fondly at her before turning to Henry, grabbing his hand and squeezing it gently. Amber looks away, remembering how a few months ago in New York, she had done the same thing.

****

Amber hurried to the cafe, having noticed a man from her past (The Most Douchey Ex-Boyfriend Ever) walking towards her. She heard him calling her name but she ignored him, quickly scanning the cafe for a place to hide.

She spotted a lone man in the furthest corner of the cafe, headphones on and writing furiously on a music sheet. She swallowed her pride and hurried to his table, sitting across him. He looked up, startled and Amber offered a tentative smile.

“I’ll explain later but please help me out and play along for a few minutes.” She said before grabbing his hand and leaning forward just in time for her ex to saunter over their table.

“Hey,” Amber heard him say. She tore her eyes away from the man across her (who is still a bit shaken up, judging from the way he’s looking at her) and looked up.

“Oh, hey, Josh.” She said casually, like she hadn’t seen him beforehand and ran for her life. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Josh frowns. “I called out to you outside but you must have not heard me.” His gaze landed on Amber’s hand which was still intertwined with the stranger’s.

Amber smiled. “Ah, this is Harry,” she turned her attention back to her pretend boyfriend and saw his eyebrows twitch. “He’s my boyfriend.”

Harry blinked at him, probably internally screaming. She wouldn’t blame him if he was.

She pleaded at him with her eyes, accompanied by a gentle squeeze of his hand.

“Right,” ‘Harry’ finally said, extending his free hand for Josh to shake. “I’m Harry, her boyfriend. Nice to meet you bro.”

Something inside her seemed to stir the moment he introduced himself as her boyfriend and she knows that it’s not good. Almost immediately, all the red flags started flashing in her head but she ignored them, opting to give his hand another squeeze as a sign of thanks for playing along. He glanced at her for a moment, smiling, and instantly, the stirring turned into a full blown hurricane inside her. She was so out of it that she didn’t realize that he was engaging in a small talk with Josh, barely even acknowledged Josh’s goodbye and only came to her senses when the small warmth enveloping her hand was gone.

“It’s Henry, actually, but Harry’s close enough.” He said, grinning.

Amber chuckled, keeping her hands occupied by fiddling with the napkin holder before she does something stupid, like grab his hand again. She’s sure he wouldn’t appreciate that.

“I’m Amber, your girlfriend for the past two minutes.” She grinned, hoping the blush wasn’t visible on her cheeks. She could blame it on the weather but they’re inside and it’s quite toasty.

“Well, as your boyfriend, it would be my absolute pleasure to buy you a cup of coffee.”

****

Henry hasn’t taken his eyes off of her since she started the toast and she really doesn’t want to overthink or overanalyze the longing that she sees in his eyes. She clears and purposely looks away.

“My beloved sister, Sunyong,” Amber continues. “Has always been the hopeless romantic out of the two of us. It’s annoying sometimes, I have to be honest.” The audience laughs again. “So it’s not really a surprise that she fell for Henry the first time she laid eyes on him.”

Sunyoung blushes prettily and Amber smiles, even though her heart is twisting inside her chest. She and her sister are more alike than she originally thought.

****

“Do you really want to go through with this?” Amber asked as she watched Sunyoung fix her makeup, bouncing slightly on the younger’s bed. “You don’t even know who this guy is. He’s just someone that dad wants you to marry.”

“It’s fine, Amber,” Sunyoung smiled, applying a light blush on her cheeks. “Dad said that if I don’t like the guy, then I don’t have to do it. There’s no harm in meeting him.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “You’re too optimistic.”

“You’re too cynical.” Sunyoung laughed. “At least promise me that you’ll try to enjoy the party. Maybe you’ll meet a guy who can match you without dad having to play cupid.”

“I highly doubt that.” Amber snorted but suddenly, her thoughts were filled by a particular boy she met in New York whose smile caused a hurricane inside her. She doubts she’ll ever see him again. She hadn’t asked for his number - she has too much pride for that - and he didn’t ask hers so she thought he’s not interested. There’s that.

When Sunyoung finally finished getting ready, they hopped on Amber’s car and drove off to the hotel where their dad is hosting a party for his business partners. She usually doesn’t go to these parties but her sister insists that she come and Amber really didn’t have the heart to say no to her.

The first thing she did upon arriving at the party was grab a glass of champagne. Sunyoung giggles at her before grabbing one herself, both of them politely smiling at everyone who greets them.

“I have no idea who these people are.” Amber whispered.

Sunyoung chuckled. “Just smile and pretend you’re interested.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” Amber grumbled and Sunyoung laughs.

“Come on, let’s go to the buffet.”

Halfway through stuffing her face with some fancy cream puffs, Sunyoung excused herself because she saw a friend from across the room and Amber waved her away, focusing on the absolutely divine pastry in front of her.

“Do you want a drink to swallow those down?”

Amber looked up, ready to tell whoever it was to stop being judgemental and leave her alone but ended up being shell-shocked when she saw who it was.

“Hi,” Henry greeted with a smile and Amber felt the beginnings of a hurricane in her, feeling something squeezing her lungs together as she gasps in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, of all places.”

When Amber finally managed to compose herself, she grinned at him. “I could say the same to you.”

“Let me guess, your father’s a businessman?” Henry asked, handing her a glass of champagne.

“Yep.” Amber answered, taking the drink and sipping it. “Though, I can’t take more than a few minutes of business talks. I would die in boredom if I do.”

Henry chuckled. “I take it, you’re not the one inheriting the family business?”

“God, no.” Amber scrunches her nose at that. “That’s my sister’s job. She’s younger but she’s more suited for that.”

“What is it, then, that you are most suited for?”

Amber hesitated for a moment. Henry’s from a family of a businessman, she’s sure, and every time people from her father’s circles ask what she’s going to do if she’s not succeeding her father’s business, they knit their eyebrows together and whisper behind their hands about how irresponsible she is.

But Henry’s waiting patiently for her to answer, looking genuinely interested.

“You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“Why would I think that?”

Amber squinted at him and he just smiled, a welcomed promise to trust him. She sighed. “I want to go to film school.”

Henry’s smile softened, stepping closer to her and Amber could almost feel the air being out of her lungs. “I don’t think that’s stupid at all.”

Amber’s smile was wide, baring her teeth as her eyes bore into his, the hurricane inside her getting stronger and she’s afraid he’s going to be the cause of her devastation. Oddly enough, she didn’t mind. She just hoped that he’s feeling the same turmoil as she is.

“Hey,” Sunyoung walked back to her, straightening out her dress. “Sorry, I got held up. Mr. Choi’s rambling about his son again.”

Amber watched as her sister’s eyes landed on Henry and her smile faltered when she noticed the look on her face, heart sinking.

“Who’s your friend?” Sunyoung asked but her eyes stayed glued on Henry like she’s physically unable to look away.

“Oh, um,” Amber cleared , suddenly finding it hard to speak. “T-this is Henry. I met him in New York a few months ago.”

“Henry,” Sunyoung breathes almost dreamily. “I’m Sunyoung.”

****

Amber still vividly remembers the look on Sunyoung’s face that night, the way she smiled at Henry, the way she couldn’t stop talking about him even when they got home. And Amber remembers thinking, How convenient, he’s the guy their dad wants Sunyoung to marry. At that time, Amber wanted to scream, wanted to be childish and throw a tantrum and say that she saw him first - fell in love with him first. But she knows she couldn’t. Because Sunyoung had already sacrifice a lot for her - took the responsibility of taking over the business because she refused; had shouldered the pressure of their dad wanting to play cupid when she’s the one who’s supposed to be in her position.

And for all of those, this is just a small sacrifice that she has to make. She loves Sunyoung more than anything and her happiness comes first.

“Best wishes to you both,” Amber raises her drink, the crowd following after her. “Be happy.”

Sunyoung’s smile lessens the knot in her heart but when she’s finally brave enough to look at Henry, the knot tightens again because his eyes mirror the longing in hers, screaming multitudes of feelings that they never got the chance to act on.

Amber looks away and steps back from the microphone.

Her sister is happy, that should be enough.