“Why haven’t you been going to therapy?”

“I don’t need too. My arm is functioning just fine.”

“Is that what you call suddenly dropping your cup because you couldn’t keep grasp of it.”

“My hand just tingled a little. It’s no big deal Yifan.”

“No big deal! Why am I the only one taking your health seriously?”

“You’re just overreacting. My doctor said it’s normal for tingles and numbness to occur but if frequent it’s a problem. One time isn’t anything to worry about.” Aubrey said nonchalant as she sat at the dining room table. “Come on, your vows aren’t going to write themselves.”

“I thought we weren't doing vows?”

“I changed my mind. Well, kinda. We can do the basic ones at the wedding but how about a speech at the wedding dinner.”

“Isn’t that what the reception is for?”

“Trust me, I’ll be too wasted to make a proper speech.”

“We can’t both be wasted.” Yifan spoke from the kitchen.

“Sure we can! Fast track to baby wu that our parents are just dying for us to have. Can you imagine us being parents by Christmas next year?”

“Can we enjoy a year of marriage before kids?” Yifan asked placing the sandwich he made in front of Aubrey.

“I was just kidding.” Aubrey laughed. “I still wanna travel a bit and I’ve gotten quite a few offers and a hand few are solid enough for me to really consider.” Aubrey said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Anything in China?”

“Well I’ve been asked to help write a script for a drama, but I think that’s because Aaron’s going to be the lead. And then that internship emailed me, apparently the applicant they chose was trash.”

“Of course they were trash! No one was better for the job than you.” Yifan said proudly.

“Thanks.” Aubrey smiled.

“You guys are sooooo cute.” Emily spoke with dry enthusiasm as she walked into the kitchen.

“Hey Emily.” Yifan said politely.

“Hello….”

“What are you doing here Em?”

“Was i ruining a moment?”

“Not at all. I just didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Wow, hiding the fact that I was coming over? What else are you hiding?” Emily asked, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t tell her because you came early. I wanted us getting on good terms to be a surprise wedding present for her.”

“Being stingy with gifts , huh? It’s not like you don’t have money to get her a decent gift.”

“I thought surprising her with her best friend at the wedding that said best friend said she wasn’t going to would be a good present. And since you think I’m keeping secrets, invited Kihyun as well.”

“You what?!” Aubrey yelled, from her seat at the table. “Yifan….”

“I know how you feel but I still think he should be there.”

“Then I’m leaving.” Aubrey spoke as she got up from her chair.

“Aubrey, I think you should stay.”

“And I hate to agree with him, but you should stay and talk to him.”

“I’d rather not, but you guys go ahead have fun.” Aubrey said leaving the living room and the house soon after, but as her luck would have it she’d run into Kihyun in her driveway.

“Hey.” Kihyun spoke, hands in his pockets.

“Hey.” Aubrey before walking past him to her car.

“Are you leaving?” Kihyun asked as he walked up to Aubrey’s car.

“Yeah. Yifan wants to talk with Emily and you, so I’m going to do something with Minnie.”

“Joo and Reign said you two had gotten really close from being in LA.”

“Yeah, well that’s what happens when a friend sticks by a friend.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

“Aubrey I-”

“Save it. They’re waiting inside.” Aubrey said climbing into the car and wasting no time pulling out the driveway.

“This is going to be harder than I thought….” Yifan sighed.

“That’s what you get for waiting until the last damn minute….”

~~~~~~~~~

“I didn’t know you were visiting today.” Chanyeol told Reign as he walked with her to the practice room.

“Well I wasn’t expecting Minseok to call me. I know he’s avoiding me….” Reign pouted.

“He thinks you and Jooheon are a thing.”

“We already had that talk! I told him I wasn’t.”

“I guess he heard Jooheon call you his girl at the concert and decided to take a step back.”

“A step back? What the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know but maybe you’ll find out today.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s dying to tell us how he’s reconnected with his ex.” Reign rolled her eyes.

“His ex? Ohh you mean Jimin! They aren’t getting back together. We all know that was just her desperate attempt at getting her name back out there after her main singer left the group.”

“Wow. What a scheming !” Reign cursed causing chanyeol to laugh as he opened the practice room door.

“What so funny?” Joonmyeon asked.

“Definitely not one of your jokes.” Chanyeol answered.

“My jokes are funny! You know what park I’d like to visit when we visit New York?”

“Here we go again…..” Kyungsoo sighed as he was blocked by Baekhyun when he tried to launch his water bottle across the room at Joonmyeon.

“Linkin Park!” Joonmyeon laughed.

“When will you stop hyung?” Sehun asked, shaking his head.

“When will you kids get a sense of humor?”

“When your jokes get funny.” Jongdae replied.

“So since everyone’s here, I have an announcement.” Minseok said, standing up before Joonmyeon and his jokes went to far.

“You seem real serious about whatever you want to talk about.” Baekhyun observed as Chanyeol and Reign sat on either side of him.

“Well it is serious….. I’ve decided to enlist at the end of the year.”

“What!?” The room choroused.

“My age is getting up there, I’ll be required to leave eventually and I’d like to do it now and not wait till the last minute.”

“But hyung!” Sehun spoke before Joonmyeon began speaking.

“You’ll all be busy with various projects. Baekhyun and Jongdae have a few collabs in talks. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol will be acting. Yixing will be working in China. Sehun will be modeling and sure there will be more schedules for us. I agree that Minseok has picked a good time for him to go. He’ll also be able to promote when the time comes for you all to enlist when the time is right for you.”

Reign had enough and rose from her seat and stormed out of the practice room, ignoring her name being shouted multiple times.

“You should go after her hyung.” Sehun spoke, getting a nod from Minseok before he headed after her.

Minseok ran through the halls, nearly falling down the stairs to catch up to Reign who was already outside.

“Rye…” Minseok called as he caught up to Reign, grabbing her arm to turn her around.

“Get your hands off of me!” Reign yelled as she threw Minseok’s hand off of her.

“Just talk to me.” Minseok said in calm voice.

“You’ve been avoiding me and then you call me here to tell me you’re enlisting, who the do you think you are.”

“I didn’t think you’d react like this…..”

“Why not?! Because of Jooheon? I told you already that I’m not involved with him other than a friendship. That I don’t have feelings for him. I thought we could talk to each other about anything.”

“We can.”

“Then after you heard what you thought was Jooheon calling me his girl, why didn’t you come talk to me… I wanted to share all my hard work with you but you avoided me.”

“I thought I shouldn’t smother you, that you should spend time with your friends, your family.”

“YOU ARE MY FAMILY!.....After everything…. you’re my family… the only one I want is you….” Reign spoke, finally allowing her tears to fall.

“You have me….” Minseok spoke softly, holding Reign’s face in his hands before crashing his lips to hers.

•••••••

“Did you not see the way she dipped out the moment you said Kihyun was coming.”

“You should have seen her in the driveway. She basically ran for her car.”

“She just needs to be cornered is all. I was hoping for that today but the wedding dinner will be as good a place as anywhere else.”

“But what if she causes a commotion?” Emily asked.

“She won’t. If this is really as important to as she says then she won’t want to draw attention. I’d be able to take her away from everyone else.”

“Hopefully you break through to her. This is a wedding that should have never been allowed to make it this far.”

“It’s my fault. I should have held out.” Yifan sighed.

“She can be very persuasive. It’s not your fault but mines. I didn’t fight for her. Apart of me really thought that she was happy regardless of this being an arrangement.”

“Save it for Aubrey.” Emily said rudely. “I’ve been rooting for you….I really have...even though you’ve both waited till the last moment to realize that you’ve both handled this wrong. And I hate to be the one to say it, but what say you talk her out of the wedding, what if….what if it’s too late? What if the Aubrey you fell in love with, isn’t the same one you’re having a talk with?”

Kihyun paused. A thoughtful look on his face, before he spoke.

“I’ll just make her fall for me all over again.”

•••••••

“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet since we left the company..” Taemin watching Aubrey watch the kids playing in the park.

“Sorry Minnie. I’m fine. I didn’t mean to make you worry…”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Taemin as he took Aubrey’s ice cream wrapper and through it in the trash bin beside the bench.

“Did you see the way he ran after her?”

“Is that what’s making you this way? Because we saw Reign and Minseok hyung?”

Aubrey nodded her eyes slowly as her eyes moved to the little girl who had fallen off her scooter.

“We used to be like them….” Aubrey whispered, nodding at the little girl who was now joined by a little boy who was now blowing on the little girls scraped knee.

“Ahhh…. so Reign and Minseok hyung reminded you of Kihyun and yourself.” Taemin said thoughtfully.

“We went through so much when we were kids…. he helped teach me piano…. helped with my homework…. played with me…he was there when my dad died.... he never felt like a brother to me…. he said he loved me….. so...so why didn’t he fight for me?” Aubrey questioned at the end of her broken thoughts.

Taemin pulled Aubrey’s head until it leaned on his chests.

“Say he did fight for you….would you have went to him?” Taemin asked, his dark eyes looming over Aubrey’s figure.

Aubrey remained quiet for a while, watching the little version of herself and Kihyun walk away, holding hands as the walked back to their mothers.

“Of course I would have…..I would have took his hand in a heartbeat….”

“So if Kihyun was to comeback right now, said he loved you, told you not to marry Yifan….”

“Don’t ask me what I’d do….because honestly I don’t know…” Aubrey said closing her eyes, soaking up the sun and Taemin’s mixture of warmth.