CHAPTER 8: WEDDING PREPARATIONS

 

 

Later the same day Bin and Minhyuk received a mission and asked if I wanted to join them. I was surprised how different these people’s missions were, compared to my own gang’s. We had to keep intruders away, chase enemies and fight, sometimes run errands and always make sure to keep away from the eyes of the officials. If a police caught us, it was our own problem. But in this gang, everything was so very business-like. Bin and Minhyuk’s mission was to deliver some important documents to an another company and to make sure the right person received the envelope. I almost chuckled seeing how the boys dressed in neat clothes and styled their hair before leaving the apartment. At first I was about to follow them out of pure curiosity, but just before they left, tired-looking Myungjun returned from his mission and said he had something to tell me. The boy looked very exhausted. His hair was messy and he had visible dark circles.

So, I watched Bin and Minhyuk leave as Myungjun and I sat down on the living room’s sofa. I glanced at the boy. He must’ve left very early in the morning to look this tired – besides, it was already 3pm and he had already left when I had woken up. Such a long mission.

“What were you doing since morning?” I asked.

“Nothing too important”, the boy said, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, dad said he wants to eat dinner with us today. I guess he has decided the wedding date.”

I let out an awkward cough following the unfamiliar words. Wedding date. It was coming closer. I looked down but managed to visibly nod before that.

“I guess it would be appropriate to dress in nice clothes or something”, Myungjun said and turned to look at me. “No offence but you look a bit ragged.”

At first I was about to glare at him, maybe place a punch on his shoulder. But then I thought about the words. To be honest, what he said was very true. Most of my clothes were not even near to fancy or even appropriate for fine dinners. Not to mention my face and hair. I didn’t even own any makeup products and my long locks were all dry and full of forked hairs. I sighed.

“I suppose you have a hair salon and a wardrobe for me to choose my clothes from in this building”, I snorted and rolled my eyes.

“No, actually”, Myungjun denied quickly, flashing me an annoying smirk. “But there are many in this neighbourhood. Do you want someone to take you somewhere?”

Someone. I knew it already that this ‘someone’ would be him. Like I’d have someone else anyway. Bin and Minhyuk had become relatively friendly towards me but they had left just minutes earlier. I sighed and got up from the sofa. “You better take me to the best places then. I want a complete makeover.”

 

An hour from that moment I looked around me in a high-end design store with enlarge, plate-sized eyes. I had never believed a fashion store could look this luxurious. There were comfy-looking designer chairs and sofas here and there, the floors and even the walls were squeaky clean and shiny, and every piece of clothing was neatly organized. I acknowledged the fact Myungjun was amused by my reaction to the store, and his mischievous smile started to annoy me once again, so I tried my best to just ignore his presence and concentrated on choosing a few dresses to try on.

This dress fitting was – for my luck – easier and faster than the wedding dress fitting the day before. The first dress I tried on looked good on me, and since I liked it, I decided to take it. The dress was retro-style but just enough modernized. It was white and had yellow and green flowery patterns all over it. The short sleeved and the loose fit made it comfortable enough for me to wear. I stared at the monstrous stiletto heels of the store, terrified, until I found cute and chunky platform sandals to wear with the dress. After the relatively quick store visit, I found myself sitting on a hair salon’s chair with hair dye in my hair. I wasn’t sure what colour would fit me the best so I had given the hairdresser a chance to do whatever she wanted. A bit later the woman stared at the dead ends of my hair and then glanced at me before asking if it was alright to cut several centimetres away. I felt myself blushing a little bit. It really had been over a year since my last salon visit, besides, I didn’t really have time to care for my hair.

I stared at my reflection from the mirror. The dull, dry, black hair from earlier seemed to be gone. My hair was now healthy and shiny, visibly lighter – a shade of caramel – and shorter. Earlier it had reached my waist, now it touched my shoulder blades. The difference just hair could make was huge. I could see Myungjun smirking at me through the mirror and rolled my eyes. Someday I would punch that damned smirk off his face. Rip his mouth off, if needed.

Since Myungjun had some time to rest during our visits to the clothing store and the salon, he seemed a lot more energetic as we walked out to the chilly, breezy winter evening. And it could be seen, too. The more energy he had, the more annoying he got.

“Make sure to take a picture for that boyfriend of yours”, he chuckled.

I tried to close my eyes and not listen to what he was saying. It annoyed me, the way he talked about Eunwoo. He was my best friend; he could have been a lot more too without this contract. And he could be, after this long mission of mine would be over.

“Does he know who you’re marrying?” Myungjun asked. “He must be so pissed off!”

I turned to glare at the boy. “I don’t have the mood to listen to your crap now. Shut up.”

“Do you even know how to speak with respect to your elders?” he snorted.

I stopped walking, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Do you even know my age?”

The boy let out a chuckle, rolled his eyes and tilted his head, also stopping. “Lim Aeri, daughter of the late Lim Mincheol, born 3rd of February, 1996.”

I stared at the boy, trying to hide the fact that I was surprised by the information he knew about me. I had no idea how old this boy was, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have been even surprised if he was multiple years younger.

“Well, what should I call you then?” I asked. “Oppa? Ahjussi?”

The boy snorted. “Isn’t oppa a bit too much this soon? Just call me Myungjun. I’m two years older than you.”

I felt my lips forming a small pout. I really knew nothing. I didn’t know anything about this boy, besides his name, the fact that he was super annoying, and now that he was two years older than me.

“Alright then”, I sighed. “What about the others? Bin, Minhyuk, Miyeon.”

“Bin is two years younger than you, Minhyuk three. Miyeon is the same age as you”, Myungjun said, shrugging his shoulders.

I narrowed my eyes. Bin had been talking to me in a very carefree way. Well, I couldn’t blame him. He probably didn’t know my age either, and taking to consideration my short height, he probably thought I was much younger.

“I’m going to rest some more now”, Myungjun informed me while opening the apartment’s door for me. “Let’s meet at seven.”

I looked as the boy disappeared into his room, and sat down on the living room’s sofa. I hadn’t really done anything today, but still I felt tired. Did these people put something in the food to make me feel so drowsy all the time? I grabbed a tangerine and peeled it while scrolling through my phone. No new messages or calls. I thought about Chanmi and my unit. I wondered if they were doing fine. According to Eunwoo Chanmi had been doing well, but I could never know. Chanmi wasn’t the type to actually show her feelings – just like me. I stuffed the pieces of tangerines in my mouth and looked at the paper bags at the apartment’s door. Myungjun had demanded we’d buy some other clothes too, not just the dress for today, so that I’d get something to fill my closet with. As much as I disliked the boy and his cheekiness, I was thankful about the clothes. I sighed. I had about an hour until we’d leave. I got up, grabbed the paper bags and headed to my room, closing the door behind me.

 

At 7pm Myungjun and I were ready to leave the apartment and meet his father. Seeing the boy dressed in a suit and a necktie sure did give him a different feel, compared to the loose fit, comfy clothes he seemed to like wearing on his free time. We headed to the elevator and then out of the building, to a car that was waiting for us. I walked carefully on my platform sandals – even though the heel wasn’t very high and it had a chunky feel to it, I wasn’t used to walking I heels at all. I didn’t want to fall down and hurt myself.

The meeting was held in a western-style restaurant and I was pretty sure the prices of the dishes were very expensive – something I couldn’t have been able to pay by myself. We walked to a private room in the back of the restaurant, probably build for private meetings and parties. Myungjun’s father, Mr. Kim, was already there, sitting at the head of a long table. His face brightened the moment we stepped in.

“You’re here”, he said, getting up and smiling at us. The genuine happiness on his face almost made me feel bad for him. Myungjun and I didn’t come along at all, besides, he’d be very sad when I’d be able to leave the gang.

“Hello, dad”, Myungjun said at the man and sat down.

“Good evening”, I greeted the man, sitting down next to Myungjun.

“How are you doing, Aeri?” the man asked. “Are you comfortable with us?”

I bit my lip as I though very hard what to say. I didn’t want to seem suspicious, but I also didn’t want to seem unhappy. “I’m still getting used to everything. It’s all so different and new for me.”

Mr. Kim flashed me a wide smile. “I’m sure about that. But I assure you everything will become more normal after the wedding.”

Myungjun let out an awkward cough. “Have you decided the date yet?”

“Yes”, the man replied simply, turning to look at his son. “Next Sunday.”

I had just taken a sip of water to ease my nervousness and was now about to choke on it. Next Sunday? It was just a week away! I did understand that the CEO wanted the wedding ceremony to be quickly over so that the benefits of the marriage contract would become effective for the gangs. But still, the fact that in a week I’d be officially married, terrified me. I glanced at Myungjun, who didn’t look very comfortable either. He, anyhow, proceeded to just nod as a reply for his father.

“I’m going to have the wedding invitations sent tomorrow”, Mr. Kim stated while two waitresses walked into the room and placed servings on the table. The food was steaming, hot and both looked and smelled delicious. “I have naturally invited your previous gang’s chief, Hwang Yikyung.”

I felt my muscles tensing up a little bit. I’d have to meet her in my own wedding? Things were just getting better and better. I, anyhow, couldn’t show my displeasure to this man, so I just nodded.

“I have thought of her as a good chief”, the man said. “She’s been doing well for the last three years. You’re lucky to have her as your father’s successor, Aeri. And to think about the fact she cares about you enough to still call you the heiress of the gang. Were you going to apply for the position of the chief?”

It was almost amusing how much wrong information the public and other gangs seemed to have about Yikyung and her ways. She had been tearing the gang apart for the years she had been in lead and she did not respect me at all. She hated me, and she thought of me as a threat. I had to force myself to not reveal it all by laughing at this man’s words.

“No”, I replied while I cut the steak on my plate. “I’ve never been the leader type. I can’t think of myself as the chief.”

The man chuckled quietly as he sipped a mouthful of wine. “I see.”

The food in this restaurant was excellent, to put it simply. Every bite I took was delicious and I didn’t even notice the plate getting empty very quickly. From time to time I glanced at Mr. Kim. I had expected a very formal evening, but he chattered with me and Myungjun very freely, making the atmosphere relaxed. The evening flew by in a blink of an eye, and soon it was time for us to leave.

We wished Mr. Kim a good night and waited for him to leave first, he apparently still had somewhere to go. Then we headed back to the headquarters – Myungjun thought it would be a good idea to walk since the restaurant wasn’t that far from home. I almost choked on my spit realizing I had thought of the word home while thinking of the apartment I was now living in. It wasn’t exactly my home.

“I’ve never been the leader type”, Myungjun repeated the words I had said earlier, in a mocking way. “Alright, but why do you keep bossing everyone around then?”

“It’s not the same thing”, I sighed.

“Yeah, alright”, the boy snorted. “I almost burst into a laughter listening to you talking to dad. So you can respect your elders.”

“Be quiet”, I groaned and started walking faster.

“So much for the respect…” Myungjun sighed.

I stopped walking and turned around to glare at him. “Shut up… please.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Dogs can be trained, maybe wolves can be too.”

“Come on”, I snapped. “Could you even try to behave?”

“Why? Are you falling for my playfulness?” he asked, smirking at me.

“No”, I replied, staring at the boy blankly. “We’re a married couple. You’re the one who said it, we should show the world that we’re happy.”

Finally, I could silence the arrogant boy, who just stared at me while we continued walking, this time without words. Miyeon could be silenced in one go the same morning, but I doubted this boy would be that easy. He’d continue annoying me on purpose the next day, possibly even the same evening. I’d need to come up with something snarky to say to him.

 

Bin and Minhyuk were home, welcoming us as we stepped into the apartment. Bin glanced at me, then turned back to the TV before getting up from the sofa and staring at me again. I tilted my head before realizing. I must’ve looked very different compared to earlier. My hair, my clothes… they hadn’t seen it yet.

“Look at her”, Bin said to Minhyuk. “I told you she looked beautiful yesterday but now she’s completely transformed.”

Minhyuk turned to look at me and his eyes enlarged. “Is it really you?”

I couldn’t help but to laugh. Myungjun huffed by himself and headed to his room. I didn’t care but stepped closer to the boys and turned around to show the dress to them better.

“If you weren’t married, I’m sure all of the gang’s guys would chase you”, Bin chuckled.

“You’re overreacting, Bin”, I said and crossed my arms. “And. Do you know how old I am?”

The boy blinked a few times before tilting his head.

“I’m a noona for both of you”, I stated. “I’m two years older than you, Bin. You’ve been talking to me quite care-freely.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Really? You look so young!”

Minhyuk let out an embarrassed chuckle. “You’re supposed to apologize, hyung.”

“No need”, I said. “Just remember that you’re younger and that I can bully you all I want.”

The boys sat back down on the sofa and started laughing by themselves, clearly very surprised. I chuckled and walked to my room, closing the door behind me. I just got to change into comfy pyjamas as I heard a knock on the door. I didn’t even get to ask the person to come in as the door already opened and I saw Miyeon peek in, looking a bit hesitant.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Why not…”

The girl stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She walked closer to me and glanced at the bed awkwardly, like wondering if she should ask or not whether she could sit down. I nodded at her and she sat down next to me. The atmosphere was still very awkward.

“Did you have something to say?” I asked.

She glanced at me. “Well… I guess I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier.”

“You are?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Ah, stop that”, she snorted. “Making me look all guilty…”

I chuckled. “Well… you have done something good too. Without you the dress fitting would have been impossible. Bin’s opinions weren’t very clear.”

Miyeon rolled her eyes and let out a small laughter. She started playing with her pink sweater’s oversized sleeves, clearly trying to come up with something to say.

“Did you eat dinner with the CEO?” she then proceeded to ask.

I nodded. “Yeah. Everything went well but Myungjun was about to ruin the whole evening for me… he can be very annoying.”

Miyeon laughed. “I know; I’ve grown up with him. Once he caught a frog and threw it into the bathroom when I was showering…”

“How do you tolerate him?” I asked, sighing and rest my head against my knees.

She tilted her head, looking thoughtful. “Well… I’ve learned he has many sides to him.”

“Let me see”, I said. “Annoying, super annoying, and then he gets annoyed himself?”

“Almost”, Miyeon snickered. “But honestly, he can be a lot more. He’s smart, and caring. He can also be serious when he wants. He’s a good friend.”

I stared into Miyeon’s eyes as she was talking. I might have imagined it, but I was almost sure I saw a gleam of such affection it wasn’t just the friend type of love. Maybe I was right. Before I arrived, she seemed to spend a lot of time with Myungjun. It wasn’t even that unlikely for her to like him. They had indeed grown up together. Just like me and Eunwoo. I felt pressure on my chest when I thought about him. I missed him, I missed Chanmi, I missed the whole unit.

“He’s probably acting up because he’s against the marriage”, Miyeon said, pulling me out of my melancholy. “But I’m sure he’ll calm down after a while.”

I blinked and looked at the girl who was smiling at me. “You’re not even half as bad as I thought you to be.”

She laughed. “You’re not that bad either. I thought you’d be spoiled since you’re the heiress. I was wrong. I’m sure Myungjun will start to treat you better soon, too.”

I smiled and nodded at her. I kind of wished what she said was true. I was tired of fighting with the boy all the time.

“It’s getting late”, Miyeon stated. “I’ll head to bed. See you tomorrow!”

“See you, good night!” I wished her as I watched her walk to the door and head out of the room.

I let out a sigh and threw my body to the bed, lying down on my back and staring to the ceiling. I wasn’t exactly sleepy yet since I had slept for almost 12 hours the night before, so I didn’t feel like sleeping yet. I grabbed my phone. Still no new messages or calls. I sighed and quickly tapped a short message to Eunwoo.

 

Hey, how are you guys? I miss you.

 

The reply arrived in seconds.

 

We’re doing pretty well… would be better if you were here. Do you miss me or the unit?

 

I sighed at the message and couldn’t help but to chuckle a little bit. The line between Eunwoo being my best friend or boyfriend was very thin. I pouted a little bit. I was married. I couldn’t think of Eunwoo as anything more than a friend right now. Maybe later, when I’d return home.

 

I miss all of you.

 

After writing the message, my phone’s battery died and I sighed. The charger was on my desk and I didn’t want to get up from the comfy bed. I ran my fingers through my hair. Unlike before, it felt silky soft, and I loved the feeling.

I found myself thinking about Miyeon’s words. I personally couldn’t imagine the serious or even caring side of the boy since all I had seen was cheekiness and the annoying smirk he had to flash at me every other second. But then again… all he had seen of me was probably just as annoying. We acted like children who didn’t like to play with each other. And in those situations, a compromise was needed. Maybe if I tolerated his acting a bit, he’d see that I wasn’t actually as cocky as I seemed to him, and he’d calm down a bit. I sighed and turned to lie on my stomach, closing my eyes for a moment. I have to endure just a bit longer. Yikyung will get me out of here. As I started to drift off, I couldn’t help but to feel a small hint of doubt linger in my mind. Will she?