**I know this is way overdue but I just finally found time to write it. Enjoy!**

“The rings!” someone shouted down from the corridor. “Who has the rings?” Everyone scrambled around in a state of panic trying to finish the last minute details and locate the missing rings. The wedding was less than three hours away and things were on crunch time.

                “Jino last had them,” Minho informed the wedding coordinator referring to Kyuhyun’s younger cousin. “He might be out at the fountain with the other little boys.”

                “He’s a part of the wedding,” the coordinator yelled, “I warned him not to get his clothes ruined.” She stalked off to find the missing rings and scold whoever was unfortunate enough to end up with them.

                “I’d hate to be the person with the rings right now,” Minho shuddered. “Noona is so stressed.”

                “We all are,” Key groaned. “I just want this part of the wedding to be over so we can party the night away.”

                “Quit your complaining,” Onew told him. “It’s Kyuhyun’s special day. We should all be happy for him.”

                “I am happy for him,” Key snapped. “I just wish we could be happier a little bit faster.”

                “Can you believe that they’re getting married today?” Taemin asked. “It seemed just like yesterday that they announced they were dating.”

                “They’re perfect for each other,” Jonghyun spat out bitterly trying to tie his tie for the fifth time. He messed up again and gave up, leaving it dangling around his neck. “Absolutely perfect.”

                “You excited Jonghyun?” Minho asked. “You’re the best man today.”

                “He could’ve picked someone else,” Jonghyun said under his breath. Unfortunately Key heard him.

                “You don’t want to be the best man?”He asked, “You and Kyuhyun are best friends.”

                “I just had a long night,” Jonghyun answered before stalking off. He did have a long night. That letter he sent still haunted his mind and he kept wondering if it would make any difference. 

                “Jonghyun!” he heard a voice call him from behind. It was Kyuhyun. Jonghyun kept walking like he didn’t hear anything. The wedding venue was really pretty. The flowers were being put up and final decorations were being hung up. A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

                “I was calling for you,” Kyuhyun panted.

                “Oh,” Jonghyun said. “I didn’t hear you. You ready?” Jonghyun mentally slapped himself for asking such a stupid question. Of course Kyuhyun was ready. He had been ready since the day he met SoEun.

                “More ready than I’ll ever be,” Kyuhyun answered. “I love her so much. I couldn’t even imagine anyone else walking down that aisle to me.”

                That’s the problem, Jonghyun thought to himself, I can’t imagine anyone else either.

                “Have you seen SoEun yet?” Jonghyun asked.

                “Her sister won’t let me inside the room,” Kyuhyun admitted sheepishly. “Something about bad luck if the groom sees the bride before the wedding starts.”

                “I’m pretty sure she looks beautiful,” Jonghyun said. “I’m happy for you,” he added trying to make himself believe those words.

                “Thanks Jonghyun,” Kyuhyun said, hand firm on his shoulder. “I’ll see you later, I feel like Donghae and Eunhyuk are messing up something.” Just then a small crash was heard from across the hall.

                “He did it!” Eunhyuk and Donghae both yelled, pointing fingers at each other.

                “Told ya,” Kyuhyun said before heading towards the two to figure out what happened. Jonghyun let out a frustrated sigh before continuing to walk down the hallway. He had no idea where he was going. He just needed to get out for a while.

                He found himself heading outside to the courtyard. The flowers were beginning to bloom and he sat on a bench, legs stretched out. He remembered he had confessed to SoEun at the courtyard back in high school. It had been one of the best days of his life. He clearly remembered how her face had lit up and she threw her arms around him in absolute adoration.

                Then he remembered the day she had left him by the lamppost. It had been raining and he walked home with no umbrella, heart crying out for her the entire time. He knew she was hurting too. He caught her crying as she walked away. That wasn’t the worst day though. The worst day was when his best friend proposed to her and she said yes in a heartbeat. Not even sparing him a glance although he sat right across from the two.

                And as much as he wanted to hate Kyuhyun for taking away his SoEun, he couldn’t. No one knew that they had gone out. He couldn’t blame Kyuhyun for being exactly what SoEun needed. It was his own fault that he lost. It was his own fault that he wasn’t strong enough to hold onto her.

                He let out a dry sigh before burying his face into his hands. It was all too much. He was watching his best friend marry his first love. It’s not too late, he thought, I can still leave and pretend I got sick or something. Part of him wanted to bolt out of the venue and take the next flight to the farthest country. Maybe I can live in New York and become a taxi cab driver. Then I can listen to everyone else’s troubles and forget about my own. However, a bigger part of him wanted to see SoEun walk down that aisle in her wedding gown, a bright smile gracing her face as she prepared to be tied down to someone with the rest of her life. Even if that someone wasn’t him.

                He got up and walked out of the courtyard. The rest of the wedding party would be wondering where he was if he didn’t return soon. He got back to the main hallway and found things in even more of a craze. Jino had apparently fell into the fountain and got his clothes and hair wet. Eunhyuk and Donghae were both arguing in a corner about who broke what. Minho and Siwon were rearranging furniture because the first time wasn’t good enough. The little flower girls were wailing in a corner because they were already tired of holding onto their baskets even though the wedding hadn’t even started yet. And to top it all off the rings still hadn’t been found and the wedding was to start in two hours.

                “Jonghyun!” the wedding coordinator yelled. “I need you to go to storage room 4 and get two more vases.”

                “Yes ma’am,” Jonghyun agreed immediately. He did not want to get on her bad side right now. He quickly found his way to storage room four and opened the door.

                “Don’t close it!” a voice yelled from inside. It was too late, the door clicked shut as he stepped into the closet. He looked around and realized that no vases were to be found in the closet. It was paper towels, plastic cups, and cleaning supplies.

                “Jonghyun,” a voice whispered so tenderly and quietly he might’ve missed it. It was SoEun. She was sitting in a corner all dolled up in her wedding attire. He looked at her and his breath got caught in his throat. She was more than beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair was curled into loose waves and fell past her shoulders. He could tell she wasn’t wearing too much make up. She never needed a lot of it anyway. Her ivory dress trailed out from behind her.

                “SoEun,” he whispered back just as tenderly. It had been quite a while since they held a conversation. The last time they had talked, she had asked him to pass the salt and even that was about three months ago.

                “What are you doing here?” she asked.

                “Noona sent me to get extra vases since Eunhyuk and Donghae broke some,” he answered, eyes gazing at the ceiling. “How about you? Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready?”

                “I needed some time alone,” she answered. “The unnies were getting on my last nerve.”

                Jonghyun just nodded before turning around to open the door. He grabbed the handle and turned it but the door didn’t budge.

                “Don’t even bother,” SoEun informed him. “The door doesn’t open until 30 minutes before the wedding starts. For some reason they have the doors timed to when they can be opened from the inside.”

                “Security purposes?” he asked.

                “You tell me,” she said. “Do you have your phone? We can call someone to get us out.”

                He searched his pockets, delighted that she was even talking to him. Sure it was still kind of awkward, they could feel it hanging in the air but at least it was something. He pulled lint out of his pocket and shook his head.

                “I must’ve left it in the car,” he told her.

                “Then we’ll have to wait until someone finds us, or until the door opens itself.”

                He sat down in the corner across from SoEun and the silence filled up again. There was nothing to say. It was as if they were strangers again. They seemed even more distant then strangers though because strangers could actually ask questions about each other. SoEun and Jonghyun knew each other inside out and upside down.

                Jonghyun began to fumble with his tie again. If he was going to be stuck here for a while, might as well get one task done. No matter how many times he tried though he still couldn’t get it right. SoEun watched him from her corner, small smile gracing her lips as she watched him struggle with his tie. He could never get it right back when they were teenagers too.

                She got up from her corner and slowly approached him, kneeling in front of him. He stopped his hands and stared at their proximity. She took in a slow breath and took his tie from him, tying it the right way. Once she finished, she smoothed it against his chest, an old habit. Old habits die hard though. She sat at his feet, staring back at him.

                “You still don’t know how to tie a tie,” she told him.

                “Someone else always did it for me,” he whispered. You always did it for me.

                “You should learn,” she said. “It’ll come in handy.” They stared at each other again, eyes trained on each other. The words they didn’t say created an even bigger gap. Jonghyun snapped out of the trance first and looked away.

                “What are we doing?” he asked voice so small and broken.

                “We’re stuck in a closet,” SoEun answered.

                “No,” Jonghyun said looking back at her, catching her gaze once again. “What are we really doing?”

                “I don’t know either,” SoEun admitted.

                “I still love you,” Jonghyun blurted out quietly for the first time in his life. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and reminded himself to kick himself later for being such an idiot. This was his best friend’s soon-to-be-wife he was talking to. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t tell her he loved her now.

                If SoEun was shocked, she showed no signs whatsoever. She had always known he loved her even if he had never told her.  She just sighed one of those deep sighs of hers. “I’m getting married in less than two hours,” she told him as if he didn’t already know.

                “I know,” he cracked out. “You’re marrying Kyuhyun. I’m the best man.” SoEun nodded her head. “Do you love him?” Jonghyun asked.

                “Yes,” she admitted quietly. “I love him so much it hurts sometimes.”

                “More than you loved me?” he asked. “Do you still love me?” There was a long silence as SoEun thought. Her eyebrows furrowed up as she cocked her head to the side.

                “I don’t remember what it felt like to love you,” she said. Jonghyun felt his broken heart shatter just a little bit more.  “It must have been a pretty great feeling though if my heart misses you this much right now,” she finished.

                “It was a great feeling,” Jonghyun told her. “It still is.”

                “I remember being happy whenever we were together,” she continued. “I remember waiting up for you. I remember those late night dates where we just walked around hand in hand. I remember waking up in the morning and seeing a future with you.”

                Jonghyun smiled. He was grateful she was able to keep some of those good memories.

                “I also remember the day we broke up,” she said. “I cried a lot that day. I really thought you were going to go after me. You didn’t though,” her voice faltered at the end. “You didn’t come after me.”

                “I wish I did,” Jonghyun said. “Then maybe we wouldn’t be stuck in this closet.”

                “You don’t like being stuck in closets with me?” SoEun asked playfully.

                “Not in this situation,” Jonghyun answered truthfully. The silence filled the air again. Unspoken what-if’s lingered on their lips, threatening to spill out any moment.

                “What happened to us?” Jonghyun asked.

                “Was there ever an us?” SoEun asked back.

                “Of course there was an us,” Jonghyun answered.

                “It didn’t feel like it sometimes,” SoEun said. “It felt like there was Prince Jonghyun who was in love with a commoner and kept her locked up in a tower away from the rest of the world. And not because he cared about her and wanted to protect her, but because he was afraid of what the world would think of him.”

                “I’m sorry,” Jonghyun said. “If I could change it, I would. I would run around campus screaming around that I loved you. I would send planes flying over head with banners. I would make posters and post them on every wall-“

                “It’s too late,” SoEun cut him off. “It’s too late for all of that. You took too much time Jonghyun. I love Kyuhyun now. It’s Kyuhyun who I’m going to marry. It’s Kyuhyun I’m spending the rest of my life with.”

                “We could run away together,” Jonghyun cried out desperately. “As soon as that door opens, me and you can hold hands and run away together. You don’t have to go through with the wedding.”

                “You’re too late,” SoEun cried one last time grabbing a hold of his shoulders and shaking him. “I don’t love you that way anymore Jonghyun. I wish I did but I don’t.”

                “I know,” Jonghyun held his head in despair. “I know it’s too late.”

                “Where do we go from here?” SoEun asked. “Where does this leave our relationship?”

                Jonghyun’s head snapped up. “Friends,” he surrendered. “Let’s be friends. For the sake of Kyuhyun let’s be friends.”

                “Friends,” SoEun agreed sticking her hand out to him. He took it and shook it feeling those fingers slide in between his softly for the last time. It was the last time they could act is if they were something more. It was the last time he could see her in this light.

                “He makes you happy doesn’t he?” Jonghyun asked.

                “I don’t know what I would do without him,” SoEun sighed.

                “That’s good,” Jonghyun nodded. “He loves you like crazy. All he does is talk about you.”

                “Really?” SoEun asked the light dancing in her eyes.

                “I wouldn’t lie to you,” Jonghyun said.  Just then the door clicked open. SoEun stood up and dusted off her dress.

                “I hope you find someone too Jonghyun,” she said before leaving. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

                He watched as the train of her dress slipped out the door and down the hallway. He waited five minutes and then followed her out. He groaned once he remembered that he still didn’t have vases and the coordinator was probably going to yell at him once more.

                He walked back to the main hall and found everything neat and organized. They had done a lot in the time that he had been gone. Someone else had found two vases to replace the broken ones. Jino had been changed into a clean suit and had his hair fixed. Siwon and Minho had finished rearranging things and even Key looked pleased. Donghae and Eunhyuk showed no signs of messing up and the rings had been found. It turns out they were in the coordinator’s pocket the whole time.

                Guests were coming in and being directed to their seats by the younger boys. The girls in the dressing rooms had signaled that they were all ready. The last minute details were touched up on and the wedding started.

                Kyuhyun was already waiting at the altar and Jonghyun walked down the aisle to join him. His hands were shaking as he tried to calm down his nerves. All of the guests were focused on the next people to walk down the aisle.

                “Nervous much?” Jonghyun asked him.

                “I just can’t believe it’s really happening,” he said. “I’m really going to marry SoEun. This is it.”

                “You’re not thinking about running away are you?” Jonghyun joked.

                “Never,” Kyuhyun answered. “But what if she runs away?”

                “She loves you,” Jonghyun told him. “That’s all that matters.”

                One by one the wedding party assembled at the altar and then SoEun appeared. Jonghyun felt Kyuhyun let out the breath he had been holding in. SoEun was glowing as she ascended down the aisle with her father. All eyes were trained on her as a faint pink settled in her cheeks. She reached Kyuhyun who took her hand into his without a single hesitation. As they said their vows, both of their eyes were brighter than Jonghyun had ever seen before. Right there and then he decided that he was going to find someone who made him that happy too. SoEun had found someone who she loved more than him and he was sure that he could do the same too.