A/N: Am I building up the excitement correctly? LoL -- I should stop delaying this wedding xD It's definitely gonna happen next chapter. ^_^
Today's chosen featured iiissss *TA-DA*!!

 The subtle character development of every character in the story (even my side characters) are important and you should definitely think about why they do the things that they do because things said out loud is only half the story. ;) 

There's still a few layers we're going to uncover before the wedding and after the wedding so don't abandon me yet. T^T (PS, I love how everyone here just won't let me forget to write about the purple bag xD Heechul's very proud of you all!)

Hyukjae sat on the the side of Donghae's bed in his old bedroom and curiously glanced around the room. There was nothing particularly extra ordinary about it. It had white walls with the corners accentuated with black paint. There was a framed poster of Donghae's favorite movie attached right next to his closet. He had a desk study by the foot of his bed but it was obvious that it hasn't been used in a while. Hyukjae took a look at the books that was placed on it earlier and saw that nearly all of the books that Donghae shelved were subjects relating to photography. How to guides and sample shot manual on taking the perfect picture. It surprised him a little since he didn't even know Donghae was into photography. 

Hyukjae then looked at the enlarged family photo he had hanging over his study area and couldn't help but smile seeing the young version of Donghae look so happy. His open mouthed smile matched that of Sehyun who's eyes lit up in the photo while hugging Donghae from behind close to her. Donghwa was right next to her, looking like a proud father as always with his arm hanging over Hankyung's shoulder, who was showing a more constrained type of smile in the picture as he posed sideways for the camera with his right hand inside his front pant pocket. Hyukjae could not picture a more picture perfect family photo and it put a smile on his face as he realized just how much Donghae really valued his family. 

*Ring* *Ring*

Hyukjae's phonecall ringtone was heard and as soon as he took it out of his back pocket, an immediate chortle came out of him as a gut reaction when he saw the name "Pabo Donghae" appear on his screen. He rolled his eyes while Dr resisting the urge to smile as he slid his thumb over the green icon to answer the call. 

"Did you miss me already? It hasn't even been a day yet." Hyukjae greeted the other with a teasing smile on his face. 

"Are you saying you don't miss me?" 

Hyukjae snickered as he could practically picture the pout on Donghae's face and didn't bother to refrain himself from shaking his head at the other. 

"Why are you calling me now? You know your mother told you to only call me in case of emergencies."

"This is an emergency." Hyukjae hummed and waited for Donghae to tell him his emergency. "I miss you a lot. I feel like I'm going to die without you next to me."

"Yah!" Hyukjae's hand made an automatic fist and made an attempt to hit the air at Donghae's answer but the amused smile on his face was more reflective of his true feelings at the moment. "What is wrong with you? You can't just say things like that out loud."

"What? It's true." The feigned tone of innocence was almost too much for Hyukjae to take that he did end up laughing out loud. 

A soft knock outside the bedroom door caught Hyukjae's attention. He turned to see who it was and the door slowly revealed Donghae's mom peering her head in with a smile. 

"Hyukjae, dear, dinner's ready. Let's eat."

"Oh, uhm. y-yes, Umma." Hyukjae turned his attention back on the phone to inform Donghae that he had to go. His eyes awkwardly shifted from Sehyun and the floor, while he cleared his throat and tried not to make it obvious that he was in fact talking to Donghae. "I have to go. I'll call you back later."

"What? Nooo!" Hyukjae made a face and slightly cringed at how loud Donghae whined at him. He was fairly certain that Sehyun had heard her son through the phone's speaker, and it only took one look at her to confirm his suspicion. "Just tell them you're not hungry." 

Hyukjae gulped and furrowed his eyebrows trying his best to look prim and proper in front of his future mother-in-law. Sehyun watched Hyukjae's expression very closely and stayed on her spot by the door, her shoulders slightly leaning against the door frame as she waited for his son to end the call with Hyukjae. The latter, on the other hand, was so nervous around Sehyun's presence that when he adjusted his hold on his phone, his thumb accidentally pressed the speaker icon on the screen putting Donghae's voice at full volume for everyone in the room to hear. 

"Better yet, why don't you just tell Umma how much you miss me so she could let you come home to me and we could eat dinner together. She loves you too much to say no to you." 

Hyukjae's eyes widened and immediately looked at Sehyun completely horrified. Donghae's faint laughter could be heard but when things remained quiet for too long, it was quickly replaced by a curious tone.

"Hyuk? Hyukjae? Yah, Lee Hyukjae, did you hang up on me? Hello?" 

"I honestly don't know how you could have hooked someone as wonderful and nice as Hyukjae."

"Umma?" 

Hyukjae took a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds as he stood there helpless while Sehyun took his phone away from his hand to speak to Donghae who, until now,, remained oblivious that he was on speaker phone.

"Umma! Put Hyukjae back on the phone. I want to talk to him."

"Hyukjae's going to have dinner with your father and I. You can join us for breakfast tomorrow if you'd like but for now, stop bothering my son-in-law and eat your own dinner." 

"What? No- wait! Umma, I need to-"

"Bye, Donghae."

"HyukjaeIlovey-" 

Hyukjae's eyes were wide and his face was hot and red from Donghae's very loud and very obvious hasty confession. The chuckle he heard from Sehyun did not help ease his situation at all and there was nothing more he wanted in that moment than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. 

Sehyun, on the other hand, simply grinned from ear to ear while, her eyes beaming in complete amusement as he hand Hyukjae his cellphone. 

"Shall we go eat?" She asked and Hyukjae only had enough energy to give her a half-hearted smile and small nod as he tried his hardest to not cringe at what just happened between her and Donghae.

It was definitely gonna be a long ten days. 

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Donghwa was already at his seat on the dinner table, reading the newspaper as always, when Sehyun and Hyukjae both emerged from upstairs to join him. Sehyun took the lead and guided Hyukjae towards the dinner table where the food was waiting for them, hot and ready. Sehyun had just taken her seat across Hyukjae and gave Donghwa the signal to put the newspaper away when they heard the front door burst open followed by a series of rapid footsteps. The three of them all looked over the direction of where the ruckus was coming from and was caught by surprise when Donghae showed up staggering. 

Well...Hyukjae was surprised. Donghwa and Sehyun both just looked at their son as though they had been expecting him to show up the entire time. 

"Donghae! What are you doing here?" Hyukjae asked, slowly getting out of his seat then pausing midway when his eyes landed on Donghwa and Sehyun, as though just realizing once again that he and Donghae were not supposed to see each other. He lowered his head and sat back down on his seat, but this time only stealing glances at Donghae. 

"Uhm," Donghae cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket to try and appear as casual as he could in front of his parents while also stealing a glance towards Hyukjae. "He-Hello."

Donghwa smirked at his son before turning away to grab a sip of his wine ready to enjoy the show.

It was surely going to be an interesting night. 

"Donghae," Sehyun addressed him with a reprimanding tone, acting as though she didn't see Donghae's car parked by the side of the house earlier. "Why are you here?"

"I-" Donghae paused to look at Hyukjae, smiling briefly when they both made brief eye contact, before looking at his mother and faking a cough. "I missed you guys so I thought I could have dinner here with you." He informed with a smile then bravely took a step forward towards Hyukjae to take the available seat next to him when Sehyun put her hand up in the air and stopped him.

"Uhp! I don't think so." Donghae frowned at his mother and visibly slumped his shoulders down when he turned to see her pull the available chair next to her for him to use. "Since you missed Umma so much, you should come sit next to me." 

Donghae gave his mother a look but she was not backing down. The sweet smile on her face rivaled Donghae's tight lipped one perfectly. Out of everyone in the room, the only one who felt the tense and awkward atmosphere between the mother and son duo was Hyukjae. He looked back and forth between the two of them, hands fidgeting under the table as he thought about ways to Donghae from acting out like a brat. Thankfully, Donghwa took that opportunity to call for their house helper to come and place an extra plate for Donghae. She came and did as she was asked and placed the plate in front of the open seat Sehyun pulled for Donghae, leaving the other no choice but to go and occupy it. 

"Shall we eat then?" Donghwa asked, eyes addressing each person on the dinner table before asking Sehyun to pass the bowl of rice to him and putting some on his plate. Hyukjae played around with his soup for a little bit while Donghae shamelessly stared at the other as though he was completely entranced by him. It wasn't until Sehyun hit Donghae's hand with her metal spoon did he snap out of it with a loud yelp. 

"Ow! Umma!" Donghae rubbed the sore spot she had hit then caught sight of Hyukjae looking at him and for first time actually felt embarrased to be in front of the other. He cursed under his breath and just grabbed the bowl of of rice that she was handing him to put some on his own plate. 

"So, Hyukjae," Sehyun started their conversation by calling the other catching both her son and Hyukjae's attention. "How exactly did this bratty child of mine make you fall in love for him?"

Donghae's eyes widened  a little more at the way his mother referenced him and lightly hit his hand on the table. "Umma!"

Sehyun turned to him with an innocent look on her face. "What? I have yet to hear your love story and I would like to know all about it before you say your 'I do's' in two weeks." She then turned her attention back on Hyukjae, who's face was turning a good shade of red that it could match that of a tomato, and smiled. "Well?"

Hyukjae's mind was drawing a blank as he opened and closed his mouth trying to find the right words to tell her. When did he fall in love for Donghae? Honestly? He has no idea. 

Could it have been when they were forced to spend those short few days at the temple to literally spend every second of their life together? ... Maybe, although he was pretty sure it was before that. 

Could it have been during their engagement announcement when he felt his heart skip a beat when he and Donghae shared that kiss in front of everyone?... Possibly. 

Or could it have been way earlier than that?...It's...not impossible. 

"I-...um, I don't have a specific date or time to tell you," Hyukjae admitted to Sehyun. From the corner of his eye, he could see Donghae staring at him but Hyukjae chose to ignore it for now and just focus on one "Lee" at a time. 

"Oh, that's alright, dear. Why don't you just tell us how you knew," she said with a barely contained squeal of her own. 

Hyukjae gulped and shifted his eyes between Sehyun and Donghwa, trying to his best to not mentally shut down right then and there. Sehyun looked really incredibly invested to hear  Hyukjae's answer as she put her entire attention on him while Donghwa continued to eat, occasionally glancing towards Hyukjae. Donghae remained quiet in his seat, trying not to put more pressure on the other by keeping his eyes on his plate and playing around with his food, but his ears and attention were solely on Hyukjae. He wanted to hear the answer too. 

"Uhm...well, there's- there's many reasons..."