Zhara

We got home around 3pm. Hyori’s mother had brought with us 5 makeup artist and 3 professional hair stylist. They were very nice to us and even helped me with my makeup and hair. While we were getting ready; Eddie came home and took a shower while the people were doing our hair and makeup.

He stepped out in his slim black shiny suit and skinny tie. 2 of the hair stylist went to him and straightened his shiny jet black hair. When they were done, he got up and modeled for us.

“Owww!!! y!!” I hollered. He looked really good, with a big smile on his face.

“Yeah! You’re looking very Handsome, Mr. Shin” One of the makeup artist said.

“Thank you, Miss Kim” He said, bowing.

“Y’all leave him alone. He’s taken” Hyori said.

“We know, we know” I said, getting up because my makeup and hair was done. I straightened out my white A-line Sweetheart Knee-length Chiffon Elastic Woven Satin Cocktail Dress. I looked in the mirror that was lying on the couch. I looked so beautiful with my hair in slight curls. The makeup really brought out my eyes. I went to the bedroom and took out the pearl earrings and necklace I had gotten from Jay the night he proposed to me. The piece of jewelry brought back many memories. I slipped the necklace around my neck and put on the earrings. I walked to the bathroom to look at myself again. The pearls really made me look beautiful. I went back to my bedroom and wore my white pumps. When I walked out into the living room, everyone turned to me and stared at me in awe.

“You look really beautiful, Zhara” Eddie said.

“Yeah, you do” Hyori also said, getting up.

“Thank you!” I said. I felt so great inside.

“I’ll be right back. I need to go put on some shoes” Hyori said, as she walked towards their bedroom.

The crew started cleaning up. Eddie and I tried to help them clean up, but they declined our offer. Hyori came out, wearing black pumps and black necklace and earrings.

“Are you guys ready?” She asked, standing there.

“Yeah, we’re ready” Eddie said.

“You guys can go, we’ll clean up and leave your place” Miss Park said, placing the hair tools in a bag.

“Thank you, Miss Park” Hyori said walking towards the door.

“Anytime, Hyori” Miss Park said.

“Thank you so much, Miss Park. Thank you everyone” I said, bowing to show my gratitude.

“Yep” A few of them said, smiling

“It’s ok, Zhara. It was very nice meeting you; hope to see you again in the future” Miss Park said

“It was nice meeting you all; hope to seeing you all in the future also” I said.

“Let’s go” Eddie said, tagging at my arm

“Well bye” I said, walking towards the door

When we went outside, there were two Lincoln limos waiting for us.

“Wow, who got the limos?” I asked excited. One was black and the other was white. I have never been in a limo before and this would be my first time.

“My mother got us them for us” Eddie said

“You’ll be riding in your own limo. It’s the white one” He said, gesturing to the white limo parked behind the black one

“Oh My Lord! Thank you guys so much” I said, giving them a hug

“Even though it’s your engagement party, you are making me feel like a princess” I said, on the verge of tears. I loved my friends so much and I sometimes felt guilt for the things they did, trying to make the impossible possible.

“Don’t cry. You’re going to ruin your makeup” Hyori said, pulling away

“We better get going” Eddie said. I walked towards the white limo and a chauffeur got out and opened the door for me. I pressed a button to open the window, and I saw Eddie opening the limo’s door to let Hyori in. After he had gotten in, the car pulled away from the curb, and my limo followed suit. I closed the window and enjoyed the ride to the hotel. Eddie and Hyori’s limo arrived first. They went ahead of me as I was getting out of the limo. I made my way to the ballroom with the help of one of the staffs.

There were a lot of people in there. I spotted Eddie’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Shin standing in a corner, talking to Hyori and Eddie.

I made my way through the crowd, heading their way. As I got closer, Mrs. Shim gestured me towards her. When I got there, she embraced me in a hug

“Hello dear” Mrs. Shin said, releasing me

“It’s been a very long time since we last spoke to you” Mr. Shin intervened, also giving me a hug

“It’s only been 6 months since you last saw her, dad” Hyori said

“I know” Mr. Shin said

“How’s your mother doing?” Mrs. Shin asked

“She’s doing very well” I answered. I looked around the ballroom and spotted Zico walking in. When he saw me, he waved and I smiled a little. I was happy to see him

“Eun Ae and Dae-hyun, are you two trying to avoid us?” Mr. Cha asked, appearing behind Mrs. Shin. Mrs.Cha came and joined her husband

“No, Jung-Hwa” Mr. Shin replied turning around. He gave Mr.Cha a handshake and hugged Mrs.Cha. They all started talking .Hyori and Eddie left.

“Excuse me” I said, slowly backing away. I walked to the corner where the appetizers were. I grabbed some nacho pinwheels and Thai veggie pizza. It tasted so good.

I scanned the ballroom, eating my appetizer. I saw Eddie standing in the center, looking at his phone. I looked to the entrance of the ballroom in time to see Jay coming in. I quickly ate my food, and put the plate on a tray lying nearby.

My eyes followed jay as he walked across the room to greet Eddie. I was just standing there, staring at jay like a stalker stares at its victim. I hadn’t noticed that Hyori had come and stood by me. He looked very good in his black suit and skinny tie. He was wearing what looked like diamond earrings. I couldn’t really see the details from where I was standing.

“Hey” Hyori said, notching my side with her elbow.

“You want to go and say hello?” She asked, tagging at my elbow.

“No, I’m fine” I said, trying to pull back my elbows. I didn’t want to go over there. I didn’t want to see Jay. Hyori objected, tagging at my elbow and dragging me towards jay and Eddie. As we got closer, Eddie beckoned for his fiancée to come and stand next to him. I was left standing next to jay. All three of them started chatting away, while I was left out. I was once again the loner of the party. The outcast. I stood there for a while, staring at the decorated walls of the hotel. I was zoning out, going into my own little world :’(.

I turned to my left and saw jay playing on his phone. ***Gosh, I wish I had enough money to even purchase a phone :’( ***

“How has college been?” Hyori asked.

“It’s been very good. I’m taking a year off so that I can save up some money to go back and get my masters degree” I replied, staring at the ground ***you can call me the poor girl. Having been abandoned by my father and raised by my single mother. I have had to work to get to where I am today. I sometimes felt jealous by the fact that Eddie, Jay, and Hyori had been born into wealthy families while I had been born to a “low class family” which meant I was born into poverty***

“Seo young is here” Jay announced, looking up from his phone. He didn’t wait for any of us to say a thing. He just left.

*Oh No! The witch is here!*

“Did you guys invite her?” I asked, getting disappointed by the fact that they hadn’t told me ahead of time.

“Yeah, But I didn’t think that she would actually show up” Hyori answered, hiding behind Eddie.

“It’s okay, but you could have told me ahead of time” I answered, trying very hard not to show the disappointment in my voice.

Eddie and Hyori began playing with each other, playing and poking each other like little 5 year olds. They had totally forgotten about me :’( I got bored so I begun looking around the ballroom. At each corner of the room, there were pictures hung up of Hyori and Eddie since birth. A picture that I found very cute was of Eddie holding a toad, with two of his teeth missing in the front and a big bright smile.

I looked to the entrance and saw Jay escorting Seo Young. They were walking towards us. She looked very beautiful with her hair in a sock bun. She was wearing a low-cut suit dress, showing a lot of cleavage. She looked really good with Jay. It made me feel sad to see that she was by his side L

“Wow, this is an engagement party, not a club” Hyori said, a bit too loud. They got closer and closer, closing the gap between us. They finally closed the gap

“Hi” Seo young said, standing next to me

“How are you, Hyori?” Seo Young asked, totally ignoring me.

“I’m very good. Thank you for asking” Hyori answered. It felt very awkward. They traded ‘kind’ words. While they were talking, I looked down at the floor. I was feeling very sad. I looked at Seo Young up and down. While looking at her, I saw Jay slip his arm around her waist. I tried to ignore it by looking at my fingers.

“Hey beautiful! I have been looking for you all night” I heard Zico say, as he hugged me from behind. Everyone stopped talking, and looked at us.

“Hey Zico” I said, turning around and giving him a hug. I released him, and turned around

“You know her?” Seo Young asked, obviously showing interest

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I know her?” Zico asked

“She is the beautiful and kind hearted Zhara” he added, throwing his arms every where

“Oh ok” Seo Young said

“Can I steal Zhara away?” Zico asked

“Yeah, do as you wish” Eddie said, laughing. Zico was being silly ^^

“Ok thanks” Zico said, holding my hand and gently pulling me away. As we were walking away, Zico leaned in towards me and whispered “Don’t look back. It’ll make it seem like you actually care about him”

We walked to a corner of the ballroom where there wasn’t that much light.

“Thank you” I said, looking down. I felt ashamed that I didn’t speak up.

“Anytime, besides I hate her kind” He said, looking around the room

“Who’s kind?” I asked, wanting to know

“Seo Young, and her kind is being the that she is” He said, putting his hands in his pocket

“Oh” I said

“Wait, how old are you anyways?” I asked. I never got the chance to ask him

“I’m 19 years old. You?” he asked

“I’m 24 years old. I’m not 25 yet” I answered. I didn’t know that he was that young

“So what’s your relation with Seo Young and Jay?” he asked, looking straight into my eyes. It felt weird, but it felt like I could trust him. This was the first time that someone had actually come straight forward and asked, instead of coating it with nicer words.

“He…he” I tried to say, but struggled

“It’s ok, take your time” He said

“He cheated on me 4 years ago with Seo Young. At that time Seo Young was his ex girlfriend, and we were supposed to get married when we were both 21 years old” I answered, looking down. I felt hot tears running down my cheeks

“Oh! Why did he cheat on you?” He asked, coming closer

“I don’t know” I answered, my voice dropping to a whisper. I wiped my eyes, trying not to smear the makeup.

“It’s ok. You’ll see it through” Zico said, wrapping his arms around me. It felt very nice to be cared about for a change. I wrapped my arms around him, soaking the warmth that was seeping through his body.

I gently pulled away.

“I need to use the restroom” I whispered, excusing myself

“I’ll be waiting here for you” Zico said

I slowly walked through the crowd, saying excuse me. I finally made my way to the bathroom. I pushed the door and went inside. I went to the tissue dispenser and grabbed a couple of them and started dapping the corners of my eyes. So far, there were no streaks of mascara or anything wrong with my face. As I was doing that, I heard the bathroom door open. I looked up and saw Seo Young standing there. She made her way to the sink next to me, and removed a bottle of mascara out of her expensive looking bag.

“So what are you doing back in Korea?” She asked, while applying mascara.

“I’m obviously here for Hyori and Eddie’s wedding” I answered, looking down at the sink. I wasn’t in the mood.

“Oh, stay a little longer” She said, closing the mascara and putting it back in her bag.

“Why?” I asked, getting curious

“Jay and I are also getting married” She answered, smiling. WHAT!!!!! I stood there, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall

“I hope you come!” She said, walking out of the bathroom. I gripped the edge of the sink, to keep from fainting. The tears fell, and I lost control. My tears turned into full blown sobs. I couldn’t take it. My heart was literally breaking. *How could he?* I was still in love with him. I kept on crying, totally forgetting about the fact that there was a party going on. Hyori walked in, laughing, her face red. She looked like she was enjoying herself. As soon as she saw me, a concerned look came over her. She quickly walked over and hugged me

“What’s wrong?” She asked, turning me around to face her

“Jay is…..is…..” I try to say, but I can’t get the words out

“Jay is what? Zhara, you need to breathe in and out” Hyori said, breathing with me

“In then out” I said slowly, swallowing air

“So Jay is what?” she asked, getting a tissue from the tissue dispenser. She wiped my eyes and stood there waiting for me to calm down

“Jay is getting married to Seo Young” I managed to say, sitting on the cold floor.

“What?!?!” She exclaimed, clearly surprised

“You didn’t know” I asked, surprised by the fact that she didn’t know

“When did you find out?” asked Hyori

“Just right now from Seo Young” I answered. My voice was getting hoarse from crying.

“I want to leave” I said, getting off the floor. I no longer was in the mood to celebrate and loosen up.

“Are you sure?” Hyori asked, also getting off the floor.

“Yeah, I’m sure” I replied, looking at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. My makeup was spoiled and the mascara was running down my face.

“I’ll go get Zico to drive you home” She said, walking out of the restroom. I stood there waiting. A few minutes went by before she came back.

“Zico said that he will drive you home” She said

“Thank you so much, Hyori” I said, hugging her. I quickly took some tissue, and cleaned my face before exiting the bathroom with Hyori. When we went outside, we found Zico leaning against the wall outside the women’s’ restroom.

“Hey! Are you ready to roll?”　He asked, pushing himself off the wall.

“Yeah” answered Hyori

 “Ok then, let’s bounce” Zico said walking close to me

“Hyori, I’m so sorry that i have to leave so early” I said, holding onto my friend

“It's okay! I hope you get a good night's rest" She said, hugging me again. We all went into the ballroom. Hyori left us, going to find Eddie. Zico walked very close to me. I could feel eyes piercing through me. I turned around to see Jay and Seo Young watching us as we left the room.