Chapter 15 – Together

The days on the calendar were slowly crossed off until the day of the engagement ceremony arrived. Everyone that was a part of the group thought it was pretty strange that the engagement ceremony was even happening at all. If anything they should have had the ceremony right after they had gotten engaged. However, they had around three weeks until the wedding. With the wedding right around the corner, it seemed pointless to have the ceremony at all.

However, Seohyun’s father was only going to marry off his daughter once in his lifetime so he needed to make everything perfect. Even if he hated to think that he would be handing his daughter over to a punk like Lee Joon, he couldn’t do anything about it. After all, Seohyun was a grown woman that could make her own decisions.

Yonghwa strongly disagreed with Seohyun’s father’s need to have an engagement ceremony. If it were for anyone else, he wouldn’t mind. If it wasn’t Seohyun getting married, he wouldn’t care. Yonghwa would be the first one to sign up if it was another one of his friends, but it wasn’t. Now he had to deal with being at a party that celebrated the one thing in the world he hated. It didn’t help that Seohyun’s father had personally asked him for a very huge favor of him.

----------Flashback----------

“Yonghwa how have you been?” Seohyun’s father happily greeted. Yonghwa bowed deeply and sat before the man in a cozy, little café near the university. The man that radiated power and confidence took a sip of whatever was in his mug and gave Yonghwa another smile.

“I have been well thank you President Seo,” Yonghwa politely responded. Ever since he had come back from the United States, Yonghwa felt weird talking to the man he wished was his father-in-law. Maybe it was because he had matured and began to think of the older man as a figure of authority, more than he had before.

“What did I tell you about that President nonsense?” Seohyun’s father asked with a chuckle. He noticed the way Yonghwa sat nervously and realized he was making the boy uncomfortable. “Anyway, I’m here to ask you a favor.”

Yonghwa looked up at the rich man with a confused look. “Why would someone like you ask a favor from me?” Yonghwa asked in response.

“I need you to be the person who writes the congratulatory speech and delivers it,” President Seo confessed. Yonghwa suddenly felt like running to the small bathroom and puking out the corn flakes he had eaten that morning. He hated public speaking, but that was only one of the many reasons he didn’t want to be the one giving it. That speech would surely tear his heart to shreds as he read it out loud.

“Why me? I think you should be the one giving it,” Yonghwa suggested. Once again he felt like running away. Then it hit him. All he had done since he came back to Korea was run. That’s why everyone called him pathetic. That’s why Eun Jung , Jang Woo, and even Hyuna had yelled at him for. Running was the only thing he could do when Seohyun came into the picture.

“I would give it, but you know how I feel about Joon. It hurts me to disappoint my daughter like that. Even so, I know if I give that speech, I won’t say anything nice about that kid she’s marrying,” the smiling man joked. Yonghwa gave out a small laugh even though he had a serious expression on his face.

Seohyun’s father took another sip of his drink and examined Yonghwa’s face closely. He had his suspicions about why he didn’t want to give the speech, but he couldn’t be certain of anything yet. Any normal best friend wouldn’t ever hesitate to give the speech. The wise man figured that Yonghwa didn’t want to give it because of the feelings he hid deep inside himself.

“I’ll do it,” Yonghwa confidently answered, almost causing President Seo to choke on his coffee. “I’ll give the speech. If it’s possible, I’d like to sing something for them too.” Yonghwa hadn’t sung a song since he was in high school, but he was willing to give it a shot. For once in his life, he wasn’t going to run. Jang Woo and Eun Jung were there when he had said he was going to stop being pathetic so he was going to keep his word.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” President Seo asked in an all-knowing tone. “If you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you.”

“Ani, I’ll do it.” Yonghwa was determined to finally get his feelings across to her. It didn’t matter if he was going to be in front of all of Seohyun’s friends and family. It didn’t matter that Joon and Hyuna were there either. He was going to use that opportunity to keep his promise and finally confess his feelings to her.

Of course, he knew he wasn’t going to go up on the stage and yell out “Seohyun I love you!” That would be the single, dumbest thing he could do. Even though he wasn’t going to directly yell that out, Yonghwa knew that he would indirectly confess to her. If she was truly his friend that could read him like an open book, she would understand everything.

“Excellent!” the elder bellowed. “I’m looking forward to your performance at the event. Are you going to have enough time to plan everything? The ceremony is in a week.”

“Yes sir, everything will be set. I will have everything planned out.

----------End----------

Yonghwa sighed as he tried his hardest to think of a perfect way to put his feelings without having anyone else realizing it. The only person he wanted to know of his feelings was Seo Joohyun. The eager young man hoped with all his heart that she would understand all of what he had to say without him explicitly saying it. The only thing he was worried about was the fact that he might screw up and begin to say things he shouldn’t.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eun Jung finally packed her things up and headed out of the practice room. The short haired woman was studying to be a lawyer in school, but she took a dance class to relieve the stresses that school and her boyfriend gave her. While walking towards the door at the end of the hall she heard piano notes as well as frustrated groans from one of the rooms in which the choir practices in.

It was a Friday afternoon meaning that most people would have disappeared to go enjoy their weekend. She usually took that opportunity to practice her dance moves since she knew there would be nobody around to bug her. Eun Jung retraced her steps and looked for the source of the light music. Instead of finding herself face to face with a stranger, she was greeted by a friendly surprise.

“Eun Jung ah!” Seohyun happily greeted. Eun Jung was stunned for a second as she tried to make sense of the situation. Seohyun didn’t take any music classes and she hadn’t played the piano for a really long time. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

“Yeah, it’s a little strange seeing you around these parts,” Eun Jung pointed out. “I haven’t seen you touch a piano since we were in our second year of high school.” Seohyun nodded while getting back into position. Eun Jung set next to her on the piano bench as the bubbly girl tried her hardest to read the music on her sheet.

“I had the sudden urge to play the piano again,” Seohyun lied. Eun Jung looked over at the music sheet and recognized Yonghwa’s neat hand writing. She looked up as Seohyun continued to fail at recreating the music Yonghwa had given her.

“Yonghwa gave you this didn’t he?” Eun Jung asked while taking a look at the lyrics. Seohyun’s old friend was left speechless when she realized what the song was. Yonghwa had promised her and Jang Woo that he was going to confess to Seohyun eventually. They thought he had forgotten that promise now that he was with Hyuna but apparently that wasn’t the case. “What is this for?”

“I don’t know,” Seohyun admitted. “He gave me that yesterday after he said he had a surprise for me the day before.” Eun Jung couldn’t make sense of the situation and looked at Seohyun expectantly. “Hey don’t look at me like that. I’m as clueless as you are.”

Eun Jung looked through the music sheets again and noticed that about half of the lines were highlighted. Even though she wasn’t a music major or anything she knew how to read music a little bit. The highlighted parts were higher in pitch than the ones that weren’t meaning this song was possibly a duet. “He told you to learn this song?”

“Yeah for some reason. He says it’s a surprise for the ceremony but I have no idea what that guy is thinking about,” Seohyun said with a chuckle. She turned away from Eun Jung and once again tried to play the keys with the same grace she possessed back when she was younger. Again, she made a mistake which created chaotic dissonance rather than the sweet harmony she was looking for. “As you can see, I’m really rusty.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. You won all those awards as a kid so I know you have the talent,” Eun Jung encouraged.

The only thing Seohyun’s friend could think of was the way that Yonghwa had spent so many nights learning to play the guitar so he could play music with Seohyun. Since Seohyun couldn’t go out and play when she was sick, she enjoyed herself by playing the piano. In order to have something in common, he practiced playing guitar until his fingers bled. Eventually, both of them were on the same level and they would spend hours making sweet music together.

“Pabo…” Eun Jung whispered while smiling.

“Did you say something?”

“Nah, sorry. I was just talking to myself.” Eun Jung stood up from the piano bench in order to take her leave. Seohyun would ask her to stay, but she knew she had to practice if she wanted to get the song down before Saturday. “Good luck with the song. I can’t wait to see the big surprise that you two are going to give us.”

Seohyun waved goodbye and resumed her playing. Eun Jung wasn’t lying when she said she was eager to see how things turned out. However, to her it wasn’t a surprise anymore. The song was a confession from Yonghwa’s part, but nobody would be able to tell. Eun Jung was sure Yonghwa would put some twist in there to make it seem like the song was about Seohyun and Joon, but he wouldn’t fool her.

“You’re playing with fire Yonghwa. I hope you don’t get burned,” Eun Jung said to herself while her footsteps echoed through the desolate halls of the art building.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Men dressed in suits and women wearing elegant dresses walked into the small ballroom where the ceremony to commemorate Seohyun and Joon’s engagement. The soon to be wed couple stood outside and politely greeted everyone for coming. Joon’s guilt grew exponentially by the minute as he knew he was being complete trash by showing his face at that event. His meetings with Hyuna continued even though he knew they shouldn’t.

“Are you alright Joon?” Seohyun asked while there were no more people in sight. “You look really pale. Do you want to go sit down? I can greet everyone while you rest.” Joon’s head began to spin as Seohyun spoke so worriedly to him. The girl was worried about him and all he could think about was how he was cheating on her.

“Kwaenchanha…” Joon responded wearily. “I’m fine.” He wondered why guilt wasn’t recognized as a disease. If he went to a hospital they would tell him he was crazy if he said he wanted to be treated for it. However, to him it felt like he was sick. Maybe it was because he was utterly disgusted with his actions that he felt so horrible.

“Let’s get you inside,” Seohyun suggested before being interrupted by her favorite group of people.

“Aren’t you guys going to welcome us?” Jang Woo asked in a sad tone. “I guess we aren’t welcome here.”

“Hey guys!” Seohyun happily greeted. Joon sighed a little while he tried to regain his composure. He didn’t need anyone else pointing out to him that he looked like he was about to throw up then proceed to faint. The guilty young man tried to look Yonghwa in the eyes but he couldn’t. His best friend had come to congratulate him for his engagement, but how did Joon repay him? He had slept with his girlfriend.

“Joon are you alright man?” Jang Woo asked Joon. “You’re looking a little under the weather. We can handle the greetings out here if you need to rest.” Joon shook his head and avoided looking into Yonghwa and especially Hyuna’s gaze.

“Hyuna you look spectacular!” Seohyun squealed. Joon’s curiosity got the best of him and he raised his gaze to examine Hyuna. Even though he regretted it instantly, he didn’t care. Hyuna had worn a dress he had bought her at a very fancy department store when they had been on a ‘date.’ It was a black form fitting dress that accentuated every one of her delicious curves. The slit on the side showed off one of her legs and the neckline was low enough for her to show off a pretty good amount of her cleavage. Even if it was a y dress, it was still elegant enough to be worn at a formal event like the ceremony.

“Thanks Seohyun. You’re looking pretty good too,” Hyuna complimented.

Seohyun smiled back but didn’t catch the way Hyuna mentally scoffed. The greedy woman always lied to her ‘best friend’ about how she wore her clothes. If anything, Hyuna detested the way Seohyun dressed. Then again, Hyuna knew that if the sickly girl dressed y, it would be bad news. Seohyun never gave herself enough credit, which benefited her. If Seohyun was less attractive, Hyuna would have more time in the spotlight.

“Where did you get this dress?” Seohyun asked while walking around Hyuna to admire the fancy piece of clothing. “Don’t tell me… You got this at the new fancy department store in Gangnam didn’t you?” Hyuna blushed and nodded as she realized everyone was now staring at her.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Hyuna replied in fake embarrassment.

“This must have cost a fortune. Even I would think something like this is expensive,” Seohyun admitted. Nobody had really paid attention to the dress until Seohyun had pointed out so now they were all curious. If Seohyun considered it expensive, then the price tag on it must have had a huge number.

“I got it for helping a friend out with a little ‘job’ a few days ago,” Hyuna explained. This time, Joon slipped up and looked at Hyuna while she explained everything. As she told her made up story, Hyuna hadn’t peeled her eyes off of him at all. He could have sworn he saw the subtle way she bit her lips at him.

“What kind of job?” Yonghwa asked. Even though he wasn’t really interested in her romantically, he was still her boyfriend after all. It was natural for him to get jealous. “And what friend is this?”

“Let’s go in already guys,” Joon quickly cut in. “The ceremony is going to start soon and you wouldn’t want your seats taken.” Everyone turned their head towards Joon and tried their hardest to not laugh at him.

“Joon, you do know the seats are reserved right?” Seohyun asked him in disbelief. Everyone laughed at Seohyun’s comment, leaving Joon to blush shyly. “Are you really sure you’re fine? You don’t look like it.”

“Ye-yeah I’ll be okay. I’m just a little tired.” Each member of the group gave him a worried look but agreed to leave him alone. If he insisted he was fine, there was no use trying to corner him into saying he wasn’t. The young group began walking towards their seats while Hyuna and Joon walked together in the back.

“Are you crazy? Why would you say where you got that dress from?” Joon scolded her. Hyuna giggled as she enjoyed her mind games with him, leaving him fuming in the process.

“You’re awfully wound up today,” she whispered. “Don’t worry, you know I’m a pro when it comes to getting myself out of sticky situations.” Joon sighed and continued his walk while trying to make it seem like he and Hyuna were only having a normal chat between friends. After all, he was amongst people who thought he was madly in love with Seohyun. One false step in this place would be like one false step in a field full of landmines.

“We have to talk. Once Yonghwa starts giving his speech I’ll act like I’m sick and head to the bathroom. Follow me after a minute or two.” Hyuna’s giggle turned into full on laughter when she heard his plan. People began to look her way so Joon quickly turned his distressed face into a smile that could fool anyone. As they made their way through the tables covered with white table clothes and lace t, he couldn’t help but feel like he was making a huge mistake.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The party was in full swing with many of Seohyun’s family friends coming over and congratulating the young couple. Many commented on how they were much too young to get married at the tender age of 22, but Seohyun assured them that was not the case. “Now we’re pleased to announce that a very special person will be giving a congratulatory speech today.”

That was Joon’s cue to get ready to put on an award winning act so he could go talk to Hyuna. It would be extremely risky to be seen with Hyuna alone, but he had to set her straight. Her behavior could give them away and it would screw his plans up big time.

“Although it should be my job to give this speech,” Seohyun’s dad began. “I’m afraid I can’t. I haven’t been a father that can say he knows his daughter well.” Seohyun blushed and hung her head in shame as people began to murmur. She knew her dad would be embarrassing at the event, but she didn’t know he would start doing that.

“Appa…” she whispered.

“I’ve hidden my daughter behind the walls of my house for far too long. After my darling Joo Hee died, I couldn’t bear to see my little girl suffer the same fate…” President Seo commented sadly. “Anyways, there is someone here that will give a speech a thousand times better than mine.”

Even though the audience would love for the father to continue, he couldn’t. If he kept on going, he would surely turn the happy occasion into a sad event. “Jung Yonghwa come up here boy.”

“Seohyun ah…” Joon groaned. “I think I’m going to head to the bathroom. I hate to do this to Yonghwa, but I can’t stand it anymore.” Joon stood up and began to walk away from the table in fake pain.

“Yah!” Seohyun whispered. “You can’t leave now. Let me go with you.” Seohyun stood up to follow him but was stopped when he turned back and glared at her.

“No, someone needs to be here and listen to his speech.” Seohyun nodded and sat back down apprehensively. She had to make sure Joon was alright, but he was right. Yonghwa had prepared this for the couple and it would be rude to have her walk out too. While everyone paid attention to the person on the stage, Hyuna took the opportunity to sneak by and head out to see Joon.

“Hello everyone!” Yonghwa yelled a little too loudly into the microphone. “As you can see I’m not exactly the kind of person who is good at speaking.” A few giggles were heard through the audience, assuaging his nervous state.

“A week ago I was unexpectedly approached by Mr. Seo. He asked me to give a congratulatory speech, the speech that I’m giving now. I wondered why he would ask me this, but I still agreed. I still don’t know why I’m up here, but I’ll do the best I can.”

The crowd gave each other a few blank stares, but let Yonghwa continue. The young man fidgeted with the end of his jacket and his voice cracked every now and then. Seohyun couldn’t help but find the situation funny since he wasn’t usually that nervous. The Yonghwa she knew was confident, but it seemed like now he was about to make a dash for the door out of desperation.

“Joon and Seohyun have been my friends since I was in elementary school. Joon moved in across the street from me and quickly became like a brother to me.” Seohyun began to imagine all the wonderful times they had when Joon had first moved in. “At first I was apprehensive to meet such a rich boy since I was merely the son of a butler and a cook. However, he became a loyal friend and I appreciate that.”

Joon was lucky that he wasn’t in the room or else he would have probably thrown up right then and there. If he was guilty before, hearing the way Yonghwa called him a loyal friend would probably make him want to die. “Joon will make Seohyun happy and I truly appreciate the way he loves her. If he ever makes her cry though you better bet I’ll find him and give him what he deserves. I know he won’t ever do that though. Joon, we all are expecting you to take good care of her for us.”

“That’s all I really have to say about Joon though,” he joked, eliciting a few laughs from the audience. “Sorry Joon!”

“The other person getting married today is a very special person to me. I’ve been with her since we could barely walk and talk. She’s been by my side and I’ve been by hers. Every day I would wake up and the brightest thing in the morning wouldn’t be the sun, but her smiling face.” Seohyun blushed at his praises and tried her hardest to not go up to the stage and stop him from embarrassing her.

“Seo Joohyun… I can’t even begin to explain how important she is in my life. If it wasn’t for her I would still be stuck in the same spot my parents were in. I would be poor and have to help in their restaurant. Because of this one girl, I decided to become someone in my life.” Yonghwa’s brain was screaming at him to stop saying those things, but his heart wasn’t listening. The speech he had written was completely different from this. If he didn’t stop, he was going to confess to her at her own engagement party.

“I worked my hardest in high school, left my home to go to a university in the United States, and now I’m working hard at Seoul University.” Yonghwa’s throat closed up a little at the emotion in his words, but quickly gained his focus again.

The crowd was now stunned by the sincere emotions in his voice. Each word he spoke was lined with his strongest feelings of love and friendship. Even though he was just recounting his life’s story, the audience was glued to their seats, waiting for the next few words to escape his lips.

“I’m going to be attending medical school in the fall and it will be because of one person. Seo Joohyun, thank you. Kamsahamnida. It’s because of you that I’m here. I’ve lived my entire life so that I could become a doctor and help you with your health. Ever since I was a kid I hated that I couldn’t help you deal with the unjust punishment the heavens had given you.”

Seohyun’s heart jumped and her stomach suddenly flopped inside of her. All her life she knew Yonghwa had wanted to become a doctor, but she never really knew why. Whenever she would ask, he would say it was because doctors made a lot of money and he wanted to buy his parents a big house when he was older. She had never once imagined it was because of her.

“I vowed I would become someone that could finally help you get out of that bed and go play with the other normal kids. I didn’t care that I had to work so hard and study until really late. As long as I told myself that I was going to help you, I was happy.” Yonghwa now had tears in his eyes and he was trying his hardest to not sob. These were words he had never spoken before. Nobody had ever heard his reasons for dreaming so big.

“Now I’m a little sad because you’re not going to be there anymore. I can’t take care of you like I used to because Joon is going to have to do that for you. Don’t worry, I won’t lose sight of my goal. You got me to come this far, but now I’ll do it on my own. You’ve been holding my hand the entire way here Seohyun. Now it’s time for me to let go and walk on my own. Thank you so much for being my friend for more than 15 years.”

“Yonghwa… stop talking please…” Seohyun whispered to herself. Seohyun, along with the audience, began to wipe away the silent tears that were dripping down her cheeks uncontrollably. Yonghwa had been her best friend for the longest time. However, words like those were never shared between them. It was always implied that they felt that way. Now that she heard those words out loud, they stung.

“From the moment that you first came up to me from your giant mansion house to the moment that you confessed to me that you liked Joon… from the time you finally had the guts to confess to him, to the time we graduated… I’ve always been behind you. I can’t even begin to explain what you mean to me Seohyun ah. I hope that you and Joon live the happiest life together after you get married. The happiness you brought into my life is going to be gone, but I know it’s going to go to someone that deserves it.”

Jang Woo and Eun Jung were both stunned at just how deep and detailed Yonghwa was going with his ‘speech.’ They both know though that he was just expressing his feelings that had been bottled up for who knows how long. Even though he was up on stage crying, they were proud of him. This time around he wasn’t being pathetic with his words. He was being as brave as he possibly could. It took real courage to finally give up and confess his feelings like that on stage.

“I hope for Joon’s sake that you great bride Seohyun,” Yonghwa chuckled through a quick sob. “Don’t make me regret letting you go off with him. Remember, he’s like my brother. You better not make him sad or else I won’t let you off without a fight.” His jokes weren’t fooling anyone though.

Everyone in the audience tried their hardest to keep their tears from coming out. Anyone that was paying attention could pick up the heartbreak and desperation in the boy’s words. It was now apparent to everyone that Yonghwa didn’t think of the girl as just a friend. Even Seohyun could tell that this ‘speech’ of his was something much more than just a simple congratulation.

“Saranghae Seohyun…” he whispered to himself without letting the audience hear. Those two words were left unheard even though he desperately wanted to say them. Enough had been said already but he couldn’t be selfish and use her party to confess those words. It wouldn’t be fair for him to take advantage of the situation and ruin the festivities. “Thank you for taking your time to listen to me,” he finished while staring into the eyes of Seohyun’s friends and family.

Nobody had the courage to break the silence that had formed. Tension was present amongst the party guests, but it was a comfortable one. It wasn’t thick and heavy, but at the same time there was something about it that left everyone speechless. Finally someone had the guts to clap slowly to honor all that Yonghwa had said. Everyone turned their attention to a single standing man clapping his hands over and over. That man was Seohyun’s father. The figure of power soon infected the other people present with his clapping, turning the soft clap into a thunderous applause.

“Thank you everyone!” Yonghwa yelled into the microphone. “I would now like Seohyun to come up here to the piano in order for the big end to my little speech.” Seohyun snapped out of her confusion and was pushed towards the front of the stage by her father. The words Yonghwa spoke earlier still rang through her ears, leaving her disoriented.

“Annyeonghaseyo everyone,” Seohyun politely greeted while taking her seat on the piano bench. She eyed the sheet music and placed her hands on the piano keys hesitantly. She hadn’t been able to master the song since the last time she had played was over 6 years ago. The nervous girl worried that she would mess up the performance, but a reassuring hand on her shoulder told her it would be fine.

“Loosen up,” Yonghwa quietly suggested. “You used to be a pro remember? Just let the music guide you.” Seohyun looked up at him and nodded weakly. Instead of playing the piano and singing, she wanted to drag Yonghwa out of the room and find out everything she could. Curiosity was burning her up from the inside out and she had to know.

“This song is something that I wrote for Seohyun and Joon,” Yonghwa spoke up while taking his guitar and sitting on a stool close to the still stunned girl. “Just imagine Joon as the person singing the lines I will sing and it will give you a good idea of their relationship.” He tapped Seohyun on the shoulder once more and gave her a smile coupled with a thumbs up.

Soon the two pairs of hands began to move across their instruments, creating a melody that quickly entranced everyone. Seohyun was stunned by the fluidity with which she was playing the notes. While she practiced, everything felt clunky and out of place. Her fingers felt too big for the keys and the notes made noises she couldn’t recognize. Now with Yonghwa by her side guiding her with his guitar, she magically played every note perfectly.

(The song is Together by JB and T-ara’s Jiyeon from Dream High 2. The drama so bad I didn’t watch it but my brother introduced me to the OST and I thought this song was perfect. Red is Seohyun, blue is Yonghwa, black is both together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=Vg4S1rSQ_Yk )

Living day by day, clashing in this world – when these things get hard
When you feel like you’re just one single person out of the countless people

When I see your eyes, looking at me lovingly, I feel special
When you hold me in your warm embrace, all my scars on my body heal

When we’re together when we’re together
Everything becomes alright, painful memories disappear
When we’re together when we’re together
I get happy again, without knowing, I put on a smile

Just as they had been when Yonghwa was giving his speech, the audience went completely silent. The only thing that was heard in the large room was the way that the two friends expressed their feelings in the meaningful lyrics they sung. Everyone began to sway side to side, enjoying the light melody that captured the essence of what Yonghwa felt. He had lied a little when he said he wrote the song for Joon and Seohyun after all.

When bitterness washes over me, when I suddenly feel like I’m alone
At the moment when everything feels strange and I suddenly have no confidence

Your voice that believes in me and gives me courage allows me to go out in the world again
The fact that you are a step behind me, always watching over me, is so precious to me

When we're together, when we're together
Everything becomes alright, painful memories disappear
When we're together, when we're together
I get happy again, without knowing, I put on a smile

Seohyun looked up from her sheet music and looked to see the man she was singing the duet with. Her eyes locked with his and she found herself unable to break the eye contact. Even though she wasn’t paying attention to her music, somehow, she was playing the notes without error. All she was thinking about was what the song meant and what Yonghwa felt, yet for some reason, her performance remained perfect.

Like this, just the way we are right now,
If you are by my side
Whatever hardship may occur,
I can win over it

When we're together, when we're together
Everything becomes alright, painful memories disappear
When we're together, when we're together
I get happy again, without knowing, I put on a smile

When we're together, when we're together
Everything becomes alright, painful memories disappear
When we're together, when we're together
I get happy again, without knowing, I put on a smile

Eventually, Seohyun hit her last key and Yonghwa strummed his last string. For a split second, the world stopped mattering. Seohyun and Yonghwa stared each other down for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had come back to Korea. The spectators no longer remained silent and cheered louder than they had cheered before for the couple. If anyone walked into the room at the moment, they would think that the party was for Yonghwa and Seohyun.

The applause went unheard to the ears of the couple still on stage. The only thing they could hear was each other’s breathing and the way that their hearts rapidly beat in their respective chests. Yonghwa caught onto what was happening and quickly ran off the stage without warning. Seohyun tried to run after him but realized that she would be acting rude towards her guests.

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The party continued with everyone enjoying themselves and murmuring about how Yonghwa could possibly have feelings for the girl that was going to be married in less than a month. “Yah, did you hear that? There’s no way he doesn’t like her,” a girl whispered to her friend.

“No way. If he liked her he wouldn’t write a song like that and confess to her on the day of her engagement ceremony. If he really liked her he would stop her!” the girl whispered back.

Seohyun had caught these whispers and was determined to find out if what everyone suspected was true. As much as she wanted to believe that Yonghwa had written that song for her and Joon, she knew something was up. When she looked into Yonghwa’s eyes, she felt so hot and flustered. It was the same feeling she got when she had first started to date Joon.

“Krystal,” Seohyun called to the girl that was Yonghwa’s sister. Krystal turned around to glare at Seohyun as she usually did. Krystal had been there when Yonghwa had put on his little show and she was really upset with him. Then again it made her happy to think that Yonghwa finally had the guts to do anything about his unrequited love.

“Unnie…” Krystal growled back. Krystal wasn’t too mad at Seohyun lately, but she was mad that she was forced to wear a dress for the occasion. “What is it?”

“Where’s Yonghwa? I have to ask him something,” Seohyun asked in a desperate tone. Krystal was caught off guard since she hadn’t ever see Seohyun act like that before. She supposed that maybe, just maybe, Yonghwa had shaken her up a little bit too much with his performance at the party.

“He said he was going home. His stomach started to hurt and he didn’t want to be here anymore. You know how he is at parties,” Krystal commented. Yonghwa’s sister knew that Yonghwa was lying, but she couldn’t say anything about it. She promised him that she wouldn’t interfere and she was going to keep that promise. “You can probably still catch him since he just left.” At least she had the relief that Yonghwa finally was trying to somewhat fix his situation. As much as she didn't like the way he was still hurting himself, at least he wasn't hiding behind his fake relationship. She just hoped that it would accomplish something for once. She sincerely doubted it though since Seohyun and Yonghwa were probably the biggest idiots on the planet.

Yonghwa was currently trying his hardest to get away from that situation he had just escalated. His speech was going to be simple yet congratulatory enough. However, his feelings had come out and he turned the event into a stage for him to confess. “Ugh you’re such an idiot Yonghwa!” Now not only did Seohyun possibly suspect he liked her so did everyone else in that room.

“Yonghwa!” Seohyun called to him from behind. “Wait!” Yonghwa’s legs wanted to keep on running away, but he had to face his problems for once. He had always wanted the opportunity to do something about his feelings and now he had one.

“Hey Seohyun… aren’t your guests going to miss you?” he responded in a voice closer to his normal one.

“They’ll be fine. Listen we have to talk about what happened earlier…”

“Seohyun, I have to go. I’m not feeling too good and-”

“Is there something you need to tell me? For some reason I’m getting the feeling that you were trying to tell me something with today’s speech. That song wasn’t for Joon was it?” Seohyun cut off in a serious voice. Yonghwa stopped trying to make excuses and completely focused his attention on the girl in front of him that seemed almost angry. “Answer me.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked in response. “Seohyun, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do. I know you Jung Yonghwa. I haven’t been friends with you for almost 20 years for nothing. What you did today was something more than just a simple congratulation.” Yonghwa was backed into a corner and he desperately wished he could get himself out of it. All of a sudden his courage to face his fears disappeared and he chickened out.

“I don’t mean anything else about it. What you heard is what I meant. It’s for you and Joon,” he confessed in an equally serious voice. Those words hurt Seohyun as much as she didn’t want them to. A little voice in the back of her mind really liked the idea of him liking her ever since he came back into her life. His words cut through her skin like a hot searing dagger and she wasn’t going to deny it.

“Yonghwa don’t lie to me! I was there when you gave that speech. I sang that song with you! I felt the feelings pouring out of your eyes and words,” Seohyun cried. “Don’t lie to me. I know it was something else.”

“I’m really sorry if I came off that way, but you’re wrong,” Yonghwa continued to lie. “Joon is like my brother. I couldn’t ever do that to him. I would never be able to confess to his future wife at his own engagement ceremony.” Seohyun’s tense muscles relaxed and she allowed her anger to dissipate. Yonghwa’s explanation made sense. It would be really stupid of him to do that in front of so many people.

“I don’t know what to say,” Seohyun replied in embarrassment. Yonghwa sounded pretty serious and she realized she was embarrassing herself. All of what he said made sense to her so there was no way she could argue. At the same time, her gut feeling was to doubt him. No matter how much he said he was just congratulating her, she couldn’t believe those words.

“Are you sure it isn’t you that wants to see it in a different way?” Yonghwa joked. He walked up to her and gave her a nudge in the ribs playfully before laughing his off. If he was honest with himself, he felt freer. Even though he hadn’t officially confessed to her, he was much happier. It felt almost as if he had gotten rid of a two ton weight off of his chest after so long.

“Y-yah! How can you even say that?” Seohyun yelled while blushing madly. “Ugh Yonghwa you’re such a clown sometimes!” Yonghwa stopped teasing her and gave her a genuine smile. After the longest time, he was finally sincerely happy around her. He was broken out of his reverie by two voices coming from down the hall.

“Hey you two aren’t planning to run away together before the wedding are you?” Hyuna joked. Joon’s eyes grew wide when he heard Hyuna say that. The now flustered boy tried his hardest to not show his guilt in front of his two friends, but it was a difficult task. The talk he had with Hyuna a few minutes ago had been one of the hardest things he had done in his life and it had shaken him more than he thought it would.

“How did you guys know?” Yonghwa joked back. “I’m feeling a little better actually. Shall we go back to the party?” Seohyun looked up at him and nodded happily. After so long, Yonghwa finally felt that the wall between him and Seohyun had thinned a little. No longer did he feel angst and tension around her. She wouldn’t be his, but at least he had gotten rid of most of the bottled up feelings for her.

Author’s Note: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This chapter almost made me cry while I was writing it. Alright so I know Yonghwa was going to be strong and confess but I think it’s best if he leaves things like this. It wouldn’t do him any good to completely confess to her right at this moment. At least he did get rid of a lot of the bottled up feelings for her. I’m glad I had this chapter in since it had so much YongSeo in it, much more than my previous chapters did. I hope you all enjoyed it!