Chapter 17 – Goodbye, Seo Joohyun

The fateful day where Seohyun would finally be out of Yonghwa’s reach arrived. All the words of confidence he had said to Eun Jung were all out the window. The speech he had given her about forgetting Seohyun was all long forgotten. This was the one day where he felt like he was allowed to forget his words and let all his feelings flow out of him. After all, the woman he had loved forever was now getting married to someone that wasn’t him.

Why life loved playing tricks like that, nobody would ever know. Even so, he had to stay strong. Regardless of his feelings, two really good friends would be happy forever and that’s what mattered in the long run. As much as it killed him to think that he could have had a chance if he confessed earlier, there was nothing more that could be done.

“Aigoo, who would have thought that I would be the first to get married?” Seohyun pondered. “I was sure that Jang Woo would have asked you the second that you two graduated from high school.” Eun Jung smiled at the thought while letting out a small giggle.

“Yah, you think I would actually marry that loser?” Eun Jung asked while zipping the back of Seohyun’s dress shut. They had seen her in the dress back in the bridal shop, but now that it was the day of the wedding, she looked even more beautiful.

Seohyun smiled back and allowed Eun Jung to continue fiddling with the back of her dress. It was so surreal to think that after the events of the ceremony she would be a married woman. She had barely turned 23 years old after all. Life nowadays barely starts around that age. It almost saddened her to think that she could have done so much more before getting married. Everything all seemed to be happening too fast.

“You alright?” Eun Jung asked her for the thousandth time in the past month.

Eun Jung had been there every time Seohyun needed someone to talk to and she was very grateful for it. At first it pissed Eun Jung off that Seohyun couldn’t make up her mind and just sort her feelings out. Then she remembered that Seohyun had to think about the big picture. She was an engaged woman and that meant she had to be extra careful.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Seohyun responded absentmindedly. “I’m just really nervous.”

“It’s about Yonghwa isn’t it?” Eun Jung asked nonchalantly. The topic came up so much nowadays that it didn’t even seem weird anymore.  

At the mention of Yonghwa’s name, her thoughts became even cloudier. After a couple of months of feeling crazy feelings for the hardworking boy, nothing had been solved. Ever since their shared kiss almost two weeks before, their relationship became awkward. That prompted her to think that it wasn’t worth it to even think about Yonghwa in that way. Joon was the person she was marrying and she was sure she still loved him. Thinking about Yonghwa would only ruin the friendship they all had.

“No, it’s a lot of other stuff. I don’t think I should keep thinking about Yonghwa besides as a good friend. Things are going to start getting weird.” Eun Jung dropped what she was doing and gave Seohyun an expectant look.

“You know you have to solve all of this stuff today. You’re getting married in around two hours and you can’t go in with any sort of doubts,” Eun Jung pointed out. Seohyun nodded and resumed thinking about all that had happened in the recent past.

Joon was still in her heart, she knew that much. As much as it pained her to admit, she did have some sort of interest in Yonghwa. It was a little more than just friendship she wanted from him. Those thoughts made her feel dirty though. There was no way she could walk into the wedding hall and marry Joon if she was thinking about another man.

“Eun Jung, I think I know what I feel for Yonghwa but I think I’m going to have to forget it now,” Seohyun admitted. “I know I kind of like him more than a friend and I kind of get the same feeling from him, but it’s not worth it. He’s dating Hyuna now and I’m going to marry Joon.”

Eun Jung wanted nothing more than to scream to Seohyun that she shouldn’t marry Joon and pay attention to Yonghwa. It was obvious both of the oblivious friends felt something for each other. She knew Seohyun well enough to know that she didn’t want to marry Joon because she loved him that much. Joon was still in her heart somewhere, but that feeling wasn’t enough to justify marriage.

“Do you seriously love Joon?” Eun Jung asked to make sure.

“Yes, I do,” Seohyun responded confidently. “I’ve been with Joon forever and I can’t just stop having feelings for him from one moment to the next.” She sighed deeply and tried her hardest to not get too excited with her explanation to Eun Jung. “With Yonghwa, I know I sort of like him, but it’s too sudden. It’s more of a tiny little crush that you get when you’re in middle school than it is love.”

“So you don’t think you could ever seriously date Yonghwa if he asked you to be his girlfriend?” Eun Jung continued to question. She was playing some dangerous cards on the table, but all of this had to come out before Seohyun made a huge mistake.

“He’s my best friend Eun Jung. I think women and men can’t truly be best friends without some sort of attraction between them. I think that’s what happening to us. The fact that we care so much for each other is confusing me. I know what I’m doing today is right though.”

As much as Eun Jung wanted to argue with the girl in the wedding dress, there was no use. It seemed as if Seohyun had really thought about her future with Joon and she was sure of it. After all, Seohyun was a very reasonable and smart girl. She wouldn’t come to the wedding if she wasn’t absolutely sure of what she was doing.

“If you say so.” The two girls resumed their quest to be prepared by the time the ceremony started without saying anything else. The large waiting room with cream colored walls was dead silent except for Eun Jung rustling the cloth of the dress here and there. Soon enough, the bride was 100% ready to walk down the aisle.

“How is it?” Seohyun asked hesitantly. Even though there was still a little bit of doubt in her mind, she was still a woman that was to be married soon.

“You’re stunning. Joon probably won’t even be able to marry you since he might faint while you walk towards him,” Eun Jung joked. The girls shared a giggle that broke the tense atmosphere comfortably.

“How can you say those things to her Eun Jung?” Yonghwa spoke out while walking into the waiting room without knocking, startling the two women.

“Yah! You could have walked in while she was changing,” Eun Jung scolded. Yonghwa only laughed and walked over to the women in a quick pace. Eun Jung knew that he wouldn’t have minded that but she kept her comment to herself.

“I had to come in and see the bride one last time before the big event,” Yonghwa stated. Like Eun Jung, he had already seen Seohyun in the dress before but he never ceased to be amazed. In fact, Park Jung Ah, the bridal shop manager, had given him all the pictures from their little photo shoot. Even so, he was still floored by the beauty in front of him.

“Um, I think Jang Woo said he needed help with the lines he had to say as the MC for the event,” Eun Jung awkwardly announced. “I’ll leave you guys alone for a second. She’s a little nervous so make sure she lightens up Yonghwa.” Yonghwa nodded at Eun Jung softly as she exited the room. The girl was torn between kicking Yonghwa out of the room or not but she couldn’t do that to him. This was his last moment with her as a free woman. After the ceremony, she would be 200% off limits to him.

The pair stared each other down as they each inspected their wardrobes. Seohyun had to admit that she liked what she saw. The clothes they had tailored especially for him really suited him. His black hair matched well with the black suit as well as the shoes that she was sure could not shine any more than they already were. Although, she had to admit that he looked better when the store manager got his clothes wrong and he wore Joon’s clothes.

“So this is it huh?” Yonghwa finally spoke up. He turned away from Seohyun and slowly trotted over to the walls to fiddle with the decorations the wedding hall had set up. “The big day is finally here.”

“Yeah…” Seohyun sadly responded. Both friends could feel the small bit of sadness in each other’s words. They tried to be happy for each other but it just wasn’t working. There was the sadness that Yonghwa felt because he would lose the woman of his dreams. However there was also that sadness that they both felt because their relationship wouldn’t be the same again.

“How are you feeling?” he asked while avoiding her face at all costs. If she took one look into his eyes he would reveal everything he was feeling and he couldn’t do that on her wedding day.

“How do you think I feel right now?” Seohyun asked in a sarcastic voice. “Of course I’m feeling like the luckiest woman in the world.”

Yonghwa turned his head to her at those words and surveyed her face carefully. “Your face doesn’t look like the face of the luckiest woman on the planet.” Seohyun blushed at his observation and pretended to fix something with the sleeve of her dress.

Yonghwa walked up to her and flashed her a smile that only made her blush more. “Since you seem to not be happy right now, how about we run away together?” he whispered in her ear with a mischievous tone. “If we run away now nobody would know what happened and it would be the perfect crime.”

Seohyun blushed furiously and stumbled out of the stool she was sitting in. Yonghwa quickly broke out of his laughter and caught her before she hit the floor and ruined her dress. “You’re such an !” she cried as he continued to laugh at her.

“I’m kidding Seohyun ah,” he sweetly pointed out. “You must be really nervous right now.”

Once again the feelings she desperately wanted to hide began to resurface. His warm brown eyes radiated the same warmth they always did. Yonghwa’s encouraging words made her felt protected again. Seohyun wished she could stop lying to herself and just choose which man it was she truly wanted to be with. It drove her insane that she still couldn’t decipher if she only had a small crush on Yonghwa or not.

“Yonghwa, how are you feeling today?” Seohyun asked, catching Yonghwa off guard.

“What? Why would it matter how I’m feeling?” Yonghwa asked her back.

“Well, you’re my best friend. I’m sure you must be feeling something for what’s happening between Joon and me today.”

Those words had Yonghwa torn between finally confessing to her or keeping quiet for the rest of his life. No matter what he did, he had to do it now because it was his final and only chance. “I’m happy for you Seohyun.” He wasn’t lying when he said that. He was genuinely happy that the pair was getting married.

“Can I ask you a question Yonghwa?” Seohyun shyly asked. Yonghwa found it weird that her mood was changing so fast but he ignored it. He nodded in conformation that agreed with her request to ask him a question. “What did you feel after that kiss? Did you um… did you feel weird?”

The question caught Yonghwa completely off guard, leaving him speechless. He assumed that the kiss would remain buried in their memories forever. Seohyun was the last person he expected to bring that back up. “Uh… yeah a little bit…” he admitted.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about this especially today,” Seohyun interrupted.

“No, it’s fine. I think it’s something we should talk about,” Yonghwa reasoned. “I thought it was weird, but I kind of liked it. I’m going to be completely honest and tell you that I didn’t regret it. I regret that we ended up cheating on our respective partners. But I don’t regret that it was you I kissed.”

The answer almost made Seohyun fall out of the stool she was sitting in again. She hadn’t expected Yonghwa to feel so strongly about the kiss. The blush on her cheeks became a deeper red as she felt a little happy to hear that from him. “I don’t regret it either Yonghwa,” she admitted. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Have you ever liked me more than a friend? Or do you like me more than a friend now?” Seohyun asked in her still shy voice. Yonghwa wanted to take the chance that fate was giving him to confess but as much as he wanted to he couldn’t. Eun Jung and Jang Woo always told him to put his own feelings before the feelings of others, but he couldn’t.

“Maybe when we were little, but not when we were older. I really do like you as a best friend Seohyun, but I always knew it could never be more than that,” Yonghwa lied. Seohyun let a soft smile grace her features while Yonghwa explained his feelings to her. In the end, she felt like she was screwing up by having her crush on him as always.

“Oh, well that’s good.”

“Why do you ask?” Yonghwa inquired. “Have you ever liked me more than a friend?”

“N-no, not really. I’ve always been really glad that you were by my side. I feel the same way you do.” Seohyun was also lying to herself, but she was a little glad that Yonghwa hadn’t liked her in any other way. “It’s just that lately I’ve gotten strange feelings from you. I know you so well and I just had the feeling that you liked me more than a friend.”

Yonghwa froze up when he realized Seohyun potentially had him figured out. They were best friends after all. “Maybe it was because I was so happy to have you back in my life. Sorry if I confused you.”

“Yeah, it was probably just because I was glad to have you back too,” Seohyun figured.

With those last words shared between then, Yonghwa finally had the will to resign to his unrequited love. After all those years of chasing her from behind, he finally caught up to her and was given the chance to confess. Even though Seohyun was asking him to tell her all he felt for her, he didn’t have the strength to do it anymore. He knew there would be no point. Yonghwa knew that if he finally gave up, his heart would begin to heal.

Sure it might hurt to keep his true feelings inside his heart, but it just wasn’t right at all to confess anything. As much as he hated himself for always being so selfless and putting others in front of his own happiness, he couldn’t do it. It went against everything his parents had taught him. Seohyun seemed a little confused and nervous to begin with. If he dropped a bomb like that on her at this moment he would only screw up her wedding.

Maybe one day he would decide that it would be the time to tell her everything. Maybe ten years from now when everyone was married and had kids he would tell Seohyun everything. Yonghwa constructed the image in his head of what it would be like.  The two friends would go out for a friendly drink and Yonghwa could laugh while telling her: ‘You know back when we were younger I used to have such a big crush on you.’

Only then it wouldn’t be awkward. He wouldn’t be in any position to ruin anything. Now wasn’t the time no matter how much he thought about it. “Seohyun, I meant everything that I said at the engagement party. I really do believe you’ll be the best wife ever.”

“Yonghwa…”

Yonghwa gathered all the courage he could as he walked up to Seohyun in order to give her the last hug he could give her before she belonged to someone else. He reached deep into the right pocket of his pants and felt the familiar sensation of the trinket he still hadn’t given her. “I don’t know if you have all the things required for you to get married. You know something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue… but here’s something that’s both new and old.”

“Omo!” Seohyun cried out as he pulled the pendant out of his pocket. The silver butterfly shined in the dim light the room had. Tears welled up in her eyes instantly as she quickly remembered what was in his hand. “Yonghwa how did you..?”

“I’ve had this little guy forever. Ever since he disappeared from that window when we were in first year of high school he’s been with me,” Yonghwa confessed. Seohyun tried her hardest to peel her eyes from the necklace but she couldn’t. Her eyes were glued to the little, lustrous insect attached to a thin chain. “I was originally going to give it to you for your birthday but I ended up losing it,” he lied.

If it were up to him he would tell her the exact story about it but he had to lie. “What happened to it?”

“I lost it somewhere,” he lied hesitantly. “I don’t remember where.” He hoped Seohyun bought his lie since he hadn’t expected her to question him about it. “Long story short it ended up being with my grandma and my mom gave it to me when we went to Busan.”

“Wow Yonghwa I don’t know what to say…” Seohyun breathed out, still stunned from the fact that he had the pendant from almost nine  years ago. “I… I… wow…”

Yonghwa stepped behind her and put the little butterfly in his rightful position. Finally the winged insect was free from his cage. Its wings had been kept from flying for an eternity but now it was finally time for it to fly. Even so, part of it would always remain jailed. The pendant represented Yonghwa’s feelings for the girl. As long as his feelings were kept hidden, part of that butterfly would remain chained down.

“I hope you can wear this until the day we stop being friends for some reason,” Yonghwa hoped. Tears threatened to run down his cheeks as he finally gave her what was rightfully hers. No longer would that piece of silver weigh him down. Finally, the necklace went to its rightful owner.

“I’ll wear it even if for some reason we stop being friends,” Seohyun assured him. The rich girl had thousands of necklaces, each infinitely more expensive than the necklace Yonghwa just gave her. Regardless, she felt as if she had been given the most coveted piece of jewelry in the world. “I really love it Yonghwa. Thank you so much.”

“It was no problem. I was worried I would never be able to give it to you,” Yonghwa explained to her. Finally, it was time for him to leave her to prepare for the big moment. They only had an hour left and he was taking up too much of her time. “Good luck out there Seohyun ah. I can’t wait to see you walk out on that aisle and make Joon faint.”

“Yonghwa, wait…” she called out before he turned his back on her. Yonghwa focused his attention on her one last time while one of the brightest smiles she had ever given plastered itself on her face. “Thank you so much for being here for me. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me over all these years. Why am I talking as if I were going somewhere far away? I shouldn’t be so serious should I hehe?”

“No Seohyun, thank you for being there for me. A coward like me doesn’t deserve for you to even look at me.” Seohyun’s smile was replaced with a confused expression when he called himself a coward. She wanted to ask him why he was calling himself that, but he continued to speak before she said anything. “You better live a great life together alright? I can’t wait to train your kids to make your life hell.”

“You better not,” she joked back in a threatening voice. Her feet begged her to stand up and stop him from going. She wanted to tell him to stay with her until it was time for her to go. Seohyun tried her hardest to not fly at him and give him another hug.

Yonghwa was fighting the same reflex. He never wanted to turn his back on her but he had to. He wanted to rush up to the stool she was sitting in and hold her forever, but he couldn’t.

“The second I let you out of my sight… once I turn my back on you… once I exit that door… you’re gone forever Seohyun,” Yonghwa thought to himself.

Finally, he found the courage to let her go and get back to the wedding hall. A voice in his head told him he was a coward for not confessing to her, but that wasn’t true. He was being as brave as he could since he was letting her go without fighting himself. “Goodbye Seo Joohyun…” he sadly whispered before turning his back on her forever. He didn’t turn back once as he shut the door behind him and let out a sob.

“Goodbye forever Seohyun ah…” he sobbed out as he walked over to the bathroom to clean off his face. As hard as he tried to not cry, it didn’t work. As much as he tried to continue being strong, he couldn’t. The fact of the matter was that he hadn’t taken every opportunity to make her happy and he was going to regret it. Even so, it was a step he deemed necessary. Seohyun wasn’t ever going to be his and he had to get used to the idea.

The guests in the wedding hall quietly talked amongst themselves as they waited for Joon to arrive and start the wedding. The groom had to be there first in order for the bride to begin walking down the aisle. Yonghwa looked down at his watch while standing beside the altar where his two friends would be married soon.

“Hey, where the heck is Joon?” Jang Woo whispered. “I’ve already had to calm down the guests a few times since he hasn’t shown his face around here.” Yonghwa wondered the same thing and began to get worried. Joon was known for being late, that was a fact of life. Even so, he knew Joon wouldn’t be almost an entire hour late to his own wedding.

“Let me try calling him again,” Yonghwa suggested while taking out his phone. He found Joon’s number on the touch screen and hoped he would answer the phone.

“Yeoboseyo?” Joon answered.

“Where the hell are you Joon?” Yonghwa scolded angrily. “You’re almost an hour late to your own wedding. President Seo is so pissed right now so you better get here fast.”

“Arasseo, I’ll be there soon,” Joon assured him. “Tell everyone on my behalf that I’m really sorry but I got caught in traffic.” Yonghwa agreed to help him out before hanging up, letting Joon breathe once more. He hated lying to Yonghwa, especially on a day like today. However, he couldn’t tell Yonghwa he had cold feet at the last moment.

What Joon was actually doing was waiting out of Hyuna’s house trying to figure out what he was going to do about the wedding. Hyuna was serious about not meeting him anymore until he figured out what he wanted. She avoided his calls, ignored his texts, and didn’t even look at him when they met in person. The past two weeks without her were agonizingly long. Joon yearned for her comfort once more, but he couldn’t make a decision.

“Pabo, pabo, pabo!” Joon yelled in his car while hitting his head against the steering wheel. “What the are you doing Lee Joon?”

After thinking about it for a good minute, he came to a conclusion. As much as it hurt him to hurt Seohyun, he couldn’t take it anymore. Seohyun wasn’t the girl that was for him. She was nice, considerate, and an overall perfect girl, but that’s not what he needed. Joon needed a fiery, fierce, and strong woman by his side that would challenge him in ways Seohyun couldn’t.

“Mianhae Seohyun ah… but this will be for the good of everyone.” Joon quickly got out of his car and made a mad dash for the poor and humble house Hyuna lived in. Hyuna heard a knock on the shabby metal door and was met with a startling sight.

“Joon? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to get married to Seohyun?” she asked with surprise lacing her words. Joon shook his head and brought her into a forceful kiss. He let out all the frustrations he had over the past few weeks without her in a single kiss. Hyuna wanted to push him off of her and slap him for being so forward, but she realized she accomplished her goal.

“I’m not going to marry her,” Joon professed after they broke the contact between their lips. “I know it took me too long to decide but I can’t marry her. I care for her a lot but I know I love you Hyuna.” Hyuna’s eyes shot open in surprise when he confessed those words to her. If she were honest with herself, she believed Joon would actually marry Seohyun.

“Are you sure Joon? Do you really want that?”

“I know I want this. I know you want it too since you waited here for me. I know you love me back just as much as I love you,” Joon delusionally assumed. Hyuna took a step back a little when she heard Joon confessing to her so strongly. Joon was attractive and she did like his money, but she didn’t really love him.

“I’m… I’m a little surprised by this,” she confessed.

“I know and I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize what I really wanted,” Joon apologized. He took Hyuna’s hand and dragged her into the house forcefully. “Grab a suitcase with whatever you need. We’re getting out of here.” Once again a look of surprise found its way to her face when she heard his plans.

“Joon, what are you talking about?”

“We’re going to run away and get married. We love each other. More importantly, we’re young and rich. Why the hell shouldn’t we run away? If we’re going to screw up anyways, might as well go out with a bang.”

As crazy as Hyuna thought the idea was, she kind of wanted to go along with it. After all, Joon had a point. They were already in deep and it would only cause a big mess if they were to meet up with Seohyun and Yonghwa afterwards. The only thing to do was run away and never see those people again. There was one thing stopping her though and that was the love she had for Yonghwa.

“I know you still have feelings for Yonghwa…” Joon sadly pointed out. “But I know I will be able to make you forget about him. Hyuna, you will be the wife to one of the richest men in all of Korea. Think about the possibilities.”

That’s when Hyuna’s greed began to overpower her. Love wouldn’t buy her all the things her heart desired. She figured Joon was right and over time she would learn to forget about the one person she had truly loved in her life. Yonghwa was someone she really did want to spend time with, but the temptation Joon possessed was much stronger than her love at that moment.

“You guys…” a female voice spoke out in disbelief. The pair turned around and noticed a familiar face behind them. “You… traitors… How could you do this? How black must your hearts be for you to hurt your friends like this?!”

“Hyomin what are you doing here and how did you get into my house?” Hyuna asked with anger in her voice. Joon put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from attacking the newcomer. He gave her a look that told her to back off since there was no use in keeping their secret any longer.

“Eun Jung unnie told me to come see if you were coming to the wedding. She said you told her you would get there on your own but you never showed up,” Hyomin explained. “She was worried you were sick or something so she asked me to come pick you up. I saw the door was open and I came in to see if you were okay.”

Joon was both glad and annoyed that Hyomin heard everything. He was annoyed that his plans were now slightly ruined. Joon initially was just going to run away and hide with Hyuna for a while before telling Seohyun everything. Now, that wasn’t an option. However, he was glad that Hyomin saw everything and he would now be forced to explain everything.

“How long have you two been doing this?” Hyomin asked in disgust. “I can’t believe I ever thought of you guys as friends. How blind were Seohyun and Yonghwa to not see what you two disgusting people were doing?”

“Save the insults for later Hyomin,” Hyuna spat back. If it were up to Hyuna, she would have torn Hyomin’s hair out and left her unconscious. Joon could only sigh and help Hyuna pull all her things together before they walked out the door.

“Hyomin… I’m so sorry we’re doing this, but it’s for everyone’s own good,” Joon tried to apologize. Hyomin couldn’t take the nauseous feeling she got as he spoke and she ran out of the house before she threw up.

Hyomin couldn’t let them get away with it. She wasn’t really good friends with the pair of traitors but she still had respect for them. Hyuna had always been a role model for the girls in the group since she was always ready to defend herself. Joon was known as the all-around good guy and she loved the way he made Seohyun happy. This was just unacceptable.

“Yeoboseyo? Hyomin ah what’s wrong?” Eun Jung asked her younger sister. Hyomin sighed into her phone and braced herself for the impact her words would have. “Hey are you there? Can you hear me?”

“The wedding is off unnie…” Hyomin cried into the phone. Even though it wasn’t her they cheated on, she began to cry. “Joon and Hyuna have been cheating on Seohyun for who knows how long. They’re running away to the airport as we speak.”

“WHAT?! Hyomin… this is probably the stupidest joke I’ve ever heard. Please tell me you’re joking,” Eun Jung yelled.

“I’m not joking unnie. They’re running away right now. Hyuna got a bunch of her things in a suitcase and threw it into the back of Joon’s car.” Hyomin could only stand and watch as Joon’s expensive car rolled out of the parking space in front of Hyuna’s shabby house. “They’re gone unnie. They’re gone…”

“Do you know where they’re going?”

“I have no idea where they’re running away to. I think they’re headed to the airport though. I’ll follow them,” Hyomin suggested.

“No! For all we know they could try to hurt you to keep you quiet. I’ll deal with everything. Hyomin, come back to the wedding hall,”  Eun Jung ordered. Hyomin agreed quietly and each girl hung their phones up.

“Yonghwa…” Eun Jung growled. Yonghwa hadn’t ever seen her that angry before and he was getting worried. From what he caught from the phone call, something was wrong. “Those bastards…”

“What’s wrong Eun Jung? What happened?” he asked worriedly. Luckily they were outside of the main hall or else everyone would have heard Eun Jung cursing.

“Joon and Hyuna had been cheating on you guys for a while now. Now it makes sense why those two always happened to be absent at the same time,” Eun Jung reasoned. She felt like taking a table and flipping it over. Hyuna and Joon played them all for fools and now they were going to get away with it. All the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together. Now that she thought about it, it was so obvious what was going on.

“This isn’t a funny Eun Jung. Tell me what really happened.”

“I’m not crazy Yonghwa. I would never joke about this,” she scolded. “They’re headed off to the airport. We have to catch them. We can’t let them get away.” Yonghwa was still completely stunned by all of this but he complied with her requests. As they turned around they noticed Seohyun’s bouquet on the ground. Seohyun heard everything they said and was running at top speed towards the exit.

“ she heard us!” Yonghwa pointed out. He and Eun Jung ran up to chase her but she was far too ahead of them. It surprised them just how fast she was going while wearing a wedding dress and heels but they supposed she was so desperate to run away that those things didn’t matter to her anymore.

Eun Jung and Yonghwa burst through the glass doors of the front lobby only to see Seohyun driving off in the car that had “Just Married” written all over it. “Damn it! She’s probably headed to the airport,” Eun Jung noted. She searched her pocket for the spare keys to Jang Woo’s car but was stopped by a sudden realization. “Crap… Hyomin is driving Jang Woo oppa’s car right now. Ugh, what the hell are we supposed to do now?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go pull President Seo aside and tell him what’s going on. I’m sure he can get some people to rush over to the airport and stop her from doing something stupid.” Eun Jung nodded and followed Yonghwa diligently. It felt good to have him back after all those years he was gone. Yonghwa was always the level headed member of the group and always knew exactly how to deal with tough situations.

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Seohyun’s heart was pounding in her chest at speeds that she never even knew existed. Her stomach flipped inside her over and over as she wished that she was just dreaming. In the back of her mind a little voice told her that this was just another one of Joon’s really bad jokes and he had gotten everyone in on it. However, the rest of her brain knew this wasn’t a joke. Everything was really happening.

Without even bothering to park her car correctly, the desperate girl ran towards Incheon International Airport’s doors at top speed. The train of her dress coupled with her heels made it difficult to run but somehow she found the strength to keep herself balanced. Everyone stared at the person running through the crowds frantically with black streaks of eye make-up running down her cheeks from her tears.

“Lee Joon! Come out you bastard! Kim Hyuna! You !” she bellowed amongst the busy people trying to get to their flights. The crowd parted and let her pass as she brushed past everyone forcefully. People here and there whispered about what could possibly be happening. Most people thought it was a movie or drama filming and praised Seohyun for her exceptional acting.

Seohyun wished it was just that. She wished she was just acting. Through a of luck she caught the back of Hyuna’s head in the distance. The traitorous pair were headed towards a gate where a flight to Jeju island was about to take off. Once again she found the strength to run as fast as she could towards the gate.

“Lee Joon! Kim Hyuna!” she yelled once again. This time, Hyuna and Joon caught her voice and began to run for it. The two quickly flashed the attendant their tickets and boarded the plane. Seohyun tried to blitz past the woman but was quickly stopped by two large security guards.

“Miss, I’m sorry but you can’t board without a ticket,” the attendant politely explained. Seohyun wanted to go crazy and knock the lady out. She had to get on that plane and drag that out by her hair until it all fell out.

“You don’t understand! I have to get on that plane. My fiancé and best friend are running away together as we speak. Please!” Seohyun begged. Everyone around her looked at her as if she were a crazy woman. She sure did look the part with the way she was running around in an airport with a wedding dress on and runny eye make-up.

“I’m sorry but under no circumstance am I allowed to let people on without a ticket,” the woman explained once more. She nodded towards the two security guards and they dragged the hysterical woman out into the lobby.

Now more than ever did she begin to cry. Sobs racked through her entire body. Everything felt cold to her. Even though she did have some feelings for Yonghwa and they had confused her, she felt extremely hurt. Seohyun felt as if she were the unhappiest person on the planet even though there were people way worse off than her. Two of the people she trusted the most on that planet betrayed her. They made her look like a fool. It hurt her to think that they had met behind their backs for who knows how long.

She got up once more to try to reason with them to let her on the plane but was stopped by a pair of arms pulling her back. She found herself in the warmth of someone’s hug but she couldn’t care less who it was. Seohyun felt like she needed to be protected at the moment. She needed someone to be there for her and tell her it was going to be alright.

“It’s going to be alright. Everything is going to be fine,” a male voice assured her. Seohyun looked up and noticed that the one person she truly believed would never hurt her was there. Jung Yonghwa was there to protect her. For a split second when he spoke, she forgot that she was just stood up on her wedding day.

“How is the situation?” Jang Woo asked Yonghwa when he finally caught up. Eun Jung, Jang Woo, Hyomin, Seohyun’s father, Krystal and Hyuna’s grandmother all stood behind Yonghwa and watched as Seohyun cried her eyes out.

Yonghwa didn’t have anything to say and just shook his head towards them. Seohyun wanted to run to her dad and have him tell her everything was going to be fine. The caring father walked over to Yonghwa to take the child that he desperately tried to protect for 23 years. “Kwaenchanha my beautiful daughter… everything is going to be fine.”

Upon letting Seohyun go, Yonghwa finaly grasped the situation. Seeing her cry like that made him sick to his stomach. “Why is it that it hurts so much to see you crying like this Seohyun ah? In my mind, my heart, and even the pit of my stomach… everything hurts like crazy,” he thought to himself. Now instead of feeling compassion and the need to protect her, he needed to defend her. Anger welled up inside of him when he realized Joon was going to get away with everything.

Yonghwa felt his veins tense up all over his body. His muscles went rigid and he began to run towards the gate Seohyun had just been thrown out of. The attendant began to speak up but he sped past her at an inhuman speed. Anger was the only thing driving him at that moment. He had to beat the living hell out of Joon if it was the last thing he did. The security guards tried to stop him once more but he quickly dodged them and landed a punch one their faces, leaving the other one to deal with him alone.

All the spectators could only watch as Yonghwa acted like someone who had been possessed by an evil spirit. “Joon! Lee Joon! Get out here you ing coward!” he yelled through the hall leading to the plane. “You piece of ! Get out here and show your face!” Before he could board the plane, a jolt of energy surged through him. He turned around to catch a glance of a security guard hitting him with a bolt of electricity from a tazer. Soon enough he found himself falling towards the ground unconscious.

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“He’s waking up,” a voice from his right pointed out. “Yah Jung Yonghwa! Can you hear me?” the voice called again. Yonghwa got up and shook the drowsiness out of his head. He was lying on a hard bench at the airport with all of his friends around him as well as Seohyun’s dad and Hyuna’s grandma.

“Yeah… I’m good now,” Yonghwa groggily replied. As soon as all his senses came back to him, the anger inside began to well up once more. “Joon! I have to catch him!” Seohyun’s dad stepped forward and pushed Yonghwa back into the seat and shook his head. Yonghwa looked over at the gate and noticed that the plane was already gone.

“Everything is over Yonghwa,” Seohyun’s father spoke. “They’re gone. To think I actually trusted that piece of with my daughter’s happiness….” he growled. Yonghwa allowed himself to calm down and tried his hardest to be reasonable. He looked over at the bench next to him and noticed Seohyun sitting there lifelessly. Yonghwa really wanted to go over and comfort her but he knew that at the moment she needed to be alone.

“I am so sorry!” Hyuna’s grandmother cried. The humble, old woman dropped to her knees and begged President Seo for forgiveness. She bawled her eyes out while continually excusing herself for Hyuna’s actions. “It’s because I didn’t raise her right that she did this. This is all my fault.” Everyone present could only sit there and watch the old woman degrade herself for Hyuna.

“Aniyo halmeoni,” Seohyun’s father softly responded. “This isn’t your fault. Hyuna is a grown woman and you aren’t responsible for her actions.”

“I’m so sorry!” she continued to cry.

Seeing Hyuna’s grandmother like that only brought more anger to Yonghwa’s mind. It wasn’t fair that the old woman was degrading herself like that for a girl that didn’t even care for her. Everything about the situation was the worst that could possibly happen. “Halmeoni, get up please.” He helped the old woman up and led her over to a bench so she could rest.

“I took care of the little show you put on with the guards Yonghwa,” President Seo stated. Had Yonghwa been in the mood he would have laughed at the way the older man said that. “There’s nothing we can do now. Let’s just be positive about this and say it happened for the best.”

“President Seo how could you say that?” Yonghwa yelled as his temper flared once more. President Seo backed off as he saw Yonghwa yell for the first time in his life. “Everything is ruined! Those bastards got away with everything!”

“Calm down Yonghwa,” Seohyun’s father suggested. “It’s better that this happened now rather than later. If Seohyun had gotten married to that piece of trash this would have been even worse.”

Yonghwa had to admit that the man had a point. He was also a victim of this. Had he gone any farther with Hyuna, he would have been making a huge mistake. The angry young man felt hurt at the situation as well but not because of Hyuna. He had only gone out with her out of desperation. Sure he considered her a good friend after a few weeks of dating her, but he had no real feelings. However, that still didn’t take away the fact that he felt betrayed by someone who was like a brother to him.

“How could I have been so stupid!?” Yonghwa cried while punching the nearest wall to him. “I should have caught this before. I should have put all the pieces together!” Eun Jung walked over to Yonghwa and stopped him from punching the wall for a second time.

“It’s nobody’s fault but Hyuna’s and Joon’s. Let’s just go home and rest,” Eun Jung suggested. “We should get Hyuna’s grandmother home too. I’m sure her old body can’t handle a situation like this as well as we can.” Yonghwa wiped the tears out of his eyes and quickly followed Eun Jung’s orders.

“Don’t worry Yonghwa,” Seohyun’s father assured. “When the time comes, those two will regret doing this. Life will get them back eventually  and they’ll wish they never did this.” Yonghwa nodded and hoped that would be the case. Even though he knew Seohyun’s father was right, that didn’t take away the fact that he still wanted to bash Joon and Hyuna’s skulls into the ground.

Author’s Note: So emotional roller coaster much? Here we have the big drama that I’ve been setting up for a few chapters now. It kind of jumps a little with YongSeo having a heart to heart then Hyuna and Joon running away but I think it works. Anyways, I know a lot of people were wishing Yonghwa confessed for good and Seohyun realizes what she’s feeling but I need more dramaaaaaaaaaaaaa for my story haha. I don’t want to end it here just yet. If you guys want to see them together so badly, the story wouldn’t be able to continue. I hope everyone was ready/enjoyed the big atomic bomb I dropped :).