Epilogue, Part 2

Crowds of people pushed and shoved to find the best seats in the large university auditorium. Parents, friends, teachers, and students alike struggled to find each other’s respective places due to the sheer amount of people present at the event. Among these people was a very distraught Seo Joohyun being followed by her forever whipped husband, Jung Yonghwa. “I knew we should have left early. If we can’t find seats I will force you to be my chair for the rest of the day.”

“Calm down,” Yonghwa said. “We will find seats. Although I don’t know why this place is so full all of a sudden. It wasn’t like this when I was here last.”

Yonghwa stared at the stage and reminisced about the times he was a student at Seoul National University. He remembered walking across that same stage when he had his medical degree bestowed up on him. It brought back memories of a time that was both happy and sad at the same time. He looked over at his nagging wife and smiled. Back in those days, Seohyun wasn’t his, but now she was. “What are you smiling about?”

The daydreaming man snapped out of his memories and smiled towards his wife. “I was just remembering how things used to be when we went to school here. It was a while ago wasn’t it?” A warm hand gripped his and squeezed hard in response. “But things are better now aren’t they?”

“Yeah they sure are,” she said.

While the pair of lovebirds stared into each other’s eyes remembering the past, the crowd began to quiet down and focus their attention on the man walking across the stage. “Welcome everyone Seoul National University’s 2033 entrance ceremony. It is my pleasure as the president of such a prestigious university to welcome these future young scholars to the institution that will hopefully mold each one of them into a contributing member of society.”

As per usual, Yonghwa began to fall asleep as the old man ranted on about the future and what not. He was never really good with speeches or events even though he heard them almost monthly at the conferences he attended. “Yahhhh,” Seohyun whispered while pinching his elbow. “Why did you come if you were just going to sleep?”

“Hyu~uu~uun~~” he whined as if here a child. “You know I hate these kinds of things.”

Seohyun shook her head at his incredibly childish mannerisms. If she knew she was going to marry a kid like him all those years ago she would have stopped herself. It was harder controlling Yonghwa than controlling a real child. She swore that when she took care of Eunjung’s kid back when she was a little girl she was much more controlled than Yonghwa ever was. “No ice cream after dinner if you fall asleep mister!” she taunted.

Needless to say, Yonghwa was not amused at her comments. Clearly neither were the people all around them since they were visibily, and audibly, irritated. “Whatever, just listen to the man talk,” he ordered.

After two grueling and soul shattering hours, the ceremony ended. It seemed that Yonghwa was not the only person that let out a deep sigh of relief once the president made the closing remarks. “Oh god that was probably the worst two hours of my life,” Yonghwa said. “I’m sure they use that guy’s speeches as torture material in North Korea.”

“It wasn’t that bad ahjusshi,” a cute voice giggled behind him. Yonghwa and Seohyun turned around to see a brightly smiling girl walking towards them. The couple was sure that they had somehow gone back in time to see Eunjung twenty years ago. The girl looked exactly like the woman that gave birth to her except for the way Eunjung kept her hair short and her daughter liked to keep it long. “I bet ahjusshi fell asleep didn’t he, unnie?”

“I don’t even want to remember how embarrassed I was when this old man started snoring,” Seohyun complained.

“Like father like son I guess,” the girl pointed out. “Yong Joon wouldn’t stop snoring the entire time either. You’d think him being the class representative would keep him from sleeping at his own entrance ceremony.”

The two women giggled at the way they made fun of the Jung family men. Yonghwa didn’t even have the energy to fight back since he knew he wouldn’t win. Eun Young was just like her mother, strong-willed and hard headed. He was sure she knew how to throw a mean punch just like Eunjung could back in the day. “You ladies talking about me?”

“Go away Yong Joon, can’t you see we’re in the middle of an important conversation?”  

“Eun Young…” he began before being interrupted by a pat on the back from his father.

“Leave them alone. They will tire themselves out eventually.” The father and son backed off from the women knowing they wouldn’t have to suffer as much if they just let it be. Then again, both of them knew they wouldn’t ever tire out. It was crazy talk to believe those two would ever get tired of making fun of them.

The day went by quickly in the midst of all the preparations the elders made in order to throw a party for the two that would soon be moving into the dorms at the university. Eunjung and Jang Woo were both busy on business trips so they hadn’t even been able to attend the ceremony for their daughter. Luckily they arrived home just before the party started so they could celebrate with the success of their only child.

“Good to see you again loser!” Yonghwa shouted to his friend while tackling him into a hug. The women present laughed at the way their bromance unfolded before their eyes. Jang Woo let a fake sob escape his mouth as he hugged back.

“Don’t forget you’re married Jang Woo…” Eunjung teased. “I don’t appreciate you cheating on me in my face.”

“Eunjung ah! I’m not cheating on you. Well not yet anyways,” he joked.

“You guys are so embarrassing,” Eun Young said from the side. “This is why we can’t ever go anywhere nice with you two erted ahjusshis. I feel bad for mom and Seohyun unnie.”

Everyone present laughed while the two ‘lovers’ continued to hug each other and act like they were a newlywed couple. Seohyun was glad Yonghwa was able to connect so well with Jang Woo after Joon betrayed them all those years ago. While he had been friends with Jang Woo before, he wasn’t as close to him as he was to Joon. Once their former friend betrayed them, Jang Woo quickly became Yonghwa’s best friend and they have been inseparable since. Although, she sometimes wished Jang Woo’s erted attitude wouldn’t rub off so much on her husband.

Soon enough everyone made their appearance at the Jung household, each with a gift or token of congratulations for the young adults that were about to begin their university lives. Krystal and Minho showed up with their twelve year old son, Hyunsoo, and their ten year old daughter, Minah. “Unnie!” Eun Young yelled when she saw her aunt Krystal. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“I wish Eun Young wasn’t so close to Aunt Krystal,” Yong Joon whispered to his father. “All she does is learn how to be bratty from her. I don’t even know why Aunt Krystal acts like she’s a teenager when she’s so old.”

“Yong Joon! What did I tell you about calling me aunt? It makes me sound super old!” Krystal screeched. “Call me Krystal noona instead.”

“Whatever…” he mumbled.

More people began to pour into the house. Yonghwa’s parents made an appearance alongside Seohyun’s dad. Eunjung’s parents as well as Jang Woo’s parents showed their faces as well. Soon enough the party was underway and the large family enjoyed themselves until there was no more food or alcohol left. Eventually it was time to clean up and say goodbye to all of the people before heading off to bed.

“You guys should go home,” Yonghwa said to his ‘in-laws.’

“We should help you clean,” Eunjung pointed out. “We would be crappy guests if we didn’t.” It took him a while but he finally convinced everyone to leave the mess alone for him to clean it up later. It would look bad on him if he made his own guests clean his house no matter how close they were.

Eun Young and Yong Joon sat quietly on one of their couches, not bothering to pay attention to the petty arguments their parents go in. Eun Young dozed off and leaned onto her boyfriend’s arm. Even though he was younger than her by almost a year he managed to act like an oppa to her. “You guys better not be doing anything you wouldn’t want us to see when you move into the dorms tonight,” Yonghwa scolded. “I don’t feel like attending any shotgun weddings for my son that’s barely 18 years old.”

“Ahjusshi don’t worry. Yong Joon and I will be careful,” Eun Young replied sleepily.

“YAH!” he father yelled out. “What do you mean be careful?! Are you trying to tell me you’re going to be doing things like that when you’re all alone?”

Yong Joon’s face grew bright red with embarrassment. It’s not every day your ‘father-in-law’ asks you if you’re intimate with his daughter out of the blue like that. “I… I… no we don’t.” Jang Woo’s fake anger died down when he saw how shy his son in law was being. From that moment he could tell that Yong Joon was in fact Yonghwa’s son without a doubt.

“You guys all got pregnant before getting married though,” Eun Young pointed out. “Grandma told me you were two or three months pregnant and you announced it on your wedding day.”

It was Eunjung’s turn to have her face glow bright red. “Don’t listen to your grandma. She’s just being her usual silly self with those stories. Right yeobo?” Jang Woo gave her a confused look and shook his head. He was about to open his mouth to say that his mother-in-law had told the truth but a sharp jab to his ribs stopped him. “Right?!”

“Ahh… yeah yeah. Come on Eun Young ah. You know we would be way more responsible than that.”

“Whatever dad. I know you guys are lying,” Eun Young bitterly stated. “Besides, I wouldn’t do anything you don’t want me to do. This kid is just like his daddy. He is the shiest kid ever. You don’t have to worry about him.”

While Yong Joon felt emasculated by his girlfriend, she was at least taking all the heat off of them for a while. Eun Young had definitely learned a thing or two from his Aunt Krystal that was worthwhile at least. The older adults left their kids alone while they talked about little occurrences here or there that happened at work. “Hey don’t you kids have to get going soon?” Yonghwa asked. “Eunjung and Jang Woo are leaving too. They can give you a ride back to the dorms.”

“Why are you trying to get rid of us ahjusshi?” Eun Young asked sassily. It was Yonghwa’s turn to be mad at Krystal for turning Eun Young into such a brat.

“I’m just trying to give you guys some alone time without your dad hounding you of course,” Yonghwa lied.

“That’s a load of crap dad,” Yong Joon jumped in. “You just want to be all alone with mom. You could at least try to hide the fact that you’re going to have tonight.”

“YAH! How dare you talk to your father like that young man!?” Yonghwa bellowed in embarrassment.

“At least he has the guts to talk about it honey,” Seohyun interjected. “Yeah you’re right son. We are trying to get some alone time tonight so go on and head home. We’ll go check up on you guys in the dorm tomorrow morning.”

Yong Joon and Eun Young grabbed a few last things from his room before departing and leaving his parents alone for the first time in almost 20 years. Yonghwa sulked the entire time without so much as giving Seohyun a second glance. He couldn’t believe his son would talk about his parents having like that without any regard for how awkward it would sound. Even worse was the fact that Seohyun fed into it without any care for his feelings as well.

After his small bout of sulking was over with, Yonghwa decided to go get some fresh air on the patio in his backyard. The late August night was a little warm but it wasn’t unbearable by any means. Before leaning on the railing of the balcony he gave it a little shove with his hand as he always did. Ever since Min Young passed away, he tended to be careful of the railing falling over like the one that took her life. Remembering his past friend made him remember Joon’s unfortunate death as well. Almost twenty years had gone by but there was not a single day in which he didn’t miss his friends that he made so many memories with.

“Thinking about the past?” Seohyun asked while giving him a hug from behind.

“A little.”

When she heard the tinge of sadness in his voice she buried her face into his wide back and let out a deep sigh. She too wished that they could have saved the two lost souls that would never come back to them. As much as she thought about it though, she knew the ghosts of the past should be laid to rest. While Yonghwa knew this as well, it didn’t take away the fact that he would always think about them whenever he could.

“I’m going to go change into something more comfortable. I’ll be back down in a little while,” Seohyun said. Yonghwa grunted in response while taking a deep breath of the late summer air. Even though Seohyun hadn’t said anything, he knew what she was thinking with the way she hugged him. Without another thought, he quickly erased the painful memories of his lost friends and made his way down the patio steps.

A smell of something burning caught Seohyun’s attention forcing her to rush down the stairs to check for any potential threats to her home. When she saw nothing was burning in the kitchen she looked outside to see a trail of white smoke coming from something in the backyard. She rushed over to the patio hastily and was met with Yonghwa sitting by a small bonfire he made. “Aish! You scared me with the smoke!”

“Oh I did? Sorry,” he said. Seohyun walked down the stairs slowly towards the male poking at the fire aimlessly with a stick. “Even though it’s summer I kinda felt like making the bonfire. Weird huh?”

“Nah it’s kind of cozy,” Seohyun replied. She sat down on the ground next to Yonghwa and stared into the dancing flames that slowly consumed the firewood hungrily. Even by just sitting still together for a few minutes she wouldn’t have it any other way. It was still strange to her how comfortable she could be around Yonghwa without actually doing anything by sitting next to each other. “Why are you so gloomy all of a sudden?”

“Me?” he asked.

“No I’m talking to the fire,” she joked back. “Of course you, pabo.”

Yonghwa sighed and continued to stare into the flames. “Today’s been one huge trip down memory lane Seohyun. Being back on the university campus made me remember so much.” Seohyun scooted over to him and laid her head on his shoulder. She had to admit she felt the same way that he did when they were at the university as well. “Seeing Yong Joon and Eun Young getting ready to go to school made me remember all those times we had almost 20 years ago.”

“You upset because you’re getting old?” Seohyun teased.

“If I’m completely honest… a little,” he chuckled. “I never thought I’d be looking back at those times and wishing I could go back.”

“Would you go back if you could?” she asked out of curiosity.

He stopped staring at the flames in order to look over at the angelic face resting on his shoulder comfortably. A smile formed on his face and he knew he had his answer. “No I wouldn’t. Being young is great and all, but I wouldn’t have you by my side like this back then. I wouldn’t trade this for the world.” Seohyun sat up straight and stared back at him with the same smile he had on his face.

“There you go being cheesy again,” she giggled. “But I love it.” Seohyun gave him a light peck on the cheek and laid her head back down on his shoulder.

Yonghwa dropped the stick he was prodding the flames with and put his arm around the woman that he had been his love for more than forty years. He remembered the pain that he felt when he saw Seohyun with someone else other than him. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to live through that pain again now that she was his wife. “I don’t think I would be able to give you up Seohyun ah. I wouldn’t be able to live if I had to be apart from you.”

“You’re giving me goose bumps again…” she mumbled. As much as she complained about his overly dramatic and cheesy ways to profess his love to her, she had to admit she really loved it. What woman wouldn’t like hearing their husband giving them endless praise and admiration?

“Thinking about those years where I had to watch you with Joon make me want to forget the past entirely,” he said.

“Was it that bad?” she asked shamelessly. While she felt bad, she knew he wasn’t blaming her. It wasn’t her fault she hurt Yonghwa like that. She was in love with Joon then and it wasn’t like she was hurting him on purpose. They both knew that but it didn’t stop her from feeling crappy whenever she thought about it.

Seohyun’s husband sighed and looked up at the few faint stars the Seoul night sky allowed them to see. “All day you would stay in my head. You would be smiling brightly at me in my thoughts,” he explained. He scratched the back of his head a little with his free hand and gripped her tighter with his other. “I would wonder if you were thinking about me at all. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night because I would be thinking about you and that bright smile of yours.”

“Yonghwa…” she sniffled. Tears were forming in her eyes from how lovingly he was describing the way he felt about her all those years ago.

“Do you know how it feels when you love someone so much to the point where you hate them?” he asked. The tearful girl shook her head in response at the oxymoronic question. “Well that’s how I felt about it a little. I was always mad that you couldn’t see how much I loved you and how I was always behind you watching you from afar. But then I would realize that it wasn’t your fault but mine.”

“Please don’t blame yourself Yonghwa,” she pleaded. “That was just the way things worked.”

“I know Seohyun,” he replied calmly. “Joon was always a step ahead of me. He beat me to you on your birthday when we were 15 and then again when he asked you to marry him in Busan. I know it wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

Her heart ached at the thought of Yonghwa going through so much because of the way the world had worked in those days. If only she realized that Yonghwa was so in love with her then, maybe he wouldn’t have been in so much pain in those times. Seohyun mentally slapped herself for not realizing that he would be the one in her life to make her happy forever.

“I’m sorry Yonghwa. I’m sorry I didn’t see just how wonderful a guy you were.”

“Apology accepted,” he joked. “I think I’m going to need more than an apology for the twenty plus years of pain you caused me.”

“And what did you have in mind?” she seductively responded. Yonghwa’s hand began to roam further south from her shoulder all the way down to her hips. His strong arm pulled her even closer to him, forcing her to look up at him with a suggestive gaze. “I don’t think you deserve anything more than an apology if I really think about it.”

“You aren’t going to give me anything for my troubles?” he asked with a voice that expressed fake disbelief. “Didn’t your dad teach you to always apologize for causing trouble?”

“How about we forget about the troubles of the past and get ourselves into a little trouble right now?” she purred.

“What do you mean trouble?”

“I’ve always kind of wanted to do it outside. The risk of getting caught makes it even hotter,” Seohyun explained. Yonghwa let a erted smirk form on his face when he heard his wife say something so naughty. Truth be  told he wouldn’t be opposed to it but he was still a little scared his neighbors would hear the telltale noise of two people making love and call the police on them.

“If you’re looking for trouble, I can help you find it,” he seductively whispered back.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As much as the couple wanted to be and risky, they eventually went back into their own room to do what two married adults do when the lights were turned off. It would be pretty embarrassing to have anyone walk in one Yonghwa on top of Seohyun and then have to explain it. Tired from the commotion of the entrance ceremony, the impromptu party they held, and most importantly their love-making, they were finally ready to hit the hay and knock out for the night.

Yonghwa wrapped his body around Seohyun and held her tightly. It was times like those that made him completely forget about the painful things that happened in the past and look forward to the future that was to come. “Are you sleepy Seohyun ah?” he asked.

“A little. Why?” Seohyun questioned in response. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to stay awake for a little while like this,” he whispered. “Even though I’m going to miss Yong Joon a lot, I think I can get used to it being just us two again.”

“Who knew you had it in you still,” she giggled. “I thought you were talking about how old you were getting. I didn’t know an old ahjusshi like you could still work his magic like he used to.”

Yonghwa shot up from his spot and pinned Seohyun down just as he had a few minutes ago during their ‘alone time.’ “Want me to show you what this old ahjusshi can still do? I’m pretty sure you’d be surprised.”

“Aish! You just don’t ever give up do you?”

“That’s not a no,” he teased back. “I guess my ahjumma Seohyun wants to see what Yong ahjusshi can still do for her right?”

“You’re such a freaking weirdo,” she

“And you love it.”

Yonghwa let go of the forceful grip he had on her wrists and instead cupped her chin softly. Seohyun closed her eyes in anticipation and allowed him to plant a soft kiss on her lips. Suddenly all the thoughts she had about sleep were gone and were replaced by thoughts on how she wanted to feel him love her once more that night. She wished she could describe the feeling she felt whenever Yonghwa treated her in that loving manner. His soft touch could make her feel loved in the purest of ways but at the same time set her insides on fire with lust. The kisses he planted on her delicate skin made her feel warm and fuzzy, but they also made her feel hungry for him.

“I love you so much Yonghwa,” Seohyun breathed out when their lips separated.

“I know. I don’t need you to tell me,” he responded back in an equally breathy voice. “I love you too.”

“You think we will ever get tired of each other? Of this?”

“Hell no we won’t,” he confidently answered. “If you get tired of it, I’ll make it so you want to back in my arms again.”

“Alright Mr. Macho Man,” Seohyun teased.

“Hey Seohyun?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m so glad we both could realize the one thing in this world that mattered the most to me,” he stated.

“What was that?” Seohyun asked with curiosity in her voice.

“I’m glad you could realize that you belonged with me,” he cheesily responded. Again the goose bumps formed for what seemed like the millionth time in her life but she didn’t mind it. She lifted her head off of her pillow and planted a kiss on his lips and pulled away quickly.

“I’m glad I realized I belonged with you too,” she responded. “I may have realized it a little late though. You still mad about it?”

“I won’t be mad after I take my anger out on you a little more, if you know what I mean.”

“Tch… y ahjusshi…”

“Now if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to have to punish you for calling your husband names too,” Yonghwa stated in a matter of fact voice. “I hope you’re ready. It might be too much for you to handle. Are you prepared?”

“I might be. How about you try it out and see if I am or not?”

“Gladly.”

Author’s Note: Wow it only took me like two years but I finally finished this story. The ending was weak but meh I think it’ll do. I must admit that my writing has been slowly deteriorating into more of a bunch of random rambling since I stopped  writing all those months ago.

Anyways I’m so glad so many of you took the time to read my story even though it had its fair share of shortcomings, over the board angst, and most importantly long breaks between chapters. I’m so happy that lots of you managed to stick with it even though it took me a while to get it all out for you guys. Thank you all so much! *bows*

As for me putting out another story, I think I will BUT with the disclaimer that I may or may not update it as much as I should. I will be back at school this coming Tuesday and I probably won’t have time to regularly update the story since I will be busy with class/my job/school work/life in general. I also have to flesh out a few details for the story since I haven’t really completely planned it all out. In any case I will put out the foreword and fix up the first chapter so I can throw it up ASAP. I have the first chapter written but I’m trying to write without so much rambling as I have in the past.

Without further ado here is the link to the foreword for the story. I can’t make any promises on the updates, but I can say I will get to it at some point.

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/647424