“To what do I owe the honour of such an attractive boyfriend?” I heard a greasy voice snicker behind me as I looked behind me in the mirror.

“Not too bad yourself, handsome.” I grinned and nearly cringed at how cheesy I had become,

oh the side effects of spending too much time with Woohyun.
 

It was the day of noona’s wedding, and everything was to be made perfect.

The service was to start at exactly 11 am, no earlier, no later. Noona was already dressed perfectly in white, her hair was done impeccably, and her makeup was flawless. I had made sure I popped into her change room before getting ready myself. She was up at the ungodly hour of five am, probably too nervous and excited to sleep anyway.

I remember how she gripped my arm tightly and drew me in for a hug,

“Tell me everything is going to be perfect”, she whispered nervously in my ear.

I pulled away and gently touched her cheek, smiling widely.

“Everything is going to be perfect, Noona.”

She nodded and smiled, and that was all she needed to hear from anyone.

Woohyun held up his arm for me to cross elbows with and he looked at me with a smile,

“Ready to go see the groom? I hear Yunho’s getting OCD over his tie or something.” He laughed.

It was actually a pure coincidence how Woohyun knew Yunho. They were a couple of cousins removed or something like that, I never knew how the removed system worked. But we had quite the pleasant surprise when we realised we were turning up to the same wedding. So that brings us here today, with matching suits and an excuse to look great in photos. And an opportunity for Woohyun to meet my family... but more of that later, I guess.
 

We approached the wooden double spread of doors before Woohyun knocked loudly on the door. A muffled voice greeted us, telling us to come in.

As we opened the doors, a nervously pacing Yunho was seen in the middle of the room. Woohyun and I exchanged a knowing glance before enveloping Yunho in a big hug, attempting to calm him and at the same time, show our congratulations.

“Yah Hyung, stop worrying, you look fine. You’re going to start nagging as much as my sister soon.” I teased as I pulled away from the tall, suited up man. He looked great, his hair was gelled nicely and his tie was made perfectly.

Yunho scoffed and gripped my arm, man déjà vu much?

“You have the rings right?” He asked nervously, as he straightened his tie once again.

“No, I accidentally dropped them in the Han river on the way here. No, Hyung, of course I have the rings! Now stop it, we all know one of you two are going to break down, so the other one needs to be strong. And I’m not talking about Noona being the strong one here.” I looked at him with a stern look, making sure that my brother-in-law would be able to cope with my sister’s distress.

Yunho laughed and patted my shoulder,

“Yeah, I know. I’m acting like a girl, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, a little.” Woohyun remarked with a grin.

Yunho slapped him on the arm in reply and scoffed again, lifting his chin up.

A brief knock on the door signified the entrance of an exasperated bridesmaid, one of Noona’s best friends,

“It’s time! You girls better be ready because if I have to deal with Yongeun any longer I’m going to go mad.” She said with a frustrated sigh, but all in good spirits, of course.

We all laughed and checked our reflections in the mirror one more time before making our way downstairs into the black limousines awaiting us to take us to the beach.

Yeah, before you ask, noona’s one of them crazy girls who base their romances on chick flicks, and demanded that her wedding took place on the beach. We were extremely lucky that the weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding today. The sun was up, and the skies were a bright blue as the ocean reflected beautifully into the day.
 

We quickly strolled to the front of the aisle as we lined up facing the audience of hundreds. Families were gathered from everywhere, from both the bride and the groom. I nodded and smiled at my cousins who travelled all the way from America, to even uncles and aunties from Italy and Slovenia. I shuffled my feet as I felt the sand sink beneath my feet, this would take forever to get out of my shoes later, I whined silently in my head.

I looked around me as everyone stumbled around; making sure every detail was perfect before the bride was to walk down the aisle. I straightened Yunho’s tie one more time, and gave him a thumbs up to tell him he looked great.

My eyes scanned the crowd and settled on Woohyun who was sat two rows behind the parents of the groom. He grinned and gave me a wink from where he was sitting, and I felt my cheeks heat up as I smiled back at him.

The live band started to play as the gentle strings of the violin and the keys of the piano played the classic wedding song. The bridesmaids, dressed in a dark pink, walked slowing to the front of the altar, lining up in a row and angled slightly to face the suited men.

Everyone’s eyes had already turned to face the back of the aisle, where the red carpet began, in anticipation for the bride. My father led the way, holding noona’s arm gently as she used him as a support to make sure her heels didn’t sink into the sand. She was simply beautiful, and I could hear the gasps and whispers of nearly ever female on the beach making comments of envy and admiration.

I caught her eye and she smiled at me, nervous, but happy. I smiled back at her and gave her a wink, before seeing her shift her gaze onto Yunho. Her eyes lit up in adoration and she blushed a crimson red, emphasising her already well defined cheekbones.

My mother sniffled as she stared on at her only daughter walking down the carpet, and I saw my cousin gently pat her shoulder and offer her a white handkerchief, to which she gratefully accepted and dabbed gently at her eyes, to avoid ruining her makeup.

My father gave Noona a light kiss on the cheek and handed her over to Yunho, who looked like a hurricane had hit him in the face.

Shocked and stunned, he turned to face Yongeun and gave a small laugh as he whispered the words ‘You look beautiful’ into her ear. She smiled in delight and they held hands before the priest, preparing themselves for the moment that would change their entire life.

 A loud chatter echoed in the background, as the live band proceeded to play for the entire night. The sun was about to set, and couples and friends alike were hitting up the dance floor. Yongeun and Yunho stood at the middle of the dance floor, rocking out together as they laughed and enjoyed their special day together.

I was seated at the bride’s official family table, and I had just finished a conversation with Sungjong before I looked around, observing everyone who was present at the reception. Woohyun was seated directly opposite the dance floor, and I saw him having a conversation with one of noona’s friends. I smiled to myself, but not without a hint of jealousy at what an absolute sweet talker my boyfriend was. As soon as he caught me looking at him, I pretended to scoff and ignore him, but I couldn’t help but smile at the way he completely disregarded the girl and started to make his way towards me.

He stopped in front of me and gave a greeting to Sungjong, who was busy playing on his phone, probably texting Key about the musical that was coming up, and then offered me his hand with a cheesy grin.

“Care to have this dance with me?”

I laughed and nodded, taking his hand as we strolled across the dance floor and stopped in front of Yunho and Yongeun.

We nodded and smiled to show our congratulations, to which they returned with grateful smiles as they continued to whisper in each other’s ears, hardly believing that they were already married.

The music slowed to the gentle sounds of the harp and strings, as a piano softly played. Woohyun spun me around to face him and placed his hands on my waist. I naturally lifted my arms around his neck and we swayed side to side, enjoying the peaceful moment.

Many couples had joined us on the dance floor and it was obvious to see the amount of couples that were gathered here tonight.

I stared into Woohyun’s eyes as he gazed into mine, the deep brown eyes which seemingly never ended. I loved the complexity of his eyes, which reflected so much emotion and was so easy to read on different occasions.

I gave a small sigh as I leaned forward to rest my head on his neck, inhaling the familiar vanilla scent. He hummed along with the music and softly nuzzled the top of his head onto mine.

I felt a gentle squeeze on my left arm before pulling away from Woohyun to meet the eyes of my mother.

She gave me a teasing look at the position that Woohyun and I were currently in and nodded her head, telling me to introduce them.

“U-Umma, this is Woohyun.” I looked down at my feet as I waited for her reply. Hopefully for some kind of acceptance or something like that.

“Hello Woohyun, I’ve heard a lot about you.” She said with a smile, holding out her hand.

Woohyun inclined his head in respect for the fashionable woman in her late forties.

“Oh is that so?” He grinned as he gave me a glance out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, congratulations for your daughter. I’m sure you’re a very proud mother.” He said, looking directly into my mother’s eyes. I saw her flush a little unexpected at his directness,

Yeah I told you his eyes had that effect on people.

She nodded and waved her hand with a smile,

“Ah yes! But now we only have little Sunggyu to marry off then we’re all set.” She exclaimed, perhaps with an underlying meaning behind those words.

I flushed in embarrassment as Woohyun appeared speechless for a second, and as I went to grab his arm so we could relocate our awkward position elsewhere,

He reached out to my mother’s arm and patted it gently.

“I’m sure I can help with that somewhere along the way.” He said, with a charming smile as it was my mother’s turn to turn silent.

She stood for a couple of seconds stunned before breaking into a big smile and nodded.

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you later then.” She simply stated before giving me a look that meant I had a lot of explaining to do next time at our family dinner.

Woohyun chuckled and resumed his hands onto my waist as he brought me closer again. With my head leaned against his shoulder, I whispered into his ear.

“Did you mean that?”

“Mean what?” Was he about to start this again? How naïve could he get, I sighed to myself.

“What you just said to my umma.”

“You mean-“ He started to repeat what he was said, I stopped him abruptly out of embarrassment as I wouldn’t know how to react if he said it again.

"Yeah." I stated, a blush starting to spread across my cheeks.

“Of course, Sunggyu. I meant every word I said.” He turned his head and looked into my eyes.

I nodded and shyly smiled back at him, not wanting anything to disturb us just simply slow dancing in the middle of a wedding.

Perhaps wondering if sometime later in the future it’d be us who would be standing at the altar. And it’d be the same people there, but instead of celebrating my sister, that maybe, just maybe, it’d be for me.

A buzz in Woohyun’s left pocket led me to pull away slightly and give him a look of surprise. He sighed and scanned the name on the phone before declining the call, not even giving a chance for the person on the other line. I looked at him and he shrugged, giving me a look that told me not to worry.

I slowly nodded and was about to place my arms back around his neck before another buzz was felt. I was able to take a glance at the screen name before Woohyun was about to turn it off again.

I stopped him, and looked at him.

“You should take this.” I said firmly into his eyes, as the phone continued to buzz in his left hand.

He nodded and clicked accept, waiting a few moments before his slightly annoyed expression turned worrisome and shocked. He nodded quickly and hung up the phone before looking directly into my eyes, the bad news of whatever he just heard on the phone reflected in his eyes.

“Sunggyu, it’s appa. He’s in hospital.”

It was quarter to ten before we arrived at the emergency room, the red light above the room flashed every second, indicating that there was an operation in progress. Woohyun and I were seated on the hard, blue plastic chairs that lined the walls of the hospital hallway. Mrs Nam sat with her eyes closed, her hands slightly overlapping one other, looking as if she was praying. She was distressed and was in a crying fit when we arrived, but since then she has calmed and become a bit more rational in her thoughts.

I leaned against the chair and placed my head on Woohyun’s shoulder. He gripped both of my hands tightly as he muttered words under his breath. I struggled to hear him but I heard small scattered words uttering apologies and something about having an argument which could’ve been the last words he had ever spoken to his father.

I gave him a firm squeeze and whispered messages gently into his ear, telling him that it was all going to be okay.

“He’s a strong man.”

Woohyun nodded, his face blank as he stared at the flashing red light, not once looking away from it.

He turned his face slightly towards me, so that our cheeks lingered closely. I felt the coldness emitting from his skin and I brought my head closer in hopes of offering him some warmth. But I knew not even the warmest of air would be able to warm his feelings of anxiety and pain that filled him on the inside.

“Can you sing me something, Gyu?” He whispered in a hushed tone, but I was able to hear it loud and clear.

I looked down the empty hallway and up at the lights, not expecting, but hoping, for the red light to stop flashing. But until then, I began to hum a soft tune, a familiar melody that brought Woohyun some peace as I heard him sigh gratefully.

When I awoke to the sounds of a bed being wheeled past, I rubbed gently at my eyes as I struggled to see due to the newly lit hallway. Nurses who worked the night shifts were starting to pack their things to rest for the day, whereas other nurses came into the hospital as their replacements. I looked around and immediately felt a deep ache in the back of my neck. I took a sharp intake of breath as I sat up, Woohyun’s suit jacket falling down slightly as it slipped down my shoulder. I looked around for a sign of Woohyun and found myself sitting alone in amongst the influx of busy nurses.

I caught the eye of a particular nurse in baby blue overalls and she gave me a gentle smile, before nodding towards the end of the hallway, where a room was prepared for Mr Nam. I gathered up my things and tightened the grip of Woohyun’s jacket around me as I walked down the hallway towards room 105.

I knocked gently and paused at the door, not wanting to interrupt anything. I saw the metal knob turn as I came face to face with Mrs Nam. She gave me a small smile and brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen over my face. She ushered me in quietly as I looked at Woohyun lying at his father’s bedside, his hand clasped firmly around the hand of the frail figure lying on the bed.

Woohyun was asleep, his head leaning on his elbow as I imagined him trying to wait for his father to wake up throughout the whole night but to no avail. I looked at Mrs Nam and she nodded, telling me that Mr Nam was in a much more stable condition that that of last night.

“They say it was a . Luckily, one of our maids found him near the top of the stairs, or else I don’t think we would be sitting here so comfortably.” She nodded, a little bit regretful but nevertheless thankful for the current situation.

I nodded and bowed my head slightly,

“I’m thankful for that. I hope Mr Nam will never have to experience anything like that again-”

“Well even if I do, I’ll fight through it, eh?” A low husky voice sounded from the hospital bed.

I turned in surprise and immediately rushed towards him, Mrs Nam already on her feet and crouched in front of the bed.
 

I felt as if I was intruding on an intimate family moment, and as I turned to leave, I heard Mr Nam clear his throat and give me a stern look.

“Where are you going, Sunggyu? You might as well be a part of the family now.” He smiled as he gave a look of affection towards the fast asleep Woohyun.

I flushed in embarrassment and nodded, speechless at Mr Nam’s direct words.
 

“How are you feeling, dear?” Mrs Nam smiled at me before turning towards her weak looking husband.

“I’ve had better days.” He simply stated before patting his wife gently on the hand.

“Though I think my left hand’s a little bit numb from this little brat here holding me too tightly.” He laughed as he tried to wriggle his fingers.

Woohyun stirred from the voice of his father and the slight movement he felt in his hand as he looked at up sleepily at each of us. He looked adorable, blinking quickly to get his eyes to adjust to the light.

He slowly came into realisation that we were in a hospital, and looked at his father in shock. He tried to put together a sentence, but all that came out was a jumble of worried words.

“A-Appa, are you okay?” He finally managed to ask his highly amused father who was just simply sitting there and watching his son mumble like a fool.

He nodded and patted Woohyun on the head before looking at Mrs Nam.

“I’m fine. But I could be better with some Jello and some food in my belly.”

Mrs Nam nodded with a big smile and gave her husband one last squeeze of the hand before leaving to go down to the canteen.

I stood there awkwardly before deciding to take Mrs Nam’s place on the floor where she had knelt beside the bed.

Mr Nam turned towards a weary Woohyun and his smile faltered as he cleared his throat.

“Woohyun ah, I know we’ve spoken about this before. I'm getting old and I know I might ask too much of you. But please, I need you to do this for me. My business has to live on and I’m sure you’ll be able to und-"

“No, appa.” Woohyun whispered lightly, shocking both me and Mr Nam.

Mr Nam looked taken back as he turned a stern look towards his son, who appeared to be slightly shaking.

“But, Woohyun, you know my condition isn’t great right now, what if it-“ Mr Nam began, his voice slightly turning a bit cold and distant.

“Isn’t Boohyun enough?” Woohyun looked up, directly into his father’s eyes.

“Isn’t Boohyun enough for you to mess around with and tie him to the business?”
 

Mr Nam’s eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth, but then closed it again as he thought about what to say.

“Haven’t we had this conversation before, Woohyun?” He gave a small glance towards me, a flicker of anger in his eyes.

Woohyun shook his head stubbornly and looked down at his hands, nervously picking at his fingernails.

“Yeah, but look where we are again.”

“I've let you chase enough of your fun for a long time now. It's about time you got your life underway and started working in the business. I already told my secretary to call Mr Jung to tell him that you wouldn't be returning to the kitchen anymore.” He spoke authoritatively, not giving a chance for Woohyun to even defend himself.

“Appa, how could you do that, let alone without even telling me beforehand? How is this even fair, you know how much I want this. This is my life, cooking is my dream. I'm sorry that I never wanted to study business, nor set my aims so high as a chief executive in the future. I never wanted this, and I never will.” Woohyun argued, his voice rising in anger and frustration.

“I’m sorry, appa, I'm sorry I'm not the son you would like me to be.”
Woohyun stood up as he whispered the last sentence. He came around the other side of the bed and placed his hand around my right arm. I stood to meet him, and I looked at Mr Nam’s outraged but disappointed expression on his tired, paled face. Mr Nam met my eyes and I remained speechless, not knowing what to say.

Woohyun dragged my hand as he stormed away, the door to his father’s room slammed shut.

He took a few deep breaths before letting out a loud sigh. He turned his face away but I saw the remnants of a tear slide down his cheek before he hid his sadness and pain with a small smile.

"Let's go do something, Gyu, anything. I just- I just need to get away from here."

I nodded and held his hand as we walked out of the glass doors of the hospital, with a worried feeling eating away at my stomach.

#

shout me a comment to let me know what you all think! <3

hope you all have a great week, btw i'm just tying up the ends and maybe the fic will end by chapt 20? yeah :')