21 ∞ when it’s the perfect day for a love declaration

6:20PM; Han River Park. YOONA.

I stepped out quietly onto the soft patch of grass under the tree at the park where Changmin and I last talked before he left for Japan. I traced the bark of the tree with my fingertips and watched the sky as it glowed in swirls of pink, red and orange.

“It said to wait,” I murmured, holding my hand up to the sky. And so, I will wait.

9:25AM; Shim Incorporation, President Shim’s Office. CHANGMIN.

The moment I woke up, I knew this day would be different. Bad or good, I couldn’t be sure which way it would be. I could only hope it would go well – it being my wedding day and all. I hoped for a thunderstorm or an earthquake. Any natural disaster, really (I’m not picky) – I just wanted something to happen to stop this day from happening.

But the skies were blue and the sun was out. Luck wasn’t on my side again. And it only got worse when I realized that the engagement ring I got for Yoona was not in its box.

“Here are the plans for the Myeong-do project. I figured you’d want to check it first before I let Lee Hyunbin go present it to the meeting next week.” I said, dropping folders of paperwork on my father’s desk. It was too early for work on a Saturday morning, but after a fruitless run in trying to find Yoona’s ring – there wasn’t much I could do to make myself feel any better.

Naturally, my father said nothing when I left the folders on his desk. I waited for a moment, wanting to say something to him but couldn’t figure out what to say. I sighed, shaking my head slowly. There couldn’t be anything I can say to change his mind about the wedding… especially now that it’s today. “I’ll see you at the Church.” I murmured and turned to leave when all of a sudden my father spoke:

“I was against an arranged marriage too, you know.”

“What?” I said, turning back to face him taking off his glasses. My father smiled ruefully, motioning for me to take a seat in front of him. I obliged and sat down, still staring at him in confusion.

He disregarded my puzzled expression and went on to tell his story: “I was your age when my father told me I was going to marry the daughter of a man who owns the best export business in Busan. Your grandfather was a ruthless man and would stop at nothing to make the family business international. Back then Shim Incorporation was simply called Shim Imports, and marrying his son to the daughter of a great export enterprise would be beneficial to the company’s future…”

My father sighed, slightly smiling and shaking his head at the memory. “I was outraged. I didn’t want to marry a woman I’ve never met or loved. I didn’t it was right.”

I let out a bitter laugh without meaning to. “Sounds disturbingly like my own predicament, don’t you think?”

My father’s brows creased as he stood up and walked away from his desk. “I’m not finished.” He said, frowning by the window. I nodded at his reflection and he continued:

“I decided to run for it, and on the night before my wedding I almost did. I planned to take a bus after bus until I was far away from Seoul. I waited there—” he pointed towards outside the window “—at that very bus stop in front of this building. It was late and hardly anyone was around except for me and this young woman and her bag.

This woman was beautiful and feisty. She had long hair and the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. We were sitting at opposite ends of the bench but for some we kept meeting each others gazes.” Suddenly, he let out a short laugh, “you could say I was staring at her, but who wouldn’t be? She was a goddess in my eyes. And she was running away too, at least that was she said when we got to talking. She didn’t want to be married to a man she never met. It was surreal to have met someone who had the same intentions as me. I fell in love right then.”

I sat uncomfortably in my seat, confused as to why he was telling me all of this. So he had loved someone else before marrying my mother? How could it be that somehow his story almost mimics mine? If this was some cruel joke from above, it wasn’t funny. It was my turn to frown. “Why are you telling me this?”

My father ignored my question and continued speaking: “Then she said that she loved her parents and didn’t want to leave them behind—and I agreed with her. It was peculiar, how adamant we were to escape our fates but when that bus rolled in, neither of us could pluck up the courage to leave. We went back home, and the next day I was to be married.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about that woman all night. She never left my mind, not for even a second. I swear to you that when those Church doors opened to reveal my bride – I was all but ready to run and find that woman from the bus stop and marry her instead.”

“Does Mom know?” I asked, looking at his eyes through his reflection.

He nodded, “Yes, she did. After all, she was at that bus stop too.”

“She was the woman you met at the bus stop?” I repeated, almost dazed at the fairy-tale like end of his story. “Wow. Mom never told us this version of how you met.”

“That’s because you and your sisters were far too young to know about real love back then.” He said, slipping back into his seat. He placed his hands on the table and looked at me straight in the eyes. “I got lucky.”

Luck – I had none of that today, I thought to myself.

“I don’t have that kind of luck.” I scoffed, running a hand through my hair. I stood up slowly and waited for him to reply. “Was there a point in telling me this story? Because it’s only made me feel worse about my situation.”

“If I hadn’t met your mother that night at the bus stop, I would have left and…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath as if his next words were too difficult to fathom, “I would have never had a son like you.”

I stared at him, not knowing what to say.

“I’m sorry about everything. About blackmailing you to leave and hurt the one you love. I only wanted the best for you but I guess I turned to be a little bit like my father. Ambitious; I didn’t want to admit at the time that you were extremely capable enough to make your own decisions. And if I could take back this past few years—” He stopped talking and then sighed; taking the folders I had put on his desk in his hand and opening them. “You should go back and get ready for the day.”

I nodded, stepping back once before turning slowly to open the door. “I love you too, Dad.” I said, looking back at him with a smile. He stared at me in surprise just as I closed the door.

2:04PM; Church’s Wedding Hall. YOONA.

“Has any of you seen Kibum?” I asked, pushing through the people arranging the wedding hall’s decorations. I hadn’t meant to show myself to any of them (Kibum, Yeonhee, Sooyoung, Donghae, Yuri… and Changmin) today but when I found a list of waiters’ names that Kibum had left the night he and I exchanged notes this morning, I couldn’t very well leave the reception in shambles if things went wrong.

“Kibum! Finally found you!” I raced towards the end of the hall where he was standing with Sooyoung. They greeted me with a smile.

“Hi, Yoong. I didn’t think you’d show your face here.” Sooyoung said, raising an eyebrow at me. I glared at her and said nothing to her statement. I turned to Kibum and handed him the list.

“You forgot this at my place. Make sure to check all the waiters’ present during the reception so we know who to pay when the event’s done.” I said, pointing at the list with a finger.

Kibum rolled his eyes at me and patted my head. “I know all the procedures, Yoona. You don’t have to remind me.”

“Yeah well…” I trailed off, looking around the hall. It was beautifully lit and well decorated, with flowers everywhere. I sighed, bi