Mr. and Mrs. Song sat at the dining table in the private room of a high-class Korean restaurant, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Yong to arrive. Mr. Song waited with a relaxed expression, twiddling his thumbs on the table and looking around at the décor of the room. Mrs. Song sat with an unwavering look of annoyance at the tardiness of the other party. If there was one thing Kim Mi Sook hated, it was people who were late to a meeting, as if belittling the value of her time. She crossed her arms and started tapping her fingers on her forearm.

Mr. Song noticed his wife's aggravation and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeobo, calm down. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Mrs. Song's lips were pursed into a tight line, She inhaled deeply through her nose before exhaling. "I'm starting to reconsider this marriage. If Jun Hyung comes from a family with such arrogance as to be late to a meeting to meet with the in-law for the first time, who knows how he and his family will treat Jae Kyung when they get married?"

Mr. Song gently rubbed her arm to relax her. "You and I both know that Jae Kyung may be rash and immature at times, but when it comes to spending her life with someone, she's not going to choose someone who will mistreat her in anyway." His words didn't completely relieve her of her worries, but they were somewhat comforting.

The room door opened and Jun Hyung's parents finally stepped in. Mr. and Mrs. Song stood up and the four introduced themselves to each other before taking their seats. Upon hearing Mrs. Song's name, Mrs. Yong smiled excitedly.

"I am a big fan of yours, Kim Mi Sook-ssi," Mrs. Yong confessed. "I've been listening to you since you debuted with your first album." The corner of Mrs. Song's lips curved in a smile of satisfaction at being acknowledged years after her retirement from the entertainment industry.

Mr. Yong cleared his throat at his wife's outspoken behavior. "Since I don't have much time for this meeting, why don't we just get to the point? Our children want to get married, and from what Jun Hyung has told us, you don't object. Since we both approve, I suggest we hold their marriage in a few weeks."

"A few weeks?" Mrs. Song repeated with incredulity. "How do you expect us to get everything ready by then? The guest list has to be prepared, the venue has to be booked, catering has to be ordered, not to mention we haven't even found a dress for Jae Kyung yet."

"I've already picked out a venue and taken care of the catering," Mrs. Yong answered. "We're close business partners with the M Hotel president and he's agreed to let us use their ballroom and provide the catering."

"As far as the guests go, we were hoping to keep this a small private affair between family and close friends," Mr. Yong explained. "Opening it to the public would only become a hassle."

"It seems that you took care of everything," Mr. Song finally broke in. "I feel like you're taking on too much of the burden of planning the wedding. Please let us do something too. Or let us pay for the venue and catering. I mean, it is customary for the bride's family to pay for the wedding anyways," he offered.

"Yes, regardless of how rushed this marriage may be, we should at least follow tradition," Mrs. Song insisted.

"If you're sure you can take on the cost, then be my guest," Mr. Yong haughtily answered.

Mrs. Song detected condescension in the tone of his words and gave him a hard look. "We're sure. It's the least we could do since you will be gaining an extra person in your household."

"Ah, actually, Jun Hyung told us that he and Jae Kyung wanted to live on their own in an apartment," Mrs. Yong explained.

Mrs. Song's brows furrowed in confusion. Jae Kyung never mentioned anything about the two living on their own and frankly, it was because she thought that Jae Kyung would be living with Jun Hyung's parents that she had given permission for their marriage as easily as she did.

"Actually, we've already found one for them," Mrs. Yong explained. "Jun Hyung told us about how the two wanted to live independently from us and we agreed to pay the down payment for the apartment while the kids will pay for the rent on their own."

Mrs. Song was left speechless by this new revelation. Jae Kyung was far from ready to be married in her opinion, but the two living on their own? There was no way she would let her baby fend for her own in this world…even with Jun Hyung by her side. "Do you really think it wise to let these two live on their own?" she asked, voicing her concern. "From what I know, Jun Hyung isn't working so neither of them have a source of income."

"Jun Hyung will be working for me, straight after the wedding," Mr. Yong answered.

"And Jae Kyung told us that she has an internship at a publishing company," Mrs. Yong added.

Mr. Song could sense his wife's blood pressure rising and placed his hand on hers underneath the table, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze. "Yes, Jae Kyung will be working at her sister-in-law's publishing company," he quickly affirmed before his wife could say anything. "But if Jun Hyung is working for you after the wedding, what about their honeymoon?"

"Jun Hyung said he and Jae Kyung didn't want one," Mrs. Yong explained.

"Well, even though they may have said that, don't you think it's unfair for them not to have some time to themselves before they start working?" Mr. Song asked.

Mr. Yong was getting impatient, and simply to appease them and end the meeting, he gave in. "Fine, they can have a two day trip to Jeju Island after the wedding. If there aren't anymore issues to discuss, I hope you don't mind if I take my leave. I have to get back to work." He stood up and placed his napkin on the table. "I'll take care of the bill on my way out." And without letting anyone else get a word in, Mr. Yong left the room.

Mrs. Song eyed the door that Mr. Yong left through with animosity. She was a strong believer that children reflected their parents, and if this was how Jun Hyung's father acted, then Jun Hyung may have a similar hidden personality.

Mrs. Yong noticed the tension after her husband's departure and tried to alleviate the situation. "I'm sorry about my husband. He's always working. But I do hope that we can work together on planning the wedding. I have some ideas for the décor of the venue as well as the apartment."

Mrs. Song took a deep breath and tried to put on a smile for the agreeable parent. "Of course, I would love to." She dearly hoped that Jun Hyung had more of his mother's personality than his father's.

"Hyung, is it true? Are you really getting married?" Dong Woon asked Jun Hyung as he and his friends gathered around in their private hangout.

Jun Hyung rolled his eyes at his dongsaeng that continued to ignore the news articles that lay in front of him regarding the upcoming marriage. After the two families officially met, an official statement was released regarding their union. Many were skeptical about the rushed marriage, especially given Jun Hyung's past scandals. But then there were those, particularly the middle-aged Ahjummas that liked watching dramas, who squealed over the young love and how it had changed a heartless player into a romanticist. However, in general, the news brought a favorable result for Star Plaza Mall, whose investors were comforted by Jun Hyung's marriage announcement.

"But you know, this girl looks familiar," Hyun Seung pointed out, examining the picture more closely.

"You're right," Gi Kwang agreed, scratching his head to try and remember where he had seen the girl before.

Yo Seob's expression lit up as he recalled where he had seen the girl before. "Hey, she's the girl from the bar. The one that rejected Jun Hyung."

Dong Woon gasped in realization. "She is!" he exclaimed. "Hyung, how did this happen?"

To keep up with his agreement with Jae Kyung, Jun Hyung had no choice but to lie about their contract marriage, even to his friends. "Did you not read the article?" he simply answered, avoiding eye contact with them.

"We read it, but we have a hard time believing that they're talking about the same Yong Jun Hyung that we know," Doo Joon answered, giving Jun Hyung a look of disbelief.

"Well believe it because they're one and the same," Jun Hyung rebutted. Doo Joon continued to give him an incredulous look. Jun Hyung stood up and placed an invitation on the table. "The wedding is in two weeks. Come if you want." He left his friends, still bewildered by the news.

Gi Kwang picked up the invitation and stared at it. "I never thought Jun Hyung would be the first one among us getting married after the 'Choi Hee Soo incident'."

Doo Joon crossed his arms and leaned back, staring at Jae Kyung's picture in the newspaper that lay on the table. "I guess if Jun Hyung really has found someone, then we should be happy for him." However, he still had some reservations. Something seemed off about this marriage. How did this girl that he hated just a few weeks prior, suddenly become his bride?

Hyun Seung also sat in deep thought, staring out at the space in front of him. "What are you thinking so intently about?" Yo Seob asked him.

"When we go to this wedding, we have to give them a present, don't we? What do people usually give?" he asked the group. The four rolled their eyes at him. Of all the things Hyun Seung could have been worried about.

With such short notice, preparations for the wedding were fast underway, with most of the planning spearheaded by Jae Kyung and Jun Hyung's mothers.

Jae Kyung was currently with her mother and Hyo Joo, looking for her wedding dress. Normally finding a dress and having it fitted took weeks, sometimes months, but with Mrs. Yong's connections, Jae Kyung was receiving special treatment.

Entering the bridal shop, an attendant came up to the three. "What kind of dress are you looking for, Miss?"

Jae Kyung glanced around at the shop filled with various styles of dresses and sighed to herself. She just wanted to find a dress, any dress, and get out of here. "Just something simple."  She pointed at the first dress she saw. "That one looks good."

Hyo Joo walked over to examine it. "Really? But it's so…boring. You could definitely pull off something more intricate. Like this one," she suggested, pointing to another dress.

Without an opinion of her own, Jae Kyung tried on the dress Hyo Joo picked, thinking that the dress search would end there. She was wrong about that. Because while Hyo Joo liked the dress, Mrs. Song had a few complaints. Thus, a "battle" started between Mrs. Song and Hyo Joo as they picked out various dresses for Jae Kyung to try on, which Jae Kyung reluctantly gave in to.

But after the 10th dress, Jae Kyung was getting fed up, and decided to put her foot down. "I've decided. I'm going to wear this one," she stated, motioning towards the dress she had on at the moment.

It just happened to be Hyo Joo's pick. "I agree, this one is the best out of all of the ones you've tried on," she boasted. Mrs. Song pouted slightly at being showed up by her daughter-in-law.

The attendant made notes on the adjustments necessary and went to the back to talk it over with the seamstress. Jae Kyung meanwhile lazily walked around the shop to look around, just to pass the time while she waited. However, there was a dress hanging in the back, behind many others, that caught her attention. She pulled it out and stared at it, the perfect dress.

Jae Kyung was like any other girl. She had thought about marriage and discussed what her perfect wedding would be with her girlfriends. And the dress she held in her hand, was exactly what she had pictured herself getting married in one day, to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

"What are you looking at?" Mrs. Song asked, coming up from behind her.

Jae Kyung jumped a little, startled by her mother. "Oh, nothing," she quickly answered, trying to put the dress back on the rack.

However Mrs. Song grabbed it from her before she could do so. "Do you like this dress?" she asked, holding it up at arm's length to better look at it.

Jae Kyung stared at the dress with a contemplative gaze. Yes, she did like the dress. No, she loved it. But this was her perfect dress, and she wasn't going to waste it on this fake marriage. "No," she answered in an audible voice.

Mrs. Song stared at Jae Kyung and sensed something off about her answer. "Try it on," she insisted, pushing the dress towards her. She turned to the attendant who had just returned from the back room. "Could we try on one more dress?" she asked her.

The attendant's mouth fell open slightly at her question. They had already tried on so many and finally settled on one that she had already taken measurements for. Now they wanted to try another one? But of course, they were acquaintances of Yang Mi Kyung (Mrs. Yong), so she couldn't say no. "Of course," she said with a forced smile.

"Mom, I really don't--" But before Jae Kyung could finish her words, her mother pushed her into the dressing room to try on the dress.

While Hyo Joo and Mrs. Song waited in the seating area, the curtains of the display platform finally opened to reveal Jae Kyung in the dress she had picked out. Her back was to the mirror, so she had yet to see herself, but she was met with Hyo Joo's and her mother's astonished expressions as soon as she looked up.

"It's perfect," Hyo Joo whispered.

Mrs. Song brought her hand to her lips, her eyes slightly teary at the sight of her youngest daughter. Jae Kyung finally turned around to see herself in the mirror, and she stared at her reflection, mesmerized by how well the dress fitted her. Mrs. Song walked up behind her and smiled lovingly at the Jae Kyung in the mirror. "I think this is the one, Jae Kyung."

Jae Kyung believed so too, but not for this wedding. This one was a charade, and she wasn't going to waste this dress on a fake wedding. "Actually, I think the other one was better."

Mrs. Song turned to look at Jae Kyung with a bewildered expression. "Really? But this one looks so good on you."

Jae Kyung looked down at the dress and sighed. "I like the other one better," she stated again before heading back into the dressing room to change out of the dress.

Mrs. Song stared after her worriedly. She could tell something was bothering her daughter, and it pained her to see it affect her this much. But she knew better than to ask Jae Kyung because she would deny that anything was wrong until she was ready to tell her on her own. Hopefully Jae Kyung would open up to her before the wedding. Getting married was supposed to be a happy occasion after all.

Author's Note

I don't know why I'm not updating this story more often. I have so much planned for it, yet I just can't seem to write -_- Maybe BEAST needs another comeback soon...

I also realized that it can get confusing when reading Song and Yong. Probably not the best combination of last names to use...But the next chapter is the wedding…and then the honeymoon…and then married life :)

11/19/12 3:15 PM