Courage

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Jun.Q was just your best friend; a friend who you met in high school; a colleague who worked in the same company. After all these years of being together, he was just your best friend. That was all he ever meant to you.

Minhyuk was originally just a senior from the same company. He was Jun.Q's mentor and a good friend of Jun.Q’s whom you met at work. When Minhyuk laid his eyes on you, Jun.Q never expected that Minhyuk would one day ask you to be his wife.

That was just you and Minhyuk, the two of you were completely oblivious to what was buried deep within Jun.Q's heart. One thing he practically felt like he lived for was to be with you. He liked being close to you, enjoyed the times he was with you, he felt loved when he was with you. It was as if his little world revolved around you. Sadly, he was just too slow to muster some courage to pour out his feelings. He was afraid if he did, you and him would grow further apart. Dreading that it would happen, he kept silent. Just when he was brave enough, he was too late.

An unexpected diamond ring was already on your left ring finger. Just like that, you were claimed by the hyung he never thought he would have; none other than Lee Minhyuk. What pained his beating heart even more was that Jun.Q was honoured the position of Minhyuk's best man, at the wedding of the girl that meant more than just a best friend to him.

~~~

Pride and exhilaration was evident on Minhyuk’s face as he couldn’t stop smiling at just the pure sight of you, right by his side, his beautiful bride all dressed in white. You felt Minhyuk’s eyes glued on you while you just blushed and lightly nudged him to snap him out of his daze. “Stop staring, oppa.” You gently whispered without looking at him, preventing your face from turning any redder.

Jun.Q softly cleared his throat, keeping his head away from where it shouldn’t be. Those simple little gestures from you and Minhyuk were enough to make Jun.Q uncomfortable. *Just focus on being a best man, Kang Jun Kyu. That’s all you have to do throughout this ceremony.*

Seconds and minutes ticked by, sooner or later, an hour was up. Finally, it was the time where you and Minhyuk were about to be pronounced as husband and wife. The exchanging of vows was taking place, right in front of Jun.Q’s very eyes.

Out of the blue, something within Jun.Q just couldn’t stand the look you had throughout the wedding anymore; the loving gaze you had for Minhyuk, the excitement in your eyes to be announced as his lawfully wedded wife. This was the first time this has ever happened; he actually felt jealousy firing up in his veins. He kept his head low, trying his best to mask his emotions and control the new flame that was emerging all of a sudden.

Ever since you started to date Minhyuk, Jun.Q had never once felt envious of his mentor. Occasionally, he might feel slightly remorseful for not acting first, which resulted in the loss of his best friend he had deep feelings for all this time. He had never placed the blame on Minhyuk, he always assumed it was his own fault in losing you.

But this, this was really something new to Jun.Q. It was like the first time he’s ever experienced being green-eyed, the only time Minhyuk meant something else to him. Minhyuk wasn’t his favourite hyung anymore; he began to see Minhyuk as his rival, for the girl he treasured the most.

Why would Jun.Q start to see Minhyuk as a competitor now? Of all moments, why now? Isn’t it already too late for Jun.Q to rightfully claim you? Or is it..?

While Minhyuk poured his heartfelt feelings through his vows, his hands firmly held onto yours, making you feel warm and protected. His gentle eyes never left yours as he cited his vows with confidence and full of emotion.

Later on, it was your turn. Sweet and romantic words escaped your lips as you lovingly stared into the gentle brown orbs of your husband-to-be. The guests who witnessed the vows of the harmonious couple smile endearingly, as if they approved of the promises the happy couple made in front of everyone.

SNAP!

That was the sound of Jun.Q’s limits; his level of tolerance was finally breached and snapped like a broken elastic band. Within his confused mind, he was extremely agitated to do something that he might probably regret later on. Amongst everything that was happening in his already congested mind, a little voice in the back of his mind said, *One thing it takes to accomplish something, is courage.*

Jun.Q lifted his head and fixed his eyes on you. You had that shy smile plastered on your lips, the smile that he had always loved. His eyebrows twitched a bit as his gaze fell, reminding him that your shy smile was not for him.

The voice of the pastor echoed throughout the church, “Whoever who thinks that this couple before me should not be united in holy matrimony, speak up, or forever hold your peace…” He dramatically paused and scanned every guest who filled the benches of the church.

All the while, Jun.Q was quarreling with his own conscience, thinking that it was now or never. He has lost you once; he just can’t afford to lose you, forever. *I’ve got to try without wondering why. No matter how absurd this might seem, I must take a chance...*

Just then, the pastor inhaled deeply to announce the newly-weds. But Jun.Q quickly strode over to the couple and looked at both of them straight in the eyes. The pastor stopped as he raised an eyebrow at Jun.Q, questioning his appearance. In a matter of seconds, Jun.Q became the focus of everyone’s vision.

“What’s the matter, Jun Kyu?” You questioningly looked at your best friend as he landed his determined eyes on you. Minhyuk also shifted his gaze to Jun.Q, waiting for an answer.

Before Jun.Q spoke, he kept his eyes low as he gently separated your hands from Minhyuk’s. He mentally composed himself so that he could clarify everyone’s confusion in the church. The guests kept quiet, completely focused on Jun.Q. With his eyes still fixed on his dress shoes, he mumbled, “I’m sorry, Minhyuk hyung, but I can’t let you marry Minyeon..”

As soft as it sounded, everyone could hear it perfectly well, judging by the sudden commotion from the guests within the church. Surprise, confusion, anger and shock were the reaction of the guests towards Jun.Q’s sudden objection.

Thinking it was just a joke from your best friend, you nervously chuckled and whispered, “A wedding prank, huh, Jun Kyu? It’s not really funny though.. ” You continued to chuckle awkwardly to ease the tension, but Jun.Q continued to look at you seriously. It took a while for Minhyuk to recover before he furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean, Jun Kyu? Why can’t I marry Minyeon?” Minhyuk asked.

At a moment like this, Jun.Q felt even braver than before, daring himself to take another step further. This time, there was really no turning back now. Following his instincts, he spun you his way and closed the distance between the two of you. Without another thought, he dipped down and stole your lips.

In terms of explanations, actions spoke louder than words. The guests started to gasp at the sight before them; the bride’s lips were sealed with a kiss from a man who was not the bride-groom! Minhyuk just stared at the locked lips of yours and Jun.Q’s with dumb stricken eyes, frozen from head to toe. Your elder sister covered as she gasped in shock

You slightly flinched when you felt Jun.Q’s warm lips moulding yours. Logically thinking, kissing the best man at your wedding was so wrong, but your mind had control of your body and refrained yourself from pushing Jun.Q away. As funny as it seems, it felt right that his lips were on yours. Fireworks started to explode at the back of your mind as the butterflies in your stomach fluttered excitedly. Staring at the closeness of Jun.Q’s face, the apples of your cheeks were gradually flushing red.

Jun.Q kept his eyes closed, savouring the moment as precious memories of you and him together flashed before his very eyes. He had imagined the feeling of your soft, pink lips on his for a very long time and couldn’t help but break into a smile through the kiss. Other than that, you let him kiss you by not pushing him away! The emptiness in his pained heart was filled with indescribable delight when he realised he really did it, he was finally able to make a statement to claim you as his own.

Out of the blue, Jun.Q felt a force pushing him backwards, breaking the kiss as well. Just as his eyes snapped open, a fist landed on the right side of his face. “Jun Kyu!” You squealed as you watched Jun.Q fall backwards, followed by another wave of gasps from the guests. The impact from that punch was too great that it sent Jun.Q to the ground. Groaning in pain, he sat up and placed a hand on his sore cheek, looking up to find a seriously pissed off Minhyuk. Your sister rushed to Minhyuk's side and chided, "Calm down, Minhyuk."

“YAH!” Minhyuk’s eyes were burning with anger, ignoring your sister as he stared at Jun.Q. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. *What the hell is he thinking?! He has got to be kidding, kissing Minyeon on our wedding! He’s got some serious guts doing that here. Why I ought to!* Minhyuk was about to go over and grab Jun Kyu by the collar when both you and your sister held him back. You firmly held onto his arm and shook your head, “That’s enough, oppa.”

In defence, Minhyuk argued, “But he just kissed you! In front of everyone! Just when we were about to be pronounced as husband and wife! This bastard just had to-” “Oppa! Don’t!” You retorted with a raised voice. Minhyuk bit his lower lip and heaved a deep sigh before lowering his gaze from your face. Even though Minhyuk had every right to beat the crap out of Jun.Q, he was still your best friend, and you couldn’t tolerate anyone calling your best friend a bastard.

Bunching the chiffon of your gown in your hands, you strode over to Jun.Q’s side and bent down. “Are you okay, Jun Kyu?” You softly questioned. Jun.Q grunted in approval as he nodded his head. “You can get up, right?” You questioned again as you held your hand out. Accepting your help, he grasped onto your hand and got up to stand on his own two feet.

You started to inspect his face for any sustained injuries. Glancing up at his bright red cheek that was sure to turn purple soon, you spotted some crimson blood oozing out from Jun.Q’s busted lips here and there and frowned in disapproval. Thinking that it was you who caused Minhyuk to punch Jun.Q, you felt the responsibility to patch him up as well. “I think I should be the one to tend to this as well..” You mumbled as you lightly touched a spot at the corner of his lips. Even though it was just a single punch, the aftermath from Minhyuk’s strength caused Jun.Q to wince slightly under your touch.

With a hand holding onto Jun.Q’s arm, the other lifted a small section of your gown up as you led Jun.Q down the aisle. Minhyuk hurried over and pulled you back. “What are you doing, Minyeon? Are you just going to leave me here?! And run away with Jun Kyu?! Are you really going to do that?!” Minhyuk snapped uncontrollably. All eyes were shifted onto you, anticipating your answer.

Jun.Q suddenly felt guilty. Minhyuk should be channelling his rage on him, not you. But at a time like this, he contemplated twice if it was wise to intervene. Instead of responding verbally, he attempted to stand before you, to protect you. When Jun.Q tried to take a step forward, you latched onto his arm and tugged him, making sure he stays in place.

You inhaled deeply, and spoke in the calmest manner you could manage. “Please, try to calm down, oppa. I will be back after treating Jun Kyu’s cut. I will not go anywhere else but remain in this very building. Please, just stay here and cool off for a while.” With a frown, Minhyuk opened his mouth but bit his tongue when you looked at him with pleading eyes. Scratching his head with a frustrated attitude, he spun around and huffed with both hands on his hips.

"Have faith in my maknae, Minhyuk." Your sister whispered as Minhyuk trudged back towards her, towards the altar. You channeled a small smile towards your sister, thanking her for helping you calm the enraged Minhyuk. But you doubt she saw your gratitude, because she was already busying herself by constantly whispering to Minhyuk, which were hypothesized to be soothing words. Just before you were about to turn around, your sister gave you a reassuring smile, trusting in your ability to solve this conflict between you and Jun.Q.

You looked at your family members who were standing at their designated seats. Your eldest brother was about to storm over and blow a fuse on Jun.Q, but your mother held him back, whispering what you assumed was that you were capable of handling the situation by yourself. With a worried expression on your second brother’s face, he furrowed his brows as he helped your mother hold your eldest brother back.

Without further ado, you continued to lead Jun.Q back up the aisle and into the bridal waiting room. *I hope that Minhyuk oppa will calm down soon, I wouldn’t want him to be any madder. But I can’t just leave Jun Kyu wounded and unattended like this. I hope I’m doing the right thing..* You bit your lip. Just as you were out of sight, the guests started to chatter away, sharing their own opinions on what just happened.

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Hello, hello, lovelies, Shan here. First off, I apologise for going on such a long hiatus. It's been a while since me and Sam have posted anything here in AFF. Secondly, I just want to give my praises to all the writers out there, I salute you all for being able to constantly update your stories to fill your readers needs! I really can't do that, I find it hard to relax nowadays, I feel so stressed. But because this was dedicated to my Twinneh and she reminded me about it, so I decided to take a day off my studying schedule to finish up this short story once and for all.

Other than that, I should tell you guys that me and Sam are in different countries now, and we're three hours apart due to the time zone difference. It will be hard for us to focus on studies and write because we are co-authors, we need constant communication to know what's going on and what will happen next in the story and such before putting in down in black and white. Being in different time zones :( I admit, we did use up a generous amount of time just to discuss our stories. But writing them out also takes a long time as well. Again, I give praises to those writers out there.

For those who are still subscribed to us, I thank you all with a big heart. You guys are the fuel to keep a writer going. Before I keep your hopes up on anything else, I can truthfully tell you that I have finally completed this short story and will post the finale next week. I thank you for your support, and even the time taken to read this, if you are, haha. I hope you enjoyed reading it, just as much as I enjoyed writing this dedication for my Twinneh.

With lots of love, Shan (: