The bride wore sneakers.

She swore up and down it wasn’t intentional.  It wasn’t as if she was harboring any ill will feelings towards her soon-to-be husband.  How was it his fault that woman fawned over his charismatic personality or swooned over his signature eye smile?  No, it wasn’t as if she wanted to call this entire marriage thing off and crawl beneath the bedcovers and never come out.  She just didn’t feel quite herself at the moment because hump days always made her eyelids extremely red and swollen like she had been crying them out all night. And it wasn’t as if she was purposely avoiding everyone’s calls this gloomy overcast morning.  In the midst of forgetting her umbrella and running into two large puddles of water, she truly did forget to turn her ringer back on.

So lost in her turbulent thoughts, Amina didn’t even realize how late the morning was until she absentmindedly reached for her phone.  “Six missed calls!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening in horror.  It was 8:47am.  She shot off the park bench right as adrenaline kicked in.  She was done for it!  She was going to get an earful from Hanna for not picking up.  And then she’d get an eyeful from Youngbae for being late to their own “wedding”.

“Boss-ah!” Amina yelled, scanning the empty small park.  She normally kept a better eye on him when he was off the leash, but lately he was so good at keeping close by that she let had her guard down. 

Obviously, today was not her day. 

Amina started dialing Hanna back as she walked and scanned further beyond the horizon.

“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?” Hanna’s voice boomed.

“Mianhae, unn-“ Amina broke off and cursed underneath her breath, as her foot sank through a thick mud puddle.  She shook the dirt excess off her right foot and pulled the phone back to her ear.  “I’m at the park with Boss-ah and completely lost track of time.”

“You know I hate waiting.”

“Neh.”

“And we’re going to be late.”

“N-neh,” Amina cringed slightly at Hanna’s biting tone as her eyes wandered off again in search for Boss.  She spotted him, about 50 yards away, tracking a rabbit down.  “Boss-ah!  Eri-wa!” she sharply commanded, her eyebrows slashing harshly across her brow bone.  The small pup swung around and flattened his ears against his head as he trotted guiltily back over to her side.

“There should be a small park directly across from the condo’s main entrance with a couple of parking spaces,” Amina stated as she bent down to hook the leash back on Boss’s collar.  “Meet me there…”  She mentally gauged the distance, if she sprinted outright.  “You should see me in about three minutes.”

“I can’t believe you couldn’t change,” Hanna muttered under her voice.  It was the third time the complaint was voiced on the silent car ride.  And it would have been more if she wasn’t concentrating so hard on traffic. 

Thank goodness for morning rush hour because Amina didn’t feel up to small talk.

“You know we didn’t have time, unnie,” Amina patiently reiterated as she Boss beneath his chin.  She felt her impending doom settle in once she spotted the notable brick building up ahead.  They had just arrived at the Ward Office in Mapo-gu and she could see Youngbae’s Mercedes parked down the street a few yards away.  Suddenly, her palms began to sweat.

“Yeah?  Well…” Hanna remarked, throwing her car into park.  She swung her sunshades off and eyeballed Amina from head to toe.  “To be honest, I think they’d let the dog in before they let you.”

Amina flushed.  She knew she looked a mess.  Her messy hair bun was still damp from the light morning rain and the grey threadbare t-shirt she wore still had sweat stains across her neckline, back, and armpit areas from her earlier jog with Boss.  Her navy blue capri sweatpants were mildly soaked from the knee down, while the part where her calves were exposed showed where little bits of dirt and grit had sprayed in places from all the puddles she ran into.  But the worst offense was probably her shoes.  They were both caked with mud and beyond repair.

“You owe me a car detail,” Hanna snootily added, as she chucked her Chanel frames into her bag and exited the vehicle.

The driver door slammed hard and made Amina wince.  “C’mon baby,” she coaxed the sleeping animal off her lap as she opened her own door.  After snapping on his leash and shutting the passenger door closed, they made their way around to meet Hanna, who stood next to the curb.

“You’re seriously not bringing him with you, are you?” she asked incredulously.

“I’m not leaving him in the car!  He could suffocate,” Amina replied indignantly, letting out an exasperated huff.  “Besides, you said so yourself.  They’ll probably let him in over me,” she cocked her brow arrogantly at Hanna and began sashaying towards the ward office entrance.

Hanna’s lips curved up against her will as she watched Amina walk by.  “Yah! Stop walking like that!” she admonished, strutting her way forward as well.  “This isn’t a catwalk.  And if it were, you’d look silly in that get-up of yours.”

She grinned openly.

Amina tossed her a quick side-glance and smiled.  “Who cares what I’m wearing?  It’s only going to take about ten minutes anyway.  It’s not like a real…” her voice cracked as it faded away.

Hanna grabbed a handful of Amina’s shirt until she stopped.  She peered into her younger cousin’s face with concern.  “It’s not like a real wedding?  Is that what you were going to say?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

Amina stared silently into Hanna’s knowing eyes.  “Of course it’s not a wedding,” she stated indifferently.  “There are no flowers.  No cakes.  No dresses,” she continued in the same tone.  “We’re not here for a ceremony.  We’re here for a legal proceeding.”  She gave Hanna a weak smile and eyed her cousin’s immaculate work attire from head to toe.  “At least you’ll have the honor of telling your niece or nephew that you were the only best dressed one when their mommy and daddy got married,” Amina finished off with an empty smile before she turned around and started walking again.

“Are you sure about that?” Hanna questioned from behind.

“Sure about what?” Amina tossed over her shoulder.  She tugged on Boss’s leash for him to keep up.

“Sure that I’m the only one that dressed up?”

Amina rolled her eyes and sent Hanna a look of disbelief.  “Unnie, it’s a less-than-ten minute proceeding!  It’s no big deal.  It’s not like anyone is going to take your picture afterwards or not allow you to marry if you have mud on your shoes!  We’re just here to sign some papers and then go home!”

Hanna raised her brow at the heated words coming out of her younger cousin’s mouth, but chose to not argue any further.  Instead, she brooded silently behind, watching Amina fight an inner battle that was clearly written all over her face.  As much as Amina wanted to play this off as nonchalantly as possible, Hanna could tell that today’s event held more weight for her dongsaeng than she wanted to lead on.  But it was too late now.  Hanna knew there was nothing she could say that would convince Amina to change her mind.

She silently wished a curse upon Youngbae’s head instead.

As they traveled up the concrete steps, they passed by another couple in their early thirties.  The woman was smiling and in tears while the man was teasing her affectionately with a silly grin on his face.  “Pardon us,” he chuckled, brushing past the girls.  “We just got married.”

“Congratulations,” Amina mumbled.

“Congratulations!” Hanna smiled genuinely, allowing the two strangers to move through.  She glanced up ahead and caught Amina’s despondent look.  “C’mon,” Hanna quietly coaxed, pressing her hand on the small of Amina’s back.  “They’re probably wondering if you chickened out by now.”

She wore sneakers.

All while pacing up and down the hallway in front of the Secretary of Citizen’s Affairs office, he had restlessly thought that maybe she was late because she was fixing her hair or touching up her make-up.  You know – the things most women fret about on the day they get married.  Or maybe she was having a small happy melt-down because of the emotional significance of today’s event and needed extra time to recover before seeing him.

Was it on purpose?  He didn’t know.  But the feeling of uncertainty ticked him off inside.  He should have trusted his gut instinct that afternoon she left YG and headed home.  He felt something was wrong, but when he called to check up later that night she had cheerfully reassured him of her plans for the evening.  Explained how she and Hanna would be heading out to the mall in search for a new outfit for the big day; so, no – he couldn’t come along, she had teased.  She sounded so upbeat and optimistic about their impending nuptials that he finally dismissed the inkling feeling from his thoughts.

He should have known better.

He could only stare at her stone-faced while he eyed her up and down.  He hadn’t expected her to show up looking like she was about to face death row.  Nor did he expect her to be dressed like she’d just finished a dirt-road marathon.  And he certainly hadn’t expected Boss to make a special guest appearance either. 

“What’s he doing here?” Youngbae jerked his chin out towards Boss.

Amina stuck her tongue against her inner cheek and innocently replied, “He’s my flower boy.”

Jiyong chuckled, his body silently rocking against the wall he was standing against.

“You’re late,” Youngbae curtly remarked, his eyes roaming up and down her body with clear annoyance.  He narrowed his eyes on her face.  “And you have dirt on your face.”  He told himself to move away before he continued going off on her.  Of all days, she knew how important today was for them!  He shook his head angrily in disgust.  To think – he actually pressed his clothes for the occasion!

Hanna glared at Youngbae’s back while Amina turned around warily to face her.  She could see the sea of hurt b at the surface of her cousin’s dark brown eyes and immediately softened her expression.  Like a mother hen, Hanna lightly the pad of her thumb and gently began removing a speck of mud below Amina’ left eye. 

“How do I look?” Amina smiled animatedly, even as tears threatened to pour out.

Hanna blinked rapidly, feeling her own emotions rise close to the surface.  She swallowed hard and put on a brave face.  “Fabulous,” she answered, her lips quivering only slightly.  They stared quietly at one another, both sharing the same fear and anxiety that was coursing through their veins until it all became too much.

They broke eye contact and walked their separate ways to compose themselves.

The door to the Secretary’s office suddenly opened and a small elderly woman with thick rimmed glasses appeared.  “Mianhaeyo… I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.  You can come in now,” she croaked, sliding the door open for the entourage.  She shuffled back inside, her stooped back slowing down her progress as she moved about the small office space.

“Park sajangnim had another appointment to run off to, since you weren’t able to make the nine o’clock slot…”

Amina felt her ears burn and knew without a doubt that if she turned around she’d find Youngbae’s piercing glare on her.

“…but that’s alright,” the elderly woman continued.  “I am authorized by the government to officiate these matters as well,” she turned around and smiled, showing her two front missing teeth.

Youngbae inwardly blanched and started to run his tongue reassuringly over his own pearly whites, before he caught himself.  He stopped midway, his tongue poised beneath his top lip, and checked to see if anyone had noticed.  Much to his disconcertion, he found Amina staring openly at him.  Even though her face was carefully blank and lacked any reprimand, he still felt chagrined for his bad manners.

He immediately flushed and lowered his gaze.

Luckily for him, the civil worker was too busy making her way around the podium to notice.  She began shuffling some paperwork in front of her, scrutinizing the documents carefully.  When she was satisfied that all was in order she looked up at the group of four.

She motioned over to Youngbae, easily picking him out of the two.  “Please stand over here.”

Youngbae nodded and moved closer to her right.

“So, if the bride would step this way please,” the grandmotherly woman ordered, her hand motioning forward. 

Amina watched wide-eyed as the woman waved Hanna forward.

At Hanna’s perplexed look, the worker began bobbing her head.  “Neh, neh… you.  Come stand right over here.”  She indicated the spot to the left of the podium.

Hanna shook her head back and forth, her eyes widening with terror.  At the sound of Jiyong’s muffled laugh, she glanced over at him and opened to speak… but nothing came out.  She pleaded with her eyes for help.

“Ah… she’s not the bride,” Jiyong grinned.

“Oh,” the old woman replied, hanging in an open ‘O’.  She eased the frames of her glasses down the length of her nose and peered over the top.  Her cloudy cataract grey eyes zeroed in on Amina, taking in her appearance from head to toe.

Amina reached over and self-consciously began rubbing her arm that held Boss’s leash.  She gazed at the elderly woman and answered the silent question that was in her eyes.  “I’m the bride, ajumoni,” she quietly said.

Youngbae released an audible sigh that grated on Amina’s nerves.  She glanced over at him, but like much of her luck today, his head was turned away in apparent disgust.

She shuffled her way forward towards the podium.

“Oh…” the older woman admonished.  “We can’t have animals in the building.  You will need to take him outside.”

Youngbae swung his head over at Amina, his mouth tightening at the corners.

Another strike against her.

Amina released a sigh filled with anxiety.  “He’s trained.  I promise, he won’t cause any problems… he’ll be good,” she pleaded to the older woman, her eyes darkening with worry.  She could see that she was about to lose the battle when the worker began to shake her head.  “Please,” Amina tried once more.  “I need him here… He’s,” she pressed her lips together and thought fast. 

“He’s a worker dog….” Amina blurted, watching the woman’s sparse brows perk up.  “Yeh… I need him to…” Her face cringed slightly as she ran through all her options.  “…to listen for me.  Yeh.” Amina smiled unconvincingly, her eyes full of chagrin.  “I can’t hear very well, so I need him here to stick close by to me.”

The lady gave her a sympathetic nod.

Youngbae narrowed his eyes and stared at Amina incredulously.  With a quick shake of his head, he swiftly reached over and grabbed the leash from her unsuspecting grip.  He eyed the older woman and could barely control the exasperation in his voice.  “I’ll have my friend watch the dog to make sure he won’t be a distraction.”  He led Boss away and ignored the look of plea on Amina’s face.

“Here,” Youngbae handed the leash over to Jiyong.  “Watch him.”  He clenched his jaw and strode back towards his place next to the podium.

“Okay, okay,” the woman nodded.  “That will be fine then.  You will make sure he doesn’t pee in my office, arasso?”  She issued her command loudly towards Jiyong’s direction.

“Yeh ajumoni,” Jiyong replied, giving her a ninety degree bow.  He smiled innocently and spread his feet apart in a watchful stance, the leash clasped loosely in the grip held in front of him.