On the morning of Ga-in's wedding, Narsha drove with her windows down and the radio on. She hummed along with the songs as she drove, laughed at the DJ's jokes and checked her make-up in the rear view mirror as she waited at the traffic lights. Today was a big day, but it didn't feel that way to Narsha. It had been on her calendar for months (four to be exact) and now that the day was here, she felt unemotional.

In the end she decided that today is nothing more than a big party, with food, and more importantly, drinks. Whatever happens from this point onwards is out of her hands. The light turned green and she pushed the mirror back into place.

I wonder if it's wrong, she thought to herself, that I should be celebrating this wedding when I don't actually want her to get married. I wonder if she will think suspiciously of me...

As she stopped at the next set of traffic lights, Narsha rested her arm on top of the steering wheel. The tattoo on her wrist was still clearly visible, since she had made no attempt at covering it up. Tattoos ought to be like friends, she thought as she turned her wrist to idly inspect the star shaped tattoo. They last forever, like good friends do. Or was it the other way round, good friends ought to be like tattoos? The light turned green and she lost her train of thought.

Parking was difficult, and Narsha had to park her car a few streets away from the wedding hall and walk some of the way. By the time she arrived, her new shoes were already hurting her feet. She saw Ga-in's friend, Jo Kwon standing at the gate, looking like a penguin in his black and white tuxedo. But then again, she thought, he always looks like a penguin.

"Hello, Kwon," she said kindly as they greeted each other on the step. He seemed cheerful.

"Good morning Narsha sister!" he said, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking wistfully up at the sky. "It's a lovely day, isn't it? Just perfect for a wedding. I always say spring is the best season for weddings, it's the season of romance, isn't it?"

Narsha scrunched up her face and tried to follow his line of eye sight. "No, I always thought autumn was the season for romance."

"Ah, yes... okay."

Narsha sighed as the conversation ended awkwardly. She said good-bye to Jo Kwon and moved inside to see who else she could find. She hoped to find Mi-hye and Hyo-jin, since they both said that they would come. Dammit, they better be here! Once upon a time they had all been very close, so it made sense that they should be here.

Narsha peered around the room. She couldn't see either of them. The room was quickly filling up with all sorts of people Narsha didn't recognise. Who were all these strangers? Ga-in's new friends? Friends of Mister Ga-in? The dreaded ceremony was almost about to start so Narsha took a seat somewhere in the middle of the crowd. She sat next to a young woman, about Ga-in's age or younger, who was absentmindedly fiddling with her wristwatch. Narsha thought that this was the sort of person she could easily strike up a conversation with, so she began by introducing herself.

"How do you do? I'm Narsha."

"Na-ah-sha..." the girl rolled the name out slowly, as if tasting a strange new food. It was an unusual name. "I'm Yu-jin. Pleased to meet you."

"So Yu-jin, are you a friend of the bride or groom?"

"Oh, neither really." Yu-jin sighed as she flattened the front of her skirt. "I just know Ga-in from work. We went out together for drinks once or twice. How about you?"

"Ga-in and I are old friends. I've known her since she was 18. We were in a band together back in the day, did you know that? [Yu-jin claimed that she didn't.] We were a vocal quartet. We never got too successful, we mainly just sang in night clubs, but those were fun times. Ga-in was always the star. Back then we used to call her Baby-G."

"Baby-G," Yu-jin repeated, sounding rather unimpressed. "Sounds like a stripper name."

Narsha chuckled. "Yeah, well when you say it like that." Baby-G, that was right, wasn't it? She couldn't remember who had come up with that name.

Everyone was seated and the ceremony was about to begin, so Narsha ceased her conversation with Yu-jin. She craned her neck to look behind, wondering if Ga-in had arrived yet. She hoped that Ga-in would be wearing something fabulous. It's just as well, she thought. If you are going to make a terrible life decision, you might as well do it in style.

She saw the groom before she saw Ga-in. He marched in looking smart and suave and Narsha felt her stomach twist. What was his awful name again? Sung-kyu, Sung-ki, Seung-ki? Mister Ga-in.

"He's very handsome, isn't he?" Yu-jin whispered as the room became quiet. Narsha forced a smile.

That's exactly what Ga-in had said to her when she had first revealed her new love, showing Narsha the photo with a proud smile. Narsha hadn't thought much of him then, either.

"I must admit, I'm not a big fan of handsome men. Especially when they think highly of themselves. I much prefer the company of ugly men..." Narsha spoke too loudly and the people in the row in front turned around to glare at her. They were supposed to be quiet now.

Narsha bit her lip. Here comes Ga-in! She looks awkward in that white frock though; it belongs to an innocent school girl and Ga-in's never been innocent. She still has that sheepish step, bowing her head in embarrassment as the whole room looks at her. So goofy and bad, that same old Ga-in.

The wedding progressed as weddings typically do, and Narsha endured it like a typical wedding guest, although boredom and impatience tugged at her from each side. She wondered whether they would get to the bit where the priest asks if anyone objects to the wedding. She hoped that someone would get up and make a dramatic show of it, screaming "I object!" She gave a quick look to Jo Kwon, but he was sitting peacefully, smiling at the happy couple.

Of course no one would object to the marriage. No one else knew what a horrible mistake this was. And no one else would ever know, because Ga-in had made her promise to keep it a secret.

With a pained heart, she remembered the night that Ga-in had come knocking on her door. It was late and she wasn't wearing any shoes. Through sobs she said that she had come straight here, because she didn't know who else to turn to. Narsha took one look at her friend's broken, bloodied face, and her heart hardened.

She took Ga-in inside and helped clean up the blood.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," Ga-in said miserably, eyes cast down as she reflected on her own pathetic state. "It's just a matter of dignity. A woman's dignity. You don't walk around wearing your fights on your face."

"Of course, I won't tell anyone," Narsha replied. "That's what friends are for."

A pause.

"So what did you fight about?"

"I got suspicious, and I asked where he was last night. I must have hit a nerve because he didn't reply. So I yelled at him..." Ga-in trailed off and she fixed her gaze on a point on the carpet. "Say, can I crash here for a couple of nights?"

"Sure, be my guest."

"I don't want to be a nuisance."

"It's no trouble. I'd rather you were safe."

I never liked him, Narsha wanted to say but she didn't. That was not the sort of conversation they should be having when the wounds were fresh. When time had washed over all this, then they could sit and talk, drinking coffee in the sun, reflecting back on that terrible ex-boyfriend who was now only a ghost of the past. Narsha waited for that day.

Narsha the wedding guest stifled a yawn. How long was this thing supposed to go for? The sooner the ceremony was over the sooner she could hit the bar, and she had been feeling thirsty ever since she arrived.

They said their vows and Narsha smiled, along with everyone else. She'd helped Ga-in, back then, in getting back on her feet again, so she could look after herself. She didn't need him anymore, and that was what Narsha had helped to achieve. So when Ga-in said she was going back to him, Narsha took it as a personal insult. After all I've done for you? How could you be so stupid?

"You don't understand!" Ga-in had yelled at her. "How could you possibly understand?"

You, Narsha, you weird spinster, forever alone. How indeed. Narsha's lip curled.

"Well don't come running to me next time he breaks your nose. You're on your own now."

Ga-in left and Narsha regretted what she had said. Ga-in - foolish Ga-in! - needed all the help she could get, and the last thing she needed was to lose a friend. Narsha's desperate thoughts overcame her, and the truth unveiled itself: she still needed Ga-in, wanted her. After a few days of cool down, she called her back.

What's-his-name answered the phone.

"Um, is Ga-in there?" Narsha said coolly, unable to hide her suspicion.

"Yeah, yeah. She's here. So what did you say your name was again? Na-nah? Narsha, right. So you're a friend of Ga-in? We should meet up some time."

"Sure, sure." Just get off the phone. Her phone! How dare you answer her phone.

"Hello, Narsha?"

"Ga-in, I'm sorry. What I said, I didn't mean it. Let's be friends again, friends always."

Narsha had kept her promise. She had no other choice but to remain faithful, because she couldn't bear the thought of letting Ga-in out of her grasp. She might get herself killed one day, she thought. I ought to be there to help her, somewhere along the way.

When the wedding had finished, Narsha found Mi-hye. She was standing by the bar at the after party, both hands stuffed in pockets, that unfeminine habit she had never been able to shake. They greeted, and drank whiskey together, just like old times.

"There you have it," Mi-hye said. "The youngest of us was the first to get married. So when are you getting married, Narsha?"

"You , you know I hate that question." Narsha replied and Mi-hye laughed.

"The aunties will ask you later, so I thought I would prepare you first."

"Aunties, we are almost aunties ourselves now. Old ladies..."

"Hmm..." Mi-hye changed the subject. "I have a new job. I'm moving to Canada next year."

"Canada!" Narsha didn't know anything about Canada, only that it was a whole different country. She put her glass down. "Everyone's going off now; Ga-in married and you moving country and Hyo-jin, where is she even?"

Mi-hye laughed, and Narsha thought it sounded sad. "What did you expect? Did you expect everything would stay the same? People have to move on."

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes I just think that I'm not up to speed with everyone else."

As the day turned into night, Narsha became more and more light headed from drinking. In this state she was liable to let her tongue slip, and she needed all the self discipline she could muster not to make a scene, especially when Mister Ga-in came around, new wife on his arm. Narsha looked into his handsome, smug face and thought about how much she hated him. Do I hate him because he hurt her before? she asked herself. Or do I hate him just because he's married Ga-in and I love her.

Narsha stared into her glass, head spinning. The first one, she thought.

At the end of the night, Ga-in called to her. "Narsha, sister," she said, her voice shrill and happy. "I've been so busy talking to everyone, I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet."

Narsha thought she should say something, like, congratulations, or you looked nice, but these were both lies, so she said nothing. Ga-in continued to talk to her, but Narsha stopped listening when she saw a mark on Ga-in's wrist.

"What's this?" she asked, but before Ga-in could answer, Narsha grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close. She inspected the dark mark closely.

Ga-in had used make-up to cover it, but now that it was the end of the day, the make-up had worn away and Narsha could see it clearly. It was a star shaped tattoo.

Ga-in chuckled softly. "Do you remember when we did that?"

Narsha sighed, smiling. "Yeah, those were the wild old days. It was just like you to suggest something so risky and spontaneous!"

Ga-in's head tilted back with laughter. "Don't lie, Narsha. Getting a tattoo was your idea!"

"Maybe so. But it was you who wanted to get matching ones. Back then, we were so..." Something rose in Narsha's throat and she was unable to finish her sentence. Ga-in smiled kindly.

"I'm glad we're still friends."

"Me too," Narsha said, and there were tears in her eyes.