until death do us part
No Chance to Grow
15 years later..
"Which one?" Taemin showed the tuxedos in his hands.
jongin squinted his eyes, looking confused. "But it looks the same.." he paused "they're black."
Taemin groaned in frustration. He handed the tuxedos to the shopkeeper and approaced his best friend. "You're here for helping me. not to make me crazier."
Jongin rolled his eyes. "Excuse me, i'm a normal man so i don't usually pick which-one-is-better with my guy friends." he snorted.
"Kibum hyung is a man and he's normal. you're not excused." Taemin pointed at him.
"He's different." jongin defended himself. "Beside, he has the best fashion sense."
"I should've brought him instead you." he sighed.
"And why didn't you?" Jongin snorted.
"best man must always be with the groom!" Taemin protested.
"Yeah yeah." Jongin said nonchalantly.
taemin pouted, he went back to his first position and talked to the shopkeeper. At the end, he decided to pick none of them and picked his very first decision, 15 minutes ago.
"You tried everything and at the end, you pick your first choice." Jongin gave him judging look.
"I'll put a blame on my friend who didn't even give a proper advice and just sat on the couch like a boyfriend waited for her girlfriend shopping." Taemin snapped at him.
"Wow don't snap at me." Jongin raised his hands. "Sorry for not helping you but chill man."
"Sorry." Taemin sighed. "I'm stressed out because of this wedding. i want it to be perfect."
jongin snorted. "Oh god, not again.." He sighed because he knew it'd be a long speech again.
"You know jongin? Wedding is a big day for......" taemin started his speech.
"And here we go again.." Jongin sighed and tried to walk faster, leaving taemin behind.
"Yah! Kim jongin!!!"
soojung rested his head on the table. she kept looking at her mother and pouting, making her mother felt more guilty.
"I'm really sorry, soojung. It's an emergency, i'll be back in a few hours. Don't be mad at me." she said, feeling guilty.
"it's okay.." Soojung sighed. "i'm just bored because i can't go anywhere these days."
Her mom approached her and her hair. "Soojung-ah, a woman who will be married can't go anywhere a few days before getting married. you know, it's for safety.."
"I know mom." she smiled. "But i'm bored. i don't have nothing to do. tomorrow is my wedding yet no one accompany me."
"sorry.." her mom said again. "sooyeon said she'd come home after schedule. maybe around 11, so can you be a good girl and sleep early." her mom said.
"uhm..can i call my friend here?" Soojung pleaded.
"Soojung-ah.." Her mom looked at her, enough for soojung to understand what she meant.
"okay i won't do that." She huffed.
her mom smiled at her and kissed her cheeks before leaving. soojung waved at her and went back to her room, deciding find something to do.
After all those months of preparation and planning for the happiest day of her life, it's finally a few hours before her wedding. soojung couldn't help but felt there're butterflies in her tummy, making her nervous and slightly nausea.
soojung lied down on her bed, staring at the stars on er ceilling. her mind wandered around, wandering what's he doing right now and how would he look like tomorrow. thinking about those things made her nervous again so she shook her head and tried to calm down.
soojung suddenly got up and went to the corner. she pulled some albums from the shelf and brought it. she sat on the rug and opened the first album.
Cheesy, maybe. But when she flicked through her old photos, she realized how far she had come and it got her excited for the next chapter in her life. this time, together with the person she really love.
soojung chuckled when she saw her baby photo with jessica, her mom and dad, her grandparents, and her childhood friends. she flipped page by page until she reached to her middle-school's album.
she opened one page and laughed at the photo she saw. A girl with bare face and a boy with dark skin, grinning so widely to the camera with fish in their hand. soojung remembered that's the time when they had a school trip and both of them got to catch fishes for dinner as punishment for being late.
soojung opened another page and smiled at one sticker photo she made with the same boy. they made derp faces with the boy's arm casually embraced her shoulder.
she flipped another page until the end of pages, smiling thorough the entire pages because of the memories she had with jongin.
she then realized how she missed that boy especially after all these times. she hadn't met him for a week yet she missed him so bad.
"What are you doing, jongin-ah?" She whispered, asking the air.
"Nothing much. just looked at the girl who spoke to herself like a weirdo." Someone answered her.
soojung quickly got up and turned to the voice. her eyes widened when she saw the boy she missed so much was there, leaning his body against the wall while looking at her casually.
"W-what?? how?? why?? When??" Soojung blinked.
"For a while." He shrugged. "You should've made sure to lock your door because it's dangerous." He said while pointed at the door in soojung's room which connected to balcony.
"You climbed up??"
"Like a romeo." He grinned widely. He approached her and sat beside her, looking at the album too.
"Whoaa..our gradution photo!" He exclaimed happily, looking at one photo.
"you shouldn't be here. taemin oppa would kill you." soojung huffed even though deep inside she's so happy.
"You don't have to tell him if you want me to be alive tomorrow." he smirked.
"ckck just because your role is super important tomorrow doesn't mean he won't kill you for sneaking to my room." she clicked her tongue, pretending to be mad.
"But too bad this girl doesn't even ask me to leave." He whistled. "She enjoys my presence so nothing to worry about."
"you're so full of yourself, mr.kim." soojung rolled her eyes.
"thanks for your compliment, mrs...wait you're still miss jung."
"tomorrow i'm no longer miss jung." She beamed happily. "tomorrow would be the best day in my life."
"because you'll tie a knot with the best man in the world." jongin smiled.
"again, you're so full of yourself." Soojung snorted.
"but you still love me.." Jongin poked his tongue playfully, making soojung chuckled.
"You're thirty-something now yet you act like a kid." soojung shook her head.
jongin suddenly leaned closer to soojung and kiss her lips.
"kid can't do thing like this." he said. "Hmm..strawberry."
"jess bought me strawberry milktea." she blushed naturally because of his action.
"we've been together for years but you still blush like this whenever i kiss you." Jongin frowned.
"your fault." soojung muttered, making him smile even wider.
jongin stared at her lovingly, still couldn't believe that finally, his best friend and his first love would become the one he spent his life with. jongin was happy to know that he only fell in love once, but forever.
"What? why did you stare at me?" soojung frowned upon seeing jongin's unreadable expression.
"it's still beyond belief.." He said without taking his eyes off of her.
soojung came closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. jongin embraced her and kissed her temple lovingly, not wanting to let her go.
"thank you.." Jongin said. He took her hand and kissed her fingertips.
"For what?" soojung asked.
"For stopping me when i was about to give up on us." He smiled, recalling his memory when they made up.
Soojung smiled while stared at him, feeling the butterflies in her tummy again. "then i should thank you, too." she said.
"For what?" this time, jongin looked at her confusedly.
"For wanting to go and making me realize that my life revolves around you. and realize how much you mean to me." she said while smiled happily.
"cheesy." jongin jokingly. soojung hit him lightly, pouting because of her insensitive fiance.
"i won't say anything or confess my feelings anymore starting from now." soojung sulked.
"But i'll make you even when you don't want to." jongin said, pulling her closer and kissing her gently. soojung closed her eyes, enjoying their kiss after a week and kissing him back.
but the moment was interrupted by soojung's phone.
"Who's that?" Jongin frowned, feeling unamused because of the interruption.
"never mind." soojung pulled him again and continued their kiss. Her phone kept ringing for quite a while and finally stopped after they stopped.
"seriously who's that.." His words cut off by his phone. he looked at his phone and started being panic when he saw the caller id.
"Who?" Soojung peeked at it. jongin told her to be quiet before answering the call.
"Where are you?" Taemin asked.
"Home." He casually answered.
"Yeah, but why your mom just called me asking me to give the phone to you?" Taemin said.
"Umm..my mom was confuse?" jongin said.
"YAH!!" Taemin yelled at him. "Where are you?? the groom shouldn't go anywhere a few hours before the wedding!" He scolded him.
"i'm just wandering around.." Jongin lied.
"don't you dare trying to come to my soojung's house!" taemin threated him.
"N-no! bride and groom aren't supposed to meet before wedding! i don't see her." He laughed nervously.
"Good. because if you did that, i would kill you and don't blame me if you have to cancel the wedding." taemin hissed. Soojung tried hard to hold back her laughter upon hearing taemin's words.
taemin was still suspicious. he tried to call soojung but she didn't pick up. He had this feelings that there must be something related between their missing in action.
"Alright. wherever you are, come home now or else i'm gonna hunt you down." He threatened.
"Okay." jongin gulped. taemin could be so scary sometimes. Especially when his protective side was appeared.
when taemin hung up, jongin turned to soojung who was busy laughing upon hearing their conversation.
"Your best friend is so scary and possessive." jongin sighed.
soojung didn't answer. she recalled her memory, back to the time when they talked heart to heart at night market 15 years ago.
"Why?" Soojung asked taemin. she was confuse because taemin didn't seem mad or something. he looked calm and said something she didn't believe.
"i have to tell you something.." taemin paused "about minjung..actually she didn't go just like that. before leaving, she told me something."
"And what is that?" soojung frowned.
"she said she still loved me." taemin said. he looked at the sky, recalling his memories. "But he let me be with you."
"i don't understand. if she loves you, she should've take you from me, fighting for you." soojung said but at the same time caught on guards because of her words, slapping her hard and making her back to reality.
she did the same with minjung. she didn't want to fight for her feelings. it meant she's worse than her, right?
Taemin realized it but he just smiled and patted soojung's head. "Don't worry. you're different with her."
"Umm.." Soojung wasn't sure how to respond.
"she said,'if we're meant to be, we'd be together again. because i strongly believe, there are two types of love." Taemin immitated the way minjung talked to him.
"two?" Soojung asked out of curiousity.
"Yeah." Taemin nodded. "you love someone because love chooses you to fall for each other or..." he paused "you choose to love that person."
"Uhh.." soojung thought. she had to admit that her words weren't wrong at all.
"the realization hit me so hard like a thousand bricks at that time. i realize, our reason to love someone is to make them happy because their happiness are ours, too." taemin said.
"Ah..." soojung nodded.
"that's when i realize, you might be happy with me, but not as happy when you're with jongin. jongin can make you smile, can make you happy in unexplainable ways. he knows you the best and he always does." taemin stared at soojung who remained silent because taemin's words were true.
Jongin could make her smile the way nobody could.
jongin was the reason why she smiled and laughed everytime.
And that moment, she realized something:
"Even when i tried to forget about him and erased my feelings for him, i can't." she sighed.
"That's right." Taemin snapped his fingers. "That's why, i have an intention to make both of you happy."
"Eh???" Soojung squealed, making some people around them looked at them. they quickly lowered their head, hiding their face.
"Ssst.." Taemin held back his laughter.
"Sorry.." she grinned.
"don't do that. we'll get caught." Taemin huffed.
"but oppa.." She started again. "Why did you do that?"
"because both of you are precious to me." Taemin smiled. "and i love you, so i wanna make you happy. even when i have to let you go."
"Oppa.." Soojung stunned.
"beside.." Taemin continued his words "i think i should settle my problems with minjung. it's just a misconception i guess. so i think it'd be good if we can be friends again."
"That's a very good idea." Soojung supported him. "No one knows us the best except our best friend."
"Did you just brag about jongin?" taemin pretended to be furious, making both of them chuckle as result.
"Thanks oppa.." Soojung suddenly reach out her hands and hugged taemin, really thankful because of him.
"You're welcome.." Taemin said, hugging her back. "I'm sorry for making you suffer these years."
"No..it's okay" soojung said with the smile plastered on her face.
"I'll try my best to help both of you." Taemin said "we'll find a way.."
"Helloooo earth to soojung!!" Jongin exclaimed at her face.
"Uh?"
"daydreaming when i'm here. it hurts." Jongin exaggerated thing by holding his chest, trying to show her that he hurted him.
"sorry.." She smiled.
"what did you think just now?" jongin asked, full of curiousity.
"our past." she said."about how i finally got you back, as my best friend and as my lover."
"you seriously scared me at that time." Jongin recalled his memory, chuckling when he remembered that. "I woke up and found you beside me instead kyungsoo."
"You slept like a corpse. i wondered how you managed to not get hurt." He chuckled. "Taemin oppa asked kyungsoo oppa to exchange seat with me so we could talk." She told him.
"Ahh..so it's him." jongin nodded. "i still don't get it, why did he help us when he said he loved you?"
soojung smiled,"because that's how the love works.."
Jongin pulled her in an embrace tight and kissed her temple again. "whatever it is, i'm so happy for finally being able with you." He paused "after waiting for years.."
"me too." Soojung hugged him back, resting her head on his chest.
"I thought our love had no chance to grow." jongin continued.
"There's always a chance for true love, jongin-ah.." she loosened the embrace and looked at him. "especially when you don't give up on what you believe."
jongin ducked down and captured her lips, kissing her like the first time he kissed her. Like she's the most precious thing in the world, telling her how much he loved her without any word.
"from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part." jongin said after parting his lips slightly from her then continued to kiss her again.
Author's Note
finally it's ended.
i'm so thankful for those who subscribe, read, and comment plus upvote this story. thank you for your continous support and show how you feel towards this story.
i feel so loved because of you.
once again, thank you so much!
i think i'll finish it before next week since i'm afraid i wouldn't have time due to college stuff
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