Chapter 26

"Umma! What do you mean I have a wedding to attend?" Soyeon gasped and dramatically shook her mother's body. "And not to mention it's at a countryside!"

"I'm sorry Soyeon," Mrs Lee smiled apologetically at her daughter. "You were so busy that I thought it's better if I tell you once you were done with your exam." 

But Mrs Lee lost track of time and had totally forgotten to inform her daughter that she is to attend a wedding on Jung Kook's side of the family - in just a few hours time!

Soyeon stared down at the invitation card Mrs Jeon had personally dropped off at her house a week ago. It was a wedding invitation to one of Jung Kook's cousin, Somi's wedding.

Somi was one of the few of Jung Kook's relative that knew about Soyeon's marriage to Jung Kook. And Soyeon really liked Somi. They bonded as soon as they met. She was a very sweet and kind unnie and  Soyeon would forever be grateful to her for helping her go through with her own wedding.

No matter how she despised the idea of having to attend a wedding as the Jeons' young bride, Soyeon still owed it to Somi. She can't not be there right?


"Jung Kook's umma will come to fetch you later, so pack your bags. It will be a long trip." Mrs Lee ordered as she loosened her daughter's grip on her. "I heard that they prepared a beach resort for the guests."

Wooo, free holiday trip. Nice. It willl be a good getaway to release the post-stress from the crazy exam week- 

But it's with Jung Kook's family! It'll be awkward. Otteoke?!

"Daebak! It's perfect Soyeon!" Hyeseong exclaimed, her hands flew to cover her agape mouth. "Gosh, my baby is so beautiful." To top her amazing act, the drama queen pretended to wipe a lone tear at the corner of her eyes and sniffled back a non-existent mucous.

Haerin blinked her eyes a few times. She can't believe that the girl who just stepped out of the fitting room was the same Lee Soyeon that stepped inside it a few minutes ago. She walked in, in her cute casual jeans and white tee, looking all cute and pretty. But when she walked out, BAM!

She was beautiful with a capital B. And the dress that she wore hugged her figures at the perfect places that she looked undeniable hot yet pure. Double bam!

Soyeon did a little twirl in front of the mirror and a satisfied smile painted her face. The dress she was wearing was perfect. "This is it." She told her reflection.

She ran a hand over the sequins embroidered on her top and down towards the pastel colored skirt, gently straightening the layers of rough fabric down to the silky smooth satin beneath. Soyeon tugged onto the neck line and adjusted it even though the dress fits her perfectly that there was no need for adjustment.


 

,

Haerin gave her best friend a small clap before fishing out her cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans."Soyeon, smile~" Haerin sang as she took a picture of Soyeon.

Snap.

"Girls, thank you for accompanying me in the last minute." Soyeon said as the three girls wait for the cashier to wrap the dress they had chosen. She smiled gratefully at the siblings before handing the cashier the credit card her mother had given to her as an apology bribe.

In reply, normal friends would say 'It's okay. That's what friends are for.' 

But Hyeseong and Haerin aren't just her normal friends. They're one of Soyeon's best friends. And as her best friend, they would say-

"You owe us an ice-cream." 

DING DONG

"I'll get it!" Soyeon's father hollered as he walked across the hall to open the front door. "Good evening Mr Jeon, Mrs Jeon." He greeted his in-laws formally.

"Oohh, you're here!" Mrs Lee ran to greet the in-laws, not so formally. She ran to hug Mrs Jeon and gave her a kiss on each side of her cheeks. "I've missed you!"

Mrs Jeon hugged her back and they both squealed like a bunch of teenagers as if they had not seen each others in ages when in fact they had just met each other a week ago. "Is Soyeon ready? I'm sorry to have to steal your daughter away." Mrs Jeon jutted her lower lips as they both giggled and walked towards the living room, living the fathers speechless.

"No. It's her duty as Jung Kook's wife. I would insist her to go even if you did not ask." Mrs Lee replied, patting Mrs Jeon's arm reassuringly. 

Just then footsteps were heard, indicating another presence coming towards the hallway. "Omonim, Abeonim. Sorry to have kept you waiting." Soyeon politely bowed at Mr and Mrs Jeon with a small suitcase for a 3-day trip in hand and a studded backpack strapped behind her back.






Soyeon was surprised to find the back seats empty when she got into the black sedan. "Won't Jung Kook be joining us?" She asked, her brows knitted curiously. 

Mr and Mrs Jeon shared a knowing smile with each other. "He will. But he will come along later. He has some schedule to attend to." Mr Jeon answered as he stepped on the accelerator, embarking on their journey. "Don't worry. His manager will send him." He smiled at the worried-looking Soyeon through the rear-view mirror.

Soyeon let out a small huff. Could it be she was slightly disappointed? Perhaps because she was expecting Jung Kook to be there with her through this unfamiliar situation, and she had somehow longed to see his familiar face again. But he wasn't there, and Soyeon felt the slight insecurity that was never part of her.


Just then, the small compartment of the car resonates with the sound of a familiar voice. It was Jung Kook's. But the song and tune that came with it is unfamiliar. It wasn't one of BTS' because there was only Jung Kook's voice and no one other.

Soyeon leaned towards the front seat and squinted at the dashboard stereo. It wasn't tuning into any station though. "It's a playlist of Jung Kook's pre-debut singing." Mrs Jeon said, answering Soyeon's thought. "I compiled it and burnt it into a disc."

"Ahhh," Soyeon nodded in understanding. No wonder it sounded unfamiliar.

Soyeon settled into the broad back seat, closed her eyes, and listen to the music. It's nicer to listen to these tracks compared to his album tracks. There was less hip hop beats, but more of a jazz and soul feel towards it. 

Plus, you could listen to the passion and determination in his voice. A voice that of boy who was born to be a singer.

And that's when the thought came to her again. Just how did she ended up being a wife to this skillful, talented and not to mention handsome guy? And just how could this famous idol be more perfect than he already was with his cute charms and considerate heart?

A shy smile twitched on her lips as Soyeon immersed herself in Jung Kook's soulful voice.

Mr and Mrs Jeon thumped their first together in triumphed. To be honest, the Jungs wasn't that obsessed with their son. They hardly play the playlist in the car anymore if it weren't to observe how far Soyeon's relationship with their son had gone.


Mr and Mrs Jeon knew Jung Kook had obviously taken a liking on her. He could never stop talking about Soyeon whenever they were on the phone with him. At first, it was all about complaints towards Soyeon, but then, it gradually changed into compliments about how amazing his Soyeon was.  'Umma, Soyeon likes to do this.', 'Umma, Soyeon's great at this', 'Umma, you can't believe what else Soyeon could do!'. 

And it's a good news for the couple, really. Because believe it or not, the Jeons and Lees are their children's hardcore shippers the moment the two kids said 'I do'. 
 

It was a typical evening on a typical weekend. And Kim Jong In is on his bed doing what he typically does - lazing around. He had just finished reading a volume of a manga and after each end of any manga series, Jong In took his time to process the whole the story into his mind.

He was trying to get rid of the sudden loss and emptiness, a feeling that girls would feel when their favorite drama series just ended. Yes, he felt it too.
 

Jong In was tracing the plaster of the ceiling of his room with his eyes, letting his mind wander off to the final plot of the manga, when all of a sudden his smart phone rang notifying him of an incoming message.

Kim Haerin had sent him an image of Soyeon in a pastel pink dress she had took that afternoon.


From: Kim Haerin
[Image]
Look at how pretty your Soyeon looks <3
 

Pretty does not even come close to how Soyeon looks to Jong In at the moment. She was downright beautiful and drop dead gorgeous in that beautiful dress - that to Jong In doesn't even compare to the person wearing it.


Bzzt bzzt

Another message came in. Jong In flinched when he read the next message, his cheeks visibly reddened.


From: Kim Haerin
When are you going to tell her that you love her? The moment she belonged to someone else?


Dammit. How did she know what was on his mind?

He had been deliberating on whether to tell Soyeon now or wait till he could proudly claimed her as his the moment he stood on a grand stage as a recognized dancer.

Jong In would prefer the former than the latter because he was sure that if he had to contain his feelings for any longer he would combust from a love so deep and a longing so painful. But at the same time, he felt discouraged when he noticed how Soyeon didn't have much of a reaction with him than with-


From: Kim Haerin
Are you gonna let Jeon Jung Jung Kook snatch her away?


-Yes. Jeon Jung Kook.

Oh how Jong In hated it when Soyeon smiles when she talks about Jung Kook - don't get him wrong, Jong In loves it when Soyeon smiles. But just, not when the reason behind the smile is because of a guy that is not him.

'Take the risk. It might've work.' Jong In remembered Soyeon's exact words to him. Her words of courage to pursue the girl of his dream.


Her.


Without even replying to any one of Haerin's text messages, Jong In sped off from his house, not bothering to put on his jacket as he ran to Soyeon's house, a 10 minute walking distance from his own home.






Even for an athlete like Jong In, running that distance in under 5 minutes was exhausting. Jong In stopped just by the front gate of the Lee residence, trying to catch his breath. He bend down and clutched on his knees tightly as his heart rate slowed down.

After Jong In had regained his composure, he straightened up to fix his hair ais heart began to race again - from being nervous. "Oh God I'm finally doing this." he told himself, shivering slightly as the cold spring air brushes against him.



DING DONG


Mr Lee answered the door.

"Good evening Mr Lee." Jong In smiled at Soyeon's father as he tried to keep calm and not make it obvious that he was about to confess his love for his daughter. "Is Soyeon home?"

"I'm sorry, but no she's not at home." Mr Lee answered. "She just went to a wedding with Jung Kook and his family." He continued, forgetting that Kim Jong In was one of the many that didn't know about his daughter's relationship with that idol. "She'll be back on Monday though."


Did he hear the old man right? Soyeon went to a wedding with Jung Kook's family? For three days? But why? What's their relationship actually? Friends? Family friends? 

Bit by bit, he felt the heaviness in his heart again. He's not sure why he felt so, but he felt as though he was too late. As though she had walked away from him. Leaving him behind.


 

"Hyung, how far is it?" Jung kook asked his manager for the nth time since they had embarked on their journey a couple of hours ago, already late into the night. He took a short nap as soon as he got into the car after that day's hectic schedule but after the power nap, he could not stop bugging the poor manager.
 
Manager Yoo rolled his eyes at the maknae. He may look charismatic and cool on stage, but Jung Kook is still a kid! And right now, he is behaving like a 5-year-old kid excited for his first vacation trip. "Can you please stop moving around. I'm having a headache."

And Jung Kook stopped. He knew better than to let the driver drive with a headache. It's not like he could take over and drive in his place. Oh, he wished he could.

Jung Kook remain silent for the next 30 minutes of the ride until he finally couldn't take it any longer. "Hyung, how far are we?" Jung Kook asked as he scanned outside the tinted window. They had just got off the expressway and was now driving towards a remote area.

This time round, the manager replied without irritation in his tone. "Not far. I can see the resort from here." He pointed towards the beach resort just 500 meters away. "Ugghh, I envy you. It looks nice here." 


It really was. Even in the dark they could tell how beautiful the place is. There were a lot of trees of different kinds and the sea - the sea was just breathtaking.


"Then why don't your rest here for a night before heading back to Seoul? It's already late." Jung Kook offered as he unstrapped his seat belt. "But you have to pay for your own room though."

"It's okay. I need to head back anyway. Rap Monster has an early schedule tomorrow." The manager sighed tiredly. And Jung kook felt sorry for giving the poor manager a hard time the entire trip.







"What?!" Jung Kook rounded his tired eyes at the receptionist by the front desk of the hotel lobby. The receptionist was bewildered and she looked around her uncomfortably to see if anyone had witnessed the slight commotion. But no one turned to look. Besides a couple of bellboy guarding by the entrance, the lobby was practically empty.

Of course it would be empty. It's almost midnight.

The receptionist turned back to the list she had just showed to Jung Kook. "It says here, the bride's family had assigned you and your wife to room 312." She pointed out Jung Kook's name beside Soyeon's on the list with the name of guests invited and the room they would be staying in.

Jung Kook gulped nervously. Share a room with Soyeon?

"Uhh, oh yeah." Jung kook tried to hide his anxiety as he smiled nervously at the receptionist and took the card key she handed him. "Thank you."







"309..310..311.." Jung Kook counted. "..312."


Inhales


Bip Bip Biiipp


Jung Kook unlocks the door and turn on the knob. The waft of cold air hits him as he stepped into the dark room. The room was quite except for the sound coming from the television which was left on with the volume low. 

Jung Kook took careful steps as he walked deeper into the room. The lights were off except for the bed lamp that was standing on the bedside table. The light illuminated from the crystal lamp casted a shadow on the petite figure sleeping on the bed, her body half-tucked into the duvet.

Jung heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad that Soyeon was sleeping, avoiding the awkward moment all together. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he would react if Soyeon was up.

How would she react?

Jung Kook could imagine her blushing as she does the jittery dance that  she does whenever they're alone together.


Jung Kook went closer to Soyeon and removed the laptop sitting on the queen-sized bed beside Soyeon. Jung Kook squinted his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the screen and read the fonts of the Microsoft Soyeon had apparently been writing on before she dozed off. And it appears that she was writing a report for the students council on their daily duties, attendance, disciplines, yada yada yada.

Why does Soyeon became a council member again? Why would anyone become a council member anyway?

 

After securing the laptop on a table and switching off the television set, Jung Kook turned back to the absolute silent room. He then walked towards the bed and tucked Soyeon in properly and brushed the strands of hair covering her sleeping face. "There." He whispered softly. "So I can see your beautiful face."


After a few good minutes of staring at his wife like a stalker, Jung Kook decided that what he was doing was creepy and disturbing. And so, he began to search for a place for him to sleep on. There was no sofa in the room, just an arm chair big enough for him to sit on. 


With his long legs, Jung Kook doesn't think it would be a good idea to sleep in a sitting position. So, should he sleep in the bath tub?




Leaving him with no choice, Jung Kook had to resort to the bed. The same bed he would share with-


Soyeon.


Gulps.