Wooyoung’s POV

It was the day.

Everything had gone smoothly up til now; the in-laws were getting along nicely, complicated ribbons and strings of flowers hung everywhere, we had finally forced Jaebum into a suit, and all the guests had arrived. Now all there was left was for them to say “I do”, for Nickhun to smooch Hanul, for everyone to starts joyfully sobbing, and then for Hanul to smash the cake into Nickhun’s face. And then we could dance. It was planned, of course, for me to do my special Single Ladies’ Dance first, followed by Jo Kwon’s wacky dance. Junsu was our DJ for the night.

We were being hushed now, so I took my seat with the rest of the 2pm and 2am members in the second row, right after the parents, and quieted down.

Then, Seulong started to play a complicated, but very sweet and serene version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

The doors at the end opened and the preacher, the groom Nichkhun, and the best man Jaebum, walked in.

Nichkhun looked better than ever; I’m not talking about the white suit he was wearing, but just… he looked so radiant, bright. Healthy. Happy.

Then, Taecyeon walked in, with the bridesmaids, BoA and to my surprise, Suyeon. Suyeon actually looked somewhat relaxed today, contrary to her usually stern face. In fact, I could venture to call her friendly. BoA was lovely, of course. She was a good-looking girl, that one.

Then the flower girl, Nichkhun’s young sister Yanin, entered with the ring bearer, who also happened to be Nichkhun’s other younger sister, Sherleen. Sherleen had kicked up a fuss when she realized she wasn’t the flower girl, so Nichkhun’s mother did her best to convince Sherleen that pants were better than dresses, and the ring was more important than flowers, anyhow. And once Nichkhun’s mother said that, well, Sherleen had to become the ring bearer. They carried themselves well now, Sheerleen had her hair slicked back like a guy. I hope that doesn’t have any lasting implications… Just kidding.

And then the music softly changed into a new tune: Ave Maria.

And I realized it was time for the bride to enter.

Everyone stood up, anxiously anticipating.

I caught a glimpse of Hanul’s mother in the front row… And I wondered how it must feel… entrusting the life of someone very precious to you to someone else.

…. My little sister.

And before I could think much else, the doors opened.

Hanul’s POV

“Big problem!”

I turned to see BoA fling herself into my room.

“What is it?”, Suyeon asked.

“The make-up artist can’t make it. Her sister is in labor!”

“Oh my god, is her sister okay?”, I asked.

“Sure she is. But what about you?! What about your make-up?”, BoA asked, biting her lip.

Suyeon suddenly stood up, “I know! Give me ten minutes!”

She whipped out her phone.

“Taecyeon oppa, pick me up! It’s an emergency and I don’t have a ride!”

She sprinted out the door.

BoA and I shared looks of amazing.

“Taecyeon… oppa?”

I stared at myself in the mirror.

“It’s not fabulous… but…”

I turned my head sideways.

“Is this really me?”

“I’m sorry it’s not perfect…”

“No, it’s… amazing. It doesn’t… It feels surreal.” I laughed. “What do you think, Suyeon? BoA?”

“You look wonderful!”, BoA grinned.

Suyeon turned to my makeup artist.

“Nice. You always were good at this.”

My makeup artists embraced Suyeon.

“I’m glad you’re satisfied. But is the bride?”

“Yes. I rarely say this about myself… but I look great today!”

I turned back to the mirror.

Suddenly I felt like crying. It was all… so…

“Don’t! You’ll ruin your make-up!”

I felt hands lift my head up, gently.

“It’s waterproof, but still!”

I grinned at my makeup artist through my tears.

“Thanks”, I told her.

“Thanks, Hyuna.”

The doors opened.

“Dad, don’t let me fall.”

My father gripped my arm tighter.

We stepped together .

Everyone rose to greet us.

At first, I was just nervous. Shaking from head to toe.

But as I walked past the people dearest to my heart, beaming, crying, and such, I started to enjoy myself more.

It was like watching a timeline of my life.

There was my best friend from third grade that I had managed to track down.

There was my crush from first grade, grinning at me with his arms wrapped around his child.

There was my music teacher during my trainee years at SM.

There was, in fact, the SM representative, who had come on behalf of the SM President, who had “unfortunately been predisposed” and declined my invitation.

There was the JYP President, clapping enthusiastically.

There was the YG President, there were tears in his eyes, but as our eyes met, he grinned broadly.

There was James, with Alexandra. They both smiled warmly at me, and I genuinely smiled back.

There was the entire Big Bang group. T.O.P. awkwardly raised his hand to wave at me, before GDragon slapped it down. Seungri, Taeyang, and Daesung all saluted.

2am all linked their arms and bowed when I passed by them.

And then there was the entire 2pm group, the whole lot of them.

Junsu wolf-whistled, I saw Wooyoung and Junho slap him in the back of the head.

Then, my dearest mother, who had tears flowing already. She winked at me.

Then, Suyeon, my always reliable and hard-working friend.

BoA, my best friend, the irreplaceable one.

Taecyeon, my soul mate, the one who probably knew me better than I knew myself.

Jaebum, my brother. My dear, obnoxious, loud, handsome brother.

And then…

My breath caught.

The one I wanted to see the most, when I was happy or sad or angry. The person always, always on my mind, and in my heart forever.

Throughout the vows, I could barely keep my eyes off him.

But suddenly, after the “I dos”, when the “you may kiss the bride” came. I suddenly had to look down. I couldn’t…

Gentle hands reached under my chin. Electricity was running through my veins.

Warm brown eyes looked into my own.

They were getting nearer…

I almost backed away; I shifted slightly away.

He leaned in to kiss me, gently.

His lips touched mine, and there was the initial shock.

I could taste the same electricity running through him.

A second passed where we stood like that, awkwardly.

 And then it was so easy, so natural, for me to close my eyes and kiss him back.

When the kiss ended, I barely registered everyone screaming, cheering, sobbing.

I just stared at him for a moment, so satisfied with the moment.

But then we turned to acknowledge the crowd.

2pm was wildly jumping everywhere, cheering their heads off. My mother and father were hugging Nichkhun’s family, laughing and crying at the same time.

We cut the cake- there was probably a great photo of Nickhun gently feeding me cake- and me smashing cake into his face in response.

Big Bang approached Nichkhun at one point, grinning.

“Must be nice to be married, huh?”, GDragon said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Took him long enough”, Chansung said, also approaching us. 

“Hard to get the girl?”, Taeyang asked, laughing.
“Even after we were engaged, she made me wait for years”, Nichkhun said cheekily.

I was about to respond, when there came a cry- clearly Wooyoung and Jo Kwon- that was, “DANCEEEEEEEEEE TIMEEEE!”

And it was: Single Ladies.

Nichkhun, Big Band, and the rest of 2pm and 2 am, and I watched in amusement as Wooyoung, looking dashing in his suit, took control of the dance floor.

I saw my mother laugh heartily, thoroughly appreciating the many immature and joking winks Wooyoung directed at her. In a weird way, all of 2pm had become the “sons” of my parents. We were all one huge family now.

And then Jo Kwon, oh dear lord….

I think the preacher gasped indigantly.

And the Nickhun’s father and I and my mother and Nichkhun took the dance floor.

It was a simple dance, just a step to step. It was deliberately simple, so that everyone would join in.

And they did.

 Taecyeon and Suyeon, Junho and Junsu, and T.O.P. and BoA. Joined first. 

It carried on deep into the night; Love, laughter, and cheer.

“Are you ready?”, Junho asked me.

“Yes.”

“They’re going to call you in a few seconds”, Wooyoung told me.

“I’m more nervous than the first time!” I laughed.

“Of course, you didn’t want it this much the first time”, Taecyeon told me.

He gripped my hand. “Good luck.”

2B3 just exited. Their debut had been a week ago, and they were extremely popular.

2pm and Big Bang were also doing well; Both were neck-to-neck for the Music Awards and topped the charts with their new singles.

Now, there was just me.

The JYP President clasped my shoulder, and then my name was called.

I hesitantly stepped onto the rising platform.

“Three, two, one, Cue!”

I was rising up, up, up into the darkness.

The platform came to a stop and there was one moment.

And then the stage lights went on.

The first song, my dance intro, Be Without You by Mary J Blige came on.

And then I began to dance.

There was silence from the crowd as I danced.

But gradually, they began to cheer and wave, louder and louder, until I was facing a thunderous wave of energy, I heard my stage name, PARK HANUL! PARK HANUL! PARK HANUL!” and I saw the most amazing thing ever.

A stadiumful of people waving at me, for me. 
I made sure my headphone were in place before I began my first song.

The stadium clapped along, pausing to listen to my voice every so often.

I could feel the beat pulsing with my feet, I could feel my body move naturally. I could feel the enthusiasm from the waves, the pure passion and energy.
It was simple: I would give them all I had, and they would give me all they had.

The exchange went on the whole concert, and ended with an amazing roar.

I stood for a moment, simply living in that moment.

This moment.

So many moments… I thought… that defines a person.

I had taken a long road, that was for sure.

But ultimately, I was here, now.

I was back.

Hanul was back.

The Sky Will Always Come Back.

~The End~