“Umma, are you almost ready?”

I jumped as Hyuk’s voice suddenly flooded my bedroom. He had his head poked into the doorway and his brown locks couldn’t hide his excited eyes and ridiculously goofy grin. The boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet. I just looked at him, unable to answer as my mouth was for some reason sealed shut. Nerves, maybe? He seemed to notice my struggle and stepped gingerly all the way into the room.

“Hyukkie-ah, you tell me… I don’t know if I am ready for this…” he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Yah! Don’t mock me!

“Hakyeon-umma, that’s insane. You and Wonshik-appa have been ready for this for years and now all of a sudden you’re getting cold feet?” I held my head down, stubbornly shoving the intrusive black bangs of my hair out of my vision.

Hyuk placed both his hands on my arms and turned me around so my back was to him, “Hakyeon-hyung, look up now please~” Reluctantly, I forced my head to do such, and though this is the same image I’ve been staring at for a good twenty minutes, the jump of nerves couldn’t be stopped.

I made eye-contact with myself in the standing mirror and bit my lip, subconsciously off some of my flavored lip balm. My eyes were perfectly lined and my complexion completely flawless. There wasn’t a single visible blemish to be found on my skin. My hair was trimmed neatly and styled chicly, but aside from my face, and here’s that classic Cha Hakyeon vanity coming back, the rest of me looked pretty damned perfect, too.

The pristine white tuxedo gleamed so brightly I was shocked I hadn’t been blinded by its reflection from the mirror. The red carnation in my pocket was fully opened and smelling divine as it provided a gorgeous contrast to the rest of the attire. Well, save for my dress shoes which had an intricately swirling pattern of streaks of white and red. I loved the color red; it was reminiscent of the color I constantly adorned when I first met Wonshik.

My Wonshik.

My fiancé Wonshik.

I shuddered as a sigh escaped my lips and the memory of his proposal flooded back to me. I chuckled once, once a cheesy loon, always a cheesy loon.

~flashback~

“Yah, yeobo! Slow down!” I laughed wholeheartedly as I completely ignored my boyfriend. It was his idea to go hiking in the first place, how was he less fit for it than I was? I looked behind me down the rocky, grassy slope for a split second to see the man clawing at a couple rocks on all fours with the unnecessarily large pack on his back. No wonder he was so slow; he’d equated himself with a turtle. Rolling my eyes at his adorable incompetence, I back-tracked to stand over him with a hand held out to help him up.

He looked at me and frowned, but not in sadness, more like he was slightly embarrassed that I had to help him out of the predicament he’d put himself in. He took my hand and stood up shrugging the luggage off himself in the process.

“I think we can leave the stuff here for the rest of the way. There’s no one else out here and the top’s not too far,” I suggested, but my lover seemed apprehensive.

“But what if someone takes it?”

“Aish, really, who would steal a thirty kilogram bag full of nothing but granola and flashlights?”

“I dunno, bears?” I openly laughed again at the improbable statement and he flushed. “Whatever, we’re not leaving it here.” He hitched the bag up again anyway and trudged on ahead of me through the leafy branches. Small slivers of sunlight sneaked through every now and again to illuminate Wonshik’s face at all the prefect angles. He seemed to be glowing, his beautiful eyes perfectly complimented by the golden light adorning his face. Everything about him looked as amazing as it was. Quickly shaking myself from my awe, I climbed the next few rocks and caught up to him. He grabbed my hand then and we helped each other along for the rest of the hike in a comfortable silence.

Four years, I thought as some birds soared overhead, cawing out their earthly melodies, Wonshik and I had been officially together for the entirety of forty-eight months, and who cares how many days. They’d all run together anyway into one long, seemingly endless strip of life and love. Every day consisted of reassuring embraces, petty arguments that always blew over within a few hours or so, homemade meals to share, stories of our experiences, and even our outlandish dreams. I’d grown so attached to the familiarity that was my forever-friend and the security that was constant; we were rarely without each other. We’d both even received scolding from Hyuk and his spouse Hongbin that it’s a miracle we hadn’t suffocated each other yet. I just fired back the same to them and the four of us laughed it off, as per usual.

The spark never faded, thankfully, only grew into the roaring flame it is still today.

I was yanked from my thoughts when I bumped harshly into Wonshik’s pack. “Woah!” I yelped, and he quickly caught me with a hand around my waist to keep me from colliding with the soil and stones, “Ah,” I patted his chest twice in thanks as I lay supported by his arm underneath me, “Thanks, boo.” I loved how his eyes crinkled when he laughed.

“Not a problem, hon. And hey, look,” he gestured with the arm that wasn’t holding me to the opening between the throngs of trees, “We made it.”

Slowly, I untangled myself from his grasp and made my way over to where the sun shone on the bright green grass of the little cliff clearing in front of me. A chipmunk skittered across my path and I almost stumbled trying to avoid stepping on it. Once the little rodent was out of the way, I fully immersed myself in the warm summer light and spun around with my arms out to my sides. Geez, was the trek up here ever worth it.

“That makes twice,” I heard Wonshik comment from a couple meters away. I stopped twirling and opened my eyes I hadn’t realized I’d closed.

“Twice what?” He smiled with one side of his mouth and released a single laugh. I stayed planted in my place as he walked over to me, removing his stupidly large bag once again and looping his arms around my back and lean his head against mine. He inhaled deeply like a creep and closed his eyes. I blew out a quick puff of air into his face to mess with him, and he jumped back a bit in surprise. I giggled at my success, but still remained securely in his arms.

“That was the second time I’ve seen you twirling around under the sky, except this time, there’s nothing but joy in it,” ah, I remember. That was the very first time we met, when Hyemi had kicked me out during a rainstorm and I was literally in the midst of throwing my sanity away. Luckily, this man right here saved me from ruining myself. And just when I thought I couldn’t be any more grateful.

“Hmmm,” I hummed thoughtfully and leaned up quickly to press a kiss to his nose. His eyebrows quirked and I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his shoulder, despite the relentless heat of the summer sun beaming down on us, “Wonshik, I think I love you too damned much,” I mumbled into his shirt.

“Just promise me you won’t ever stop…” I looked up again and lifted my hand to trace his jawline. His ridiculously beautiful eyes met mine again and my heart palpitated.

“Well, I don’t think I need to, but if it’ll make you happy, then,” I lightly grasped his chin bringing his face down to mine where our lips met in a sweet kiss. It was closed-mouthed, yet passionate all the same. There was no need to overdo the obvious. He broke first and ran nimble fingers through my hair.

“Hakyeon, I need you to promise me, alright?” I raised my brows. Hadn’t I just done that? Nevertheless, I opened my mouth to speak, but was quickly shut down by my boyfriend’s finger to my lips. Wordlessly, he walked over to his pack and pulled out something I couldn’t quite see since he immediately shoved it into his pocket. What’s he doing? I internally questioned, but my answer quickly came as the next thing I saw was Wonshik in front of me. On bended knee.

Oh.

Oh.

Of course I knew what this was, but I wasn’t about to spoil it for either of us by shouting out ‘yes!’ before he could even open the box. I just stood there, eyes considerably widened as I watched Wonshik gather his words. I latched my hands together to hide how visibly I was shaking, but I couldn’t discern whether it was from anticipation or nervousness. Going with both.

“Hakyeon, love, I know this isn’t any surprise to you,” he lifted his head to affix his gaze on mine, “After all, I told you when I asked you to be my boyfriend that I wanted to be the one to put a ring here someday,” Wonshik brought one of his hands up to clasp mine. He detached my hands from each other so he could hold the four fingers of my left hand in his own. I felt like a princess in one of those Disney movies, “And baby, that day’s here.” The small box he pulled from his pants pocket revealed a silver ring with a twisted design encasing a stunning garnet gemstone in its center.

“Cha Hakyeon, I could go on and on about how you’re more brilliant than the sun shining down on us now, more beautiful that the clear blue skies and sweeter than the sounds of the forest we just spent the morning together making our way through. I could go on for an eternity about how insanely lucky I am to have found you that night and how thankful I am that I never let you go. You made my dull life vibrant and have continued to do just that since our first conversation up until this very second. I don’t think I’ll ever be fully able to express how much I adore you, Hakyeon, but this will have to do,” he chuckled slightly, and I could hear the nervousness beneath it. I squeezed his hand to reassure him and to keep myself grounded. This was so surreal that I felt I could float away from sheer joy at any moment now. He took a deep breath before continuing.

“Before I give you this, I need you to promise me, love. Promise me that you’ll never change, that you’ll stay here with me. Promise me that the connection between us will never fade but instead grow stronger, and that you’ll remember that no matter what, for the rest of forever, I love you with everything I am.”

The smile on my face was being constantly rained over by salty, warm water, and I couldn’t even breathe through my nose anymore. I’d become a crying mess and I hadn’t even realized when. There was only one thing I realized, and it was the only thing that mattered:

This man is the rest of my life.

And I couldn’t be happier.

“Wonshik, of course I do,” I somehow managed to choke out. After that, the elated sobs took over and I could only feel. Feel the cool metal slip over my finger, feel the warm embrace of my beloved, and feel my own heart swelling in its struggle of fitting inside it how much love I held for this man.

~flashback end~

Sanghyuk shook my shoulders lightly, and I shook my head. Ah, that’s right.

Today’s my wedding day.

I gently smiled at my friend and turned around to give him a hug in thanks. He smiled back and twisted me back and forth as he squeezed the nervousness right out of me, “Hyung, you should hurry. He’s waiting, you know.” Right!

“Oh, okay, so what’s left?” I pulled away and began pacing around my room, wondering what could have been left out of my being ready. Makeup? Check. Tux? Check. Confidence? Check. Hmm. What was it, there’s definitely something…

“Here, looking for this?” I spun around to see Hyuk holding up a bouquet of red roses, baby’s breath and leatherleaf. Perfectly simplistic.

“Thanks, Hyukkie.”

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After just a few more minutes of my procrastinating, Sanghyuk had finally forced me to the back door of my house. Yeah, that’s right; Wonshik and I had gone for a backyard wedding. My father was standing by the door waiting for me (well I guess everyone was at this point). He brought out that fatherly smile of his, crow’s feet, smile lines and all and held out an arm for me to loop my own through.

“You look striking, Hakyeon-ah. Congratulations,” I smiled and gave my dad a quick side-hug in appreciation. From the small window in the door in front of me, I could see Hyuk take his place next to the groomsmen, across from where the bridesmaids would be (do I count as a bride?). Hyemi stood in complimentary colors to my outfit holding her own, smaller, bouquet. I panned the small setup, from my maid of honor, to the arch of vines, violets, and peonies over the heads of the priest and finally, I traced my eyes down to the man waiting for me at the altar. Wonshik stood proudly and handsomely with his short hair parted neatly and a black tux on to compliment my white one. His boutonniere was blue. The small audience consisted of a few coworkers, Hyuk as Wonshik’s best man, obviously, and both of our parents along with one of Wonshik’s aunts. Oh, and a couple very important others. I smiled to myself as I saw little black shoes kicking as the child’s short legs wouldn’t let his feet touch the ground from his chair.

“Dad, I think I’m ready to go on now,” my heart was in my throat, I thought I might vomit. However, on the verge of fainting or not, I forced myself to follow my father’s lead and stepped out onto the white carpet rolled out for me, leading up to the altar. Someone pressed play and the wedding march sounded from speakers placed throughout the yard. Everyone stood and Wonshik was a grinning fool up there.

It took everything in me to refrain from running to him.

I gulped and paced my steps to match the beat of the song, and miraculously, I arrived without tripping over air to stand face-to-face with my fiancé. Well, he won’t be that for much longer, I thought to myself. I handed my bouquet to Hyemi who whispered a quiet, “Hwaiting” before retreating. I my lips and took Wonshik’s hands, ready to be wed. The guests sat and the priest opened his mouth, bible clutched tightly in-hand.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite Kim Wonshik and Cha Hakyeon in holy matrimony,” and so it began. I was completely lost in the features of the man in front of me, whatever the priest was saying floated in one ear and right out the other. At least until he announced it was time for out vows. Wonshik opted to go first.

“Hakyeonnie,” the guests tittered at the endearment, “I am beyond the luckiest man on Earth to be able to stand here holding you with me now. I swear to the skies and back that I’ll treasure this marriage more than anything I ever have before, and I’ll treat you and care for you as the deserving being you are. Ever since that first day I found you, I knew you were something worth holding onto, and I can’t be any gladder I decided to do just that,” Somewhere in the crowd, I heard a little kid make fake gaging noises and laughed inwardly, “You brought light into my life and you haven’t stopped glowing yet. I love you, Hakyeon, and I will continue to love you, in sickness and in health, till death do we part and all that jazz,” he chuckled lightheartedly and I felt my lips stretch to reveal a grin of my own. Oh… well, I guess it’s my turn now…

Clearing my throat, I clutched Wonshik’s hands tighter before letting out a breath, “My Wonshik… I don’t even know where to start about you,” this is what I get for not rehearsing properly. “When I first met you, I took you as the kind-hearted person you are, but also as what I never was able to see myself being; you are extremely successful in your life, Wonshik, and at first, this discouraged me greatly. But you assured me that I was worth something and made me feel needed, like I belonged somewhere. You held me through the tears and the pain, and never got discouraged once, never did you loosen your grip and Wonshik, thinking about it makes me love you even more, if that’s possible. You’re my friend, you’re my love, you’re my everything and all and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you as your spouse. I promised you before and I’ll promise you again: I will always love and care for you, and I will always remember how much you love me and never doubt it. I promise to be your perfect soulmate and be with you every step of the way. Forever, Wonshik, and don’t you forget it,” I beamed up at him and my heart softened when I saw the tears rolling steadily down his cheeks. Could he be any more precious?

“That was beautiful, Hakyeon,” the priest complimented me as I distractedly wiped a few of Wonshik’s tears away with my fingers. “Now, I must ask at this time if there are any guests present who object to this pairing.” No one said a word, which wouldn’t have mattered anyway if they had. I’m not letting anyone or anything keep Wonshik away from me.

Smiling, the priest called for the rings, and here comes my favorite part. The little boy came trotting down the aisle, velvety pillow with shiny bands on top in his tiny little hands. He smiled with all the baby teeth he had and confidently stepped up with his messy black hair and all, and unceremoniously the pillow upwards towards us, rings threatening to fall off.  “Here ya go, mommy!” he piped. Some of the other guest members cooed at my son’s pure adorableness.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I mussed his hair even more, “Thanks, Baek,” I whispered as the priest was still talking. He went to go stand off to the side next to Hyemi until the ceremony officially ended.

“Do you, Kim Wonshik, take Cha Hakyeon to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Wonshik’s eyes crinkled with the size of his smile.

“I most certainly do.” He slipped the band on my finger.

“And do you, Cha Hakyeon, take Kim Wonshik to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Yeah,” I sniffled a bit, “I do,” I mirrored his actions and secured the ring around his third finger, twisting it a little to make sure it was perfectly aligned. He chuckled softly. The priest practically squealed; I could almost feel the happiness radiating off him at his getting to say everyone’s favorite line.

“Then by the power vested in me, I hereby proclaim you Kim Wonshik and Kim Hakyeon. You may now kiss the bride!” I giggled and threw my arms around my husband’s shoulders without further ado. He responded by hugging me closer around my waist and our lips danced together. We were finally, really, one.

The guests whooped and cheered (and I could faintly hear Baekhyun making more ralphing sounds) as we parted and made our way back down the aisle. We were immediately crowded by family and friends and smothered in old-lady scented hugs, curtesy of my mother-in-law.  Congratulations were thrown to us from all directions and the warmth was pleasantly overwhelming.

“Oh, Hakyeon-ah, it’s so great to finally be able to call you an official part of the family!” I chuckled and scratched the back of my neck. Wonshik’s arm was securely fastened around my waist as his aunt stood in front of us gushing like everyone else. But it was quickly over with as she soon after voiced her real objective, “Now where’s that little ring bearer gone off to, eh?” Wonshik mockingly rolled his eyes in fake annoyance and pointed to our son’s general direction, and Aunt Min quickly scuttled off in search of four-year-old coddling.

“We can’t forget about the other one, hon,” Wonshik whispered to me. I poked his shoulder.

“Oh, please, as if I’d forget my own kid,” I pecked his cheek and broke free of his grasp, looking through the scattered mass of relatives for my little unicorn. Yixing had always been a shy one. “Xing, where did you go?” I called out over the heads of people trying to make their way over to their seating arrangements. Suddenly, I felt a strong clasp on my leg. I looked down to see two little arms encircling my thigh and a head of blondeness plastered into my side. I smiled and crouched down, a few stray strands from Yixing’s eyes.

“You look pretty today, mama,” he complimented me quietly and I couldn’t help but hug him and all his sweetness. He had even been the one to give up the choice of being ring bearer. Originally, Wonshik and I had planned for one son to carry one ring each to the altar, that way there would be no fighting. But Yixing had insisted he leave the privilege all to his baby brother, who had been considerably more adamant. Even still, I had come up for something else the sweetheart could do.

“Thanks, sweetie. Now, what do you say we find Daddy so we can cut the yummy cake you decorated?” His eyes lit up and he latched his tiny hand with mine, dragging me through the yard with all his six-year-old strength. As soon as Baekhyun spotted his brother, he hopped off Wonshik’s lap, who was seated at our table, and bounded up to the older granting him a tight hug.

“Xing Xing, did you see me up there? Was I good?!” the magnae suddenly looked worried, and he wouldn’t feel better until he’d gotten approval from his wiser hyung. At least, this is what I’ve gathered having spent three years with both of them (“Xing Xing, did I color this right?” “Xing-hyung, is this eat-able?”). The Chinese boy giggled and patted his brother’s shoulder reassuringly.

“You were perfect!” the two squealed with each other. My heart melted and I looked up to see Wonshik’s similar adoring expression as he watched our two kids. He caught me staring and smiled then, and I blushed and looked down. I don’t know why I was suddenly embarrassed; he is my husband now after all.

“C’mon, yeobo. It’s time to cut the cake,” he gently summoned me over. I took one more look around the busy yard.  I saw Sanghyuk and Hongbin over by the DJ as they looked onto my still-hyper kids from afar, and Hyuk had his head leaning on his spouse’s shoulder while the latter’s arm was around him. Both had wistful expressions on their faces. I looked over to see Hyemi talking animatedly with my parents as they haven’t for years, they seemed to be getting along just swimmingly, though. I panned some more and noticed Jaehwan (yes, we invited him, too) trying to get Taekwoon to loop their arms together while they drank from their own glasses. Taekwoon of course, was not being compliant, but this seemed to phase Jaehwan not a bit as he still gave the other a kiss on the cheek. This, it seems, was how to get the man to crack a shy smirk.

“Hey, what’s on your mind, Hakyeonnie?” I jumped slightly when Wonshik was suddenly standing by my side. He looked at me curiously and all I could do was smile at him. I closed my hand around his, looking at the garnet on my ring sparkle in the sunlight.

“Oh, nothing,” I said as barely a whisper.

I couldn’t have asked for a better life.

A/N: After however many months, here's that epilogue I promised! And you guys can use your imagination to come to how Hakyeon and Wonshik had kids, (mpreg, adoption, whatever tickles your fancy, haha!) Thanks bunches for all the support for this story, and I hope you liked this final part! Until next fic~~

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Peace!