F   I   N   A   L

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It was a clear summer day in Seoul, with the sun shining bright and  almost no clouds to be seen. A flower garden of a bungalow was set up with chairs, an aisle in the middle waiting for the bride to walk down. At the altar, the priest could seen going over last minute things as people began to fill the seats one by one. Off to distance, a house was filled with people, adding any last minute touches as they were getting ready. In a certain room, the bride could be seen, the make up artist adding blush on her face, with another girl in the room with them.

 

"Are you sure you don't wanna wear heels? I have a pair your size," the bride asked for perhaps the 25th time.

 

"Yes, soon to be Mrs. Lee Jihye. I am perfectly okay with my sneakers," she flashed a cheeky smile at her older sister. The bride could only shake her head at her younger sister as she hoped nothing would go wrong on her wedding day.

 

Jinyoung, however, went back to chewing her gum and playing Panda Pop! on her phone as if it were a normal day. Her hair was in a braid with a white flower crown on top of her brunette hair. She was dressed in a pink backless dress, her feet clad in a pair of black converse with a pair of heels thrown to side oh so carelessly. She heard the click-clack of her mother's heels down the hall and quickly stood up. She spit her gum out, took off her sneakers and grabbed one of the heels, hitting it against the wall to break it's heel just moments before her mother walked in.

 

"My heel broke," Jiyoung smiled her the older woman. "Looks like I have to wear my sneakers. Sorry Umma and Unnie," she said as she slipped into her shoes yet again. Her mother could only shake her head at her youngest daughter and walked to her other daughter.

 

"You look so beautiful, Jihye," she smiled, looking into the mirror.

 

"Obviously, whose sister is she?" Jiyoung answered, squeezing between her mother and older sister, a smile still visible on her face. Being the youngest of 6 siblings, Jinyoung always felt the need to add her own little comment at every statement.

 

"Aigoo, my two daughters," she heard her father say in the background. She turned around to see her father in his suit with his handkerchief tucked away in his jacket pocket. She sensed that her sister-bride should have a moment alone with their parents and quietly left the room, making her way down to meet her other older siblings before it was time to walk down the aisle.

 

Meanwhile, in a different room of the same house, the aura was slightly different.

 

"Hey, has anyone seen my tie?" a tall man, Minho, asked.

 

"I don't remember telling the waiters to save the vodka until late into the reception," a slightly shorter brunette, Jonghyun, asked.

 

"What if Jihye decides I'm not good enough for her, and doesn't want to marry me?" the nervous groom, Lee Taemin, asks.

 

"Don't worry, Hyung," the best man, Kim Jongin, reassured him. "Jihye Noona loves you a lot to even have agreed to marry you in the first place. She wouldn't turn back now,"

 

"Yah, you're not helping him at all! You're making him more nervous!" another groomsman, Kibum, answered.

 

"Taemin, don't listen to Jongin. Jihye is going to look beautiful when she walks down the aisle for you.  Don't worry about a thing," Onew, the eldest of them, answered. As the four men tried to reassure and calm the nervous groom, Jongin made his way downstairs to find the bridesmaid he was to walk down the aisle with. He looked outside to the seats almost filled as they waited for the ceremony to start. He then made his way to the front of the line of bridesmaids. Since he was the best man, he was going to be walking with the maid of honor, the bride's youngest sister, Jinyoung.

 

As he was studying her, he immediately noticed she was dressed differently than the other bridesmaids. While the other girls were dressed in high-low pink dresses with heels,a white bouquet of flowers in their hands, their hair in an elegant bun, she was dressed in a short pink backless dress with a white flower crown on top of her long braid, with her feet clad in beat-up black converse. He decided that he liked that she stood out from the other bridesmaids and walked towards her.

 

"Hi, my name is Kim - "

 

"Shut up," the girl bluntly answered. "I don't care and we're walking down any minute now," she finally turned towards him, her hazel eyes meeting his pair of chocolate ones. Caught speechless, Jongin didn't even realize when the girl next to him had interlocked their arms and made their way down the aisle towards the nervous yet smiling groom.

 

After all the other bridesmaids had made their way to their places next to the altar, it was time for the bride to walk down the aisle. Jinyoung's eyes brightened as she saw her older sister walk down the aisle, each parent on either side of her. Every pair of eyes were on the bride.

 

Well, every pair but one.

 

Jongin's eyes haven't left Jinyoung since he took his place next to Taemin and he saw how her smile got bigger when her sister entered the room. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the sight of that, getting the attention of Minho next to him.

 

"Her name is Park Jinyoung. She's the youngest child and the odd one out," he whispered to Jongin. "All 6 of her brothers and sisters are doctors or lawyers, but she's a fashion designer," he continued.

 

The bride made her way to the altar next to her groom and Jinyoung eye's followed when she finally realized that a certain pair of eyes were staring at her. She looked at Jongin and stared back at him, a smirk playing at her lips. Jongin chuckled and mirrored the smirk, continuing to stare at the girl.

 

When Jinyoung realized that he wouldn't stopped, she mouthed, "Shut up," and looked back at her sister as the couple were ending their vows. The ceremony ended minutes later after the bride and groom had shared a kiss. Everyone made their way into a reception hall not far from the ceremony space, where the bride and groom had cut their cake after the speeches had been made. After the first dance, other people made their way to the dance floor, but Jinyoung made her way out back into the garden with a bottle of beer. The sky was now a mix of orange, pink, and purple as the sun was setting. Jiyoung brought the bottle to her lips as she took a sip, sighing as she was content in the peace and quietness of the garden.

 

A male figure soon joined her minutes later, with his own beer bottle in hand, blazer in another. He sat down a few feet away from Jinyoung, loosening his tie as he took a sip from his bottle.

 

Jinyoung turned her head in the other direction lazily, looking at the face of the boy she walks down the aisle with. "Mr. Best Man," she said.

 

"Ms. Park Jinyoung," Jongin answered, a smile playing on his lips. "I'm Kim Jongin. I didn't - "

 

"Shut up," she had once again cut him off with the same phrase as earlier, but this time Jongin just laughed it off.

 

"Why aren't you inside dancing? It's your sister's wedding and you're the maid of honor," he asked.

 

"I have 4 older brothers and 2 older sisters. I've been a bridesmaid or maid of honor enough times and I've been to enough receptions. I don't like the noise as much. A bottle of beer with some peace and quiet, I'm okay with that," she finally answered after a long pause.

 

The two pair sat in the dark, their only source of light were the stars and lights from the water fountain 20 ft. away from them. Their small talk had made its way to being a long and deep conversation filled with laughter and Jinyoung's occasional "Shut up, Jongin," as if they had known each other their entire lives.

 

Their talks soon went quiet as they enjoyed the company of each other, the stars being their sole witness as they fell in love with each other under the moon.

 

It was around 11:30 PM and the two were lying down on the grass in a comfortable silence as they looked at the stars. "I need another beer," Jinyoung spoke up. "Come on Jongin,"

 

"I'm too tired - " he started.

 

"Shut up," she cut him off, a smile clearly visible as the moon shined on her face. Jongin stood up, brushing off his clothes and Jinyoung did the same. Hands interlocked, they made their way back into the reception hall to see everyone either on the dance floor or talking to someone else.

 

They had made their way to a table and Jinyoung sat down, putting her feet up on another chair as she took a sip from her new bottle of beer. Jongin sat across from her admiring her. She had taken apart the braid, her naturally wavy hair cascading down her shoulders with the white flower crown still intact on her head. Her black converse were still present as she was playing a game on her phone.

 

Jongin continued to admire the girl before he was dragged onto the dance floor by one of the bride's friends. Jongin looked back at Jiyoung still occupied with her phone and figured he would be back in five minutes. He smiled at the girl who had dragged him onto the dance floor and slow danced with her. As the song was changed into a more upbeat one, he felt himself once again being dragged.

 

In front him was the girl in a backless dress and some beat up sneaks and Jongin smiled to himself. She finally turned around, her dress spinning with her.

 

"Don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me," she said.

 

"You're holding back," Jongin smiled, fixing the flower crown on top of her head. Jiyoung chuckled, a smile never leaving her lips.

 

"Jongin," she began, "shut up and dance with me,"