When Sheena gets to the hotel room, she finds Seiji standing on the balcony, staring out. Seiji pockets his phone when Sheena slides the glass door shut behind her and joins Seiji by the railing.

“Business call?”

“I have another interview lined up on Monday,” Seiji replies, shaking bangs out of his eyes. “I’m too old for this.”

“Ah, the ripe age of twenty-nine. I know it well.”

“My mother bought your album. The last one before you retired.” Seiji says after some thought, staring out at the skyline. “She told me to listen to it.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Seiji runs a hand through his bangs. “Why is it always so hard with you?”

“It’s my job to make your life difficult, remember?” Sheena replies almost instinctively. The surprising ease of the response causes her to meet Seiji’s eyes, gauging the man’s reaction. After a minute or so, Seiji hands her an envelope.

“Another invitation? Did you get engaged, too while no one was looking?” However, Sheena pauses in pulling out the card, looking up for confirmation. “You want me to attend your movie premiere?”

Seiji glances down at the invitation on Sheena’s hands. “My publicist thinks it’s a good idea. She wants more of my friends to attend.”

“Publicity. Right.” Sheena smiles wryly. “You know we haven’t spoken in 5 years.”

“We’re speaking now.”

“Yes, because Rismar is getting married.”

“There’s no need for animosity elsewhere, either.”

“Sure..” Sheena runs her hand along the edge of the envelope. “Is that why you ran away after spotting me when you saw me at a restaurant with Jesah?”

Seiji stiffens, “I was giving you space. In case you wanted to keep your distance.”

“No. You wanted to keep your distance. I wanted to keep being your friend.”

Seiji stares at her as if seeing Sheena for the first time. “Well, do you still want to be friends?”

Sheena swallows, “We were friends for more than a decade before you decided that I needed space.”

“Then come to my premiere,” Seiji replies with finality. “Please.”

“I’ll think about it. Can I go now?” When Seiji nods, Sheena heads towards the door, pausing only when her name is called. She has no reason to stop but Sheena turns around anyway.

“It was nice seeing you again.” Seiji says after some deliberation.

“You’re still so cheesy.” Sheena gives him a small smile and leaves before Seiji can reply. Sheena’s smile drops in the elevator, where she contemplates trashing the invitation.

 

 

On the day of the wedding, Sheena bumps into Gian at the venue entrance. Gian looks up from his watch and smiles with an easy confidence.

“We’re early! And you look gorgeous, by the way.”

Sheena glances at the clock. “Not that early. You look dashing in your suit, too.”

“I don’t spot a lot of familiar faces.” Gian nods towards the row of carefully arranged seats, white against the pale sunflower-colored walls.

“Maybe everyone else is late.” They both laughed at the thought of it. They discuss the security around the place, Sheena suddenly remembering the crowd of professional photographers and fans alike gathered outside of the building. She listens to Gian talk about the attractive wedding planner, stopping when a couple approaches them.

“Sarah, when do you plan on introducing me to your gorgeous male friend?” Sheena asks when Sarah approaches them while holding hands with her date.

“Please stop teasing him, Sheena. Guys, I want you to meet Eann. Eann, these are my friends, Gian and Sheena.” Eann extended his hand to Gian and Sheena watched as the two quickly got along with each other. She remembered the guy, of course. Eann was Sarah’s first love. They’d started dating when they were in college but eventually broke up. Seeing the two of them together now, Sheena realized she was glad that they’d found each other again.

Eann extended his hand to Sheena and she gladly took it. “It’s nice to see you again, Eann. You both look good.” Sarah blushed at Sheena’s comment. They chat a little about their work until Jobie appears around the corner.

“Trouble,” Jobie says in the same tone she always adopted when she was in a foul mood.

Eann had understood what it meant. After all, he had a little history about our group of friends way back in college.

“I’ll save your seat,” he says after giving Sarah a kiss before waving them off. Gian holds her hand tightly and pulled her out of the place with them.

They followed Jobie through the side hallway and into a large waiting room, where they find Rismar pacing around with an ed tux.

Sheena spots Jesah sitting on the nearby couch, arms resting on her knees. Nikka is making a call by the window. Seiji stands next to her, looking harassed but was surprised to see Gian’s hands on hers.

“What’s going on?” Gian asks.

“I know nothing about ties or how this western wedding is supposed to go,” Rismar replies instantly, his words slurred in haste.

“I know nothing about marriage. Why did I ever think I could handle this?” He takes a deep breath. “Gretchen, tell the guests I’ve called off the wedding.”

Gretchen leans against the wall, arms crossed. “No.”

Sheena was quick to pick-up what was going on. Wedding jitters. She let go of Gian’s hand and whispered him that she’ll just be by the window. Gian nods at her and Sheena took her place by the window and looked outside while still actively listening to their conversation. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Seiji was looking at her. She chose to ignore him.

Rismar shots them a pained look. “I can’t do this.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Honey interrupts.

“I can’t get married,” Rismar insists, trying to stand up but resuming his seat when Dawn glares at him. “I just met this girl.”

“You’ve been dating Francesca for years!” Erika pointed out with an exasperated undertone.

“But we got engaged so fast and suddenly she wants a dream wedding and a disco ball on the dance floor. I can’t take care of her. I couldn’t even take care of you guys.” Rismar peers up ignoring Gretchen’s comment of give yourself some credit. “I don’t know anything about marriage,” he repeats. “I’ve never been married before.”

Dawn laughs a little, now kneading carefully at Rismar’s shoulders. “Well, neither have we, but I’m sure you’ll make a great husband and have a blessed marriage.”

Honey continues with, “And you’ll move into a beautiful home and have adorable little kids who disrespect you like we do.”

“I’m sorry. I thought we were trying to talk him into getting married,” Nikka cuts in. “And besides, you were a great friend, Rismar. You were always there for us.”

Rismar looks around at Seiji, “I’ve always had help.”

“So offer us some words of wisdom now.” Honey says after a pause, draping her hands onto Seiji’s arms. “But choose your words carefully. The fate of Rismar’s wedding is in your hands.”

Seiji considers this for a moment and steps forward, setting one hand on Rismar’s shoulder. “You never actually needed my help. Just be yourself. You’ll know what to do when the time comes. And don’t freak out because nothing will truly go according to plan. Don’t overlook the fullness of life just because something is missing.”

Rismar gives him a weak smile. The only thing better than Seiji’s impromptu speech is the sudden arrival of Christine, who bursts into the door apologizing for being late. Her entrance leads to a whole chorus of, “Bataaaaa!” that leaves Rismar shaking in laughter.

 

 

Later at the reception, Sheena reflects on the practiced ease with which Seiji spoke. She loses her train of thought when Jobie begins speaking near the podium smiling as she recalls the first time she met Rismar.

Jobie looks pleased when Rismar makes a noise of discontent. The slideshow in the background is displaying a series of embarrassing photos of Rismar’s younger days with them while Honey claps loudly in the vicinity, her happiness bouncing off the walls. He was one of her few friends who didn’t enter showbiz. According to him, his presence wouldn’t be needed anymore in the limelight since we’re dominating it already. To a big circle of friends like ours, Rismar was our pillar. He was always like that.

Sheena thinks about how far they’ve come, from their freshmen days in college, to Rismar’s wedding right now. She thinks it’s just the start of their lives changing course again. She wonders whose wedding she’d attend next after this.

The speech ends in applause, and Gretchen has to pull Honey down from her standing ovation. Sheena is still conversing with Christine when a group of young men ambush their table, dragging Jesah towards the dance floor. Rismar’s brother-in-law is particularly pushy as he extracts Sheena from her seat. She laughs into his ear as the man twirls her around, the tulle on the bottom of her skirt fanning out into a pretty shape. Sheena grins when Gian appears in front of her, just as the band begins to play something jazzy.

They convince someone to take a group shot on multiple phones. Afterwards, half of the group turns around to start texting. The photos from Rismar’s wedding will no doubt emerge from multiple social media sites by the time Sheena gets access to a computer. She straightens up when Jesah appears next to her. In retrospect, Jesah was always better at appealing to the masses. She had proven it a lot of times in the past. In other words, Jesah was insanely gorgeous.

Jesah’s phone, however, gets snatched by Seiji. “I’ll take it,” he says, pointing the camera at Jesah and Sheena. Seiji pauses when Ma’am Crisleen appears, motioning for the phone and for Seiji to join the others. Sheena is scooting over when Christine jumps into the frame, squeezing between Sheena and Seiji.

“I was a part of this circle of friends, too,” Sarah whines while examining the photo. They end the mini photoshoot, however, when the bride demands another dance from Rismar. That doesn’t stop Jesah from rounding on Sarah, proclaiming her next to walk up the aisle.

It’s been years since they’ve gathered in the same place despite the occasional meet-ups that continue to wane in numbers. Its one thing for Jesah to talk her manager into a weekend off in the midst of promotions, but the fact that Nikka has flown in from Canada is no less than a miracle. Not to mention the presence of national sweetheart Honey, whose face covers every billboard and magazine Sheena has come across in the last few days.

The bride and groom shared one last dance before being driven away in their limo. “So flashy,” Jobie comments as the party starts wrapping up. Jobie scribbles her number on the back of a napkin, laughing when Sheena asks her if she ever missed the limelight.

“I’ve forgotten the feeling already. I like what I’m doing now. How about you? Did you ever consider coming back? I’ve seen you talk to Ma’am Crisleen earlier.”

Sheena laughs and pockets the napkin while glancing around the room. Thankfully, she spots the people that matter. “We’re on the same page Jobie. I like working as an engineer now. I don’t want to be in the limelight anymore. I have long lost the drive to make songs.”

Their goodbyes are hurried. Christine rushes out to make her return flight to Thailand to finish shooting her drama; Dawn and Erika are called back to the studio, and even Ma’am Crisleen needs to pick up her kids.

“Kids. It would be a crime for any of us to father a kid,” Gian grimaces as they watch people leave. He turns to Sheena and said his goodbye after kissing her on the cheeks. She too was ready to head out. She waits under the darkening sky for a cab while the remaining photographers continue to click away.

Seiji catches the door of Sheena’s cab at the last second, duckling under the roof. “Think about what I said, please.” For a second, Sheena thinks Seiji is going to get in, but Seiji closes the door after her and watches as Sheena drives away.

Crazyer, Sheena thinks, releasing her grip on her dress. Life is not a Korean drama, she thinks. If that’s the case, then maybe, she, too should stop being so melodramatic.

 

 

to be continued..