[CONTENTID2]"You can't blame gravity for falling in love." Albert Einstein[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID1]

The moon had swept over the ridge, it’s twinkling light filtered through the crevices of the blinds, spilling over the darkness of the room. An ethereal, silver glow encapsulated them but there was enough darkness to hide their emotions away.

Sunggyu blinked at her, and she blinked back. Their fingers were intertwined in a display of affection. He had so many things to tell her but he didn’t know where to start. He was afraid if he’d turn on the lamp, it would ruin the halcyon atmosphere. A placid warmth settled overhead and he felt that her eyes were enough for communication.

Heeyeon wasn’t willing to remain silent.

“How long did you have feelings for me? You know Gyu, I was a fool. I was chasing after the wrong man. Actually, when I think about it now, Donkey-Woo wasn’t even worth it.” She chuckled into the air. “I think I’m always more comfortable around you.”

He wished he could believe her but there was a wavering note in her voice. Not after their passionate ensemble, he wondered if she regretted any of it, or if she truly meant those three words that brought him to life and killed him at the same time.

It was if she was like alcohol, and he became drunk with her scent, her smiles and her words. He remained staring at her through the semi darkness, listening to her unravel the secrets of her heart. Her innermost thoughts poured out into the open and he let them seep into his mind rapaciously as if they were a panacea for the years he faced turmoil.

To him, that one night seemed to last an eternity, but even eternity had to end someday. The streaks of light that glowed at dawn signalled the end of his dream, and his heart sank inside his stomach. He didn’t want it end, and it frightened him.

It scared him how much she meant to him. She was more to him than his own heart and soul. She became everything for him, incremental over the years until the only person that he wanted in life was her.

He was afraid that their night was over and she would dissolve back into the light of day, back to the future where he didn’t belong, or the book of fairy tales that had another prince. Instead, Heeyeon leaned over in the morning mist and kissed him again; gently, as if she was tracing flowers softer than a baby’s skin.

“Let’s go, Gyu,” she giggled; her cheeks flushed pink and her smile held so much promise for him.

There was a whole world inside the depths of her eyes. He saw a future etched in the horizons of her vision, where they stood next to each other, wrapped in nothing but love for one another. It was all that he ever wanted from her: her love.

Heeyeon placed strands of her hair behind her ear. “I hope...this is not gonna turn into a one-night thing, right? I mean-- I’m not forcing you or anything into this, but I don’t want our friendship to end. I want to…” She paused, inhaling the old air of their exposed thoughts. “I want to get to know you...better than a friend.”

Sunggyu’s eyebrows raised dramatically. A grin crossed his lips.

‘If it’s okay with you,’ he gestured, ‘I feel the same.’

The days of romance blossomed among them. It started off with them leaving the place of the past, hand in hand, and stepping in a future where they learned to accept one another. When his disability roved inside his mind, he grew agitated but he never needed to say anything, much less do anything.

Heeyeon filled in the silence between them. She was enough for them both, to the point where Dongwoo admitted that he felt like a third wheel and backed off. The latter was a little surprised that his best friends started dating. His eyes flickered with ambivalent emotions, and Sunggyu wasn’t sure if the man was upset over it.

Sooner than later, Heeyeon ended up moving in with him, much to the protests of her brother. Sunggyu’s mother was delighted and she quickly became attached to her. The only people that weren’t happy were Sunggyu’s distant relatives. They had all hoped that he’d a choose a girl more suitable for his class, not that he bothered to care about his wealth before.

-

Sunggyu waited nervously at the altar. There were so many eyes on him. He shouldn’t even be freaking out but his legs wobbled like jelly and his throat constricted until breathing was cumbersome. Sweat gathered in the lines of his palm.

Dongwoo stood next to him, his eyes glued to the watch strapped around his wrist. He cleared his throat and fixed the bow tie around his collars. People waited impatiently in their seats. On the right side of the room was taken up by Heeyeon’s family and friends, and unsurprisingly, they were boisterous and full of smiles.

Sunggyu’s relatives infiltrated the left side of their room. Their faces were sullen, not even bothering to cover up their opinion over the whole ordeal. He knew they would hate his decision but there was nothing they could do to impede him now. His parents supported him along the way, so he popped the question two years after dating her.

“Man, did she run away?” Dongwoo whispered next to him. The man had agreed to be his best man for the celebratory event. He had grown stocky over the couple of years, with large biceps that threatened to rip through his shirt.

“What if her car got knocked down or something? What if she hated you all along? What if she woke up late and only ran off to the parlour now? This is Heeyeon that we’re talking about, you know?”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. He wanted to gesture at Dongwoo to close his mouth shut but that would draw unnecessary attention from his pugnacious relatives. Instead, he remained rigid in spot. However, Dongwoo’s scenarios replayed in his mind, each one more violent and frantic than the last.

His heart suddenly hammered in his throat. His mouth thinned dry. What if Dongwoo was true? What if something happened to Heeyeon?

Just then, the doors opened at the end of the hallway, and Heechul stepped through. His face was inexorable, features set in stone. Sunggyu inhaled as his eyes searched for the man’s sister to appear. He was afraid that his worst nightmares had come to life.

However, Heechul’s lips parted into a devious smile, and he motioned at the door. Heeyeon appeared in a gossamer gown that cinched at the waist and trailed a meter behind her. Her father’s arm was wrapped around her elbow, his other hand holding onto a cane, as he led his daughter up the aisle.