CHAPTER 26

[Sol Han Na’s POV]

The house is already bustling with life by the time I woke up next morning. Lying half-asleep on my bed, I could hear the sounds of footsteps and the voices of people talking and yelling at one another from downstairs. I groaned and blindly fumbled for my phone underneath my pillow to check the time. It was only a few minutes past 8 o’clock. What the heck is going on down there?

Lazily, I crawled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. I cannot risk going out of my room without prepping up. What if the cameras are already rolling, right?

After bath, I quickly slipped into comfortable attire – white loose shirt and sweatpants. I kept my hair wet and dashed outside to start the new day.

“Good morning!” I greeted merrily as soon as I reached the first floor. As expected, cameras were already scattered everywhere and the crews are already deep into their work. Some greeted me back as they passed by.

“Go to the kitchen. L’s already there,” Manager Song spoke the moment she saw me. I pouted and whispered sarcastically, “Good morning to you too, Manager.”

She rolled her eyes yet muttered a quick ‘good morning’ which instantly made me smile.

“The boys? What time are they arriving?” I asked, scanning the surroundings for any sign of ten troublesome males.

Manager Song peeked at her wristwatch before answering, “In a few hours. They just left the dorm.”

Disappointment washed over me but I still nodded my head. I didn’t get why I hoped they’re already here anyway. I’m pretty sure I’ll know immediately if they are. Their noise, when they are all gathered together, is more than enough to wake up an entire sleeping neighborhood.

“Oh, it’s okay. The wedding’s not until afternoon anyway,” I mumbled mostly to myself before smiling at Manager Song and walking away. I headed straight to the kitchen just like she instructed and was welcomed by a fresh-from-the-bath Kim Myungsoo who’s in the middle of setting up the table.

I froze on my tracks and gazed at him in silence. He also left his hair wet like I did, a towel draped over his neck. He’s absolutely focused on preparing our breakfast that it took him a while to notice my presence.

“Good morning, Hanna,” he spoke once he saw me. He smiled my favorite dimpled-smile of his which effortlessly made my lips quirk upwards. I greeted him back before walking over to the nearest chair.

“Oh, look. We match,” he commented, making me frown at him. It took me a few moments to figure out what he meant. Scanning him from head to toe, I noticed that he is also wearing almost the same clothes I do – similar white shirt and gray sweatpants; only his shirt is v-neck instead of round.

Blushing madly in embarrassment, I pulled the chair and sat down. He chose the seat opposite me.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked, making me eye the number of dishes laid before me. My stomach rumbled.

“D-Did you cook again, oppa?”

“No. These were delivered earlier by the beach staffs,” he replied with a smirk. “Why? You sound like you have problems with my cooking.”

“N-No! I don’t mean that,” I exclaimed, hands flailing in denial. I continued with a frown, “I just thought you had to wake up early again just to prepare these.”

He chuckled before reaching out to ruffle my hair.

“Aigoo, look at you. You’re worrying about me again,” he commented, sounding overjoyed. I felt my cheeks burn even brighter and I immediately grabbed the nearest plate of food to hide my uneasiness. I stuffed my own plate with what happened to be slices of bacon before reaching out again for fried eggs. I really have no idea what I was doing. I just know that I had to keep doing it to keep me from further embarrassing myself.

“Wow. You must be so hungry,” I heard him muse. My eyes slowly shifted back to his direction and I caught him gawking at my plate of food. It was too late for me to realize that, out of pure rush, I managed to build myself a mountain of rice and bacon and eggs.

“Ah y-yeah… I tend to eat a lot for breakfast,” I lied, biting my lip uncomfortably.

Myungsoo left his seat, poured a glass of water, and placed it in front of me as he returned.

“You don’t have to do that, oppa. I can take care of myself,” I muttered, blushing more and more. Myungsoo didn’t look up from filling his own plate when he answered, “I know. But I don’t care. I like doing it.”

I could’ve sworn my heart almost jumped out of my chest that time. I cleared my throat awkwardly before grabbing the glass of water, downing it in one gulp.

Myungsoo and I exchanged small chitchats as we ate our breakfast. He’d ask me about my schedule, my plans, and other activities while I simply asked him for updates about their group’s ongoing tours. I noticed that none of us brought up any topic about the upcoming wedding which was a relief considering that simply thinking about it already fills me with dread and anxiety.

We went on our separate ways again right after eating and locked ourselves up inside our rooms. Manager Song ordered me to get a few more hours of beauty rest before waking me up before lunch time.

“Hanna,” she whispered, shaking my shoulder. I simply shrugged her hand off and turned away from her direction. I felt the pillow I was using to cover my face get forcibly pulled away. She whispered for the second time, “Wake up. The boys are here.”

That alone was enough to send me sitting upright in a split second.

“Where?” I blurted, eyes wide open.

Manager Song chuckled and used her hands to fix my tousled hair. She was smiling sweetly as she answered, “They’re on the cottage next to ours. There’s only two hours left before the wedding so they’re busy preparing and dressing up. I told them to just drop by later because you have to get dressed, too.”

Manager Song immediately pulled me out of bed and even guarded me as I washed my face in the bathroom. She made me change into a bathrobe before calling for my stylist to start my grooming process. The lady worked with my make-up first before moving to do my hair. It was kind of a long boring process. Manager Song, being the absolute perfectionist, would point out even the smallest flaws and asks for redo. This happened a lot that if not only for the cameras surrounding us; I could’ve sworn I already burst out in annoyance.

“Hanna-ssi,” a man suddenly called out. I turned and got a little surprised to see a camera only inches away from my face. I heard the faint click of the shutter and blinked in disorient. The man checked the picture and chuckled under his breath.

“Beautiful,” I heard him mutter before raising his camera again and ordering me to smile. He took quite a few shots of me before leaving again as Manager Song re-emerged with my wedding dress held carefully in her hands.

I can’t help but gasp in awe.

“Shall we get you dressed, sweetie?” she spoke softly and the tenderness in her eyes is enough to make me think of my mom. I wonder if this is how she’d look at me when I get married – for real.

Everyone was asked to vacate the room, leaving me with Manager Song and my stylist to accompany me as I get changed. I was in the middle of stuffing myself inside the gown when a subtle knock sounded on the door and Min Jung entered. She squealed as soon as she saw me.

“Oh my goodness, Hanna, you look so wonderful!” she gushed, dashing to help me fix the dress. She made a few adjustments here and there using the pins she brought while talking to me about how she just came from Myungsoo’s room and how handsome he looks in his wedding suit. She was practically emanating with energy and positive vibes that it was hard not to get infected by her jolliness. My nervousness was gone and I was smiling from ear to ear as she continued to work on the dress.

Manager Song let the staffs enter again after I finished changing. My stylist made me sit back in front of the vanity table again as she placed final touches on my hair and make-up. Manager Song and Min Jung were busy gushing remarks about how beautiful and breathtaking I look at the moment while Mr. Choi (who suddenly arrived from Myungsoo’s room) is very much absorbed in taking pictures of me.

I was in the middle of posing in front of my room’s floor-to-ceiling window that’s overlooking the beach when another knock came to the door. I ignored it and simply concentrated on obeying Mr. Choi who’s endlessly voicing commands on the proper poses, angles, and expressions. My attention was only piqued when the door opened and loud male voices suddenly filled the room.

“Hanna?!” the boys yelled in unison. They were all standing frozen at the entrance, literally gawking at me. They were already dressed in their crisp black suits and ties and even I had to gape momentarily at how dashing they look. God, regardless of how often I see them; there are just moments when they still don’t fail to sweep me off my feet.

“Wow, you look… beautiful,” Kyungsoo murmured as he stood before me. He had on this awestricken expression that instantly made me blush, suddenly reminding me of his confession that happened not too long ago.

“C-Can I just be the one to marry you?” I heard Chanyeol speak and at first, I thought he was joking but one look at his blank face made me realize he actually meant it.

The boys wasted no time to crowd all around me that Mr. Choi had no other choice but to step away and let them have their fun. I was busy taking selcas with them here and there that it took me a while to notice a single person standing ou