1. First Catastrophe

Seulgi almost arrived late to the wedding reception although she knew she had certainly missed the ceremony because of one last meeting for the next edition of X Korea. Who cares if we can’t use red for the logo’s font just because Second Look did it first? Art shouldn’t worry about stupid restrictions, she rambled on as she put on the dress her aunt had prepared for her in the hotel room.

That was probably the only thing she disliked about her job: always having to stay within the lines because it was better to be safe than sorry. Or something like that since she couldn’t really remember the words her mentor told her four years ago when she entered the company as some newbie people overlooked.

She satisfyingly chose flashy but also elegant earrings that would certainly grab attention if she styled her hair neatly and took out from their box gorgeous freshly bought high heels. Seulgi gasped at the sight. It was a good idea to come after all.

She hesitated a lot before accepting her cousin’s wedding invitation as she knew who was coming and why she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the night with them around.

“The world is so small,” Seulgi sighed as she quickly retouched her makeup. The reception would take place at 6 PM and she only had about 20 minutes to finish getting ready after spending way too much time in the luxurious shower. “To think that she went to the same university as them and met the… the immature older prick for work. I can’t believe I am really here.”

Really, what were the odds Seulgi had of meeting all her exes at the same time and at the same place after not having contacted any of them for years? Luck stupidly sorted it out because there she was, preparing for a wedding where they would come accompanied with girls way more successful or prettier than her while she was alone. She couldn’t find someone in so little time when she learned she had to attend the wedding whether she liked it or not two days ago from her mom. Seulgi’s aunt suggested her to go with her neighbour who was a gentleman and a well-known doctor but Seulgi refused right away when her aunt made a slip and revealed that he was in his forties. A small detail that could have made her night a fully awake nightmare with the mocking stares the horses would have given her.

“Is that your Dad?” she imagined them say. “He looks good for a man twice your age.”

Seulgi pouted to make sure that her lipstick was well applied and secured her braided hair that was elegantly brought up in a bun with a bobby pin. She took a step back and glanced at the mirror: she didn’t look too bad but it was probably because she was wearing twice her monthly salary in clothes, and Seulgi was pretty contented with how much she made with her job so it was a lot.

She took a deep breath and said some mantras to calm herself before the storm that had yet to take place.

“Dear God, I know this is obviously gonna be some terrible night but please don’t let me down by making me the humiliation of this family because of three horses. Please,” she kept begging.

She nervously passed a hand over the soft fabric of the dress and grabbed her small pouch lying on the bed before coming out of the hotel room to make her way to the elevator. She arrived on the reception’s floor a few seconds later and asked a young waiter to tell her where was situated Hyunseol and Minjae’s wedding with the fancy invitation card in her hand to not seem strange as everyone else came back from church and arrived together a long time ago.

He smiled a gentle and formal smile and proceeded on leading her to another hallway where many different paintings decorated the big walls of the classy building. He stopped in his tracks and only pointed to a large door at the end of the hallway before strutting back to his previous task. Seulgi gulped and tried to calm down her beating heart as she walked closer to it.

If she was going to do it, might as well do it properly: no boy was going to ruin her night, week or even month just with his sole presence. If one of them were to talk to her, she had to find something to say to make him regret ever playing with her. Someone was certainly gonna end up crying tonight and it wasn’t her.

Seulgi pushed open the ridiculously big and heavy door and gasped at the sight in front of her.

As she entered the room, she was welcomed by a magnificent view of an even more ridiculously big place decorated with white and purple tulips everywhere, a gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling above the people who were chatting or dancing away and photos of the couple on every round table dressed with an expensive white cloth. Seulgi gasped and kept admiring every detail without noticing the people in front of her who were at their turn looking at her pass. She took note of how the different colours matched so well together and made her think that she could use this idea for her next meeting: four shades of purple, as well with a bit of lilac, silver and white, this couldn’t fail. It was safe, elegant but still pleasing to the eyes. Forget red, matching colour blocks were about to have a come back in the trends, she excitedly thought. The room was just so beautiful.

She regained her senses after Wendy crashed onto her with a big hug and kept giggling for finally being able to see her friend after a while.

“Where were you?” the smaller girl asked excitedly. “It’s so nice to see you, Seul!”

“We saw each other last week Wendy,” Seulgi reminded her friend with a grin.

“And we would see each other more often if you weren’t so busy all the time,” Wendy observed. “I bet you were at work right before and that’s why you’re late.”

“You always guess so well,” Seulgi cheekily said to her friend while pinching her cheeks. “I missed the ceremony but that’s about it.”

“Yeah you just missed your cousin’s wedding.”

“Stop, I already feel bad!”

“No you don’t,” Wendy said on a matter-of-fact tone. “You’re damn glad you only arrived now and you would have come even later if it weren’t for your aunt and her minions spying on you.”

“You know me so well,” Seulgi said as she genuinely smiled. “You’re really my best friend after all.”

“Your best friend also knows that you will get yourself wrecked if not murdered by horses if you’re not careful tonight. They didn’t come here to play.”

Seulgi slightly choked as her breath got stuck in .

“T-they’re already here?” she stuttered.

“What do you mean already? They were there since the beginning,” Wendy let her know, noticing the panic in her friend’s voice. “If I don’t see them everywhere, I hear about them, this is crazy.”

“Why? Are people talking about them? Have they mentioned my name? Are they still hanging out with each other? What about Jongin? He’s really here?” Seulgi fully let her panic take over with irrational questions.

“Yes Jongin is here and he didn’t come alone,” Wendy said as she pointed to a man at the other end of the room with a bright smile and a sparkling laugh that Seulgi couldn’t hear from where she was but was able to perfectly imagine from having heard it so often before.

“Soojung?” Seulgi asked although she already knew. Her heart became heavier and it suddenly became hard to breathe. “He came with his ex?”

“Not so surprising when Sehun came with Joohyun and Baekhyun, well he…”

“He what?” Seulgi asked monotonously like she knew nothing could be worse than seeing Jongin with Soojung anyway.

“Taeyeon,” Wendy simply mouthed as she took a sip of her orange and pink drink that Seulgi hadn’t remarked until now.

She took Wendy’s cup and finished the alcoholic drink in one gulp before letting out a pained sigh. Seulgi didn’t like to drink and alcohol never really did wonders for her but the situation requested drastic methods.

“Is this orange juice?” Seulgi asked with a scowl. “What the hell Seungwan, I could give this to my little cousin.”

“Sorry but I’m on a diet and that is the only low calorie drink they have here,” Wendy explained defensively, looking sadly at her empty glass. “And I would suggest you to moderate your drinking if you don’t want to sit at our table without crashing down on it and embarrass yourselves in front of you-know-who.”

Seulgi’s eyes widened and she grimaced.

“We’re eating at their table?” She almost whispered as she felt her soul leaving her.

“Their names are right next to yours,” Wendy answered feeling bad for her friend.

“Whose idea is it? Show me the insensitive and thoughtless idiot who did this, I refuse to let this happen. I am not—”

“Did you call for me?” Hyunseol said as she put a hand on Seulgi’s shoulder that sent goosebumps to the latter.

“Hyunseol! It is so nice to see you! You look gorgeous,” Seulgi awkwardly said with an overly joyful tone. “Congratulations for your wedding.”

“Yeah, too bad you missed the ceremony.”

Although she was smiling, Seulgi perfectly knew her cousin was blaming her for it so instead of giving in, she pretended to not notice by answering with a soft and fake smile, the same she used when she met clients for work. Hyunseol always preferred Chanyeol over her anyway.

“I’m glad that you came to see me but what is the bride doing here instead of sitting at her grand table in the spotlight?” Seulgi tried, thinking how nice it would be if Hyunseol left on her own. “This your day, you shouldn’t waste it with me.”

“I’m glad that we think the same way, but I was gonna be a little more insensitive and thoughtless by asking my wonderful cousin if she could inform the boys that my husband wanted to take some pictures with his friends.”

“The boys?” Seulgi repeated a bit clueless although she knew this couldn’t be good.

“Oh you know who I’m talking about,” Hyunseol said as a smirk creeped onto her lips and she pointed to the same spot where Seulgi could recognize her brother, Jongin, Sehun, Baekhyun and a few other guys joking around together.

“Why me?” Seulgi frowned. She didn’t care about her façade anymore and panicked.

“Why not you?”

“Oh Hyunseol stop with this, you know perfectly why. Don’t make me do this,” Seulgi begged.

“But I have no one else to ask and it’s already so hard to move in this gigantic dress,” her cousin explained with a pout.

“What about auntie? And Wendy?”

“My mom has obviously better things to do,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “And Wendy left to get herself another drink a long time ago, Seulgi.”

Seulgi looked to her side only to realize that her best friend had really left. Why now of all times?

“I only have you, Seulgi,” Hyunseol said with pitiful eyes as she grabbed Seulgi’s hands.

Seulgi groaned, slightly stomped on her feet and would have yanked her own hair if it weren’t for her bun before she accepted. She looked over her new mission where she could clearly see all these men, laughing and being loud together and she already felt super intimidated. Seulgi had never been too comfortable with men so it was hard for her to gather some courage to go and make an announcement to so many of them knowing fully that the three people who made her the most uncomfortable in the world would be watching.

“I want to go home,” she quietly whined as she took a step forward.

“Don’t be silly Seulgi, you just arrived.”

Seulgi had completely forgotten that her cousin was still there. Whatever, she sighed, it’s not like she didn’t already know I didn't want to be here.

“Don’t tell me you’re still scared of your exes?” Hyunseol mocked. “Hasn’t it been over what, 2 years since you had a boyfriend? Which one was it again? Baekhyun, right?”

“Shut up.”

“They’re not going to eat you, gosh Seulgi. You’re such a dramaqueen.”

“You’ll get to tell me that once you’ve dated all of them,” Seulgi rolled her eyes.

“I obviously won’t but they’re nice.”

Seulgi scoffed.

What a crazy and ignorant nosy hag.

“Sure, whatever you say Hyun,” Seulgi said as she nervously started walking toward the male gathering.

From afar, Seulgi let her gaze fall on Jongin and she couldn’t deny how magnificent he looked. She could almost remember what having a first love felt like. She was inwardly trembling and couldn’t gather the courage to look at him for over 3 seconds as painful memories started flocking back.

After all, she always loved him the most. He used to be her friend, her second half and most of all he was still her first love. Sure, he broke her heart and disappointed her but at least he didn't take advantage of her unlike the others.

Her eyes scanned the group of males and she found Sehun who was telling some sort of joke to her brother with his hand on his shoulder and a big grin plastered on his face. Did he get taller? He certainly got himself a few inches since the last time she saw him three years ago at their last date. Also, he looked manlier. Seulgi remarked how the hair he used to dye a dark brown became completely black and