Taeyeon woke up that Sunday with a strange sense of foreboding. It was natural, she thought, considering the event that was going to take place a few hours later that day. She did not meet Seungwan’s eyes even once. The whole week had passed with her expecting and expecting to hear some news, something that would stop the wedding but nothing had. And today it was happening.

When it was time for her to get ready, Soojung and Sehun thankfully took Seungwan out for grocery shopping -  it was their turn that day – and she sadly changed into her dress. Putting on make-up had never seemed as difficult to Taeyeon as it did that day. They all knew Seungwan was putting up a strong front for them, the girl hadn’t shown the slightest change in her demeanor since the past few days, even though the wedding hung over them like a sword.

She knew she could just stay back. But she couldn’t. Not after everything that had happened. She would need to see and believe everything with her own eyes, if she was to be a leaning shoulder to Seungwan later. Only then she would be able to tell her friend everything and help her move on. And also because maybe, she wanted to be there for Kyungsoo, small as the gesture would be, she was sorry she hadn’t been able to do anything to avert the loveless life that lay ahead of him. She had asked Soojung to stay back with Seungwan in her stead.

She straightened the embroidered grey one-shoulder dress she had chosen to wear, and was ready to head out when her phone rang. As she neared to picking it, something told her that it was what had been bothering her since that morning.

And she realized what the strange curdling in her gut had meant as she picked it up and listened to the person at the other end.

_

I’m getting married today.

Nayeon woke up with a start, the remnants of the bad dream she’d had still lingering in her head. She brushed it off and got up to bathe.

She was happy. She told herself that repeatedly whenever the thought of how her life was going to change today ran through her head, making her want to run away.

But run away from what exactly? Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? What she’d ended her silent war with her father for?

I love him, she’d said that to herself a thousand times since yesterday, but for some reason it seemed more a distant idea, an absurd reality, than anything else even after waking up today.

She emerged out of the bathe in towels to find the styling team already in her room. She’d been so excited when she’d got them booked, but as she looked around at the smiley faces of the staff holding accessories around her as she was seated on the center stool and made up, she only felt the artificiality of her surroundings.

They styled her hair into soft curls that flowed down to her mid back and made up her face in soft colors. She looked beautiful according to the stylists and she agreed smilingly with them but for some reason that day, the self-gratification that always came with the realization of her beauty wasn’t there.

Before she got changed into the dress, she asked to be spared a few minutes to go see her father. Maybe seeing him would reinforce her belief in what was about to happen.

She knew he must be getting ready himself as she neared the mahogany door of his room, but was surprised to hear his voice echoing from his study down the hall from his room, and neared it slowly.

“I don’t care what you do, just keep her safe until further orders”, She heard him say on the phone as she approached the study, his back towards the half-open study door. For some reason, instead of knocking and interrupting his conversation, she stood silently by the door and listened.

“Yeah – No! No physical contact at all, you hear me? In fact, no contact of any kind. Don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, just put her to sleep and leave her in the room until I call you again”, He paused again, and Nayeon’s heart picked up pace, wondering what her father was discussing about. “Yeah, I’ve asked someone at the hotel, they’ll take you to the room in the east wing. Just don’t…..don’t mess this up, alright?”

He cut off the call abruptly and Nayeon barely had time to collect herself before he turned and his eyes widened upon seeing her.

“Nayeon, dear”, His startled expression was replaced by a smile as he took in her appearance and approached her. She naturally went in smiling towards him too, giving her hands in his extended ones. “You look beautiful”, His eyes oozed emotion, and she noticed the small amount of sadness in them the most, almost masked by the shine of happiness and pride. She realized how much better she now knew her father, and almost felt sorry for all the years she’d made him suffer by ignoring him. And now she was going away. It made her want to curl up in his embrace and never let go. “Thanks, Dad”

“Your mother would be really proud”, A gleam came over his eyes that he blinked away quickly. Nayeon felt tears stinging the back of her eyes herself.

“Is this the part where you take out an anciently old-fashioned jewelry box and tell me this was the jewelry my mother wanted me to wear on my big day?”, She tried to lighten the mood. He chuckled. “No, I know it won’t look as pretty on you as it did on your mother, so why waste it?”

“Dad!”, She made a mock hurt expression at his joke and they both laughed, half hugging and then her father looked at her. “Are you ready?”

She didn’t know why the simple question made her weak in her knees, but she didn’t let it show and turned her eyes to set his tux bow, that had been left hanging from the collar in haste to attend a call apparently. “I guess so”

“Nayeon”, He held her wrist lightly, halting her movements and she looked up. “You’re happy, right?”

His eyes were filled with so much concern and anticipation, almost as if all his life’s doing relied on her answer. She realized how much he wanted her to be happy, not just with him but with her life. That was what he’d always wanted.

But was she happy? She asked herself, really asked herself after refusing to address it for so long. And she didn’t like how her gut twisted thinking about it.

“This is what you want, right?”, He asked as if he was assuring himself of something too. She looked at him for a few seconds trying to get the storm swirling through her in control and then looked away, unable to bear lying to his face.

“Y-yeah”, She moved out of his embrace lightly. “I should probably go get ready, it’s about time”

He seemed to have snapped out of a daze himself as he took in his surroundings and his own half-ready condition. “Yeah, me too. I’ll see you downstairs”

She turned to go but stopped in her steps seeing a certain person approach the door.

_

“Who knew you’d be the first one out of us all to get married?”

Chanyeol remarked as they all crowded in Kyungsoo’s room that Sunday, the air thick with fake excitement, that only covered so much of the underlying disappointed sadness that Kyungsoo knew his friends were actually feeling, though they were doing a good job of not showing it.

He could feel how they all felt bad for him, maybe even guilty for some reason, even though he couldn’t fathom why they would. Sehun was the only one missing since the guy had errands to run with his sisters (that included keeping an eye on Seungwan)

“Yeah, I always thought it would be Suho hyung”, Jongin spoke up, from where he was sprawled on Kyungsoo’s bed.

“Or Xiumin hyung, but he seems to be aiming to set the record for the longest engagement ever”, Jongdae rolled his eyes. Minseok made a face at him, from where he was propped on the dressing table’s edge.

“Suho hyung’s time is not so far away though”, Chanyeol remarked, snapping Kyungsoo for the nth since that morning.

“You’re say it like I’m about to die”, Junmyeon protested, turning to glance at the offender from setting Kyungsoo’s bow tie, that the latter was allowing him to set it just because it was that kind of occasion. With them all trying to act excessively normal, he just let them what they wanted for once. Who knew when else they’d get to be like this again?

“Isn’t it a sort of like that though? The misery of having to live with the same person for the rest of your life?”, Jongin countered obnoxiously, eliciting grunts of disapproval from the occupants of the room.

“When the right person comes around, I’ll ask you how much misery you’re in when you’re with her”, Junmyeon challenged.

Baekhyun, who was sprawled on the only couch in the room, playing unceremoniously on his cellphone, (another weak attempt of his friends to try to appear casual like Kyungsoo was some child who could be fooled into believing that any of this was all even remotely normal) muttered under his breath. “She’s come already, he’s just too dumb to see it”

“What?”, Jongin seemed to be the only one who’d heard it loud and clear and Kyungsoo hardly missed the momentary sadness that flitted over his features then.

“Nothing”, Baekhyun sat up, turning to them. “So has the date for Suho hyung’s sacrifice been decided?”

“Yah!”, Junmyeon objected, though nobody payed much heed to him.

“Yeah, April 9”, Yixing responded stepping in front of Kyungsoo to see if all was good. Kyungsoo had to resist rolling his eyes, his friends were taking this pre-wedding-getting-ready ceremony too far.

They’d insisted on coming and staying at the house last night, to which Kyungsoo had reluctantly agreed after Mrs. Do and Jongin insisted too and because they had done nothing else, no bachelor parties or celebrations the past week, and he didn’t want them to feel too left out. They’d drunk a little, talked about ‘casual’ things (they were still being watched by the cameras even if Kyungsoo’s shadows had left them alone) all with the sadness and maybe even dread, bubbling under the surface.

“Guys I think we should leave now, it’s – “, Junmyeon reminded them of the time, but was cut short by the bell ringing. They exchanged confused looks. They weren’t expecting anyone, though Kyungsoo wondered if it could be his mother coming to pick up something she’d forgotten when she left for the ceremony hall earlier.

Chanyeol went to get the door downstairs and they all heard hushed gasps and voices, clicking of heels against the marble as someone ascended the stairs to Kyungsoo’s room, Chanyeol following behind with questions.

Kyungsoo’s heart rate picked up for some reason as the heeled steps approached the door and they all turned to find Taeyeon standing there, looking breathless, a worried frown etched on her face and Kyungsoo could immediately tell something was very wrong.

………………………………………………….

Ignoring the surprised gasps and questions of the occupants of the room, Taeyeon headed straight for Kyungsoo. She knew they were being watched, the cameras were no more a secret amongst them, but she had no other option but to ask.

“What’s going on sunbae?”, Kyungsoo asked her first as she came to a halt in front of him.

“Where is she?”, Taeyeon asked, her voice coming out more as a plea. Please tell me she contacted you….

“Who?”

“Seungwan. Did she call or text you?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at her question and she realized it had been news to him, A bad one at that. “No, no, why? What happened?”, He asked in concern and Taeyeon sighed in defeat, tears of frustration pooling behind her eyes.

“What happened, Tae? Is Seungwan okay?”, Yixing’s voice broke her out of her misery.

“No”, She stated in apprehension before explaining. “She left with Sehun and Soojung earlier for grocery shopping and they lost her there somewhere”

 Soojung had told her that they’d separated to get things from different parts of the mart and when she hadn’t appeared for some time they’d looked and hadn’t been able to find her anywhere. Her cellphone was in the grocery cart still, which they found behind one of the aisles but there was no sign of the girl.

“You’re saying she just disappeared? How is that possible?”, Baekhyun asked in incredulity.

“I’m going crazy myself, I went there too. She’s nowhere! And she never goes away like this. Not without telling someone!”, Taeyeon said in apprehension, her breathing growing labored. More questions followed, if she had checked with all her friends and any other places where she might have gone and getting negative answers from Taeyeon, the apprehension grew amongst all of them.

“Should we report her missing?”, Junmyeon suggested.

“No, hyung. They’ll ask us to wait atleast 48 hours before filing a complaint, that’s standard procedure for missing adults”, Chanyeol explained, biting down on his lip.

“Where’s Kyungsoo?”, Minseok’s question broke them out of their reverie. They’d all been so engrossed in their heated discussion that they’d failed to notice when Kyungsoo had left the room behind their backs.

The sound of an engine coming to life answered for them, and they all ran downstairs to find the front door wide open and Kyungsoo’s car speeding out of the street.

“The guy’s gonna get himself killed”, Chanyeol said in annoyance. He exchanged a quick look with Junmyeon, and they were getting into Chanyeol’s car the next minute to follow him, after Junmyeon had asked the rest of them to disperse and look for Seungwan wherever they could think she might be. Jongin was to stay at home just in case for the next hour (Yixing said he would send Sehun to pick him up soon) and keep in contact with them.

Yixing and Minseok took the other car they’d come in and Baekhyun, Taeyeon and Jongdae piled into her’s, all of them speeding off in different directions after deciding where each party was to check.

--------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Happy New Year guys! May 2021 bring all the good things we wish for!