I.

“Miss Park, someone wishes to speak with you on line 4.”

Joy looks up from the papers she had been working on for the past hour and smiles at the head peeking through her door. “Thank you for letting me know, Chenle. It’ll just be a minute.”

“You’re welcome!” The boy replies and turns to leave. Sooyoung has a soft spot for that intern ever since he got to the firm last month. Not that anyone has to know that since she’s not supposed to play favorites.

She caps her pen after signing some of the documents on her most recent case and picks up the phone. “Hello, this is Park Sooyoung. Who am i talking to?”

A cheerful voice greets her on the other side. “Good evening Miss Park! I’m calling from Beautiful Blossoms to let you know that all the adjustments have been made regarding the request you sent us for your event.”

“That’s wonderful!” Sooyoung replies, relieved. The request was for the whole flower arrangements to be changed last minute to match with the new color palette. She had been worried that they wouldn’t be ready on time but now it seems like there’s one weight less off her back.

Sooyoung thanks the employee and proceeds to hang up. Taking a quick look at the clock, she realizes that it’s almost time to leave. The skies are turning dark, the sun barely shining through the window in her office. It’s a beautiful view. She takes a moment to think about how her life seems to be exactly where she wishes it would be — she had managed to snatch a nice job fresh out of college, she’s got a bunch of friends who care for her, a lovely apartment to go home to and most importantly: she’s getting married.

It feels surreal every time she remembers that in just 2 weeks she’ll be walking down the aisle, all dressed in white in front of everyone she loves, to marry the man she’s been sharing her life with for the past 4 years. It’s as exciting as it is scary, but Sooyoung wouldn’t trade it for the world.

-

“I can’t believe you’re making me get another dress just because the one i already have doesn’t match the new palette.” Momo complains as they browse through the boutique.

“I can ask someone else to be my maid of honor if you’d like.” Sooyoung raises her eyebrows questioningly.

“Ugh, you’re lucky i love you. Also, that the menu for the wedding looks so good.”

Hirai Momo had been Sooyoung’s best friend ever since her first year of college. She had transferred from Japan to become an economics major, but by some act of destiny they got paired up as roommates. They lived together for 3 years in the uni dorms until Sooyoung decided to move in with her boyfriend-now-fiancé. However friendship never withered despite them not living together and now Momo had the distinction (even if she complained about it more often than not) of being her maid of honor.

“Why’d you change it so last minute, anyway?” Momo asks as they leave the store where they’d finally found a dress she’d liked enough and that Sooyoung had approved of.

“I don’t know. Just felt like it suited our relationship better.” Sooyoung replies, shrugging.

“Seems kind of out of character for you. But that’s why you’re the bride and you can do whatever you want.” She smiles softly. “You up for some lunch?”

“Only if you’re paying.”

Momo rolls her eyes playfully. “I’ll think about it.”

-

Supervising wedding preparations and balancing daily life was proving to be as hell, so Sooyoung was thankful she had a routine to keep things under control.

The tv was set on low volume as she cooked dinner. It wasn’t her strongest suit but Dowhan and her had set the tradition of dining together every night unless something came up for either of them. They would take turns being in charge of the food, sometimes ordering takeout when both were too tired to cook or if they just weren’t feeling up to it. Today it was Sooyoung’s turn and since she’d managed to leave the office a little early, she had taken a quick trip to the market to get some extra wine. She was feeling quite inspired these days.

Her mind was running at a hundred miles per hour, thinking about the buffet and how she had to call for confirmation of everything tomorrow when the door clicked open. She turned around and saw her fiancé getting into their home, hair disheveled and eyes tired. “Hey darling. Long day?”

“Yeah.” Dowhan replies, taking off his coat and shoes. “Lots to do at the office.”

“Oh no. Well, i hope dinner makes you feel better. It’s almost ready.” Sooyoung says as she walks over and pats his face.

“Thank you. I’m gonna go take a shower and then we’ll eat, okay?” He says but the tone of his voice is a little off. Sooyoung tries not to think too much of it.

“Sure. Take as much time as you need.” She smiles reassuringly.

Dowhan is quieter than usual that night, barely responding to whatever Sooyoung asks him and not really looking her in the eye. She can’t help but feel a pang of worry. Sooyoung is his fiancée after all, she should know what’s going on. She decides not to press the matter though, since Dowhan probably has a lot on his plate already. She’s sure than when the time comes, he’ll tell her if something’s happening.

-

“Dowhan’s acting strange.” Sooyoung tells Momo a few days later.

They’re having lunch with another one of their friends, Juyeon. She was a communications student and became Momo’s roommate when Sooyoung had moved out. The older girls were out of college now but the three of them had made a tight knit ever since, to the point that Juyeon was one of her bridesmaids too.

Sooyoung was catching them up on the situation with her fiancé. Apparently whatever had been making him upset that night hadn’t stopped, since he was still behaving different than usual. Sooyoung had been hoping that it was pre-wedding nerves mixed with job stress, but the way he was acting didn’t give off that vibe at all.

“Why don’t you ask him what’s going on?” Momo asks through a mouthful of pie. She had been listening carefully to her friend’s ramblings and yet ended up pointing the obvious.

“I can’t believe i didn’t think about that before. Thank you, Momo, you’re a genius.” She replies sarcastically. Momo just sticks her tongue out. “No, but really. I was trying to give him space but it’s starting to worry me. The wedding’s next week, so i think i’m gonna ask him tomorrow if he doesn’t tell me first.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing. But you should ask him anyway since it’s getting you all jittery too. You don’t want all that right before one of the most important days of your life.” The japanese girl finishes her dessert and a smiles forms on her lips. “It’s so soon already.”

“We’re like those girls in movies that can’t talk about anything else!” Juyeon chimes in. “I say ask him. Whatever it is, at least you’ll know what’s going on and maybe you can help him solve it. No clouds are allowed to rain in your parade.”

Juyeon’s enthusiasm is contagious and even though Sooyoung is worried, she doesn’t think it’s possible that something could ruin this for her.

-

Turns out that Sooyoung was wrong.

There was, in fact, something that could ruin her wedding: her fiancé dumping her five days before it.

-

The day after meeting with her friends, she had decided to confront Dowhan about whatever was going in these past few days. She’d planned on doing it during dinner, since it was the moment where they saw the most of each other, without the rush of work or any other stuff that could come up.

Dowhan had been eating his food in silence, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary lately, while Sooyoung just stared at him. It felt so odd that they were interacting like this. She would’ve guessed that in the eve of their wedding they’d be more clingy and in love than ever. So she’d come to the conclusion that enough was enough and that they needed to have a talk.

“Dowhan.”

Sooyoung broke the silence, making him look up from his plate. “I’ve been trying to give you space but i can’t take it anymore. You need to tell me why you’ve been acting so off lately. Are you alright?” Her tone is soft, caring. She didn’t want to corner him.

Dowhan cleaned his mouth with a napkin and stared out the window of their living room. The stars were shining outside, the clear summer skies leaving everything on sight. “I need to tell you something, Sooyoung.”

Finally, she thought. “You know you can tell me anything. I’m here for you.”

His next words came through gritted teeth, like each one took more effort than the last. “I know. And you know that i love you, right? You’re an incredible girl and one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Nothing could ever change that.”

“Okay.” Sooyoung’s heart began to race up, her gut clenching because nothing said in that tone, mixed with the distress on her fiancé’s face, could be good.

Dowhan shut his eyes, jaw clenching. “I got a job offer. In America.”

Sooyoung’s first reaction had been surprise, of course. Out of all the things she had imagined Dowhan would tell her, that one was far off the list. The second one was delight — if he got a job overseas, that could only mean that he was doing great and that his company had chosen to promote him. She felt pride bloom in her chest for his fiancé, she was glad to have such a hard working man by her side.

The third one was confusion.

“A job? In America?” It seemed like that was the one emotion that she’d managed to voice. “I mean, congratulations, my dear! It just seems so sudden.”

Dowhan fiddled with the food on his plate. “I know. I wasn’t expecting it either. It’s a huge opportunity, though.”

“I bet it is.” Sooyoung’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. She was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Why so much secrecy about the whole thing?

Silence fell upon them until Sooyoung broke it again. “I’m guessing you’re taking it. You know i’ll support you no matter what.”

“Will you?”

“What do you mean? Of course i will. We’ll be husband and wife soon. In sickness and health and all that.”

Dowhan rubbed at his face, standing up from the table.

His next words came over Sooyoung like a bucket of ice cold water.

“We have to postpone the wedding.”

She almost dropped her glass. “What?”

“I’m sorry, Sooyoung. But we have to cancel the wedding.” Dowhan repeated. He sounded way too final, like there was no room for discussion.

“But why?” Sooyoung could feel closing up. This could not be happening. “What’s your job got to do with us not getting married?”

Her fiancé did not turn around, he didn’t try to reach out to her and she was too scared to move. She felt like the whole situation was too fragile, holding on the stupid hope that maybe if she stayed completely still, everything would all pass and they’d go back to 10 minutes ago, where her one of the most important parts of her future wasn’t disintegrating before her helpless eyes.

It was nothing but an illusion.

“I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.”

-

Sooyoung isn’t sure how she ended up at Momo’s doorstep.

After Dowhan had explained how everything was already arranged for him to leave in around 36 hours, hell broke loose. It was a blur and all she remembers was yelling and crying, wondering how he could do this to her. She felt so damn betrayed, embarrassed because she was out here playing house while her fiancé was planning on moving to the other side of the world without telling her about it.

She had stomped out of the apartment, gotten into her car and driven whenever her mess of a mind would take her. It seemed like the chosen place was Momo’s house, a small place with blue walls and cute frontyard. She knew her best friend was going to freak out considering it was around 11pm on a Tuesday night and she didn’t even let her know she was coming but she didn’t have anywhere else to go and considering her situation… well. Momo would understand.

Sooyoung rings the bell and waits.

The front door opens to a relaxed-looking Momo, whose expression changes immediately into one of surprise when she sees the taller girl. “Sooyoung?! What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t even sound like herself when she utters her reply. “Dowhan dumped me.”

Momo’s eyes go wide and in a different context, she’d probably think Sooyoung was joking. But now, standing at her doorstep in the cold of the night, in a washed out hoodie with eyes red and puffy from all the crying, it’s pretty obvious that is not the case.

“Come inside.”

Momo takes her hand and Sooyoung follows automatically. She’s been to her best friend’s house plenty of times, but right now her brain is nothing but mush so she lets herself be guided to the living room, where she’s gently deposited on a white fluffy couch. There’s a picture of Momo, Juyeon and herself placed in the coffee table next to it. It was taken during her 23rd birthday party, the last one she’d spent at their dorm. She’d been so happy, her whole life waiting for her. Right now, it just seemed like it was mocking her.

“Wait here, i’ll make us some tea.”

The Japanese girl lets go of her hand slowly, like she’s afraid Sooyoung will run away if she does anything too sharply. As if she had anywhere to run away now.

She isn’t sure how much time passes before Momo is back, holding two panda cups filled to the brim with boiling tea that smelled like cinnamon. She sits down, their knees touching. Sooyoung accepts her tea with a small head gesture and says nothing.

Momo’s words seem so loud in the quiet of the house. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Sooyoung’s voice is empty when she repeats what she’d said at the door. “Dowhan broke up with me.”

“Okay.” Momo waits. When it’s evident Sooyoung isn’t going to say anything else, she adds. “Why?”

“He’s leaving.”

Sooyoung doesn’t want to say it out-loud. If she says it out-loud, it becomes real and she doesn’t want it to be real. Except it already is.

“He got a job offer in America. He’s leaving.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

The tea tastes bitter in Sooyoung’s tongue.

“Why don’t you go with him?” Momo asks in soft tone.

Her laugh feels like acid. “Because he doesn’t want me to go.”

Momo’s mouth twitches like she wants to says something but refrains. “Did he say that?”

Those words spark a fire inside her and suddenly, she’s standing up from her place at the sofa, arms flailing around. “No, he didn’t! He didn’t say anything, Momo! But when he spent everyday planning on moving to the other side of the world, while not telling the woman that he was supposed to elope with in a few days, i think it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t want me to go!” There are tears coming from her eyes now, her voice breaking. “He told me we had to postpone the wedding. That he really loved me and that he would come back. That he was sorry and he didn’t mean to hurt me like this.” She wipes at her eyes. “ that. If he really cared about me he wouldn’t have done this.”

She slouches, feeling foolish, defeated and just plain tired. All Momo does is wraps her arms around the taller girl, her hair while she let out all she was feeling.

“How could he do this to me?” Sooyoung cries. “Have i really been such a terrible girlfriend that i don’t even deserve a goodbye? He was going to leave just like that. Only because i caught on did he confess. God, imagine if the wedding had come and i was standing there at the altar and he didn’t show up.” Her chest started reeling with anger and disgust. “I don’t want to hear anything about him ever again. Ugh, i don’t even want to go back to the apartment.”

Sooyoung’s nose was flaring, her lips sealed into a thin line. When Momo finally speaks up, she does it reassuringly. “You don’t have to. When he leaves we can get the stuff out of that place and you can crash here if you want to.”

“Thank you.” She takes a deep breath. “It would just be while i find somewhere else to be. Good thing i’m a strong independent woman who don’t need no man.” Sooyoung adds and she thinks she sounds a little bit pathetic but what else can she do?

“That you are.” Momo lets go, a small smile on forming on her lips. “Come on now, you’ve had a long night. You can sleep on the fluffier side of the bed. We’ll figure things out tomorrow.”

Sooyoung fake gasps. “You never let me sleep on the fluffier side of the bed! Am i dying?" She touches her forehead as if she had a fever.

Momo just looks at her amusedly. “You can also sleep on the floor if you want.”

“Absolutely not.” Sooyoung makes a run for the stairs, the other girl following slowly behind.

She was thankful Momo didn’t press the matter anymore, she knew Sooyoung too well to try to get anything more out of her. She would open up at her own pace. She still felt broken, like the world had suddenly been swept off her feet in the worst way. But she was too tired and didn’t feel like dealing with it anymore, not today at least.

Tomorrow was a new day.

-

“What the .”

Those had been Juyeon’s first words when she’d found out about the situation.

The next day, Sooyoung woke up to find the younger girl preparing breakfast, with Momo sitting behind the counter, chatting about some new tv drama they both liked.

When she walked into the kitchen Juyeon’s face lit up. “Hi sunshine! How are you—” she stops abruptly when she takes a look at Sooyoung’s puffy face. “Are you okay?”

Sooyoung turns to Momo. “You called her but you didn’t tell her what happened?” She raises an eyebrow.

Momo scratches at the back of her neck. “I’m not sure if i was overstepping. I wanted her to hear it from you.”

“What’s going on?” Juyeon looks from one of her friends to the other.

Sooyoung sighs. She figures she might as well get used for this, considering she’s going to be doing it quite a lot. “Dowhan called off the wedding. He’s leaving.”

“What the ! Are you serious?” Juyeon breaks the egg she’d been holding, making a mess. “Oh, sorry. What do you mean he called off the wedding?”

“Exactly that.” Sooyoung shrugs and sits down. She doesn’t want to start yelling again. “He got a job offer in a America. He took it but since it was so sudden we don’t have a chance to do it together. He’s postponing the wedding and leaving tomorrow. Asked me to wait for him and all that.”

“No way. So that’s why he was acting strange these days?” Juyeon’s voice conveys nothing but disgust. “Wow, what a douche. What did you say?”

“I said that.” Sooyoung’s voice is calm but her eyes are like fire. “I’m cancelling it. Forever.”

She pretends like she doesn’t see Juyeon throw an alarmed look at Momo. The Japanese girl just shakes her head. “Good. And how are you feeling?”

“Like .” Sooyoung laughs, but it doesn’t feel as bitter as yesterday. “I mean, i’ve been reflecting on it and. If he was capable of something like this then who knows what else could he have done. I don’t want to marry someone like that.”

It was true. She had stayed up long after Momo had already fallen asleep thinking about how Dowhan was an absolute for doing what he did. It wasn’t about the job—Sooyoung really would have supported him no matter what—but the fact that he was willing to throw her under the bus like she was nothing. You don’t do that to someone you love, much less someone you supposedly want to spend the rest of your life with. And so she was feeling hurt and angry, but a part of herself was relieved that she’d managed to dodge that bullet sooner rather than later.

“You’re right. You deserve someone much much better than that. It’s his loss anyway. After all, who wouldn’t want to marry you, miss Park?” Momo says wiggling her eyebrows.

“She’s right! If i didn’t have a girlfriend you’d be number one on my list.” Juyeon adds, throwing a wink Sooyoung’s way.

“Stop making fun of me, you chaotic lesbians.” Sooyoung rolls her eyes at them. “I don’t want to know anything about marriages for a while.”

“Sounds fair enough to me. Hyunjung’s gonna be sad if you miss our wedding, though, so i hope you get over it soon.”

“You’re not even engaged yet.” Momo says through a mouthful of omelette.

“Keyword yet.” Juyeon winks again and Sooyoung just feels so thankful for her friends.

“I make no promises.”

Her life may have changed abruptly in the span of 24 hours, but with all the good things that she’s still got left, she thinks she’ll be alright.

-

Cancelling a wedding was as much of a hassle as planning it, she had learned.

Dowhan had paid for most of it, and considering how close the event was, it was highly unlikely that they would get refunds for the multiple things that had been hired and catered for. However, Sooyoung didn’t want thousands of workers to show up to an event that just wasn’t about to take place. She hoped their employers would give them the day off.

The worst part was the pity in the voice of those in charge of cancelling the goods. They made it seem like calling of your wedding a few days before was even worse than getting stood up last minute.

By the tenth call Sooyoung was so fed up that she was starting to believe that too.

The guests was something else all together. When they were done with breakfast, the girls had decided to call off work for the day, then they proceeded to drink around seven bottles of wine on a Wednesday afternoon. After blasting break up song after breakup song on Momo’s high definition stereo, so loud one of the neighbors came knocking onto the door to kindly ask them to turn the volume down, Sooyoung realized that her two friends weren’t the only people that she had to notify about her wedding being called off.

“I don’t want to.” She’d pouted while hugging a pillow, scrunching her nose when Juyeon offered her phone.

“You really think it’s the best idea to do it while she’s drunk?” Momo turned to look at the youngest of the tree, arms crossed.

“It would be a pain to do it sober. Plus we’re here to help her. Best friend duty.”

In the end, they’d made a whatsapp group with her side of the guests (and a different one with Dowhan’s guests, because he may be an , but Sooyoung’s educated and classy and if he didn’t tell her, who knows if he told them) where they sent a short but straight-to-the-point message on how the wedding was being called off. They skipped the why, because well, that was no one’s business. Also because despite everything, Sooyoung couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

If her voice had broken a bit (or a lot, more like) while speaking with her parents over the phone, that was only for her to know.

She's still at Momo’s house when she wakes up the next day at 10:43am to a note in the alarm clock on the side of the bed that said:

Had to work today. Breakfast is ready on the kitchen counter. Call me when you wake up. Love ya! xoxo Momo

It makes Sooyoung smile. She doesn’t want to skip work today, already feeling lame that this was taking such a toll in her life. Deep down she knows that it’s okay, that this is huge deal and that it would probably be healthy to take some time off and process it, but she really doesn’t want to be alone and unoccupied or she will break so. Work it is.

She takes some of Momo’s clothes since she still hadn’t gone up to their—her apartment. It’s time she stops thinking in plural. There is no plural anymore.

When she arrives at the office, the first thing she notices is that people are murmuring around her. She walks through the hallways with her head high, pretending like it doesn’t affect her that she’s probably the topic of conversation that provides entertainment during their 8 hour long journeys to a bunch of strangers and colleagues alike.

She’s almost at her office when she hears a voice rise up from her far left. “Aren’t you all supposed to be working?”

The whispers immediately stop, as it was none other than the firm’s vicepresident Kim Kibum who gave the order.

“Thank you.” Sooyoung smiles at him.

“No problem.” He lowers his voice. “Are you okay?”

Kibum had been Sooyoung’s teacher during college and they’d worked quite well together from the beginning. He always thought highly of her, praised her a great student and a better person. That’s exactly why he’d offered her a place in his firm, and now was to her not only a boss but also a friend.

“Yeah, i’m fine. Thank you, really.”

He gives her a small nod and a pat in the back, glowing daggers at anyone who looked in their direction while he left. Warmth blooms in Sooyoung’s chest while she turns the lock on her door.

The office was in the exact same state that she’d left it the night before everything happened.

Scattered around her desk are brochures and numbers to every place she’d had to call and cancel. It felt like the amount of times had closed up in the past few days had to be some type of record. She'd just begun to clean up, tearing apart paper after paper with a bit more force than it’s probably necessary when a small but bright booklet catches her eye.

Spend your honeymoon with us! The title reads. Under it, there’s a picture of two people holding hands while looking out into the sea, looking like the prototype of every Just Married couple ever.

.

Suddenly the memories of Dowhan and her walking through his hometown’s beach all those months ago flash through her mind.

“How would you feel about a honeymoon cruise?” He’d asked while staring at the flashy landscapes on the travel agency spot.

“I never thought about it i guess, but it would be interesting.” Sooyoung replied, reading what the trip apparently offered. “I’d go anywhere as long as it’s with you.”

The booklet crumps on her fist and nausea comes over her. It looks like she still has one thing left to do.

She was about to call the agency to get it over with as soon as possible, when her phone lights up with a message.

I’m sorry, Sooyoung.

Her friends had blocked Dowhan’s number, as well as every social media account he ever had, not out of bitterness but to protect her from stuff like this.

Sooyoung had, in a moment of blind weakness, unblocked it. She didn’t actually do anything about it, except now she’s able to see one last thing that will end her heart for good.

She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. She knew Dowhan was leaving, he made that clear. He’d apologized endlessly that night. What else was there to say?

She takes her phone with shaking hands, staring at the notification. Those three words are everything that show up in the preview. She wonders if that’s all there is.

It’s not.

Tears start forming in her eyes as she reads the rest of it.

I’m sorry, Sooyoung.
I know i hurt you. I hope you can forgive me one day.
My plane is about to leave.
You deserve all the beautiful things in this world. I hope you find them.
I’ll always be waiting for you.
Love, Dowhan

-

That message had obviously prompted an emergency meeting with Momo and Juyeon.

Which is why Sooyoung found herself at a bar near her work building right now, downing a second vodka in the short span of 10 minutes.

Her friends had been kind enough not to yell at her for being stupid and unblocking Dowhan’s number. That’s not to say their mouths didn’t twitch but she’s thankful anyway.

Her hair looks a mess and her face still looks bloated from all the crying that had happened earlier. She’d had to wait for everyone at the office to leave so they wouldn’t see her in this state of dispair. It was downright pathetic.

“He left. He really just left.” Sooyoung kept repeating, as if she said it enough Dowhan would come back.

“Sooyoung, please.” Momo says, rubbing at her back since her face is slumped down across the table.

“Think about it this way,” Juyeon takes a sip from her coke, “now that he’s gone you can get a brand new start!”

Sooyoung looks up, face miserable. “I don’t want a brand new start. I want my life the way it used to be.”

Her friends just stare at each other and then at her with something that feels a lot like pity. Maybe it’s sympathy. Sooyoung isn’t sure, she’d just downed a third vodka in one go and her sight was starting to blur.

She doesn’t even know what Momo and Juyeon are talking about at this point, but she hopes that they’ll forgive her for intruding with a thought that has nothing to do with the topic of their conversation.

“Speaking of which! Like a cherry on top of the cake that it’s my life right now,” Sooyoung says quite hysterically. “I called the travel agency today and guess what. The honeymoon cruise tickets are non-refundable.”

Momo looks startled from the sudden interruption but she just rubs Sooyoung’s back some more. “It’s just money. You’re already not getting refunds from a lot places, one more won’t hurt. It’ll be okay.”

“Or you could, you know… go.” Juyeon adds slowly. The older girls stare at her as if she’d grown two heads. “I’m just saying! You need a break, yes? How about disappearing into the sea for a few days, leave everything behind and all that?”

Sooyoung was exhausted. So hurt and tired and halfway drunk. “I mean i appreciate the idea and all but somehow i don’t think spending a week and a half sharing space with bunch of happy new-weds —alone, no less— is going to make me feel particularly better.”

“Why don’t you invite someone?” She’s expecting Juyeon’s voice again, except it’s Momo who speaks up. It surprises her enough to sit down completely, the sudden movement making her mind dizzy.

“You’re not seriously thinking it’s a good idea.”

Momo shrugs as she takes a french fry from her plate. “It’s probably not. But you could use the getaway.” Juyeon’s smile is triumphant on the other side of the table. “And i know it’s a honeymoon cruise but you can always invite someone and explain everything to them. They won’t mind as long as it’s free. That’s what i think at least.”

Sooyoung’s brain was working fullspeed. Maybe Momo had a point, but it still made no sense. Why would someone just randomly agree to go with her on a trip? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. “So is either one of you offering to go?”

“I can’t get off work for that long, otherwise i wouldn’t let anyone else take the spot. Sorry.” Momo seems sincerely regretful.

“It’s almost end of semester and i have a bunch of exams to take so i can’t go either. Plus i think it would be better if it wasn’t someone from your daily life, you know? That way you won’t be constantly reminded of here.” Juyeon tells her.

“So let me get this straight, you want me to go on a days long journey across the sea… with a stranger?”

Juyeon’s too patient with Sooyoung’s alcohol-induced brain. “Not with a stranger, someone you know but don’t frequent as much as us.”

“I don’t think i have someone like that. It’s a dumb idea anyway. I already said i don’t want anything to do with marriage or weddings or whatever for a while.” She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than she’s trying to convince her friends.

“Okay, then. You can do as you please.” Momo makes a sign towards the waitress. “Now, let’s go home before you finish this bar’s stash of vodka.”

-

Later that night, with alcohol still cruising through her veins, Juyeon’s words kept playing in Sooyoung’s head over and over.

Not a stranger, just someone you don’t frequent as much as us.

A picture flashed through her mind.

This was probably chaos waiting to happen. Or maybe it wasn’t but she had consumed copious amounts of liquid courage and she had nothing left to lose anymore.

Careful not to wake up Momo, she reaches for her phone sitting on the nightstand, the screen too bright for her swollen eyes. She goes to the contacts app and when she finds what she’s looking for, she types out a message.

Hi, this is Park Sooyoung! Is this still Son Seungwan’s number?

Send.

If she wakes up to regret it tomorrow, well. That was future Sooyoung’s problem.