Agonized for a week over the alternate ending I promised OH MY FRICKIN GOD but yay I finally managed to settle on one I'm considerably happy with.

This is probably not the most realistic ending but it was one that kind of made sense to me considering the conversations they'd had the night before and the minimal backstories I've come up with.

Anyway, here you go :D the story picks up right after Donghae left.

Hyukjae sits by the floor in a daze. Playing with his fingers, he’s looking right ahead but not really seeing anything. He can’t stop thinking about Donghae, and about what it means for him. Why do all good things have to end like this?

He watches his friends pick up the trash and put the place back together. The scene is somehow so mundane and foreign at the same time.

“Why don’t you just get someone else to do it?” Hyukjae asks. This is a hotel fully in operation, surely they must have housekeepers who get paid to do what his friends are doing.

Siwon continues sweeping pieces of the broken chandelier and responds, “Well, or you could also do it yourself.”

Yesung processes his response and says, “What? That didn’t even answer the question.”

Hyukjae doesn’t say anything, so Yesung tries to salvage the conversation by continuing, “I guess it’s because there are some things you grow more accustomed to as you grow older. Like clearing up after your own mess.”

Siwon gives an affirmative nod and adds, “Yeah. And like taking responsibility for your actions.”

Hyukjae thinks his friends are bullting him but doesn’t bother pointing it out. Because it made sense, whatever they said. Maybe if Hyukjae wants something to happen then he’s going to have to get it for himself. Maybe for once in his life, he should try doing something by himself and for himself.

He sits up straighter, excited by the possibilities he now sees ahead of him. He’s thinking about something he’s never even once let cross his mind: what if he calls off this wedding?

“Wait, you’re right,” he lets out softly.

Both Yesung and Siwon turn to him, confused. “About?”

“If I want something then I should do it for myself. Which is to say if I want to call off this wedding then nobody can stop me,” he says.

Siwon drops the broom and rushes to his side. “What the hell? That’s not what we meant.”

Yesung joins them and puts a hand to Hyukjae’s forehead. “I think you’re sick.”

Hyukjae pulls his hand off his forehead and shrugs off Siwon’s hand on his shoulder. “No, I’m serious. I see it now: I don’t want to go through with it.”

“Look, Hyukjae,” Yesung starts with a sigh. “I hope you’re not saying it because of Donghae. I know maybe you two had a great time and hit it off and whatever, but I think you’re too caught up in your emotions to realise that it could have been anyone. Maybe the night before was nothing special, and that, you know, you shouldn’t read too much into it.”

Hyukjae opens his mouth to say something but Siwon stops him and chips in, “Yeah, Yesung’s right. It’s the nerves talking, buddy. Don’t do something you’ll end up regretting.”

Hyukjae stands to his feet and pulls the both of them up together with him.

“I know. I get where you guys are coming from,” he says.

His friends look at him expectantly and he continues, “But I’m not doing it only because of Donghae. It’s just, I now see a whole new life that I can live, if only I were brave enough to reach for it. I don’t want to let it slip by my fingertips just because I was too afraid to do something for myself.”

A beat of silence passes and Hyukjae feels his heart sinking. Now that his friends don’t seem as supportive as he’d expected he’s starting to think it might be a bad idea. Maybe he really is too caught up in his emotions to see the bigger picture. Maybe he should just let things go as planned.

Then Siwon speaks. “You know what you’re going to be giving up… right?”

Hyukjae nods. “I mean, am I really ready to be CEO at 25? It just seems like a crazy huge responsibility and commitment and I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

Yesung and Siwon share a glance before Yesung sighs and gives in.

Siwon pulls the both of them into a hug, ruffling Hyukjae’s head gently. “Okay then, as long as you’re sure of it. You know we’ll always have your back.”

“I love you a lot, Hyukjae, but I just wish you didn’t have to come to this huge revelation on the day of your wedding itself,” Yesung mutters under his breath.

Hyukjae laughs and says jokingly, “Maybe you two should have introduced Donghae to me earlier then.”

He allows himself to be held by his friends and thinks, the sky is starting to clear up. There are a hell lot of follow-up actions now that he’s made up his mind and he isn’t exactly looking forward to it, but at least he now sees the sun rising above the horizon, and it’s all that matters to him.

--

First, he calls Eunmi.

She’s surprised to hear from him and even more so when she discovers the purpose behind the call. She’s understandably pissed, but agrees to postpone the wedding indefinitely if the decision is supported by his parents. Hyukjae thanks her and she mutters under her breath, “Yeah, whatever. But if I find another person in this period of time then we’re never hearing from each other again.” It makes Hyukjae laugh but he’s secretly glad she said it, because he kind of has already found another person, though that’s not the point.

The call with his parents didn’t go as smoothly, obviously. In his 25 years of living, he’s never had to sit through a conversation as unpleasant as this, and that’s saying a lot because he was quite the rebellious teen. They hang up on him a few times but Hyukjae keeps dialling back, and fortunately for him, they somehow still pick up every time. Hyukjae doesn’t know how he did it, but he manages to convince them and they agree that maybe he is too young to take over the family business now. They finally relented, but on one condition: that he settles down by 30. Hyukjae thinks 5 years is a good time to work with, and then again beggars can’t be choosers, so he says thank you and allows them to hang up on him.

Siwon, who’s been busy contacting guests for the past hour and telling them the wedding is cancelled, throws himself onto the bed once he’s done.

“That was a disaster. So many of them thought it was a prank call, which is ridiculous because how likely is it that the person behind the mischief knows all the details about an event they’re attending? You’re so lucky I care about you, Hyukjae,” he says, rubbing his temples in case he gets a migraine.

Yesung joins him on the empty side of the bed, throwing a hand over his eyes. “The wedding planners and coordinators weren’t too friendly too. I had to promise them they’ll still get their paychecks before they do something crazy like burn down the church. Which is to say, Hyukjae, you now owe me money.”

Hyukjae sits by the foot of the bed and looks at his friends adoringly. “What would I have done without you guys?” he says teasingly, though he means it deep down. He doesn’t know what good he’d done in his past life to deserve friends like them.

“One thing for sure, you wouldn’t be lying on a bed as comfortable as this,” Yesung says.

Hearing that, Siwon sits up and asks, an eyebrow raised curiously, “Speaking of beds, how come there aren’t sheets on this?”

An uncomfortable silence passes between them before Yesung and Siwon both jump out of the bed.

Hyukjae doesn’t bother hiding his laughter