Chapter 2.

The days until Friday went by faster than Hyukjae would have liked. He knew his mother would be happy to see Donghae, it had been some time since last and his mom adored the younger man. She had ever since the beginning.

The older male’s family would often ask how Donghae was doing when he met up with them or spoke to them on the phone. Sure, they wondered about the other members as well from time to time, but for some unknown reason to Hyukjae they always asked about Donghae.

He’d have to ask his family one of these days to know the reason why.

Worried that he’d oversleep and prove his older sister right, the youngest member of the Lee family packed his bag, made Donghae finish up with his own and placed their suitcases in the car’s trunk the night before heading out. That way there were no risk of them forgetting something and it gave them a couple more minutes the following morning.

He set five alarms, all on irregular time intervals, so he’d be unable to fall back asleep in the morning. Due to his worry of being late he made the younger dance sleep in the same room. That way they would wake up at the same time and didn’t disturb the other members by running up and down the two floors of the dorms. The shorter male didn’t complain.

Thankfully the planning and fixing payed off and the friends set off towards the older of the two’s sister’s apartment with a good amount of time to spare.

An hour later the four were on their way down to the awaited ceremony and to see all the relatives of the two siblings. The pair of friends were seated in the front of the vehicle, while the ‘love birds’ sat in the backseats. When the couple had seen the additional male, surprise was a mild way to describe the expressions taking over their faces.

After explaining the situation, the long-time couple hummed unconvinced, sending looks and raised eyebrows between each other while the duo directed their focus on the road ahead.

Throughout the ride to Busan the four joked around and played silly games, with the sporadic pause as they sung along with the song playing on the radio. Hyukjae thought to himself when they were almost at the destination that it had been smart of him to agreeing with bringing the younger to the party. Donghae got along with the rest of the Lee family as if he was already one of them (outside of sharing the same surname).

Hyukjae and Sora’s cousin was born the year before the daughter of the Lee family. The cousin was the daughter of their mother’s brother and his wife. The only boy amongst the three of them considered the oldest girl as his additional sister at moments.

During their childhood the three had spent a lot of time together, but when they got older Hei Ran moved with her parents to Busan where her father had gotten a new job. They still kept in contact as best as they could. Something that got more and more difficult as they grew older. Life got in the way.

The groom came from a rather well-off household, making it easy to rent an entire hotel for only their guests and wedding reception. Hyukjae hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting the groom yet. He’d heard about him thought. A lot. His family was in the hotel branch, building and owning high-end resorts and hotels around the world, one more luxurious than the other.

But knowing his cousin right, the fame and money hadn’t made her go out with the man in question to begin with. He had to be a good man for the female to agree to date him.

After parking the car in the underground garage of the hotel, the youngest cousin realized how much he’d missed Hei Ran. It had been almost a year since they saw one another last. Three months late the older had gotten engaged and Hyukjae started preparing for Super Junior’s upcoming album and comeback with it.

Donghae chatted with Beom Seok (Sora’s boyfriend) as the four made their way up to the lobby with the elevator. Well inside the foyer they were surrounded by all the other guests checking in for the oncoming wedding.

In the middle of a fun anecdote about a much younger bride told to the two newcomers, a high-pitched call rang through the room. The following millisecond Hyukjae felt a hard impact, making him short of breath.

The embrace that came with the crash loosened a minute or two after it had happened. Before him stood a short, skinny, pretty female. She was dressed in a pretty deep red dress, her dark-brown shoulder length hair was styled in soft waves. Her pink-tinted lips were pulled into a bright smile.

“You’re all here! I’ve been waiting since your parents got here yesterday. What took you so long?”

The exited bride pulled Sora into a tight hug. When she let go she looked around the small group to the two men standing with the siblings. She smiled and welcomed the two as well.

Sora was the first of the two Lee siblings to find her manners and introduce her boyfriend. “This is my boyfriend Jung Beom Seok, unnie. Oppa, this is our cousin and the bride. The whole place- that we’ve seen so far- looks absolutely beautiful.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Sora’s been talking about you for forever it feels like. If I were to find my fiancé in this crowd I’d bring him over. But for now, it’ll have to wait.” The bride laughed happily at her own joke. Though it made the others laugh with her. “Wait until you see the ballroom where the dinner and after party will be held tomorrow. It’s to die for!”

Hei Ran turned towards the blue-haired male, a glint of recognition could be seen in her light brown eyes.

Donghae grinned back at her. “Congratulations on getting married. My name’s Lee Donghae.”

“I know who you are! You’re in the same group as Hyukjae. I’ve heard about you for years; it feels as if we’ve already met ages ago.”

All of them except for Hyukjae laughed at the statement. A light blush snuck up his neck to his cheeks. He knew that he talked a lot about the younger friend. They spent the majority of their days and weeks together, why wouldn’t he talk about the other man?

A light squeeze on his upper arm gained the blond’s attention. He looked over to the slightly shorter man next to him, giving him a smile as a form of reassurance in response at the worry clouding the other’s eyes. Donghae had noticed the change in the elder’s behavior, like he often did.

For the next couple of minutes, the five talked about the festivities and their lives in general. When the cue they were standing in moved, it was their turn to check-in. The guests made their way over to the reception desk.

Before Hyukjae made it all the way over a tug at his wrist made him halt. When he looked back to see what the reason may be, he saw a mischievous grin on his cousin’s glossed lips.

“He’s handsome.”

“And you’re getting married. Don’t even think about any last rendezvous with Donghae.”

The female snorted while shaking her head slowly. “I don’t want anyone other than my fiancé. I meant; I’m happy that my dear little cousin found someone as handsome and lovely as Donghae-sshi.”

Hyukjae’s eyes grew bigger as the meaning behind the bride’s words sunk in. “It’s not like that noona!! He’s only a close friend, mom made me bring one as my plus-one since I’m not dating anyone at the moment.”

“Whatever you say Hyuk~~ I have to go greet other guests and you have to move into your room. I’ll see you later at dinner.”

Without a chance for the blond to explain further or say anything else the bride had disappeared amongst the huge party of guests milling about inside the lobby. With a final sigh, Hyukjae walked over to where his three traveling buddies stood.

Checking-in went by without a hitch thankfully. Within ten minutes the four had gotten their respective cardkeys, grabbed their bags off the hotel floor and made it inside their two separated suites.

The first thing Hyukjae did was lay down on the well-made queen-sized bed standing as a center piece in the room. Donghae followed shortly after.

They had shared beds a lot of times before. The previous night was one example, so the fact that there was only one bed for them to share for the rest of the weekend didn’t affect the two friends the least.

By the time they bothered to get off of the comfortable bed, it was close to five-thirty in the evening. Dinner was supposed to be served in an hour, meaning they had to freshen up, change clothes and get down to the dining hall as soon as possible. There would most defiantly be some mingling around with the other guests before dinner was served.

After all the concerts with Super Junior and other sub-groups they were pros. Getting ready in a short amount of time was a child’s game for them.

Hyukjae took out a pair of clean black jean pants and laid them on the edge of their bed. A black dress shirt with thin white stripes creating a somewhat checkered pattern placed together with the pants. Donghae wore similar pants coupled with a light blue dress shirt.

The dining room was crowded. That was the first thing passing through Hyukjae’s mind as the two males stood by the entrance of the bustling room. The majority of the guests had made it to the big hall making conversation with the other people walking about.

Most of Hyukjae’s family from his mother’s side had been invited and apparently shown up considering how many of his relatives he could see dressed too in fancy clothing.

A warm hand squeezed the blond’s left side. At the sudden gesture the man looked to his right, meeting the soft gaze of his closest friend. The younger man gave the older a small smile, as if asking if the latter was ready to mingle with their fellow peers.

Donghae wasn’t known for being a social person. If anyone knew that it was Hyukjae himself. He was the one that led conversations when the two members had to interact with other people. Seeing the shorter taking the lead was surprising but non the less calming. They had always been the greatest support for one another.

“You look a bit pale. Are you sure you want to be here?”

Hyukjae felt the ends of his plump lips rise, “I’m always pale if you haven’t forgotten. All these people made me realize that it’s going to be a long weekend. This is the last chance for you to run, Hae.”

“It will be over faster than you’ll notice.” Donghae replied with a grin. “As if I would bail at all the free food I’ve been promised. You won’t get away that easily, now let’s go.”

Shaking his head fondly, the rapper let himself be dragged to one side of the stage placed in the room. As the duo reached the spot, Hyukjae noticed that his parents were standing a short distance from the said stage talking to an elder couple.

The weight of the younger’s arm still holding its grip around the taller male’s back felt soothing. He would survive an intense weekend with this many people, he met strangers and friends all the time. This was no different.

Plus, he loved his family and relatives, as much as most other people do that is.

His mother embraced the younger almost immediately, as the pair reached her and the others standing around the lady. She patted his left cheek fondly, smiling at the man. Hyukjae watched the exchange between the two, having seen the same thing for years by now.

As Donghae went over to hug Mr. Lee, the couple’s son gave his mother a tight hug.

“Hi mom, don’t you look lovely all dressed up. Dad must be having a hard time chasing away all the other men hitting on you.” He gave the older woman a cheeky grin, which earned him a light punch on his arm from the female in question.

“Oh, Hyukjae aren’t you a loving child, making fun of your dear mother. What am I to do with you?”

Hyukjae raised his hands in front of his body, lightheartedly showing playful surrender and surprise. “What? I mean what I said. You look good in that outfit. I have your good genes and I’d never joke about that.”

A bright laughter reached his ears from next to him. Feeling a strong grip around his bicep followed by a bump of something hard pressed against his right shoulder, Hyukjae turned his head in the direction.

Donghae had leaned his forehead against Hyukjae, body shaking while trying to contain his laughter.

“Hyuk, you should thank both your parents for your good looks with sincerity and not put it as a joke.” The shorter male raised his head, locking eyes with the taller, smile still in place.

Hyukjae didn’t answer with word. Instead he gave Donghae a gummy smile before ruffling the other’s fluffy hair into a mess.

“Yah!! What are you doing?! You know how long this took me to get it right, without our stylists here I have to tame it myself.”

The rapper let out a loud laugh, gaining a curious glance from some of the guests standing close to them.

“Sorry Hae. Here, I’ll help you fix it.” The taller ran his long thin fingers through dark locks, untangling them before putting them back to where they’d been previously.

When he deemed it good enough he pulled back his hand, letting it fall along his slip frame.

Turning to the four older people in front of the duo, Hyukjae saw the knowing smile his mother gave them before she turned towards the other lady, continuing their previous conversation. The expression very similar to the one Sora, Beom Seok and Hei Ran had worn when looking at the duo earlier that day.

With a half-raised eyebrow, Hyukjae shrugged at the weird look from his mother, directing his focus towards the discussion Donghae had with the two elder men.

The six talked for twenty minutes before the elderly couple bid their goodbyes, making their way over to some of the other guests.

Minutes later the remaining four agreed on splitting up to mingle with other wedding attendance before dinner would be served.

The two idols milled around, greeting people from time to time as they made their way around the dining room.

Almost an hour later, Hyukjae found himself listening in on an intriguing discussion with Donghae, the uncle of the groom and the man’s teenage son, about some football game that had been played in Europe earlier that week.

The taller dancer had a big interest in the sport (compared to his best friend he was lost). And Donghae had actually watched the match unlike the older of the duo.

Starting to lose interest in the topic at hand, Hyukjae softly placed his hand against the dip of Donghae’s back much like the other had done before, gaining his attention for a brief minute.

Quickly he announced that he’d get something for him and Donghae to drink since they hadn’t made it over to the bar yet. The younger nodded in understanding before turning his head, continuing the conversation.

Standing by the bar waiting for his turn to order, Hyukjae let his eyes roam the room filled to the brim with guests. Everyone seemed to have a great time, talking and drinking, all dressed in fine clothing.

His eyes effortlessly found his best friend and co-worker in the sea of people. The man was listening intensely as a fourth man had joined the conversation.

Even though Donghae wasn’t a big talker nor an overly social person he seemed unusually intrigued and participant in the discussion. Hyukjae marveled at how well Donghae fitted in. The people around him had no direct connection with the latter. If it wasn’t for Hyukjae, he’d most like never meet any of the guests attending the party.

But seeing the singer in the crowd felt