We soon arrived at the shop and all of us got out of the car. Doyoung handed me the keys and I placed them back in my bag before taking a step towards the shop. An arm stopped me from moving, and I turned around to see Sora smiling at me. 

“Can we talk for a few minutes?” I nodded and the others left to go in. She held my hand and we had gone into another shop that was near the dress shop. This store was filled with decorative flowers and other vintage items.

“I am proud of you Hana.” I looked towards Sora in confusion, and she smiled at me before walking further into the store. “When my family told me I would be getting married to one of the Lee siblings, I thought my world was ending. I had heard of all of his achievements and, like you, could not believe I was getting married to someone “out of my league”. Did you know your brother had fangirls too?” My eyes went wide at that and shook my head.

“He had fangirls?” She let out a light laugh and shook her head.

“Oh yeah! I was terrified of them because I was scared they would burn me alive when they heard I was getting married to their idol. And let's not forget. Your brother wasn’t just known for his brain, but for his looks too. I had tried many times to not get married to him and somehow break the engagement. I thought he was some stuck up elite that was just getting married to me for business purposes. My mother finally got irritated with me trying to corner her everywhere to break the engagement and told your brother I didn’t want to get married to him. Imagine my surprise the next morning when he showed up at my doorstep with a bouquet of lilies in his hand.” I started laughing at that because I could imagine my brother being that cheesy.

“Aww wait I remember that day! He was asking Anna and me for advice and I thought about getting you flowers. But not the traditional red roses.” I scrunched up my nose at the memory of Taeyong ordering a dozen red roses and got mad at him for being cliche. Sora laughed again and had a fond look on her face. She was looking through the shelves of many things that were blue colored and smiled.

“Hana, that day was when I really knew your brother. And you could imagine my embarrassment when I saw that he was nothing like I imagined. We got to know each other a lot better and went through with the marriage...and six years later we’re still happy.” She suddenly took something off the shelf and went to go pay for it, me trailing after her. She paid for it and we both left the store and turned towards me once we were outside.

“Hana, I really am proud of you. You were into this decision about marriage and it feels like no one is listening to you. However, you’re not running away from the issue, but facing it head on. Even though I can tell you have the same insecurities I had when I heard I was getting married, you're still trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation. Your brothers, Anna, and I are with you every step of the way. Even your cousins” She let out a laugh at that and I chuckled. “No matter what happens, we will all be with you. And since I get the feeling that you will be going through with the wedding, here is something blue.” Sora took my hand and placed the object she had just bought from the store in my palm and it was a beautiful blue ring. The ring’s band looked like silver tree branches holding the blue stone in the middle. Surrounding the stone were tiny copper flowers and leaves. I placed it on my index finger and was surprised by the perfect fit.

“Oh my gosh.” I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes and looked at Sora with gratitude. “Thank you so much! I… thank you!” Sora smiled and hugged me before letting me go. 

“We are here. Every step of the way. Ok?” I nodded and she quickly wiped my tears before leading me into the dress shop. As soon as we entered, two bodies collided with Sora and she laughed. 

“Boys! What did I tell you about running around in stores.” The twins looked up at their mother and pulled puppy dog eyes on her causing me to laugh. Soon Taeyong came over and saw my face before looking at Sora in confusion. She shrugged and turned to me and I shrugged back causing us both to laugh. 

“Kids, come with me! Let’s see if we can find anything for you two.” I took the kids with me and left my brother and his wife at the entrance. The further I got into the store, I noticed there was more cloth and fabric everywhere and I had to watch where I stepped. 

“Ahh there she is! The belle of the ball!” I turned around at the voice and a lady walked out from behind a mannequin that was wearing a shimmering coral pink gown that puffed out, but not too much to the point it was considered a Cinderella gown. “My name is Tina and I am in charge of your fitting today.” she held out her hand and I shook it. 

“My name is Hana. Nice to meet you” I gave a smile, which she returned and stepped to the side and waved her hand towards the coral dress. 

“Do you like it? The color would go well with your skin.” That was my dress!? I stepped closer to the mannequin to take a closer look and was in awe. This dress was simple, but had an elegant look to it with floral patterns trailing up from the bottom. The sleeves were elbow length but made out of lace and the bell of the dress fell just below my knees. 

“The flowers and butterflies...how did you..?” I was amazed by how beautiful the dress looked and how it held the floral print elegantly. 

“Ahh the flowers yes? That was your mother’s choice. She said you loved flowers and the butterflies were my idea.” she grinned at me. I turned to look at my mom, who was standing on the side with a grin on her face. 

“Mom?” she sighed and came closer to me and gently held my arm.

“Hana, I know I am mean to you and treat you differently than your siblings. But I am still your mother. I raised you and I know your likes and dislikes. I watched you grow up and become the woman you are today. Even if I don’t show it in a way I show your siblings, I do love you and I care for you.” I was speechless. I stared at her and wondered if this really was my mother. “Now go try on the dress. I want to see how you look. Go.” She slightly pushed me towards Tina and smiled. Anna suddenly came and stood next to our mother and smiled. 

“Hurry up. I want to see you.” I grinned and turned towards Tina, who had an excited smile and led me to the back where the dressing rooms were. Gosh if we're like this for a ball gown, I don't even want to imagine wedding dress shopping. Tina helped me into the dress and fixed all the crinkles and made sure everything was at the right flair. After she fixed it on me, she turned me around to face the mirror.

“Well?” Tina was smiling and I walked closer to the mirror to see properly. The dress fit like a glove and it was beautiful. The shoulders were a bit wider than they were on the mannequin, but it looked nice with the sleeves. Tina came and pinned half of my long black hair to the side to let it flow over my shoulder and gave me coral pink high heels that matched the dress. The heels were about four inches high and there were little laces on the sides of the shoes to wrap around my ankles. Tiny butterflies were also all over the shoe and it looked well put together. This was my very first custom made dress and I loved it!

“Are you ready to see your family?” I nodded and Tina gave a half smile before leading me back out towards the others in the main room.  I stepped out from the shadow and faced my family and I heard gasps all around the room. 

“Mom, you really have outdone yourself.” Anna stood up from her chair and walked over to where I was standing. I looked over at my mom and saw my dad clap her shoulder and give her a proud smile. Sora walked over to me also to get a closer look at the dress. After a few minutes, they both backed off and turned towards my mom, who slowly got up from her chair and came towards me. She circled around me to see if there were any imperfections with the dress and gave a smile when she noticed that everything looked perfect.

“You look beautiful darling.” My mother held my hands and squeezed them, before looking at the guys for their opinion. Taeyong and Doyoung both looked nodded their heads in approval and my dad gave me a smile. Even the twins gave me a thumbs up and I laughed. 

“We will take it. It’s perfect.” My dad came up and nodded at Tina, who clapped and went to the back with my mom and dad to get the payment settled.

“I don’t think I have ever seen you so happy in a dress!” Anna laughed when she saw my grin going from ear to ear. 

“John is a lucky man.” My brother nodded at his thought, which made me scoff. I tried to fix my hair because it kept getting in my eyes when Taeyong grabbed my hand. “Is this the ring?” He grinned and I smiled in excitement.

“Huh? What ring?” Anna looked at the ring and looked at us three. 

“Sora got me something blue.” I had a happy smile at the thought of what my future might hold. I looked at her, and she winked at me. “I think I am ready for this, guys. I think I am ready to get married and see where my life takes me.” I felt confident...sorta. 

“I still say we talk to him” Taeyong mumbled and I tried to kick him while the others laughed. Oh right I need to text him.  I tried to take a step back and wobbled a bit.

“Sora, can you help me to the back?” I was trying to keep my balance. 

“This is why I told you to wear heels once in a while. They hurt don’t they?” I heard my mother question me and held my hand before I could stumble backwards. “Honestly, where did I go wrong with you?” I felt my heart clench in pain and bit my lip while looking away. And just when I thought she was in a good mood. I noticed my mother staring at me before heaving a sigh and tugged lightly on my hand. “Come on, I have some things I need to talk to you about.”

I tried my best to get to the back of the store without stumbling or tripping. Once we got to the dressing room, there was a small couch in the corner of the room and she led me to the seat. As soon as I sat down, she sat down next to me and held my hand in her lap. She opened a few times to say something but nothing was coming out and she let out another sigh before looking at me in the eyes again. 

“Are you ok? Did I do something wrong?” I didn’t want to make her mad all of the time, but lately I felt as if that was the only thing I was capable of my whole life. She didn’t say anything for a minute but then squeezed my hand and looked away.

“Hana I want to apologize for everything I have done to you. I treat you differently compared to your siblings and I know that we all can see that it’s what I do. However, there is a reason for why I am always harsh with you compared to your siblings. Hana. watching you grow up, I noticed that you had a different way of thinking and living compared to your brother and sister. Your siblings viewed their life as a competition and they fought to get where they needed to go. You only fought where you thought it was necessary, but most of the time you just went with the flow. You slowly became an introvert and I don’t even think you had any friends whenever we took you to the parties.” I looked away at the last statement and tried not to cringe openly. Oh mother, if only you knew what their personalities were like behind closed doors. “I got worried that you wouldn’t be able to be a person who is able to take care of herself. I couldn’t see you being independent or responsible with your life. That’s why I treated you the way I did because I thought I would be able to make you stronger. If anything though, I think I made you more rebellious.” I flinched at the notion and cleared my throat.

“Mom-” I started to say but she cut me off.

“Let me finish. When you had left in the middle of dinner last night, your siblings were angry and rightfully so. They had knocked some sense into me and your father and made us realize that we were unfair to you. You are not like your siblings and we should have never expected that from you. I wanted the best for you but I had the wrong way of showing it. Which is why I made this dress. I wanted to show you that I am still your mother and your opinions and life choices do matter to me, even if I don’t show enough appreciation for it. I will always be here for you and I will listen and try not to be a horrible mother hmm? Your father and I did a lot of thinking last night on how we could make our relationship with you better, if you want to of course.” I laughed and hugged my mother tightly, making sure she could feel that I didn’t hate her. I pulled away from her and smiled but quickly replaced it with a frown.

“Hold on, what about breakfast this morning?” Mother released a dramatic sigh before glaring at me.

“I told you, you need to lose weight! I refuse to have you walk down the aisle without forcing you to shed some pounds. Besides, I still gave you something to eat, which is much better than what I did to your sister. I forced your sister to just drink water for ten days before her wedding.” My eyes widened at the memory and I heard the curtain to the dressing room open. 

“And let me tell you, those ten days were hell!” My sister glared at my mom with her hands on her hip and Sora was standing next to her with a look of pity but trying not to laugh at her misfortune. They both walked in the dressing room and closed the curtain before looking at my mother and me. 

“Oh yes, Sora got me something blue for the wedding.” I showed the ring to my mother, who excitedly grabbed my hand and inspected the accessory. 

“Oh it’s beautiful. It’s perfect Sora, thank you.” Sora gave a small smile and turned towards my sister. 

“We should probably leave them to change hmm?” I knew they had heard the conversation, seeing as how Anna wasn’t straining to smile at us and nodded. 

“Yeah, we will wait for you guys outside. Oh and dad asked us to tell you that he got some suits for the boys to wear that would be perfect for the ring bearers. 

“Ah, perfect. I am so excited for next month.” While my mom was distracted, I quickly took the phone out of my bag and opened John’s contact.

“ Hey my dress color’s coral pink.” I locked my phone and placed it away when my mom stood up to help me out of the dress and my sisters left.  As soon as I finished changing, I heard my phone go off and I checked to see who it was.

“Thanks! By the way, do you think we can talk tonight?” I raised my eyebrows at the message but quickly sent back a “sure” before locking my phone again. I wonder what he wants to talk about.