o34 || wedding
the pursuit of happiness
Yerim’s a bit nervous since it’s her first time being a bridesmaid. Huiqing picked a very beautiful bridesmaid dress for her. The skirt of the sleeveless dress reached her ankle but it hung on a comfortable length that will not make her trip over herself. The material’s soft and the lace is comfortable to use. The pale coral color suited her.
Yerim could hear the commotion in the living room. They’re staying at a suite in Sicheng’s hotel where the wedding will be held. Jaehyun and the boys stepped outside to give Yerim time to dress up, but listening to the noise outside, Jaehyun is probably trying to make Sungchan wear the little tux but the baby must’ve refused it.
Yerim held back a chuckle as she put on the flower hairpin. She put on a light make up so she won’t overshadow the bride, but she made sure she looked better than her normal days. She even went the extra length to curl the ends of her brown locks. She wants to look pretty today. It’s not only because it’s her first time attending a wedding with Jaehyun, but she’s also coming as his fiancée on this occasion, and she’ll be meeting his college friends for the first time. And, that mutant Barbie will probably be there too. She needs to look good.
After making sure she already looked decent, she stepped out of the room to see Jaehyun kneeling on the floor as he tried to tie Jeno’s bow tie. The man hasn’t even put on his own tie and his suit jacket is nowhere in sight. But thankfully, Sungchan is fully dressed and is sitting peacefully while drinking his milk in his stroller.
He bashfully chuckled before shaking his head.
“Everything’s fine. You look… Just… you look very beautiful.”
Yerim smiled as a light blush came to her cheeks.
“I want to say you look good too, but you’re nowhere near ready. Where’s your suit?”
Jaehyun grinned sheepishly before picking it up from the couch.
He put it on and Yerim frowned as she stepped closer to smooth down the creases before taking the abandoned tie from the floor. She was silent as she concentrated on tying the tie neatly around his collar.
He held his breath as she came in close proximity, admiring her long lashes and intricate eye make-up.
“Done. Now you look good,” Yerim smiled proudly as she patted his cheeks.
Jaehyun smiled as he reached for Sungchan’s stroller, “Yeah, let’s go.”
The wedding was beyond beautiful. Yerim couldn’t help herself but to shed some tears as Huiqing walked down the aisle hand in hand with her father. Ten and Huiqing also exchanged vows that they wrote themselves. Huiqing looks so beautiful in her white gown and the pastel floral decorations made everything more beautiful inside the ballroom. Yerim is just so happy that one of her best friends is getting married. She felt bad for disappearing when Sicheng got married. It’s truly a beautiful sight to watch.
After the holy matrimony, Huiqing stepped out to take off the tail from her wedding gown so she could have a comfortable first dance as husband and wife with Ten.
“Hey, let me go to the restroom first, okay? I need to touch up my make-up after all the crying,” Yerim whispered to Jaehyun who sent her an okay sign as he gave his children to Jungwoo. As one of the groomsmen, he’s required to dance along with the bride and groom. He just needs to wait for Yerim first.
Meanwhile, Yerim rushed to the restroom. Thankfully, the mascara is waterproof and she’s careful not to dab on her eyes too hard so her eye make-up is also fine. Although, she might need to touch up her foundation around her cheeks a bit. Quickly she opened her make-up bag and applied a thin layer of foundation, dabbing it off with some loose powder. After making sure her face is not blotchy, she took her lipstick to redo her lips. She was in the middle of fixing the creases in her dress after sitting for quite too long when the door to the restroom opened. She looked at the mirror and inwardly groaned when she saw the incoming person.
Yerim gave the girl a pressed smile. It’s the devil incarnate, Seo Hana.
“Ah, yes.”
Hana sent a snicker after noticing the small diamond ring on Yerim’s fourth finger.
“You came with Jaehyun and the kids?”
Yerim nodded, “Of course. Since we’re families, anyways,” she smiled lightly, emphasizing on the word family.
“I’m still wondering why Jaehyun wanted to marry you. I mean, I don’t understand his taste. Shouldn’t he go for the rich heiress? I thought whoever was lucky enough to occupy the space I left would be some Korean big shot,” Hana commented before smacking her newly painted lips.
“At least his family loved me,” Yerim answered casually, knowing how much Jungwoo detested the girl.
She could see Hana tightening her fists.
“You’re a slick witch, Yerim,” the younger girl said menacingly.
“You left Jaehyun oppa, and then you came back and snatched him away from me.”
Yerim furrowed her brows, “Jaehyun’s mother set us up on a date because Jaehyun had been single for years and so am I. I don’t think there’s any snatching involved. And plus, Jaehyun is not some pawn that people could snatch. He’s a human being.”
“Geez, you’re too old for him. Why did he choose you anyway?” Hana grumbled to herself.
Yerim grinned as she tidied up her make-up pouch.
“Well, Jaehyun and I agreed that we’re going to be each other’s first and last anyway.”
“Uh, hello? I was his first girlfriend,” Hana smirked, thinking she’s going to be able to turn the table around.
She quickly exhaled as she looked for Jaehyun and Jungwoo. That girl was very infuriating!
Yerim gave him a smile before putting her pouch on the small compartment under Sungchan’s stroller.
“Have to do some pest control,” she answered lightly before taking Jaehyun’s hand who stared at her in confusion.
“Woo, please take care of our sons for a while,” she sweetly hollered as the younger guy threw her a thumbs-up. He glanced towards the restroom, spotting a familiar distraught looking Ursula before chuckling to himself.
Jungwoo looked down to glance at the curious Jeno.
“Nothing. Your mother is definitely good at controlling pests.”
“The last time I danced with you was at prom,” Jaehyun grinned as he waltzed slowly with Yerim in his arms.
The girl giggled, “And you shared me with Sicheng and Ten. And now look, they have their own wives now.”
“I’m dancing with my future wife too,” Jaehyun grinned, earning a playful smack on the chest from Yerim.
“But in the end, I got to kiss you. I think I won big time,” Jaehyun mused.
Yerim rolled her eyes.
“Are you gonna introduce me to your college friends after this?” Yerim asked.
“Of course, they’re already looking at us right now actually,” Jaehyun chuckled as he looked in a certain direction. Yerim followed his gaze and blushed when she saw a group of men sending wolf whistles at them. She bowed her head shyly before turning back to Jaehyun in panic.
“Jaehyun! There’s a lot of them!”
“There’s only five of them. Two of them are married too. And oh, one of them is Japanese! You should meet him, he’ll be thrilled to see a Japanese speaker in a Korean wedding,” Jaehyun grinned.
“Oh, really? That’s cool. I guess you’re popular, huh?”
“Well, what can I say with this face…” Jaehyun droned smugly.
“Ew!”
The couple chuckled as they continued dancing.
The dance ended shortly and they retreated back to where Jungwoo was sitting and conversing with the fellow bachelors of their group.
“Ah, you guys are back. I can’t wait for your wedding, hyung, noona,” Mark grinned.
Jaehyun laughed as he reached for Sungchan who looked like he’s bored out of his wits staying inside the stroller. Meanwhile Jeno already launched himself into the embrace of Yerim.
“Yo, Jaehyun bro!”
Yerim and Jeno turned around in shock when they heard a loud boisterous voice. On instinct, the two of them stepped closer to Jaehyun. Sungchan’s lips quivered before he broke out into a wail.
“Ya! Youngho hyung! You scared my son!”
“Oh my god, I’m sorry!”
Yerim watched the scene with curious eyes as her fiancé talked rapidly in English. She felt Jeno hugging her tighter. She looked down and smoothed down his hair to comfort him.
“It’s appa’s friends. We should greet them after this, okay, Jeno?”
Jeno nodded.
“Oh, yeah. Guys, meet my fiancée and my kids. This is Yerim,” Jaehyun turned to her, reaching for her arm.
Yerim smiled and bowed, “Hi, I’m Kim Yerim.”
“Whoa, Jaehyun! You got lucky! She’s so pretty! Hi, I’m Taeyong, his ex-roommate!” A male with striking blue hair grinned.
“Hi, I’m Doyoung. And this is Johnny, or Youngho. Shall you change your mind after knowing Jaehyun’s ugly side, we’re just having you know that we’re still single,” A man winked and Jaehyun turned to him and frowned.
“Yah! Doyoung hyung!”
“Anyways, I’m Taeil. This is my wife, Nari, and our daughter Byul. I was one of Jaehyun’s seniors,” A male smiled. Yerim cooed at the baby around Sungchan’s age who was sleeping in her mother’s embrace.
“She’s very beautiful. Oh my god,” Yerim gushed.
“And I’m Yuta. This is my wife, Maki.”
“Ah, you must be the Japanese friend Jaehyun told me. I’m Yerim, nice to meet you,” Yerim bowed after switching in Japanese, shocking the Japanese couple at her impeccable pronunciation.
“Whoa, you speak Japanese?”
Yerim nodded timidly before turning to the big group, “I went there for university, and worked there for a year before moving back here.”
“Wow, she’s really amazing, Jaehyun. You won big time,” The man she recalled as Doyoung patted Jaehyun’s shoulder.
“I know, I was very lucky,” Jaehyun turned to her and smiled.
“Anyways, your kids?”
“Ah, yeah. They’re my adoptive kids I’ve told you guys about. The baby here is Sungchan, he just e a few months ago. And the older one is Jeno.”
“Jeno, say hi,” Yerim patted the boy’s back. The boy shyly bowed, “I am Jung Jeno.”
“You have a very wonderful family, Jaehyun. We’re looking forward to going back to Seoul to attend your wedding.”
Jaehyun laughed and nodded.
“Jaehyun oppa, can we talk?”
All heads turned when a girl came into view.
Yerim tried not to look at her in distaste. Her bleached hair is really…ugh. And wearing white to a wedding? Wow, this girl has guts.
“Hana...”
Yerim turned to the tallest guy of the bunch. She recognized him as Johnny and Jaehyun once told her that Hana is his sister, which thoroughly surprised her since Johnny seemed like a genuinely good and nice guy unlike his sister.
“I just wanted to talk,” Hana said defensively.
Yerim could feel all eyes turned to her but she casually approached Jaehyun to take Sungchan from his hands.
“It’s fine, they might have some unresolved things. Just go, I’ll appreciate some alone time with your friends so I can dig up some dirt on you,” she said lightly as she gave him a gentle push before going towards his friends.
Jaehyun unwillingly followed Hana to a corner while Yerim stayed with his friends.
“How can you be so chill about it? I’m sorry about my sister, I heard she came to your apartment,” Johnny apologized.
“Eh, it’s not your fault. It’s okay,” Yerim smiled as she balanced the fussy Sungchan on her arms.
“Your son looks uncomfortable, are we scaring him?” The Japanese guy asked warily.
“Ah, it’s just that he’s been strapped to the stroller since the ceremony started and now, he’s being carried. I guess he just wanted to go down. Shall we go to a more vacant area there near the fountain? I think he wants to walk,” Yerim said.
“He can walk already? My daughter just learned how to a month ago,” the male Yerim recognized as Taeil said.
“He’s been trying to walk for a few months now. He’s just jealous that his brother and his father can run around freely while he can’t,” Yerim laughed.
“Alright, let’s go there. And maybe meet up with Ten and Sicheng, I missed them. And oh, we’re so definitely going to tell you about Jaehyun’s stories from university!
Jaehyun leaned against the wall with a bored expression as he watched his wife and his kids move with his friends.
“What do you want, Hana?” he sighed.
“Oppa, I want the truth. Did your parents force you to be with that woman?”
“What? No one forced me to be with Yerim.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. It took less than a year for you to marry her. That’s some black magic . She’s really a witch,” Hana crossed her arms and snickered.
Jaehyun groaned, “Look, Hana. Yerim has been with me throughout high school—”
“She left you after it!”
“I know she did. But maybe we were just destined to be. And the distance was needed for us. She was my first love, Hana. The reason why our relationship didn’t work back then was because you were never in the picture. If I could be in a relationship with someone, then that someone has to be Yerim. It was so easy to fall in love with Yerim. You’re not the one for me, Hana. Please open your eyes. There are a lot of worthy guys in this world. I’m about to get married and start a family. You should stop pining on me,” Jaehyun shook her shoulders.
“But what if I don’t want to? Jaehyun oppa, I loved you so much, I have always been. I ca—”
“JAEHYUN! SUNGCHAN WALKED! JAEHYUN!
Jaehyun whipped his head around, forgetting about Hana entirely when he saw Yerim jumping around as their beloved baby was toddling unbalanced on the ground, while his friends clapped along beside her. His smile grew wide as he rushed there, not giving a single care to the girl who was close to crying in front of him.
Hana erased her angry tears as she turned to see the man of her dreams laughing happily as he watched his son walk for the first time.
“Hana-ya.”
She looked up to see his brother.
“I’ve always told you from the start, Jaehyun was not the one for you. I felt bad for pushing him to you back then. You should back down. He’s happy with his family now. He’s never yours to begin with. So, stop, okay?”
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