wherein Giselle is about to get married and she had to deal with her two best friends as her chaotic maid of honors

or; winrina being total opposites and wanting different things for ningselle's wedding.

or; winter being the uptight lawyer from New York, and Karina as an art teacher in Seoul.

 

—

 

It's a few weeks before my wedding.

 

I really want to brag and tell everyone how I'm the luckiest girl in the world, marrying the most amazing person in the whole universe—but I guess, people attending my wedding didn't need more things to get envious of. 

 

Ningning is absolutely astonishing and phenomenal and everything I could ever ask for. 

 

Our first meeting wasn't really ideal, but that's a story for another time. 

 

I have more significant matters to attend to.

 

Like how to keep my two best friends (who happened to be both my maid of honor) from killing each other.

 

I guess the first mistake I did was choosing them both. I could have taken my beloved's suggestion of just choosing one of them, or just let it be my sister instead, but no. 

 

I really had the audacity to choose the bloody path and whine to Ningning constantly about how those two wouldn't shut up.

 

I promised one when we were kids that she'll be my maid of honor, and I promised the other (clearly forgetting the first promise I did) that she'll be my main side chick for the wedding.

 

And that's how I ended up with both of them.

 

Do you know how they always tell you you're not the same person as you are around different people? 

 

Like how I'm not the Giselle I am when I'm with my parents and when I'm with my siblings, or how I'm not the same Giselle my soon-to-be wife knows?

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking is causing the great chaos in my living room now.

 

"No, of course not, Aeri likes this one!"

 

"No, Giselle-unnie wouldn't like that. She prefers this!"

 

"What the hell is going on here?" Is the only thing that came out of my mouth as soon as I saw my two best friends killing each other over a piece of cloth.

 

 

Well you see, I grew up with my best friend, Karina. 

 

You know those stages in life wherein you love everything colorful and you make matching bracelets and you both grew up to be high schoolers so you dye your hairs pink and purple because that's what cool girls look like, right?

 

And I looooove Karina, this girl has been with me through thick and thin, known all my secrets and my issues growing up, she might as well be my walking diary. 

 

We stayed in touch even after I moved out and chased my dreams in New York, where I worked as a lawyer in one small law firm focusing on litigation. 

 

That's where I met Winter, a year younger than me but has been in the firm longer than I was, and had been my best friend ever since I stepped through adulthood. 

 

Karina chose not to leave our hometown, ending up being what she had always said she would—an art teacher. 

 

I had to fly her up here in New York just so she can attend my wedding.

 

It was not an easy conversation.

 

If you look at the conflicting visuals between my two best friends, it'll probably hurt your head as much as what I feel right now.

 

Karina, in her black crop top under her jean jumper (with dried paint stains, I guess) pink beanie, dirty white sneakers, and a complete look that screams I'm a hipster and Winter, in her female suit, stilettos, and reading glasses—arguing about which color of linen they should use for my wedding. 

 

"Giselle-unnie prefers this, it's classy and clean. Black had always been her go-to color. And gold is just the perfect match for it." Winter continues to argue.

 

"Yeah? This is a ing wedding, not a funeral!" Karina yells, holding the pink and purple linen in hand. "Plus, did you even take into consideration what Ningning wants? No, yeah? I guess so."

 

"Guys, really, can you just agree on something?" I sighed. They had been doing this ever since we started the preparation. 

 

I'm now regretting how Ningning and I agreed to let them decide for us.

 

Yesterday, they were fighting over which flowers to use, and I ended up getting both just to spare them the heated conversation of how white lilies are for a funeral (Karina, of course) or how it's actually a symbol of purity and modesty (yep, that's Winter).

 

Now, they're still talking about funerals. Can they just—

 

"What's going on here, love?" My beloved asked, circling her hands on my waist. 

 

"They're at it again," I whispered, not wanting to fuel the fire more. 

 

"Okay girls, what is it this time?" Ningning asked the two, and I never knew both of them can actually rap by how fast they were talking. 

 

I gave Ningning an I'm outta here face, and she looked at me wide-eyed, realizing what she just put herself into.

 

I poured myself a glass of water in the kitchen instead, listening to how both girls in the living room are still trying to make their points across to my soon-to-be bride. 

 

Gosh, this is going to be exhausting. 

 

—

 

 

"Oh my God, do you not know she's allergic to walnuts?" Winter exclaimed when Karina included a walnut-covered wedding cake in her choices. 

 

"What? Since when were you allergic to walnuts?" My best friend looked at me as if I committed high treason.

 

"It doesn't matter, that's not going into the preliminary choices," Winter said, dismissing Karina's options.

 

"And you're really putting in a plain three-layer vanilla cake on yours? How ing boring can you be, Winter-ssi?"

 

"The wedding cake is not a graffiti wall, Karina-ssi. Did you see the overall motif of this wedding? It's black and gold!" Winter said, clearly rubbing it off to Karina how Ningning sided with her against the pink and purple.

 

"Black and gold, then why are you putting a boring white?"

 

"And you call yourself an art teacher?"

 

"Are you ing insulting me—"

 

"Such a waste of vocabulary. Plenty of English words and yet your mouth is just full of filth."

 

"You i—"

 

"Guys! Just, okay. Give me all your initial choices okay? Then Ning-ie and I will decide on which one we'll get." I said before they could grab cake knives and cut each other's throats. 

 

I do not even want to be in the same room as them when they do the wine tasting. 

 

—

 

I was right. 

 

The wine tasting was more of a disaster than I thought.

 

Two heated best friends fighting for "Best Maid of Honor" with alcohol is never the right combination. 

 

"You guys are so funny," Ningning said, giggling. Clearly, alcohol has taken over my fiancé as well.

 

"Why do I feel—" Ningning slurs "—that all this feistiness is just—" 

 

"Just what?" Both girls asked when Ningning paused for a bit of a time, rolling their eyes at each other just because.

 

"That all this feistiness is just pent-up tension, you know." Ningning continues, making me laugh.

 

"Yeah, maybe you should just bone each other and be nice to everyone the next day," I added, but doesn't look like I said the right thing, seeing how both of my best friends are looking at me like I have grown another head. 

 

Karina drinks up the rest of her red wine, clearly wanting that over white wine as what Winter is proposing. 

 

"Over my dead body," Karina said as soon as she drops the wine glass. 

 

"Oh wow, as if I'd even stay in the same perimeter as you if I have a choice." Winter bites back.

 

"Oh yeah? You just can't handle this!" Karina said, standing up as if she's asking for a fight.

 

Ningning was laughing full on watching them. 

I'm honestly starting to get concerned. 

 

"Or maybe it's you who can't handle this sophistication presented unto you," Winter said in her low voice, clearly affecting my other best friend.

 

"I—I huh, so-sophistication? Huh! Yo-you think so highly of yourself! Sure, you dress q-quite nicely and ne-neat but that's all you are!" Karina said, clearly flustered. 

 

"Yeah? Well, you may smell like a flower garden but you're just rotten inside!" Winter slurs as well, evidently caused by tasting too many wines for the night. 

 

"Huh, well, you! You—you look like you're an angel but you're just really a devil in disguise!" Karina said, and at this point, I was pulling Ningning quietly out of the room as we let those two idiots throw drunken compliments at each other, disguising them as insults. 

 

"I bet you can't do nothing when you're out of your sensual lady suit!"

 

 

—

 

"How are you feeling?" I greeted as soon as I saw Winter drinking her black coffee in the kitchen. 

 

She's wearing casual white button-ups and a pencil skirt, and no matter how many times I asked her to dress comfortably, she'll just go with "what are you on, this is comfortable!"

 

I guess, all those years working here in New York had turned her into this way too formal monster I know of.

 

"I'm fine, my head hurts a bit, but nothing I can't handle." Winter answers and I just nodded. We both appreciate peaceful mornings and coffees.

 

"Good morning, universe, how are we feeling~" 

 

And that's my other best friend.

 

The loud, always happy, ball of a sunshine best friend. 

 

"There goes my peaceful morning." Winter murmurs.

 

"Oh shush, if I remember correctly, you quite fancy me." Karina winks and Winter looks at her like she's lost her mind.

 

"Don't tell me you're one of those