“Are we ready?”, she asked Chaeryeong.

“Yes,” Chaeryeong replied. “In fact, we have half an hour to spare. I'll call to check on the place.”

Ryujin nodded, being left alone soon after when Chaeryeong went to another room, phone in hand.

“Half an hour. We are on time,” Ryujin thought.

She stood in the same spot, opening and closing her hands nervously. To shake it off, she walked over to the windowsill to look at the scenery. She was staying on one of the top floors of the hotel, which helped make the view that greeted her admirable.

The first thing Ryujin's eyes took in was the large patch of green that stretched diagonally across the hotel's position, crossing the intersection of Queen Street and Oxford Street. Centennial Park conveyed an elegant air and, even from where she stood, Ryujin was reminded of how peaceful it was. It was perfect for strolling, as Sydney's climate resembled Seoul's, temperate.

With great effort, she looked away from the park and focused her gaze far, far beyond. She could see the coast of the Tasman Sea, nothing more than a bluish blur at such a distance.

Ryujin's gaze did not linger there. She looked elsewhere, interspersed with glances at her ring in between. She reached out of the window until the sun kissed her fingers, infusing the sapphire with brilliance. It sparkled, and the feeling of longing in Ryujin grew stronger than ever. It came over her as soon as the preparations had begun. When she found herself thinking about how she would miss that ring, she almost burst out laughing. Five years with it, seeing it day and night on her left ring finger, and now she was going to miss it.

However, the sense of longing was overpowered by a stronger one. The almost fulfilled longing to replace it with another. Euphoria that the day had finally arrived.

On that day, September 2, 2028, 27-year-old Shin Ryujin would marry.

She would marry her fiancée Shin Yuna.

Ryujin leaned her elbows on the windowsill, letting a big smile take possession of it. She felt nerves, so many that they made her want to vomit, but she also felt joy, pride, satisfaction... Above all, she felt fulfilled.

It had not been easy to reach this September 2, 2028.

During the entire year 2023, Ryujin had not even had time to think about a wedding. All her attention had been focused on ITZY. At that time, Ryujin imagined that her first comeback after the news of her relationship with Yuna and the attempt on her health was going to be a very stressful one, and it was. Day and night she was promoting her new songs with her colleagues and friends. No sooner had she finished the promotions when others came out, this time focusing on the Japanese market. All this without counting the advertisements with the brands they had contracts with, the videos they were constantly uploading to their YouTube channel, solo projects... When Ryujin wanted to realize it, they were already in the second half of 2024.

When she told herself one day that he had to start looking for information about the wedding, a part of her burst out laughing at her own expense.

How was she going to plan a wedding in a country that didn't allow equal marriage?

“We're screwed,” she had said aloud as she realized this.

Her cats looked at her when Ryujin spoke, and that Ryujin could have sworn they looked at her with pity. She didn't blame them if that was the case: getting optimistic, Ryujin estimated that equal marriage would be legal in South Korea in at least fifteen years. That's being very optimistic, Yuna-level optimistic. Now, if she thought with her cynical self, she came to the following conclusion, not at all flattering: "we'll be old ladies in our fifties by the time they legalize it."

Ryujin wasn't going to wait that long, not even drunk.

During her first tour in 2024, in which ITZY went to the United States, Ryujin realized that getting married there on the sly was complicated. She would move from city to city and arrive at the hotel after a concert in a daze, wanting nothing more than to throw herself on a bed next to her fiancée and sleep until the next morning.

Could they have married in that country? Yes, but Yuna wanted some of her relatives, mainly her parents, to be present. Ryujin could not deny her wishes, and besides, she also wanted her parents and grandparents present.

She soon had a conversation with Yuna on the subject, which had started as follows:

“Honey, I don't think we can get married as long as we are full-time idols.”

Ryujin was not surprised when Yuna replied:

“I came to that conclusion not long ago.”

“Shall we put it on standby?”

“Yes,” Yuna smiled and took Ryujin's left hand in hers. “As long as you're here, I don't mind having to wait a couple of years.”

Ryujin bloomed a big smile and took one of Yuna's hands. She kissed the back of it and said:

“I can wait a decade, but I swear I'll call you my wife someday.”

Although the matter of the wedding was on ice until further notice, that didn't stop other things from coming up.

On one of the days of the first break she had in 2023, Ryujin was in her room, playing a video game, when she got a message from Yuna. Dividing her attention between the TV and the phone, she read the message.

Yuna: “Come outside.”

“Surprise visit!”, Ryujin shrieked.

She let out a curse as she was killed in the videogame. She turned off the TV and jumped out of bed. She didn't bother to change, as she would be back in her bed soon, accompanied by Yuna.

She went downstairs and headed for the front door, thinking that she would undoubtedly spend that level with Yuna curled up next to her. She opened the door, finding a smiling Yuna, who was twirling keys on her finger.

Ryujin opened her eyes and looked past the girl. One of JYP's carts was waiting at the curb.

She turned her attention back to the tall girl in front of her. Ryujin let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement and hugged her.

“You got your license!”

“That’s right!”

“Congratulations.”

“How about we celebrate by going for a walk, Ryujinie?”

Ryujin detached herself from her and nodded vigorously.

“Let's go!”

Ryujin made a move to leave but Yuna blocked her way.

“Erm... Are you going out in those clothes?”

Ryujin looked at her outfit. Shorts, pink slippers and a tank top.

She scratched the back of her neck and raised her head.

“This... I'll go change.”

“Can I watch you while you do it?”, Yuna asked with mischievous eyes.

Ryujin shook her head softly, smiling a little smile.

“I don't know why you're asking. Come, let's go to my room.”

After that day, Yuna had more than made up for all the times Ryujin had asked her out.

As the years progressed, Ryujin had studied more and more the art of choreography and songwriting. She had taken courses in both subjects, showing good performance in both. Such studies had added extra pressure in her life, a pressure that had often threatened to break her.

But it never had.

Whenever a stressful crack appeared in her soul, Yuna was there to encourage her.

Many times, Yuna had found her sitting at the desk in her ITZY room, leaning back in the chair with her eyes closed and pinching the bridge of her nose, paper and pencil in front of them. Her fiancée would then approach her and stand behind her, massaging her shoulders and scratching her head. Actions that gave Ryujin the impetus she needed to get back in the ring. Actions that lifted her spirits.

After a talk she had with Yeji and Chaeryeong, a project emerged between the three of them. While serving as members of ITZY, the trio looked for ways to start a dance academy. They kept the project under wraps while seeking advice and a place to build the facility.

Once the papers were signed, construction of the academy took place in Seoul. The site did not begin operations until 2025, although the wait was rewarded. With the prestige surrounding Hwang Yeji, Lee Chaeryeong and Shin Ryujin at that stage of the game, many young people wanted to be trained by them. They wanted to learn to be at least half as good as them at dancing.

Ryujin and Chaeryeong, in turn, wrote songs. It was a hobby for both of them, but when Ryujin told her then good friend Jungkook about it, he asked to see a fragment of the lyrics. After much prodding, Ryujin did, feeling incredibly self-conscious about anyone other than Yuna, Yeji, Chaeryeong or Jisu seeing them.

“This... this is beautiful,” Jungkook said as he looked up from the paper. “I think it might even appear on my next mixtape or on some b-side of the next BTS album.”

Ryujin thought she had misheard, but Jungkook repeated it back to her and seemed to be serious about it.

That was how Ryujin and Chaeryeong appeared credited on the next BTS album as writers. To say that Ryujin had freaked out when she saw her name in the credits was an understatement.

“5 minutes until we come out.”

Ryujin gasped, abruptly snapped out of her thoughts. She turned around, finding her friend and maid of honor Yoo Jimin peeking in the door.

“Got it.”

Jimin winked and left, leaving Ryujin alone again with her thoughts and her thundering heart.

“What ing nerves,” she said to the solitude of the room.

She tried her best to relax, taking in the view of Sydney again, but she couldn't. She had dreamed of Sydney countless times before. She had dreamed countless times of her wedding day and now that it had arrived she felt like she was going to pee herself.

“It's a happy day, very happy,” she murmured. “It's normal to be nervous, but you need to calm down. You and your bridesmaids did everything amazingly, money has never been an issue (although getting these guests here has cost a fair amount of it), and you're on time, you just have to enjoy yourself! I wonder what Yuna will look like in her wedding dress.”

That last thought excited her even more. She had a vague idea of what Yuna's dress would look like, but nothing more. It would look spectacular on her, nonetheless.

She was really looking forward to seeing Yuna. She hadn't seen her so far that day and the night before. She was getting ready in another room on another floor, where neither could even overhear the other's voice.

“And to think that I would marry the one who was once just my bubbly apprentice friend,” Ryujin thought with a strong sense of nostalgia.

“It won't hurt to get going out to the site already,” she thought.

She headed for the door, pausing in front of the full-length mirror to take one last look at herself. She skimmed the gold trim of her wedding dress. An amused little smile crossed her face as she remembered how years before she longed to wear a traditional dress. As the years passed, her fascination with hanboks grew and... Yuna and she were different, weren't they?

So why not make hanboks that doubled as wedding dresses?

Ryujin's hanbok-dress had a low, round neckline and was pristine like freshly fallen snow. It appeared to be of one piece, though it was actually two that met at her belly, the transition being hidden by a black fabric belt, the only thing that wasn't white on her. Intricate green daisy designs inhabited the top, which was cinched around Ryujin, while the skirt flared out at the bottom, with no design at all.

Giving herself the impression of a queen, Ryujin left the room and closed the door.

---

If Yuna had been told ten years ago that in the future she was going to marry her friend Ryujin in Australia, Yuna would have died laughing. “Ryujin-unnie is pretty, but I'm not in love with her,” she would have replied.

If the Wannabe-era Yuna had been told that she was going to marry the girl she was in love with in eight years, she would have shaken her head skeptically. “She doesn't even like me that way,” she would have replied sadly. That Yuna didn't even think about getting married. That Yuna only fantasized about Ryujin reciprocating her love.

If a newly turned 18-year-old Yuna had been told that the day would come when she would marry her girlfriend Ryujin, she would have smiled an incredulous smile. “Marry? But she just told me I love you for the first time,” she would have replied. That Yuna might have tossed the prospect around for a couple of days, but she would have forgotten about it eventually. It was just too crazy.

If a newly turned 19-year-old Yuna had been informed that she was going to marry the love of her life, this one would have shaken her head up and down vigorously. “Really!? I'm marrying Ryujinie! Great! Great! Great! Great!”, she would have squealed excitedly, showing all her teeth in a wide grin.

Shin Yuna, 24 years old (almost 25), didn't have to fantasize anymore. She no longer had to sigh as she daydreamed.

The day had come when she would look her fiancée in the eye and call her wife.

The day was coming when she would marry Shin Ryujin.

“Let's see... The park is literally across the street but we have to go by car, obviously,” Jisu's voice filled the room where she and Yuna were. “It'll be five minutes there, and a two-minute walk to the Rose Garden… And we have 25 minutes left…”

“Shall we wait?”, Yuna asked, looking at the street through the window.

“Yes, yes,” Jisu replied absentmindedly.

Yuna was lost in thought as it was time to leave. She looked at her engagement ring. The sun glinted off the two small diamonds, making her smile. She had worn that ring almost every day since Ryujin had first put it on. She had to take it off to go to music shows and generally when she was working on something ITZY-related, but it always came back on her ring finger at the end of the day.

She had looked at it many times, always wondering what her wedding would be like. Yuna kept turning the question over in her mind, sometimes spending hours on it.

How would she do it, if equal marriage didn't even exist in her country? Would they get married on a getaway during one of their world tours, as they had let slip earlier? At first, Yuna opted for that, but when she had the chance to experience a tour, she realized she didn't want it. She barely had time to sleep and her days off were hopefully two between gigs. Then she remembered that she wanted her parents to be there, and to do that she had to pay for their flight, put them up in a hotel and a thousand other things that gave her a headache just thinking about it.

Therefore, she preferred to keep the "wedding mission" on the back burner. Ryujin wouldn't go anywhere. She wouldn't let that happen.

She took the Suneung in 2023, even though the year had been a busy one as far as ITZY was concerned. As she arrived at the site where the exam would take place, her heart pounded in her chest mercilessly and her palms were sweating.

She shared encouragement with the other applicants, but what dispelled some of her terror was glancing at a random spot outside the institution and finding Ryujin heading towards her.

At first, she had been confused as hell, but as soon as she recovered, she threw herself into Ryujin's arms. Ryujin held her tightly and stood on her tiptoes to say things in her ear.

“I am a witness that you have studied hard even though you don't have the same time as the others,” she told her. “Now you just have to face the paper with your pencil, which will be a sword! I will pray for you. I love you and I know you can do it.”

“Thank you, love,” Yuna replied in a choked voice, hugging Ryujin even tighter. “Thank you so much for trusting me.”

“I have no doubt you can do this,” the confidence in Ryujin's voice was a balm for Yuna.

“I'll show you how ready I am,” Yuna said, putting as much stability in her voice as she could muster.

Ryujin her hair and broke away for a short kiss. Then, she looked into her eyes.

“Go for it, honey.”

So Yuna did.

And she proved to her that she was indeed worthy of such trust.

When she saw her grades and saw, with a trembling body, that she was able to study where she wanted, she let out an excited cry and ran to tell her parents. After much crying with them and being told that they were proud of her, Yuna rushed to Ryujin's house.

As soon as Ryujin opened the door, Yuna pounced on her and carried her, spinning her in the air. Ryujin cried out in surprise and clung to her neck.

“I did it! Ryujinie, I got the note I wanted!”, Yuna exclaimed when she stopped spinning.

Ryujin looked at her with wide eyes and an excited expression took over her face.

“Congratulations, honey, I'm so proud of you!”, she congratulated, grabbing Yuna by the cheeks and spreading kisses all over her face.

That day in the evening, Ryujin and her ate pizza till they couldn't eat anymore at ITZY's apartment, in the company of Jisu, Yeji and Chaeryeong, who had also covered Yuna in hugs and congratulations.

From then on, time flowed normally. Comebacks, tours, solo jobs, college... Yuna coped as best she could. When it all got too stressful, there was Ryujin.

Once, Yuna had felt so overwhelmed by college and life as an idol that she hadn't been able to help crying on the couch in ITZY's dorm room. Ryujin found her in that state and took less than a breath to be by her side and put her arms around her, murmuring to her that everything would be fine and that she just needed to rest.

“Let's take a nap in my room, okay?”, Ryujin had said in a motherly voice.

“But,” Yuna sobbed, “I still have a lot of studying to do…”

“If your brain is already collapsed, it won't do you any good if you keep sitting here,” Ryujin wiped away the countless tears with patient perseverance. “Come on, just one hour and you'll see that you'll be much better.”

Yuna took one last look at her notes and then nodded.

“Okay,” she murmured.

Ryujin helped her up and guided her to her room. It was barely two o'clock in the afternoon, but Ryujin didn't hesitate to turn off the light and lay down with her. Yuna didn't