Chapter One

Lock Me Up
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From the balcony of my room, I could see a certain part of the beach that’s slowly being covered with the colors white and yellow. White for magnolia and yellow for sunflowers. Perfect for Wheein and Yong. Representation of the two of them. And as expected from the president of a business empire, the entire beach resort was reserved just for their wedding and their guests for almost a month now.

I was also like a parcel shipped from Korea to the States to attend their wedding. For free in their private plane. Wine, champagne, soju, beer, and every single alcoholic beverage I could name and couldn’t was offered to me. I was also served with international cuisine during my twelve-hour flight.

It feels so good to experience what it’s like to live in a life so luxurious.

Personally, I’d rather stay in my apartment rather than attend this wedding. However, I accepted because, one, the luxury. Two, the beach. Three, food and booze. And lastly, witnessing Wheein and Yong getting married, there’s nothing left for me to do but to move on.

I just arrived this morning but because of the time difference, I just wanted to sleep. The bright sun just wouldn’t allow me. Even when I close the curtains, it’s still invading my room. I just stayed on the balcony because the sounds of the ocean and the wind were so relaxing.

And I love spending the rest of the day in here until the doorbell rang and disturbed my peace.

I raised an eyebrow under my sunglasses but didn’t dare move. It would go away if I would act like I wasn’t here.

“Hyejin!”

My eyes instantly opened when I heard Wheein calling me as she rang the doorbell again and knocked on my door. Then I shut my eyes tightly as I groaned because I don’t want to be disturbed.

“Hyejin! It’s lunchtime already!”

I groaned even louder when I heard Yong’s voice next. Do they really have to fetch me together? I’m not a kid anymore!

“Hyejin?” Wheein called once again.

“Coming!” I shouted, reluctantly pushing myself out of my chair.

I brushed my hair before gathering them all to let them all fall on one shoulder as I walked towards the door. I straightened my dress and raised my glasses on top of my head. Then I reached for the door and opened it.

My eyebrows raised when I discovered that it was not just Wheein and Yong who fetched me. They also added Byul into the gang, who looked absolutely uninterested and obviously forced to stop by my room.

I eyed Wheein’s dimpled smile, the smile that would make me smile back anytime except today, Yong’s welcoming smile, her dimples showing a little bit, and Byul, whose eyes were hiding behind her sunglasses as she leaned back on the wall across my room. And of course, my eyes never missed Wheein and Yong’s joined hands.

I went back to looking at Wheein and Yong. “What?” I asked, making me raise an eyebrow when I heard Byul scoffed from the back.

Yong never missed it as well and glared at Byul, ultimately shutting her up.

“It’s lunchtime already” Wheein said, ever so inviting and refreshing to see.

“Here, but not in Seoul. It’s already midnight there” I answered, hearing Yong chuckle while Wheein softly giggled.

“But we know you can’t sleep too” Wheein countered.

“So you want me to eat because I can’t sleep?” I raised my eyebrow at her but my eye caught the small smirk on Byul’s face, which made me drop the teasing smile on my face.

I don’t want to be on her good side. I don’t like her. I don’t feel her. And I have to endure the days that she’d be meeting Yong because I have to stay close to Yong as her EA. I most especially don’t like how rich she is. I mean, Wheein and Yong are, but they don’t act rich, for the lack of better words. On the days that I’ve seen her, met her, and even talked to her, I don’t like how much of a spoiled rich she is.

“Go ahead and let me get my key card first” I hurriedly said just to make them go away.

I closed the door right on their faces as I walked back to the balcony. I never meant to go with them and planned to just stay in my room the whole time. I didn’t sound so convincing though because of what Wheein said next.

“We’ll just go together. We’ll wait for you!”

Why?

I sighed heavily as I changed my track. I went to the bedside table to actually get my key card. I also brought my phone with me. Then I sluggishly walked out of my room where only Wheein and Yong were waiting for me. At least I shooed the bad spirit away.

I let them lead the way while I walked behind them, watching them swing their joined hands in front of me. Now, who’s the third wheel? Yeah… Maybe that’s why they asked Byul to tag on them to pick me from my room. Who cares. The bad spirit’s away already.

“If you can’t sleep, why not take a walk on the beach, Hyejin? Wheein mentioned to me that you like the beach” Yong said as we got inside the elevator.

“I’ll think about that”

“Or maybe go out and swim. There’s a lot of fun rides too” Wheein suggested.

“Hmm… I’ll think about that as well”

“There’s also a pool. They also have a Jacuzzi by the pool side if you don’t want the cold water” Wheein added.

I nodded as I whispered, “That’s nice. I’ll think about it”

“You have a lot of thinking to do,” Wheein said, making me smile.

“Yeah…”

“You still have a week to do all of those things, Hyejin. You can relax for now or do whatever you want. I’m sure the jetlag is screwing your body clock right now” Yong said and I nodded at her, immediately agreeing. “We just want to make sure you’re comfortable”

“I am. Just tired from traveling. Thank you”

She smiled at me as we moved out of the elevator. I let them lead me the moment I noticed there were a lot of people busying themselves for the wedding. Some of their guests had just arrived and they went to greet them for a second. I stayed a close distance because I don’t know anyone else other than the two of them and the people I met during their engagement party. And that’s just a pretty small circle. I’m not even close to them except for Wheein’s family after working with her for quite a while now.

“Hey…”

I glanced behind me and saw that the bad spirit’s back again.

“The restaurant might be filled with other guests so I went ahead and reserved a table for us” Byul said, miraculously sounding benevolent. “You were so slow earlier”

There it is… 

I smiled so wide but not because I was grateful to her. “Thank you for being so kind, Miss Moon”

The sneer on her face was so satisfying. She even turned her back to me when I laughed at her.

“Follow me” she grumbled, making me laugh again.

If you can’t fight off the bad spirit, better tease it and maybe it will go away on its own. That’s how I’m dealing with Byul and her spoiled attitude. It’s annoying most of the time, but fun to sometimes. That’s the only way to survive.

She led me to the restaurant while I stayed quiet behind her. She pointed to a table that has the perfect view of the ocean. Then she told me to get some food and walked away without saying anything more. And I preferred it that way.

I walked towards the buffet tables and asked if they were still serving coffee. Thankfully, they still do so I asked for a latte. I carried that with me as I walked around the room. They serve mostly American and European but my stomach couldn’t handle that so I searched some more. On the far end of the room, they were serving ramyeon and rice-stuffed tofu pockets along with other Asian cuisine.

I asked for a bowl of ramyeon and four of the stuffed tofu. I placed them all on a tray, including my latte. Then I carried them with me all the way back to where Byul was sitting.

The restaurant was slowly getting packed with guests and I recognized a handful of faces inside the room. Most of Yong’s colleagues, the people I met at their engagement party, will be here tomorrow as Wheein told me. From what I gathered, these are mostly Wheein’s artist friends. And then others are from Yong’s business empire and college friends.

Byul was sitting close to the windows. I placed my tray across from her, wanting to be close to the ocean as well. She eyed the food on my tray before she went back to her pizza, burger, and fries. She also had a huge cup of cola beside her.

I transferred my bowl, plate, and cup to the table. I pulled back my chair and sat down. I took off my sunglasses and tied my hair in a bun, smiling down at the delicious food in front of me.

“Thank you for the food,” I whispered to myself.

I picked up my chopsticks and started digging in. I started with my ramyeon and groaned satisfyingly. I took a bite of the tofu and then the noodles next, unconsciously groaning. I might’ve even moaned because of how delicious the food was.

“What’s this?” Byul suddenly asked, pointing at the half-eaten tofu.

I picked the other half and stuffed it in my mouth. “Tofu…” I mumbled, not sure if she understood me.

“What’s inside it? Rice?”

I guess she was able to understand my mumble mess. I glanced at her and was surprised to meet her eyes this time. I nodded at her and held her gaze while still chewing my food.

She took it as a challenge and continued to stare at me, slowly raising her eyebrows.

I picked a piece of the tofu and asked, “Want some?” I raised the tofu close to her, not even sure why I did that.

She looked away and watched the ocean again, looking so flustered. “No. Thank you”

She stuffed fries in while I pushed the entire tofu inside my mouth, feeling so flustered too. We never spoke again after that. The table was filled with awkward silence. She didn’t radiate a bad spirit this time. I could feel awkwardness from her. I’m sure she’s aware how awkward I feel right now too.

I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t want to look at other guests because I knew I wouldn’t recognize them. I copied her and looked at the ocean. Well, that’s a wonder to look at…

I relaxed and went back to eating while ignoring the bad spirit in front of me.

Right in front of the hotel’s beach entrance is where the wedding will happen. On the far left side of the beach, there are chairs and parasols there. Most of the guests are chatting by the pool and I’m trying to escape the crowd as much as I can. My room would also just make me feel exhausted. I think it would be nice to stay where the chairs and parasols are. And maybe, that’ll help me sleep tonight.

My thoughts were interrupted when Wheein and Yong came, bringing their lunch with them. Wheein sat beside me while Yong sat across her.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, pointing at my stuffed tofu.

“RIght at the far end of the room”

“That far?”

I laughed at her shocked face as I nodded at her. “Do you want some?”

“But you only have one left”

I slid the plate of my last tofu close to her before placing my bowl of ramyeon right in front of me. “I ate three of those earlier. You can have that last piece”

She smiled so wide, her dimple in full display. “Thank you!” She turned her smile to Yong and lifted the tofu close to her lips. “Here… have a bite first”

I directed my gaze to my ramyeon and went back to watching the ocean as well.

“The beach is good, isn’t it?”

I looked behind me and saw Wheein looking at me. I nodded at her as I swallowed my noodles. “It is. I might go out later after lunch. I’ll think about it”

Wheein and Yong laughed at me while I stuffed noodles into my mouth. Then I lifted the bowl and took a sip of the soup, groaning and sighing from satisfaction once again.

“You might end up back in your room while thinking about your options” Yong said, making me laugh while still chewing my food.

“Or she might be stuck here until who knows when. Why do you eat so slow?” Byul complained across from me, eyebrows furrowing.

Wheein and Yong sighed heavily. If I were them, I would do more than just sigh. This spoiled rich is radiating her maximum bad spirit she could channel from herself. She should’ve just went away or told me to eat somewhere else if she didn’t want me here.

She complains every single time! So annoying.

I placed my chopsticks down and took my time wiping my lips and chin. I set the towel down and took a sip from my latte. Then I looked at her, meeting her glare with my unbothered and tired eyes.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked her, feeling my hands clenching under the table while I ran several curses in my head I wanted to say right on her face.

“You eat so slow” she whisper-shouted, pointing at my bowl that’s still half-full. Then she pointed at her empty plate and even at Wheein and Yong’s empty plates. “I’ve been here before you. They’ve been here before you. You’re still not done”

“Byul…” Yong whispered in a warning tone, but Byul ignored her.

“It’s not my fault you all eat so fast. I never complained about that. Have you heard me complain about it? I don’t think so…”

I managed to maintain my composure even though she’s really annoying me right now. I love to enjoy my food. What’s wrong with that?!

Every single time all four of us eat together after work, she always brings this up. Wheein and Yong don't mind it at all but it’s a huge deal to her. I don’t understand why. She can just go if she wants to. Why comment on it?

“It takes you ages to finish your food. You’re not even the one paying”

“Byul” Yong said, her voice hardening while Byul flinched at hearing her name.

I grabbed my chopsticks and went back to eating. “Then don’t invite me next time. I can eat on my own”

“Hyejin…” Yong whispered, sighing heavily. “Don’t mind Byul. You can always eat with us”

“Yeah… You always recommend the best restaurants and best food” Wheein said, squeezing my arm.

“Thank goodness I don’t have to stay in Korea all the time” Byul mumbled.

I definitely saw how she rolled her eyes in disgust. What’s wrong with her? I love that there’s mutual hatred between us. That way, I don’t have to pretend that I remotely like her presence. Only when we’re working that our dislike for each other was subdued.

“Me too” I answered, smiling at her teasingly while she rolled her eyes again.

She leaned back on her chair and looked outside as she mumbled, “Why do I have to be stuck with you?”

“You can go if you don’t want to stay, you know? It’s not like I want to be stuck with you too” I whispered under my breath.

I didn’t bother looking up, too tired to argue anymore. I also lost my appetite and was just swirling my noodles in the soup.

“Excuse me” Byul muttered before she pushed her chair back and walked away.

It’s hard to miss those harsh and rough movements when she was in front of me.

“Byul!” Yong tried to call her but Byul never returned or even responded. She sighed heavily before she said, “I’m sorry about that, Hyejin. I don’t know what’s gotten into her”

“She’s normally not grumpy. She’s never been like that before” Wheein said beside me.

“It’s okay. Maybe she just doesn't like me. It’s fine…” I gave up on my noodles and picked up my latte. “I’ll just stay away from her so that it wouldn’t ruin your wedding. Happy wedding! Are you two excited?” I asked, pouring all the energy left in me so I would sound happy. I don’t want to worry them.

Both of them looked at each other, huge smiles slowly appearing on their faces. They looked at me at the same time and said, “We are”

Right… I never needed the answer. I just need them to think of something else.

 

I stayed where there were no people around the beach. There were only a couple who dared to swim on the beach while others stayed in the Jacuzzi. I think they’re afraid to burn their skin before the wedding. I’m naturally tan so that’s not much of a problem to me. There were even more people crowding the beach to finish up the decorations. Security has tightened around the place too, making sure that all the guests are safe and no one would invade the private event.

I placed my towel under an empty parasol. I never planned to swim but the water looked so inviting so I brought one in case I’d be tempted to dip in. I gathered my hair on one side of my shoulder and fixed my sunglasses. I walked closer to the ocean, looking around the beach.

The sand is soft. The wind is cooling so the hot sun isn’t bothering me that much. I love this weather more than anything else. Now that I’m outside, I get to see how amazing the place is.

I walked around and took a couple of pictures. However, I’m very bad at it. The focus, centering, lighting and whatever else is left, I have no idea what those are. I just took pictures but they’re bad. I know they are.

The bright sun completely dominated the picture. I couldn’t see anything else except a huge bright light. The ocean is tilted but not in a good way. I tried taking a picture of the sky. Still not good. The palm trees by the seashore were not bad. I could not say they’re good either. The pictures of myself are the only satisfying ones. Other than that, the rest of the pictures are to the best of my ability.

And with photography, no ability at all.

I wanted to take a photo of myself, not just my face, but I had no one to ask to do that for me. The people by the beach are busy finishing everything. Yong was there supervising everything with their wedding planner. She’s busy. I don’t know who to ask.

I walked towards the busy area and tried to find someone kind enough to grant my favor. The first person I saw was Byul. It took me a few seconds to come to my senses after I saw a glimpse of her. After I’ve taken everything of her at that moment.

Her silver hair was tied in a ponytail. This is the first time I saw her other than her usual three-piece suit and her button-down shirts. She’s wearing a yellow two-piece bikini and a black denim shorts over her bikini. She’s still wearing her sunglasses. A camera was slung on her shoulders. And as much as I hate to admit this, she looks absolutely gorgeous and stunning.

Just not kind enough to take pictures of me. Still a spoiled rich .

Luckily, she was looking down on her camera so she didn’t see me staring.

Phew… I’m not going down in another argument with her if she caught me.

I saw Yeri walking behind her and smiled. We’re not exactly close but we’re good acquaintances. I think I poured her a glass of wine during Wheein and Yong’s engagement party. We also communicated a lot even though it’s for work. That still counts.

Yeri and Byul were both walking towards the beach, getting closer to me. I walked past Byul and went straight to Yeri. When she saw me looking at her, we both bowed at each other as we exchanged smiles. That’s a good sign.

“Excuse me, Miss Kim” I started, getting a little bit nervous at talking to her beyond work, much more asking for a favor. “Can I ask you for a favor? Are you busy?”

“Yeah…” she whispered tentatively, slightly frowning at me. “There were things Miss Kim asked for me to bring. I just arrived and had to tell her about that”

“Oh… Okay, okay” I mumbled, already embarrassed now. “Okay. Sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered”

“I’m sorry… What was that you wanted to ask though?”

“Ahh… nothing.” I shook my head vigorously, getting flustered and itching to walk away already. “Just… I don’t know who to ask to take pictures of me”

“Pictures?” Her eyes instantly lit up as she smiled at me. “I know someone who can help you”

No…

“Miss Moon’s good at taking pictures”

“No. It’s okay. I can—”

“She’s good, Miss Ahn. I saw a collection of her photos in her office in New York. She can pass as a professional”

“It’s okay, Miss Kim. I don’t want to bother anyone else” I said, getting even more flustered when she brought up Byul. “It doesn’t have to be—”

She laughed and softly patted my arm. “Let me call her for you. She’s really kind”

But not to me! And unfortunately, she doesn’t know that.

“No, really. Miss Kim, I’m—”

“I’ll call her for you. Don’t worry”

“Please no,” I begged, desperately stopping her.

“Miss Moon!”

I instantly turned my back towards Byul and closed my eyes, silently groaning for putting myself into this situation. If I could cover Yeri’s mouth without making it look like I’m about to kidnap her, I would’ve done that already. I would love to run straight to my room if it meant that I wouldn’t make a greater fool of myself.

Yeri suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me to where Byul was. I ducked my head and hoped for her to decline because it will be easier that way. Escape the shame, drown in misery by myself, and then regret this for the rest of my life.

I stopped walking when Yeri stopped. I could not bring myself to even look at Byul. I’m definitely sure that I’m as red as my one-piece bikini right now.

“Can you take pictures of Miss Ahn?” Yeri asked while I bit the inside of my cheek and hoped for Byul to decline. “There are still things Miss Kim asked for me to do. I don’t think Miss Ahn knows a lot of people here.” Yeri nudged on my arm as she asked, “Do you?”

“No…” I whispered, barely saying the word as I lightly shook my head.

“I would love to help her but I still have something to do. Will you please help her, Miss Moon? Show her how good you are at taking photos.” She shook my arm, making me look at her smiling face. “You’ll love Miss Moon’s pictures, Miss Ahn. She’s really good”

I smiled and nodded at her. No one can beat Yeri’s enthusiasm with this one. It makes me want to ruin it, but only because it involves Byul.

“I’m sure she is, Yeri, but it’s fine. I don’t want to bother Miss Moon.” I turned to Byul and was proud of myself that I was able to look at her at this very moment. “It’s okay, Miss Moon. You don’t really have to.” I turned to Yeri again and smiled at her, genuine this time for sincerely helping me. “I’ll just go back to—”

“Where do you want to take pictures?” Byul suddenly asked, surprising me.

Why is she nice? Is it because someone’s here that’s not Wheein or Yong?

I turned to her and saw her eyeing the beach while Yeri was definitely happy shaking my arm again after Byul accepted my favor.

“I think you’ll look good by the beach, Miss Ahn” Yeri suggested, her excitement never fading.

“Yeah… I think so…” I answered, still unsure as to why Byul accepted.

“Okay! Have fun!” Yeri gently pushed me towards Byul while she skipped to where Yong was.

I sighed heavily and turned to Byul. “You—” I frowned when I saw her walking towards the beach, leaving me behind. “Is she really doing this?” I whispered to myself. I jogged closer to her before I said, “You really don’t have to do this”

“It’s fine… It’s not like I have anything to do”

What was that? Do my ears need cleaning or do I not detect irritation in her voice? Am I hallucinating? I must be…

I followed her close to the water, confused to say anything yet.

We went close to where I had my towel. She said that it’s better here because there are no people roaming around. She took a couple of pictures using her camera. She’d kneel, laid on her front, stood on her tiptoes, tried different angles, clicked her tongue before muttering something I couldn’t catch, turned around and fiddled with her camera, and reviewed every single shot she took. She might’ve even forgotten about me but it’s fascinating watching her, I had to admit.

She turned to me and said, “Do you want to stand on the water? I can take a picture of you with the trees as your background. Lighting isn't good if I face the ocean”

“What?” I asked, totally in utter confusion about our situation.

She walked towards the water and never hesitated to get wet. She stopped when the water was almost to her knees. Then she pointed at a spot in front of her and said, “Stand there. I’ll take a picture of you from here”

“Oh… okay.” I hurriedly walked to where she pointed, shivering a little bit when the cold water hit my feet.

“Move a little bit more forward” she instructed while I followed her until the water was also close to my knees. “Okay. Stay there”

She lifted her camera while I stood awkwardly because I don’t know what to do. Then I heard a soft click from her camera before she took her camera down. She lifted the camera close to her face, viewing the picture, while walking towards me.

Is that it? Are we done?

I eyed her as she stood beside me. She lifted the camera close to me and used her hand so that we could see the photo of me she took earlier. And honestly, it was bad. I thought she’s good

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Thank you!
RedSparrow
WE'RE FINALLY DONE! THANK YOU FOR COMING IN THIS LOVELY JOURNEY WITH ME!
Twenty-four chapters, an Interlude and an Epilogue!
FILLER CHAPTERS IN APPENDICES [RS]!

LOVE LOTS :)
- RedSparrow

Comments

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chipchap
#1
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Zairrix
#2
Chapter 26: Wonderful journey! I really enjoy this rollercoaster ride, the ups and downs in their relationship, the changes and the happy ever after phase. I always appreciate how great you are at writing these fanfics. I hope to see more Wheesun stories from you in the future hehe
HadesShade
#3
WOW!!!🤟🏻thank you for this supppperrrrrr lovely story. 👌🏻 Hoping to have a byul POV for this story 😏😉😘
yllwz_
#4
Chapter 26: I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU!
Ichig02101 #5
Chapter 26: Tq authornim for the lovely story 🥰
Its a masterpiece for me. The way construct the story line is amazing. Looking 4ward for ur new creation ☺️👏
maki-- #6
Chapter 21: Wheein 🤝 Hyejin
mga ate gurl na hinaharang ng mga guard sa building 🤣 🤣🤣
dnsymlh #7
Chapter 12: I'm hurt 😭😭😭
sadandlonely #8
Chapter 25: 😭😭😭😭😭😭
sadandlonely #9
Chapter 24: LO DIJO LO DIJO
sadandlonely #10
Chapter 23: I was also waiting for them to get married...