CHAPTER 36: The Engagement Party

A groan escaped her lips and slowly she opened her eyes, there were two nurses in the room and muffled voices of people conversing filled her ears, she also heard the door open then close as two other people entered. Her eyesight finally became clear and she saw a white ceiling, cream colored walls and sun entering the windows.

“Where am I?”

She asked;

“She's awake Dr. Nam”

a nurse said; she diverted her gaze and saw Heechul.

“Heechul?”

She groaned; the doctor walked over to her side as did Heechul. Soon, she began to recognize the doctor and frowned at her but them immediately felt her head and body ache when she tried to move.

“Don't fuss around so much yet, Hye Rin... your operation is still not fully healed”

The nurses left the room. Hye Rin turned her attention to Heechul.

“Oppa, I had a bad dream... you were going to marry someone and you threatened me”

Youngmi looked at Heechul, the guy pursed his lips together as Youngmi gave him a small smile and said

“I'll be outside, Heechul”

She then left. Heechul pulled up a seat and sat down next to Hye Rin, trying to muster up some words to say. He let out a sigh, Hye Rin looked at him with innocent and tired eyes.

“Don't you remember anything?”

He asked; she slowly nodded her head sideways. Heechul hung his head low and hopped off his chair, walked around the room as Hye Rin looked at him. After awhile, he sat back down and looked at her with a blank stare.

“That doctor saved your life after you tried to take it away, she saved you even after all the things that you've done to her”

Hye Rin felt a pang in her heart, uneasiness and discomfort. She closed her eyes and looked away from Heechul.

“She's your fiancee too, right?”

He bit his lower lip, brows narrowing. So she does remember, was she trying to act all innocent? She looked back at Heechul again.

“I probably am the most horrible person in your eyes right now, Heechul... I probably deserve to be in a situation like this”

Heechul looked away and smirked.

“I can see why you like her so much... I'm not half the person she is, right?”

Hye Rin softly bit her lower lip to keep it from quivering.

“I guess I just couldn't stand seeing you with someone else, after you broke it off I just... lost myself and when I heard you're getting married, I realized that I still wasn't over you... but now I've realized, I should let you be”

Heechul swallowed the lump in his throat

“You could've figured that out a little sooner”

A tear fell from the side of her eye but she was quick to wipe it away with her uncasted hand. Heechul stood up and stuck his hands inside his jean's pockets.

“You should talk to her, I have to leave anyway and pack up my bags for China”

Hye Rin put on a small smile and nodded her head; Heechul went out and called for Youngmi, he rubbed the side of her shoulder, mumbling some things then pressed a kiss on her forehead before walking out of the door and Youngmi walked to her. Hands inside her lab coat's pockets, her stethoscope around her neck and her hair in a high ponytail.

She smiled at the patient before sitting down.

“Dr. Yang said you should be out of the hospital next week but you're gonna have to return here every 3 or 4 days after discharge for checkups and therapy, I already arranged it with the P.T.'s downstairs and you won't have to worry about paying anything”

Hye Rin let out a sigh

“I... I wanted to thank you, Dr. Nam”

it was hard to say those words but she meant them; she was also a bit embarrassed about her behavior before all of this but Youngmi didn't seem to care.

“Why did you -”

“Every life counts Hye Rin-ssi, as a doctor it's my duty to help the people who need it, whether they deserve it or not”

Hye Rin looked at her hand then back to Youngmi

“I also wanted to say... sorry... for everything, I'm also the one that dragged your sister into this... she's...”

Youngmi let out a sigh and pursed her lips together.

“Hye Rin, I'm never one to hold grudges against other people but I'm human and like everyone who's hurt, I also need my recovery time... whatever has happened has already happened and we can no longer change those”

there was silence for awhile. Youngmi put on a smile and got up from her seat

“Get some rest Hye Rin-ssi, you broke two of you ribs but Heechul made the call to get you through operation, he cares and I do too”

Youngmi began to head for the door when she spoke

“Youngmi-ssi...”

Youngmi turned around

“Yep?”

“After I get better... I'll back off”

Youngmi shrugged her shoulders, feeling relief wash over her.

“Your choice...”

She smiled before turning her back onto the patient and left the room.

-

December 25th passed by, Christmas was still celebrated despite Heechul's absence from the grasp of his loved once. He made sure to call those people important to him to wish them a great holiday season, his mother was quite glad he made the call despite being so busy. The following day he flew back first to Seoul while the rest stayed there for awhile; around 3 days after Sungmin's birthday and New Year, the day for the engagement party came.

It was already 5:00 in the afternoon and guests have started to arrive at the venue for the party while she was still at home getting ready. An emergency came up at the hospital in the morning thus she had to attend to it with no choice in hand.

Where are you? Hurry up.

- Heechul

he seemed to be getting impatient; Youngmi didn't type a reply, thinking that it would take up the minutes she was left with and ran to the mirror. Her hair was left down, she put on very light make up, she wore a nice white dress with a right side strap that hugged her body perfectly then paired with black pumps and a white watch that matched well with her engagement ring around her finger.

Her mom and sister had already left earlier so she was hurrying up, she grabbed the keys to her car and was about to head for the door when she heard a car park up infront of their house, she opened the door and saw Hongki.

“Youngmi-noona!”

he waved; Youngmi was surprised to see him. She put her keys inside her white clutch bag and walked down the front steps after locking the door to their home.

“Hongki-ssi, what are you doing here?”

she asked, pulling her hair to the left side of her shoulder to let it cascade down. She got out of the gates.

“Heechul-hyung asked if I could drive over to see if you were still here so I did, he's pretty impatient”

Youngmi nodded her head as Hongki went around the car and opened the passenger's door for her. She put her hand up and waved it

“Ani, it's okay I'll drive there myself”

but he insisted

“I'm heading there anyway noona, don't waste your gas... come on”

She puffed out a sigh and got in side his car then they both drove off.

-

“Aish, where is that woman? Tsk, she's late!”

Guests have arrived already and yet his other half was nowhere to be found, he was about to fish his phone out of his pocket when he saw Hongki's car come into view and minutes later parked up and Youngmi got out of the passenger seat.

“Youngmi!”

She turned and smiled upon seeing Heechul, he was a bit dazed himself when he saw what she was wearing. He cleared his throat and turned to Hongki and thanked his donsaeng before they all went in together. The place was breath taking, Haera really outdid herself, it was basically turned into a winder wonderland with crystal snowflakes of different chapes and sizes hung on the white draped ceiling, the tables were clothes with white, cocktail tables were decorated with white roses as centerpieces, there was a white stage and everyone was in great bewilderment when the couple entered.

Heechul's family was there, Youngmi's family, friends, colleagues and co-workers alike. Almost everyone they knew were there.

The party then begun with Leeteuk and Eunhyuk as the emcees for the program.

“Leeteuk-hyung, someone sent us some tapes a few days back, right?”

Eunhyuk asks his fellow emcee; Youngmi & Heechul were siting at the long table along with their parents. Heechul took a sip of his drink , having no idea whatsoever about what the two on stage were talking about.

“Deh, I was very happy that day...”

Leeteuk suppresses a laugh and Eunhyuk sniggers. The audience were smiling getting an idea of where it was going, Leeteuk brought the mic back up to his lips

“I happen to love watching children”

He then breaks out into his signature laugh, turning his back in the audience to drown them before turning back around. Eunhyuk chuckles and turns to the large white screen behind them.

“Ah, anyway ladies and gentlemen, please sit back and relax and enjoy this movie that Shindong & Kyuhyun have made”

Eunhyuk & Leeteuk get down from the stage and sits along with the rest of their band mates. Heechul was still sipping on his drink as the lights had dimmed and the usual movie countdown came.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, beep

“I'm a little tea pot, short and stout! Askdh handle, here is nanana cup, when the water's boiling here me ~”

Youngmi's eyes widened while Heechul almost spat out his drink upon seeing the 5 year old Yunhee in a bumble bee outfit, dancing to the song that she was singing.

“Youngmi-ah, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Mrs. Nam asked, the young girl was now in a scene where she was sitting down on the table with ice cream all over ; cutely she smiles and holds up her spoon

“I want a horsie, umma!”

the audience was in awe, Heechul turns to his still surprised wife and presses a light kiss on her cheek making her turn to him

“Weren't you the cutest? Aegyo ~”

Heechul pinches her cheek before turning back to the screen; the film cuts and then there's sound of blabbering. The screen then projects a video of Heechul wearing nothing but a shirt and briefs, holding his baby bottle

“Heechul-ah, give umma the bottle”

Hhis mother coos, holding out her hand but Heechul glares and holds the bottle away making her mother laugh. His father can be heard laughing in the background too.

Laughter filled the room and Youngmi laughed at Heechul's now shocked face.

“What the -”

Heechul was ow standing up on top of a table, holding a brush and singing his heart out, the words couldn't be made out but his child-self was funny and even slipped on the table startling her umma who was taking the video.

The video progresses on with more clips of the couple as a young boy and girl up to the time they grew up and it just so happened that the last clip was Heechul's dance audition tape.

“AGH! Turn it off!”

he whined but everyone was too busy laughing so he ended up burying his head in the crook of Youngmi's neck. The video soon ended and the lights went on as Eunhyuk & Leeteuk got back on stage. Hyukjae turned to the couple

“Ah, Heechul-ssi, Youngmi-ssi, did you two enjoy?”

Heechul got up and pulled up his pants

“I'm gonna kill you both!”

“Aigo ~ don't be like that, anyway moving on let's call up Mrs. Nam to give you guys some motherly words”

Leeteuk said and applause filled the room as Youngmi's mother got up from her seat beside Youngmi and went to the stage, taking the mic in her hand.

“Ah, where do I start? Ah yes... I remember when Youngmi first came out into the world, she was quite the whiner...”

she pauses to giggle;

“She never let me and her appa get some good night's rest which is why we were so glad when she finally turned 5 years old but ofcourse, she still had her fair shares of troublemaking; Youngmi was very lazy in school, he teachers often complained about it because all she did was play doctor even as class was going on and she would talk like one so her appa and I often got called in but her appa would always say: 'This child is special... we will just let her grow' and I would often get upset because he would always tolerate her behavior...”

Heechul turned to his fiancee

“No wonder you're such a brat”

Youngmi stuck a tongue out at him playfully and turned her attention back to her mother

“Youngmi and Hyujung were the closest sisters and I was very glad that they were. The two of them grew up well and as a mother I feel relieved and confident enough to say that I did well; now, Youngmi is getting married...”

Youngmi smiled, sensing her mother's voice crack.

“Heechul-ah, I know that you'll be a good husband to Youngmi as I know that she will also be a good wife in return; I know -”

Ryeowook got on stage and gave her mother a tissue to wipe her tears with. The woman sniffled a bit then spoke again, even Youngmi had tears gathering around her eyes.

“Your appa is smiling down on you, I know that he's very proud of you Youngmi-ah”

Leeteuk took back the mic, Eunhyuk and him then gave the lady a warm hug afterwards. She got back to her seat and received another embrace from her daughter.

“Originally it was supposed to be Heechul-hyung's umma who's going to be doing another speech but she asked us that it's going to be Mr. Kim instead, so sir, if you would”

Eunhyuk said. Heechul's father stood up, his son smiling as he went up on stage; he clearly didn't expect it seeing as though he always thought his dad was the quiet one in the family and only spoke when necessary.

Mr. Kim cleared his throat and put a hand inside his pocket.

“Any father would be proud to have a son, atleast then we won't feel like we're the only men in the household”

a small laughter comes from the audience

“I never thought I'd be seeing him get married that this age though, I always thought his busy career as an idol got in the way of his dating life but I'm glad he found someone in the midst of it all. He always complained to me how he doesn't know how to express himself, how people find him weird”

Mr. Kim pursed his lips together

“Heechul, I know it's been hard on you, it wasn't easy getting to where you stand now but I know that the hardships will be lessened somehow because I know someone with a good heart will take care of you; your umma and I will continue to be there for you... we wish you all the best”

Everyone clapped by the end of his speech, Heechul stood up even and gave his father an embrace before the two of them sat down. The night continued to go on, during dinner Hyunjung came up on stage and grabbed the mic which seemed to have surprise Youngmi

“Good evening everyone, if you have not known, my name is Nam Hyujung... I am the bride-to-be's older sister”

Heechul glanced at Youngmi, chewing slowly.

“Actually, I was the one who revealed Youngmi to the public through the internet when I heard she was getting married to Heechul”

Hyunjung casted an apologetic look at her sister who was still in the state of shock and surprise; Youngmi put down her chopsticks and swallowed hard.

“Youngmi-ah, I know unnie has done some bad things and I'm sorry for those bad things I've done... I... I'm glad you're getting married, Heechul made your dream come true”

A small smile formed on Youngmi's lips

“Anyway, I wish you all the best Youngmi-ah; unnie will support you from now on and I would like to offer a toast to Youngmi & Heechul”

everyone raised their glass and exchanged toasts; Youngmi raised her glass and smiled at her sister.

The party went on with some of Heechul and Youngmi's friends saying their messages. The dance floor got filled as some of the idols started singing to songs; everyone was enjoying. Youngmi sat down alone on the table while Heechul talked to some of the guests. After awhile, she felt two hands on her shoulders making her look up and saw Heechul.

“C'mon let's dance”

Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung were singing a ballad song so everyone was slow dancing; Youngmi got up from her seat and they both took their place on the dance floor, Heechul holding her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Aren't you beautiful, tonight?”

He smirked making Youngmi raise a brow at him playfully

“Just tonight? So am I ugly every other day?”

Heechul scoffed to the side

“Ani, just less pretty...”

She pouted, Heechul just chuckled and pinched her nose before his hand rested back on her hip again. There was silence between them both; Youngmi closed her eyes and rested her head against Heechul's chest.

“Listen...”

He said; Youngmi just stayed quiet.

“I've never been so serious about anyone before, I'm glad you're the first tho”

He smiled