“You can thank me later.” I saw Sunny patting Jonghyun on his shoulder, shooting him a mischievous grin. IU gave me thumbs-up sign and slapped Jonghyun playfully on his arm. Shifting his weight to his other leg, he stood uncomfortably and buried his hands inside his pocket. When he turned, he spotted me.

I froze, terrified of how he might react.

After almost three hours, I studied myself to scrutinize my transformation for the nth time in front of the full-length body mirror. It was weird but one thing I liked about heels was that I feel a lot taller. For almost an hour, they actually argued about what I should wear.

I ended up wearing a dark pink strapless dress, which I won’t go into details since I don’t really know the fine points of a good dress. Or even these black stilettos they let me wear. They even let me bring a clutch bag along. It’s all thanks to Sunny and IU.

And no thanks to myself, too.

Our eyes met for a second. But I immediately averted my gaze, feeling embarrassed. He was staring and I was beginning to feel conscious about myself or what I’m wearing.

He cleared his throat, his cheeks turning red.

I inhaled deeply before I dashed straight to him. “Do I look okay?”

He blinked. “Um, yeah. You’re really beautiful.”

I frowned. “I think my hair is a little bit odd, don’t you think?” I muttered, lightly it so it won’t get ruined. They curled my hair, parted it on the side and tied it in a low, loose ponytail. It looks similar from the one back at my wedding.

He shook his head. “No! You’re gorgeous.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on. I’m not as pretty as your sisters.”

He held out his arm. “Come on then or we’ll be late.”

On our way there, I grasped his left arm tightly while I try to shoo the butterflies in my stomach away. It was getting worse. I was feeling lots of things: homesick, nervous… it was a horrible mixture of the nastiest emotions. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to see the last person I ought to see, Sunggyu.

There were many people coming in as we draw nearer towards the garden area outside of the hotel. I could hear the classical background music originating from the giant music player near the part where the MC should stand. About 20-25 people were already there, exchanging conversations and private jokes. I spotted Sunny, IU and Jonghyun’s little brother, Taemin along with their dates.

And then I realized, the people here are probably not just some middle-class workers.

“Mom, Dad.” The two people, who were engaged in a deep conversation, looked up. Studying their faces, I recognized the familiar eyes and the bright smirk from his father. Jonghyun has his mother’s nose and the structure of the face. They were both beautiful people and I could see where their children get superior genes.

“Her name’s Jung Sooyoung,” Jonghyun began, placing a hand on my shoulder. “She’s a friend of mine.”

Mrs. Lee was the first one to react. She gave me a smile. Honestly, I had expected a rather bitter response. Like what Sunny and IU had said, the Choi family and the Lee family were acquaintances. They must’ve known what happened. They must’ve heard about the rumors, too.

Mr. Lee followed, nodding his head.

Mrs. Lee rose from her seat and extended her hand towards me. “Hello, Sooyoung,” she greeted politely. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Jonghyun has mentioned you a lot of times before. I was very excited to see you.”

I smiled as politely as I could. “Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

Mr. Lee extended his hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Sooyoung-ssi. You look very pretty.”

Sunny hooted, placing an arm around my shoulder. “All thanks to me and Jieun,” she cuts in with an impish grin. “Jonghyun should treat us better now since we did a lot of hard work. But you know, Sooyoung is naturally pretty. I never wondered why Jonghyun likes you.”

“Ah, noona!” Jonghyun cried out exasperatedly. “Really. You two are troublesome.”

I chuckled shortly.

“Pft, I wonder why you still haven’t made a move,” IU added, hooking her arm under the guy’s. She veered to face me. “Soo, I want you to meet my date, Jang Wooyoung. I really thought you guys were related since you both have similar surnames but then I realized he’s Jang and you’re Jung.”

I greeted him with a bow.

“This is Lee Sungmin.” Sunny introduced the guy standing next to her. He was inches taller than her but he looks cute though. “He’s my boyfriend of two years now.”

Taemin excuses himself from the guests and heads towards our table, his arm intertwined with his date’s arm. Flawlessly flaunting a simple, yellow dress, she ambles to our place with an innocent smile. When he saw me, a smile sketched on his face.

“Noona, hi!” He greeted me. He gestured to the girl beside him. “This is Krystal Jung. She’s from California. I was thinking you two might somehow be related.”

Jonghyun faced me. “Are you?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I replied gently. “I’m from Australia. But”—I glanced at Krystal—“it’s nice to meet you, Krystal.”

She smiled back.

“Noona, I—”

“You can talk to her later, Taemin,” Jonghyun cuts him off, waving him away. “She’s my date so, for now, I’ll take as much time as I could get with her. Go spend some time with Krystal, too. We’ll be a little busy in a few.”

Taemin nodded, giving his brother a knowing grin. He then led Krystal to the table and pulled back a chair for her. I didn’t say anything but Jonghyun seemed to get the hint. Pulling back a chair, he encouraged me to sit down.

Few minutes later, more and more guests have arrived. I feel like I’m on a runway show rather than a gathering. And because of that, I’m feeling more of an outsider. I wonder if Sunggyu was here, maybe I’d feel reasonably normal. Perhaps, if he was here, he would…

I sighed. Why was I even thinking about him?

Last time I checked, he told me I was immature. I’m immature because I’m anguished about Seunghyun’s death until now. I can’t help it. Seunghyun was there when the world turned against me. He was the only I could depend on. And he, of all people, was the only one who taught me what love really is.

When he passed away, my world felt empty. Those friends I used to have dumped me as soon as Seunghyun left. My family thinks I’m a fool for even loving him from the start. Seemingly, I have no one left to turn to.

For the past few weeks, I’ve gotten used to having Sunggyu around. He makes me feel like I’m at home, no matter how much I deny it. But I won’t tell him anyway. It just boosts his ego. Whenever I pass by him at school, he secretly casts me this smile like there’s a secret that only both of us know. And now I do not doubt why girls seem to worship him.

But for me, Sunggyu is the only person who makes me feel comfortable to be myself.

Of course, I would rather keep this to myself. If I tell him, that would put me in an embarrassing position.

Except, there aren’t feelings involved. I’m certain of that.

For now.

“…you look distracted.”

“Um… what?”

Concern clouded his face. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am,” I lied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Like I said, you look distracted,” Jonghyun bemused, leaning back to his chair. “Are you bored? We can get out of here if you want. Usually, it’s the elders who take part in this and have fun. Some of the teenagers, like us, would go to the pool or just play around.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “In this outfit?”

He gave me a smug smile. “That’s why I told you to bring casual clothes, remember?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I was wondering why you would tell me to bring them. Anyway, what time are we going back home?”

He bit his lip, looking timid all of a sudden. He uncomfortably shifted closer, his jaw tense. He looked around before resting his eyes on me. “Um, we’re actually not going back tonight,” he murmured, pursing his lips. “My family is staying here overnight so we can go back tomorrow.”

So, I’m staying here for a night? What about Sunggyu then?

Well, it’s not like he can’t survive for a night without me. He’s survived his last 21 years without me. What is one night compared to that?

But you know, you should tell her, a small voice advised me. He’s still your husband.

Perhaps, later I will.

…I’m crazy.

“But if you want—”

“Pft, just stay with us for one night,” Sunny cuts in, placing her arm on my shoulder. “You won’t regret it. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Besides, we’re all coming back to Seoul tomorrow afternoon.”

I strained a smile. “Of course.”

“Would you want us to tell your parents about it?” Sunny offered. “We could contact them right now. Leave it to me. I’m pretty good in convincing people.”

I forced a chuckle. “No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to him—I mean them. I can talk to them later.”

“Don’t worry,” Sunny reassured, nudging me on the arm. “Jonghyun will make sure you’re going to have fun before we go back to the real world. Besides, we all need a break sometimes.”

♀ ________________________________________________________ 

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and sorry for the late updates. been a bad week for me lately and i'm having fun rp-ing.

otl. okay, hit me in the head. i'm a bad author. xoxo