Credits go to kurogane, for this amazing poster.

[Seven. Dongsaeng]

Wedding preparations went by so fast that Dara lost count of the times she had to accompany Byul and Dongwook to the florist’s for the perfect bouquet or the hotel to double-check and triple-check the seating arrangements. The guests consisted mainly of relatives, friends, and colleagues from Dongwook and Jiyong’s side, since Byul had no family and few friends, but it was enough to make the seating arrangements an absolute headache. For example, as Dongwook warned, Aunt Gummy cannot be seated next to her ex-husband Uncle Wheesung, nor can she be seated next to Psy, a friend of Dongwook’s, as they would no doubt be drinking a lot and affecting the other guests. Truth be told, Dara had little interest in things like that, nor was she interested in the flavor of lemon in the wedding cake and the length of the sash on Byul’s wedding dress. However, she made sure to keep from uttering any word of complaint. A look at Byul’s face of complete bliss was enough reminder of why she was putting up with all of this, even when Jiyong was deliberately testing her patience. He kept whining about how dull and pointless everything was whenever he was dragged to another destination on the wedding-preparations agenda, like Byul’s wedding dress fittings, and Byul would be so guilt-ridden that she would burst out profuse apologies, which made Dara furious. What exactly did Kwon Jiyong get out of driving her nuts, Dara does not know, nor does she want to understand. Why the hell would Byul need to apologize to him! But she was smart enough to keep this to herself, and instead suggested to them to shop around with Jiyong while Dongwook and Byul are busy with the fittings, which she knew was exactly what Jiyong was aiming for-spending time with her. Alone.

For him to stop affecting Byul, Dara did not say anything when Jiyong giddily dragged her everywhere, interrogating for her opinion on every item that catches his eye. Nor did she stop him when he insisted on buying two of everything, one for him, the other for her, which he insisted were “siblings matching clothes” when Dara heard perfectly clear that he had mistakenly said “couple clothes” the first time before hurriedly correcting himself, after a hasty look at Dara’s expression. She made sure to avoid wearing them though, which she knew got on his nerves. Sure, he whined and threatened her, but she continued on as if he did not exist. Gritting her teeth, she tried not to claw her way out of Jiyong’s tight grasp on her arm as they stood by the reception area, wearing their respective tuxedo and bridesmaid dress on the big day of Byul and Dongwook’s wedding held outdoors at the garden of the Sunset Glow Hotel. Strings of lights and white candle holders lined up the aisle, even though it was only in the afternoon. Bunches of white camellias and chrysanthemums were seen from every angle. Everything was picture-perfect, like heaven on earth. Even the grass seemed to be shining.

“Space, dongsaeng,” Dara hissed lowly out of the hearing of the guests that were guided to their seats by the ushers, which were Dongwook’s high school friends. Dara recognized some of the guests as professors at Seoul University. She wondered if she would see Professor Yang as well, and the thought was way too awkward for her liking. She locked eyes with her vocal teacher, and smiled graciously for a millisecond before turning back to Jiyong. “Please do not invade my personal bubble of space.”

Jiyong smiled dazzlingly at her, tightening his hold on her. He looked like the prince of a fairytale with his sharp black tux and golden tie, and his hair spiked up at the front. He had originally point-out refused to remove his eye-catching earrings, even with Dongwook’s stern rebuke. However, once Dara gave him a reproachful look, he gave in and replaced the dangly ones with smaller golden spike earrings that matched with his tie. What was up with him and that stupid golden tie anyway, Dara scoffed to herself, trying to pick some flaws out of Jiyong’s impeccable appearance. Being so close to Jiyong also made Dara breathe in the strong scent of Jiyong’s cologne. “Why of course, I do not want my pretty noona to get lost in the crowd. And I want to show every guest how close my noona and I are. Is that wrong?”

Dara had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes at him, knowing that she must tolerate him for the sake of Byul. “But, my very dear dongsaeng, you are almost suffocating me with the scent of your freaking cologne.” Sarcasm was creeping back out of again, but Jiyong did not seem to find it offending enough to threaten to tattletale to Byul. Yet.

Jiyong sniffed. “Doesn’t it smell good? I think it smells pretty nice.” Dara stared stonily at him, not saying a word though she had plenty of swear words she wanted to shout at him. The point is not the cologne, the point is you’re standing too close to me! He knew it, and she knew he knew it. So what was with the deliberate play-dumb act?! “Well, noona, if you hate it so much, buy me something nicer for my birthday.”

“Huh?” Dara looked at him, dumbfounded. He said what?

“August 18 is dear Jiyong’s birthday, dear noona” Jiyong sang out, twirling Dara in a circle before he led her to the seated guests, who had all arrived. “Please remember, my dearest pretty noona, or else Jiyong would be angry. We are a family now, aren’t we?” Tilting his head slightly, Jiyong looked at her with large innocent eyes, reminding Dara of a cute puppy that is deciding whether or not the person in front of him is friendly or not. Except that Jiyong was no puppy, and he was nowhere near innocent.

“I will try my hardest,” Dara drawled before plastering on a timid smile when Youngbae headed their way, grinning at the two of them. Jiyong, on the contrary, narrowed his eyes into slits, and roughly tugged Dara closer to him, as if they weren’t already close enough. Wearing his best suit paired with a shiny new pair of white sneakers, he looked like a hip hop star at a music award ceremony to Dara. Even the casual get-up was not enough to hide his bubbling charisma, so much that some of the guests were whispering about who that might be. Dara was so proud of him; the childhood playmate of hers was really going to achieve his dream someday. He has all the characteristics that would make a world star.