VI

 

 

“I said, it is because of the marriage that he’s not here,” said Baekhyun.

“Wait. What? I don’t understand you. I was just asking you why Kai is not here in our Noraebang Friday then you’re telling me about this ‘marriage’ thing. What marriage? Who’s getting married?” asked the confused Chanyeol.

“What?!? So Kai didn’t tell you about it?” Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Sehun. Based on the look of their faces, it clearly stated their innocence of the topic. “Oh no.”

“What ‘oh no’? Tell us. Enlighten us,” said Chanyeol. Kyungsoo and Sehun stared at Baekhyun waiting for what he was about to say.

“Well, Kai is..uhmm…kind of….ah…..getting….you know…uh…married?” Although it was a relief that Baekhyun was not the only one who’s holding the secret anymore, he felt guilty that he was the one who broke the news instead of Kai.

“WHAT?!? Why didn’t he say that to us? Why only to you? That Kkamjong!” said the disappointed Chanyeol.

“Just understand him. It’s not a comfortable topic either. Besides, have you forgotten that we were on the same class while you, Sehun, Kyungsoo, and Seyoon were together in another class? So naturally, I am the only he could talk to.”

“That Kai. He never said to us that he already proposed to Krystal,” said the angry Sehun.

“He even asked us to keep their relationship secret. And then they’re getting married without telling us…,” added Kyungsoo.

“Actually, it’s not Krystal he’s going to marry,” said Baekhyun.

“What?!? So, who is he getting married to?” asked the curious Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun and listened to him attentively. Baekhyun couldn’t look at their faces. “Kai is going to marry…” Before he even finished what he was going to say, there was a click sound coming from the doorknob. They were surprised to see an unexpected guest, Seyoon. Seyoon entered the karaoke room when she saw their shocked faces.

“Am I still invited here?” she asked. Ever since her complicated relationship with Kai, Noraebang Fridays became an all-boys night out. Sehun nodded at her. Seyoon smiled and sat on the place where she usually sit before, when she was still going with them two years ago.

“Uwah. I never thought that I would be shocked twice today. First was the news about Kai’s marriage. Then, Seyoon’s surprised visit. I don’t think I could still handle another shock after this,” said Chanyeol.

When Chanyeol mentioned about the marriage, Seyoon’s eyes grew bigger. ‘So, Kai already said it to them,’ she thought to herself.

“Baekhyun, tell us. Who will be Kai’s bride?” Chanyeol asked persistently.

“Ahh…” Baekhyun looked at Seyoon and tried to read her face. He didn’t know what to do at that moment. But Seyoon seemed calm. ‘Should I say or not? To say or not to say?’ he thought.

“Who?” asked Kyungsoo.

“It’s me,” answered Seyoon. Everybody looked at her jaw-dropped. Even Baekhyun, who already knew about the marriage, was shocked to hear Seyoon’s confession.

“It was an arrange marriage. It’s for the future of the company.” Hearing Seyoon’s calm voice, it was as if the marriage was nothing to her.

“And you agreed?” asked Sehun.

“There’s nothing I could do.”

“Of course, you could do something,” before Chanyeol even go on with the conversation, Baekhyun looked at him with a face saying ‘don’t-talk-any-further’.

“Don’t worry. The marriage won’t affect anything. It’s only a simple contract written on paper.” She paused and grabbed the catalog of songs. “So can I choose the first song?” she asked.

Seyoon pressed the number of her song choice. The boys just looked at her. All of them are concerned for the two of them, Kai and Seyoon. Even though it looks nothing to Seyoon, they knew that it would be hard for them to go on with the marriage.

“Okay. I’ll sing next!” Chanyeol shouted, trying to break the uneasiness of the atmosphere.

“Since it’s been a while since I come with you, I decided to treat you for dinner,” said Seyoon. All of them tried to show a forced smile.

---

Kai waited inside his father’s office as his father and Mr. Jin were finishing the company meeting in the conference room. ‘You still have a chance to change your mind,’ was the thought that kept running in his head for the past hours. However, he had already made up his mind. It was just that, he still felt uncomfortable about it.

“Oh, Jongin-ah,” Mr. Jin entered the office together with his father.

“Good evening.” Kai bowed to them.

“Your father said that you have something important to tell us.”

Kai took a deep breath before he blurted out the words, “I agree on the marriage. I will marry Seyoon.”

His father and Mr. Jin were shocked at first but their faces turned into smiles knowing that the company would now have a secured future.

“Yah, I am happy to hear that,” said Mr. Jin.

“That’s my son,” said his dad.

“For one condition, I don’t want you to announce the marriage not until we reach the age of 25. And one thing, since the two of us are not in a formal relationship, I hope that you won’t intrude in our personal relationship. I want to take it slowly. Please don’t make things harder for us.” Kai said confidently.

“Oh…Well, that’s not a hard request. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that it will only be the immediate family who would know about the marriage,” said Mr. Jin.

‘What trouble did I just enter myself into?’ he thought.

 

~*~

“Ne, have you answered the essay yet?” Baekhyun asked the boys as they munched their lunch in the cafeteria.

“What essay?” asked Kai.

“The essay about your future,” Chanyeol answered as he sat down with his bowl of bulgogi.

Sehun choked. “Isn’t the essay about family values?” he asked.

“No. That would be next week,” said Kyungsoo. “Well, you can still write another. The deadline would be tomorrow anyway,” he added.

“Hmm…I’ll just ask Seyoon to do it for me,” said Kai, who was relaxed eating his food.

“Yah!” Baekhyun let out a deep sigh. “Don’t rely too much on Seyoon. Besides, the essay is too personal for you to let Seyoon answer it.”

“But I’m kind of busy. I have to choreograph the dance of our club for the incoming amateur competition.”

“Eyy…All you have to do is to write about what you want to be in the future or how you imagine yourself in the future,” said Baekhyun.

Meanwhile, Seyoon walked briskly as she tried to cope up with the lost time she spent in the faculty office.

“Oh, Seyoon-ah! What took you so long?” asked Chanyeol.

“Sorry. I……have….to….” Seyoon tried to catch her breath.

“Take it easy. Here, drink this.” Baekhyun handed her his orange juice.

“No! Don’t drink that! Here, I already brought you the persimmon juice,” said the smiling Kai as he gave her the can of persimmon juice he brought earlier to convince Seyoon to do his assignments.

“Thank you. Well, I have to pass some documents since I am a transferee here.”

“Uhhmmm….I think I already know what to write on my essay. It is easy. I will be the future boss of our company. And if I still haven’t found a suitable wife after my mandatory military service, I’ll just marry Seyoon,” said Kai as he placed his arm around Seyoon’s shoulder, smiling.

Seyoon just stared at him, not knowing the topic of their conversation.

~*~

 

“Hello? Seyoon?”

“Oppa! It’s…”

“I know it’s currently 3 in the morning there. Well, mom just took the last flight going to Korea. She said that you and Kai…”

“About the marriage? So you already knew about it.”

“Of course, I do. If only you knew how disappointed I was that they letting you marry someone you didn’t even love.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my choice anyway.”

“Seyoon-ah…I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything.”

“That’s why. I didn’t do anything about it. I’m sorry if your brother is not there with you.”

“Eyy! Even though you’re not here, I know how much you care about me.”

“Seyoon-ah?”

“Uhmm?”

“Are you ready? I mean, do you really want to go on with it? You can still think about it.”

“I’m all right. Don’t worry. I am the tough Seyoon, remember?”

“I know. I know you’re the ‘tough Seyoon’ who never cried no matter how many times I ate your food or teased that you’re fat.” Suho let out a deep sigh. “Just call oppa if you need anything. Or if that Jongin did anything to you, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll go there right away.”

“I understand. I will tell you right away. After all, you’re my hero-oppa.”

“I miss you. I’ll see you soon.”

“I miss you too…”

“Bye…”

“Bye…,” Seyoon said as she clicked the ‘end call’ button. It had been a while since she heard her brother’s voice. She missed him so much. Whenever she had a problem, she would immediately call him or go to him. Hearing his voice at that moment made her wanted to cry. She couldn’t tell him how hard it was for her to go on with the marriage. She didn’t want him to worry, not a single bit. She knew she had to learn how to face the problems on her own. But she also knew that the marriage wouldn’t work if she didn’t cooperate with Kai and fixed their relationship. That was the first step for her to keep up with it.

---

“I called you two today so that we could already prepare for your marriage before your high school graduation,” said Mr. Jin as Kai and Seyoon entered his office. Seyoon was still not on the mood to talk. Their noraebang event yesterday finished way too late since it’s been a while since she joined the group. As for Kai, he was thinking too much about the whole marriage thing so he wasn’t able to sleep well.

“Cheer up the two of you. This will be a great event for our family,” said Mr. Kim.

“Can you make your announcements faster so I could go home and go back to my deep slumber?” said Kai.

“Well, the marriage would be prepared by your mothers. Every now and then, they might call you for your suggestions and such. As for us, we have thought of something that I know you would like,” said Mr. Jin.

“Since Kai said to us yesterday that the two of you are not in a formal relationship and may find it hard to adjust on the marriage, we decided that the two of you should live together so you would be prepared when you are already married. And in that way, you could get closer to each other,” announced Mr. Kim.

Seyoon and Kai who were half-sleep suddenly became alert. Their eyes grew bigger. Adrenalin rush conquered their body. The two of them stood up and shouted, “WHAT?!?!”

“It’s a good idea isn’t it,” said their smiling fathers.