Epilogue: HyoHyun

(HyoHyun's wedding photo)

"1, 2, 3, 4... 5, 6, 7, 8... 2, 2, 3, 4... 5, 6, 7,8.."

The sound of counting echoed loudly through the dance room but it suddenly stopped when the door was opened.

"Sorry to interrupt all of you. But your wife is here to look for you, Hyo. She's in your office, right now." A lady was standing at the door as she smiled when Hyoyeon gave her a thumbs up before closing the door behind her.

Hyoyeon turned to face a group of 4 boys and 4 girls as she looked at her watch. "Okay, everyone. Go for your lunch break and be back in an hour's time. Don't be late. Whoever is late will have to clean up the practice room once it's over."

The teenagers looked at her and nodded their heads as Hyoyeon walked out from the practice room and proceeded to her office which was on the floor above. Opening the door, she saw Seohyun sitting on the couch with a plastic bag on the table in front of her. She was so busy looking through a pile of papers that she didn't notice Hyoyeon walking in.

Hyoyeon's POV

"Hyunnie." I called out to her who was slightly suprised with my entrance.

Seohyun smiled as she patted the empty space beside her on the couch. "Did I disturb your dance practice, Yeonnie?"

"It's okay. It's lunch time anyway. I've already asked the kids to go for their one hour lunch break. What did you buy for me, anyway?" I asked as I grabbed the plastic bag and took a peek inside it. "Wow.. Soybean stew and rice."

"Is it still hot? Do you want me to heat it up?" Seohyun asked as I touched the cover of the packed food.

"It's still warm. Gwenchana. I can eat it like this. Where's your share?" I asked since it looked like the portion was only for one person.

"I've already eaten earlier at the school cafetaria. I need to go through all these assignments which was why I had an early lunch." Seohyun explained as she pointed to the pile of papers. "Don't mind me and start eating. You need to get back to practice soon."

I grinned at her and thanked her for bringing me lunch. I concentrated on eating since I didn't want to interrupt her revision. That's right. Seohyun was still studying. She had just finished her Masters last year and currently studying for her PhD. Initially, Seohyun wanted both of us to get married once she was done with her studies but that would be like in 3yrs time from now. I'll be 31yrs old by then.

So with the help of the other girls, both of us were married last year which was 2 weeks after she graduated from her Masters Degree course. Since both of us were very busy with our work at the moment, we decided that it was not the right time yet to have a baby. For myself, I'm currently working under Yunho-Oppa as a dance instructor. Since Oppa was now residing in Japan after his marriage to Boa-Unnie 3yrs ago, he told me to look after his dancing school in Seoul. Oppa would then be managing the school in Tokyo.

It's not everyday that Seohyun would bring lunch for me. During the days when she's not able to have lunch with me due to her classes, I would have lunch by myself or with some of the staffs. After I finished work, I would go over to fetch Seohyun to have dinner together. Usually when Seohyun knew that she would be able to have lunch with me, she would drive her own car so that it'll be easier for her to move around. On those days when she drove, she would stop by at the supermarket on her way back from school to get the stuff needed to prepare dinner for us.

"Why are you daydreaming when you're suppose to be eating, Yeonnie?" A light slap on my thighs snapped me out of my thoughts as I just grinned at her.

Just when Seohyun was about to continue with her papers, her phone rang as Sunny's name appeared on screen

Seohyun's POV

"Hi Sunny." I answered as I put the phone on speaker mode so that Hyoyeon could also listened to it.

"Hello, Seohyun. Are you having classes right now?" Sunny asked with her hyper tone of voice.

"Anni. I'm at the dancing school. I brought lunch for Yeonnie." I replied as we heard some noises before Sooyoung's loud voice echoed throughout the room.

"Yah, Seohyun. You should stop feeding Hyo. She's putting on a lot of weight. Her thighs are almost the same size as Yul's." Sooyoung's laughter was heard as Hyoyeon stopped eating.

"Yah, Choi Sooyoung. Just because you don't gain weight even though you're a shikshin, doesn't mean you can tease me about my body. You, tall pole." Hyoyeon clenched her teeth as I just shook my head at their childish behaviour.

"Aigoo, this two. Seohyun-ah, did we get ourselves married to Chodings?" Sunny asked, causing me to giggle at her remarks while Hyoyeon pouted. "Anyway, the reason that I'm calling is to ask if both of you are free this weekend."

"This weekend?" I turned to face Hyoyeon who showed me a thumbs up while nodding her head. "Is there something on this weekend?"

I quickly took out my organiser to check if I had anything on that day. Sunny told me about their plan to visit the orphanage and maybe have a gathering after that. She said that YoonYul and Manse would be coming.

"I think both of us should be free. What time will we be meeting at the orphanage?" I asked as I took a pen to jot down the details in my organiser.

A few minutes later, the conversation ended as I looked at my watch.

"You've got 15mins more before your practice resume, Yeonnie." I said as Hyoyeon nodded her head as she cleared the containers away and went to brush her teeth in the bathroom that was inside her office.

I walked out of her office, together with her as Hyoyeon gave me a peck on my cheeks before she entered the practice room. I continued my way to the car as I drove back to the campus while thinking of what to cook for dinner later.

********************************

(Flashback one year ago)

Hyoyeon's POV

I knocked on the door nervously before turning the knob. I took a peek and saw Jae gesturing me to come in while she was still on the phone. Walking slowly so as not to disturb her, I took a seat on the couch.

"Yes, yes. I understand your constraints but you should have informed me earlier. If I was informed beforehand and given more time, I would have been able to do something about it and we won't be facing this dilemma."

I observed how Jae was looking so serious as she frowned once in a while when having the conversation. It was a sight that was rarely seen by any of us. Now I understood why Sunny said that she almost had a crush on Jae after watching her serious side.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Hyo." Jae smiled at me as she stood up and walked towards the couch.

"You sound very serious and upset earlier." I said as I gestured that I was referring to the phone call that she had.

"Oh that. One of the suppliers for our hotel restaurant has been messing up our orders lately. My chefs are having a lot of trouble preparing the dishes once the fresh products are not received. I called to enquire about it. They said that they had a number of their regular workers resigning and the new workers are still in the learning process. I can understand their problem but they should have informed me earlier so that I can have a back-up plan or something." Jae explained as we heard a knock at the door.

Her secretary entered, bringing us some drinks and snacks as I thanked her.

"So, what's with the sudden meeting up?"

I looked up and smiled nervously at her. "In two months time, Seohyun will be graduating. 2months after she graduated, she's planning to continue her PhD studies. So I was thinking. Before she start spending another 4yrs of studying all by herself and being alone, I want to be by her side. Literally by her side."

"So you're planning to join her to further studies?" Jae asked with a teasing tone as I rolled my eyes at her before she chuckled. "Arraseo, arraseo. I understand that you want to propose to her. That's awesome, Hyo. What kind of help do you need from me?"

"A small space that I can rent to do a mini exhibition." I smiled as Jae looked confused.

A few weeks later,

Seohyun's POV

"Yeonnie, are you sure about this? How come I wasn't even aware that there's an art exhibition going on?" I removed by seatbelt and got ready to go out from the car.

Hyoyeon had asked me to accompany her to visit an art exhibition today which came as a surprise for me. That's because I've never imagined her to be someone that would ever visit an exhibition. As Hyoyeon walked over to my side, I saw her grinning dorkily.

"You were too busy preparing for your examinations, Hyunnie. That's why you were not aware about it. You'll be graduating next month so this is like a gift from me to you." Hyoyeon grabbed my hand as we walked towards a small building.

"What's the name of the exhibition?" I asked as Hyoyeon tilted her head as if she was thinking.

"Hhhmmm... 'My better half'. Yes, that's the name." She grinned as I looked at her suspiciously.

"My better half? I've never heard of it before." I asked as we reached the door and was greeted by the receptionist. "Do we need to get the tickets, Yeonnie?"

"Ahhhh... the tickets. I left it in the car. Can you wait for me here while I go and get it?" She grinned again as I became more suspicious but I still nodded my head.

The moment Hyoyeon left, the receptionist ushered me to a couch to have a seat and asked if I wanted any drinks. I asked her as to why there seem to be no one attending the exhibition and she replied that it's a private exhibition and only selected people were welcomed to view it.

"Seo Omma!!"

I was surprised to hear Kyungsan's voice while I was browsing through the magazines on the table. I was anticipating Hyoyeon to come back with the tickets but when I saw Kyungsan running at me from the entrance, I was startled.

"Kyungsan?" The young boy hugged me and then bowed a little at me. "How come you're here? Where's Soo Omma and Sunny Omma?"

"They're waiting for you inside." Kyungsan smiled at me as he grabbed my hands and tried to pull me forward.

"They're waiting for me? Inside?" I was totally clueless as I just followed Kyungsan towards a glass door. "Kyungsan-ah, I need to take the tickets from Hyo Omma. We can't enter without the tickets."

"Of course we can. We don't need tickets." Kyungsan giggled as he pushed the door.

It was a long hallway just like an art exhibition but what shocked me was the first few photos that were hung on the right side of the wall. They were photos of me and Hyoyeon that we had taken together over the past few years. I was so shocked that I stood rooted without moving.

"Seo Omma. I'll wait for you at the end of the hall, okay. Bye." Kyungsan ran off while waving at me before I could even stop him.

I was totally clueless about what's happening. Should I go back to look for Hyoyeon or should I move forward to where Kyungsan was heading to? But these photos... I started walking towards the first photo on the wall. It was a photo of me and Hyoyeon when we celebrated our 100 days together after she had just finished her futsal practice. Remembering the memories brought a smile to my face as I started moving to the next photo which was during one of our movie dates when we were still in the university. The 3rd photo was taken during SooSun's wedding a few years back. The whole hallway was filled with our photos as I started to walk faster as the urge to look for Hyoyeon overwhelmed me.

(Photos on the wall)

   

Hyoyeon's POV

I saw Kyungsan running towards me with a big smile. After seeking Jae's help in getting this exhibition space, I had spent the past 2 weeks preparing all the photos and hanging them up myself.

"Hyo Omma, Seo Omma has already entered. She should be here soon." Kyungsan informed me as I patted his head.

"Gomawo, Kyungsan-ah. I'll treat you to ice-cream later." I said as he nodded his head with a big grin on his face.

"Then what about us? Are you treating us too?" Sooyoung who has been standing at a corner, asked me.

"Aigoo, this shikshin. Fine, fine. I'll treat everyone later." I replied as I saw Sooyoung giving a high-five to her son, Kyungsan.

The exhibition room was designed in such a way that once you reached the end of the long hallway, the room would bent about 45 degress to the left with a wall slightly blocking the view. Me and the girls were waiting behind that wall. TaeNy, SooSun, YoonYul and JaeSica had arrived 30mins before me just to look through the exhibition. After I left Seohyun at the receptionist counter, I had ran all the way to the opposite side of the building to enter the exhibition room through the exit door. The girls applauded me for a job well done. They even teased me about being cheesy and romantic when they knew that it was not my style to do all these.

"Nervous?" Jae patted my back as I waited for Seohyun to appear.

"A little." I gulped down my saliva as she chuckled. "By the way, gomawo. For helping me out to rent this space."

"Gwenchana. You needed my help and it was within my capability, obviously I would help you out. Wait... I think I heard footsteps." Jae said.

Just at that moment, Seohyun appeared as she turned from behind the wall. I could see that she was a little nervous and her eyes were watery. I instantly felt bad for leaving her behind, all by herself.

"Yeonnie?" Seohyun had a baffled look as she looked around. "What's... going on?"

At that moment, words got stuck in my throat as I shoved a notebook into her hands instead. Seohyun frowned a little as she took the notebook. Sensing that it was not just a normal notebook, she flipped it and it automatically opened to the centre stage. The moment she saw what was inside, Seohyun covered as the tears finally flowed down her cheek.

"Te casarias conmigo?" I said as I took one step forward and wiped away the tears with my thumbs.

Seohyun didn't say much as she just nodded her head and gave me a tight hug. We stayed like that for about 10seconds until we heard Taeyeon's voice.

"Yah, what was that all about? Have you propose? Did she say yes or no? And what is te cas... casaro.. amigo or something like that?" Taeyeon asked as me and Seohyun laughed.

Turning around to face the rest of the girls, I noticed that almost all of them had a confused look except for Jae.

"It means 'will you marry me?' in Spanish." I explained as the girls finally understood. "Hyunnie is currently learning the spanish language which is why I decided to use it. And obviously she will say yes, you midget!"

As I chuckled at Taeyeon who meronged at me, the girls gathered around to congratulate us. Seohyun then told them about how confused she was when she was left alone at the hallway.

"I saw the very first photo when I entered and felt very touched but by the time I reached the 3rd one, I started to feel a little scared and uneasy since I was all alone. So I decided to just walked straight down the hallway quickly towards the direction where Kyungsan went." Seohyun explained as I kept apologising for leaving her alone. "Gomawo. I really appreciate the effort that you put in."

"I'm sorry that my proposal was not very wordy and it was very simple with just giving you a notebook. I..." I couldn't finished my sentence when Seohyun leaned forward to kiss me on my lips.

"It's okay. It was never your style to be romantic or cheesy anyway. This is how unique my Yeonnie is. But the fact that you've prepared all these just for the proposal, I think it's more than enough. Actions speaks louder than words and a picture is worth a thousand words. There's more than 20 photos in here. That's worth a lot of words." Seohyun said as the rest of the girls clapped at her remarks.

"I know you wanted to wait until you've got your PhD before thinking of marriage but I'll be 31yrs old by then. If you wanted me to wait, I would have waited but I want to be there for you. Expecially when you're going through the hard times of studying."

"I know, Yeonnie. I understand. In that case, let's get married next month. 2 weeks after my graduation." Seohyun said as my eyes almost popped out.

"That's like almost one month from now." I said as Seohyun smiled sweetly at me. "Arraseo. I'll make the necessary arrangements. The girls would be helping me out too, right?"

Everyone cheered and agreed to my suggestions as I bowed and thanked them.

"Don't have to be so grand. Just a simple one will do and I want both of us to wear a hanbok." Seohyun replied, adding on to the shock that I've already had. "For now, let's go and have a tour of your art exhibition properly now. 'My better half'. I really like the title of it."

I smiled when Seohyun grabbed my hands and dragged me back to the starting point while the rest of the girls just followed us along with Kyungsan.

********************************

(Present Time)

Hyoyeon's POV

"Hyunnie, why are you daydreaming?" Seohyun asked as she took my plate away and brought it to the sink. "Wash your mouth and then take a shower."

"Together?" I cheekily smiled at Seohyun who turned around to glare at me. "Arraseo, arraseo. Don't have to glare. I was just kidding."

I walked up to the sink to wash my mouth as Seohyun continued to keep her eyes on me. Once I was done, she turned to the dishes and started to wash them while I walked away but not before slapping her lightly.

"Yah, Kim Choding!!!"

By then, I was already running away to the bedroom as I laughed out loud while I could still hear Seohyun's grumbling words. An hour later, I was done with my shower as I walked into an empty bedroom. I looked at the clock and nodded to myself. 'Hyunnie must be doing her meditation.' I grabbed a book from the bookshelf at the corner and laid down on the bed.

I had just finished reading two pages when Seohyun walked in with a smile on her face, obviously feeling better after her meditation.

"Do you have school work to do tonight?" I asked as Seohyun nodded her head while walking to her study table.

This is usually the scenario at home. Seohyun will be busy going through her school work while I'll try to find things to entertain myself like reading books, watching some movies or sometimes doing light exercises. I will wait for her to finish her school work before going off to sleep together.

Seohyun's POV

"Yeonnie, are you sleepy already? You should go ahead and sleep first." I said after I caught her yawning again.

"Anni. I'm fine. You know I can't sleep without you beside me. But please don't stop your revision because of me." She smiled before she put aside the book and started to play some random games on her phone.

I knew that she was already a little tired. The past few days, she has been working hard to prepare for an upcoming dance competition. Even though she's not taking part, she still needs to look after the students who were participating since they were under her care. Furthermore, she's in charge of the choreography of the dance.

"I know you're tired, Yeonnie. You've been working hard, practicing with the kids for the competition for the past few days." I replied as she just showed me her tongue while her eyes were still focussed on the game in her hand.

I shook my head and turned around to face my papers again. No matter what I say, Hyoyeon will still wait for me to finish before sleeping together. She will always say that she can only sleep well if we cuddle together. In a way, I was thankful for her being stubborn since it makes me feel that she needed me. I was glad that I agreed to marry her earlier than we initially planned to. Having her beside me always take away the stress from school work and with her around, it makes me feel complete.

"Hyunnie, did Sunny tell you if we need to bring any food for the gathering?" Hyoyeon suddenly asked as I packed my stuff since I was done with tonight's assignments.

"Anni. She didn't inform me anything about it. Maybe I'll ask her tomorrow." I crawled up to the bed and laid done beside her. "For now let's sleep, okay."

********************************

"Are you sure? Is that why Jae wants us to gather here?" Hyoyeon asked as Taeyeon nodded her head.

"I was shocked too when Taeng told me earlier in the office. She said Jae informed her last night after she returned from Hong Kong." Sooyoung said as the 4 of them were ushered to their seats inside one of the VIP rooms.

(Flashback last night)

Taeyeon walked into the cafe after she received a message from Jae asking her to meet up urgently. She saw Jae sitting at one of the table at the corner and approached her.

"Hey."

They greeted each other and a waiter came to take their orders.

"When did you arrive from Hong Kong and what's with the urgency?" Taeyeon asked as she noticed Jae smirking.

"I just arrived at the airport when I messaged you earlier. Taeng, did Sica ask you to handle her launching event next month?" Jae asked as Taeyeon nodded her head. "That's good. Because I was thinking that it's about time for me to settle down soon."

Taeyeon almost choked on her drink as Jae just grinned like a dork.

(Present time)

"By the way, where is she? I thought she said she'll be coming down soon." Yuri asked as Taeyeon took out her phone to check for any messages.

"Maybe she's held up a little. She did told me that she's having a meeting before her lunch break." Taeyeon replied. "Do you guys want to order first or wait for her?"

In the end, the 4 of them decided to wait for Jae and only ordered ice water for the time being.

"Wow.. I didn't expect to see you girls in such a posh hotel restaurant. I was surprised when I saw the waitress ushering you girls into this VIP room. " The 4 girls turned to face an arrogant looking Taecyeon who was standing by the door. "Ice water only? Don't tell me that's all you can afford after reserving this room." He gave out such a sarcastic laugh that the girls rolled their eyes at him.

"We're waiting for our friend." Taeyeon replied in a non-chalant manner.

"A friend? Don't tell me it's that Hyun Jae. Is she working here in the hotel? Which department is she in? F&B, Housekeeping or Security?" Taecyeon laughed again, causing Yuri to stand up with clenched fists. "Wow, relax. I was just asking so that maybe I can have a staff discount for my next visit."

"She does work here." Hyoyeon replied with her poker face. "Maybe you can ask her yourself since she's here."

Jae's POV

The meeting ended slightly later than I had expected. Placing the proposal files on the table, I took out my phone to read Taeyeon's message which informed me that they have arrived at the restaurant. I removed my blazer along with my tie and left it on my office desk before I made my way out.

(Imagine this is what Jae was wearing.)

I walked into the restaurant and saw the back of a guy, standing near the door. As I walked nearer, I heard what Hyoyeon said to him.

"Maybe you can ask her yourself since she's here."

The moment the guy turned around, I had a frown on my face. Taecyeon smirked at me and at that moment, I felt like punching him. I remembered that Jessica kept complaining to me about how Taecyeon was still trying to woo her even after all these years.

"From the way you're dressed up, I think you're working at the concierge." He laughed to himself as I tried to enter but was stopped by him. "Are you suppose to be having your break here? I thought staff was not allowed to eat in the public eye."

I folded my arms and glared at him. "If you don't mind, please excuse us. We have a very important discussion to talk about and we don't appreciate your presence especially since you're not suppose to be in this room anyway." By then, both of us had walked into the room.

"Important discussion? You make it sound like you're planning your marriage." He laughed again but he stopped when he realised what he just said and saw that there was no response from me. "You're not really planning to marry Jessica, right?"

I arched my eyebrow at him and clenched my fist. "So what if I am?"

"You don't deserve her. She needs to be with someone like me. Someone who can give her a comfortable life and boost her business prospect. What can a poor girl like you do for her? You're just going to make use of Jessica's wealth for yourself. I really don't understand why she's still sticking with a piece of like you." Taecyeon was about to smirk when a hard punch landed on his face, forcing him to stagger backwards.

"Don't you dare talk like that about her. You're the piece of ." Taeyeon had to be held back by Sooyoung and Yuri as I saw Taecyeon swiping the blood from the sides of his slip.

"You!! You're dead. I'm going to sue you until you're bankrupt." Taecyeon pointed his finger at Taeyeon.

"What's going on in here?"