Chapter Eighteen

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Naeun glanced at the frozen girl standing by the window of the suite and took another deep breath before approaching her. "Haru-yah..." The bride turned to her and she gasped at the beautiful sight before her. Unable to stop herself, she felt her eyes water and she swallowed the lump in before announcing,

"It's time."

"Remember: smile." Suho reminded Kris for the umpteenth time this morning, causing him to roll his eyes. He was starting to regret choosing him as his best man. But as he turned his head to see Chanyeol and Tao eyeing the female guests with smirks on their faces, he took back his words and regretted choosing the other two instead. He sighed and fixed his bow, suddenly feeling like it's too tight around his neck. Kyungsoo swats his hand away and gave the groom a hiss; on other days Kris would've threw him a deathly glare but he wasn't able to do so now - at least not when he's standing in a crowd full of guests. 

One of the huge ballrooms of the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel was beautifully decorated for the wedding; thanks to the hardwork of the wedding planners, Liyin and his mother, Sonya. Lots of guests had begun to fill the ballroom and his mouth were getting numb from all the smiling he did. He took a deep breath before approaching a group of well dressed elites and bowed when they turned to him. "My son..." smiled Sonya and gave him a side hug. "I never knew I'd live to see this day. I'm proud of you, Yifan." came his grandfather's voice and Kris gave him a curt nod. "Like I said before, there's never been a time when I'm not proud of you." the Chairman told him with a proud smile.

"Thank you, bàba." Kris told his father. He then turned to the last person in the circle and bowed his head at her out of courtesy, not respect. "You look handsome, Yifan." Hanna told him with a smile. "Thank you, ma'am." "What nonsense is this?" chuckled the former Chairman. "She's your mother-in-law, Yifan. You don't call her ma'am." Kris mentally rolled his eyes before clearing his throat. "I'm sorry, mother." he said, using the same term Haru had used to address her. "It's fine. You'll get used to it." Hanna smiled and he mentally sighed. "Yifan dear, can you do me a favor?" she suddenly asked and he reluctantly nodded, not wanting to appear rude to his very soon to be in-law. 

"Take good care of Haru for me." A frown made its way onto his handsome feature at her request and he silently observed her, never breaking eye contact with the elder. She seemed genuine and it confuses Kris more. But deep inside, he knew she really cared about Haru and these are one of the rare moments she was actually showing it. The Wus stared worriedly at him when he remained quiet and breathed a sigh of relief when he gave Hanna a firm nod. Haru's mother smiled at this before she was engaged with another conversation by some guests. Tao then approached Kris and flashed him a smile.

"It's time."

Haru

I was shocked when I finally saw Liyin this morning. Not only did she look beautiful in her bridesmaid dress, she was walking hand in hand with Luhan! I knew something was going on with these two and I'm going to find out soon. She smiled sheepishly at me before doing some last minutes touch ups on my dress, leaving me to stand face to face with Luhan. "You look beautiful," he told me with a dazzling smile. I chuckled. Haven't seen that in a while. "Thanks, Luhan. I'm glad you could make it," I teased and he grinned. "Sorry about that." he said, not sounding apologetic at all for arriving a tad bit late for the wedding. 

Nothing more was said when the wedding organiser came to us and told us that the time was nearing. I took in a deep breath and tried to calm my rapidly beating heart, occasionally distracting myself with Liyin's and Naeun's fussing over my dress and hair. "Don't touch it! It's fine already." I heard Liyin say to Naeun as they did a bit of touch ups on my hair. Once they were done, the two stood in front of me with huge smiles on their faces. "You look beautiful, best." Naeun told me, her eyes watering. I felt my eyes water and opened my arms so she could hug me. "Thank you for everything, best." I whispered to her and she pulled away with a tear trailing down her cheek. "I love you." she whispered and I smiled. "I love you too."

Luhan then gave me a hug, wishing me luck before walking over to kiss Liyin on her cheek and leaving for the hall. We were in one of the waiting rooms a few doors away, and I could hear the ruckus going on outside. For five whole minutes, I took a deep breath to steady myself while Liyin fixed her own make up and Naeun fussed over her sister's hair. This is it. I'm getting married...to my boss. I'm going to be Mrs. Wu. Oh God... I'm going to be someone's wife! At that thought, I began to panic. I could feel my breath hitch and I began to fan myself with my hand. Calm down, Haru. Everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay...

"I'm proud of you..."

Yeah... everything's going to be okay.

He didn't know what was happening. One minute he was standing by the podium, looking as calm as ever under the spotlight and the next he was frozen like a statue. He couldn't even find the strength to widened his eyes at the sight before him. Kris was unable to register the sound of the emcee announcing her arrival nor the music that played in the background as she walked along the pathway heading towards him. He took in the sight of her face which had light make up on, her hair which was tied into a bun behind the veil in her hair, the frothy white bouquets in her hands and her vintage looking wedding dress.

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