Hyun Joong

I gazed up into the sky, sadly taking in the details of clouds forming and breaking up in the blue sky. The sun beamed with inviting rays into every corner of the room, but it falied to brighten the dark edges in my heart.

It was my wedding today. I had imagined all my life that on this day, I would be b with joy. Somehow, it was not even near to a fraction of what I thought it should be.

The past few weeks had felt so surreal. There were a lot of preparations necessary leading to the wedding and I had to take charge to the most intricate details. Days passed and I took in every day mechanically, with only goal in mind – we must not fail today.

Hyori had seen the indifference in me throughout our wedding preparations, and had decided to let me wallow in my moodiness. She was really beautiful today, yet I could not bring myself to bask in her goddessly aura.

It had been a while since I last saw So Min. I had no courage to call her…not even the right to look for her now. How could I face her in my current state?

I wondered how she is now - Is she eating well? Is she sleeping well? Has she completely forgotten this heartless man here?

“Hyun Joong, it is time.”

I turned to nod at my father,”I’m on my way, Papa.”

Papa placed his hand on my shoulder, a fatherly gesture that he bestowed on me only on situations where he desired a heart to heart talk. “Son, are you sure you want to do this?” He asked, looking into my eyes with sympathy.

Covering his hand with my own, I nodded weakly with a forced smile, “Let’s do this, Papa.”

Papa heaved a sigh in resignation and patted my shoulder, “Thank you, my boy. It’s my fault that you have to go through this. It is still not too late to change your mind,”

He left the room soon after and left me alone to brace up for whatever that may come. Taking a deep breath, I stood up, straitghtened my bow tie, brushed the dust of my tuxedo and told my reflection in the mirror. “Smile a little, Hyun Joong. It’s your wedding.”

It felt like it took forever to reach the room. My steps to the solemnisation room were cautious and heavy. Compared to other rooms where there were burst of laughter and cheers, the one that I was heading towards was silent with only few well-wishers present. As I stepped into the room, four person stood up and turned to me – my papa, my uncle, my lawyer and the solemniser. As I took my position at the table where the solemnisation was to take place, I tried to avoicd eye contact with everyone. Looking at anyone right now would probably gave me feelings away.

Hyori appeared at the doorstep soon after I sat down, She was in a knee-lengthed white chiffon dress, and her hair was bundled up in a French knot. She had little make up, but that was already sufficient justice to her natural beauty. She was really beautiful – that was the face that my heart beat to in the past.  But it was different now. My heart pained in So Min’s absence. I knew I had to go through this, no matter how much it hurt.

Hyori walked slowly and took a seat next to me, before the solemniser and the lawyer. Our eyes met briefly and she nodded at me before lowering them to the floor again.

“Good afternoon, honorable guests,” the solemniser began. “ We are gathered here today to witness the union of Mr Kim Hyun Joong and Ms Lee Hyori as husband and wife. Before we begin the ceremony, if there is any individual here who would like to voice his objection to this union, please rise now.”

He looked at each guests to check for any response. Silence.

I wondered if I was the only one who felt it…The atmosphere was tense beyond words could describe.

There was no turning back now.

“Very well. We will now proceed with the ceremony proper.” The solemniser put on his glasses and thumbed through the documents in front of him.

He dutifully went through the clauses of the expectations and responsibilities of a husband to his wife and a wife to her husband. Unfortunately, none of them registered in my ears as I stared blankly into nothingness, waiting for the moment to come.

He finally came to a stop and lowered his glasses, “Now, I understood that the bride has a specific request before I could pronounce you husband and wife. Mr Uhm Min Ki, will take over from here.”

My lawyer, also the lawyer who represented my company in all legal matters, stood up and started to read from the document in his hand. He was in his fifties, though he looked younger than his actual age. He was very professional in his work, and where business was concerned, he made sure that there were no room for mistakes.

“I, Uhm Min KI, represents my client, Ms Lee Hyori, in the settlement today. The bride, Ms Lee Hyori has requested Mr Kim Hyun Joong as proof of his love and his willingness to provide for her in sick and in poor. In response to Ms Lee Hyori’s request, Mr Kim Dong Jae, father of Mr Kim Hyun Joong, has agreed to give 50% of his properties to Ms Lee Hyori.”

He turned to Papa to seek confirmation. Papa nodded.

Mr Uhm continued and placed a file on the desk,”If this is agreeable, I would like to invite Mr Kim Dong Jae and Ms Lee Hyori to sign on this document on the transfer of properties. I will be the last signatory to bear witness to this agreement.”

Papa went up slowly to sit down on the third seat at the table. With shaking hands, he picked up the pen from the lawyer. Before he signed, he took one look at me, and smiled reassuringly.

I in my breath as he penned down his signature on the line, followed by Hyori and Mr Uhm.

Where would this lead us to?

Mr Uhm inspected the signatures and showed the document to all present, “With this document signed, Ms Lee Hyori now holds 50% of Mr Kim Dong Jae’s properties.

Mr Uhm carefully kept the document in an A4 yellow folder with a ‘Confidential’ label across it. The solemniser took the cue and proceeded with his duties.

“I will now call upon the groom and bride to stand up to take their wedding vows.”

This is it, I whispered to myself.

“Do you Mr Kim Hyun Joong, take Ms Lee Hyori, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?”

I swallowed the uneasiness built up in my throat. I have rehearsed this many times. I need to do this right. Picking up all my energy, I took the moment in my hand, “I….”

A ringing tone. A loud tone split the solemn atmosphere and brought me back into reality.

The solemniser looked at the guests accusingly before shifting his attention on me. With a tinge of impatience, he signalled that the sound was actually coming from me.

“Please switch off all mobile devices from now on,”  he warned.

I bowed apologetically and quickly reached for the phone in my pocket. I was about to switch off my phone when I recognised the caller’s name.

“I’m sorry. Please let me have a moment. I need to take up this call.”

The solemniser reluctantly nodded and I quickly retreat to the dressing room.

“Mom? Is something wrong?” My heart palpitated uncontrollably, fearing something bad may have happened to So Min.

“Hyun Joong, you have to come here quickly. So Min is going to the airport. She’s leaving Korea!”

“What do you mean, Mom?”  

Mom sounded more urgent now, “Please stop her!”

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Bowwow

To all my beloved friends in Asianfacnfic.

Much apologies for leaving this story for more than a year. There were much to do following my father's passing away since my father has more than one family. - My parents were divorced since I was young and my father has a another family too. Nevertheless, we still maintain good relationship with my father when he was still alive. My father wasn't rich, but when it comes to his inheritance, of whatever he has left, it became very knotty when there were two families involved. And to top it all, the other side isn't very pleasant to deal with. There were a lot of undesired meetings and gatherings with my half brother and sister and thieir mother. To me, it doesn't matter who inherits what, as long as there is peace after my father's passing. I couldn't wait for this whole saga to be over soon.

Enough said of me. It's been a long time, I hope all my friends here are doing well and happy. I was rather anxious about doing this chapter update and I really couldn't remember where i had left off. I need to re-read the whole 57 chapters again to gain momentum. I hope you like this new chapter. I'm so grateful of your support even after I went on hiatus. Thank you so much for not forgetting about this story. This story does not have many chapters left, so I hope everyone will enjoy the rest of the chapters. As to whether I'll write another new story after this - I really don't know. I guess it all depends on whether there is still inspiration in me and whether time permits. Hope everyone have a great week ahead.