TWENTY FIVE

Three hours ago, Seohyun remembered how her boyfriend ogled at her the moment she opened the door of her bedroom. She laughed out loud when Yonghwa was frozen on the spot, mouth agape for a second until his gaze turned electric. In no time, he hooked his arms around his waist and pulled her back into her bed.

That was the reason why they almost did not make it to Sooyoung’s wedding.

And right that moment, as she walked down the aisle on her light lavender strapless bridesmaid’s mini-dress, Seohyun could feel the weight of his stare even though he was standing a few good feet away from her. When she passed by him, she gave him a little raise of her brow but smiled when his lips formed the word ‘beautiful’. She has always been called that but it feels different whenever he would say it. It made her sigh because she was never a sappy person.

The service was solemn and heartwarming. Sooyoung was a very beautiful bride and her groom was teary-eyed when she walked down the aisle. Seohyun has attended quite a few wedding ceremonies but she had blocked the thought of that one day for the fear that things won’t really work out for her. But now, the goosebumps would suddenly appear on her skin whenever she thought of the future.

Then again, there were the complications of their relationship.

“I just can’t stop looking at you, tiger.”

She turned to find Yonghwa standing there with two flutes of champagne in hand after the ceremony. Seohyun smiled, he really has a way of brushing away her fears even without him knowing it. Taking one glass from him, she asked with an amused glare, “I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“What is it?” His smile was slow and unquestionably y as he stepped closer—too close that he was invading her personal space in this relatively wide garden with the rest of the wedding guests. Although she didn’t really mind, but there were so many people around them who could probably deduce their relationship.

“What’s up with tiger?”

Yonghwa laughed softly then took a sip of his champagne before looking back at her, “Hmm… remember the first time we met?”

The tenderness of his smile told her that it was something etched in his memory, the same way she held it in hers. Seohyun gave him a slight nod as she posed an amused expression but in truth, everything about him that moment was giving her the butterflies.

“We met casually but it didn’t take long for you to unleash your inner tiger on me. You gave off that feel, you make me want you yet I hold back thinking you won’t like me and pounce me instead,” he chuckled when her nose crinkled and her lips pursed. “But seriously, you have always been like a tiger for me. Beautiful yet dangerous. But then again, even now that I managed to tame this tiger…”

Yonghwa coolly rubbed a finger on her arm that she consciously focused her attention to the other people in the garden enjoying the after-wedding party just in case anyone was looking at them. She swallowed hard when he withdrew his hand noting her discomfort. Her eyes met his again.

“There are still moments that you make me cower.” Yonghwa was eyeing her fiercely passionate and he knew the effect of that kind of stare to her. “You are my tiger… my beautiful danger. The kind that I will never get enough of.”

Seohyun tried to hide the smile that was forming by biting her lower lip but it was not working— she was probably blushing like the bride for all she know. Casually, she raised a hand and brushed it on the lapel of his suit, “You know, Oppa, if only we’re alone, I would have been kissing you right now.”

“You know, Hyun, I would have kissed you first,” he winked and caught her hand on his chest and gave it a soft squeeze, “But later…. I will do just that.”

“I’ll look forward to it, Mr. Jung,” she nodded politely then walked away.

They made an agreement not to interact a lot for the remainder of the evening, but that didn't stop them from catching each other’s eyes and then exchanging secret messages from across the room. Before coming to the wedding, she was hesitant since Yonghwa might not be comfortable since she was not sure that he would know anybody aside from her friends that he already met. But looking at him by the corner of her eyes, Yonghwa was comfortably engrossed in a conversation with some men at the bar. She didn’t really know those men but she assumed them to be some of the groom’s friends.

“It’s hard huh? Watching him from afar when all you want is to be seen with him, to let people know he’s yours as well as you’re his.”

Sooyoung came up behind and she turned and wrapped her Unnie in her arms, “Unnie… thanks for inviting him too…”

“No problem…” Sooyoung motioned towards Yonghwa who was in an animated conversation with her husband’s cousins and friends, “Watching you two remind me of someone.”

“I think I know who that someone is,” she winked at her playfully. Her closest friends’ love affairs were never hidden from her. Sooyoung was once entangled in a very complicated dating scandal with one of the country’s leading actors. Although they never hid their relationship to the public, it still ended pretty badly for both of them.

“Yeah, we were young then,” she took a heavy breath, “I was so in love with him. But our work just got in between us. And you know the rest of it.”

She smiled sadly as she tapped her Unnie’s arm, “I’m sorry.”

“I am not. Look… I just got married to the most wonderful man.”

“I know and I’m so happy for you.”

“You, my dear…” Sooyoung held her hand tight on hers, “You have always been a precious maknae for us and we always want you to have nothing but the best. We are not really so worried about you and Yonghwa’s relationship right now because you are smart enough to deal with things. But still… word to the wise, always be ready to let go.”

She could not deny that her Unnie’s words rattled her that she couldn’t react right away. 

“Anyway, seeing you two now,” Sooyoung shook her head once she realized that what she said rendered Seohyun speechless, “I think you just have to be careful…”

“Why does she need to be careful?”

The two women were suddenly quieted by that familiar voice that they both turned to find a smiling face that they knew for a very long time.

“Minho-ya!” Sooyoung hit her cousin’s arm before she got wrapped around his arms.

Choi Minho released his cousin and grinned, “I made it.”

“To the reception, silly,” Sooyoung rolled her eyes.

“Sorry, my flight got delayed,” he pouted then shifted her attention to the girl who was just watching the scene, “Hyunnie…”

“Oppa…” Seohyun nod slightly in acknowledgement then moved forward when he opened his arms for her. She laughed softly when Minho playfully lifted her up in the air for a second then dropped her back on her feet gently. “It’s been a long time.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Minho studied her from head to toe, “You look really amazing.”

“Eherm,