Chapter 7

A small sigh escaped from Yuri’s lips. Hearing the unhappy sound, the cab driver looked at the beautiful girl sitting on the back seat & shook his head, “Miss?” He called her softly, “What time do you have to be there?” Yuri looked at her watch & gasped. She was eight minutes late already, “Sir, how much further?” She asked the cab driver urgently.

The driver only rolled his eyes, “We haven’t even move an inch, miss. The guy still couldn’t find his ring & now is begging the girl to marry him without the ring.”

Yuri pulled out thirty dollar & gave it to the cab driver, “Thanks.” & she ran out from the car. The cab driver sighed & stuck his head through the window, “Miss, wrong direction!” He yelled, “Take the right turn & follow the oak tree until you get out of the park & just follow the direction to St. Mary!”

Yuri gave him a thank you wave & ran to the other direction. She pulled off her pink audrey brooke newport suede ballet flat & started running with all her might, pushing herself to run faster by recalling how her life without Yunho had been.

The moment she had got back to her apartment after her showdown with Yunho, she had kept reminding herself that she was just fine without him. After all, she hadn’t known him a year ago & she had been fine then, too. She had kept convincing herself that she didn’t need him, even when she had found herself with a phone in her hand & her fingers were already dialing his number.

When the memory of him had been unbearable, she had used her work to keep her occupied but her prized clay piece had turned into another failure. Nothing had turned out right. So, she had gone out to refresh her mind but every corner of Seoul had reminded her of him. Every couple had reminded her of her & Yunho together, doing the same thing, having the same happy expression on their faces so she had hidden in her apartment but her solace had also betrayed her. It had reminded her way too much about Yunho. The way they had gone apartment hunting & finally chosen it together. The way he had slouched on the couch, watching tv when he had waited for her when she was getting ready. The way he had looked in her kitchen when he had cooked for her birthday.

She still remembered how tired she had felt after cleaning the kitchen Yunho had destructed with his cooking skill & the way he had made her feel when he had got out of the kitchen with his face blackened by smoke & a little piece of ugly birthday cake that he had bake himself. How he had blushed as he confessed sheepishly that the other part of the cake had been burned beyond help & he could only salvage that one little piece & how his face had lightened up when she had taken a bite of it. His grin had been so full of delight & wonder & she had felt like the most treasured being in the universe.

At the end, when she had no other place to hide, she could only look at the truth in the face. She had fallen in too deep & the only way to get out of her feelings had been to look for other guy to fill Yunho’s place but her heart had rebelled at the thought. Actually, all of her being had rebelled at the thought of another guy sharing even a cup of ice cream with her & somehow, her interests in other guys had evaporated the same moment Yunho had walked out of her life so there had been only one reasonable solution to her affliction, giving up to her heart’s demand & put her stubborn & illogical mind aside for a while but just as she had finished gathering her courage to call him, she had heard that Yunho had moved away. Nobody had known where he had gone to & still, she had stubbornly believed that Yunho would come back someday & they would start all over again, & everything would be as it was supposed to be.

Until she had gotten the pretty wedding invitation sent by Yunho’s friend that had given her the boost she needed to grab the last chance to be with him as Yunho would be marrying a girl called Seo Joohyun.

“We are gathered here today to witness these two lovers to be joined in holy matrimony.”

The wedding ceremony had finally started.

In front of the church, Yunho was half-listening to what the priest was saying. His thought was wandering into the most difficult moment of his life.

Three weeks after the break up, he couldn’t hold on any longer. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, he could do nothing right. His temper had run hot almost all the time & he had felt lower than scum for yelling at his innocent victims & when he had ended up at the ice cream shop where he had met Yuri for the first time, night after night, he knew that Tokyo wasn’t big enough for him. He had had to get out. Out from the city that had reminded him too much about his lost love & he knew that if he saw her again, the chance that he would abandon his dignity & pride & maybe grovel at her lovely feet for another chance would be too big & where would that leave him?

A man without value. A shell of a man.

He had given his best shot, hadn’t he? He had betted against himself that Yuri would change. That he would be different from her other boyfriend & he had lost. If the price he had to pay had been too much, it would have been his own fault so the only thing he could do had been to pick up the pieces & start all over again. At least, he wouldn’t hate himself that way.

So, three weeks ago, he had packed all his stuff. Selling his apartment & resigning from his job had been hard but the moment he had started his car had been the hardest, knowing that he would be leaving everything he loved behind. That everything would be so final, no turning back. To make the way ahead not so quiet without Yuri chirping beside him, he had flicked on a disc & drove off to the airport.

“Ehm.” Jinwoon cleared his throat loudly when he saw his cousin looked as if he was on the edge of breaking down & was going to start humming to himself any moment. Yunho blinked his eyes; suddenly remembering where he was & what he was doing. He smiled sheepishly & signaled the priest to continue.

The priest sighed & continued his tirade.

“Do you accept this lady to become your lawfully wedded wife, to have & to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness & in health, to love & to cherish, until death do you part?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat & croaked, “I do.”

Yuri was panting by the time she arrived at the church. Her feet were numb as she had run a long way, her pantyhose was ruined beyond redemption & the insides of her soles were bleeding, scratched by the rocks on the street but she paid no heed to all of those. She looked up & saw the brass plaque above her, St. Mary’s church. She was finally in the right place. Praying as she had never prayed before, she took in a deep breath & pushed the heavy door open.

The place was deserted. Not even one person was in it. The church was so peaceful & pretty with flowers & ornaments placed in strategic places but the flower arrangements on the seats & aisle leading to the altar were all the proofs she needed that a wedding had just taken place there. With eyes wide opened, she stood there, frozen in shock. She was too late. Yunho had married someone else.

Suddenly, a priest tapped her shoulder, smiling “My child, you seem lost. May I help you?” He looked at Yuri closely & smiled, “Ah, were you coming for the wedding? It’s over twenty-five minutes ago, my child. You are too late.”