Taeheon and Junyoung stood on the balcony which overlooked the sea. The sky was clear and the air was warm.

 

"It's nice to be at a hotel and not working," Taeheon said cheerfully. "Although every time I see someone I keep thinking I should ask them if they need help carrying their bag."

 

He chuckled softly, but Junyoung remained looking serious. He seemed unusually pale.

 

"What's the matter, are you okay?"

 

"Maybe this isn't a good idea."

 

Taeheon frowned. "What do you mean? You love Kwanghee."

 

"I do! I love him to bits. But I mean this, it's a bit public, don't you think? I'm nervous about it - talking in front of people. And I can't help but feel that this whole ceremony is just a way to annoy certain family members."

 

Taeheon patted his shoulder. "You're overthinking it. It will be fine. But speaking of annoying certain family members, I saw Kwanghee downstairs talking to your cousin."

 

"Oh no, I better go..."

 

In a jittery movement, Junyoung stepped out of the balcony and Taeheon was left alone. Now that he was alone, he had his own worrying to do - he still needed to practice the speech that Junyoung had asked him to give at the wedding.

 

He walked into the garden courtyard where he could sit, and he took out his notes and went over the speech again in his mind, mumbling the words quickly under his breath. After a few minutes he was interrupted.

 

"Taeheon! Is that you?"

 

Taeheon looked up suddenly and saw Siwan approaching him, his face partly obscured by a cap. He was by himself.

 

"Siwan... what are you doing here?"

 

"I came for a film festival. What about you? You look very handsome today."

 

Taeheon patted the front of his shirt self consciously. "Ah, it's for a wedding. Junyoung and Kwanghee, so not a real wedding. Just a party, I suppose."

 

"Oh..." Siwan smiled in a way that struck Taeheon as being very sad. "That sounds really nice."

 

Taeheon chuckled. "Well you know what they're like. They're pretty much married anyway."

 

"It's good to see you, I haven't seen you in a long time. I wish I could talk more, but I have to go..."

 

Taeheon nodded glumly. In the back of his mind he wondered if Kevin had arrived yet and whether he should go find him.

 

Even though he was trying to say goodbye, Siwan took one step forward. He paused for a moment, then said, "If you do want to talk more, I'll be in my room tonight. Since I last saw you, I've thought of so many things I wanted to say to you. Of course, if you are busy with your wedding, then don't worry about it."

 

Siwan passed him a note with the room number written down. Taeheon slipped it into his pocket, then watched him go. He had completely lost track of his speech practice, and he couldn't concentrate on the speech anyway. He checked his watch and realised Kevin would be arriving soon.

 

###

 

Later in the night Junyoung forgot about being nervous. He had become cheerful and emotional, and he was in good company among the guests, who were all close friends of the couple.

 

Taeheon was nervous before giving his speech, since he didn't like speaking in front of an audience, and he spoke rather shyly and softly. At the end of it Junyoung was in tears and he ran over to hug Taeheon fiercely. A minute later, Kwanghee came over to pull him off.

 

"Go back to your own boyfriend Taeheon," he said, probably joking this time.

 

"You can't still be jealous after all this," Taeheon replied, but he smiled.

 

He realised he should follow Kwanghee's instruction anyway, since he had lost track of Kevin, and Kevin had been apprehensive at first about meeting new people. When Taeheon found him he looked bright, and he was laughing with some friends of Kwanghee. When he saw Taeheon, he put his arms out.

 

"I'm so happy," he said. "I haven't been to Jeju since I was a kid, and it's really nice. I'm so happy I could be here..." he kept repeating himself like this, and Taeheon could tell that he was quite drunk. Taeheon had not drunk much himself, since he had been too nervous about giving the speech. He let Kevin put an arm around his shoulder. "I love you," Kevin said.

 

"I'm glad that you're having fun."

 

Kevin leaned in to kiss his cheek, then he pulled back. "Actually, I don't feel very well..." He got up quickly and excused himself. Taeheon followed him.

 

###

 

"You really drank too much," Taeheon said as Kevin threw up in the bathroom.

 

"I know," he murmured apologetically.

 

Taeheon rubbed his back, then took him back to their bed.

 

"I'm really sorry about this..." He mumbled something else, then he seemed to fall asleep. Taeheon sat beside him and his hair. He didn't feel like doing anything else - he was in a weird mood, now that the speech was over, he was left to think about how he had seen Siwan earlier. Siwan had seemed so sad. He wondered if he was now alone, and whether he was waiting. Taeheon felt an uncomfortable flutter in his chest.

 

The buzzing of his phone made him snap out of his thoughts. The message was from Junyoung. Where are you??? You didn't leave my party early, did you?

 

Taeheon looked down at Kevin who was sleeping deeply, his face still hot. He supposed it would be fine to leave him now, after all, he couldn't just abandon Junyoung.

 

He found Junyoung and Kwanghee alone together in the courtyard, their arms around the other's waist. Junyoung let go when he saw Taeheon. "There you are, I thought you'd run off."

 

"No, Kevin wasn't feeling well, so I took him back to the room."

 

"Are you going to have a drink with us?"

 

"Actually, I should probably go back and keep an eye on Kevin... he was really sick."

 

"It's his own fault he's sick!" Kwanghee laughed.

 

Junyoung sighed. "Taeheon, you sacrifice too much for other people. You never ever put yourself first. Just tonight, promise me you'll do something selfish."

 

He clasped both hands on Taeheon's shoulders, shaking him slightly. He was so happy and emotional, so Taeheon smiled for him. "Sure okay."

 

Kwanghee dragged Junyoung away, and Taeheon stood alone for a moment. He was no longer in the mood for drinking, or parties. Do something selfish - if he was really going to do something selfish, he'd go to Siwan's room. He shuddered. Now he'd thought about it, it became something real. He knew where the room was, and Siwan had invited him, so he couldn't think of why not to go.

 

He took one last look at the note in his pocket, then headed back to the hotel.