Vipers in the Lake | BTS Gang x Reader

20. Here Comes The Bride

"Are you ready for the dress?" Daewoo asked quietly. You stood in front of her in your underwear, not attempting to hide the mess of red and purple bruising that wound up your side. Eunhae kept her gaze firmly away, as if she couldn't stand to look at the state you had ended up in. Makeup and hair products littered the vanity you had been sat in front of for over the past two hours. Your pyjamas lay in a heap on the bathroom floor. The bed was unmade. 

The curtains, however, were open. Golden sunlight streamed in, opalescent against the cloudless blue of the sky. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a wedding, you thought dryly. 

The face that looked back at you through the full-length mirror was foreign. The foundation had turned your skin paler, more sickly looking, and the kohl and mascara had given you a sharpness that wasn't there before. Concealer had been swept under your eyes to conceal the heavy bags, but somehow, you still looked tired. There was none of the lightness that had begun to creep into your disposition at the guys' house.

Is it better this way? To not look like myself?

To pretend I'm someone else?

Gaze landing on the dress in Daewoo's arms, you considered this. She kept casting furtive glances at the clock, and you knew you would get her into trouble if you took much longer to get ready, but you couldn't help but want to delay what you knew was coming. 

You tried to tell yourself it would be okay, that everything would work out, but you were starting to lose hope with every second the clock ticked closer to the ceremony. The sounds of people rushing around the estate had quieted, so you assumed everything was ready. In place.

They were all just waiting for you, now.

"Y/n?" Daewoo asked, voice slightly louder. You snapped out of your daze, nodding blankly at her.

"Yes, sorry. Okay."

She advanced slowly, motioning for Eunhae to help pull the material over your head. It slid along your skin, chilly and abrasive and just purely uncomfortable. You wouldn't have been surprised if you skin broke out into burns wherever the chiffon touched. The swathes of fabric set a heaviness onto your shoulders; a new weight that hadn't been there before. A heaviness that you had a feeling would be there to stay. Eunhae stepped behind you, securing the zip, as you stared back at yourself in silence. At the girl you had become. 

You thought it had only been seconds, a minute or two, perhaps, but it had evidently been longer because there was someone knocking at the door and the clock suddenly read 12:55. The two girls observed you in silence, looking as though they wanted to say something. But they didn't. In fact, you were the one to speak into the quiet of the room.

"You did a beautiful job with my hair, Daewoo." you said, trying to muster a smile. It was true; the hair was the only part of the outfit that you actually liked. Two plaits curved down the side of your head, merging with the rest of your hair in a soft bun that hung low near to your neck. Her fingers had been deft as they gently slid white pearls and small flowers into the arrangement. You wondered where she had learned to do hair so beautifully. It was a shame you didn't have the time to ask.

The house almost seemed to breathe as you walked through, passing portraits and ornate staircases and members of staff who avoided your gaze. You saw hardly anything at all. Or, at least, didn't register it over the thrum of your heart. You couldn't feel your legs. Or your arms. Or your fingers as someone shoved a white-flower bouquet into them in the lobby. The sunbeams gushed through the windows and refracted off the marble, the glow finding its way into your line of sight and obscuring your vision. People spoke to you, but you didn't hear them. It was all happening in slow motion; the soft click of your heels against the floor. The glimpse you caught of an awning set up in the garden. The frantic looks Eunhae and Daewoo shot you as they were shooed off by an older maid.