Wedding Bells

17 (Epilogue)

I clenched my teeth and tried to stay strong. This had to be one of the most exhausting things I had ever done. Still, I knew the final product would be worth all of the pain.

"Come on Bora, breathe and push! Do it for Siyeon!" Minji urged as she held onto me.

"I can see the head! We're making serious progress!" Gahyeon cheered, peering in.

"I don't think I can do this anymore," I panted.

"You're doing great! Don't give up now!" Minji insisted.

She was right. I had to do this. I screamed and used all of my strength to give one final push. Finally my wedding dress was on.

Gahyeon and Minji let out excited cheers before making the finishing arrangements. They had insisted on making sure I looked perfect for my big day, especially after all I'd done to help Minji with hers. Once I'd stopped trying to ruin it, that is.

Once they'd adjusted my hair and put my veil in place, the three of us turned to admire our handiwork in the mirror.

"Oh Bora, you look so beautiful," Minji breathed, on the verge of tears.

"You and Minji tie for the position of prettiest girl to ever get married," Gahyeon chimed in, already dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief.

"I don't deserve you guys," I wailed, pulling them in for a group hug.

The three of us sobbed in each other's arms for several minutes until Gahyeon pulled away and checked the time.

"Oh shoot, it's go-time! Siyeon's probably already at the altar," she exclaimed.

With Minji and Gahyeon's help, I hoisted up my skirt and hauled ass to my wedding venue. I couldn't believe I was actually marrying Siyeon. So much had led up to this moment. From our lukewarm introduction to the chaos surrounding Minji's wedding, she and I had endured a lot to be together. Thankfully the years of dating that proceeded all of that were much less eventful. We mostly just cuddled a lot, made love in just about every spot in my apartment, and then cuddled some more. Things stayed that way for several months while we both went about our lives and tried to make our way in the world.

Siyeon's career as a musician had taken off, and I was shocked when she called me up onstage to propose during a concert. I refuse to admit how hard I cried when she sang a song about how I'd changed her life and made her want to spend the rest of her life with me because I made her a better person. Minji still has the picture of my makeup running down my face. She calls it the "emo sea witch" look. Fortunately Siyeon still wanted to marry me even after seeing me like that. I hoped she would still feel that way by the end of today. I'd bought waterproof mascara, but that didn't guarantee anything.

Once we arrived, Minji and Gahyeon joined the other bridesmaids which were Yoohyeon and Siyeon's only other female band member. They both kissed my cheeks and wished me luck before linking arms with their partners and heading into the venue. After they left, I pulled out my compact to check over my appearance one last time. I wanted to make sure not a single hair was out of place. Siyeon deserved nothing but the best. We'd already seen each other at our worst, but I wanted today to be perfect. Once I felt that I was runway ready, I linked arms with my mother so that she could escort me down the aisle. This was one of the few days where she seemed to be proud of me. I think watching me finally commit to a stable relationship was a miracle for her.

As we made our way down the aisle to the bridal march, I made sure to smile at every single guest in attendance. All of these people were here with me on the happiest day of my life. Even though a majority of them were people we only invited to be polite, I was still grateful to have them here. Two faces that stood out to me in the crowd were Yoobin and Handong. Both of them gave me warm smiles which I returned with just as much enthusiasm. It made me happy that we were all able to stay in touch after Minji's wedding. After all, they had been there for the rocky start of our relationship. It was wonderful to have them here for the culmination of everything we'd been through.