Flame of My Love (A Seokjin Fanfic)

Chapter 37: Yumi's Best Friend

Sandra and Yumi spent almost every breathing moment together since they had reconnected. Sandra told Yumi that she had been talking to a few other people for a while but never told them about Bang Chan. She invited Yumi to hang out with them for dinner one night and let the dads watch the kids while they went out. Sandra introduced her to several faces, some of which she knew from back in college.

Liam was another foreign exchange student from London who graduated a year before Yumi and Sandra did. He was currently married with no children living in Korea with his wife because he loved it when he went to college there. Then there was Ye-Jun who graduated in the same class as Sandra and Yumi and was living with her girlfriend with an adopted kid named Mina. Lastly, there was Nuri and they were currently single. Nuri was not from Sandra and Yumi's university but they were close friends with Liam and he had invited them into the group. Sandra kept her friend group small for fear of exposing her relationship with Bang Chan. She planned on telling them eventually but never felt safe enough to.

They all had dinner at a lovely Korean restaurant and got to know Yumi a little better. She, as Sandra, didn't mention her relationship with Jin but did talk about Hyun-Woo and Soo-Yun. They were all delighted to meet her or see her again. Yumi felt great that she could talk to people her age who had similar interests to her. She was a little awkward at first given that she didn't socialize with strangers in ages but she adjusted quickly as living with and seeing celebrities for the past six years gave her a lot of confidence in her social abilities.

After her dinner, Jin and Yumi decided to plan out who would be in their court of honor (meaning the bridesmaids and groomsmen).

"Jin, I have a comment," Yumi began.

"Shoot," he responded.

"I don't want to have the traditional women for me and men for you, I kind of want to have mixed genders for both of us."

"I'm ok with that, I like it. This way my sister in law can be my groom-maid if she wants to."

"That's perfect! Who else do you want to be on your side?"

"My brother and the rest of the members."

"Oh..."

"Is there an issue?"

*Time skip ahead two weeks to October 2025*

Jungkook returned to Seoul and Yumi offered to pick him up, invite him to lunch, and then drop him off at the dorms. She was so excited to see him and tell him about everything that happened while he was in Japan and she also wanted to hear about his trip. They had a sweet embrace when they met up at the airport and quickly rushed to the car before he got mobbed by fans. They went to an Italian restaurant where Jin had reserved a private area for them to have lunch in peace.

Jungkook told her about his time in Japan and that he had a lot of space to think about what he wanted to do in his career and how much he cared about Yumi, the kids, and the others. After he explained his trip, he pulled out a box and opened it to reveal a yellow bracelet.

"What is this?" Yumi asked.

"A gift for you," Jungkook said with a smile.

"I thought you were trying to get over me but you got me a gift?"

"Yellow is the color of friendship and god damn it Yumi, you've been an amazing friend to me and I felt obligated to give you this. I never thought I would be this close and comfortable to anyone other than the members. In fact," he said as he lifted his sleeve slightly, "I got myself a matching one because I want us to be close to each other even if we're physically distant."

"Actually, I am glad you brought this up. There's a reason why I wanted us to have a meal together."

Yumi placed the bracelet on her wrist before holding Jungkook's hand where he had his bracelet on too.

"I hope you know that you mean a lot to me too," she began, "and well...you're my best friend and I've never been able to admit it because I didn't ever stop to think about who my best friend is until a couple weeks ago when Jin asked me."

"Why were you guys talking about..." he stopped and looked at Yumi's hand. "Is that an engagement ring on your finger?"

"It is! Jin proposed to me while you were on your trip and we plan on getting married right before Jimin and Namjoon leave for their enlistment. But that's why I picked you up from the airport and brought you here."

"To tell me about your wedding?"

"To ask you to be my best man."

"But...don't women normally have bridesmaids at their weddings?"

"Yeah but I don't have very many friends and the ones I have made recently I am not close enough to them to have them be my maid of honor. But like I told you, you're my best friend and I think you should be my best man."

"I'm surprised Jin didn't ask me to be one of his groomsmen."

"I had to convince him not to so you could be on my side. He can have the rest of the members."

Jungkook lightly squeezed Yumi's hand.

"Thank you for this, it means a lot to me to know how good of friends we have been to each other. It will be an honor for me to be your best man at your wedding."

Yumi thanked him and they shared a loving hug before finishing their meal and going back to the dorms. She felt like she had made the correct decision of having Jungkook as her best friend and best man at her wedding. Now all she had to do was ask her mother to walk her down the aisle since her father was no longer with them.

Later that evening, Sandra called Yumi, panicked.

"What's wrong Sandra? Are you alright?" Yumi asked her, concerned.

"Remember the group chat we told you about when you had dinner with us and met everyone?" Sandra reminded her.

"I told you I don't want to be in the group chat until I get to know the others better."

"That's fine but Nuri took a photo of you with Jungkook holding hands at a restaurant with your engagement ring and matching bracelets. They sent it to the group chat."

"Did they say I'm with Jungkook?"

"They said that you've been so secretive of your partner because it's Jungkook and he's a celebrity and all that."

"Well, they're on the right track but it's not him and you know it."

"Yeah I know, but the others don't. I didn't know if I could tell them you're actually with Jin."

"I guess I have to tell them now."

They continued chatting wondering how Nuri saw them in a secluded area, why they sent it to the group chat to begin with, and how they were going to confront Nuri about it. Yumi and Sandra came up with a plan and decided to execute it the following day. For the time being, Sandra asked them to no longer speak of the situation until Yumi clarified it for everyone.