Aurora

04

Jennie clasped her arm around Namjoon tightly; the last couple to walk down the aisle before the bride. And as nervous as she was, Jisoo stepped forward with trembling legs. Whispers began to grow louder as she passed by each row, but the loud thumping of her heart numbed all of it.

She was afraid once again. But this time for a completely different reason. Jisoo was sure she'd moved on from the little crush that she had on Taehyung in freshman year and loved Jimin wholeheartedly. She'd be lying if she said her foolish heart didn't bounce once or twice around him but that is all. She was in a relationship with Jimin for three years now and it is even the day of her wedding, something she always looked forward to. Then why is her heart now at war with the rational part of her mind?

As soon as her feet touched the makeshift stage, the priest tapped his microphone twice before speaking. "It appears we have a slight inconvenience right now and while it is being sorted out, I request you all to patiently wait and enjoy the food." From the corner of her eye, she could even see Yoongi whisper into a confused Jimin's ears and Jin escorted him down the stage.   

Whispers cut through the calm audience, some hungry for drama while others didn't bother. After a few moments of awkwardness on her part, she was ushered down the stage by her bridesmaids and not even a fleeting glance from her groom who now seemed to be in a rage. Chaeyoung quickly pulled her behind the stage – in an attempt to calm her, but Jisoo could still hear her dad talking loudly to the crowd. It had become a mess within a few minutes.

"Please try not to get mad," she began cautiously, "but apparently, your rings are lost. That is why we had to pause. But don't worry, Jimin is working on it right now." And that is when it struck Jisoo. The rings. She never returned them back to their original place. But now in her perplexed state, she couldn't even remember where she left them. There was a fair chance that Taehyung might have taken it when she was drowning in her feels, but if not, then she just ruined it herself. The wedding wasn't meant to be anyway. She wondered which part of her mind did point out that contradicting thought. And yet, it was comforting too.

Seeing Jisoo in a calm daze, the blonde confirmed that she is beyond mad to even answer back. After all, it was her long-awaited wedding and now this catastrophe happens. While she was busy shaking Jisoo out of her reverie, she hadn't noticed the man standing next to them now.

"I need to talk to Jisoo." When Chaeyoung didn't seem convinced, he added a 'please'. She rolled her eyes and stepped back, gesturing him to take her.

Their roles reversed, Taehyung now pulled a reluctant Jisoo. Jisoo, although conscious of what was happening, chose to keep quiet and focus on calming her heart. Anticipating to go into the comfort of her bridal room, she was surprised when they stopped in front of a ledge. The wedding venue was a mile away and yet, they could hear the music blended with the commotion.

He let go of her hand, a gesture that made Jisoo come out of her daze and sat on the dirty grass. Leaning back on the ledge, he looked up at her with a bright smile and patted the space next to him. She furrowed her eyebrows. "I can't afford to make my white dress dirty."

"You won't need it anyway," He mumbled. As she chose to ignore it, he abruptly pulled her down. She gave out a yelp of surprise when she fell and continued to grumble.

"If it was Jimin, he would have spread his coat and made me sit," she turned towards him, "unlike your barbaric ways." That seemed to bring about a change in his mood. 

He laughed, something she didn't expect, and said, "He might be a gentleman and shield you from the brutal world, hiding you completely behind him. But I would rather let you face all of it on your own while I'm by your side."

There it was. The warm feeling blooming from the depths of her chest that she was so afraid of. But now, the fear seemed to dissolve as she continued to stare into his eyes. She was now sure how this was going to end. Or, she was sure how she wanted this to end. Her heart had won the war.

He broke the eye contact first, taking the rings out from his inner coat pocket. They shimmered under the reflected lights, much like the crown Jimin gave her, but that was long forgotten in her mind. "He should be here anytime now, you guys can exchange the rings and we will see what happens then." Of course, she could never miss the sadness laced with the words. She had always noticed it. Whenever he had glanced at her longingly at the library from a faraway table. In the college canteen when she flirted with Jimin deliberately to let him know she has moved on. The grief clouding his eyes, despite the cheerful smile, when they announced their wedding to their friends. Everyone around them knew he had fallen for Jisoo, including herself, but it was too late. She had moved on, or so she thought. But all the coherent thoughts were sucked out of her when his grieving eyes met hers.

She nodded her head in reply, enclosing them in awkward silence, replaying all the scenes in her mind. But he interrupted once again. "Jisoo." The first time he had said her name in a while. Her yearning heart at his next words, the mind that blamed herself, her hands that wanted to wipe away his tears. Her body, mind, and soul – all three were clashing against each other.

"You know that I love you, Jisoo. Everyone does. But before you go into someone else's arms tonight, I want you to know that I do regret it. I don't regret falling for you, but I regret not falling for you when you did. Maybe it was fate, the universe, 'right person, wrong time', and we can't blame ourselves at all. But I can't help but wonder, would you be mine now if I had loved you sooner? Would the person you are going home to tonight, would it be me? Don't get me wrong—I do wish you and Jimin the very best—but the heart wants what it wants, right? So as a final farewell, can you just pretend while I put the ring on you?"

With tears in her eyes, she nodded her head again. Maybe this small farewell is what she needed – closure. He slipped it into her fingers, all the while tears dripping from his chin, and looked back into her eyes.

The secrecy they had right now, the overwhelming of feelings in her heart maybe made her do it. She took the other silver ring and his right hand into hers.

She chuckled at the miniature fear that threatened to creep into her mind. "This ring definitely won't fit—"

It fit him perfectly, encircling his slender finger. Despite it all, Jisoo still wondered, had their planner taken the wrong measurements?

"Maybe we were meant to be." He laughed, both wanting to believe it so much that they unconsciously did.

But before they could bask further into each other's presence, Jimin had made it inside their 'secret place'. He merely raised an eyebrow at the strange duo and Taehyung noticing it, stood up. Dusting off his back, he let out his hand for Jisoo but was a step late. Jimin already pulled her up to stand. He awkwardly retracted his hand before any could see.

Jimin held her hands tightly, tiny jealously lurking in him. But only then he noticed the ring already in her hand. His heart sank. "I thought you would wait for me?" He asked Taehyung in a tone of betrayal and the other ring, meant for him, glimmering in the dark caught his eyes. Both Taehyung and Jisoo noticed his eyes zooming in on Tae's hand and only one of them panicked.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to try it out and Jisoo was kind enough to allow me and I was going to—"

The ring was stuck now. The measurements were right after all. He gave them a sheepish smile and continued to struggle while they stood awkwardly. Jisoo, who had been silent until now and couldn't stand this anymore, spoke up finally.

"Jimin, we need to talk." She stalked off from the strangling awkwardness towards the venue. He gave Tae a betrayed gaze and followed her. The man left behind heaved out a sigh and finally gave up.