an inconvenient encounter ❁ jeong jaehyun

33

«────── 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓 ──────»

it was the last week of fall, and the weather has been as cold as ever. hyejin would normally groan and whine about how cold it is, but looking forward to hanging out with the same person almost everyday made it up for her.

"oh, thank god it's warm in here," sighs hyejin.

her eyes scan the room, it was beautiful. the stage was planted at the very end of the room with a bunch of round tables around it. there were a few other people seated on the assigned chairs, some were on their phone, some were playing with the kids, and some were talking amongst themselves.

hyejin had came with jaehyun's family. it would be too awkward if jaehyun was the only one who came, since they were still young, although very, very, in love.

they bride and groom's parents greeted them and made small talk for a moment, before telling them where their assigned seats were. they had the whole table to themselves, which was fortunate.

just as hyejin was about to take a seat next to jaehyun, jihoon was quick to plant himself on top of the chair.

hyejin glares, "yah, will you move?"

jihoon turns around to his sister, pointing to the card with his name printed out clearly. "it has my name on it."

hyejin rolls his eyes, leaning down to her brother, "i'll buy you that new lego toy if you switch seats with me."

"deal, but you have to get me the full set," jihoon adds before he moves.

hyejin brushes him off, sitting down next to her boyfriend, while jihoon sits next to her. the ceremony starts soon after, welcoming the groom first, and then the bride.

the girl was in awe at the sight of her cousin's wedding dress. she wishes that one day she would be able to be walking down the aisle to her husband. she was still young, sure, but a girl could dream, right?

she couldn't help but ponder if in 10 years, she would be walking down the aisle towards jaehyun. she was aware that they were still adolescence, and she has had various people who told her high school relationships would never last, but she really likes jaehyun. and she knows that he likes her too, so what could go wrong?

she loves jaehyun, she really does, but she wonders if they would break up one day, and she would fall in love with someone else?

she tries not to linger on that topic for too long, because she still had time. a lot of time to find the one. although, she hopes the one, was the tall boy next to her.

hyejin had to stifle a laugh when she sees her mother shed a tear over her cousin.

"i, lee yewon, take thee, kim donghyun, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part, according to god's ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my troth," her cousin says through sobs and sniffs.

"i now pronounce you husband and wife. you may now kiss the bride."

the room cheers when the couple on stage kisses on the lips.

after the first part of the ceremony, comes the food (which was hyejin's favourite segment of a party).

"this is too good," hyejin hums, plopping the fork that was filled with food in her mouth. she suddenly feels her chest tightening painfully, coughing loudly at how the food was stuck in her throat.

it catches jaehyun's attention, his hands going to the cup of water, "here, here," he beckons, placing the cup in her hands. the palm of his hand goes to her back, patting her gently, until she was breathing normally again.

"thank you," hyejin croaks out, placing the cup back on the table. she turns to jaehyun, "does my make up look okay? i think i shed a tear or two."

it was unbelievable how this girl almost died, and was more worried of her make up, thinks jaehyun. "your make up is fine. eat slowly will you? the food is not going anywhere."

hyejin nods, picking up her fork again, this time eating a little slower, just like jaehyun had advised. as they were eating, hyejin felt a tap on her shoulder, she turns around to see one of her other cousins.

"they want to take a family photo," the other female says.

"oh," hyejin gets up, turning to jaehyun, "i'll be back in a moment, yeah?"

"take your time," he smiles reassuringly.

jaehyun pauses on eating, turning his head to watch his girlfriend walk up the stage. he couldn't hide the smile as he watches her smile for the camera.

it reminded him of a few days ago where she was stressing out on a dress she should wear for the wedding. with jaehyun laying on her bed and a pillow on his lap, he reassured her that whatever she wore was beautiful.

he was being half sarcastic since he was getting tired of her constant 'what do you think of this?', but it was until she tried on a dress that made his eyes wide and his cheeks and ears turn red.

it was an off the shoulder dress that ended mid-thigh. it was simple; white and flowy, but it was the way she had worn it. even when she had her hair tied up into a tight bun, and a pair of pink pants under the dress— she looked beautiful.

"hyejin looks so beautiful in that dress," his mother comments, following his son's eyes, "did you help her pick that?"

jaehyun nods chastely, "she looks really pretty."

"my son really likes her, huh?" his mother coos, her hand going up to stroke his head, to which jaehyun shies away with a sour face.

when hyejin comes back to the table, he smiles, complimenting how pretty she was on stage. this time, it was the adults turn to take the pictures, so they get up from their seats.

mrs jeong beckons jaehyun to join, but he declined, since he knew the pictures would be public, and the last thing he wants was for the picture to be found in the future. it was an advice that came from his seniors in the company.

"that's a shame though, you should've gotten your pictures taken," hyejin pouts.

"i know," he sighs, looking away to the other tables in the room. his eyes stop trailing when he sees an adorable toddler playing with the chairs. he couldn't disguise his smile at the sight of the little kid.

hyejin notices, following his eyes until she sees the baby. she doesn't recognize the baby, so she assumes it was from the groom's side of the family.

"he's adorable isn't he?" hyejin chuckles, she turns back to the boy, "do you like kids?"

jaehyun turns to face her, "i love kids," he shows his familiar dimpled smile, his nose crinkling in delight.

"really?" she gasps, "i didn't think the boy who hated me would enjoy playing with kids," hyejin responds, leaning against her chair with crossed arms, staring at the boy expectantly.

"i told you i didn't hate you," he quirks an eyebrow, "and my dream has always been to be a dad."

now that was new. his demeanour didn't exactly portray as someone who enjoyed being with kids.

hyejin imagines jaehyun having his own kid one day. okay, maybe now she sees it. she can totally see jaehyun pampering the heck out of his children.

"really?" she laughs, and jaehyun frowns at her response.

"i really love kids," jaehyun says genuinely, "i really do." he doesn't know why he was trying to persuade her.

the girl only laughs harder, "i didn't even say anything!"

"you did, lee!" groans jaehyun, "you know what? i'm not talking to you," jaehyun turns his body away from her. he faces his now very cold food, he picks it up with his spoon, feeding himself.

hyejin could only smile dumbly as she stares at the boy. she slowly reaches for his hands that were resting on his lap, holding it.

"you would be a great dad, jeong," she whispers in his ear.

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