Yours Truly

51: The crown on my head is called confidence

Sooyoung knew the 90s supermodel look would be exactly perfect for Sierra. She slowly took out the curlers out of her gorgeously thick hair. A chiffon blouse and pencil knee length skirt. Pencil heels. Really subtle and warm makeup with very small accessories. Mrs. Kim always liked the business formal theme when it came to dressing up.
Sierra looked in the mirror, tightly grasping Sooyoung's hand. She whispered,
"Would his parents approve of me?"
Sooyoung smiled, leaning in. She looked at her through the mirror. With the most warm and genuine smile, Sooyoung said,
"They'll love you. I just prepped you today as how Mrs. Kim likes girls to be. I'm pretty sure they'll adore you. The lunch is going to be a bit formal. If you can pass through that, there would be nothing that can stop your marriage with Taehyung."
Sierra stood up, looking Park Sooyoung straight into the eyes. Holding her hands, as her thumb rubbed the back of her palms,
"Unnie, weren't you supposed to be Taehyung's bride? Wouldn't it harm you?"
"Yeah. So? So what? You love him and you deserve him. The way Taehyung says your name, as if a hymn. The way you confidently speak of him, knowing he is only yours. I can't possibly go against you guys. You are the sweetest, kindest, prettiest girl I ever met, Sierra. Taehyung Oppa is my friend. We've known each other since so long. I can't just become the villain of your story and still sabotage my own happiness. I'll rather be the vodka aunt to your kids and cupid to you both. Now, you better leave. It's not a good thing to be late, you know?"
Sierra knew it would be the cherry on top to just throw her arms around the beautiful human being in front of her. Wrapping her up in a warm hug. She cooed,
"Thank you Unnie."
Sooyoung felt at peace. With a heartbreak somewhere around the corner. Kim Taehyung was her crush,her boyfriend, her suitor. But Kim Taehyung was her lover, her family, her hope, her happiness. Her everything.
Sooyoung broke the hug gently. Giving her a small necklace. The infinity charm sitting right on the crown of her collarbones. She said, with the biggest gummy smile,
"Infinite wishes to you who is in love with the person who loves them back equally if not more."

"Just be yourself. Smile. Be confident. Back straight. You got this, okay?"
She tried giving herself the usual pep talk. But it just didn't work. It wasn't her Unnies.
They had grown apart. They were just an inch away from being strangers. They each were coping with the pain individually. They each were coping with the pain by letting go of this friemdship. But how does one actually end things?
Do they just walk away? Do they never walk back? What happens to all the memories? What happens when you remember their coffee order everytime you order one for yourself? What happens when you use weird toppings because they taught you it would go well together? What about the songs and stories and future plans? How can you forget that they wanted a dog and perhaps wanted to learn finger painting or go to a vacation in the Jeju islands?
Her fingers slowly waltzed around the keyboard. Her head fuzzed up and eyes zoned out into a blur. A notification rang in 4 other phones. A ringtone considered dead almost.

Ra
Unnie.
Taehyung was stabbed.
He is out of danger now.
I'm formally meeting his mother.
Park Sooyoung helped me.

She put down her phone. Completely on silent mode. As soon as she saw Mrs. Kim step inside. A white suit dress. White heels. Neatly trimmed hair, flowing at the ends. Freshly manicured hands holding on to a Chanel purse. A pale face, swollen eyes, tired smile. Mrs. Kim smiled,
"Ah... Made you wait too long?"
"A bit. But it's okay. I'm free this afternoon."
Sierra never had a way with words. If you don't wanna hear her heart, just don't ask her. You showed up late, you can't expect her to lie and say that it's okay. You just can't.
Yet Sierra tried her best to use polite tones of her voice and the most formal Korean that she learned from her father and her Jisoo-nnie. A pang in her heart. At the slightest memory of the girls... Focus, Sierra! You have to focus!
Mrs. Kim sat down, gracefully enough that it reminded Sierra of her own mother. With a gentle smile latching onto her lips, she softly said,
"I thought Sooyoung and you would have some beef in between. I mean, young girls, both promised the same things. Don't you think, it would have been expected of you two to hate each other to the point to even sabotaging each other?"
Sierra smiled as elegantly as Mrs. Kim. She mirrored Mrs. Kim, yet leaned back and placed her right hand on the table just a hint of herself. She answered using the same tone as the woman in front of her,
"Park Sooyoung was chosen by anyone but Kim Taehyung. Kim Taehyung couldn't choose anyone but me. There is a difference, ma'am. And since we, two young women, were aware of that, there was no reason at all that would need us to fight. Besides, no lady should sabotage another just for a man or anything to begin with. A lady should support another, just like Sooyoung Unnie did to me. We ladies already get enough from the world. So, if I don't support someone fighting the same battles, who would?"
Mrs. Kim smiled. At Sierra's burning confidence and self esteem. Mrs. Kim looked her straight into the eyes,
"A feature that we always wanted Taehyung's wife to have was confidence."
Sierra felt a rush inside her heart. A sugary, rather glittery rush. A smirk on her lips,
"Guess Kim Taehyung-ssi kept his word of finding the family a perfect bride."