a better life // hwang hyunjin ✔️

chapter twenty-three

family is more than blood

merry christmas to all of my lovely readers who celebrate it! please enjoy this update! :) <3

about a year later...

it was finally the day of their wedding, the pair wanting to wait until dongwoo was a little bit older. hyunjin had invited his family, who have gotten pretty close to seulgi and daehyun throughout the year. he even invited his friends from work, the ones that seulgi teased him for not having way back when. felix and jeongin. and of course, he chose seungmin to be his best man.

seulgi had invited her parents, despite not having talked to them since she got pregnant with daehyun. she doubted they even knew about chan's passing. but she had hoped that they would come, their only daughter finally getting married. she didn't think that was something your parents could miss. of course she invited minho, and jisung. even one of jisung's closest friends, changbin, he had helped a lot this last year with both daehyun and dongwoo. and she chose minho to be her bridesmaid, despite the whole gender role thing, but they didn't care. she couldn't imagine picking anyone else.

daehyun was sat in the front row, an empty seat next to him that they chose to leave open for chan. dongwoo sat in daehyun's lap, the ten year old being a lot more mature and careful, as if the birth of his little brother made him want to step up and help out more. he really loved his younger brother, and he couldn't wait for him to get older, he knew the two of them would be the best of friends.

they kept it a small gathering, both of them wanting it to be a very intimate celebration. only a few other close friends attending, along with minho's parents, who were a huge help when daehyun was born. everyone was sat, hyunjin was standing in his suit, seungmin next to him, patting his shoulder reassuringly as they waited for seulgi to walk down the isle.

meanwhile, seulgi was panicking. minho desperately trying to calm her down. she wasn't rethinking marrying hyunjin or anything, but she was hoping that her father would walk her down the isle. and despite the fact that she never heard anything back after sending the invitations, she still held onto the hope that they would show up.

"seulgi, it's okay, you've been fine without them for years. they honestly don't deserve to be here today." minho attempts to comfort her.

"but minho... they're my parents, i'm their only daughter. you'd think they couldn't miss something like this... i'm their only daughter minho." she fans her face repeatedly, trying to prevent tears from falling and ruining her makeup.

"everything okay?" minho's parents walk in.

"she's freaking out because her parents aren't here." minho explains quickly.

"oh honey..." ms. lee walks up to her, patting down a few stray hairs. "they don't deserve to be here, to see how happy you are. you don't need them. you never did." she comforts.

"my dad was supposed to walk me down the isle..."

"what's wrong?" hyunjin's voice sounds. every head snapping in his direction.

"hyunjin! you're not supposed to be back-"

"seulgi, what's wrong?" he ignores minho, walking up to his wife-to-be regardless.

"they didn't come..." her lip quivers, voice shaky.

"i know, but this is your day. don't let them ruin it." he pulls her into a comforting hug, trailing his fingers up and down her back. "we're doing this for daehyun and dongwoo, and us." he whispers against her hair. "and if it were chan instead of me, you know he wouldn't care if your parents didn't show up either." he adds, lowering his voice even more. "i'm gonna love you with or without them. got it?" he asks, finally pulling away from the hug. she nods.

"thank you, hyunjin." she smiles at him, taking in a few more deep breaths to fully calm herself.

"i can walk you down the isle." minho suggests. hyunjin nodding thankfully at him as he walks back out, taking his spot next to seungmin.

"okay... i think... i think i'm ready."

"adda girl." minho smiles, linking his arm with hers. his parents going back to take their seats. and finally, with the support of minho, hyunjin, and her kids, they pushed open the doors, everyone's heads turning, smiling happily as she walked down the isle in her off-white dress.

-

the wedding went perfectly, it was almost like a fairy tale. surrounded by friends and family, the two declaring their love for one another. seulgi was happy, hyunjin was happy, daehyun was happy. and if dongwoo was old enough to understand, he would be happy. the perfect life she was always meant to have finally coming to fruition, though slightly changed, and years later, it still happened.

she could never get over chan, though she now accepted the fact that he was gone. and that she would be okay without him. she spent years thinking he left her with nothing. almost hating him for dying. but really, he left her with the best thing he could have possibly left. he left her with daehyun, who, despite never meeting the man, was wildly like him. smart, musically talented, and very mature for his young age, not to mention the striking resemblance, especially as he got older.

seulgi felt extremely lucky to find someone like hyunjin, who was completely okay with keeping the memory of chan alive. he understood her every feeling, the way he would never judge her for thinking about him, even in the most intimate moments. mostly because he had no room to judge, he couldn't even imagine losing someone like that at such a young age, during such a drastic time. and he knew she was healed, and that it's okay to think back and reminisce. he knew daehyun deserved to know as much about chan as seulgi could tell him.

and daehyun felt extremely grateful for the life his mom was able to provide him. never surrounding him with deadbeat potential fathers, only by nice and trusting people. and despite his young age, he knew hyunjin would be a very important part of their lives. he would have been perfectly fine growing up without a proper father figure, being surrounded by uncle minho, and eventually uncle jisung. he knew that would have been enough. but he knew it wouldn't have been enough for his mom, and he was glad that she found someone. especially someone like hyunjin. he liked hyunjin.

seulgi felt as if her little family was finally whole, after years of feeling like it would never be enough, it was.

hyunjin was proud that he found someone that made him happy, despite the challenges he faced with her in the beginning. he knew he was right to follow his feelings.

everything had fallen in place, everything they needed to move on in life, raise their family, and be happy.

it was time for their happily ever after.