We are Seven

Epilogue pt. 1

POV ??

     "Today's the day!" I heard from behind the hotel room door. "Open up so we can get ready!" one man shouted. "We locked ourselves out, hyung," a younger man whined. Chuckling to myself, I checked the time on the alarm clock next to my bed; it read 6:07 AM. After stretching my body and ignoring the men, I continued to hear their complaints from the hallway. Another exclamation broke through, "I'm going to tattoo my initials right over your soulmark while you sleep, hyung if you don't come out right now." Floored, I paused in shock. Who does that brat think he's talking to? Snapping out of it, I rushed to the door and yanked it open.

     In front of the door, the youngest member of our group was being scolded by the eldest man present. "Don't even joke about that," he continued, "how would you feel if he made a joke about your freckles?" The younger one, looking thoroughly chastised, touched his forehead to the floor in a bow. "I'm sorry, hyung," he said. As the door opened, he turned around and bowed deeply to me as well. "Please forgive me for what I said to you." Raising himself so he was sitting on his knees, he looked up at me and then quickly averted his gaze to the ground. "I shouldn't have said that, even as a joke," he admitted, his voice breaking.

     Lowering myself to his level so that we are almost making eye contact, I reach out to touch his hand. "It's okay. Please, get up so we can go inside the room," I reassured. He meets my gaze to ensure I'm not upset with him and wipes under his eyes with his free hand. Once we are both standing, I turn to enter our hotel room, holding the door open for the other men to follow in. They shuffle inside, and after the last person has entered, I exclaim, "Well, today is the big day! Is anyone feeling nervous?" I look around at the five other men with me. The eldest man wearing a smirk, replies, "We couldn't stay in bed this morning."

     Flabbergasted, the second youngest pipes up, "You woke us up so we could go with you, so you wouldn't be alone." Laughing at their antics, I start shooing the sweaty men to their rooms so they can clean up. "I'll whip up something for us to eat while you guys shower," I say. Appreciative smiles are thrown my way from most of the men before they head to their rooms. One man stays behind, clearly lost in thought. "Are you still hung up about the hallway?" I ask him. He sighs and replies, "I'm already moving past it, little one," but then interrupts me with an expression I've never seen before. "That's not it, Hyung... I..." He pauses in his speech, searching for the right words.

     "Can I help you prepare breakfast? I want to talk to you about something." Nodding my head and gesturing to the kitchen I follow behind him. Going to the fridge to grab the eggs we had already boiled and the fruit. He grabs the ramen packets and spam we brought from home, looking at the directions on the back he starts to prepare the water to boil. While he's waiting for the water, he opens the cabs and gets the meat out with a few good whacks to the back with his fist for each. Watching him, I realize how deliberate he's been this morning.

     Cherishing every step of the process, he's meticulous in each cut of the spam he makes. I'm almost in a trance just watching him slowly cut through all the meat when he clears his throat. "Are you ... nervous about today?" Shaking my head in response I reply "No, what's there to be nervous about?" Moving to the sink to wash the melon and strawberries I was going to prepare, he carries on with his worries. Pausing in my movements he rushes out "whatifitsnotwhatshewants."

     Chuckling under my breath "Take a deep breath little one, and start again." After a couple of minutes, he restarts "What if it's not what she wants? What if she doesn't show up? What if one day she doesn't love me." Releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding, I turned on the sink to give my brain a minute to come up with a response. What if his what-ifs are true? Pondering that thought I turned off the water. Shaking the colander full of berries off, I carry them and the melon to a counter where I can chop them up.

     After removing the stem and leafy bits from the strawberries, I respond "What if none of those things happen? What if today is perfect and she's perfect and after today you have a perfect life," I ask him tenderly. He was the last one to meet his soulmate in our group, everyone was antsy for a proper wedding ceremony to take place as soon as possible. So two months after meeting her here he is, getting ready for their wedding. Chopping the rest of the berries and placing them in a bowl, I hear him opening the ramen and plopping each bundle of dried noodles into the boiling water. Making sure each was submerged in the water he covers the pot and lowers the temp slightly.

     Moving to set a timer on his phone, I caught sight of his lock screen before he could clear it away. The sight made me smile, "when did you guys do that photo shoot?" He blushes, rushing to finish his task on his phone, locking and then checking the photo himself. While brushing his fingers over the screen he responds "Last week, when I took her out for a picnic." Moving to address the coffee machine in the corner of the kitchen, I pull out the coffee grounds and filters that were supplied. Going through the motions until I hear the drips raining down, I look into the swirling deep brown color that is pooling into the bottom of the pot.

     Not taking my eyes off the coffee pot, the brown drowning me in intensity I ask "Do you know the whole story?" Memories of this exact color are burned into my soul, scorching me, and sentencing me to a lifetime with them. "I only know the bits and pieces the others will share with me," he murmurs behind me checking the progress of the noodles. Reaching for the mugs in the cabinet, placing them on the counter for everyone else. I continue to watch the slow stream of liquid fall out, waiting for it to finish so I can pour a cup of it for myself. His timer makes us jump from the sudden jingle that's all too familiar.

     Laughing at our reactions, he finds the cabinet that holds the bowls and brings them down. Also did the same for some smaller bowls for the fruit, looking over I realized that the spam wasn't cooked yet. Grabbing a pan I put it on the stove, lighting the burner and turning it to the highest setting. I grab the prepped meat from earlier with a tiny bit of oil and start to saute it. He is still adding all the seasoning packets to the pot, by the time I get started. Once all the seasoning has been incorporated into the water, he starts to portion out the noodles and soup into the six bowls.

     Finishing up the spam, I bring the pan over to him and portion it out into the ramen bowls. He grabs the container of eggs, opens it, and places one into each bowl. Going over to our stash of utensils I grab the disposable chopsticks and plastic forks, bringing those to the table. Going back to the kitchen, I go to where the coffee is and pour myself and the other man a cup. Getting lost in the color again briefly, I grab the bowl of fruit I prepared bringing that to the table with a large spoon for the men to portion out. Reaching the table I see that all bowls have been brought out and placed on the table in front of each chair.

     Putting the fruit down in the middle and moving the smaller bowls to the right of it, I move to take the spot at the table designated as the head. Seated to my left is the slightly sticky man just staring into the space opposite him, I clear my throat. He snaps his attention to me "Can you tell me the full story please hyung," cocking an eyebrow up in confusion. Continuing "No one else will tell me how they met her, like it's some big secret they don't want me to know about." Smiling to myself "some of them got off on the wrong foot with her, or made a fool of themselves in the beginning." Thinking back to one scene in particular I was there to witness, it always flung me into laughter.

      But at the time it was one of the most stressful things to control. They were arguing in a tone that conveyed cheerfulness when they were the complete opposite, in front of all of us. One deviated from the tone for a split second and then pandemonium broke out. "Please hyung," looking at me with those doe eyes should be a crime, "as a wedding gift?" Looking at me hopefully, I pick up my chopsticks and begin to eat. "Where do you want me to start," I concede, a megawatt smile lit up his face, "from the beginning please." After taking a sip of coffee and enjoying the warming effect and color it evokes, I start with "Well it doesn't start with her." I pause to take another bite, I don't know when I'll be able to take another. "It started at the appearance of the first soul mark." Settling into my chair, I start to recount the story, slipping into an almost fog of memories.