Worlds Apart - Taekook - Book 2

Winds of Change

A light breeze swirled around the marina, Euphoria swayed, jostled by the ripples of the water. The chrome railings glistened, kissed by the rays of sun that fought through the clouds as it prepared to set on another day.

Each deck was transformed. Swathes of ice blue satin fabric embroidered with swarovski 'stars' hung from the ceilings. The vision was a celestial one, with the feeling of a perfect sunny day on a clear, cloudless night. It was a dream theme, a blend rather than a contrast according to Heeju who told Jara all about her 'couple's umbrella' theory, which led to the carefully positioned led lights amongst the drapes of fabric. The swarovski stars would release rainbows when the lights shone... "the stars would double up as raindrops." Heeju explained when they were rethinking the decor.

Jara had had many questions about night and day, about sunshine, rain and umbrellas, yet she left it to her sister-in-law who seemed to understand it all perfectly. Her dress was perfect for the theme and her nails were French manicures with the addition of silver stars and a single gem.

Accompanying the satin drapes were tall glass vases overflowing with white roses, ranunculus, gypsophila and blue hydrangea (for that gorgeous pop of blue). There was the main bar as well as smaller pop-up bars, similar to the drink shacks serving cocktails, shots and mocktails at Taehyung and Jungkook's pre-wedding party. Jara requested a few of the drinks from that party. She'd told Kyong that her parents would disapprove but she would warn them in advance and tell them not to judge if they overheard someone saying they'd had a blow-job.

The food was the speciality of Emiliano and Asnee, whose business venture of Italian / Thai infusion had taken off better than either had anticipated. The deck with the catering had tables set with white tablecloths and silver runners. There was a set time for food so that everyone would be in the same area at the same time where other formalities could take place. The couple were not big on tradition after their first wedding. This event was a party with a ceremony as far as they were concerned. They wanted time to thank everyone and enjoy some time to sit with their guests and have a chat. The guest list wasn't long, very personal, with no need to have all and sundry present.

The staff on board were dressed as Jara wanted, transparent full body stockings, dusted with silver stars. The male servers wore little shorts to cover their modesty and female servers wore little tennis skirts and bras. They shimmered under lights and would be each dedicated to a deck... there were more staff than guests.

Euphoria was a hive of activity. Staff carried boxes and bags around, voices shouted commands and took direction. They had a schedule, an itinerary to follow, times to hit, guests to greet, more staff arriving who were required for the bars and security. A live band was arranged, with a playlist created by the couple for the intervals. The entertainment was in the form of a Tahitian dance but it wasn't the same without Jungkook, who'd bowed out respectfully. The dancer couldn't dedicate the time to it and the amateur dance group he'd found were so great that he wanted them to have the limelight... that was his excuse.

The chaos would come together but from the outside, all was peaceful as the yacht swayed on the water.

***

In the hotel suite, Han-Shik was on his third glass of carefully measured out two fingers of whiskey. He was tempted to pour to a third finger but once that started he wouldn't be making it to the wedding and then he'd have everyone on his back. He also wondered if he'd be tempted by his old ways? He hadn't had a drink... not a real session for quite some time and usually that ended with the offer of sex by a random in a bar... but this wasn't Busan and he didn't know many bars in Seoul.

He looked out over the city, the suite was quiet, aside from the various technology creating white noise. The tv was muted with subtitles on, which was a pointless act when he was watching the scene outside the window and hadn't glanced at the tv screen once. Han-Shik swirled the dark amber liquid in the glass... it was valentines day and he hadn't done anything special for his wife. Emi hadn't mentioned it... did she mind? Breakfast and great sex didn't count, that should be a normal requirement.