Now and for the Last Time

48 장 (Final Chapter)

"Julee? It's Suzy. Can I come in?"

No answer. I looked down at the water in my hand, then my watch, which told me we had ten minutes before the ceremony was supposed to begin. Reaching down, I tried the knob. When it turned, I gently pushed it open.

"Julee?" I said again, peeking inside. The room where she'd been getting ready was just above where the ceremony would be taken place, but the hotel's pool: I could see the chairs we'd lined up earlier, now filled with guests, through the window. "Are you in here?" Still, nothing.

I pulled out my phone, ready to send a BRIDE AWOL text if necessary, then walked past the small sitting area, closer to the window. Down below, I could see Wooyoung up by the flower-covered arch, checking his watch. I saw him shoot a look down the aisle. A second later, my phone beeped. Eomma.

WHERE IS SHE?

I walked over the bathroom door, which was closed, and stood listening for a second. Nothing. Then, distantly, a sniffle. Aish.

BATHROOM, I texted back. Then I knocked. "Julee?"

A pause. "Yeah?"

"It's Suzy," I said. "We, um, need to get downstairs."

"One second." I herad her blow her nose, which did not bode well, and looked at my watch again. When the door opened, though, she was smiling, even with a tissue in one hand.

"I'm allergic to something, can you believe it?" she asked, turning back to the bathroom counter, where I saw a pile of allergy medicines. "My big day and I can't stop sneezing."

"You still look beautiful," I said. It was true: even with a bit of a red nose, her hair was perfect, pearly pink lipstick in place, clearly happy. Whew.

She smiled at me. Then sneezed again. "Aish," she moaned, grabbed more tissues out of a nearby dispenser. "This is not how I wanted this to go!"

"It'll be fine," I said, handing her the water. "I bet once you get outside it will stop."

"That's where most allergies originate, though," she said, blowing her nose. "You forget I'm marrying a med student. Who probably did not expect, after all this planning and money, to be wed to someone whose nose is redder than a clown's."

"I'm sure that's not what Kevin cares about," I told her, bending down to fluff her dress around her shoes. "Weddings are about love, and love tolerates everything. Even red noses."

"Nicely put." She raised an brow at me. "You're good at your job."

"I was trained by the best," I answered. "And I've got an extra pack of tissues. Slide one of these by your bouquet, and let's go. You don't want to keep everyone waiting."

Another sneeze, and she was following me out of the bathroom and then the room, as I texted ON OUR WAY to Eomma. As I pushed the button of the elevator, she said, "i bet you have a lot of stories to tell, huh? Allergic brides. Cold feet. Missing grooms."

"Missing son of brides," I reminded her. "It was your brother I had to drag in from the parking lot, remember?"

She sighed, making a face as the elevator doors slid open. "As if I could forget. You're a saint for putting up with him, much less dating him."

"Well, it's never dull," I agreed.

"What do you remember most, though?" she asked me, as we stepped inside. "Your best wedding story, ever. Humor me."

I had to think about it. There was the time the groom, nervous, stumbled backward into a pool during the vows. The mother-in-law who got drunk at the rehearsal dinner and made an hour-long toast, working her way around the room detailing every beef she had with the guests in attendance. The missing ring bearer. The Disaster. Distinct as they happened, now they all seemed like one big wedding, ongoing, leading all the way up to this one, my last for the near future. I left for school in six days.