Royal Temptations

Chapter 29

Guess who's running on maybe an hour of sleep. Yep. Me. Woo!

Abby and I made a bet. She lost (love you!). BUT I also feel like this will clear up some things from the last chapter, so I'm posting it anyway.

...

Junmyeon's POV

...

I nursed my fifth glass of wine since dinner began, it tasting of nothing this far in. Things around me began to get fuzzy, like my vision was sort of failing. Voices were a bit muffled. My insides boiled and I felt a warmth spreading all over my body, even though the room was relatively cool. Baekhyun shot me disapproving looks from time to time.

Safe to say I was drunk.

I was drunk at one of my best friend's wedding reception.

God I was so fucked up sometimes.

But then I remembered the feeling of watching Ying Yue walk down the aisle, looking ethereal in her cream dress perfectly tailored to her every curve. I remembered the look on Yixing's face when he first caught sight of her, a mixture of awe and love. I remembered the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. And I remembered feeling both so incredibly happy for him and deeply saddened that this was it. I felt the knife stabbing at my insides all over again.

Bottoms up.

"Seriously Jun," Baekhyun said when I knocked the fifth glass back. "You aren't a drinker. For god's sake slow down. You're going to get yourself wasted." I giggled at what he said, finding something highly amusing in it. "Even more so than you already are," he mumbled.

"What's the point?" I asked, my momentary feeling of hilarity fading fast. "I said I'd be here for him, and I am. I never once said I had to remember it." Baekhyun gazed at me steadily, and I was the first to break away.

"If you love him like you say you do," he said, making me wince. "Then you wouldn't be doing this." And that was the root of the problem. I did love him. So fucking much. So much it actually hurt to think about. Which was why I was doing this. I felt lighter somehow, like there wasn't this giant weight on my shoulders constantly holding me down, even though that's all I ever felt. The sting wasn't as powerful. And I didn't feel quite like the selfish bastard I knew I was.

He looked so happy. He was so happy. Especially now, as a space for the dance floor had finally been made and most of the guests either found places at the far back tables or pressed themselves to the wall. He was positively glowing, gazing at his wife with so much love. And I'd known. I'd known it would be tough to watch. But I'd done it anyway, and pretended to be perfectly fine while crumbling inside. That's what you did in my place. You shut your mouth and you behaved.

"Hey." Hyeja joined us at the table again, sliding next to me and putting a hand over mine. "Are you alright?" she asked me, genuine concern dripping from every word. "You look a bit pale." I suppressed another sigh, instead fixing my gaze to the center of the room, where Yixing and Ying Yue twirled around to the music playing overhead. I wasn't being fair, I knew it. But at the same time I felt like I'd finally lost the last little part of me.

"Jun's been hitting the wine hard tonight," Baekhyun supplied oh so helpfully. "Don't mind him. He's just a little tipsy." I shot my best friend a look, and he dared me to challenge him with a look of his own. I glanced away. Another night. But not tonight. We would not ruin Yixing's night. I'd never forgive myself if we did. I flagged down a server, who set another glass in front of me, whisking away my empty one. This one, however, was something light and bubbly. I took a sip, pulling a face at the unexpected strong taste.

"Yixing and Ying Yue are done dancing," Hyeja told me quietly, playing with my fingers and somewhat grounding me to reality. "Why don't you go talk to him? You haven't really got to yet." Except now that they were separate, everybody surged forward, surrounding them. He'd be busy all night. Too busy for me. "Go on Junnie," Hyeja prompted gently. "I know you want to."