Terrible Things

Chapter 14 - Then

I pace the dressing room, wringing my hands together - my anxiety levels completely through the roof. I glance at the clock again, the seconds ticking by as if mocking me.

Trying to ignore the ball in my stomach, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

The assigned time to be here was 8 AM, and it was now 8:03.

Where in the world was Hoseok?

The door bangs open, startling me. Hoseok grins at me, two garment bags thrown over his arm.

"You're late."

"By what? 4 minutes?" He rolls his eyes, walking passed me to hang the bags on a rack against the wall. "Relax, Yoongs."

"How am I supposed to calm down?" I fist my hands together, resuming my pacing. "Do you know what today is?"

"Of course I do, I've only been helping to plan this for the last year," he grumbles. "You're getting married! In just a few hours you and Jimin will be Mr. and Mr. Min."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?" He stops, his eyes going wide. "Wait, are you having second thoughts?"

"Wha-"

He rushes over, his hands gripping my shoulders. He leans in, his voice quiet. "As your best friend, and your best man, it is my job to make sure you know what you're doing. As Jimin's friend, I should tell you that you should stay and get married. But if you need a getaway driver, I'm right there with you, buddy."

I wait for him to tell me that he's joking, but he just stares at me, his face serious. I crack a small smile, pushing him away from me gently. "What are you saying? I'm not having second thoughts."

"You sure?"

"Positive, I want this. More than anything." I sigh, blinking slowly. "I just hope Jimin does."

"It's obvious he does," Hoseok rolls his eyes. "He's been going crazy planning all this. He acts like this marriage is the best thing to ever happen to him." He moves behind me, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me forward. "Now, let's get you ready."

He pushes me down into a chair, my reflection staring back at me from the mirror across from me. Grabbing some brushes from his bag, Hoseok works on my hair.

"Speaking of marriage," I say, breaking the silence. "Any idea when you're gonna settle down?"

Hoseok falters for a second, his mouth dropping into a grimace. Then, like nothing happened, his smile is back in place, a forced laugh escaping him. "Why would you ask me that?"

I shrug. "I was just wondering if you had your eye on someone."

"Not anyone available," he mumbles.

"What, are you in love with an idol or something?" I laugh.

He laughs, his smile falling slightly. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well you know, once you become a super famous dancer, you might catch their eye."

"Maybe," he says halfheartedly, "who knows." He puts his hands back on my head, turning my head so I stare back at the mirror. "Enough about me, this is your day. Let's get you ready."

❖❖❖❖❖

I pull at the sleeves of my suit, clenching the white fabric in my fingers. I adjust my tie for the 100th time, pushing it around until it's perfectly centered.

"You look fine," Hoseok chastises, smacking my hand away. I shove my hands in my pockets to keep from fidgeting again, and hopefully to avoid more scolding from the man beside me. Hoseok straightens out his own tux, his outfit the opposite of mine. Where my suit is all white, his is black with gold lining - matching the gold bowtie around his neck. He catches me looking, his lips pulling up into a smirk. "See something you like?" I roll my eyes, turning to look out the window, watching as people mingle and find their seats.

When Jimin had brought up the idea for an outdoor wedding, I originally argued against it. What if it was too hot? What if it rained? And all that sun? No thanks. But looking at it now, I was glad that I relented and let him have his way.

A white carpet runs the span of the field, rows of white chairs placed on each side of it. Lanterns are spaced along the aisle, the lights flickering in the twilight. Strings of lights are hung above, dancing along the edges like fairies come to enjoy the festivities. An aisle sits at the end of it all, the dark wood circled with lights and small white flowers.