Jaemin the Icy Prince on Campus - Na Jaemin NCT

55. Eternal

Three Months Later

Jaemin and I wait, side by side, on the grounds of the seaside resort for the exact moment the sun turns the colour of sleep. It is a drowsy pink, the kind of whimsical shade that clings with delicate wings before dissipating into the foggy darkness of night. Waves lap at the shore, the mist rising around the craggy bluffs.

I hear a rather loud sniffle and fight a grin. My mum is sobbing into her handkerchief; I meet my father's eyes and see joy shining in them. Junnie and Jerry and Leean sit together, smiling at me; Junnie's gown sparkles like magic dust in the setting sun. Next come Jaemin's mum and dad; Jaemin's mum is dabbing at her eyes, his dad is smiling.

Jaemin and I are surrounded by the people we cherish the most, our wedding ceremony is small and focussed solely on love.

Jaemin flicks his attention to me, his expression softening.

"Ready, Mina, my darling? It's time."

I inhale the salty scent of the sea.

"Yes," I breathe, and smile up at him.

I take his warm hand in mine, my heart fluttering like gossamer wings as he smiles back at me. Each shared memory flashes through my mind. From the moment I first saw him looking at me over my locker in high school, waiting at my gate to walk me to school, rushing to me as I alight from the train, to the first time we kissed, and made love, and every second in between our first moment and today. He stole my breath now just as he had stolen my breath then.

His suit is midnight black, drapped over a snowy white shirt. My capped sleeves flutter in the light ocean breeze and I flush as he slowly sweeps his gaze over me, his eyes ardent and shining with love. My gown is a sheer white that borders on a frosty blue, reminding me of sunshine illuminating a glacier. The bodice is laced with a sprinkling of tiny silvery stars, and delicate embroidered flower buds in dusky pink cascade down my waist in thin tendrils before fading into the ice-blue frothy clouds of my skirts. It is ethereal; a magical faery gown, shimmering with dreams and hope and love, so that I appear exquisite, an enchanting vision, almost like a princess, on this glorious, this most wonderful day of my life.

We stand facing each other, our faces flushed, filled with excitement, our eyes drawn towards each other, exchanging looks that belie so much more than spoken words, as the sun slowly descends toward the horizon, turning my dress brighter shades of gold and champagne.

The hour has finally arrived.

The priest we had requested is more than happy for us to say our own words.

"You may begin exchanging your vows now," he smiles, standing between us.

Jaemin takes a deep breath and steps closer. He is glowing today, he radiates joy and he cannot stop smiling, or casting lingering looks at me. He is besotted with you, my Aunt Seelin murmured into my ear a while ago, and sighed, and I laughed. He looks so shy, and so blissfully, beamingly in love. He looks upon me today the way he has done from the moment we both knew there was no turning back, no fighting our fate. He and I are soulmates, two stars in the same constellation, destined to shine brightly together each night of forever.

"My darling Mina." Jaemin gazes unabashedly at me, as if his soul is speaking directly to mine. Tears threaten to choke his words before he can get them out. I gently run my thumb over his hands, my own eyes glistening.

"You are my heart, my soul, my equal. You see the light in me when I'm lost within darkness. When I'm cold and distant, you're as warm as autumn sunshine, bathing me in your glow. If I am the night, then you are the stars lighting up my endless dark." His voice breaks, and I am crying, smiling at him through my tears.