Chapter Text
Wedding Day.
“Jaem,” Jeno called, wearing his suit.
“Yes?” he replied, tying his lace.
“Why does Papa call you bun?” he asked, fixing his brother’s tie.
“Ah, it means bunny. You can call me that,” receiving a huh? in return.
“Jen, you can call me bun. It’s off limits to everyone who isn’t family,” Jaemin joked, but was serious all together. “We’re family anyway, so might as well.”
“Okay, then call me sam. Means samoyed, also family only,” Jeno joked, laughter filling the room. “Now watch me get confused whenever you call me that.”
And the door creaked open, Renjun entering, “Hey, it’s about to start,” walking up to Jaemin, circling his arms around the younger’s waist. “You look beautiful, bambi.”
With a kiss on the cheek, “Thanks, baobei. See you in a bit,” Jaemin patted his butt, the elder leaving.
“Ahh… to have your boyfriend see you before the wedding. Where’s my sunshine, huh?” Jeno felt dejected, but wait! He’s just on cue.
“Well, well… My moon is hot, hot, hot as hell!” Hyuck exclaimed, squaring his boyfriend’s shoulders, the elder holding his hands.
“Thanks. I’ll see you later,” a kiss on both hands, letting go, as Hyuck skipped outside. “Congrats to your parents!”
As Jaemin figured his brother’s boyfriend was away from earshot, he asked, “Moon? Why moon?”
Jeno offered his crescent eye smile, the only action he could execute to define the endearment.
“Explains a lot,” he remarked. “Bambi because I remind Jun of the character,” he foretold, Jeno nodding.
“Our family loves nicknames, don’t we, bun?”
“It’s endearments, sam. All cutesy and affectionate,” as the two left the room, the wedding about to commence, a small grin plastered on them.
“Jeong Jaemin… I’ll have that surname soon.”
“Would’ve loved to be a Kim, but… Jeong Jeno sounds pretty good.”
“I won’t say too bad, but Dad was the first to propose, so…”
“Papa should’ve noticed Dad proposing so he’d swerve down to kneel! I wanna be a Kim, too!”
“Are you actually sulking right now?” Jaemin realized, in shock, letting out a breathy laugh.
“Just emoting… but still!” Jeno felt sour and bitter, but still sweet and warm in tone.
“God, Jen, why were we so dense in the past? We could have been like this for twelve years.”
“Can’t do anything about that, Jaem. All we can do is make up for it.”
“And good thing we did,” Jaemin affirmed, stopping for a moment, Jeno meeting his eyes.
“Why so?” Jeno queried, stepping close to hear his brother.
“‘Cause this wedding wouldn’t have happened…” Jaemin voiced out, his arms circling his brother, the latter doing the same.
“I love you, brother.”
Jeno felt a tear risking to fall.
“I love you, too, brother.”
Jaemin wiped one tear away from his eye.
there is a lifetime waiting for us.
Friendship over. Start again?
~
Walking down the aisle, his relatives on his left, his fiancé’s family on the right, his friends and sons present, Kim Doyoung was the happiest man in the whole wide world.
And at the end of the aisle was another happy man, watching him fondly, as he stood beside him. Jeong Jaehyun looked pretty wearing peach and having brown hair.
And now for the vows…
Jeong Jaehyun, here I am in front of you, able to spread across the four corners of this holy establishment that I, Kim Doyoung, loved you before I knew it, have loved you ever since, and will love you until the end of time. And in these few moments, I’ll be a Jeong.
Respect is one of the biggest driving forces in my life. I respect my alone time, my own income, my parents, my studies, my work, my body, and so much more in between, but above that, what I like more than the respect I have for myself is the respect you have for me.
I’ve said this already, and I’ll say it again, if I could settle for a happy crush over you, then that will suffice. Being your classmate was enough, but being your friend would drive me insane, and I have Taeyong, my close friend, and Chaeyoung, my lovely cousin, to thank.
You respect my boundaries, my problems, my hardships, my goals in life, and that made me fall down a well; I didn’t know you kept filling it up with water, until I happened to meet the ground surface, where I met you. Jae, you saw me go through a lot, right?
You knew the struggle I had to go through when we were in college. You knew the budgets I had to cut to be able to pass requirements. You knew the tears I had to shed in my bedroom I chose not to let go. You knew all of those, but you were patient, you were kind, my love.
And now that I look back… I forgot that you were having a hard time, too… that I forgot to ask about your day, if you were doing fine, if you were busy, if you had time for yourself, but you gave yourself to me, that the priority became me over yourself, and it hurt us both…
But that was the past, when we were focusing on multiple things, with the pressure of graduating from college, because after that… we were able to see each other every day, rest properly, and have a vacation. We also adopted the kids, and today, fulfill the promise we made.
I even made a pledge to my mother that when I decide to marry you, my decisions will not only factor myself in, but you as well, and even more, the twins. I promised to be financially prepared, socially adept, mentally capable, physically healthy, and of course, love you.
So, on this day forward, we will have a lifetime to protect our kids, guide them when they get lost, listen to them talk about their boyfriends, and spoil them a little. They’re on their way, and we’re on our way back… Isn’t that a beautiful cycle of life? It is for me.
And if a multiverse does exist, I will find you if it means crossing the North Pole and surviving the Sahara Desert, for as long as you are my endgame, my start to finish, my viva la vida, and the man who I wake up and sleep next to, dim with the deep dimples, Jaehyun.
The guests shouted lovely expressions of praise, applauding Doyoung for his lovely speech, which include but are not limited to:
“Yes, Do! I still love you, though!” Taeyong was joking — actually, he does love Doyoung, but not that way. He loved Johnny like that, though.
“Go, cous! Thank me for being the young girl he thought he’d love but turned out to be you instead! I think deserve!!!!!” Chaeyoung squealed, crying a river.
“Love you the most, Doyoungie! Get your man!” his mom learnt from Donghyuck, a close associate of Doyoung’s family.
“Love you, Pa! Have that happily ever after like you tell me I’ll find someday!” Jaemin wooed, smiling from ear to ear.
And then it was his soon-to-be husband’s turn to speak…
Kim Doyoung, this has been a long time coming, the one I will patiently wait for no matter what, even with the possibility of it never reaching us, but this is living proof that love finds us in different lights and situations, does it not? Well, let me just say…
The day you gave us permission to be boyfriends… was the same day that I started writing this vow I’m reading to you now. This is unedited, unfiltered, and unscathed Jeong Jaehyun who established a love life so divine and dear to his heart, that it remained the same.
Who would have thought that the man I met in high school, became my seatmate in second year, and brought me to his humble abode… is the same man I am marrying now? I guess Sicheng did, because he knew how much I talked about you more than Chae supposedly, and he knew then…
That I was more interested in you, observant if you seemed uncomfortable, delicate if you were hurt, jealous when someone came close, and giddy that you were inviting me over again for what, the third time? And your two closest persons had me in the spotlight.
I thank Chaeyoung for being uninterested, and I thank Taeyong for reinforcing the fact that I liked you… I liked you for who I thought you were, until I got to know you beyond school, because home is where you are your most authentic self, and I got a glimpse of that.
I saw that you were well-mannered, self-competent, aware in many aspects of life, generous, and humble, and damn, that was when I wanted to court you, and one day, call you boyfriend, and in a few year’s time, my husband. Guess I won in life, ‘cause look at us now!
Distance made my heart grow fonder of you. The subtle glances you gave me before I courted you made my heart flutter in highschool… until the time we had away because of college, and not even living under the same roof, but in the same area… All those taught me a lot.
You gave me a standard of loving someone which I never bothered to create, and receiving the same amount of love from you will always, always make me love you more. If our kids find their significant others, I hope they treat them the way we treat each other, mi amor.
So if it means they have to see how we express love, then I am all in, and they will see just that when we get the keys to our lovely home. For so long, we have kept it private, not a secret from our kids, and I am grateful they found out, no matter how long it took.
I promise an eternity and a lifetime, a universe and the time continuum, the moon and the skies above for as long as you are my muse, my angel, my ever so romantic soulmate, the owner of the cafe next to the patisserie I own, gam with the gummy smile, Doyoung.
And the crowd roared with just as much applause, bawling at Jaehyun reading his vows, a culmination of paragraphs over the last nineteen years.
“Finally, Jae! Finally! Your ears are too red!” his father pointed out, bellowing a low laughter.
“That’s my friend right there! Ten, when will you—” and his partner shut him up, not wanting to put the attention on them. cheng had plans, but not today.
“We were just crying over proposals, but look at you now… Give Doyoung that Jeong, Jeong!” Johnny shouted, coughing right after.
“Dad, I love you so much! Can’t wait to live in the dream house you’ve always talked about!” Jeno ecstatically expressed happiness.
Little did Doyoung know…
~
“If the honeymoon truly was a surprise, I thought I’d be excited,” Doyoung murmured, looking out the window.
“Hell, this is scaring the shit out of me.” In Doyoung’s perspective, who drives down an alley to the forest with not a single body seen in view? Yeah, no, scary as fuck.
“You’ll be surprised,” Jaehyun surely stated, turning a corner.
“Yeah, surprised to know we won’t make it out ali—”
holy mother of father, son, house of gucci.
“Dim”
“Gam”
“You’re joking.”
“I am…”
“Okay, good.”
“—not joking.”
“Okay, better— Wait, what?”
Jaehyun parked the car across the front yard, a mini jacuzzi and pool at the right, a garden on the left, a backyard — albeit not yet seen clearly — and the twins and their boyfriends by the door.
“Didn’t you say you’ll put a tarp at the gate?” and Jaehyun laughed the loudest, falling down to his knees, hands on the floor.
“Oh god, gam! Is that really what you’re thinking of?”
“Dim, this is a fucking house! Did you rent the whole lot!?”
Jeong Jaehyun walked Jeong Doyoung up the runway to the stairs, facing their children.
“Dad forgot to hand this over.” Jaemin reached for Doyoung’s hand, placing a key on his palm.
“And also these,” Jeno handed over a folder of papers, naming the property to the newlyweds, only meaning one thing.
“This is our house.”
“This is our house, gam.”
“This is our house.”
“Yes, Pa.”
“Yup, on point.”
3…
2…
1.
“Can I just—” and Doyoung lost balance, fainting at the sudden reveal. Good thing Jaehyun was behind to catch him.
“Sir Doyoung does faint, huh…” Renjun finally believed, losing the bet to Donghyuck, commenting, “Didn’t think I’ll get money this day, too…” mentally punching the air.
“Jun, Hyuck, call me Dad. Papa for Doyoung,” winking, entering through the front door.
“Welcome to the family, sunshine, Jun,” Jeno greeted, entering the house.
“Damn, how big is the lot?” Hyuck wondered, the ceiling seeming unreachable even on the second floor.
“Big enough not to hear any weird sound, I believe,” as Jun eyed his boyfriend, repressing a chuckle.
“Hehe,” Jaemin giggled, Jeno snapping his neck towards him. “Bun, don’t—”
“Oh come on, Sam,” and the four of them cackled, knowing exactly what was about to happen.
Let’s keep it P.G., shall we?
~
The ceiling was filtered in yellow, three sets of drop lights at the vanity, two tables at each end of the king-sized bed. The pillows were fluffed and soft, duvet thick enough to protect from the cold air brewing from the air conditioner, Jaehyun silently waiting for—
“Fuck. This isn’t a dream.”
“Finally awake, gam?”
“Shut up,” tucking himself under the duvet, hugging his legs, as Jaehyun pulled the sheets up, entering beneath it.
“I thought we were gonna continue house hunting after this.”
“Sorry. I let the kids in on this matter… told them the house was already prepared.”
“And I didn’t know anything at all?”
“Well, this is the dream house, is it not?”
…
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I hate you,” as Doyoung hmphed loudly, pouting, Jaehyun tickling him at how grumpy he became.
“Do you really hate me?”
“Yes. Later, I love you again.”
Please, Doyoung and his antics.
“The house was done a month after the kids’ graduation. We paid a visit a few weeks ago so they could see what we envisioned together.”
“So what do I care about?”
“That you could hopefully see this place as our home.”
That was sincere, Jaehyun’s hopes, every ounce of sincerity poured in those words.
“But dim…” Doyoung called, unwrapping his arms around his legs.
“Yes?”
Jeong Doyoung faced Jeong Jaehyun, a soft peck on his lips, “…Home is wherever you are, whenever we are together.”
Jaehyun felt beet red. He knew he was beet red.
“God, dim, you’re still overwhelmed by that?”
“How could I not!?”
“Whatever. Now hug me before I hate you again.”
It didn’t take a millisecond for Jaehyun to wrap his arms around Doyoung’s waist.
“Orders given. Orders received. Do you have any more orders?”
His spouse chuckled at that, raising his hand to caress his cheek.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“And that is?”
Doyoung moved closer to Jaehyun, another kiss on his lips.
“Promise to bug me for a long, long time…”
God, the Jeongs and bugs.
“Promise, Jeong Jaehyun?”
“Promise, Jeong Doyoung.”
Guess they’ll be insects in the next life, agree?
~
“Damn,” Jaemin started, watching Renjun and Donghyuck play pool, a cup of coffee in hand.
“What’s up?” Jeno noticed, sitting beside him at the bar stools.
“Nothing… Just—” looking at his brother, “Thankful we made up.”
Jeno huffed at that, drinking chocolate milk as always.
“We have the rest of our lives to see each other grow up,” he added, capturing how Jun won his first round.
“Yeah…” Jeno moved closer to Jaemin, despite being the only people to hear themselves, “speaking of growing up…” seeing Hyuck proud of his best friend hitting a bull’s eye on darts.
“Can we make a promise?”
“As long as it’s viable, I’m up for it.”
Jeno raised his cheek at that, leaning towards Jaemin’s ear.
“When you and I graduate… pass the boards and create our first project together, like the tandem we were in the council…
“Let’s propose to our boyfriends.”
Oh, Jaemin liked that. Jaemin liked that idea a lot, and he was totally going to make that happen.
“I’ll probably beat you to it, proposing to Renjun before you propose to Donghyuck.”
“Are you challenging me over a proposal, bun?”
“Or, we can just propose at the same time, sam.”
Now Jeno liked that more. Jeno liked that too much, regardless of having to wait for a few years.
“Following our father’s footsteps, are we?” Jaemin reflected, a soft slap to his brother’s arm.
“Guess we have a promise to fulfill, too,” and they laughed again, loud enough to make their boyfriends look their way.
“Promise, Jeong Jeno?”
“Promise, Jeong Jaemin.”
P.S. They started writing their vows the same night, their boyfriends already asleep.
P.P.S. Sunshine slept in Bambi’s bed, while Baobei slept in Moon’s bed.
P.P.P.S. The twins swapped rooms to sleep with their soon-to-be husbands.
The brothers promise to bug their boyfriends for a long, long time, just like Jaehyun keeps bugging Doyoung for God knows how long already.
And if it’s with the person they plan on marrying in the near-far future, then they are more than willing to wait.
with you, i can spend a lifetime.