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Seungho was frantic.
White shirt unbuttoned, suit jacket thrown off somewhere unknown. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow but he didn’t stop.
He walked down a long hall knocking once then opening every door looking for his fiancé—groom? They hadn’t walked down the aisle yet so he couldn’t claim him. He was damning whoever had made the idiotic remeark they shouldn’t see each other for twenty-four hours before the wedding. That tradition wasn’t even a part of their culture. Seungho was sure one of Nakyum’s sister’s had come up with the dumb idea.
He was already high strung from the wedding preparations alone. Now to add to it his crazed father had texted him he was on the way with a prenup, otherwise he wouldn’t allow their union. No peeking rule be damned, Seungho needed to find Nakyum before his father scared him away.
He hears loud cackling and rolls his eyes. That had to be the suite groom two and his bridal party were prepping in. He’s halfway down the hall when he feels a tug on his back. Before he can turn to look he’s yanked backwards into a room and hears a soft click.
Seungho turns ready to lay hands on the stranger and is face to face with the last person he’d expect to see on his wedding day.
“Lee Jihwa. You have thirty seconds to tell me why you’re at my wedding and why I shouldn’t drop your ass in this closet.”
His childhood friend glared at him. He loosened the bow tie he wore and threw it to the ground.
“Yoon Seungho, you can’t do this! After everything we’ve been through together, how could you try to marry someone else? Someone like him?”
“Someone like him? Jihwa Nakyum and I have been together for a year? I haven’t even touched you for almost two. Where the hell is this coming from?”
“Everybody Seungho!” he screeches.
Seungho hears people outside the door pause their talking. He frowns and steps closer, making the teary eyed man in front of him back up.
“I don’t give a damn what your idiotic circle of frineds has to say. That’s reason number one none of you were invited. And don’t think I didn’t see Min sneak in pretending to be on Nakyum’s side of the family. He doesn’t even have brothers. You have ten seconds to leave or else security will be dragging you out. Ten.” He begins counting.
“Seungho stop this! This isn’t like you. I don’t know what that gold digging slut did to trap you into proposing to him but I can help you— what are you doing?”
Jihwa’s plea is cut off as he watches Seungho unfasten his cuff link.
“Seungho you wouldn’t dare? Seungho no, wait!—”
A bearded man passing jumps slightly as he hears a loud thud and glass break behind a door. It sounds like a bar fight on the other side of the door. He can vaguely make out a man’s voice saying stop choking me. He briefly stops and reaches his hand out to the knob but decides it’s none of his business.
He follows the sound of women’s voices to the end of the hall and is about to lean against the door when it flies open suddenly. A woman in a soft pink gown barrels out not noticing him. She’s holding a trash can as far away from her as possible and gagging slightly.
“Puke bucket coming through! Clear the hall!” she calls as she runs to another door marked as the ladies room.
He peeks his head in and finds the man he’d been searching for.
Nakyum is seated at a vanity, his face on the table as women all dressed in pink fan him. Some try to give him water, while a few debate the best hangover hacks online. His eldest sister Heena stares at him disapprovingly and nods her head.
Nakyum sits unmoving and he’s beginning to think he’s passed out in his gray suit until he pulls a thin veil over his head. The man snorts as his messy hair is covered by the word bride until Heena pulls it off.
“Don’t think you're going to sleep now Nakyum. I told you to cool it with the shots last night. Now look at you. This is all of your faults!” she points all around at their sisters.
All turn their heads and roll their eyes discreetly. One sister catches the bearded man in the doorway and lets out a squeak. She covers her mouth as heads turn, all eyes now wide on the familiar face.
Nakyum puts two hands over his head, his costume veil still in place. “Please stop yelling. Use your inside voices, I’m begging you. Have you all found any tylenol yet?”
“Tylenol for a hangover is like putting a band-aid on a burn,” the stranger says.
Nakyum freezes momentarily before he rips the veil off. He winces slightly as he stares at the man. “Mumyeong? What are you doing here?”
The sisters all stare at one another as the man enters the room,his eyes only on the soon to be married man. He tugs at his sleeves as he looks at the women who all seem to be waiting for an answer as well.
“It’s not everyday the one who got away gets married.”
A loud clang startles them and leaves Nakyum groaning. His sister had returned with a fresh trash can just in time to hear the confession.
The man looks down embarrassed, while the sisters all look at Nakyum. He takes a sip of the water that had been offered earlier and rubs his head.
“Heena, can you all please go make sure everything is going smoothly? Please?”
The women all stand still, none wanting to miss the scene in front of them. Heena sighs and claps her hands. “Come on girls, let’s make sure rich boy’s friends are behaving. Nakyum we’ll be right back. Yell if you need anything.”
Mumyeong hides an eye roll by looking down. All the women file out and close the door behind them. Nakyum notices it open a crack after a few seconds before it slams shut again. He hears one sister groan Heena before their voices fade away.
“Long time no see,” Mumyeong says.
Nakyum turns slowly, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why are you here? Of all days? Why would you show up to my wedding after all this time?”
“Because I wasn’t invited.”
“Yeah, that’s sort of a given, considering you’re my ex.”
Under an airy canopy, guests were mingling with one another while waiting for the ceremony. Seungho’s younger brother looks through the small crowd anxiously. Most of the guests were friends of his soon-to-be brother in law. This wasn’t too surprising. His brother was all but an outcast in their father’s social circle. He’d never seen his brother show anyone real affection before he’d met Nakyum. He did notice a few of his brother’s exes sprinkled in the crowd enjoying the open bar.
He didn’t pay them any mind, thankful he didn’t see the one person that could definitely ruin the mood: their father.
It had been hard enough for their father to accept his eldest son’s sexuality, but the fact that the man he’d chosen to marry was a commoner had set him off even more. Seungho’s inheritance from his mother’s estate meant he and Nakyum would always live more than comfortably. In their father’s eyes as long as he still kept somewhat of a cordial relationship with his son, he still had a hand in his fortune.
Seungho marrying someone who came from nothing and could take everything had him chasing the man around with a prenup and lawyer for weeks. It had gotten to the point where Seungho had banned him from their wedding and kept the location a secret from him.
Seungwon knew that simply keeping the info wouldn’t be enough. Their father was powerful and had all the resources money could buy. No doubt he was already somewhere hiding with papers in hand.
Seungwon gives another discreet glance around and nearly chokes on his drink as Nakyum’s eldest sister stands right in front of him.
“H—Heena, I didn’t see you there. It’s Heena right? I'm Yoon Seungwon,” he nods at Heena who looks distracted but acknowledges him. “I’m basically your new brother,” he laughs awkwardly.
She makes a face at him that makes him want to sink into the floor. He waves both hands trying to backtrack. “No not like your blood brother, like step brother- in-law by marriage. Cause you know it’s nothing incestuous since we’re not really related.”
Seungwon watches her face shift from confusion to disgust. He hears a woman’s voice behind them whisper ew. His eyes scan quickly for an exit and he begins planning an escape from the awkward moment when she interrupts him.
“Where is your brother?”
Seungwon wasn’t expecting the question but is grateful she ignored his blabbering.
“Um, I don’t know? The last time I saw him he was going to look for Nakyum.”
Her eyes widened. She grabs his wrist and makes a dash for the door. Seungwon is surprised by her sudden outburst but lets himself be ragged along.
“What’s the matter? Did something happen to Nakyum?”
“No, but something may happen to his ex if your brother finds them before we do.”
“Check every room Kim, that brat has to be up here somewhere.” a stern voice commands.
“Of course sir,” a reply follows easily.
Yoon Chang - Hyeon barely knocked at doors before bursting in. He and his assistant were halfway down the hallway of the wedding venue. With his assistant’s help, he’d been able to bribe the location info from Lee Jihwa.
Every chance he’d gotten to have Nakyum sign the papers had been rudely and sometimes violently interrupted by his son. The foolish man insisted that it wasn’t needed and that Nakyum was different. Between his son protecting him and the circus of women he kept around, the man had nearly been untouchable. He only had minutes to finalize the paperwork and he’d be out of their lives for the most part.
He pushed into another room and was immediately pushed back by a head of auburn hair. Fists that held no power banged against his chest repeatedly. Jihwa leaned back and clutched at his suit jacket. His hair was falling over his face and an angry red bruise was forming on his cheek and neck.
“How could he do this to me? After everything I’ve done for him! This is all your fault. Couldn’t you have stopped him a year ago? Why would you let it get this far? We are at his wedding for fucks sake! ”
The elder Yoon rolled his eyes, used to Lee Jihwa’s outbursts in the past few months. He grabbed his wrists and held his arms down. He caged the hysteric man in an embrace until his wailing died down.
“Are you done with your little tantrum or do you need a timeout?”
Jihwa turns his face up and frowns at his co-conspirator, his lip trembling.
“You said you’d make sure they didn’t go through with it. Now all I’ve gotten is my lip busted! You need to stop this!”
Chang-Hyeon huffs. He lets go of the man and straightens his suit. “I never said I’d stop this useless wedding. I said I’d make sure that little shit didn’t get his hands on our family’s fortune and that’s what I intend to do.”
He raises a hand to silence Jihwa when he sees him about to start his ranting again.
“I don’t have time to baby your ass. Help me find them or go downstairs,” he cuts off any further word from Jihwa.
The younger man lets a tear fall from his eyes and storms past the men, his hand covering his face as Kim and Chang-Heyon continue making their way down the halls.
At the edge of the hall, Mumyeong stands a few feet from his ex, staring at the hungover man. He held in a laugh at the familiar sight.
“Your ex? Is that all I am to you Nakyum?”
Nakyum stands, his eyes shut tightly. He holds the table for balance and puts on his fiercest face. “Yes Mumyeong. You are my ex and forever will be.”
“Why won’t you look at me?”
“Because sunlight makes my head worse. And don’t try to change the subject.” Nakyum points an accusing finger at the wall beside Mumyeong, who sighs.
“I know we ended things on a bad note Nakyum, but that was one fight. We broke up a year ago and literally a week later you were already banging this rich boy. You never even gave me the chance to apologize and fix us. How is that fair?”
Nakyum frowns. “You literally dumped me and never called again. What was I supposed to do? Sit around sad and wait for you?”
“At least wait to get over me and not hop in bed with some pretty boy so soon after we broke up?”
“Seriously Mumyeong?” Nakyum yells toward him. He winces and puts a hand on his forehead. Eyes still shut tight, Nakyum feels a large body crowd him. He takes a step back but a heavy arm wraps around his waist.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try sooner Kyum, but I’m here now. I never shouldn't have ended things the way I did.” He places his chin atop a veiled head. He feels Nakyum pulling back but ignores it. “This should be us together today Nakyum. It’s not too late to turn around. I can be there for you. I don't have money like him, but I can give anything you ask of me. Kids, a picket fence, a home. I adore you. Your smile, your laugh, your hands. I fucked up Nakyum. This is my last chance to make it right. Please.”
His words hang between them in silence. Nakyum’s head is still down as Mumyeong tries to subtly press it into his chest. Nakyum tenses in his arms suddenly before a sharp pain has Mumyeong seeing white. Nakyum’s knee had connected with his groin and sent his ex down to one knee.
Mumyeong groans in pain as he looks up and sees the groom put both hands on his knees to steady himself. He dry heaves for a moment and is relieved nothing comes up, hangover finally waning somewhat.
“Mumyeong, how dare you crash my wedding and try to confess to me. Are you out of your fucking mind!”
He cracks one eye open slightly and huffs while he peers down at the man who’s still holding his crotch.
“Do you remember what you said to me when we broke up? You said you didn’t love me anymore and didn’t see a future with me in it. How convenient to burst in here and act like that was all a lie! My husband can give me all that plus lets me know multiple times a day I’m the center of his world. He could lose everything marrying me and you gave up on us because you got bored. Kindly get the hell out before I—I’ll kick you again!”
Mumyeong pulls himself up, still rubbing his front. Nakyum finally fully cracks both his eyes open and freezes.
“Nakyum I–”
“I believe my husband told you to fuck off before he kicks you again.” A voice cuts from behind him.
Mumyeong freezes. He turns his head and sees a crowd around the doorway made up of bridesmaids, two older men holding an envelope, and a man who resembled Yoon Seungho blushing behind Heena.
“Where did you all come from?” Mumyeong starts. He stops suddenly as Seungho loosens a cuff link, one already missing, and takes another step towards him.
“You see this Seungho! This is exactly what I told you. These commoners aren’t to be trusted,” his father’s voice cuts in.
“How dare you! Who do you think you are?” Heena and her sisters begin berating him.
Chang-Hyeon and Kim look sheepish as half a dozen women crowd around them, one hitting Kim with a bouquet. Chang looks to his younger son who quickly turns his head and rubs the back of his neck.
“Sorry about my dad Heena. I totally don’t agree with him. I love commoners! I mean money isn’t everything you know. Not saying I don’t have any because I’m very well off. Not that you’re a–”
“Please stop talking.” Heena cuts in.
Seungwon shuts his mouth and turns his attention back to his brother who’s walking up to the large man.
Seungho is just a few feet in front of Mumyeong when Nakyum quickly gets between the two. They both wrap their arms around one another and melt into an embrace. None of the chaos around them matters for a few moments as they sink into their own world.
The moment ends when the Elder Yoon suddenly yells over everyone “Enough!”
All eyes turn to him. Kim flinches slightly as a dozen pairs of angry eyes turn to them. His employer marches on to the couple.
“Seungho, I've played this game long enough with these people. Either that boy signs this prenup or I forbid you from marrying him.”
Seungho glares and is about to speak when a red blur suddenly flies past and straight into his father, nearly knocking the man over if not for Kim.
Jihwa pulls away from Chang-Hyeon and brings the manilla envelope he’s holding with him. Sniffling, he opens the document and rips up the thick papers inside. White paper rains down on the livid looking man.
Jihwa wipes his hand across his nose and throws him a glare equally as hard. “Next time learn to keep your word asshole. Have fun with your new son - in - law.”
Jihwa turns and stomps out the door. The bridesmaids and Seungwon all turn back to Chang and Kim smugly. The two groomsmen also share a pleased smile before smirking at the two old men.
Seungho tilts his head to Mumyeong and mouths “ fuck off before I kill you .”
Mumyeong walks past the pair and pauses, turning to Nakyum.
“If he ever hurts you–”
“Five,” Seungho begins counting down.
“Leave, now.” Nakyum says without sparing him a parting glance.
Mumyeong bows his head and walks out, a few sisters hissing at him.
They all watch as Chang-Hyeon orders Kim to have his lawyer draw up another copy of the prenup and bring it over quickly.
The group ignores him as Heena claps her hands together.
“I think it’s about that time, are you guys ready?” Her face falls suddenly as she smacks her forehead.
“Wait, you guys saw each other already. That’s bad luck.”
Seungho takes Nakyum’s hand and leads him to the door.
“I think any bad luck in our marriage is being left in this room. Let’s go get married Nakyum.” The pair lead the way downstairs, hand in hand.