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“Well I don’t want that tie, it’s too tight,” I grumbled as my stupid older brother strangled me with the fabric. He huffed and ruffled my hair, annoying me even more (and ruining whatever he did to it in the first place) before responding, “It’s a wedding, and it’s black tie, so this’ll have to do, Junho.” I frowned and tried to look down, but the collar paired with the tight tie restricted my head movement. As Inho turned away, I pulled it a little so that it could go loose again.
My big brother decided to get married to his girlfriend of some time today and I was to be the ring bearer. I asked whether I could be the best man, seeing as I am the person closest to Inho and the one he should be the most grateful for, but he chose his stupid friend Youngil instead. The dress code was also ‘black tie’, whatever that actually meant, since all the girls seemed to be wearing colourful dresses. It was confusing, because why can’t I wear my own colourful clothes either? Because I’m a guy? I think that’s sexism. At least I got to do some cool things though like… bearing the rings. My brother took me out with him to pick some so I know that they’re good and pretty as I chose them.
To be honest, I don’t think Dayeong is a good fit for my brother. Not because he’s some super amazing guy who needs only the best of women by his side, but rather because Dayeong deserves someone way better. My brother is the best guy I know, but Dayeong is too pretty and too nice to pull a nerd like him. Dayeong is the most amazing older sister; she spends time with me and takes me out when my brother is at work. Maybe life would be better if I had her and not him. Though truth be told, I think having both is the best option.
“Junho, go help out in the main hall, Youngil needs to help with my outfit,” Inho said, a hand on his hip whilst the other ran over his face like it often did when he was stressed. He was facing away from me and watching the door intensely, clearly waiting for Youngil to come in.
“Why can’t I help?” I asked in return. He never wanted me doing anything even though I was a teenager.
“Because an adult needs to do this.” He said bluntly, sighing, “Now go.”
I grumbled and trudged out of the room to the hallway leading to the main hall. Although most of the guests had arrived, a lot of them were helping out with decorating as they were all our friends and family. As I stepped into the large room adorned with flowers and white ribbons, I noticed my friends helping sat at a table talking. That put me in a good mood, as I ran over to them and hugged Jiyeong from behind. “Hi!”
Jiyeong paused, swallowing her drink as she turned around and smiled. “Hey, Junho,” she said, Saebyeok nodding in greeting.
“I thought you’d be stuck with your brother,” Saebyeok smirked, putting her phone down to actually pay attention. I huffed and turned to look towards Gihun and Sangwoo who seemed to be arguing over where to place a big white bow on the wall. “Inho didn’t want my help. I think he’s stupid,” I spat out playfully. Jiyeong let out a chuckle whilst Saebyeok clicked her fingers and nodded profusely, agreeing with me. The difference is, of course, I never mean it. Saebyeok, however, despises Inho. She only had to come because of Gihun, who adopted her. Though her brother Cheol didn’t have to come as he was at a sleepover, so she was a bit more moody than usual.
Suddenly, I was tapped on my shoulder, so I turned around to see our friend Junhee. We all smiled and greeted her and she did the same. She wore a beautiful lavender gown that really suited her style despite being different to what she normally wears. Her hair was also half up, exposing more of the dyed blonde. We ended up talking for a bit, with Junhee even complimenting my suit and saying that Noeul, the prettiest girl in the whole venue (other than Dayeong) thought so too. So, obviously, I had to put on a charming smile and look for her in the crowd. The girls told me that it was useless looking for her, though, with Saebyeok saying I would be ‘a flustered mess’ if I even caught a glimpse of her.
“I won’t be!” I said, giving her a light nudge as I continued looking. Junhee chuckled softly then spoke up, “Oh, by the way, Junho,”
“Hm? Yeah?” I replied, not paying much attention to her as I was busy looking for the only cool girl in the world. “Have you got the rings ready? Youngil told me that Inho wanted to see them before the ceremony begins,”
I blinked. Oh. Right. The rings. I almost forgot about that (as if it wasn’t my job). I scratched the back of my head then turned towards the room my brother was getting ready in. “Oh. Yeah, I’ll get them in a moment…” I mumbled just loudly enough to be heard and trusted. Although, clearly I wasn’t as confident as I thought since Saebyeok raised her eyebrow at me. “I’ll go grab them really quick then, okay?”
As I ran off, I could’ve sworn that I felt the eyes of the three girls on my back, but I ignored them. I had given the rings to… Jungbae, right. I would go ask him first then retrieve them from wherever he hid them to keep them safe. Jungbae was in the kitchen with Daeho, a guy a bit older than me who worked at Jungbae’s shop. I could tell that they were decorating cupcakes since I could smell the sweet aroma of vanilla and strawberries from the hallway, as well as a mix of the other foods prepared. The cupcakes were the strongest however, and made my mouth begin to water and my legs move faster.
“Jungbae!” I called as I stepped in which, caused Daeho to yelp and get frosting over his apron. In turn, Jungbae sighed and shook his head but walked up to me, “What’s up, Junho? Ready for the wedding?”
“Almost,” I smiled, taking some frosting off Daeho’s apron with my finger and licking it, “I just need to grab the rings, I think. Where’d you put them?”
When I turned back to look at him, Jungbae blinked in confusion, his smile gone and his brows slowly furrowing. “Uhm… I’m not sure?” he replied hesitantly.
It was now my turn to blink and stare in confusion as panic set in. “What do you mean, I gave them to you?”
“... No, you didn’t kid.” He replied, shaking his head. Daeho went up to us with wide eyes, “Wait- are the rings gone? How will Mr Hwang get married?”
“I’m sure that Junho will find them,” Jungbae smiled, though it still revealed a hint of nervousness as he put his hand on Daeho’s shoulder. “How about you check where the gifts are?”
“Alright…” I mumbled and nodded goodbye, leaving to hunt for the rings. They’d be in with the presents, I’m sure! Yes! That’s where I left them, not with Jungbae! Silly me, really. That’s what I thought, at least, but when I got to the small office where the gifts were stored, I saw only a multitude of large packages adorned with ribbons.
But not rings.
I blinked and checked again, but still no rings. Oh god. Am I going to ruin my own brother’s wedding? What if he asks for them as soon as I come back?? He’s gonna kill me!!!
I didn’t even notice my breathing had picked up until I somehow made my way back into the main hall where Gihun stopped me. “Hey, Junho, what’s the matter?” He asked calmly, a playful smile on his face. I simply gulped and looked around to see whether Inho was around. No brother in sight. Good. So, I leaned in and whispered to Gihun, “I can’t find the rings-”
“YOU CAN’T FIND THE RINGS???” He repeated much too loudly- so loud in fact that most of the people in the hall heard him. I could only pray that Inho hadn’t done so either. Suddenly, my entire group of friends alongside some other guests were crowding around me, asking all sorts of questions and a few chastising me. Yes, me. The evil little brother who wants to sabotage his big brother’s wedding.
“Hang on, let’s approach this rationally and not crowd the boy,” a calm voice, Sangwoo’s, suddenly cut through. I sighed in relief as everyone quieted down and moved away a little. “How about we think of where we had them last and retrace our steps. Where did you last leave them, Junho?”
“Well… I thought I gave them to Jungbae, but he told me that I didn’t, so I checked the present room and they weren’t there either.”
Sangwoo thought for a moment, humming and nodding his head ever so slightly. “Alright. Then tell us where you had them before that. We can have some of us split up and search for them, while the rest finish decorating and keep your brother and Dayeong away,”
I nodded, my breathing finally calming down as I tried to recall every room I had them in. I ended up remembering three main locations where they could be: my brother’s car, the main hall, and the garden. The guests then all split off into different small groups to look in each of those areas, bar a few who, like Sangwoo said, continued to decorate and stop my brother and his may-no-longer-soon-to-be-wife from leaving. I stayed with Sangwoo during the search, telling him every detail and giving him clues.
Thinking about it, this was sort of like my first ever detective case, except I’m the victim and Sangwoo is the detective rather than me or my brother. Alas, we ended up searching any other areas I had vague recollection of holding the rings at. In the reception… the toilets… even the guys’ dressing rooms. Though no matter how much we searched, they were never there. Every little gleam in the corner of our eyes formed a spark of hope, only for that same spark to be extinguished as soon as we took a closer look.
We searched… and searched… and searched.
Ten minutes went by, and I finally flopped down on one of the chairs, my eyes watering as I huffed. Sangwoo sat beside me, rubbing my back as Saebyeok returned from the gazebo with Junhee. Sangwoo looked up and they both simply shook their heads.
Of course I had to ruin everything. I could never do anything right. Why would Inho even trust his idiot little brother with something so important? Now, he’d never trust me again, either. As I finally let a tear slip from my eye, and the others began returning from their hunting grounds, I heard a soft babbling. I glanced up for a moment to see Noeul’s ‘niece’, who had only just turned two. She walked up to me and began lightly slapping my leg with her chubby hand.
Even a baby was punishing me.
“Nayeon!” I heard Noeul say, running over to grab the little girl. “Can’t you see Junho’s going through it? Leave the guy alone already…” she scoffed, tugging her fat little cheek. I smirked sadly, watching the most perfect girl in front of me.
Sangwoo blinked and furrowed his brows, then leaned closer to the little girl. “Hey, sweetie,” he said softly, reaching up to her little closed fist, “What’s this you’ve got here?”. I tilted my head in confusion, sitting up and wiping my eyes as Sangwoo opened her hand.
Then I saw a box. And when Sangwoo opened that box, light reflected off of its contents. I immediately stood up while the girls around me stared with wide eyes and their jaws open. Noeul covered her mouth. “Oh my God,”
“NOEUL, YOU FOUND IT!” I exclaimed, a smile finally returning to my face as I took the small box and hugged Noeul tightly. She blinked and stared down at Nayeon, who just gurgled softly, the fist that formerly held the rings now in her mouth.
“Well, actually, I found it, but whatever…” Sangwoo mumbled, turning away.
“So…” Saebyoek began. We turned our heads to her, and saw her gritting her teeth bitterly, “We were looking around the entire hall for almost twenty minutes…
… ONLY FOR A BABY TO HAVE IT?"