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There’s something about weddings.
A grand celebration of love, everyone crying about the smallest things, grand speeches…
Taehyung is a big fan of weddings. Mostly because he gets free food, a never-ending supply of wine, and gets to dance all night with his friends.
The love part… well, he’ll have to see it to believe it.
But today’s wedding feels special, in a way.
As he looks over his shoulder to the main table, where his cousin and his newlywed husband are having some of their pictures taken, he can’t help but feel a wave of memories crash over him.
Growing up together, spending summers at their grandparents’, staying up all night during sleepovers… And now, Seokjin is getting married to the love of his life, and Taehyung feels… warm.
“Are you going to cry again?” Jimin, Taehyung’s best friend and plus-one to the event, hands him a napkin, teasing him.
“I didn’t cry,” Taehyung tries to defend himself, but it is a bit silly to claim that when his nose was red after the ceremony.
“Yeah, of course, you didn’t,” Jimin chuckles. “They look so happy,” he comments, and it makes Taehyung smile.
“They are,” he nods. After all, he saw their whole love story unfold.
He still remembers when Seokjin first told him about Namjoon, how Seokjin claimed he didn’t like him at all. But Taehyung could see right through him even then.
Did he ever think that they would end up here? Probably not, because to Taehyung, love is as foreign a concept as outer space. More so, he thinks.
But the reception continues as the staff keeps bringing out more and more food, wine bottles emptying left and right, and Taehyung starts to feel heat rise to his cheeks, and everything starts to be funnier than it probably is.
Jimin is telling Taehyung all about this client of his that is suing his ex-husband because he cheated on her when someone drops an envelope on Taehyung’s lap.
He turns and sees one of his little cousins running around.
“Hey, Bin, what’s this?” Taehyung picks it up.
“Dunno! Seokjin hyung said to deliver them!” He hands another one to Jimin, but the rest of their table is left envelope-less.
Taehyung glances at his brother and sister, sitting across from him, and they look as puzzled.
“Well, open it, hyung,” his brother chuckles.
“Everyone, please, I would like your attention,” Seokjin’s voice echoes through the speakers. Always the master of ceremonies, of course, he was going to do so at his own wedding. “Some of you may have just received a little gift, right? Please, do not open them yet, we are going to explain the rules to you!” He looks at Namjoon, who seems both incredibly amused and beyond enamored by Seokjin.
“As all of you who know us probably are aware by now, there’s nothing I love more than matchmaking. And there’s nothing Namjoon loves more than opening Pokémon card packs—”
“I would like to argue that I love you more than that, though,” Namjoon stands to interrupt Seokjin, which earns him a few whoop-whoops! from the crowd, as well as a kiss from Seokjin.
And it’s in that brief moment that realization hits Taehyung.
“Oh, no,” he looks down at the pack in his hands and remembers a conversation that he had with Seokjin a few weeks ago.
“What?” Jimin asks. “What is it?”
But Seokjin continues before Taehyung can explain.
“So! We decided to play a little game so that nobody feels lonely tonight! In your hands, you have a card of another eligible bachelor in the room tonight. We paired up those people who we thought might match, so you can find them in the crowd and meet them!”
“Is there a price for this?” Someone asks at the back of the room, making them laugh.
“Love, if you’re lucky,” Namjoon shrugs, and Taehyung has to fight back the urge to roll his eyes.
“I can’t believe he actually did this,” Taehyung mumbles under his breath.
“Did you know?” Jimin laughs, finding it amusing.
“He told me he was planning on doing something like this, but I didn’t think they’d go through with it,” he admits. “It’s stupid.”
“It’s fun!” Jimin’s hands fidget with his own pack, clearly eager to see who he pulls. “And I think it’s actually a fun way to meet new people!”
“Of course, you do,” Taehyung chuckles. “It’s not fair, though, we came together! We shouldn’t be eligible for this!”
“Oppa, Seokjin hyung isn’t stupid,” Taehyung’s sister pitches in, her boyfriend trying hard not to laugh about it because he knows what’s best for him. “We all know you and Jimin oppa are just friends.”
And fine, they’re right, but still, Taehyung kind of hoped that he would cheat himself out of this silly little game just because he technically isn’t alone tonight.
“So! Does every single person have their pack?” Seokjin asks into the mic again, a unanimous yes! fills the room in response. “Then, it’s pack-opening time!”
There’s a rip sound by Taehyung’s side, and he glances over to see who Jimin gets.
“Oh, wow, this is incredibly well done,” Jimin looks at the card. “Min Yoongi,” he reads out loud. “They even listed his best qualities. This is hilarious,” he chuckles, reading them all, and Taehyung can see how the look in his friend’s eyes seems to sharpen, clearly interested in this whole game. “Do you know him, Tae?” he asks, but Taehyung shakes his head.
“Must be from Joon’s side,” Taehyung assumes. “Is he hot?”
“Very,” Jimn chuckles, cheeks reddening a little. “They chose a great picture, too. I wonder what they said about me, and your cousin better have picked a good picture of me or else—”
“I’m sure he did,” Taehyung chuckles.
“Open yours, Tae!” Another one of his cousins at the table calls. And, as he looks around, he realizes then that every single one of them is paired up.
His heart stings a little at the realization, but he’s never felt insecure about that. He’s never needed anybody, so he’s not quite sure why that thought made him feel a little sad.
“I’m gonna go complain to Seokjin hyung first,” he stands, putting the pack down and heading to the groom’s table.
The second his cousin lays eyes on him, his smile turns into a grin.
He knows what he did.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite cousin,” Seokjin says. “What brings you here?”
“You know you shouldn’t play favorites, hyung. That’s rude,” Taehyung crosses his arms.
“And yet, you still are! And what about the gift I just got you? You should be happy!”
“You made a mistake, you know? I didn’t come here by myself, so, technically, your little game should exclude me from the rules—”
“You and Jimin are practically brothers at this point, Tae,” Seokjin glares at him. “You’re not fooling me. Plus, I had already planned all of this, and everybody needed to be matched, so!”
“I hate you,” Taehyung groans.
“No, you don’t. You’ll thank us later, trust me.”
“But I don’t want to be paired up with anyone! I’m completely fine—”
“We know, Taehyung. It’s just for fun! You don’t have to do anything about it if you don’t want to, of course,” Namjoon jumps in. “We just thought you two could work.”
“I haven’t even seen who it is,” Taehyng admits.
“Then go back to your seat and open the pack and, if you still want to bitch to me about it later, then go ahead, but something tells me that you won’t,” Seokjin shrugs, and that alone scares Taehyung down to his bones.
Because just as Taehyung knows Seokjin like the back of his own hand, the same can be said for his cousin.
Which means that, unfortunately, whatever name and whoever's face is in the card on Taehyung’s seat right now, he’s probably going to be Taehyung’s type.
“No promises,” Taehyung says it like a threat, but none of them seems to take it as such.
On his way back to his seat, Taehyung catches people actually searching for their paired partners across the room; some of them are already talking, and, to the grooms’ credit, they all seem to be getting along so far.
“Did complaining work?” Jimin asks when Taehyung returns, like he already knows the answer, handing him the pack again. “Come on, I wanna see yours!”
After a sigh, feeling all the table’s eyes on him, Taehyung rips the plastic open, pulling out the card, and frowns.
“Why is yours rainbow? Mine was gay, too,” Jimin complains, snatching it from him before Taehyung can ever take a good look at him.
“In Pokémon-card terms, rainbow means that it’s quite rare,” Taehyung’s brother explains. “What that means for a guy… I’m not sure,” he chuckles.
“Maybe it’s rare that he’s single?” Taehyung’s sister’s boyfriend asks, which doesn’t paint him too well.
“Gimme that,” Taehyung takes it back from Jimin to fully look at the card.
Oh, Seokjin…
“Jeon Jeongguk,” Taehyung reads, just to see if anyone reacts to the name, to see if anyone knows him, but there’s no luck. Seems to be from Namjoon’s side, too.
He reads all the qualities and wonders if there’s someone who can actually be all of that, or if his cousin is really trying to sell this guy to Taehyung.
“There’s no way this guy’s real,” Taehyung chuckles, putting the card back on the table. “Good thing I’m not gonna find out!”
And it is also a good thing that it is time for the wedding cake to come out, which means that soon the actual party will begin, and Taehyung and everyone else will forget about this silly little game.
Of course, Taehyung did not actually believe that he would be the only one not playing right into the groom’s wishes when it came to the cards, but turns out that he might be.
Even Jimin left him alone on the dance floor to go try to at least meet his card guy.
Thankfully, it’s not like everyone is suddenly pairing up, either, so Taehyung still gets to jump around and dance to the music from the DJ the way God intended.
“I’m gonna go get a drink, do you want something?” Taehyung asks his brother.
“Are you sure? You’ve drunk a lot,” he chuckles, loud enough to be heard over the music.
“It’s a wedding! That’s what weddings are for!” he puts it plainly and heads toward the bar. To be fair, he’s not even that drunk yet, considering how much food they ate during the reception.
“Hi, can I get a vodka strawberry?” he asks the bartender and adds a smile, knowing how overwhelmed they must be with all the guests.
“Sure, one second,” the girl nods and starts preparing his drink.
Taehyung keeps bopping his head to the music, unable to stay still for more than a few seconds.
He turns around while he waits and spots Seokjin and Namjoon jumping around in the crowd, and he can’t help but laugh when his cousin almost trips and falls, stepping on someone’s dress.
“Hi, do you guys have whisky?” Taehyung hears from his side and turns, as if the guy had been talking to him.
And the profile he’s met takes his breath away for a second.
“My colleague went to get some because we ran out,” the girl who’s preparing Taehyung’s drink replies. “Do you mind waiting a little bit? Or can I get you something else?”
“Oh, that’s alright,” the guy smiles as if he hasn’t noticed the fact that Taehyung is staring at him bluntly. “I can wait,” he nods. “Thank you!”
And it’s when he finally turns, eyes locking on Taehyung, that he sees it.
“Oh, it’s you,” the guy points at Taehyung. “Taehyung, is it?”
“That’s me,” he nods, and, for some reason, he suddenly feels like everything else around them is slowing down. “Jeongguk?” Taehyung’s brain finally lands on the name from the card that is burning a hole in his pocket as they speak.
Because, regardless of everything he’s said, he still kept it.
He still has it on him.
“Yeah, hi,” Jeongguk’s smile is blinding, and the sharp edges he’d seen in his profile seem to soften at the same time as Taehyung’s gaze on him. “Fancy meeting you here,” he chuckles.
“Were you looking for me?” Taehyung asks before he can stop himself, and regrets it straight after.
“I wasn’t, no,” Jeongguk admits. “Just wanted a drink, same as you, I imagine.”
“Right, yeah,” Taehyung suddenly feels dumb and is praying to every God he doesn’t even believe in for the girl to finish his drink quickly so that he can get out of there.
“I’m not gonna ask if you were looking for me because I heard you talking to the grooms during the reception,” Jeongguk leans against the bar, his suit a bit too tight on him, like he got it years ago and bulked up ever since.
“Oh, I—I’m sorry. I didn’t even know I got you or anything, and it’s not like—”
“Hey, it’s cool,” Jeongguk chuckles, waving it off. “I’m not offended. I thought of the whole thing more like a chance to meet people rather than a find-your-soulmate kind of deal,” he shrugs. “And, to be fair, I am grateful.”
“You came here alone?” Taehyung asks, then, realizing how silly the question is after he said it. “I mean—”
“I did,” Jeongguk smiles like he understands what he means. “I don’t really know anyone here except for Namjoon hyung. I—Well, we met when I went to study abroad for a semester. He was my mentor because he’d been doing his PHD there and we became really close. So, it’s not like we run in the same circles, but he was someone really important to me, so, of course, I couldn’t miss his wedding,” he explains.
“Oh, that’s nice. You met in the States, then?” Taehyung asks, remembering well the time that Namjoon had been abroad because his cousin had been miserable.
“We did, yeah,” Jeongguk smiles again. “Like… five years ago, I’d say? I’m not great at math, even less after a few drinks,” he chuckles, and, for some reason, it makes Taehyung smile, too.
“Here you go! Sorry, that took a while,” the girl calls Taehyung’s attention, handing him his drink.
“No worries, thanks,” he takes a sip, letting the sweetness of it coat his tongue.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Taehyung,” Jeongguk nods, and is about to turn around, but Taehyung’s lips part before he can make sense of what he’s saying.
“Let me keep you company while you wait for your drink,” he tells him, and Jeongguk’s eyes light up as if he held the entire universe inside them. “If you don’t mind?”
“No, sure,” Jeongguk nods. “Won’t your friends miss you?”
“They’re family, and they have each other,” Taehyung puts it, hoping it doesn’t allude to the fact that he is also alone, in a way.
“Family? Right, your surname was Kim, right? Whose family are you?”
“Seokjin’s,” Taehyung nods. “I’m surprised you ask, people most of the time say we kind of look similar,” he chuckles.
“I mean, I guess you both are incredibly good-looking, that’s true,” Jeongguk points out, and Taehyung’s drink almost ends up spilled on the floor.
“Are you trying to hit on your friend’s husband?” Taehyung asks, trying to tease him a little bit.
“Oh, no, no, I would never,” he’s quick to shake his head, and Taehyung almost feels bad for the comment. But he looks at Taehyung as if there’s something on the tip of his tongue that he ends up swallowing instead.
And, just to erase the bitter taste on Taehyung’s own, he takes another sip from his drink.
“Isn’t that too sweet?” Jeongguk asks, pointing at his drink. “I mean, it looks like literal melted candy.”
“Oh, sorry, Mr. I-drink-whisky-at-a-wedding,” Taehyung chuckles. “I don’t really like the taste of alcohol, so unless it’s mixed with something really sweet, I’ll just stick to wine,” he admits. “Wanna try it?” Taehyung offers. “While you wait. You do seem incredibly parched.”
“I guess your card really wasn’t lying, huh? You are very funny,” Jeongguk chuckles and leans forward to take a sip from Taehyung’s drink. “Mhm, yeah, too sweet,” he laughs after. “It’s like having a lollipop or something.”
“Exactly! It’s so good,” Taehyung smiles as well. “So, what else did my card say about me?” Taehyung leans against the bar, tilting his head. “Can I see it? I swear if my cousin picked a shit picture of me—”
“Oh, no, you look amazing,” Jeongguk is quick to reply as if the compliment didn’t make Taehyung’s entire world shake a little. “Although I must say, the real-life version might be better,” he smiles as he pulls the card out of the pocket of his blazer.
Taehyung is too stunned to speak, so he just reaches out to get the card and read it.
Just as Jeongguk’s card had been, Taehyung’s also has rainbow edges around it.
The picture itself is one from Taehyung’s Instagram, and, admittedly, he looks great.
He starts reading the qualities that his cousin decided to list and can’t help but smile at them, feeling odd to see himself through someone else’s eyes.
“Funny, loyal, hardworking, free-spirited,”
“Why the hell did they include that I suck at cooking?” Taehyung complains. “Yours were all great qualities!”
“I thought it was funny,” Jeongguk admits. “But don’t worry, I can give you some lessons, if you want,” he smiles, taking back the card when Taehyung offers. “Are they all true, then?”
“Unfortunately,” Taehyung whines. “Wanna see yours?”
“You kept it?” Jeongguk almost seems surprised, but, to be fair, considering he said he heard his discussion with the grooms earlier, he probably should be.
“I mean, it will be a nice memento from the wedding,” Taehyung tries to act cool.
“Right, yeah, of course,” Jeongguk’s smile shifts into something more akin to a smirk. “It’s cool, I don’t need to see it,” he shakes his head, though. “You can keep it.”
“Well, just so you know, the picture also did not do you any justice,” Taehyung informs him.
“I’m not surprised. I hardly take any pictures, so I’m sure hyung must have dug deep for one,” Jeongguk chuckles.
“What a shame,” Taehyung’s inside voice shifts into his outside one without permission, and Jeongguk’s cheeks seem to burn from it, too.
The music is so loud that the brief silence after that doesn’t feel as heavy, although Taehyung’s body is slowly leaning more and more into Jeongguk’s space without him noticing.
Or maybe it’s the other way around.
“Can I ask you something?” Jeongguk asks. “Why were you so opposed to the game?”
“I thought you said you weren’t offended,” Taehyung squints his eyes and makes Jeongguk giggle, and with every little laugh of his, Taehyung feels the ground beneath his feet starting to dissipate. “I just—I don’t know. I mean, I don’t mind being alone. I’ve been alone for so long that I’m used to it, you know? So it’s not like I need anyone.”
“I mean, not needing anyone doesn’t mean you can’t want something, though, does it?” Jeongguk asks. “And I’m not talking about—well, me, I guess,” he chuckles. “But in general.”
“Yeah, I know that. But I guess most of the time I wonder what’s even the point of trying when most relationships end, you know?”
“I get that,” he nods. “But is it not worth trying just because it might end? We’re all gonna die someday, right? Does that mean we shouldn’t live?”
“Why are you talking about dying at a wedding?” Taehyung asks, not really wanting to admit that he’s scared.
He’s scared of loving and getting his heart broken.
He’s scared of finding something he thinks might be forever just for it to vanish.
So, he’s learned to be alone. He’s perfected it, even.
“Small talk,” Jeongguk teases back, but he smiles like he knows the truth, even though they just met.
Taehyung wonders if it shows, if he can read it in his eyes.
“Here’s your whisky!” They both turn around toward the girl behind the bar as if both of them had forgotten why they were even there in the first place. “Sorry for the wait!”
“No worries. Sorry for the trouble,” Jeongguk smiles at her and takes a sip, the woody smell reaching Taehyung.
“So, I guess I can go, now,” Taehyung nods, not moving a muscle as Jeongguk puts the drink back down on the counter.
“If you want,” he nods, and God, maybe all the nice qualities in his card were true, and he is the greenest flag guy Taehyung has ever met.
“And if I don’t?” Taehyung finds himself asking, hoping that if the ground beneath his feet keeps vanishing, then at least Jeongguk can catch him.
Or maybe, fall together with him.
Jeongguk smiles and licks his lips before taking another sip of his drink.
“Tell me about what Seokjin said in his toast about you crashing your bike and breaking his front tooth,” Jeongguk says instead, and it takes Taehyung so off guard that, at first, he’s not sure if maybe the music is too loud and he misheard him. But it makes Taehyung burst out laughing in a way he hadn’t found himself doing in too long.
“Oh, that’s one hell of a story,” Taehyung points out, and maybe it’s in his head, but it’s almost like Jeongguk moves closer.
“Good thing we have all night.”
They ended up leaving the DJ area to avoid having to keep screaming in order to speak, so it is about three in the morning and Taehyung is sitting in a bench outside of the wedding reception site with a guy he only met today but who keeps making his chest feel light and his lips spread into a smile so wide that his cheeks are starting to hurt.
They’ve both seen people already leave the wedding, considering how late it is, but Taehyung wants to keep talking.
He wants to keep hearing Jeongguk’s stories with Namjoon in the States as if he’s peeking into their lives from years ago.
Jeongguk is… he is such a joy to be around, and Taehyung doesn’t want to admit it out loud (and he most definitely will not admit it to his cousin), but he might have been right.
He might have paired Taehyung with the best choice for him.
“So, if you don’t live in the city, where are you staying tonight? Or are you heading back?” Taehyung asks, his jacket off and his tie loosened.
“Yeah, imagine me taking the train back to Busan in this state,” Jeongguk laughs. “They’d think I’m the zombie.”
“Oh, shut up, you don’t look that bad.” Taehyung reaches out and tries to comb his hair a little bit.
“I got a hotel nearby,” Jeongguk admits. “Hyung wanted to pay for it, but I refused. I mean, the wedding itself must’ve been expensive enough,” he chuckles.
“And when are you heading back?” Taehyung asks and holds his breath for heartache.
“I mean, I only came for the wedding, so… I didn’t really have a reason to stay longer than the weekend.”
“You didn’t?” Taehyung asks, not wanting to hope. “Or you don’t?”
Jeongguk doesn’t answer, though.
He just holds Taehyung’s gaze.
“I guess that’s up to you, isn’t it?” And, for the first time that night, Jeongguk looks shy, almost.
And maybe just as scared of heartache as Taehyung himself.
“I mean, Seoul is such a beautiful city, it would be a shame for you to miss your chance to see it properly.”
Taehyung licks his lips without noticing, and Jeongguk’s shy smile grows a little.
“So I’ve heard,” Jeongguk plays along, even though he’s told Taehyung before that it’s not the first time he’s visited. “If only someone could show me around and gave me a place to stay…”
“I can think of someone.” Taehyung’s hand somehow has made its way to Jeongguk’s, and the second their fingers brush, both look up to meet each other’s gazes.
“You sure?” Jeongguk whispers, which would’ve been impossible to hear if it weren’t for the fact that Taehyung is so close to him right now.
“Truthfully? No,” he admits with a chuckle. “But you were right, just because I don’t need someone doesn’t mean I can’t want something. And, right now, I definitely want to kiss you.”
“Well, kiss me, then,” Jeongguk dares him, and Taehyung bites.
And they both sigh into the kiss as if they’d been gasping for air for the past three hours.
Taehyung can still taste the whisky on Jeongguk’s tongue when they brush, and, for the first time in his life, he doesn’t mind it.
Kissing Jeongguk might be even more intoxicating than alcohol.
“Should’ve added great kisser to your list,” Jeongguk says on his lips, and Taehyung can’t help but laugh.
“I bet you would’ve looked for me then, huh?”
“I still found you, didn’t I?” And this time, it’s Jeongguyk who leans in to kiss him again.
And when the ground beneath their feet vanishes, they fall.
Together.