AAE -- For Better For Worse

Part 2 -- Chapter 29

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

"Please stand," the deacon at the podium directs the church congregation.

 

From the altar, Father Kim begins the final blessing, "The Lord be with you."

 

The people dutifully responds, "And with your spirit."

 

Making the Sign of the Cross, Father Kim intones, "May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

 

"Amen," Hyung-Chul and Sun-Mi say in unison with the other worshippers.

 

"Go in peace to love and serve the Lord," Father Kim concludes the liturgy, dismissing them.

 

"Thanks be to God," they all recite in unison.

 

Stepping off the sanctuary dais, Father Kim proceeds down the aisle to the church narthex to greet the parishioners as they depart.

 

 

While the congregation files out after the priest, Hyung-Chul and Sun-Mi sit down to wait.

 

Hyung-Chul looks up at the statue of Jesus crucified on the cross that hangs above the altar, silently thanking God that this day has finally come. After years of waiting patiently -- and sometime not so patiently -- soon Sun-Mi would be officially declared as his 'lawfully wedded' wife.

 

As the last congregants exit, he hears a muffled sniffle beside him. Turning to look at Sun-Mi, he is surprised to see tears rolling in her eyes.

 

"What is it?" he asks quietly, not wanting to be overheard in the silence of the cavernous sanctuary.

 

"I feel so bad," Sun-Mi whimpers back. "I'm having regrets ... about the wedding."

 

 

Her confession both surprises and worries Hyung-Chul. At the last minute, with the goal almost within grasp, was the love of his life getting cold feet about marrying him?

 

"Is it me? Did I say something to upset you?" he questions her with bated breath.

 

Sun-Mi turns her damp eyes toward him, wide with alarm. "Of course not, Senior!" she avers. "It's just that..."

 

Then her chin trembles, the dam breaks, and more tears well up, spilling over in two streams that wet her cheeks. "I'm just missing my Daddy so much right now. Why am I such an unfilial daughter, to not even invite him to my wedding?"

 

 

Hyung-Chul takes her hand and squeezes it comfortingly as he reminds her, "This is what you wanted, so your father wouldn't be disappointed in how things happened. So don't be a crybaby and ruin your makeup."

 

Sun-Mi sniffs her nose and nods. "You're right. It's for the best that Daddy doesn't know, just yet."

 

"Everything will turn out all right," Hyung-Chul encourages her, pulling out his handkerchief. "Now dry your face, and let's go to meet with Father Kim."

 

Taking the handkerchief from his hand, Sun-Mi pats her cheeks lightly, then puts the damp cloth into her handbag.

 

"All done!" she announces with a firm voice. "Let's go."

 

 

They stand up and walk down the aisle to the narthex doors, her hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. Outside, the day is sunny with puffy white clouds dappling a cerulean sky. Their stroll to the adjacent rectory is short, and by the time they arrive Sun-Mi's spirits have lifted in anticipation of the impending ceremony.

 

But before they enter, Hyung-Chul checks his watch. "We still have ten minutes," he states. "Before we go in, I want to take a picture of you with my eyes. You look so lovely today."

 

 

Indeed, Sun-Mi in her blush pink, short sleeved Dior sheath dress and pearl LK Bennett slingback courts, had attracted so many attentive eyes as they walked up the aisle together, that her cheeks almost matched the color of her dress when they sat down.

 

"Again?" Sun-Mi sighs impatiently, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "It must the tenth time this morning!"

 

"It's the twelfth," Hyung-Chul corrects her with a rakish grin. "I can't see enough of my gorgeous bride on her wedding day. Show me your beautiful smile, once more."

 

"Tsk--tsk, such sweet words," she clucks, posing as she basks in his appreciation, curving her lips into a wide, beaming smile. "Like this?"

 

"Perfect! ... Another?"

 

 

Instead Sun-Mi pouts, hoping to thwart his efforts.

 

"How interesting," Hyung-Chul remarks, scrutinizing her face closely before he cracks, "Another picture for my memory bank!"

 

"You didn't! ... I must've looked terrible," she complains. "Are you going to do this for the entire ten minutes?"

 

"Anything else would be a waste," he replies, then raises a puckish eyebrow. "Or would you prefer instead to use the time..." he puckers his lips playfully, smacking them loudly.

 

Sun-Mi looks around, eyes wide with apprehension. "Senior, you can't be serious!" she protests. "People may be watching!"

 

Hyung-Chul laughs at her dismay. "Then, smile, please..."

 

 

The ten minutes quickly pass, and Hyung-Chul rings the rectory doorbell.

 

Shortly, the door is opened by a plump, middle-aged woman. "Come in," she smiles in welcome, explaining, "I'm Father Kim's housekeeper. He's in the church sacristy, arranging his vestments for the wedding. Please follow me."

 

She leads them down a central corridor to a side room. "You can change in here, Miss Jin," she tells Sun-Mi.

 

"Change into what?" Sun-Mi asks Hyung-Chul as he opens the door and they step inside.

 

 

Then she gasps, stunned on seeing the elegant, pure white wedding gown with a fitted bodice and full ballroom skirt, covered in sprays of fine beading and sparkling crystals, displayed on a dress form in the center of the room. On a nearby chair, an open shoebox displays a pair of silver Jimmy Choo glitter-embellished bridal shoes.

 

Dumbfounded, she stammers, "Senior?! B--but how...?"

 

"I spoke to Madame Kim, and she recalled that you had admired this dress in her boutique. So I asked her to send it air express, just in case you decided to change your mind," he explains. "She did some alterations for adjusting it to a perfect fit." He pauses, then adds, "You don't have to wear it, but I hope you will, if only for me."

 

Sun-Mi's brow furrows. "Even if I wanted to, how could I put it on and fit it by myself?"

 

"If you need my help..." Hyung-Chul gives her a roguish wink, leaving the rest unsaid.

 

"No way!" she retorts adamantly, pummeling him on the chest with her tiny fist. "Besides that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her gown, I'm not taking my clothes off in front of you, not until AFTER the wedding!"

 

 

"I suppose I'll have to help then," a familiar voice speaks up from behind them.

 

When Sun-Mi turns around and sees Jo Cho-Jeh standing in the open doorway, she blurts out, nonplussed, "Cho-Jeh? You're here?" Instantly her face flushes crimson, anxious of what her friend might have overheard.

 

"Who do you think carried this dress all the way from Seoul?" Cho-Jeh grumbles. "How dare you get married without inviting your best friend to stand with you!"

 

 

Before Sun-Mi can respond, Choi Jin-Soo bursts in, carrying a bouquet of dark pink roses. "These are for Sun-Mi," he says breathlessly, handing the bouquet to Cho-Jeh, then addressing Hyung-Chul, "Director Yoon, the florist is asking how to arrange the flowers in the church. She wants to see you immediately!"

 

"Tell her I'll be out in a minute," Hyung-Chul instructs, then informs Sun-Mi. "I know you didn't want to be too extravagant. It's only a few roses, so I thought you wouldn't mind."

 

 

Sun-Mi's eyes smolder back at him, her clenched jaw and crossed arms signaling an impending spat. "Cho-Jeh? Jin-Soo? Can I have a minute with Director Yoon ... alone?" she requests testily, her voice taut as a violin string.

 

The couple exchange a concerned glance, then scuttle out together without a word, closing the door behind them.

 

 

"What is this?" Sun-Mi charges, firing a volley of irate words at Hyung-Chul. "Didn't you listen to a word I said? This dress! Flowers! Inviting people! Who gave you the right to do this behind my back?! Did you think I'd be amused, to be the last to know?!"

 

"I just thought..."

 

"The problem is, you didn't think! What other 'surprises' do you have for me? I can't believe it! So arrogant! If this is how our marriage is going to be, I can do without it!"

 

 

Cut down by her words, fearing that Sun-Mi may call the wedding off, Hyung-Chul apologizes meekly, "I only wanted you to have the best wedding day possible. That's all. I didn't intend to shut you out, just surprise you."

 

Her point made, Sun-Mi steps up to Hyung-Chul and slips her arms around his neck. "Senior, thank you for doing all this for me."

 

Her whipsaw reverse catches him off-guard, "Huh? But you were so..."

 

"Vacillating?" she completes his sentence. "I'm sorry. I was just so overwhelmed, indignant, and touched, all at the same time, that I didn't know what I was saying."

 

"This entire time has really been a test for me, coming to realize that a wedding is just one day of a lifetime of marriage, and not that important," she explains. "It was hard to let go of my dreams, and accept that even if I had nothing else on my wedding day, except you and God's blessing, it was enough."

 

"Then you're not upset?" Hyung-Chul asks, trying to sort out her mercurial moods in his mind.

 

She smiles at him. "How could I be? Because of your thoughtfulness, now I also have a beautiful gown, flowers, and my best friends to make this even a more special day than I'd hoped for!"