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Even the flowers have a hard time masking the mix of Dior Savage and Aventus Creed in the air-conditioned art deco church fifteen minutes away from Mingyu’s childhood home. Guests are in their sharpest suits and intricate hanboks on Mingyu’s side of the family, whereas Renjun’s have the women in his family in the most elegant qipaos ever to grace the sacred halls. The pews’ occupants buzz in excitement at this holy matrimony, ever so engineered with such precision at the behest of its two celebrants.
“So uh, where do we sit?” Minghao jokes at the sight of the interculture happening in front of him. Donning an iridescent mandarin collar, he accompanies Junhui at a pew on the Kim side, which is also peppered with friends made when Mingyu and Renjun were still going out.
“Glad to have you here, guys.” Mark sighs in relief. He receives a hearty pat on the back from Junhui and Minghao, and one of them takes a seat beside him, but Mark waves a hand and sheepishly mentions that Hansol made a run to the bathroom and has the spot beside him.
“We told you, invite him to those movie gatherings you do. He loves them!” Junhui insists, but Mark buries his face on both hands and explains that “friendship is a natural occurring thing, and not forced between groups,” into which the two older men shrug off and continue off with their insistence that these two third-culture boys should meet up more often due to their same course and university. Just total serendipity!
“Yuta should do this as his day job.” Jihoon murmurs his observation to Dongyoung after entering the church with Soonyoung. Yuta’s keeping his cool despite the controlled chaos that such events bring; thankfully, Mingyu enlisted Jeonghan to help him out with the planning and catering (Jeonghan did most of the eating part at the taste testing).
“He mentioned to me that this relaxes him. Always on his computer even during our company outing with those crazy Excel sheets.” Dongyoung replies with a chuckle. “I guess he just loves Injunnie a lot.”
“Speaking of love,” Jihoon’s eyes dart at certain individuals that he personally would not invite if this was his wedding. “I spy with my little eyes a couple of um, should they be here?”
Dongyoung follows his line of perception, and he feels a lump in his throat at the uneasiness. “Oh, God.”
Soonyoung, not following, shushes him. “Doughie, not in the house of the Lord!”
Jihoon clicks his tongue grimly. “I always thought Mingyu’s fatal flaw’s being too forgiving. I guess that’s why Cheol and Johnny are terrorizing the mobile bar already.”
The realization hits Dongyoung instantly as these two are notoriously early birds (at anywhere where alcohol flows). “Oh, God no. It makes sense now.”
Soonyoung curses him with his eyes. “Doughie!”
“Bro, you’re not even Catholic.” Jihoon snickers, and he pulls the distracted-with-the-stained-glass, non-Catholic Soonyoung to their appointed seats with Dongyoung.
Yuta utters his commands in his mouthpiece, and at two-thirty sharp, the choir fills the vast space with their voices. It is enthralling, one that has Jeonghan glancing over at Yuta in a newfound light. It is a mix of relief, of gratitude… and maybe, something else?
Chan, Jisung, Sicheng, and Seokmin take their space with Donghyuck on the side of the altar. In a distinguishable tuxedo complete with a red-purple cummerband that shares the shade of his wavy hair, he holds a striking presence as the best man of his brother Mingyu on paper– but mentally and simultaneously, for Renjun as well.
The thud of the doors signals another entrance. Gracing at the front is Jaemin with a smile so blinding it is not completely dismissable that some would think he was the one getting married. He does his role as a flower boy with his basket of petals with a certain finesse, especially considering that no children were allowed in the wedding. Jaehyun brings the rings in a box of satin after Jaemin, all confident with those relaxed dimples ever present on his strikingly angular face, and something within Seokmin stirs inside– it is warm, inviting, and peaceful.
Mingyu finally strides, arm-in-arm with the two most important women in his life. He has a rather difficult task (or tasks) to accomplish at the moment; one: wipe his mother’s tears, two: wipe his sister’s tears, and three, make sure that none of them will spoil Yuta’s and Jeonghan’s labor-intensive stage production. With his towering height, he dwells on all of these to push off his own nervousness. In the eyes of everyone present, this dutiful son is finally getting married at last.
At the meeting place, Donghyuck himself fights off his own inhibitions. The silk between his gloved fingers is starting to produce some unwanted heat, but then he spots him at the second row on his family’s side. His large eyes are encouraging below those knitted, worried brows, and he mouths “breathe” several times with cheeks that puff in and out. Donghyuck’s fidgeting stops, and Jeno’s eyes turn into crescents, finally mouthing “I’m with you” and never leaving his gaze off of Donghyuck.
Even after he walks in.
Donghyuck’s chest tightens while Mingyu’s heart blooms. Renjun’s stomach turns into knots at the sight of a Jeno who is only focused on Donghyuck. Jeno’s jaw tightens when Renjun reaches the foot of the altar.
Everything becomes a blur to the almost-newlyweds throughout the ceremony after rehearsing it, and then comes the question.
The microphone’s register echoes it loud and clear, and Mingyu’s heart races as his head and heart repeats the two words that he has rehearsed many nights already.
His stomach does a sickening flip when a dignified, tenor voice intervenes, and his head whiplashes to his left and it makes him a little lightheaded.
“I do.” Its registry is stern and intensely confident, one that he knows for almost his whole life as it echoes in the halls of his home. Donhyuck sends heated ripples of anger in the form of his glare towards him, and Mingyu catches it for a split second, the softening of it all when his younger brother glances at his painstakingly ethereal groom-to-be.
A loud “yeah!” bounces in the hollowness of the church, and the whole crowd turn their heads at a giddy Soonyoung in his trademark horanghae sign. In his excitement, he misunderstood that “forever hold your peace” is not his cue for the photo op at the wedding.
“Goodness me!” Dongyoung pulls (yanks) Soonyoung down on his seat at the speed of light, while Jihoon admonishes him in a mixture of shame and anger.
“You idiot! Gyu’s the one who’s supposed to say I do, not Hyuckie!”
Dongyoung shakes Soonyoung on his shoulders, who is already turning as red as a tomato. “Guess who’s more embarrassing inside the house of the Lord now!”
Hansol and Mark unconsciously contest each other at their seats with a concerted “YOOOO!” and well… a head gets whacked and a set of ribs is elbowed by Junhui and Minghao.
In the flurry of commotion and laughter, Seungkwan also parrots Donghyuck’s declaration, much to the chagrin of Renjun, and to the disappointment of Mingyu. Donghyuck tips backwards at the exposure of his own demons in this sacred institution, but before he completely falls to the ground, there is a strong, familiar grip where his cummerband sits, and his gloved hand unconsciously locks in on long fingers.
“I-I’m sorry…” Donghyuck’s voice cracks at his uncertainty, but he feels the assuring tapping of Jeno’s fingers on his and in unexplainably, he finds his courage again and course of action. “Carry on. Wouldn’t want to miss out on the chocolate fountain later.”
He tugs Jeno out, and Donghyuck calls the shots when they reach where his family and future in-law walked from earlier. “Close the doors, Yuta. Please.”
“Hey, there’s soup in the kitchen. Chenle’s on it.” Jeonghan mentions in passing to Jeno. He nods as thanks as his own suit flaps in the wind, not minding it as he tries to keep Donghyuck’s static.
They burst into the reception’s kitchen, and Chenle, as expected, ladles a bowl of a spicy, tangy broth. Jeno easily picks Donghyuck up to sit on one of the empty steel tables, and he fiddles a glass of Pinot Noir in between taking tepid sips.
“I’ve hurt you more than I hurt anyone at the church.” Donghyuck bites his inner cheek at the sickening revelation that Jeno never once pushed himself onto him. It is a certain act of bravery to go with their reverse stride of defiance earlier.
Jeno brushes the same fingers that held Donghyuck earlier, feeling the plumpness of the best man’s cheek relaxing at his touch. “Happens to anyone.”
Donghyuck stifles a giggle, “A very likely situation to happen at weddings, statistically speaking.” He rests his head on Jeno’s chest, feeling the defined collarbone and taut muscle underneath Oxford cotton. They linger like this for a while, with the noise of clanking pans surrounding them and the intoxicating baby powder shampoo scent that Jeno breathes in from Donghyuck’s endearing strawberry locks.
“Think of it this way,” Jeno’s voice reverberates into Donghyuck’s head. “Since your brother and former ex, now in-law by the way, goes to our wedding, they can’t object since they’re married already, unless they’ve divorced by the time we get married, though.”
Donghyuck raises his head so fast that Jeno’s eyes bulge at his speed. “No way. Those two have their kids’ names planned already.”
“And I’ll just simply ignore Renjun when he does object,” Jeno says a matter-of-factly, and while their bodies are comfortably pressed on each other’s, he looms his face at Donghyuck so closely with a mischievous, taunting look that also swirls in his voice. “Will you?”
“I wasn’t even listening to you after you said we’ll get married.” Donhyuck blinks slowly at Jeno like in a trance, so similar to the cats that linger in his apartment and has come to know how to climb on Donghyuck’s shoulders after the familiarity of Renjun is no longer existent in those four walls.
The two do not hear the doors were again pushed out, welcoming three more men in suits. As they come closer, the smell of brandy and vodka has Jeno’s nose twitching.
“Poor guy. Here, sober up, Kwannie.” Johnny nudges a grief-stricken Seungkwan Donghyuck’s bowl of kimchi jjigae as Seungcheol puts him down just across the couple.
“You three caused quite a scene there, huh?” Seungcheol with his crimson cheeks notes the obvious, and they nod wearily because well, he has an aura of a threatening dog.
“I heard marriage, so it’s going very well for these two RJ exes,” Johnny wiggles his brown-dyed eyebrows. “Kwannie, there’s gonna be a lot of singles on the dancefloor in twenty minutes, and if you don’t get your uh, not my words but as your friends say, ample ass, out there, then Cheol’s gonna have to drag you, or have Papa T do it, and you know not to upset Taeyong.”
Seungkwan shudders, because Taeyong gets more wild when it comes to concoctions, maybe a little bit more insane than Seungcheol’s and Johnny’s.
“Right… I’ll go ahead and um, murder the dancefloor?” Seungkwan says uneasily, his mind swirling in all directions like the goblet’s contents that Seungcheol thrusted onto him after his own exit at the church. Johnny helps him up in search of something to munch on in Chenle’s culinary cavern. Seungcheol remains across the couple, clearly not as drunk as one expects from someone who already knows the bartender’s name at a wedding party.
“That was brave of you two,” Seungcheol genuinely professes. “There’s a little hesitation from Gyu’s ‘I do’ earlier, though. Want to address that before they leave for some fancy lake in Italy tomorrow?”
There is a mischievous glint in Donghyuck’s eyes upon hearing that, and he focuses his attention on Jeno. “How about we race them to Lake Como?”
Jeno’s face turns sour. “Even if we pile up all our money together, we won’t last a day with these jobs.”
Donghyuck deflates at the realization, and he laughs. “Touché. Let’s head to their room before they do anything that I don’t want to think about.”
Jeno always knew that Mingyu was everyone’s favorite– with the way he offers the best part of the duck to his mother and sister at dinnertime and repurposes Donghyuck’s and their sister’s childhood things at home so they stay with them, but he only has a few instances of being with him in a sense, of course, due to a special circumstance in the form of the Huang Renjun.
The very first thing, however, that Donghyuck’s brother does to him when he enters the suite is to draw him into an embrace so homey, he now understands what came to be of Donghyuck’s character and irrevocably makes up his mind that he, Lee Jeno, will love to become part of his family, too.
Mingyu breaks the hug off and places two large hands on Jeno’s shoulders. “Is Hyuckie all right? Are you all right?”
It breaks Jeno a little, and his eyes turn glassy. “I’m- we’re so sorry. We’ll leave right at this moment.”
Mingyu motions Jeno to sit on one of the padded chairs, and he pours thick, steaming chocolate on a porcelain cup. “Before the baby bear got into wine, he used to ask me to boil a packet of this with milk. It’s one of the things we both love. One day, I saw him grab a bunch of it at the grocery, but not one of them made it in our pantry. Then, he posted this photo of you both enjoying it, and needless to say, I have been either dethroned as a hot choco expert in the Kim bloodline, or my wisdom has been passed down to you,” he quietly laughs to himself, and he looks at Jeno earnestly. “I know you’re not here for some silly story about powdered milk, so I want you to know that Renjun and I laughed about it on our way here, and if anything, made this wedding more amusing than we ever expected.”
Jeno places the empty cup beside him. “I don’t also want to go here as Hyuckie’s spokesperson, and I’m not going to lie to you but what he did… it’s a little unnerving. His unpredictability makes it hard for me sometimes, and maybe one day, he’ll be gone.”
“Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. I know he’s a little crazy, but you deal with him so well our mom wants you in the house already. Whatever you’re doing, keep at it,” Mingyu assures, and a ray of the afternoon sun strikes the gold band that encircles his left ring finger and absorbs its luminescence. Jeno basks in its symbolism, the desire of his own and an identical one on Donghyuck’s finger feels more certain than the doubt that lingered on like mist in his mind much earlier on.
“Our baby bear always goes back home, Jeno. You’reー” Mingyu continues, but then he gets cut off when the double doors reveal an arguing Donghyuck and Renjun, the former’s high pitched voice clearly overpowering the groom’s rebuttals. Jeno picks up a few statements consisting of catering choices, but Mingyu looks at them so sternly that even the silent Jeno swallows air in his own seat.
“Glad to see you have made up, but I hope it’s not in a way I imagine,” Mingyu says with his signature sarcasm. “And Hyuckie, if my husband wants to have a gluten-free menu, he can. It’s half his wedding, after all.”
“See, this is why we didn’t work out, Injunnie. He has the hearing of a hawk.” Donhyuck groans, and it is Jeno’s turn to rigidly stare at him. Donghyuck takes this cue to shut up and move to his partner’s side.
“There are a shit ton of reasons why we didn’t work out, mind you. And aren’t we here to get your brother’s vest?” Renjun states a matter-of-factly, and Jeno shoots up from his chair in a millisecond to rotate Donghyuck on his shoulders. Donhyuck’ shrieks at the swiftness of course, and soon enough, they spot a burgundy red stain quietly tucked behind Donghyuck’s cummerband.
“Injunnie, there’s an azure point collar in my closet, you know, the one that you also picked? It looks like it’s spoken for tonight.” Mingyu chuckles as he nudges Renjun in the hand and on his cuff links. Renjun, with his penchant for the textile arts, happily obliges at this statement, and he yanks Donhyuck from the armchair that Jeno sits on, but at the height of his excitement, he stops at his tracks and ponders at his action. “I’m dressing your brother up?”
Mingyu crosses his arms and sighs. “If you two men didn’t interrupt, Jeno and I would’ve been done sooner. Another thing, dear, he’s your brother too now.”
If Donghyuck whines, Renjun whimpers. In the other room, Mingyu and Jeno hear a more forceful Renjun commanding Donghyuck to button up hastily in the bathroom so that they can pick his cuff links and tie. The cup of hot chocolate finally cools down to lukewarm temperature, and Jeno lifts it in a deliberate manner, his pinky up. The drink passes his lips smoothly, and he momentarily closes his eyes in contentment, missing out the fond look that the man across him gives him.
“You drink just like Hyuckie.” Mingyu shares so earnestly that Jeno's cheeks and ears warm up. Jeno chuckles sheepishly, and when he finishes his drink and Renjun calls them up from the other room, Mingyu rests an arm over Jeno’s shoulders and whispers. “I love seeing you two nurture each other. You really are each other’s homes now.”
Jeno hitches his breath at Mingyu’s declaration, and in the adjacent room, Donghyuck makes it hard to exhale with his anticipating eyes, a hand raising an opalescent gainsboro gray necktie waiting for its construction under dexterous hands. Renjun squeezes Mingyu’s hand in delight and fondness for the two, to which Mingyu declares their exit from the room, the only moment where Jeno breaks off eye contact from Donghyuck to glance at the married couple and nod off a quick goodbye, and the tie slips off of Donghyuck’s hand, its fabric making its way around his neck and Jeno’s lips makes their through one of Donghyuck’s brows, and his nose, stopping at his cupid’s bow. Jeno does quick work on his boyfriend’s tie, smoothing the Windsor Knot in place. He pins Donhyuck’s sleeves with his chosen cuff links, small, decorative moonstones that Mingyu apparently had “just in case,” but seemingly coincidental to have Donghyuck’s birthstone in his drawer.
“Injunnie was bitching over how it doesn’t go well with my color scheme, but between the wildly elaborate ones just to fasten my sleeves, of course, I’d pick your favorite color. Aside from these funny little arm clips, I picked the tie myself. Do you like it?” Donghyuck inquires endearingly.
Jeno nods and giggles at his simple reasoning and question, and he tugs the starchy garment where Donghyuck’s silver watch peeks shyly, and his hands on full display (minutes earlier, they were unruly as Renjun insisted that Jeno will fix them for him). He is not the one who actively pursues the elaboration of fine clothing, choosing to find ones that balance economical purchasing and decent styling, as opposed to the married couple’s dandyism, but at this moment, with Donghyuck all dolled up yet again in an understated yet refined upgrade, he mentally thanks his brother and brother-in-law’s voracious appetite of looking good, because Jeno stares at Donghyuck too much that the strawberry brunette bashedly counters it with a light punch on Jeno’s chest and a taunting “hey!” that did not sound jeering at all (if anything, it sounds like a squeak).
“You’re all set. I’m a little hungry myself, so I could eat.” Jeno declares, and they make their way to the reception hall hand in hand.
“I’d rather raid the kitchen and demand Chenle to make us proper food.” Donghyuck complains, not noticing that Joshua has joined them in the elevator.
“What’s wrong with the food at the wedding?” Joshua wonders aloud, and the couple gets flustered at their tactlessness.
“The food’s great, Joshua. It’s just Hyuckie here is allergic to… uh… pasta.” Jeno sheepishly explains.
“But Gyu cooks all kinds of pasta, doesn’t he? He made amazing lobster noodles with Chenle for my housewarming party back then. Said it was a hit at home, but I’m sure he cooks something else for you, Donghyuck.”
Jeno’s hands begin to turn cold and he desperately wishes that a miracle in the elevator will save them. The doors open slowly and silently, and much to the couple’s delight, Johnny greets Joshua with a glass of brandy and pulls him to his party with Seungcheol and Seungkwan, making their way to a room where the party has already started.
“Leave it to Johnny and Seungcheol to save the day.” Donghyuck mutters to Jeno.
“How very convenient that they weren’t in the church with us when you intruded.” Jeno responds back, and Donghyuck exclaims his cringe with a whine.
Inside the reception hall, another commotion happens in the form of the wedding cake’s arrival. Donghyuck and Jeno busy themselves with finding their seats when cries of fear erupted. The two-tiered cake wobbles under Jisung’s and Chan’s handling, who clearly, are groggily intoxicated. Jeno catches Renjun’s annoyance through a piercing stare at the direction of the bar boys, with Taeyong whacking Johnny and Seungcheol into bowing profusely. There are silent cackles from the table consisting of Wonwoo, Yuta, Jeonghan, Doyoung, Jihoon, and Soonyoung, especially when Jungwoo and Sicheng rush over for the cake’s stability.
“Who in the right mind had them do it?” Jaemin exclaims in horror beside Seokmin, who shares the same open-mouthed reaction as Jaehyun, who sits beside him.
“Mingyu loves getting everyone involved, so this is technically his fault.” Junhui mutters beside Mark, his bewildered face trying so hard to cover a series of snickers, unlike Hansol across from him, who is already gasping for air. Minghao tries to shut him up, but he struggles at the ensuing spectacle himself.
Chan and Jisung make up for it just right after the cake slicing, especially after they have sobered up courtesy of Chenle and Jungwoo (yet again). Apparently Chenle prepares for times like these, keeping a stock of hangover food and medicine in his kitchen. Jungwoo has his emergency frozen yogurt in case his stomach turns against him, but the food prepared fits his preference so much that he is willing to give it away to the main attractions for tonight.
“Thanks to these two, our wedding got a little more amusing, don’t you think?” Mingyu announces, and Chan and Jisung turn beet red, but the lights dim and the music starts with a boom. Departing from the tradition of having the couple dance, Mingyu and Renjun envision a full-on party reminiscent of the most romantic place where they first met: at a club.
The crowd goes wild, of course, and even the older demographic are starting to get their groove on at the insistence of Chan, who pulled Mingyu’s mother on the dancefloor and hand-in-hand with her, does simple footwork so she and the other middle-aged ladies and gentlemen can follow. Jisung, on the other hand, finds his crowd in Taeyong, Seungkwan, and Soonyoung, gathering a bunch more of his friends.
Under the strobes of lights, Mingyu finds himself facing his brother, and when the beat drops, they simultaneously shout the lyrics, sort of like a euphoric release coupled with the exhaustion of today’s preparations and happenings. Mingyu catches slivers of Jeno’s figure just a few people away from them, dancing away with Hansol and Mark.
“If you weren’t with him, I’d go right after him.” Mingyu half-shouts beside Donghyuck’s ear, earning a jab on his arm from his younger brother.
“Where did this come from?!” Donghyuck shrieks, but he laughs afterwards. He is his brother, after all. “Does that little piece of gold on your finger mean nothing at all?”
“Just a little retaliation for what you did earlier. I am front row at your wedding, am I not?” Mingyu snickers, and before Donghyuck boils up again, he runs to his husband in a fit of giggles, which infuriates Donghyuck even more, because his older brother is generally a head taller than most people in the room.
Mingyu finds Jeno and Renjun face-to-face, laughing over something inaudible while raising their hands to the DJ’s current track. “Am I interrupting something?” Mingyu slyly questions, yet instead of answering, the two resort to chuckles and continue to dance to the beat, with Donghyuck joining moments after.
“You’re still a bad dancer.” Donghyuck howls jokingly at Renjun, and as a response, he sends him a mocking glare.
“It still got me this!” Renjun retaliates by linking his hand on Mingyu’s arm, and he eyes Jeno. “Careful Hyuckie, there’s a heck ton of singles here. I’d keep an eye on Jeno if I were you.”
“Correction, you already did, but you missed out on him.” It was Donghyuck’s turn to squeeze with both hands Jeno’s closest arm, who, at this childish banter, just keeps on beaming with laughter.
“Fuck you!”
Donghyuck raises a finger and says calmly. “Another correction. My brother is obliged to do it with you tonight.”