"Why is he here?" She asked in panic and she moved quickly to go out of the dressing room to take a peek at the viewing room outside. He followed her as she moved, wanting to stop her from doing what she was doing.
The attendants were surprised to see her dash from door to door in her wedding dress and her bare feet, so they naturally stared at her. They only averted their eyes when they saw her secretary, Oh Jaehyun, signaling for them to turn away.
Just outside the door, Ji-Eun saw Song Hyun-Shik's side profile as he was talking animatedly to his mother about something. He was sitting unbridled on the couch as if he had been invited to this appointment all along.
"Jaehyun," she said in a low voice. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the actual wedding?"
"No, silly," Jaehyun gently took her hand and gave a light tug. Her attention back to him, he led her back to the dressing room, so that the attendants could relax their stances and return to their work. "That was before when tradition only allowed arranged couples to meet each other on the actual wedding day. It was just a preventive measure to keep the groom from running away just in case the bride looks..."
"Ugly as hell?"
"Well... You can't deny that appearances play a really big part, so..." he ushered her back into the dressing room. "But I don't think you have to worry about that."
He squeezed her hand reassuringly, gave her a genuine smile, and backed away. He signaled once again to the attendants and they all returned to resume their work on her.
As they blocked his vision of her, his brows furrowed for a moment.
He recalled the last twenty minutes in the viewing room.
He had just finished ordering a plate of snacks and an array of drinks for Song Su-Won when one of the hotel staff went up to him to tell him that the Madam's son had just arrived at the hotel. Confused as to why the Song heir was there when even his Lady Boss confirmed that he wouldn't be in attendance, he prepared to excuse himself to receive him but stopped when he heard Song Su-Won call to him.
The Madam turned to Jaehyun, "Secretary Oh, I messaged my son earlier if he can come to Ji-Eun's fitting today. Do you think she is okay with that?"
Oh Jaehyun just kept a polite smile all the time, even though he knew that Madam Song was trying to cause ripples in his otherwise very calm façade. "I cannot speak for her reaction, Madam. But I will make sure to let her know that her husband is here."
At his firm words, Song Su-Won's challenging demeanor softened a bit.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket just then.
'I need you here.'
He immediately excused himself from the sort of oppressive atmosphere and went over to the dressing room to look for Ji-Eun.
He snapped out of his daze when he heard Anita's voice saying, "Oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"
As the attendants moved away, he finally saw Chung Ji-Eun's complete look. And just when he thought that he had already seen her most beautiful state, her image right now completely floored him and his words just failed him.
At that moment, she was almost... bewitching.
"Jaehyun?" Ji-Eun called out to him and he couldn't do anything but stare at her like an idiot.
"As expected of this dress! It really looks perfect on you," Anita said, her eyes misting over. "And yes, good choice not wearing a veil. That would have completely ruined your whole look. That garden-design comb was just what you needed!"
To say that the clothes and the headpiece did everything to change Chung Ji-Eun's appearance was a bit of a stretch. In fact, it was as if she was the accessory that the pieces needed to be able to stand out.
Anita and the other attendants fussed for a few more minutes before announcing that they were done with Ji-Eun's first look and that they were then going out to prepare the viewing room.
In just a while, the two of them were alone inside the dressing room again.
"Jaehyun," Chung Ji-Eun stepped closer to his otherwise frozen form. "Are you alright?"
He snapped out of his daze when he heard her voice.
"Yes," he coughed. "Yes, I think so."
"Do I look alright?" She checked herself in the mirror again.
Jaehyun could only nod at her reflection.
"So..." she continued. "He's not going to run away, is he?"
Who? Jaehyun's thought process was very slow at the moment, so he just raised an eyebrow at her.
"Song Hyun-Shik?"
Ji-Eun nodded at him.
Finally regaining a semblance of reality, he smiled genuinely at her as she turned around to face him.
"This is way worse than giving a speech or spearheading a review with the company and with other investors," Ji-Eun let out a nervous laugh, wringing her hands. "I'll take three or four speeches any day rather than parade myself in front of my..."
Her voice faded at that.
"You need to have a bit more confidence in your overall appearance," Jaehyun said. "I mean, wearing something like this, dress and all, you could actually pass as an acceptable bride."
The light banter made her laugh and she finally relaxed.
"You're just saying that because you've seen me in all my forms," Ji-Eun stepped up to her tall secretary and made a face. "And maybe this is the form that really looks the nicest so far."
"Well, you're absolutely right," he said, wanting to step away, but couldn't. "Given that you'll probably only wear something like this once in your life."
She openly laughed then, her anxiety nearly gone.
"Ji-Eun," as she was very near him and was facing his direction, he could easily see the top of her head. "Are you okay now? You're convinced that you look ready to be somebody's bride?"
"I'm... bordering on okay," she said thoughtfully. "But as far as being convinced... I think I'm going to need a bit more encouragement on that."
Jaehyun shook his head. 'You're really going to make me do it, huh?'
"I can think of one thing that can maybe convince you," he sighed, placing a light hand on her shoulder.
"Well, if you can help me, then by all means-" she looked up at him, her heels not really working their magic against the man's height.
Her words stopped abruptly when she saw Oh Jaehyun lean down to plant a swift kiss on her forehead. It was just a fraction of a second, really, like a gentle breeze. But the sudden gesture surprised her that she could only stare at his chest for a full minute.
She felt a little dizzy, but she managed to recover just in time to hear Anita calling for her.
"Love!" They heard her voice floating towards them. "We're ready for you now!"
"You'll be just fine, Ji-Eun," he said earnestly, removing his hand from her shoulder and stepping away. "That guy waiting for you outside... Given a chance, I'd tell him he's really lucky to be marrying you. So..." Jaehyun couldn't finish his sentence, so he opted to just leave her with that.
'Tell him? My idiot mouth... Really?' He mentally cursed. 'Not if I can help it.' He thought to himself as he proceeded to walk towards the door of the dressing room.
"Jaehyun!" Ji-Eun called out, but he just continued walking away. "Now, you just got me more confused than ever!"
"You'll be just fine," he repeated his words and did not stop walking until he reached the viewing room where the two members of the Song Family anticipated their priced bride's appearance.