Lee Sung-Hoon

The shiny, purple Samsung Galaxy Z-Flip dinged with tens and thousands of notifications. Lee Sung-Hoon stirred in his sleep and groaned. He let out a sigh and turned to grab his phone. With barely opened eyes, he switched on the phone and welcomed numerous texts from his best friend.

"Shi-bal!" The man cursed in Korean before sitting upright. He had forgotten about his best friend's sister's wedding. He glanced at the wall clock. It was still six-thirty in the morning, which gave him four hours to get dressed and drive to the venue. With one swift motion, he jumped out of the bed and raced to the bathroom. An hour and a half later, he walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a sleek black suit and hair brushed upwards. Sung-Hoon looked at himself in the mirror and grinned.

"I didn't know I looked this hot. Maybe, I should wear suits often."

With one last look, he walked out of the apartment and descended the stairs. On his way, he greeted the neighbors (who were going or returning from their morning walks) and engaged in small talk. Once he got to the parking lot, his phone dinged.

"Can you drive me to the venue? My car broke down." These words stared at him. He shook his head with a chuckle. His cousin's car had been broken for over a year now. It was a mystery why his cousin never bothered to get a new one.

~

Lee Sung-Hoon was a man of science and logic. To him, everything had to work a certain way. Anything out of the ordinary put him off. His entire life was laid in front of him at the age of four. The 27-year-old South Korean worked his entire life to get where he was. Still, he believed that there was a lot more to achieve.

When the university came into view, he pulled over. Picking up his phone, he dialed his cousin's number.

"If you don't show up in five minutes, I'm leaving without you," barked Sung-Hoon.

"You do realize we'll still reach early even if I'm five minutes late, right?"

Sung-Hoon rolled his eyes. "Four minutes and fifty-six seconds."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming! I'm coming!"

"Fifty-four..."

He could hear his cousin scream before he hung up. A chuckle escaped his lips. There was no way Song Jun-Seo could race down the stairs and run all the way across the campus within four minutes. Guess, Mr. Song had to be left behind.

Jun-Seo and Sung Hoon always had a, what to call it, a tom and jerry relationship. Being the younger one out of the two, Jun-Seo had to deal with constant sarcastic comments, tease, and a lot of eye-rolls. Funnily enough, it ran in their family. Their mothers were the exact same.

In the distant, a man in a white shirt, messy brown hair, dashed across the grassfield. Upon inspecting, he realized it was none other than his cousin.

"Unless, he got hit by lightning, I don't think that's possible," mumbled he, staring at awe at his cousin racing faster than the speed of light. With a blink of an eye, the door to the passenger seat swung open and the man slid into the seat.

Jun-Seo's chest rose and fell with every breath he took. His cheeks flushed, fringes covered his big forehead, and beads of perspiration formed on his forehead, armpits, chest, and back.

"Ten seconds remaining." Sung-Hoon clicked his watch. "Not bad. But at this rate you might evaporate to nothingness, so you might wanna avoid that."

Seo's eyebrows knitted together as he fought for the air to get into his lungs.

"Wha–" he cut himself off before shaking his head.

When he calmed himself down and his breathing was at a fairly regular pace, he realized how sweaty he was from the run.

"You might wanna lean a little forward. I don't want your sweat on my seat. I didn't get seat covers yet."

Jun-Seo rolled his eyes and leaned forward while crossing his arms against his chest like a little baby.

A chuckle escaped Sung-Hoon's lips. He changed the gear shift to drive mode and sped through the empty streets.

~

"Do I really have to keep leaning forward like this?" exasperated Jun-Seo.

Sung-Hoon spared a quick glance before shrugging his shoulders.

"If you want a ride, then yes."

Jun-Seo rolled his eyes as hard as he could but gave up on the fight. It was pointless to keep arguing with the older cousin. He learned it the hard way that there was no way to get what he wanted. Especially, if he was asking from none other than Lee Sung-Hoon.

For the rest of the ride, a comfortable silence embraced them. Once he pulled over, he grabbed his phone and shot a quick text. There was still an hour and a half left till the wedding. Thus, he took the time to relax.

The best friend, in the distant, walked over to the parking lot to meet the eyes of his best friend and his cousin. The best friend's eyes widened at Jun-Seo's state.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked the best friend, Kim Ha-Jun.

Jun-Seo looked over to his cousin who was busy inspecting the passenger seat. He then turned to the best friend.

"I had a five-minute time limit. I raced all the way from third floor and dashed across the grassfield. Apparently, he would've left me behind if I didn't arrive before the time is up."

Ha-Jun sighed. "He wouldn't do that."

Jun-Seo took one last glance at the cousin and stomped right past Ha-Jun. Not before mumbling, "If only you knew him as much as you claimed."

Ha-Jun turned and yelled. "Ya! Where are you heading off to? The hotel's on the other side."

"To the sea! That's where!" A shout came back.

Sung-Hoon finally stepped out of the car and walked over to his best friend.

"Don't worry about him. He needs the bath. Desperately." He waved his hand as a way to convey the stink his sweaty brother had left.

"Did you know—" He was cut off by Ha-Jun with a finger.

"Not a fun fact about the sea, Sung-Hoon-ah."

Sung-Hoon shrugged his shoulders. "What? I was trying to make small talk."

The best friend rolled his eyes before walking towards the Hotel.

"Not the time for small talk!"

~

The duo walked inside the lobby which was decorated with roses and lilies. The chairs were decorated with white laces and the aisle had a long, white carpet with chairs on either side. Some of the guests were already seated and were having a deep conversation. While the others were at the bar, either drowning themselves in drinks or picking up bridesmaids.

"Why are the bridesmaids here? Shouldn't they be present with your sister?"

"Aera must've kicked them out," Ha-Jun commented.

Sung-Hoon laughed as he grabbed his chest. "Your sister must be going through her bridezilla phase. Don't worry friend, it's all gonna die down after today."

Ha-Jun chuckled. "Haha, I can bet that her bridezilla phase is gonna last longer than a week. At least."

"I have a hundred bucks to spare."

Ha-Jun grinned. "You're on."

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a man with a sleek black shirt, white pants, and a slicked back hairstyle walking into the lobby.

"Had fun at the beach?" Sung-Hoon asked, feigning interest.

"If I tell you, would you care to listen?"

"No."

"Then I refuse to tell you."

"Come on, you two." Ha-Jun urged. "Can't you both lay off the fighting just this once."

Sung-Hoon looked him dead in the eye. "No."

The cousin waved his hand, dismissively. "It's fine, Hyung. Sung-Hoon hyung isn't gonna stop with his comments. Not now, not ever."

"See? The kid gets it."

Ha-Jun rolled his eyes. "Fine. Do whatever you want. The wedding's gonna start anyway and I'm glad I don't have to be caught in between your banter."

With that, he walked away from the cousins. After a short while, Jun-Seo spoke.

"Seriously, you don't wanna know?"

"No."

"Why did I think you were gonna change your mind?"

~

The wedding ceremony ended without a hitch. Sung-Hoon sat through the wedding in a state of confusion and Jun-Seo couldn't stop the tears racing down his cheeks.

"That was so beautif-ful," stammered Jun-Seo. "It's so hard to stop crying at how beautiful the ceremony was."

"What was so beautiful about it? The groom stood at the altar, the bride walked down the aisle, they exchanged vows and rings and they kissed. It happens in all weddings."

"What was beautiful was how everyone came together to celebrate the love they shared. It's a moment of celebration!"

"Well, I don't believe weddings are as glorious as you like to claim. It's just a waste of cash and resources."

"Whatever. Believe what you wanna believe. But I think it was beautiful."