Before long, the highlight of the wedding—the entrance of the bride—drew near.
“Now, the entrance of the most beautiful bride in the world today!”
Along with Executive Director Park’s announcement, the doors opened and classical music began to flow. Compared to Kim Woohyun’s entrance, it was quite conventional.
Then again, no one could have imagined he would walk in while providing his own narration.
Back when he was preparing to release his song, he had begged and pleaded, asking to please remove the narration at all costs.
That only went to show that to Kim Woohyun, this wedding was a truly special day, and he wanted to make it an unforgettable one for her.
For that woman who was now walking down the aisle in a pure white dress.
“Look at him.”
Hyunseung shifted his gaze from the bride to Kim Woohyun.
The groom was practically bouncing on his heels, looking ready to sprint down the aisle and meet her halfway.
Look at the lovesick fool.
How on earth had he managed to follow Hyunseung to the States when he was so crazy about this woman? Well, though he did end up setting up a home in America in the end, it was easy to picture the heartache Kim Woohyun must have endured during their long-distance relationship.
“Now, will the bride and groom please face the guests. A bow to all the guests who have gathered to grace this wedding with their presence!”
Still, seeing him smile so brightly beside the woman he loved brought a wave of relief.
What started out as a joke by calling him ‘Mom’ had taken root, and Hyunseung had worried that Woohyun might waste his prime years just taking care of him.
It truly was a relief.
Surrounded by the congratulations of many, the two took their vows to look only at each other for the rest of their lives.
And then it was time for the congratulatory songs. Actually, was it even right to simply call these ‘congratulatory songs’?
Starting with Seo Jini’s “Walk with Me,” performances followed from Jung Arin, Kang Hajun, and The Moon.
Hyunseung thought that would be the end of it, but…
Suddenly, Sarah Stewart, who had been sitting at a table in the back, stood up and headed toward the stage. No way, even MisutSarah…?
“Hello. I am Sarah Stewart. Con-gra-tu-la-tions to Director Kim Woohyun on his marriage. I will sing a song.”
When on earth did she prepare that Korean?
Soon, Sarah adjusted her grip on the microphone and gave a nod to the sound technician. Of all people, Miss Sarah was singing a congratulatory song at a wedding.
It didn’t really seem like her style, but…
—♬♬♬
Ah, if it’s this song, it might actually fit quite well.
Right.
Before he had dropped off the grid, Sarah had asked him to listen to this track. A song he ultimately had to leave behind without hearing.
When she didn’t release any new music for quite some time after that, he had thought she lost her temper again and scrapped it.
And then, when it was released about half a year later, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Seeing that the title of the released track was “Just wanna be by your side,” how could he not smile?
Because those words were the very words Sarah Stewart had whined to him.
And the lyrics she had sung as a featured artist.
He didn’t know how it sounded to others, but to the two of them, it was a sentence that carried its own meaning.
He hadn’t been able to listen to it right upon its release.
Afterward, however, he listened to it over and over again.
Her voice suits this kind of vibe better than I thought.
He remembered thinking that.
—When I first saw you, it was really bad.
And hearing it live like this…
—A rude tone, a cold look, and an unkind attitude.
It suited her even better than he had expected.
“Whoa…!”
He wasn’t the only one who felt it; gasps of admiration erupted from all around the hall.
—I didn’t like anything.
Just then, for some reason, he felt as if his eyes met Sarah Stewart’s.
—Then, I saw your back.
In this massive hall, the blinding stage lights should have made it nearly impossible to see the audience.
—I wanted to lean on his back.
Yet, as if she had pinpointed where he was sitting in a single glance, she looked right at him.
—As a result, I wanted to hug you from the back.
Their gazes locked in midair.
—He looked lonely… very lonely.
It might have been his imagination, but at that moment, Sarah’s voice trembled ever so slightly. No, it wasn’t just his imagination.
—I don’t want anything.
The breath carrying her voice was unmistakably quivering.
Could even the mighty Sarah Stewart feel nervous on stage? Even with so many guests present, Sarah Stewart performed at concerts far more often than on broadcasts, so a crowd of this size should have been nothing to her.
Was she feeling sick?
Even if she had flown comfortably on a private jet, a long-haul flight was still exhausting.
She had come straight here without even having time to adjust to the jet lag, so it was only natural that she wouldn’t be in peak condition.
“Hmm.”
Hyunseung shifted in his seat to face the stage directly, ready to rush forward the moment anything went wrong.
—Just wanna be by your side
At the same time, with the final line of the song, Sarah flashed a smile as radiant as the spotlights pouring down over her head.
Cough!
Hyunseung suddenly choked, a fit of coughing bursting from him. As the coughing grew heavier, his face even flushed red.
Noticing this, the people sitting nearby worriedly handed him a glass of water. Only after downing the water in a single gulp did Hyunseung manage to calm down.
Ah.
Not his throat or the coughing, but his heart, which was pounding out of rhythm.
“Are you feeling alright now?”
Director Choi, sitting beside him, patted his back and asked.
“Yeah. By the way, isn’t this less of a congratulatory performance and more like a music festival?”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Hyunseung changed the subject. Still, since it wasn’t completely off-topic, it must have sounded fairly natural.
Indeed.
Seo Jini was no longer the Seo Jini of the past. The Seo Jini who, as a former idol group member, was brushed off with remarks like “Who even remembers her?” was gone.
She had successfully established herself as a ballad singer rather than a dance pop artist, actively promoting between Korea and Japan.
Kang Hajun’s popularity was skyrocketing through the roof, having gained a massive following not only in Japan, China, and Taiwan, but recently across the entire United States as well.
Jung Arin had also been vigorously pursuing broadcasting thanks to her signature energy, expanding her presence beyond singing into acting.
And Sarah Stewart went without saying.
A wedding performance lineup this star-studded?
This was…
Wouldn’t ‘concert’ be a far more fitting description than ‘wedding songs’?
“Isn’t this all thanks to you, though? Thank you.”
Director Choi nodded in agreement with Hyunseung’s words and replied.
Thanks to me?
Was that really true? Of course, they were ‘instruments’ he had discovered.
In reality, all he did was discover them and hand them songs.
The one who laid the groundwork and gave wings to those instruments was…
Kim Woohyun.
“It’s not thanks to me. It’s because Director Kim has built up so much good karma over the years.”
Ah, excluding Sarah Stewart, of course.
Just in time.
As the wedding drew toward its end, an announcement came through for the photo session.
“We will first invite close friends of the bride and groom to the stage.”
At those words, just as Hyunseung was hesitating, unsure whether he should stand up or not—
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going up?”
Director Choi prodded him. Turning his head, Hyunseung saw people gesturing for him to come over.
It was the so-called Hyunseung Division and the VINCIS family.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Hyunseung walked up to Sarah, who was sitting quietly in the midst of them, and held out his hand.
“Where are we going?”
Sarah wouldn’t have understood the Korean announcement. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have stepped forward so readily.
“They told the close friends to come up for a photo.”
Of course, if Hyunseung called her, she would follow without hesitation.
And so.
On the main stage of the wedding hall, with the bride and groom at the center, the VINCIS family and the Hyunseung Division lined up neatly.
Hyunseung stood right behind Kim Woohyun, lightly massaging his shoulders.
“Your head is already small enough, why are you standing behind me?”
Kim Woohyun grumbled in a teasing tone.
“Even if I stood in front, the photo would turn out the same.”
“Honestly, you’re always so right that I can’t even argue back.”
Thanks to the banter traded between the two, a burst of laughter bloomed across everyone’s faces.
Click!
Not wanting to miss the moment, the photographer pressed the shutter immediately. Soon, the photographer checked the result and smiled in satisfaction.
“Next, we’ll take the bouquet toss! Could the person catching the bouquet please step forward!”
At the photographer’s next words, Kim Woohyun gave a nod toward Michelle.
Ah, right.
He had mentioned that Michelle was going to catch the bouquet.
Hmm…
Taking her place behind the bride, Michelle somehow gave off an aura completely different from usual.
Was it because she was wearing a neat, sky-blue shirt dress?
“One, two, three!”
Catching the bouquet thrown by the bride, Michelle looked like a completely different person. It wasn’t just because of the clothes.
It was because of her face, full of fluttery excitement, and her softly blushing cheeks.
Is she really getting married soon?
It was right at that moment.
“I knew it. Our Michelle really is prettier than the flowers.”
Beside Michelle, who was standing there cradling the bouquet in her arms…
“J-Jayble?”
Jayble walked over and gently wrapped his arm around Michelle’s shoulders.
The person Michelle was marrying was Jayble?
Wait, just…
Since when had the two of them become so close?
Meanwhile, unlike Hyunseung, who had gone pale with shock, Sarah’s face looked completely at ease, as if she had finally found peace of mind.
From the beginning, she had never considered Michelle a rival.
Michelle wasn’t like Rise, flirting with Hyunseung; she was someone who strictly talked business.
However, as soon as Hyunseung made his comeback, hadn’t Michelle quit her position as secretary to Joshua, the CEO of Unice Music Group, just to become Hyunseung’s secretary again?
On top of that, hearing out of the blue that she was going to catch the bouquet had admittedly caused a tiny flicker of anxiety.
Just in case she harbored other feelings for him.
Or without her knowing, the two of them had developed that kind of relationship.
“Director Kim Woohyun, congratulations on your marriage from the bottom of my heart. You’ll come to our wedding too, right?”
Jayble offered his congratulations to Kim Woohyun alongside Michelle.
“Of course. Let me know as soon as the date is set.”
And unlike Hyunseung, who was completely in the dark, Woohyun seemed to have already known about the two of them, laughing heartily and bantering back.
It seemed during the past year, quite a lot of changes had taken place that Hyunseung knew nothing about.
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