8.D-day

The weeks had passed like a quick breeze and it had become impossible for Nana to believe that she was a bride today. It was her wedding day and she was freaking out as it seemed nothing more than a dream. She imagined that she would eventually marry a guy that she loved, which was true but they have been dating for less than a month and they were just eighteen for heaven’s sake.

She was sailing between the ship of happiness and nervousness. Being a wife would mean a big deal, that she realized when the two families had a official meeting with the exchange of gifts and rituals. Even until then, the thought did not occur to her that she would now be living with Sunwoo’s family until they could manage themselves, which was still a few years away. Her feet turned cold at the spot and she began having second thoughts. Initially, she kept this all to herself but she couldn’t take it anymore and she spilled her guts out to her fiance. He tried reassuring her that it would all be fine and that he would always be with her at all costs.

His reassurance had very little effect, but she felt better after letting him know.It had been almost three days since she had seen him in person, though they spoke on the phone constantly . But it was difficult to hold a long conversation because of all the interruptions, either her parents wanted her to try something or his parents had needed him to go somewhere. Most of her time was engaged in bridal beauty treatments, which did little to relax her but apparently did wonders on her glow. Her mother’s words, not hers. Sharing all her events of the day on the phone with Sunwoo always earned her chuckle on the other side.

He asked her random questions about what colors she liked, what sort of bed sheets she used , whether she liked stuffed animals etc. , which she found weird until he explained that his mother was decorating the room for her and wanted their opinion. Nana’s breath caught in her throat for a while at the thought of sharing a room with him. Her silence was understood by him and he reassured her that it was her room that his mom was preparing. He would be living in his room as always. She breathe a sigh of relief because she was not at all ready for that level in their relationship as to share a room with him.

“Chill down Nana. My mom’s busy preparing your room. That were her questions, so if it felt weird to you, I felt more weird asking them. ”

“Ah! Yeah…I understand.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Nothing at all.”

“You freaked out didn’t you?”

“No. I did not…there was nothing to freak out about.”

“You will have your own room. Mine is a little away from yours. You really have a dirty mind Kim Nana.”

“Nonsense. I thought nothing of that sort. It’s you who made it sound all wrong. I’m just glad that you will be away and not annoy me.”

“Oh really. I’m more glad because I won’t be surrounded by magazine cuttings, mannequins and clothing. I will be happy to be in my own sanctuary.”

“Say’s the one who has been spending all his time studying in my studio apartment.”

“I only did that because that was the only time we had to spend together. I dare you to deny that you did not like having me there.”

“No, I did not. You are very distracting so, it’s hard to concentrate on my work.”

“I am  distracting to you? I did not know that I had that sort of effect on you.”

“Stop twisting my words, Jung Sunwoo.”

“Okay fine. But if you ever really feel like it. You can always join me in my room.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No don’t. See now you are twisting my words. I mean when I’m studying , you can be in my room like I do in your studio.”

“Hmm….whatever you say. I really need to keep the phone now. I’m tired and need to rest for tomorrow.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow at our wedding.” He said stressing on the our part.

She realized that he was getting all the more silly and flirtatious with her. That’s how their conversation had gone last night before she lay awake for hours  on her bed for finally falling asleep. She kept having frightening thoughts and even thought of running away for a moment from her own wedding, but her thoughts laid to rest as she received a message from him.

 

She felt even better at his message wishing a good morning as usual because for her it seemed that he cared enough to calm her fears down. She had woken fairly early because they had a lot to prepare before they reached the wedding hall. She had to get her hair & makeup done and change into her wedding down before she reached her wedding venue. The only thing that she liked amongst all the wedding preparations and chaos was her gown. She was in love with it, and couldn’t wait for Sunwoo to see her in it. She wondered in anticipation of what Sunwoo’s reaction would be, whether he would like it or not because even she thought the dress looked beautiful on her.

Her parents and she reached the wedding hall to find that Sunwoo’s family had already reached and were greeting some of the early guests. They had been waiting on her and escorted her to the waiting room. Her mother was there with her all the while, but left when Eunha and Seyi joined her. Soon enough, even his parents and grandmother had come to see the bride and gushed over how beautiful she looked making her feel embarrassed.

“Nana, you look so beautiful today.” Eunha and Seyi gushed over the bride and her lovely gown.

“Has Sunwoo seen you yet in this dress?”

“Not really.”

“Be ready Nana, he won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

“Ahem..okay.” Was all she could say in response in embarrassment.

“Nana, you love Sunwoo right?” Seyi suddenly questioned her and got the bride flustered who could only nod in reply.

“What about Sunwoo? Does he feel the same?”

“I think so…”

“He definitely does or you two would not have come this far.” Eunha chimed in.

The two girls smiled at each other and looked back at Nana who just stared back in confusion. Before the girls could explain,there was a knock on the door and Eunha opened the door to let the visitors in. Her fellow male band mates had entered to greet the bride and were awestruck looking at the tough girl who looked like a beautiful swan in her wedding gown.

“You look like a total different person, tough girl. Where’s the Kim Nana we know?” Seolchan tried to joke to cover his awestruck expression, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

“He means, you look beautiful Nana.” Kyudong complimented her with DoNam nodding his head in agreement. The air between the two teens still seemed tense despite which Nana thanked him.

Soon they heard another knock on the door with her Father entering to inform that the wedding ceremony was going to begin soon. Her friends left the room leaving her alone with her father. He looked the same as always, donned in his black suit with a poker face which his daughter most likely inherited from him. They seemed awkward at the moment but she could feel that her father had many things to say to her.

“Are there many people out there?” She questioned in the midst.

“In your terms, yes there are. But compared to other weddings this is quite a low key affair.” He replied to her with a smile.

“Okay.” She replied with an edge of nervousness in her voice.

“Nana” Her father called out to her as she turned her face towards  him in response.

“I know I have not been a good father to you. You had to go through a lot of hurdles because of me and your mother. Though we never really showed it, I want you to know that we really really love you. You are our only precious daughter.”

Nana felt the tears well up in her eyes and she bit bit on her lip to stop the tears from forming. Her father kept looking ahead of him without turning to face his daughter.

“To be honest, I really don’t want to give you away just yet. You are so young. But if that’s what you want from me, then I will give it to you. But you show know that if that if you ever want to come back or need any help, we will be there.No questions asked.”

Nana could already feel the tears running down past her cheeks and quickly turned in search of a tissue with her head ducked down.  As she tried to peer through the blurriness of eyes, she saw a hand giving out a tissue. She quickly grabbed it wiping her tears only to come face to face with the smiling face of her father. Nana could never recall of her father smiling like that, since his line of profession required him to be rough and void of expression.

“Nana, if you still want to runaway. I already have my men stationed outside. We can still sneak away in the back and no one will know.” He offered with a teasing smile and his daughter could only stifle her laugh though her tears.

Soon, the father daughter were requested to get prepared for their entry as the ceremony were going to begin soon. They could hear the announcements through the hall doors and soon, it was the cue for the bride to enter.

For the brief second, Nana thought of suddenly taking up on her father’s previous offer seriously, but she soon felt a tug of her arm as her father held her hand and slowly place it on his arm. She inhaled a sharp breath and exhaled letting her self calm down. She nodded in approval and the door opened for them as the music started playing.

They matched their steps evenly down the aisle as the attention of all the people present in the room turned to the bride. Nana looked from the corner of her eye at the guests gathered, she could only recognize a few known faces only. She finally looked ahead to see her groom dressed sleekly in his black and white tuxedo who was looking back as her and waiting for her. He looked much more handsome than she had ever seen him before causing her to blushed. His hair was neatly done and he flashed a charming smile over his face. Sunwoo bowed to her father and her father took her hand and gently placed it in Sunwoo’s palm.

The bride and groom turned towards the altar. Soon, the officiator began reading their vows and and the couple said their ‘I do’s.’  Sunwoo and Nana soon exchanged their wedding rings and were officially declared as married followed by a round of applause and cheers through the room. For the couple, the moments flashed in a blur as they just went through the motions without thinking about it in their nervous bout.

The newly married couple now bowed in front of both the bride and groom’s parents and elders seeking their blessing for a blissful married life ahead.  The guests soon approached the couple congratulating and offering their bests wishes and taking pictures with them. Sunwoo noticed Nana shifting on her feet and he turned to wards her in concern.

“Is something wrong Nana?”

“Its nothing. My feet are hurting because of the heels.”

“Do you want to change them now?” He asked in concern.

“No. I can’t do that know.” She said quickly.

“Then?” He asked her in question.

“No. I can manage. It’s not that bad. I can wait till everything is over.”

“Don’t worry it till be over soon.”

She saw Sunwoo turned towards Eunha and Seyi murmuring something amongst themselves. She could only tilt her head on his peculiar behavior.

She were soon photographed with only their family and also another one with their friends. The remaining pictures taken were only of the newly wed couple and they were glad when it was all over.

Nana and Sunwoo then left to change from their wedding attire before leaving the hall. As Nana reached the dressing room, Eunha and Seyi handed her a bag. She opened it to find a pair of flat shoes in them.

“Whats this for?” She asked confused.

“Sunwoo asked us if we could arrange a pair of flats for you since your feet were hurting in the high heels you are wearing. This was the only one we could arrange in such short notice.”

Nana smiled as her new husband’s small gesture. Husband, it sounded weird and foreign to her. She giggled to herself but her mother soon rushed her to change.

“Your husband is already taking care of you.” Her mother teased her as she helped Nana out of her gown and left the room for Nana to change her clothes leaving her an attire that was arranged for her.

Nana changed from her white down to a more formal attire which her mother had prepared specially for her to wear at her in-laws.It was blue clean cut dress that accentuated her figure but being enough modest with remaining accessories. It was different from the clothes her mother normally wore because the said woman had a strong and bold fashion sense. Nana sat down for a moment allowing her to take in the fact that she was now a married woman. She turned her wedding ring on her finger and smiled to herself.

Nana left her room to find Sunwoo waiting for her now changed into more comfortable attire. He smiled at her and looked at her feet now dressed in flats.

“Feel better now?”

“Yes I do. Thanks.”

“C’mon, lets go. Our families are probably waiting for us.”

He grabbed her hand in his and led her out of the venue to find their parents talking to each other. Nana noted that her bags were being loaded into  Sunwoo’s families care and her mother was making sure they got all of it.

Upon seeing the couple, the parents offered them smiles but it seemed different. Sunwoo’s family sported bright smiles at the thought of taking their new daughter-in-law home. Whereas her parents had sad smiles on their faces about sending their precious daughter away. It finally dawned on her that she would not be going home to her parents but to her new husband and his family.

Nana was quiet and just gave a small replies through the time when she bid farewell to her parents.. She could hear Sunwoo and his family reassuring her parents that they will take good care of her. She soon got into car with Sunwoo who guided her in and bid farewell.The image for their figure growing smaller and further away made her depressed

Noting her quiet and sad demeanor Sunwoo tugged on her arm.

“Whats wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me what’s going on in your mind?”

“Nothing much.”

“Still tell me.”

“Nothing really to worry about. It’s just dawned to me that I will never be going home anymore, but will now be going to you home and family.”

“Nana, its not the olden times anymore. You can go to your parents home whenever you want. See them whenever you want.”

“I know that. But it still feels different to me. Rather than leaving with my parents. I’m leaving with yours. Its just foreign and strange for some reason. Though I was hardly ever in my home and always spending time at the studio, I think I will miss my room.”

“I understand that you will.But we won’t be living in my parents home for too long. ”

Nana looked at him confused and surprised at his sudden news. Realizing that she was waiting for an explanation, Sunwoo continued speaking.

“We will move out from there once we graduate from school. Though it is still a year away, it will be better for us that we start living independently from our parents. I had told my family that we would live away immediately, but they insisted that we were too young and we were still in school. We still needed to be take care of and just concentrate on our studies for the  final year. ”

Nana was shocked at Sunwoo’s confession. He never really seemed the type who would want to live apart from his family so soon.

“Now that I think, it was too rash of me to think that we could live alone.” He told her but it seemed that more than Nana he was telling himself that.

Of course, it was rash. The thought of living under the same roof with him without anybody around bought blood rushing to her cheeks and neck. The mere though seemed scandalous enough to curl her toes and she looked him ridiculously. As if he understood the thoughts swarming her head, he let out chuckle and gave her a small smile.

“Nana” He called out to her in a soft but serious tone.

“Hmm?” She hummed.

“Its not that  you will miss your home, rather it is that you will miss you parents.”

“Maybe.” Nana smiled to her self sadly at the though of her parents as watched the view outside the window of the car. She felt Sunwoo place his hand on hers and intertwine their fingers  together as he watched the view outside his side of the window.

They soon reached his home and Nana got of the car looking at her new home she would be living in for a while. Her new family welcomed her with open arms and tried to make her feel as much comfortable as possible. Her new husband was being extra attentive to her as he noted how depressed she look in the car. Soon, Nana began to get comfortable as she spoke to them and dinner seemed to go much better than the last time she had been there fretting about the lies that they had made up.

Nana felt most comfortable with Sunwoo’s grandmother who seemed to be sincere with her in her interactions. Though his mother also was sweet to her, she could see that she was trying very hard to make her feel as comfortable as possible. She was still grateful to her. On the other hand, Sunwoo’s father seemed more quieter and distant though he seemed amiable enough to share small conversations with. Despite everything, Nana still felt out of place amongst the people who were new to her.  She had always been a loner and never really been close to anyone for a long time. Apart from Sunwoo or ColorBar members, she hardly spoke to anyone. Though she had become more open towards others now, she realized that she had a long way to go. She called her parents a little past dinner to let them know she was doing well , knowing that they would be anxiously waiting for her call.

Later in the night Sunwoo and his mother guided her to her room. His mother joyously described all the things she had prepared for her daughter-in-law making Nana smile at her cuteness. Sunwoo was right, his mother was a lot different from him, she seemed more of a joyous and expressive person.

“Thank you for putting so much effort. It’s really beautiful, I like it a lot.” This caused the older woman to adorn a bright smile in satisfaction for her efforts.

“You better rest now. You must be exhausted from such a hectic day. We’ll leave you alone now. If you need anything let me or Sunwoo know.”

“Yes. Thankyou.” Nana replied.

“C’mon Sunwoo. Lets leave so she can rest.”

“You go ahead Mom. I’ll leave after a while.”

Sunwoo’s mom hesitated for the moment about leaving them alone but slowly retreated from the room.

Sunwoo grabbed Nana’s hand and let her to sit on her bed next to him. Nana stared in confusion at Sunwoo’s behavior and tried to stop ridiculous & embarrassing thoughts from entering her head.

“Nana, do you feel better now?”

“Yeah I do. I’m comfortable, your family is very sweet trying to make as comfortable as possible.”

“That’s good then. I’m glad. Did you speak to your parents?”

“I did. Just some time after dinner.”

“Okay then. I will be leaving now. Sleep comfortably and let me know if you need anything.”

Nana nodded her head in acknowledgement and Sunwoo affectionately patted her head, before leaving the room. She finally changed into her pyjamas and got ready for bed. It felt weird to be in a different room. She giggled at the fact that she was spending her wedding night alone in a room with her husband away in his own room. the mere that she was a married woman seemed funny to her.

Sleep not coming to her soon, she realized that she spent the last few nights on the phone with Sunwoo before falling asleep and it had now become a routine. Out of curiosity she messaged him a king if he were awake but was shocked to see her phone ringing in an instant. She answered the call hesitantly wondering if she disturbed him.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you.” She apologized immediately.

“Not at all. In fact, I wanted to call you but wondered if you were asleep.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s become a routine for us.”

“Isn’t it funny that we are now in the same house in different rooms but still talking over the phone.”

“Oh. Do you want me to come over to your room then?” He offered.

“No!” She replied almost instantly.

“Okay. So are you still uncomfortable that you can’t sleep?”

“No. Honestly, It does not feel as different as I thought it would. Maybe you are right, it’s more about the familiar faces than the surroundings. But I still think I will miss my home.”

“Don’t worry. You get more familiar with my family and here soon too. I promise to help you get familiar and as comfortable as possible.”

“Thanks.”

“Nana, I forgot to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“You looked beautiful in your wedding dress today.” Nana blushed in surprise and delight.

“Thank you.” She replied trying her best not seemed as if she had been waiting for him to say it for the entire day.

“Were you waiting for me to say it?” He teased her a bit.

“Not at all. But you did not look so bad either.”

“Oh really. Thank you for that. I got  a lot of compliments from many women too.” He teased trying to incite a reaction from her which for his amusement, she did.

They continued their conversation for a while about the wedding at people they meet today.When both of them began yawning from exhaustion and sleep finally started getting the better of them, they decided to end the call. The new couple then finally drifted off into deep slumber in their respective rooms.