Ch.171Epilogue. Forever (7)

# A Somewhat Obvious Tale

It’s a somewhat obvious story, but typically in wedding venues, there’s only one bridal preparation room. That makes sense since marriage is between one person and another.

But for us—there are four brides. Including me.

When I first thought about the wedding, I had assumed I would play the role of the groom.

Well… I suppose it’s obvious when you think about it. No matter how much I might dress like a man, honestly, my appearance simply doesn’t pass as male.

One fortunate thing, if you could call it that, is that the place where we’re getting married isn’t actually a wedding hall.

With the permission of the teachers and children, we were at the orphanage where Jihye and I grew up instead of a wedding venue.

There are plenty of rooms that could serve as preparation rooms. We just needed the children to vacate them temporarily.

However, thanks to my brides’ insistence that the “main participants” of the wedding should use different rooms, I prepared in a separate room from the other three.

Still, I left the dress and makeup to the professionals. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime day, so shouldn’t I look as beautiful as possible?

The place where I prepared was—yes, the room that Jihye and I used to share.

In truth, apart from the desk and wardrobe that barely remained, all traces of when Jihye and I used it had completely disappeared. That’s natural. We took all our personal belongings when we moved out.

Now, it had become a room with somewhat of a boyish atmosphere. Honestly, I wasn’t sure whose room it was now.

Since I normally don’t wear any makeup besides sunscreen, I felt a bit antsy waiting for the professionals to do my makeup.

But I endured it. The other three were probably enduring the same thing.

“Ah, don’t smile!”

As I imagined the three of them sitting in a row getting their makeup done and my lips twitched upward, the makeup artist quickly pulled her hand back like the professional she was. Since I was already having other parts of my face made up, it would have been awkward to apologize, so I expressed my contrition by keeping my mouth as still as possible.

The lengthy preparation was helpful, though.

My heart, which had been pounding like it might burst at first, gradually calmed down by the time the makeup was finished, and I felt at ease.

I wonder how the others are doing.

Hayun might surprisingly not be nervous, but Jihye is probably trembling. Ju-a is probably the same.

And regardless of their expressions, all three of them would be the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.

While I was lost in these thoughts, the makeup was completed.

“There, how does it look?”

I was reflected in the large mirror placed in front of me.

It felt a bit… unfamiliar. It wasn’t that I didn’t look like myself, but rather…

There I was, sitting in a bridal waiting room in the posture of a bride, wearing clothes a new bride would wear, with makeup done to perfection on my face.

It was a very unfamiliar sight, but that person also looked happy.

I wonder if the other three have such happy expressions too.

“There’s still some time until the wedding, so please wait comfortably.”

I nodded at those words.

My heart, which had just calmed down, started beating wildly again. Ah, I guess the tension of a wedding can never be completely eliminated.

In the end, I couldn’t let go of that tension until Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium visited my room and made a fuss.

Still, when those three made a commotion and told me I was just as beautiful as the other three brides, I felt a little relieved.

*

I had seen Pang Pang once in the morning, but she hadn’t been able to visit my bridal waiting room.

She seemed to have been busy double-checking the wedding procedure. Well, since it was her friend’s wedding, she must have practiced tremendously to avoid getting nervous.

Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium had apparently even stayed together to practice.

As I left the waiting room and walked amid people’s cheers, I couldn’t tell if I was walking on the ground or on clouds. This was both good and bad—partly from joy, partly from extreme nervousness.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw children in white dresses with flower crowns running up to stand in front of me.

In the distance, Pang Pang stood at the spot where the host would be. When our eyes met, she gave me a thumbs up.

That made me smile a little.

Our wedding venue was the front yard of the orphanage. They had laid down fabric on the ground, and then white cloth on top of that to create a wedding venue.

Since we were outdoors, it would have been awkward for the brides to make an entrance from elsewhere, so we came out first.

In the distance… surprisingly, two sets of parents were seated, which made the atmosphere less surreal than I had expected.

The teachers sat among the guests, and the teacher I was closest to was going to officiate.

I could see Cherry and James too. The two of them looked surreal in many ways. A hamster riding a UFO.

Even in a society accustomed to aliens, Squeakeans are among the rarer aliens to see. Some children were staring at them with curiosity, making the two look a bit embarrassed.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen James. Seeing the necklace around his neck, it seems he eventually accepted the proposal.

While I was waiting briefly, the building door opened and three people in wedding dresses slowly emerged.

The word “surreal,” which had referred to a wedding with four brides, now changed to mean the sight of three surreally beautiful brides.

All three of them gave shy smiles as soon as they made eye contact with me.

…

Ah, I see.

Suddenly, I had such a thought.

Perhaps I came to this world just for this moment.

“Now, would all the brides please stand in a row,” Pang Pang said into the microphone.

We made eye contact and smiled at each other.

The order didn’t really matter. In the end, everyone would be by my side. Even if we stood next to different people for the moment it took to walk over there, without anyone needing to say anything, everyone would eventually be by my side. Physical position had no meaning to us in our current excited state.

Everyone wore smiles as beautiful as the flowers they held. I thought they would each hold flowers matching their names, but all three were holding bouquets of lilies.

I see.

They’re all marrying me. They’re three people who love me.

…That realization made my heart swell. The tip of my nose tingled and my eyes grew moist. I tried not to let those tears fall. I didn’t want to ruin my makeup.

I didn’t want to spoil this happy day.

“Now then, we will begin the wedding ceremony of the four brides: Jeong Jieun, Lee Hayun, Jeong Jihye, and Ye Ju-a!”

I heard applause. I felt slightly dizzy.

“Brides, enter!”

Pang Pang shouted, and the wedding fanfare played.

Children in white dresses walked ahead of us, taking flower petals from the baskets they carried and scattering them.

As I walked, the three followed me slowly, somewhat disorderly, standing around me as if embracing me.

I was happy the entire time I walked on that white cloth.

It wasn’t a very long path, but the time it took to walk felt extremely slow and long.

Reaching the end, hearing kind words from the teacher who was like a parent to me, exchanging rings once more with each other, and the moment of kissing.

The faces of the three who came close to mine looked so beautiful and precious.

I really am a greedy person—

Pang Pang clapped her hands, and people cheered. Hayun’s parents and Ju-a’s parents had somewhat complicated expressions, but when I greeted them with the two, they eventually smiled.

Yes, we still have a long way to go.

In the end, the only way to prove ourselves is to be happy.

No matter what others say, no matter how they evaluate the form of our love—

In the end, we need to make everyone understand through our attitude.

But somehow, that thought didn’t feel very heavy.

I looked around once more.

The three most beautiful people in the world were looking at me with bright smiles.

Just as I felt like the happiest person in the world, I could feel deep in my heart that the three of them felt the same way.

Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium sang a cheerful congratulatory song.

I’m not sure what the title of the song was. I should ask them after the wedding—

“…”

My fingertips trembled slightly.

I see.

I see, from now on—from now on, forever, we’ve sworn to love each other.

So.

So, proving that surely won’t be difficult.

We just need to continue being happy, just as we have been until now.

At this moment, what should I say?

Well, the words were already decided.

“I love you.”

When I said that, my wives looked at me.

“I love you. Really.”

At my words, smiles spread across their faces.

The three of them rushed toward me simultaneously, almost knocking me over. People cheered loudly and clapped once more at the sight.

Feeling that happy weight, I ended up shedding a few tears after all.