Ch.177August Bride (8)

“Alright, we’ll be taking a group photo with the bride, groom, and all the guests! Everyone please gather over here!”

“Do-Do-young. Looks like they’re gathering for photos now. Let’s go…!”

“…”

Was it because of the murmuring crowd that she didn’t hear me?

Or did she hear but pretend not to?

Under this blue seaside,

And beneath the even more azure sky,

Seeing how Do Hamin’s face was the only one flushed red, she must have heard something.

“What are you doing? Do-young, let’s go, hurry!”

“…Yeah, we should.”

Do Hamin naturally took my hand,

And walked toward where Sol-young and Teacher Miso were.

Of course, even after the commemorative photo was taken,

I still didn’t get that answer from Do Hamin.

.

.

.

“Teacher, here. This is a rolling paper the class wrote for you. I brought everything, including messages from students who couldn’t make it to the wedding today, so please read it during your trip.”

“Thank you, Seong-gyeong. I’ll keep it close and read every word.”

“Just don’t keep it closer than your husband.”

“Ah, of course… naturally!”

After the wedding ceremony and commemorative photos were finished,

Sol-young and Teacher Miso, embracing gifts from their students,

Got into the car they had rented for their honeymoon.

Of course, they weren’t going anywhere extravagant for their honeymoon.

While they might have been able to secure the wedding venue and schedule thanks to Teacher Miso’s parents’ help,

Booking a honeymoon destination wasn’t something that could be done so hastily.

Since Teacher Miso was pregnant, and considering budget constraints, they decided to travel domestically.

Neither of them had personalities that favored excessive spending.

It seemed they judged it better to save money for the future rather than traveling far with a body that would have difficulty moving around.

“Have a good trip!”

“Live well, Yeo Mi-so, you impossible woman!”

“Enjoy your trip, all three of you!”

“Thank you, everyone!”

“Everyone! Thank you! We’ll return healthy after our trip!”

With Sol-young at the wheel and Teacher Miso, no longer bound by her teaching duties, tearfully waving through the window, they departed on their journey together, their faces tinged by the evening glow.

In the end, even after the wedding was over and the two had left for their honeymoon,

I still hadn’t received that answer from Do Hamin.

.

.

.

‘…What month’s bride will you make me?’

Why did I suddenly ask that?

If our relationship had progressed this far, perhaps it was okay to cautiously ask.

About how far he was thinking regarding his relationship with Miss Ban Do-young.

Do Hamin is quite a methodical person.

The type who tries to stick to schedules and plans once made,

So if he decides on a date for marriage, he’ll surely try to keep it.

If that happens, the time Do Hamin sets

Would become the final destination of “Half of a Half-Do.”

Then at least I could somewhat gauge

How long I could remain as Miss Ban Do-young.

Perhaps that was my intention.

“The light is pretty.”

“It’s called ‘yunsul’.”

“That doesn’t really matter. You understood what I meant.”

“…I suppose.”

After they left, we planned to return late at night.

In the meantime, we sat on the church railing drinking beverages,

Blankly staring at the ocean visible outside.

“Hey, Do-young.”

“…Yes?”

“About what you asked me earlier.”

And when the crowd had dispersed and only Do Hamin and I remained on the church terrace,

He finally brought up the subject he’d been keeping silent about.

“Did you ask as a joke…? Or were you serious…”

Do Hamin’s voice trembled nervously.

I continued speaking casually with a somewhat hollow laugh.

This awkward side of Do Hamin was still more familiar to me.

“I was just curious. How far our Do Hamin has imagined his future with me.”

“W-we’re still high school students. Even our individual futures aren’t certain yet, so I haven’t really…”

“Is that so? I think I’ve seen it a few times on YouTube. Videos where guys meet a woman for the first time and imagine an absurd future based on one random act of kindness. How they’ll get married, how many children they’ll have… that sort of thing.”

“Ah… those. I didn’t find them particularly entertaining. They hit too close to home, even if I don’t want to admit it. I’m sure many others feel the same way.”

“So that means you’ve had similar thoughts.”

Somehow, Do Hamin’s collar had become disheveled, so I fixed it for him.

No matter how fashion-challenged Do Hamin was, he usually kept his uniform collar straight,

But at some point, I noticed the edges had become messy.

He probably got it messed up while helping my family

Move gift boxes for the guests during the wedding.

“Then I should check if our thoughts align.”

“W-what do you mean?”

After finishing straightening his collar,

I grinned and nudged Do Hamin’s side.

“What names have you picked for our grandchildren? Hehe.”

“Pfft! *cough* *cough*!”

Until I finished fixing his collar, he had been calm.

Or rather, I’m not sure if he was actually calm or just pretending to be.

Either way, as Do Hamin was trying to maintain his composure while sipping his drink, he finally broke at that one comment and spat out his beverage.

“Ah, I just fixed your collar, and now you’re spilling Zero Lime all over it.”

“I-it’s because you’re saying weird things, Do-young…”

“Zero Lime doesn’t have sugar, so it won’t rot your teeth.”

“Please don’t derail the conversation like that… *cough*!”

Oh my, seems like he really choked on it.

“Sorry, want me to pat your back?”

“Huff… I’m fine. I’ve calmed down now. My shirt’s just a bit wet.”

Do Hamin politely declined my offer and patted his own back to calm his startled nerves.

“So what you’re trying to say is, have I ever thought about a picture like Sol-young and Teacher Miso’s?”

-Sigh.

Do Hamin took a deep breath as if he’d made some decision, and carefully began to speak.

“Yes, I have. Those kinds of thoughts.”

“Hehe, I knew it. Acting like you haven’t while secretly having plans all along?”

“How about December?”

“Oh, December. A Christmas bride. Not bad-“

“No, December would be too cold, which would be hard for you. You’re sensitive to cold, so wearing a revealing wedding dress might be difficult. Then naturally January and February would be tough too.”

“…Huh?”

I thought December might be my endpoint.

But Do Hamin continued speaking.

“Then how about March? No, that wouldn’t be easy either. These days March can still be cold, and to have a ceremony in March means preparing for the wedding during the coldest time of the year. In the end, I’d still be making you suffer through winter.”

“H-hey?”

“Then how about April and May, when it’s spring? I quite like that season, and I’ve heard many people get married then. But with your personality, Do-young, you might find it boring to get married when everyone else does. If there’s one thing you hate, it’s being bored or finding things uninteresting.”

“D-Do Hamin…?”

“June should be avoided too. With the rainy season, the chances of having no rain on your wedding day are slim. Then how about July or August, becoming a summer bride like Teacher Miso? Now that you can swim, you wouldn’t be afraid of a beach wedding.”

“S-sounds good! That’s enough.”

“But then people might say we’re just copying Teacher Miso and Sol-young. Just because you thought their wedding wasn’t bad doesn’t mean you want to copy it exactly. Besides, just because you’re sensitive to cold doesn’t mean you handle heat well. If you start fanning yourself unconsciously in front of the guests because you’re sweating in your dress, that would be a problem.”

“H-hey. Ban Do-young’s boyfriend…?”

“September has the lowest marriage rate, which might appeal to your uniqueness. But some people view getting married in the ninth month as unlucky… I don’t believe in such superstitions, but there’s no need to choose a month with unnecessary concerns.”

“Excuse me, Lime’s dad?”

“October and November are the most popular fall months for weddings, but that means preparation would be intense. With high demand, securing your desired venue or date would be much harder. If everywhere is filled with people getting married, the attention on you might decrease. Being treated that way on a day when you should be the main character could leave a lifelong scar, so we need to be careful.”

“W-wait…! So basically none of them work? Unless there’s a 13th month in the year!”

Unable to take it anymore, I interrupted him and stopped the conversation.

Actually, could this even be called a conversation?

It was more like a one-sided briefing.

In the end, Do Hamin rejected every month from January to December.

It was funny how all the reasons for rejection were focused on me,

But what was even funnier was that each reason was convincing enough that I might actually agree with them.

More than I had thought.

This guy Do Hamin knew me well,

And was trying hard to know me better.

However, the result was

[Ban Do-young = A woman who ruins her face value],

And I couldn’t help but feel my face burning up.

“Ahaha… Sorry. But none of the reasons I disliked were wrong, right?”

“…This is ridiculous.”

“Hehe, the point is this. No matter what day we choose, I can’t make you 100% satisfied.”

“That’s basically treating me like a troublesome woman.”

Do Hamin shook off the remaining drops of Zero Lime from his collar and said:

“So the only solution is to fill in what’s lacking or disappointing with affection.”

“…”

“Right now, I don’t know how to say anything other than ‘I like you.'”

“W-well… Until recently, you were just a creepy magical girl otaku shorty who only knew how to study, so even if you’ve grown a bit more mature, to have such fantasies about me, the world’s most beautiful girl…”

“Huh?”

Do Hamin suddenly looked puzzled in the middle of my speech.

“What is it? Can’t you see I’m talking?”

“No, I just find it a bit strange.”

“What?”

“It’s just that if it were the usual you, you would have referred to yourself as ‘Miss Ban Do-young’ or ‘Sister Ban Do-young’ just now… I don’t think I’ve heard you use ‘I’ much before…”

“…”

“I thought it was a bit odd earlier too. When you said ‘What month’s bride will you make me,’ I expected you to say ‘Miss Ban Do-young’ instead…”

“…”

Oh.

Did I just say “I”?

Did I refer to Ban Do-young completely as “I”?

“Do-young, are you okay? Your face…”

“…”

-Gasp