Ch.201201. Tension, Excitement, Heart-Fluttering.

Time passed, and it was the day of the wedding.

Nabi and I left home four hours earlier than the scheduled time of 11 o’clock, and as soon as we arrived, we began the preparations in earnest.

We went into separate waiting rooms for the bride and groom at the hotel that doubled as a wedding hall, and began our makeup with the help of the staff.

Just having my face brushed with makeup tools and my hair set with cream wax took a good thirty minutes.

“There, the groom’s hair and makeup are all done. Now you can change into your suit and wait a bit before heading to the bride’s waiting room.”

“Yes. By the way, when can the guests start coming in?”

“Family members can enter from nine o’clock, and guests from ten o’clock.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

I nodded after double-checking information I already knew. The staff member bowed to me in return.

“You’re welcome, have a happy day.”

The female staff member left the waiting room after greeting me. Left alone, I put on my navy suit jacket, mulled over her words, and chuckled.

Have a happy day, huh? I thought it was a rather unusual greeting, but thinking about it again, it seemed to fit today perfectly.

“I should be happy.”

Not just today, but I hope we’ll continue to be happy without any troubles. Regardless, we’ll be incredibly busy for the next few years. Isn’t that right? We’re not an ordinary newlywed couple; we’re a speed-limit-breaking couple.

By the end of this year, our baby will be born, so we’ll need to focus on childcare while continuing our studies. After quickly passing a year or two like that, we’ll graduate, and after I finish my military service, I’ll immediately start job hunting.

How old will Nabi and I be when all that is done? Twenty-four, twenty-five? Or maybe even older. Life never flows as easily as planned.

I can’t guarantee that unexpected troubles won’t arise. For example, what if Ua suddenly gets a younger sibling?

“No way, that’s impossible…”

I laughed quietly and shook my head. It’s just my imagination. A child can’t be conceived that easily, right? Ua happened because we weren’t careful enough. (Though I consider her a blessing regardless.)

Since Nabi and I are still young, we’ll probably continue to have rather vigorous and active days… but if we’re careful from now on, we won’t have an unplanned sibling for Ua.

It’ll take at least three, no, four years before Nabi and I are stable. Then we can consider having another child. Realistically speaking, this is the best choice.

I promised my mother-in-law that we’d have many children quickly, but as students, we can’t handle having children in consecutive years.

So the plan for an additional child will have to wait a bit.

“…that’s right.”

Why do I feel so uneasy? A sudden chill ran down my spine for no reason. It was like the god of fate was laughing at me—that kind of creepy sensation.

I looked around quickly, feeling something indescribable, but there was no one else in the groom’s waiting room.

“…”

Was it just my imagination? Well, that makes sense. After all, today is a really important day, so it’s normal to be on edge about even the smallest things.

I wondered if this was really normal, but I forced the thought away. Then I finished getting dressed and headed out toward the bride’s waiting room.

*Knock knock*

“Um, I’m the groom for bride Hwa Nabi. May I come in?”

After giving a somewhat awkward greeting and knocking, I heard bustling sounds from inside. Is she not ready yet? I came after waiting a while because they told me to come to the bride’s waiting room, but if I’d known, I would have given her more time.

“Should I come back later?”

—No, you can come in!

I heard Nabi’s voice from beyond the door. So it’s okay to enter. Feeling nervous for no reason, I took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and slowly stepped inside.

Creak.

“Excuse me.”

As I stepped in, the first thing I saw was my bride. Nabi was sitting in front of a vanity in a pure white dress, with staff members still busily moving around her, apparently not quite finished with the preparations.

“Siwoo, are you already done getting ready?”

Nabi welcomed me with narrowed eyes. I quickly checked my attire before approaching her and answering casually.

“Yeah, I finished everything and was waiting. Looks like you’re not done yet?”

“No, we’re almost finished. We just need to check the length of the veil.”

The answer came not from Nabi but from the female staff member beside her. I nodded in response and took a step back.

“With an off-shoulder dress like this, it looks prettier when the veil doesn’t go below the waist. Shall we go with this?”

“That’s the default… but what does the bride think?”

“I think this looks good as is. What about you, Siwoo?”

At Nabi’s question, all the women’s eyes turned to me. Faced with more than five pairs of eyes, I thought for a moment before expressing my opinion.

“Yeah, I think it looks fine as is.”

“Okay, we’ll keep the veil like this. Now that the dress setup is complete, shall we start the concept shots?”

“Um, will the concept shots be taken in the ceremony hall?”

“Since you’re the first couple of the day, you can either go to the ceremony hall or do it here in the waiting room. Which would you prefer?”

The woman who appeared to be the highest-ranking staff member asked me. I wanted to save the excitement and thrill of entering the ceremony hall for the first time, so I preferred to take photos here without moving. But I wasn’t sure what Nabi thought.

“I’d like to take them just in the waiting room. What do you think?”

“Hmm, me too. I’d prefer to take them here.”

Nabi answered immediately and turned to look at me.

“That way, won’t it be more exciting when we go to the ceremony hall? If we check it out first, we’ll be less nervous, right?”

They say couples grow to resemble each other, and even our thinking is becoming similar. I secretly smiled to myself and, holding Nabi’s hand, gently asked:

“But what if you get too nervous and make a mistake?”

“If I look like I’m going to make a mistake, you’ll have to catch me, right?”

“And if I look like I’m going to make a mistake, you’ll catch me?”

As if asking why I was stating the obvious, Nabi nodded with a smile. Looking at her, I smiled back, gently lifted her veil, and then spoke to the staff.

“I think we’ll just take the photos here, if that’s okay?”

“Yes, of course. Please wait a moment while I bring the photography director.”

The friendly staff member signaled to the other staff. As if it were a silent cue, the staff members stopped what they were doing and filed out of the waiting room in an orderly fashion.

“Oh, if you need anything, just press the bell to call us. One of our staff will be here within thirty seconds.”

“Yes, understood. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have a happy day, both of you.”

The staff member left the waiting room after giving her greeting. Now only Nabi and I remained in the waiting room. I stared at Nabi in her dress, then moved behind her, gently held her shoulders, and whispered in her ear.

“Nabi, why are you so beautiful today?”

“Heh, thank you. You look very handsome too. The suit suits you well.”

“The dress really suits you too. You look ready to get married right now.”

“That’s why I’m preparing to marry someone extremely handsome.”

“Really? Who might that be?”

“Well, who could it be?”

Nabi, looking at me through the mirror, pretended not to know and asked me back with a coy expression. Moved by her cuteness, I was about to kiss her cheek when I realized she was wearing makeup and stopped abruptly.

“This would smudge your makeup, right?”

“It wouldn’t come off that easily, but if you do it for too long, the lipstick color might fade?”

“I was talking about kissing your cheek.”

“…Then you should have said so from the beginning.”

Nabi’s lightly made-up cheeks turned red. Wait, did she think I was going to kiss her lips when I brought my face close? When I silently questioned her with my eyes, she avoided my gaze. It seems my guess was correct.

“With people watching, did you really think I’d kiss you in front of everyone?”

“But kissing on the cheek is okay?”

“It’s different from kissing on the lips. Don’t you think a kiss on the cheek is just a cute show of affection?”

“…Oh, whatever. I’m not kissing you, Siwoo.”

“Fine then, we’ll be doing it during the ceremony anyway. By the way, you know we have to do it in front of all the guests then, right?”

The expected number of guests was around 250, wasn’t it? Add the venue staff, and it’s close to 300 people.

And that’s just saying 300 people—since the hall is so spacious and people will be spread out, it might look like even more. When I saw it earlier, the hall was about the size of an indoor gymnasium, maybe a bit of an exaggeration. And we’ll be kissing at the center of such a place.

“I know that, but… why do you seem so excited? It’s kissing in front of a lot of people. Aren’t you nervous?”

“Nope, not nervous.”

“Were you actually strong-hearted all along, Siwoo? How can you be like that…?”

Nabi muttered as if she couldn’t understand why I was so excited, but I really had no reason to be nervous.

After all, I’m putting my stamp on the fact that this beautiful and lovely woman is mine. So there’s no reason to just tremble.

More precisely, I am trembling, but it’s not from nervousness. This is trembling from excitement and anticipation—what you might call joy.

“If you feel too nervous, just hold my hand tight.”

“Will that help me calm down?”

“No, you’ll tremble together with me.”

“…Then what’s the point of holding hands?”

Nabi said incredulously. I took her hand and interlaced our fingers.

“What I mean is, there’s no need to calm down. You’re nervous and your heart is racing, right? Then just enjoy those emotions. When will we ever feel such intense nervousness and excitement again? Probably never. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So.”

After saying that much, I glanced at Nabi’s face. Her trembling seemed to have subsided, and she was staring at me with blank eyes.

“Let’s enjoy the nervousness, the excitement, the heart-racing feelings, all of it together. …Okay?”