Ch.210210. 15 Minutes Before the Ceremony

“Ah, Nabi. Did you finish taking the photos?”

“Yes. I just finished taking pictures with your mother. But Siwoo, this person… I mean, who is this…?”

Hwa Nabi’s voice trailed off as she looked at Im Hansol, then shifted her gaze back to me. She’s probably wondering who this unfamiliar man in military uniform is. The fact that she’s asking suggests she hasn’t recognized who Im Hansol is.

I placed my hand on Im Hansol’s shoulder as a sign of familiarity, patting it while speaking.

“Yeah, let me introduce you. This is Im Hansol, remember? You know, we were all in the same class in our first year of high school. He was our class president back then.”

“…What? This person was our class president?”

Surprised by my introduction, Hwa Nabi looked Im Hansol up and down. It seems the image she remembered doesn’t match the current Im Hansol.

“Yeah, I’m that class president from back then. Nice to see you. You’re marrying Siwoo today, right? Congratulations.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

After awkwardly accepting his greeting, Hwa Nabi glanced at me. Does she have something to say? When I asked with just my eyes, she pointed toward the bride’s waiting room.

“Siwoo. My sister wants to see you briefly before the ceremony starts. Would that be okay time-wise?”

“Yeah. We still have about twenty minutes left, so it should be fine. But why does your sister want to see me? Did she say what it’s about?”

I wondered if she had something important to say. When I asked, Hwa Nabi shook her head.

“It doesn’t seem like anything serious. She just wants to talk briefly. She said it’s fine to do it later if you’re busy.”

“No, I’ll go see her right away. She’s still in the bride’s waiting room, right?”

“Yes. She’s inside.”

Might as well go now. I feel bad about prioritizing something else, but I can’t ignore my sister-in-law when she says she wants to talk.

I turned around to excuse myself to Im Hansol and Jinhee. But the way they were looking at me was somehow strange.

“…Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just. It’s kind of fascinating.”

“What’s fascinating?”

“Well… honestly, until now, it didn’t really sink in that you’re getting married. But when I heard you say ‘sister-in-law,’ it suddenly felt real. Like, oh, he really is getting married.”

“Yeah, I felt the same way. The term ‘sister-in-law’ itself sounds so strange.”

I unconsciously nodded at what Jinhee and Im Hansol were saying with their subtle expressions.

Hmm. I guess for kids around twenty, terms like “sister-in-law” would sound a bit unfamiliar? There are probably very few people around them handing out wedding invitations, and above all, since they and their siblings are unmarried, they’ve never had to call anyone brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

“Well, I’m not single anymore… so I should use those terms properly. Otherwise, the elders won’t look kindly on it.”

“Oh, what’s this? Are you already showing off that you’re a married man?”

“Showing off? It’s not like that. I’m just saying it’s basic courtesy.”

“Heh, right. That must be it.”

Seeing him just snicker even after my explanation, it seems he was planning to laugh no matter what I said.

I withdrew my hand and took a step back. Then Im Hansol approached me, patting my shoulder and grinning.

“Well, you and her have been together for about three years, right? That’s long enough to show off. Or rather, you never intended to hide it in the first place? Even in our first year, you two were openly advertising that you were dating. Right, Jinhee?”

“Yeah. It was obvious just from looking at Nabi’s Instagram. Posting couple pajama photos, swimsuit photos together. But then what? You still hadn’t even kissed? I didn’t say anything at the time, but you have no idea how ridiculous that was…”

“J-Jinhee! Stop, stop!”

As Jinhee continued speaking in what sounded like a resentful voice, Hwa Nabi quickly rushed over and covered her mouth.

—Mmph, mmph!

“Siwoo, didn’t you say your sister-in-law wanted to talk to you? You should go now. After the ceremony, there won’t be much time for leisurely conversation!”

“Oh, y-yeah. Got it.”

It’s actually my sister-in-law who has something to say to me, not the other way around. But there’s no point in pointing that out, right? Nodding reflexively, I glanced at Im Hansol.

‘Sorry, let’s talk again after the ceremony.’

‘Sure, go ahead.’

—Mmph… Puha! Hey, are you going to be like this? Do you know how much I helped you and Nabi back in school! And now you’re being ungrateful like this?

—No, Jinhee. That’s not it…!

“……”

What kind of conversation is it that she’s so desperately trying to stop? I paused while walking and moved very slowly, straining my ears.

—Since we’re on the topic, not only is he a problem for taking things so slowly, but you’re a problem too, Nabi. How could you sleep together and not do anything? Even if you were both inexperienced. You should have been more proactive, you know? If I hadn’t pushed you to confess during the festival, what would have happened?! You’d probably still be whining to me about not making any progress…

—Waaah! Waaaah!!

—Hey, Jinhee? You seem pretty worked up, let’s calm down first. Other guests might arrive, so let’s resolve this with words…

“…Hmm.”

No. It’s better to pretend I didn’t hear anything. You know, they say knowledge is power, but sometimes ignorance is bliss, right? In my opinion, this seems to be one of those times.

Having made that judgment, I quickened my pace and arrived at the bride’s waiting room in no time. Before entering, I quickly adjusted my clothes, knocked lightly a couple of times, and stepped inside.

“Excuse me.”

The first people I saw were my mother-in-law and my mother. The two of them, who had been chatting on the sofa in the waiting room, welcomed me warmly as soon as they spotted me.

“Oh, son-in-law, you’re here?”

“Yes. Hello, mother-in-law, mom.”

“Yes, but son. Nabi just went outside looking for you.”

“I actually just met her outside. She’s talking with her friends right now.”

“Is that so? Then what brings you to the bride’s waiting room? Did Nabi forget something?”

“No, it’s not that. I heard my sister-in-law was looking for me.”

“Sister-in-law?”

Both my mother-in-law and my mother’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the inner part of the waiting room. Following their gaze, I could see a woman with pink hair leaning against the wall of the waiting room, looking at me.

“Hello, brother-in-law.”

This woman, who greeted me with a casual nod, is none other than my sister-in-law.

“Yes. Hello, sister-in-law.”

I also bowed politely in greeting. Then my mother-in-law spoke up.

“Nara, what kind of greeting is ‘hello’ to your brother-in-law? You should greet him properly with respect.”

“Ah, I got it. I’ll greet him properly next time.”

My sister-in-law looked at me, barely acknowledging what my mother-in-law said. How should I put it? This is the first time I’m seeing her up close, but she seems strangely familiar.

If my mother-in-law is what Hwa Nabi will look like in twenty years, then my sister-in-law looks like Hwa Nabi in about five years. They look very similar, but there are also clear differences.

The main one is the tear mole near her eye. Yes, unlike Hwa Nabi, my sister-in-law has a tear mole under her right eye, and her eye corners droop slightly more.

“So, brother-in-law, shall we have a little chat?”

“Yes. Please speak comfortably.”

“I want to talk outside, not here. Is that okay?”

“Ah, sure.”

“What kind of conversation requires going outside? The ceremony is about to start, you can just talk here.”

My mother-in-law said to my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law, seemingly annoyed by my mother-in-law’s nagging, subtly frowned and shook her head.

“I can’t have a proper conversation with mom around. You interrupt every time we try to say something.”

“My goodness, when have I ever interrupted your conversations?”

“See? Even now you’re interrupting while time is passing.”

“Son-in-law. Do you also think I interrupt without knowing when to and when not to?”

The arrow suddenly turned to me. I pondered for a moment about how to respond, then expressed myself in a way that wouldn’t hurt my mother-in-law’s feelings.

“No, that’s not it. You speak out of concern for us, right? So I don’t think of it as interference. I don’t, but I think my sister-in-law might want to say something embarrassing for others to hear. Even compliments feel less awkward when given in private. It’s a bit uncomfortable to do it in front of others, right?”

After saying that, I glanced at my mother-in-law. Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem offended and appeared to have accepted my explanation.

“Hmm… Well, if you put it that way. But both of you need to come back quickly, okay? The ceremony is about to start.”

“Yes. We’ll be back in five minutes.”

Leaving behind my somewhat disappointed mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and I left the bride’s waiting room. Since we didn’t have much time for a long conversation, we chose the outside of the ceremony hall building for our private talk.

“We’ll have to go back in soon, so is it okay to talk here?”

“Yeah, but brother-in-law, you speak well, don’t you? Did you seduce our Nabi with that silver tongue?”

My sister-in-law, leaning against the outer wall of the building, asks mischievously.

Well, father and daughters are all the same when it comes to asking questions that catch people off guard. At this point, it must be a family trait.

Without being flustered, I calmly expressed what I thought.

“I didn’t seduce her. We just clicked well from the first time we met.”

“Hmm, so you had good chemistry from the first meeting?”

…Is she deliberately asking like this? When I questioned with just my eyes, my sister-in-law tilted her head as if wondering why I was reacting that way.

“What? It’s important. How important is compatibility in maintaining a marriage? From personality compatibility to bedroom compatibility. If you’re not compatible, living together will be tiring.”

If nothing else, I can tell one thing. This person, I mean, my sister-in-law, has a playful personality just like Hwa Nabi.

“…Well, you see.”

I took a breath and thought for a moment. How should I answer to make a good impression? As I was seriously thinking about it, suddenly the door leading to the inside of the building opened, and a familiar man popped out.

“Ah, Siwoo. Here you are? The MC is looking for you right now…”

“…Huh?”

My brother’s and sister-in-law’s eyes met in mid-air. And in the next moment, the same words flowed from both their mouths simultaneously.