Having returned at some point, he approached Yeehyeon from behind and casually joined the conversation. He had only been gone for about five minutes, but Yeehyeon was happy to see him. Without realizing it, his expression brightened as he turned to look at him.
“Why did Javier call for you?”
Javier was the planner Suki Kim had recommended. Originally from Spain and based in Hong Kong, he had perfectly grasped the feel the two of them wanted and brought it to life. Thanks to Javier, they were able to prepare for today smoothly, despite being apart in Paris and Seoul.
“He asked me to take a look at the arch on the second floor.”
“Why? Did he say something was wrong?”
Yeehyeon immediately looked anxious, and Liu smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“It’s nothing like that. You know how Javier is. He was just being meticulous and wanted me to double-check. Everything is perfect, so rest assured.”
From a sofa diagonally across from where the two of them stood, Choi Inwoo was staring at Liu with a cantankerous look.
“You knelt on the Pont Neuf and proposed?”
“I did. What about it?”
With his arm still lightly wrapped around Yeehyeon’s waist from behind, Liu rested his chin on Yeehyeon’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow as if to ask what the problem was.
“Liu Weikun’s past dating partners would faint if they knew.”
“Hmm… Did CEO Liu ever have a partner he dated more than ten times? He was always so picky.”
When Manager Han chimed in after Choi Inwoo, Liu pretended to cover Yeehyeon’s ears.
“Manager Han, you too? I’m a new groom. What if I get kicked out right after my wedding?”
Choi Inwoo grimaced as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“To call yourself a new groom. Hey, who are you, really?”
Then, he met Yeehyeon’s eyes, gestured toward Liu with his chin, and added.
“Yeehyeon-ssi, is that man really Liu Weikun?”
Before Yeehyeon could answer, Kwon Juhan cut in.
“He’s not the CEO I used to know, at least. That much is certain.”
Ever since the rehearsal yesterday, everyone had been teasing Liu. It was the kind of harmless fun often directed at someone marrying a younger partner. Both Liu and Yeehyeon knew that. That was why Liu was being more tolerant of their jokes than usual. But even though Yeehyeon knew it was all in jest, he was still a little bothered.
He glanced at Liu to see if he was okay, but his smile was one of pure happiness. Sensing his gaze, Liu met Yeehyeon’s eyes, then wrapped his arms around the belly of the man who would soon officially be his spouse and placed a short kiss on his temple.
“So, let’s say he knelt on the Pont Neuf. What happened next?”
Kwon Juhan pressed for the rest of the story, and Choi Inwoo retorted with a shrug.
“What do you think happened? Yeehyeon-ssi must have said okay, which is why we’re all gathered here today.”
“No, no, that’s not all.”
Yuni shook her head, wagging her index finger from side to side. Then, with a meaningful smile, she looked at Yeehyeon.
“The truth is, that day, Yeehyeon had also prepared a proposal.”
The audience murmured, surprised. Even Choi Inwoo, who had been lounging back on the sofa, sat up straight.
“Seo Yeehyeon? Is this story for real, Yeehyeon-ssi?”
His attitude was even more incredulous than before. Beyond disbelief, he almost looked a little angry.
It wasn’t just Choi Inwoo; everyone gathered there seemed shocked. Only one person, Kwon Juhan, acted smug as if he had expected it all along.
“I thought Seo Yeehyeon would be the one to propose first.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No one here thought that.”
Choi Inwoo strongly denied it.
“Why not? Yeehyeon might seem passive, but he gets things done when he has to.”
“That’s true, but… my point is, Yeehyeon-ssi didn’t need to propose. Yeehyeon-ssi, you should have made him wait at least a week or two after he proposed. That punk A Wei would have been drying up from the suspense.”
“I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“……”
At Yeehyeon’s answer, everyone, including Choi Inwoo, fell silent. The focused gazes were burdensome, but today of all days, Yeehyeon wanted to freely express his love for Liu.
“I wanted to get married right away, so I prepared it in a hurry. Kun was just a little faster.”
Liu’s arms, wrapped around his side and lower belly, tightened their hold on Yeehyeon’s body. Warm lips pressed firmly against Yeehyeon’s temple. He could feel that those lips were smiling.
Across from them, Choi Inwoo threw up his hands like a gambler leaving a poker table after losing all his chips.
“I lose. I lose.”
■ ■ ■
That day he had run after Liu’s limousine as it left for the airport.
After taking a fever reducer and sleeping soundly, Yeehyeon belatedly felt his cheeks burn at his own actions. He couldn’t fathom what had possessed him to do such a thing. It hadn’t been a thought-out action.
The usual Yeehyeon would have told Liu to go back after he woke up. That he was fine now, so he could go to Seoul. But the Yeehyeon of that moment didn’t do that. Because he didn’t think he would be fine.
“It must be because of a hormonal imbalance. It can make you suddenly anxious or act impulsively. It’s a natural phenomenon.”
So there was no need to blame himself for acting a little differently than usual, Liu had reassured him gently. As always.
Liu’s words that a hormonal imbalance was the cause might have been true. But that incident had led Yeehyeon to a clear realization.
Watching the back of the departing car, he had felt an indescribable anxiety. The anxiety, at an intensity he had never felt before, was almost like a threat to his life. His legs had moved forward on their own. Like a drowning person flailing their limbs to survive, it was instinct.
And in the arms of Liu, who had run back and held him tight, Yeehyeon saw the emotion that had surfaced so clearly within him. An emotion so distinct it could not be ignored or misunderstood.
Yeehyeon had already decided to propose then.
Liu was reluctant to leave Yeehyeon alone even to go grocery shopping at the supermarket. He had been just as surprised as Yeehyeon, no, even more so. After calling Yuni and asking her to stay with Yeehyeon, he only left the apartment with a shopping basket after she had arrived.
This time, too, Yeehyeon reacted differently than before. He didn’t insist he was fine and could be alone. In fact, he welcomed it. There was something he wanted to ask Yuni for, a secret from Liu.
As if it were something he had been planning for a very long time, Yeehyeon laid out his plan to Yuni without hesitation. As she listened, Yuni’s eyes welled up with tears. It wasn’t often one saw her cry. Even Yuni herself seemed surprised by her reaction.
“Is it because I’ve watched you and the CEO get to this point from the sidelines? Why am I crying like this?”
“You must have had a hard time caught between us all this while. Thank you for all of that, noona.”
“So you do know?”
Wiping her tears with a tissue Yeehyeon handed her, Yuni shot him a glare that wasn’t entirely unfriendly.
“Just know that I was going through hell when you two broke up, huh?”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“And don’t forget that I stayed with you on that day you got incredibly drunk.”
“Okay.”
“I stayed by your side all night, thinking you might confess, even if only in a drunken stupor, that you missed him so much. But you never said a word about the CEO until the very end.”
“I’m a bit foolish, aren’t I?”
“Not foolish, strong.”
“You think so?”
“It was so obvious you were still in love, I wondered how you were enduring it… but now I know.”
“……”
“From the start, neither you nor the CEO had any intention of letting it end like that. You endured with hope because you believed it wasn’t the end.”
He thought Yuni was right about that. They had only needed time and distance; neither had said a word about breaking up. They had never once doubted that the other person was also thinking of them and focusing on the meaning of this time apart.
If they hadn’t done that, if they had glossed over that incident because it was too hard to be away from him right then, this day where they could look at each other without any reservations would not have existed. He didn’t doubt that in the slightest, either.
“To think the little bee who first came to ‘Phantom’ and just followed the manager around is getting married.”
“I know, right? I can’t believe it either.”
“And to Liu Weikun, of all people.”
Yuni and Yeehyeon looked at each other and smiled again.
“The CEO had better treat you really well.”
“He already does. You know that, noona.”
“I know. I know he’s the type of person who would lay down his life for you. But I don’t know why I can’t help but take your side like this.”
Yuni, who had been smiling with a shrug, suddenly burst into tears again. After crying and laughing for a while, another thought seemed to strike her, and she grabbed Yeehyeon’s shoulders, her expression serious.
“Yeehyeon, Seo Yeehyeon, don’t tell me… you’re not pregnant, are you?”
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