Fiancé (2)

"Is that true? Liu actually did that? I can't believe it."

Shushu tilted his head, giving a perplexed smile.

"Have you been living under a rock? I'm telling you — the Director actually got down on one knee on the Pont Neuf!"

Yuni stressed the point again, looking exasperated.

She was passionately recounting the details of the proposal on behalf of the day's couple — since the person most directly involved was so tight-lipped about it.

"But he was the one who hated that kind of old-fashioned proposal the most. Director Liu."

Manager Han also seemed incredulous. As the audience's doubt persisted, Yuni turned to Yeehyeon.

"Yeehyeon, say something."

"Me?"

"These people don't believe it. You have to be the witness. Did the Director propose on the Pont Neuf while kneeling, or didn't he?"

Yeehyeon hadn't expected the proposal itself to attract this much attention. Everyone was staring at him with eyes that demanded the truth. He had been standing behind the sofa, listening as though he were a third party, and the concentrated gazes felt like pressure. Liu had stepped away briefly at the wedding planner's call, leaving no one to rescue him.

"Uh… yes. He did."

Yeehyeon finally nodded, slowly.

"See? I told you so."

Yuni surveyed the group with a smug tilt of her chin. Choi Inwu, who had been listening with a conspicuously bored expression — unlike the other guests hanging on every word — shook his head and muttered.

"I can't believe it. I really can't believe it."

It was then that Liu reappeared.

"Well, I am a bit of an unbelievable guy."

He had slipped back up behind Yeehyeon without anyone noticing and inserted himself into the conversation with easy nonchalance. He had only been gone about five minutes, but Yeehyeon was visibly relieved to see him. His expression brightened the moment he turned, without him even realizing it.

"Why did Javier call for you?"

Javier was the wedding planner Suki Kim had recommended. Originally from Spain, based in Hong Kong, he had perfectly understood the vision the couple wanted and brought it to life. Thanks to him, they had been able to prepare smoothly for this day, even while split between Paris and Seoul.

"He wanted me to take a look at the arch on the second floor."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Yeehyeon immediately looked anxious, and Liu looped an arm around his waist and smiled.

"Nothing like that. You know what Javier's like. He just wanted us to check it because he's thorough. Everything is perfect — please relax."

Choi Inwu, seated on the sofa diagonally across from where the two stood, was giving Liu a sideways look.

"You knelt on the Pont Neuf and proposed?"

"I did. What about it?"

Liu, who had lightly wrapped an arm around Yeehyeon's waist from behind and rested his chin on his shoulder, raised an eyebrow as if asking what the problem was.

"Liu Weikun's past dates would faint if they heard that."

"Hmm… did the Director ever even see someone more than ten times? He wasn't exactly generous with his time."

As Manager Han joined in after Choi Inwu, Liu playfully covered Yeehyeon's ears.

"Are you going to do this to me too, Manager Han? I'm the groom. What if I get kicked out right after the wedding?"

Choi Inwu grimaced as if he had just witnessed something deeply unsettling.

"To say the word 'groom' about yourself. Excuse me — who are you, really?"

Then he caught Yeehyeon's eye and gestured toward Liu with his chin.

"Yeehyeon, is that man actually Liu Weikun?"

Before Yeehyeon could answer, Kwon Juhan cut in.

"He's certainly not the Director I knew. That much I can say for certain."

Everyone had been teasing Liu since the rehearsal the night before — the sort of harmless ribbing often aimed at someone marrying a younger partner across an age gap. Both Liu and Yeehyeon understood that. Which was why Liu was tolerating more than usual. And even though Yeehyeon knew perfectly well it was a joke, he still felt a faint, protective prickle of annoyance.

He glanced back at Liu to check that he was all right, but Liu's smile looked genuinely happy. Sensing the gaze, Liu met his eyes, then wrapped an arm around the waist of the man who would soon officially be his, and pressed a brief kiss to his temple.

"So he got down on one knee at the Pont Neuf — fine. What happened next?"

Kwon Juhan urged Yuni onward, and Choi Inwu shrugged.

"What do you think happened? Yeehyeon said yes, so here we all are."

"No, no — that's not the whole story."

Yuni shook her head, wagging her index finger. Then she looked at Yeehyeon with a meaningful smile.

"Actually, Yeehyeon had also prepared a proposal that day."

A ripple of surprise went through the group. Choi Inwu, who had been lounging loosely against the sofa, straightened up.

"Seo Yeehyeon? Is that story true, Yeehyeon?"

His expression was even more disbelieving than before — bordering on slightly offended.

Not just Choi Inwu — everyone gathered there was surprised. Everyone, that is, except Kwon Juhan, who wore the expression of someone who had seen this coming all along.

"I thought Seo Yeehyeon would propose first."

"Don't make me laugh. Nobody here thought that."

Choi Inwu denied it emphatically.

"Why not? Even if Yeehyeon seems passive, he's the type to act when it counts."

"That's true, but — what I mean is, Yeehyeon didn't need to propose. After being proposed to, couldn't you have played hard to get for at least a week or two? Awi would have been withering away from anxiety."

"I couldn't wait any longer."

"......"

At Yeehyeon's words, everyone — including Choi Inwu — fell quiet. The weight of all those eyes felt like pressure, but Yeehyeon wanted to express his love for Liu openly, at least for today.

"I wanted to get married right away, so I rushed the preparations. Though Kun was a bit quicker about it," he added.

Liu's arms, wrapped around his waist and lower abdomen, tightened. Warm lips pressed firmly against Yeehyeon's temple. He could feel those lips smiling.

Across from them, Choi Inwu threw up his hands like a gambler walking away from a table after losing everything.

"I lose. I lost."