On a certain day in March, when I felt the connection with politicians throughout my body.
As the traces of winter completely disappeared and spring approached in April, the time for the promised event was gradually drawing near.
The wedding of Senior Jiun, which had been scheduled early on.
It felt a bit awkward to be going in the couple’s car, but when the sister said she would drive us herself, there was no way we could refuse.
“Are these the kids who are supposed to take care of you?”
“Yeah, aren’t both of them cute?”
Although she said she would drive us, Senior Jiun wasn’t the one behind the wheel.
It was the first time I had seen her, who always sat in the driver’s seat, sitting in the passenger seat.
Shiyeon, jumping in the conversation, greeted the groom’s side.
“Hello!”
“Hello.”
With Shiyeon’s sudden greeting punch, a voice replied from the driver’s seat while bowing slightly in return.
“Oh, hey there!”
With a kind and gentle voice, his voice passed the passing mark.
He had a serious voice, one that seemed unlikely to break even if he belted a high note at karaoke, making him an attractive groom.
His face was handsome enough that you wouldn’t hear it described as unattractive, and even though I couldn’t recall who he was, he had a celebrity-like appearance.
Based solely on appearance, it was undoubtedly a big win.
The reason I was unexpectedly evaluating the groom was… it just felt like that.
Maybe it’s a feeling of wanting the people you know to do well.
The man driving continued to focus on the road ahead and muttered as if to let the person next to him hear.
“If I just had two daughters like that, it would be perfect.”
“Why, don’t you want a son?”
“I wouldn’t want a son who looks like me; how would I ever handle that?”
The two continued their lighthearted banter, talking about various things and future plans.
They say that after a few years of dating, the honeymoon phase fades and all they do is fight….
Despite that rumor, the groom and Senior Jiun seemed sweeter than sesame seeds pouring out.
To some extent, it felt like a scene fitting for Senior Jiun, who had set aside her job as a magical girl for this day.
Before long, we arrived at the wedding venue’s parking lot.
The exterior of the building was larger than your average skyscraper.
“Wow, it’s huge!”
Shiyeon tilted her head back in awe, seemingly about to fall over.
But for the two of us, who had seen such large buildings frequently, we hurriedly exited the car, as if we had pressed the fast-forward button, and began acting busier.
“What floor did we say we were on? Third floor?”
“Yeah, third floor. We’re a little late… we need to hurry. Mary? Can you take care of Shiyeon? It’s the third floor!?”
“Of course.”
I curled my right hand’s thumb and index finger into a circle to give an okay sign in response to Senior Jiun’s question.
Following the running Senior Jiun, the man behind her, seemingly flustered, turned back while matching her pace.
“Wait, is it alright to leave the kids behind?”
“It’s fine, just hurry! We’re really late!”
‘Late…?’
With that statement, I tilted my head back like Shiyeon, checking the color of the sky.
The sky still hadn’t shaken off the blue hue of the early dawn.
When I turned on my smartphone to check, the time was 6:33 AM.
“Ugh.”
How much time did they think it would take to prepare for a wedding at 10 AM that we were already late?
I let out a hollow laugh, bewildered by the complete lack of understanding of the wedding venue’s time.
“Hey? Where did the sister go?”
“She went in already; stop sightseeing and let’s go in.”
“Okay.”
As I stepped into the building’s entrance, the first floor was empty, with few staff members in sight.
In addition to us, there was a sign indicating the floor numbers for the people getting married.
[3rd Floor]
[Groom Lee Dae-han]
[Bride Seo Ji-un]
After finding the correct sign and confirming the floor was the third, we walked over to the elevator.
Still, shouldn’t there be at least a couple of staff keeping an eye on the two kids walking into the venue?
Leaving that doubt behind, I pressed the button for the third floor in the elevator.
At the height I could barely reach as a first-year, now I could press it comfortably at chest height, making me realize once again that I had grown.
“Third floor.”
With a recorded voice, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
Having no idea what to say with the groom’s waiting room ahead, we headed straight for the bride’s waiting room.
After walking down the empty, white corridor for a while, I saw the spacious bride’s waiting room.
As if the sound of my cute footsteps reached the sister’s ears, she turned around, twisting her body as she spoke amidst several people working on various makeup tools.
“Oh, did Shiyeon and Mary come? Sit over there.”
“Ah! Don’t move!”
“Oh, I’m sorry…”
However, the staff at the wedding venue were quick to scold her even for moving a little.
The usual Senior Jiun vanished instantly, leaving only her quietly getting her makeup done.
Seeing her in a white dress, nervously sitting still like a doll for makeup, gave me mixed feelings.
Will I ever be like that one day?
Wearing floaty clothes, getting my makeup done, and having a crush on someone?
‘Will I even be able to do that?’
With a snort of laughter escaping me, I admired the transforming Senior Jiun with each step of makeup.
Shiyeon, too, seemed to have no aversion to waiting as she sparkled her eyes while taking in the unique décor around.
Watching Senior Jiun turn whiter and whiter, Shiyeon appeared to be becoming quite interested.
‘Ugh, I can’t take it.’
After staring like that for several tens of minutes, as the time passed beyond what I’d expected, my initial thoughts of ‘she’s so pretty’ changed to ‘is all this really necessary?’
It felt like they had done all visible makeup, yet there were still people clinging to her.
Only after a full two hours passed and I sat there merely observing did I become utterly exhausted.
It was like I was caught in between a group of women choosing outfits, just sitting on a small sofa.
Shiyeon didn’t seem to mind the wait; when the makeup was finally done, and Senior Jiun moved to sit on a large white sofa, she hopped around showering her with compliments.
“You look so beautiful, sister!”
“Really? Both of you come here, um… can you take a picture with this?”
“Me too?”
“Who else is there but you?”
Perhaps wanting to take at least one more photo while she was all dressed up, Senior Jiun called us over.
We hurriedly approached the sofa, sitting in a spacious arrangement with Senior Jiun in the center.
It was not a sofa I could honestly say was incredibly soft, even as a kind remark.
Perhaps due to having experienced luxury on our trip to the United States, it felt uncomfortable even if my stomach was full.
With a click, our image was captured in a photograph.
Just like that, we left a picture of a woman who hadn’t even had her ceremony yet, appearing to have two kids.
Senior Jiun saved one original photo on her smartphone and sent each of us one as well.
Now it was 8:43 AM, and it was about time for guests to start arriving at the venue.
Just about an hour until it hit 10 AM.
While some would merely pay their respects and disappear into the restaurant, others were looking for the bride and groom.
“This girl said she wouldn’t get married and look at her now, she’s the first one to go.”
“Ugh.”
“Wow, you look lovely, quickly, let’s take a picture!”
Surrounded by friends, Senior Jiun, in a playful pose, was being gathered around for photos.
I wondered if they were school friends; either way, they seemed quite close.
Guests kept approaching Senior Jiun one by one.
Among them were also some middle-aged men in suits.
About 20 minutes before it hit 10, we were seated in a good spot that only close friends or relatives of the bride could sit at, waiting for 10 AM.
Reality and drama differ a lot, but surprisingly, there weren’t many differences in this wedding.
With romantic music playing, shining lights in the darkness, and a majestic march.
The man who had looked quite refined in the car truly looked like a celebrity appearing at a public event as he dressed up in a suit.
Unlike the groom’s entrance scene where he casually walked on the carpet, Senior Jiun appeared wearing a white veil, stepping into the spotlight under completely dimmed lights.
“Wow….”
Several people were trailing behind, carrying the veil along the carpet.
Shiyeon’s admiration burst out.
Even I, who usually only thought of buffets when it came to weddings, started to seriously ponder the meaning of a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for a woman.
The sound of endless applause filled the wedding hall.
After that, well.
It was the usual wedding fare.
Fluffily rising declarations filled the air, mentioning both sets of parents and all sorts of formalities.
Reciting vows of love with no option to say no.
“With the blessings to always be upon the path of two moving as one, I ask the guests to rise from their seats and extend their warmest applause. The bride and groom! March forth with strength and happiness!”
At the host’s words, returning the way we came, walking back along the crowded carpet was the last part.
Starting from a single clap, the collected sounds turned into a massive roar.
The insignificant clapping of Shiyeon and I was drowned out in the adult applause, hardly echoing in our ears.
And so, after the significant events of the wedding passed…
“Here’s your meal ticket.”
“Meal ticket!”
Typically, you would pay a congratulatory fee and receive a meal ticket right there.
While I could have certainly paid if necessary, Senior Jiun had purposefully brought a few for us two.
Our seats were designated specifically for friends of the bride.
In fact, a good number had left right after the ceremony to have a meal, so there were plenty of empty seats.
As if marking “there’s someone here,” I left my belongings at the seat and pulled out a wide dish from the tray.
Now it was time to fill my sufficiently empty stomach.
“Let’s go!”
“Woohoo!”
The two of us headed to the corner filled with fried items and meat, thoroughly ignoring the salads.
