Wedding
" More Than Perfect "
A soft knock on the door takes the young man’s attention away from the full-length mirror. He shifts a bit to the side, revealing a reflection of a woman in her early 50’s on the mirror, all dolled up for one of the most memorable moment in her life – her only son’s wedding.
She walks towards his son and takes the black silk bow tie from the man’s large hand – the hand that once just big enough to wrap around her finger, now grown so large it easily swallows hers. She tips a little on her toes to wrap the tie over his upright collar.
“After this, someone else will do this for you.” She expertly weaves her fingers, magically producing a black butterfly knot sitting on the young man’s neck.
He holds her calloused hands and presses them against his cheeks. These were the hands that fed him, bathed him, put him to sleep; they’ve become coarse and wrinkled over time. The look that he gives to his dearest mother says a thousand words of gratitude.
She takes in the features of her now matured son. “Now my little fatty is going to become a husband,” she sighs.
He wraps his long arms around his mother’s lithe waist. “And you’re going to earn a new son. A very cute one at that,” and continues it with a smile that speaks ‘and we will always love you’.
A knock on the door interrupts their solemn moment.
“Sorry to disturb you guys,” a velvety voice follows. The mother and groom-to-be turn to the door, and they were greeted by a cheerful man none other than Kevin Shin, Yifan’s long-time best friend. With a pout on his face, he informs them, “But the other groom is about to arrive.”
Yifan’s mother pats him on the shoulder and whispers a soft ‘see you outside’.
Turning to the mirror for the last time, he checks his ensemble carefully: chic black tuxedo over a same coloured shirt with a purplish-pink orchid boutonniere pinned on his left chest, and smartly-styled hair on point. He looks dashing to whomever is looking. But somehow, something is lacking. Then after a while, it occurs to him.
His other half is not by his side to complete him right now.
When he passes by the door to head over to the wedding hall, Kevin blocks his way, hand spread out in front of him, asking for his phone. He hesitates for a while before fishing out his phone from his pocket, typing out one last text message to his spouse-to-be.
Can’t wait to kiss you
ʚɞ
The red traffic light changes to green. Joonmyun’s father shifts his right foot off the brake and onto the accelerator, driving the black Mercedes Benz towards its destination.
Joonmyun takes in the view along the road. One more turn, he tells himself, one more turn and then you’ll get to meet him.
He feels a vibration in the left side pocket of his pants. When he retrieves his phone, the car comes to a halt. His parents alight from the black car, and Joonmyun steals a chance to read the message Yifan has sent him.
A knock from the other side of the window takes his attention away. He opens the door and steps out of the car, only to have a fancy flower bouquet shoved into his hand.
“Take this. And I need your phone,” rushes Kevin.
“But I need to repl– ”
“Kris’ phone is with me right now.” Kevin says matter-of-factly, using Yifan's English name. "He won't get to see it," he adds as he grabs Joonmyun's phone and tucks it in the pocket of his jacket.
When he is about to usher Joonmyun’s parents into the hall, Kevin feels a soft tug on his arm. Turning, he sees Joonmyun holding out a small piece of ripped paper to him.
ʚɞ
Waiting for Yifan at the podium are Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the masters of ceremonies; and Jongdae, their wedding officiant. When the four of them are together, Yifan is bound to be the butt of the joke, helpless as he accepts whatever comes to him. As much as he tries to laugh with them, it is as clear as day that he is actually nervous – judging by the trembles he has in his laughter. The trio glance at each other before Chanyeol stands beside the groom, placing an arm around his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, hyung, everything will be just fine.”
Hopefully, Yifan mouths.
The last few weeks had been literally hell for them; what not with the sudden change of venue, their wedding photographer bailed at the last minute, and Joonmyun nearly called off their wedding due to immense stress. But he should not think of what had happened, instead he should focus on what is going to happen now because finally it has come – the day where Wu Yifan and Kim Joonmyun will be getting all the blessings from their friends and families – and it will be as perfect as it can be.
Kevin rushes to where the MCs are standing, informing them that the other groom has arrived. Yifan follows Jongdae’s lead to the middle of the stage only to be stopped by Kevin.
“Here,” Kevin produces a piece of paper from his pocket. “Someone asked me to give you this.”
Before moving towards his spot beside the stage, he pats the groom on the shoulder, a silent form of bidding good luck to his friend.
Piano music from the sound system fills the hall. Yifan quickly unravels the paper, eyes drinking in the words written there. The message works like a charm, pacifying the storm of nervousness inside him:
I can’t wait to kiss you too
Yifan releases his pent-up breath, and watches Joonmyun’s parents take their seats in the front row. He looks over to the other side, smiling as his mom gives him two thumbs up.
The moment Joonmyun invades his line of vision, his breathing literally comes to a halt. His ears can’t hear a thing; eyes can’t see anything other than the person who is walking down the aisle.
Pretty is not a common adjective to describe a man, but there is no other word that could cross Yifan’s mind as he takes in the view of Joonmyun striding down the aisle in an all-white attire with a bouquet of red rose and pale-pink orchid in his hands. Yifan has no idea how an angel looks like in real life but if there’s any representation of it in human form, Joonmyun will be the one.
When light hits Joonmyun’s hair, only then does Yifan realize that Joonmyun has dyed his black hair back to auburn. The memory of their first meeting flashes inside his head like a movie, making Yifan realize that no matter how many times he’s seen Joonmyun, the latter still manages to take his breath away.
Back then, he wouldn’t have dreamed of getting married with Kim Joonmyun. Yet here they are.
They look complete like this, standing side by side, the colour of their suits complementing each other. From Yifan’s vantage point, he can see the top of Joonmyun’s head.
“Nice hair,” praises Yifan. Think I won’t notice?
The end of Joonmyun’s eyebrow quirks. “Thank you.” You better.
They should be paying attention to the wedding officiant who is delivering his welcoming speech right now but Yifan seems to have another thing in mind. The way the light hits Joonmyun fascinates him to no end, and he can’t stop staring. A soft jab on his ribs comes as a warning; look forward.
“Sorry,” whispers Yifan. “You’re too beautiful.”
The blush that appears on Joonmyun’s apple cheeks informs Yifan that he is now forgiven.
“And now I invite Wu Yifan to give his vow to his partner,” Jongdae points the mic to Yifan, holding it in place while signalling him to take out his written vow. Yifan produces a piece of folded paper from his jacket and grabs the mic from the wedding officiant.
“This maybe too cliché but it is what I have always wanted to say and I hope that all of you would hold on to your shoes.” The crowd bursts into laughter and Yifan proceeds to read what he has prepared the night before.
“I remember you were telling me that you wanted to have the perfect wedding, so we gave our best to make it happen, even though it means sacrificing good night sleeps and sparing a mountain of phone bills. I saw the joy in your eyes, the glee in your voice as you told me how perfect our wedding would be.”
The brilliant beam on Joonmyun’s face gradually softens as he recalls the time when they were snuggling on their couch, with Yifan lending his arm to use as a support when Joonmyun told him about the cake that he chose and the songs that he picked for the wedding. And for every time Joonmyun had asked ‘It’s going to be perfect, right?’, without fail Yifan would always answer with a ‘Yes, baby’.
“But no matter how much you plan, unexpected things would happen. I remember you were crying on my shoulder saying that you have failed me, failed us. But I don’t understand why you were saying that. Because for me, having you right here in front of me, is already more than perfect for me.”
The smaller man’s lips begin to tremble and he tries his hardest not to look down to hide his glistening eyes.
“From today onwards there will be more moments where things won’t go our way, but I promise you that when they happen, I would always stay by your side. I love you.”
Joonmyun mouths his reply of I love you too.
Jongdae takes the mic from Yifan and announces Joonmyun’s turn to read his vow. The officiant exchanges the mic he is holding with the bouquet in Joonmyun’s hand, then steps away from the couple.
The sound of Joonmyun’s exhaled breath passes through the mic and he starts.
“I cannot promise never to be angry;
I cannot promise always to be kind.
You know what you are taking on, my darling –
It's only at the start that love is blind.”
Yifan should’ve expected that Joonmyun would give his vow in a poem, and it makes him feel inadequate for not preparing one for his groom. But he knows Joonmyun wouldn’t mind, for he had meant every single word that he had said just now, and it’s all that matters.
“And yet I'm still the one you want to be with
And you're the one for me – of that I'm sure.
You are my closest friend, my favourite person,
The lover and the home I've waited for.”
If Yifan paid enough attention, he would’ve noticed that the poem was from Joonmyun’s book collection, and that he has already read it before. But the way Joonmyun delivers makes him forget that it is Wendy Cope’s. It sounds more like Joonmyun’s own heart and soul being translated into words. And for that he is thankful for Joonmyun has found a shelter in him.
“I cannot promise that I will deserve you
From this day on. I hope to pass that test.
I love you and I want to make you happy.
I promise I will do my very best.”
The accomplished look on Joonmyun’s face makes Yifan’s heart burst with pride. He can’t wait to take Joonmyun into his arms and seal the vow with a kiss, but they have one more thing left to do.
“Yifan and Joonmyun, the vows you have exchanged are words that are fleeting, and the sound of them is soon gone. The wedding ring becomes an enduring symbol of the promises you have made.”
Yifan takes off the ring on his right pinky, while Joonmyun, the ring on his right index finger.
“With these rings as a token of commitment and love, please slip the rings all the way onto your husbands’ fingers.”
Yifan feels trembles – whether from his hand or Joonmyun’s he isn’t sure – as he holds the smaller’s hand onto his upturned hand. Yifan places the ring on the tip on Joonmyun’s ring finger and holds it there until Joonmyun urges him to just get on with it.
“Don’t ever take it off okay?” begs Yifan as he pushes the ring to its destined place.
As he takes his turn to slip the ring on Yifan’s finger, Joonmyun threatens to kill Yifan if he ever loses the ring, to which Yifan responds with I’d never, and a kiss on Joonmyun’s banded finger.
“And now, I pronounce both of you eligible to change your Facebook status to ‘Married’.”
The spectators laugh together with the couple for thinking that it is just a joke, but no one expects Kevin to come up on the stage and hand them their partner’s phone.
“Before we proceed to seal the vow with a kiss, I need the grooms to log into their partner’s Facebook account.”
Waves of murmur come from the crowd. The grooms have a baffled look on their faces when their Facebook profiles are projected on the canvas hanging above the podium.
The clueless expressions that the couple have right now amuses the crowd (and Jongdae, the mastermind) to no end.
Yifan stares at Joonmyun phone’s locked screen, uncertain of what the passcode may be. He tries 2205 - Joonmyun’s birthdate - but it’s proven to be wrong. Next, he types 0522 yet it still doesn’t work. Trying his luck, he types 0611, revealing the home screen with a picture of them as the wallpaper. Yifan’s heart swells at the fact that Joonmyun puts his birthdate as the lock code.
Meanwhile, Joonmyun is having a leisure time breaking Yifan’s phone code because it is as simple as 0000, but surprise fills him when he sees a collage of his own face, from his ridiculously sleepy to sassy to pouty expressions, decorating the background.
Jongdae ensures that both of them are on their Facebook profiles before asking both of them, “Now please change your Facebook status to ‘Married’.”
Two boxes of new status updates pop onto their timeline, and that news is awarded by a thunderous clap from the crowd.
Both of them look at Jongdae in excitement, waiting for the official signal.
“Oh yes,” Jongdae takes their phones away and rushes to the podium where Baekhyun and Chanyeol are standing before shouting, “YOU MAY NOW KISS YOUR GROOM!”
They share a moment of silent agreement before Yifan leans in and Joonmyun stands on his toes so their lips meet each other. They have kissed a thousand times in every possible way, and every time is not less special than the other, except for today (and their first kiss).
As the flash ignites and the shutter goes off, their first kiss as husband and husband is captured for eternity.
