After receiving Kwon Taejung’s call and getting guidance from the staff who were already there, Yigyeom entered the Grand Ballroom with the sign. He was astonished by its tremendous scale, his mouth hanging open. Although he knew it was the most famous and beautiful venue in Korea, seeing it in person made him realize it was much larger and more impressive than he had thought.
“Wow….”
Yigyeom, still in awe, walked through the hall with Kwon Taejung, who was admiring the venue. Kwon Taejung nodded approvingly, as if he liked it.
“I want to fill the entire hall with flowers.”
“Oh, yes. It’s possible. Since you usually prefer decorating with flowers, we can set up flower arches on the entrance road, guest tables, chandeliers, and along the road to make it brighter and prettier.”
“As long as it’s not too much, it should be fine. I trust you to handle it well.”
Smiling externally, Kwon Taejung lightly tapped Yigyeom’s still dazed hand.
“Yigyeom, how about here? If we have it here, flowers will be placed along the entrance, the tables on these paths, and everywhere.”
“Let me show you a few pictures of some weddings here.”
A staff member took out a large tablet PC and quickly showed the two of them wedding photos with beautifully decorated flowers. Even without flowers, the place was impressive enough to be intimidating, but with the addition of vibrant flowers, it looked incredibly beautiful. Yigyeom couldn’t help but be captivated by the sight.
“…It’s so beautiful, Chief.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes….”
Appreciating the cute Yigyeom, Kwon Taejung asked the staff next to him.
“How many people can it accommodate at most?”
“We can accommodate up to 800 guests.”
“Oh, I see.”
“As you know, Chief, this hall is the largest in the country and has elegance. So, if you expect a lot of guests, I would recommend using only this Grand Ballroom.”
“Well, having a lot of guests….”
Kwon Taejung’s words about the guests were cut off abruptly. He realized that he was overlooking something important, caught up in the excitement of wanting to make everyone happy in the best place.
Guests. Why did he only now remember that there wouldn’t be many guests for Yigyeom to call? And once he thought of one thing, other things he had overlooked started to come back to him one after another.
Even the realization that there would be no one to sit in the honored guest seat, especially with Yigyeom’s stress during the guest invitation process or the potential for him to become extremely upset. Kwon Taejung looked at the staff again.
“Are there any minimum attendance restrictions?”
“We don’t have a specific restriction.”
“Um…. That’s a relief. So, can we fill about fifty people, and if there are empty spaces, can we fill them with flowers or decorations?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The staff, who had been told about accommodating up to eight hundred people, was momentarily surprised but soon nodded.
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“Yes, Chief. I will contact you again by the end of today.”
“Thank you.”
Kwon Taejung greeted the staff and walked toward Yigyeom approaching him. The excitement and happiness of marrying Yigyeom, which moments ago had touched the heart of the person he loved the most, suddenly sank as he thought it might hurt him.
“Have you seen everything?”
“Yes, it’s really big and nice. But, Chief….”
“Yeah, Yigyeom.”
“All these tables here… need to be filled with guests… but I don’t have anyone to invite….”
Had I not realized a little while ago, I might have looked stupidly stunned and didn’t know what to do after hearing Yigyeom’s words. Kwon Taejung thought he really needed to pull himself together and, with his arm around Yigyeom, walked along the long path from the entrance to the honored seats.
“Why would there be no one? The cat, dog, what else was there, a bear cosplayers maybe, that was wearing a wig with you. There’s also the café owner; we should invite him. Oh, and that dry cleaner gentleman, he won’t come, right? Ah, and the hunchback…. No, Hyunjoon, let’s call him Yigyeom’s guest. I don’t really want to call him my guest.”
“….”
“Also, lately, I’ve seen our mom and dad, and it seems likely that they will attend as Yigyeom’s parents.”
As Kwon Taejung, who had walked up to the front with honored seats, bent down to meet the eyes of Yigyeom, who was struggling, their eyes met.
“Let’s invite only people we both know. We can remove some tables. If we fill it up with flowers, it will be even prettier.”
“If I were the Chief… I probably couldn’t have done that….”
“How would I do it?”
“…Nicely….”
At the word “nicely,” Kwon Taejung laughed, and Yigyeom cried. Kwon Taejung was sincerely thankful for his understanding nature, always leaning towards him, without causing trouble in any situation.
Yigyeom knew that even if Kwon Taejung invited guests alone, he could easily fill this hall. There would be many people he got to know through work, and he would also know many people outside of work. Moreover, if he called relatives, the hall might not be enough.
However, now he was suggesting that they invite only people they both knew, thinking about me, who had no parents and no one specific to invite to the wedding. Yigyeom had never seen someone so kind and warm-hearted.
“Are you crying because I’m nice?”
“…”
“…Just keep being yourself.”
“…Because you always… always… accommodate me… I feel so sorry.”
Kwon Taejung now could understand Yigyeom’s feelings without going through a big process of trying to understand. It might be a similar emotion to when Yigyeom wasn’t delighted when he repaid the debt without saying anything.
“It’s only natural for me to accommodate our Yigyeom. Because I love you.”
“….”
“And it’s not just me accommodating. Yigyeom, you also accommodate me. Even if I say, ‘Let’s go greet someone,’ you go, and if Mom wants to meet, you go thinking about me. You even said I’m kind for bringing you here excitedly to see a wedding in this big hall.”
“….”
“That’s only natural. Our Yigyeom accommodates me because he loves me.”
“….”
“And I love too, so it’s Yigyeom accommodating you, not me. Because our Yigyeom is more important than me. I don’t care about guests; I really don’t want you to be upset because of those guests.”
Kwon Taejung’s honest words held great power. The power to turn everything into love…
“It’s not because I don’t want you to think about it… I feel so sorry for not being able to invite everyone you want to invite because of me.”
“Yigyeom. You just need to come to me.”
“….”
“Nothing else is needed.”
“….”
“Just come to me. Marry me.”
And the enormous power that makes everything else invisible except for Kwon Taejung. Yigyeom silently nodded, wiping away tears with his hands. Then, he took a step forward, embracing Kwon Taejung.
“Ah… I really wanted to propose more impressively. What’s this without even a ring?”
While embracing Kwon Taejung, Yigyeom slightly raised his head and looked down at me with affectionate eyes.
“A ring or something doesn’t matter.”
“….”
“…As long as I have Chief…”
“I’ll always be here. With our Yigyeom.”
Again, Yigyeom nodded while tightly hugging Kwon Taejung. That was enough, truly, there was nothing more to wish for.
“I love you, Chief.”
Yigyeom’s sincerity always broke down Kwon Taejung. He had never experienced such a breakdown in any situation, and this breakdown was so pleasant. That was Kwon Taejung’s love—losing the original self and crumbling into Yigyeom’s appearance. Kwon Taejung eagerly awaited the next breakdown.
“Yeah, I love you too. More than myself.”
Yigyeom, do you know? The traces I leave behind, changing everything into love, are greater than all the emotions I’ve felt throughout my life.
In the end, only one love will remain. Love for you alone. And I am waiting for that moment. The moment when I completely immerse myself in you, waiting for the next collapse.
* * *
After receiving Father’s call and going home with Yigyeom, Kwon Taejung, who had some free time, organized Yigyeom’s home clothes and underwear that he had brought with him in his drawer. When putting on the underwear, Yigyeom blushed and said he would do it himself.
Kwon Taejung sat down and, as if hiding the underwear in the drawer, gently kissed Yigyeom’s hair, cheeks, ears, and everywhere, tickling him.
“Dad will probably talk about the wedding today. When to do it, how to do it… He’ll probably mention if he has any plans. I haven’t mentioned that I went to see the wedding venue yet.”
“Ah…”
“Let’s talk to the family later.”
“Yes…”
Yigyeom, tilting his head, leaned towards him, feeling a bit dazed by the pheromone scent pouring from Kwon Taejung. Being immersed in Kwon Taejung’s pheromones could be very calming, but unavoidably, strange sensations attached to his body here and there. Yigyeom turned his body, embracing Kwon Taejung and burying his face in the nape of his neck, taking a long breath.
“Now, let’s go downstairs for dinner. You said you wanted to eat meat. How about steak for dinner tonight? Should I carry you?”
“W, walk…”
Even if he nodded as a joke, Yigyeom knew that if he did, Kwon Taejung would really carry him downstairs. Surprised, Yigyeom, who had risen abruptly, held Kwon Taejung’s hand, sitting on the floor, and helped him up.
“But it seems Piyak will make sure Yigyeom’s dad eats well today. Keep doing that in the future too.”
Kwon Taejung, gently patting Yigyeom’s belly with his palm, carefully descended the stairs while holding Yigyeom. It might be better to use the first-floor room or the annex from the next time rather than going up and down the stairs like this.
Before entering the dining room, Kwon Taejung briefly stood Yigyeom and let him smell the food first. Fortunately, the smell of steak pulled Yigyeom inside. Yigyeom sat down, looking at the delicious-looking steaks placed at each spot.
And as expected, the steak was very delicious. After a long time, enjoying a good meal, Yigyeom ate the peach mousse brought by Kwon Taejung and warm tea as dessert, and also had two chocolates with pretty shapes. Kwon Taejung’s parents watched Yigyeom eat with great satisfaction and waited until he finished dessert to bring up the topic.
“So, have you discussed the wedding plans for you two?”
“Oh, yes. We want to have it at our hotel’s Grand Ballroom. We went to see it a few days ago and asked when the earliest date for the ceremony is. The soonest available date is in three weeks, so we thought it would be good to have it then.”
“Three weeks? So soon?”
“I wanted to do it next week, but next week is already fully booked for weddings, so we couldn’t free up time.”
Father tilted his head in surprise at Kwon Taejung’s words about wanting to get married next week, thinking it was a joke without a hint of laughter.
“Is that a sincere statement?”
“Yes.”
