When Night And Day Become One

|| Twenty One ||

I wiped the tears that flowed on my cheeks and placed the letter back inside the box.

I was positive Hannah would not be happy upon seeing me crying on this day. And as if to prove me right, the door opened and Hannah entered, beaming, but it was immediately replaced with a frown upon seeing my tear-stricken face.

"Jiyeon, are you crying?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.

I bit my lips and smiled. "I'm okay, Hannah. I just remembered something from the past."

Glancing at the box beside me, she shook her head and tsked at me.

"Not the accident again?" she guessed disapprovingly. "Jiyeon, you have to forget it and move on. Bury it in the past and face your future with new hope. You know that's what Lu Han wants, right?"

It had been four years since the time of the accident and yet I still couldn't get it out of my mind completely. Every time I flashed back to that day, my heart would tighten so much it would be difficult for me to breathe.

I nodded. "I know. And I will."

"That's better. Now smile for me, would you?" she said, putting her hands on my shoulder and stirring me towards the body-length mirror.

"Come on, Jiyeon," she whined. "Smile, like this," she said, smiling herself.

Hannah looked so cute at the same time she looked threatening that I couldn't help but do what she told me to.

She brightened at my reflection. "See? A smile suits you better than a frown," she said, gesturing to the mirror. "Now I'm absolutely sure that you're the most beautiful bride in the history of the most beautiful brides."

Lu Han actually woke up two days after the day I read his letter. And his recovery was faster than anyone could have ever hoped. And just two months ago, on the night of our college graduation, he proposed to me, telling me there was no way he would ever let me go.

Of course, I said yes. Who in their right mind would say no? And today was our wedding day.

But with the unfathomable joy that this day had given, I couldn't help but think back to the accident that had almost made me lose him.

I know I should follow Mom and Hannah's advice, but there was a part of me that couldn't stop worrying. But now I had to stop. I couldn't be tied down to the past forever. Lu Han was alive and that was all that should matter.

I snorted at Hannah what just said. "Pfft. You're just saying that because you're my best friend, aren't you?" I asked, pretending to eye her suspiciously.

She laughed. "No silly. I'm serious. Lu Han will fall in love with you all over again once he sees you," she said confidently.

I smiled at the thought.

I blinked back my tears when my father took my hand and walked me down the aisle. His eyes were brimming with tears as well. "I'm happy for you, Sweetie," Dad whispered, his voice breaking a little at the end.

I knew he and Mom were having a hard time accepting the fact that I'm not going to be their little girl anymore, but I also knew that they were indeed truly happy for me.

When I had seen Mom's tears when she entered my room, I was sure she was remembering the time when I couldn't walk yet, the time when I first cried, the time when I first talked, the time when I first called her Mom and all those others times we've had together. I knew because I was thinking of those times as well.

And the moment I looked into my Dad's teary eyes, I knew he was having a hard time telling himself that he wouldn't be able to see me as often as he'd like, that he wouldn't be able to share stories with me as often like we've done all those times before and that he was now sharing my heart with someone else. I knew because it was hard telling myself that, too.