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Beomgyu has always been a believer in the unknown. He likes to think that it’s the Pisces in him that draws him to the more mystical things in life. It’s not that he believes in a god, or devotes himself to a religion. To him, it’s much more intangible than that.
As a child, he believed in the tooth fairy for far too long. He always made his dad check under the bed and all the closets for monsters. And even when his older brother told him one evening that Santa Clause wasn’t real and it was just mom and dad all along, he still stayed in denial for an entire year.
Even now, as an adult in his twenties with a stable job and a fiance, Beomgyu hasn’t changed.
While most of his friends grew out of the old superstitions their mothers drilled into their heads, Beomgyu is still cautious. He never sleeps with the fan on, even in the hottest months of summer, and not even Yeonjun and his pitiful puppy dog eyes can convince him otherwise.
In high school, he always kept a stash of yeot in the first draw of his desk. It was supposed to make whatever he studied stick. Admittedly, it probably didn’t work much—his grades never climbed over a B, but they were tasty, and at the very least provided a needed boost to his morale.
He never whistles at night time. There was a time a year into his relationship with Yeonjun when they were pet-sitting his neighbour’s dog. They’d taken him on an evening stroll to a nearby park and when Yeonjun had foolishly whistled to get the dog’s attention, Beomgyu had given him an earful.
But he wouldn’t call it anything serious. When people call him superstitious (Taehyun) or even dramatic (Soobin), he just laughs them off. He’s just being careful. And besides, he doesn’t follow everything. He let Yeonjun gift him a pair of expensive shoes for his birthday last year, and he hasn’t run away in them (yet). So they can’t all be true.
It’s just that recently, with the most important event of his life looming, his emotions have been all over the place. He’s been happy and stressed and anxious. He’s lost sleep, money and his sanity planning his dream day. He’s been insecure, and at times he’s questioned whether Yeonjun has had any second thoughts.
Suffice to say, the last few months of being engaged to the love of his life have been full of happiness and chaos in equal measure.
So if he’s a little more gullible now, then he thinks he should be forgiven. It’s a sensitive time, and he just wants everything to be perfect.
It’s a night like any other when he comes across an intriguing article. He’s laying in bed beside his sleeping fiance. The clock on his phone has just ticked past two a.m, and Yeonjun is fast asleep.
Beomgyu is a night owl, so he’s almost always awake at this time. It’s a sacred time. He gets his daily fill of internet scrolling, online shopping, and admiring the lifeless boy beside him uninterrupted.
Right now his cheek is squished against the pillow, pouty lips forced open, and a trail of drool is spilling down the corner of his mouth. Beomgyu should probably think it’s disgusting. But like all things relating to Yeonjun, he just finds it unfairly cute. He doesn’t even feel ashamed— he’s long past that point in their relationship. He’s fully given into The Yeonjun Effect .
But Beomgyu has more pressing matters than this pretty boy. He turns back to the screen of his phone as his thumb presses down on the highlighted link. It brings him to an article titled: The tradition that has kept English couples together since the 19th Century.
He shifts onto his stomach, eyes lit up, and begins to scroll.
Something old
Something new
Something borrowed
Something blue
This age-old rhyme describes the four things a bride should wear at her wedding. Something old is believed to provide protection for the future babies to come. Something new provides optimism and happiness for the future.
Something borrowed is meant to be taken from a happy couple. It imparts good luck and fortune on the new couple.
Finally, something blue strengthens fidelity. It’s the colour of purity and loyalty, and wearing something blue on your wedding is traditionally a way to stop your partner from losing faith in your marriage.
According to a survey conducted amongst British women who engaged in the tradition, over 70 per cent are still married to this day. This is an astonishing feat for a country where about one in three marriages ends in divorce.
In 2019 alone, over—
Beomgyu sits up so abruptly he rouses Yeonjun. The older’s face scrunches up just like a baby, and he lets out a soft whine. He watches his hand search blindly across the covers until he gets a feel of Beomgyu (his palm lands right on his thigh, which is a funny act of fate, because it’s his favourite spot) and then he forces his eyes open painfully. It’s like he’s fighting demons.
“Baby,” he rasps out, voice a little deeper when it’s thick with sleep. Beomgyu’s heart does a flip in his chest, and he settles a hand on top of Yeonjun’s. “Somethin’ happen?”
Beomgyu shakes his head and squeezes Yeonjun’s hand. He slides his phone underneath his pillow and scoots down until he can lay down again, this time on his side. He inches closer to Yeonjun until their knees are knocking, and leans in to leave a small kiss to the corner of his mouth. He knows he’s probably touching his lips to Yeonjun’s drool, but he feels no shame.
“Nothing, hyung,” he whispers, a hand sliding up to smooth through Yeonjun’s hair. The hand on his thigh has climbed its way up to his waist instead, and it tugs him forward until he’s half-buried in Yeonjun’s broad chest. “Go back to sleep, okay?”
It doesn’t take much more persuasion than that. He feels the older’s breathing even out a few seconds later, chest rising and falling with a gentle, steady rhythm. It’s almost comical how quickly he’d been woken up with fear that something had happened to him, and how quickly Beomgyu had been able to put him back to sleep.
It’s adorable, and most importantly it’s distracting. Whatever task he was in the middle of doing early is no longer at the forefront of his mind. Instead, he’s just thinking about Yeonjun, and his sleepy voice, and how warm he feels pressed against him.
Beomgyu lets himself snuggle in deeper, inhaling the scent that’s distinctly Yeonjun, and he almost manages to fall asleep.
If he did, he’s sure he would have forgotten the article by the time he woke up. The only evidence would have been in his Google Chrome history, but he rarely—if ever—checks that.
Just as he can feel the pull of sleep creeping up, though, his brain is struck with recollection. It’s the same feeling he gets whenever a song gets stuck in his head that he can’t get out.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.
The survey in that article had been pretty impressive. Beomgyu doesn’t let himself look at statistics like that anymore because he knows he’ll worry himself sick, but he supposes that South Korea can’t be that dissimilar; one in three couples divorcing sounds terrifying, but it doesn’t sound realistic.
It isn’t that he personally doubts their relationship. Yeonjun loves him to pieces. He’s warm and kind and caring. Even still, after years of being together, he’s never lost that spark to him. There was no honeymoon phase for Beomgyu and Yeonjun; their love has always been passionate, warm, and sincere.
Even in his sleep, Yeonjun’s hand on Beomgyu’s side is holding onto him like he never wants him to escape. Beomgyu doesn’t have doubts about this.
He doesn’t have doubts about his own feelings, either. Whenever he thinks about Yeonjun, his chest wells up with so much emotion that it’s overwhelming. He still gets flustered sometimes when Yeonjun looks at him in that way he does, eyes blistering with love and affection. He even finds his dad jokes funny these days, though he likes to keep that one private. Yeonjun is the love of his life, but he has to stay humble.
Beomgyu is sure that he’ll have enough love for Yeonjun to last this lifetime and another.
But. But. If he has to be rational, he knows that he has to at least think about the statistics. One in three is giant. One in three is not just the couples who got together for disingenuous reasons; one in three must be people who were just like them. In love.
It’s frightening to give substance to that thought. He can’t imagine a world where he isn’t Yeonjun’s, and Yeonjun isn’t his. How would he go on?
So maybe, he reasons, this tradition is worth thinking about. It doesn’t sound so bad. Taking four things with him when he gets married is such a small ask for what could be some amazing pay off. If the survey is true, it’s almost a guarantee to have Yeonjun for life, and it sounds fun. Beomgyu likes fun things.
It’s a win-win situation no matter how he looks at it.
With a new sense of rejuvenation, he tosses a leg over Yeonjun’s side and drags himself in closer. It’s too hot in their room already ( especially with no fan on), but they’ll survive. They always manage.
Beomgyu falls asleep that night to dreams about walking down the aisle. About kissing Yeonjun on the altar and tying themselves together for life. And a lot of blue.
(When he wakes up, Yeonjun has already left for work. He has the day off, and rather than do something objectively productive, he takes it upon himself to brainstorm.
This is important, and it needs to be symbolic. He doesn’t want to bring just anything — he wants it to have meaning.
The article had mentioned something about items borrowed from a happy couple bringing good luck. The pool of happy couples in Beomgyu’s limited social circle is shallow, but there’s potential.
And when he thinks about his best friends, he realises that there is a lot of potential.)
♡
i. something new
The first target on his list of victims is the one he’s known the longest, but who will probably be the most difficult to convince. Unlike Taehyun who just thinks his superstition-abiding nature is respectable but unscientific, Soobin is convinced he’s a total drama queen. He’s probably thought that since they’d first met years ago, and he’s sure it isn’t just because of the superstitions.
Anything that Soobin can do to encourage Beomgyu’s behaviour, he actively avoids.
So his plan for convincing Soobin consists of his Top Three Biggest Weaknesses; a lot of puppy dog eyes, emotional blackmail and, in the worst case scenario, some tears. All tactics that have worked before on Soobin for less (like a share of his lunch when they were kids, and a copy of his homework when they were older), but this—endorsing his sketchy beliefs—will be his biggest challenge yet.
Beomgyu gets his opportunity to hatch his plan on a Tuesday night.
These days, they always hang out on Tuesday. Yeonjun works the evening shift at his job, and Taehyun and Huening Kai have been taking a nighttime yoga class for the last few months.
Beomgyu and Soobin had both been invited to join them numerous times, and as a surprise to absolutely no one, they had both respectfully declined.
Beomgyu heads over to their apartment just after six. It’s only a few minutes drive. Beomgyu likes to joke that Soobin can just never live without him—they’ve been friends for far too long, really—because Beomgyu and Yeonjun had moved into their apartment first. It was Soobin and his two that had followed.
Beomgyu probably can’t live without Soobin, either— or Taehyun, or Huening Kai. Yeonjun might be the love of his life, but these guys have made up so much of his life for years. They’re just as important to him as Yeonjun, in a different way.
When Soobin buzzes him up and he’s let inside, the first thing he notices is the new gaming console sitting on the coffee table.
“You got a new Switch?”
Soobin sighs. He plops down on their sofa, kicking up his feet and obnoxiously taking up more than half the remaining sitting space with his legs.
“I had to,” he answers, reaching to pluck it off the coffee table. He swings it around in the air a little to show it off. “Hyuka keeps stealing mine. I barely had a chance to play Pokemon. He’s addicted to it. It’s almost scary.”
“What’s scary is you not being able to take your own Switch off him,” Beomgyu says, tucking himself into the corner not occupied by his best friend’s legs. “You’re down horrendous, hyung. Down absolutely horrific.”
Soobin gives him a warning kick but he doesn’t answer. Beomgyu knows it’s because he has no comeback to that, but he lets him pretend that he’s being cool.
Soobin continues to ignore him in favour of powering up his Switch. Beomgyu hears the Pokemon Scarlet theme song start to play a few seconds later. The game is new, and Soobin is playing it on his Switch— his brand new Switch.
New.
He sits up a little straighter. Soobin is still paying him no attention, eyes zoned out on the screen of his console. He clears his throat, but gets no response.
“Hyung,” he tries, tapping him on one socked foot. “Hyung, I actually have a favour I need from you.”
The older doesn’t even have to think about it. “Whatever it is, I can’t help you. Sorry.”
“But you haven’t even heard what it is yet.”
“Yes, but it’s coming from you. ” Soobin gives him a very pointed and judgmental look over the top of his switch. “I don’t need to hear it to know whatever you’re about to ask is something stupid.”
Beomgyu clutches a hand over his chest with full dramatics. “Ouch, okay. Don’t trust your best friend, it’s fine. I guess I’ll just go die or something, because my lifelong friend— my brother from another mother— won’t do this for me.”
Soobin makes an expression like he’s in physical pain. He puts his Switch down on his stomach and crosses his arms over his chest. The look he fixes Beomgyu with is unimpressed, but at least he’s listening this time.
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to go that far. I guess I’ll hear you out this time. What is it?”
Beomgyu clutches his hands together. Now they’re talking.
“So,” he begins, using his professional business voice. His pro-sona is rarely used against his friend’s (mostly because they find it funny), but he really needs to sell this. “The other night I was reading this article.”
“Okay. This can’t be good. What was the article about?”
“Did you know that the divorce rate in England is almost, like, one in three?”
Soobin doesn’t say anything but he isn’t looking any less unimpressed, so Beomgyu pushes on.
“That’s crazy. And you know, I’m pretty sure it’s similar here. Divorce rates are wild these days, honestly. But this article— well, it was about this thing. A study, actually. It was really scientific, to be honest. I almost didn’t understand it.”
“What does this have to do with me doing you a favour?”
“I’m getting to that part, hyung. Let me sell the pitch first.”
“Okay, okay. I’m listening. Scientific study, divorce rates, England. Go on.”
“Right, so. They have this tradition over there, apparently. And according to this study, it increases the likelihood of a married couple staying together. By a lot— it went up to… over eighty percent marriage success, I think. It’s all pretty interesting.
“Okay…” Soobin says, blinking. The bitchy, judgmental expression has been replaced with a look of confusion, like he has no clue where he fits into all of this. But that’s where Beomgyu comes in. “I’m not following. What’s the tradition and… what does this have to do with me?”
“They say that when you get married, you’re supposed to bring something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. It’s all really symbolic stuff, and it brings you good luck. It keeps you together. They say that you should get things from, you know, your friends or family. It makes it extra special.”
Across from him, Soobin has started rubbing at his temples. He looks like he wants to argue back. Beomgyu can imagine what he’s thinking right now. It’s probably something along the lines of I’ve never met a man this stupid.
But, shockingly, he isn’t outright refused yet. And even more amazingly, Soobin looks like he’s actually considering what Beomgyu had said. He can see the light bulbs lighting up in his head as he realises what kind of favour Beomgyu is asking for, and he doesn’t look like he’s going to straight up deny it like he’d expected.
Maybe Choi Soobin has finally decided to turn over a new leaf and be kind to him for once. Beomgyu is so proud. He’s sure that this is The Huening Kai Effect, and when he gets home from yoga class later, Beomgyu will make sure to thank him dearly.
“So you want something of mine,” Soobin finally says, lowering his hands down from his face. Beomgyu nods his head enthusiastically. He can’t believe that this is the response he’s getting from Soobin, who used to berate him for his braindead beliefs. He hasn’t even needed to go into Stage 2 or 3 of his plan.
“Exactly,” he answers, grinning. “I’m shocked, Soobin-ah. You’re actually being nice about something I’m asking you for once. What happened to the old you?”
“Be quiet before I change my mind. What do you want? I guess you’re asking me first, because Tae and Hyuka haven’t mentioned anything like this. What was it— something old?”
“Oh, I already have that one figured out,” he answers vaguely, waving a hand. “I was thinking something new, actually.”
“Well. I mean. I don’t really have anything… new? What’s the definition of new we’re going with?”
Beomgyu’s attention turns down to where Soobin’s brand new Switch is resting on his stomach. He puts on the best wounded expression he can; eyebrows furrowing, eyes widening, and his lower lip pushing out into a pout. He doesn’t say anything, and he hears Soobin sigh.
“No, Beomgyu. Something else.”
“Soobin-hyung! You have to help me,” he argues, pout on his face resolute. “This is about the future of my relationship. My marriage . Do you want to curse me for the rest of my life?”
“What does the future of your relationship have to do with my Nintendo Switch?”
“Well,” he tries again, “it’s new. ”
“I don’t offer Switch lending services anymore ,” the older says, voice definitive. “And I am helping you, Gyu. Just pick something else. Anything else.”
Beomgyu mulls over it for a while. He hadn’t really thought about the kinds of things he’d be taking with him. Most of his planning had just about how he’d get to this point in the first place, but with how easy it was to convince Soobin, he’s starting to think that he really should have thought about that instead.
“Okay, well. I guess it doesn’t have to be new new. It would be nice if it was something… special. Something romantic, if that’s even possible for you.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but me being romantic is plenty possible. And…” Soobin trails off with a look that’s awkward and shy. “There’s one thing I suppose you could have.”
Beomgyu’s metaphorical tail is wagging. “What is it?”
Soobin stands up without saying another word, and Beomgyu watches him disappear into the doorway of their kitchen. He returns a minute later, clutching the stem of a flower. It’s an anemone; a pink one with a pretty yellow centre.
“Taehyun got me these. The other day. It won’t be new by the time you’re getting married, but…” he trails off, looking unsure.
But Beomgyu thinks it’s perfect. A flower gifted to his best friend by his lover that he’s now giving to Beomgyu? He should have left the thinking up to Soobin all along, because this is way better than the Nintendo Switch.
“Actually, I think that’s perfect, hyung. Taehyun showed me how to press flowers once. I think this is exactly the kind of thing I need.”
Soobin nods and shuffles back over, sticking the flower out to Beomgyu. He takes it and twirls it around a few times, admiring the healthy petals. It looks well taken care of, and Beomgyu feels his smile growing.
“Do you want to play Mario Kart?” Soobin then asks, flopping back onto the couch. Beomgyu’s excited ‘ yes!’ comes instantly, and he places the flower down on the coffee table in favour of grabbing one of the controllers from Soobin’s Switch dock.
One down— just two more to go.
♡
ii. something borrowed
Kang Taehyun is target number two.
When deciding between Huening Kai and Taehyun, Beomgyu had decided to go for the most contentious option first. Not that he thinks either of them will deny his wishes; Hyuka is just as much of a fool as himself, so he knows he has him on board before even having to ask.
And Taehyun, the absolute nerd that he is, has always respected Beomgyu and his strangeness. Even though he’s a firm believer in the opposite of his superstitions (shamefully, he’s a man of science), he’s never treated Beomgyu like a drama queen for them. Taehyun is much kinder than Soobin. He’s the type of friend to validate how you feel no matter how much it goes against his personal beliefs.
Plus, Beomgyu knows that Taehyun has a soft spot for these things. These romance related things. It’s endearing; on the outside, Taehyun has always seemed a little bit rigid. He’s a realist, and tends to lean towards pessimism. But things like this seem to just melt away at his heart.
Beomgyu brings up the idea to Taehyun the following Friday.
They’ve just finished a session at the gym. Beomgyu still has mixed emotions on whether he enjoys being Taehyun’s gym buddy. It’s nice to gossip with him, but some of the exercises he has Beomgyu doing are absolutely brutal.
They’re sitting in Beomgyu’s car. He’s still trying to work up the will to drive, because his thighs are so sore he thinks something (or multiple things) might be broken. He doesn’t even think he’ll be able to put out tonight, and he knows he and Yeonjun will both be cursing Taehyun and his gymbro-self to Hell later on.
Taehyun’s phone is connected to the aux, and a new song starts to play quietly from the speakers. It’s Look After You — a classic. It’s the kind of song that always puts Beomgyu into a romantic mood, and now is no exception.
He’s reminded once again about his plan. The rhyme has been stuck in his head worse than a Christmas jingle, so it’s hard to forget it sometimes, but that’s the consequences of a life-changing workout regime with Kang Taehyun. Brain malfunction.
But now that he’s remembered, he turns to Taehyun expectantly.
“So,” he starts, keeping it cool and casual. “I have this idea for the wedding.”
Taehyun smiles knowingly. “Is this about what you told Soobin-hyung?”
Beomgyu scrunches his nose up. He hadn’t expected this, if he’s being honest. He wanted to be the one to deliver the pitch to all of them, but he supposes it’s not too surprising. Soobin never keeps secrets from either Taehyun or Huening Kai.
He just hopes that he sold it well. Beomgyu fears that he told Taehyun an insane-sounding abridged version of the real story, because as nice as he was the other day, Beomgyu’s expectations for him are still low.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if he explained it right. I gave him a whole pitch about it. I promise it isn’t as bizarre as it sounds.”
“Well,” Taehyun answers, eyes glinting. “Actually, he explained it pretty well. I was pretty surprised. But I think in the end he just thought it was really sweet, hyung. And I think he was secretly happy that you asked him first.”
Beomgyu arches an eyebrow, and then lets out a little laugh. Soobin can be such a tsundere sometimes. “He made it seem like such a pain, though. It was brutal. But… does that mean you want to be on board?”
Taehyun’s smile widens. “I thought you would never ask. I already have something prepared for you. Bin-hyung said that we’re supposed to make it something special, so.”
He clears his throat after he finishes speaking, and Beomgyu watches as he lifts both his hands up to the both of his neck, and then he realises what he’s doing.
Taehyun unclasps his necklace slowly. It’s gold, and the chain is dainty. Hanging on the end is a small heart shaped locket, and Beomgyu knows that there’s a picture of the three of them—Taehyun, Kai, and Soobin—inside. It’s a matching set.
He feels like he’s going to cry.
“Taehyun-ah, you don’t have to lend me something like this, ” he says, voice a little emotional.
But Taehyun only shakes his head. He takes Beomgyu’s wrist between his fingers and gently places the necklace down on the palm of his hand.
“No, I do. I think it’s really cute, hyung,” Taehyun reassures, forcing Beomgyu’s fingers closed around it. “And besides, you’re going to need all the good luck you can get. How does Yeonjun-hyung manage to put up with you?”
Beomgyu reaches out with his free hand to punch Taehyun in the bicep, but he’s grinning nonetheless.
Two parts of the tradition are fulfilled, and if Beomgyu wasn’t feeling lucky from the day Yeonjun proposed to him, he’s definitely starting to feel it now.
♡
iii. something blue
To his surprise, Beomgyu doesn’t even have to approach Kai at all. Instead, the younger one comes to him.
It’s the Monday of week two in his master plan. Beomgyu doesn’t go into work until later on Mondays, and normally he spends the entire day with Yeonjun. Today, though, the older is taking his mom (Beomgyu’s future mother-in-law) out for brunch, so Beomgyu is left to mope around by himself for half the day.
He’s saved from the boredom and depression of being without his fiance by a visit from Huening Kai. Secretly, Kai is his favourite out of all of them; despite knowing him for the shortest period of time, they have a great understanding of one another, so his mood is well and truly saved when he opens the door to see his bright smiling face.
“Kai-yah,” Beomgyu greets, already stepping back to usher him inside. He toes off his shoes as he crosses the threshold into their apartment, and then he’s wrapping Beomgyu in a hug.
Beomgyu returns the gesture easily, and is satisfied to think that he’s the one getting hugs from Kai right now, while Soobin is probably sitting alone at home. He’s won.
“Hey, hyung,” Kai greets, pulling back from the embrace with a soft smile. “Yeonjun-hyung told me he’d be out all morning, so I thought I’d stop by. We haven’t hung out in a while.”
It hasn’t really been that long—they hung out the weekend before last—but any time spent away from Huening Kai is unacceptable, so he nods his agreement. He leads the younger inside and they settle onto the couch.
For most of the morning, they just gossip. Beomgyu was so distracted that morning about the devastating betrayal by his lover and now by the appearance of Kai that his mind isn’t even on the tradition. He just wants to know what’s been going on in the last few weeks for the younger, and if he has any recent gossip to spill about Soobin.
(He does, of course, because he never lets Beomgyu down.)
It’s Huening Kai who brings it up to him, almost an hour after he’d got there.
“Ah, right! Hyung, I brought something for you,” Kai says, leaning over to pluck his bag off the coffee table. Beomgyu sits up a little straighter and watches him curiously as he riffles through the contents (he doesn’t know what Kai keeps in there, but sometimes it looks like a bottomless pit) before extracting something.
He’s small, round, and blue. Beomgyu takes a couple of seconds to clock what it is. It’s a penguin squishmallow, but this one is tiny. It’s attached to the end of a plastic keychain. Kai holds it out to Beomgyu expectantly, and he takes it with a curious smile.
“What’s this guy for?”
“Oh,” Kai says, looking a little dejected that Beomgyu hadn’t realised right away. “It’s for the thing Soobin-hyung and Taehyunie mentioned. The old, new, borrowed and blue thing that you’re doing for the weekend? ‘Cos he’s blue.”
Then it finally clicks, and Beomgyu’s smile is widening in an instant. He takes the tiny plush firm in his fingers and expects it. It has an adorable face not too unlike its previous owner. And it’s certainly blue; the fur covering it’s round little body is a pretty pastel shade that Beomgyu is fond of.
Although it doesn’t exactly have the significance that Taehyun’s necklace or Soobin’s flower has, it’s endearing in its own right. Beomgyu knows how much Hyuka is fond over his plushies, and it’s sickeningly cute that he’d been the one to reach out and give it to him.
He gives it a little squeeze and then holds it up to his chest.
“Thank you, Kai-yah,” he says fondly, reaching out with his free hand to pull him in for a hug. Huening Kai melts into it right away, tucking his chin onto Beomgyu’s shoulder.
“You’re welcome, hyungie. Be happy for a long time, okay?”
And with this, Beomgyu is sure he will be. He’s not sure exactly how the tradition is supposed to work— but he’d like to think that the happy ancestors of couples past are looking down on him and Yeonjun now.
They’ll be happy for a really long time. Beomgyu is certain of it.
♡
The best day of Beomgyu’s life happens on the first day of July.
This is the same day Yeonjun had asked him out for the first time five years ago. Beomgyu hadn’t known it then, but that day and their subsequent first date had changed his life.
Everything is perfect. They’re at a small outdoor venue in Jeju-do; it’s a strawberry farm that Beomgyu and Yeonjun had visited for their first year anniversary. Beomgyu remembers picking berries with him here to take home, and the subsequent tummy ache that had followed after eating far too many.
The weather is kind to them today; it’s warm, but the sun is merciful. Their families and friends arrive in waves, and just after noon, it’s finally time.
Beomgyu doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the feeling he felt walking down the aisle. He can feel Taehyun’s cool necklace against the skin of his neck. Soobin’s flower, now dried and preserved forever, is sitting in the pocket of his white tuxedo. He’d had to compromise a little with Kai’s plushie, but it’s sitting safely in the middle of his bouquet—a little pop of colour amongst the clean white.
He takes his first step down the aisle, and then looks up. Across from him, less than a hundred feet away, Yeonjun is waiting for him. He looks beautiful like he always does, dressed in an expensive black tuxedo, but there’s something special about him today.
He’s smiling in a way that Beomgyu has never seen before. It’s so warm and full of love that his knees go weak. Yeonjun is shining; the sun is illuminating the pretty curve of his cheekbones, the beautiful slope of his nose, the definition in his lips. Beomgyu is so in love.
He gets to the end of the aisle, and he feels like nobody else is there. It’s just him and Yeonjun. Suddenly he’s twenty again, nudging Yeonjun out of the way to have his pick at the ripest looking berries. Then he’s nineteen and shy, kissing Yeonjun goodnight for the first time. And finally he’s eighteen, meeting him for the first time.
Beomgyu can feel tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He’s so happy that it’s nearly unbearable; his heart and chest feel like they’re on the brink of explosion. He’s sure that Yeonjun must feel something similar, because the hand he offers out to Beomgyu is trembling.
He takes it with determination, lacing their fingers together. A few tears spill down Yeonjun’s cheeks. Finally , Beomgyu thinks. It’s happening.
♡
(Beomgyu is talking to his friend’s at the reception when Soobin brings something up.
“Okay but Beomgyu— you didn’t finish the tradition. You got something new from me, something borrowed from Taehyun, and something blue from Kai. But you’re completely missing the first one.”
Beomgyu’s gives him a mysterious smile. Across from him, he can hear Taehyun snickering into his hand. He locks eyes with Kai, who seems to be on the exact same page as him.
Kai pats Soobin on the arm comfortingly and shakes his head. “Oh no, hyung, he didn’t forget. Not at all.”
Beomgyu’s eyes search the room, flitting over their guests. Finally, they land on Yeonjun—his husband —and he has to laugh.
“Yeah, hyung. I didn’t forget. It was the most important thing.”)