The expressions of the two people getting married looked truly happy.
The expression of Yuri noona, walking with her arm linked in Hyunseung’s, was happiness itself.
“………”
Noona looked up at the two of them without saying a word.
Her eyes were sparkling.
I wonder if noona also wishes to walk in such a place someday?
If she imagines walking, who would she imagine walking with?
To be honest, I had imagined such a thing before. In my imagination, the person walking next to me was noona.
Wearing a tuxedo with a perfectly tailored fit, I imagined noona walking slowly beside me, arms linked, dressed in a white gown.
I had liked noona.
Since childhood, the only woman around me, aside from family, had been noona, but it wasn’t simply because of that that I liked her.
Over time, I had slowly fallen for her. I felt fluttered by the way she spoke and moved, and my heart raced when I heard her call my name.
I’m not sure when I fell in love with her. It was just one of those things that I realized had happened after a certain point.
What exactly did I like about her? How did I come to like her? I couldn’t break it down that way. I just liked her because she was noona, because she was the noona beside me.
If I took noona out of my life, what would remain? Could I even call that life?
The person who turned my childhood into shining memories was noona. If it hadn’t been for her, I would only have memories of waiting for my mom in the dark, damp semi-basement, next to the trash can where the cold wind blew.
Was I, even for just a moment, a shining memory in noona’s childhood? Did noona consider the time spent with me in her childhood a joyful memory?
…….
At least, I don’t think I could say the last memory was a shining one.
I’m just so sorry that I ended up showing her such a sight at the end. I never wanted to hurt noona.
As I walked forward, my eyes met Yuri noona’s. She waved her hand in my direction. Probably, she was waving at noona sitting beside me, not me.
Noona waved back at Yuri noona, smiling.
Happy Yuri noona walked all the way to the end of the road.
Many people saw noona off into her future.
I sincerely wished for Yuri noona’s happiness.
*
I only learned for the first time that the person who catches the wedding bouquet is already decided.
In fact, I’ve been to a few weddings with my mom, but I hadn’t had the chance to see the bouquet catching so many times, so I didn’t know this fact.
It seems that these days, even people who aren’t planning to marry sometimes catch the bouquet, as a way to wish the person who catches it happiness, even if they’re not the one getting married in the future.
Well, considering my age, Yuri unnie’s wedding might actually be seen as early. Among Yuri unnie’s friends, there may not be anyone else who will be getting married anytime soon.
Yuri unnie’s cousin stood as her bridesmaid, but the role of catching the bouquet was taken by Ayun unnie.
Wearing a beige dress over a white blouse, unnie looked a bit nervous at first, but after catching the bouquet thrown by Yuri unnie behind her head, she smiled brightly.
The sound of several photos being taken clicked away.
When I clapped while watching unnie, she blushed a little, looking somewhat shy.
…One day, unnie will also wear a white dress and hold the bouquet, I suppose.
If that day ever comes, will I be able to truly clap for her from the heart?
“…….”
I’m not sure.
When the group photo was taken, I was able to join in the “friends” photo, following unnie.
I’m not sure if this is a coincidence, but I was happy. From now on, every time Yuri unnie looks at her wedding photos, she’ll remember that I’m in them too.
A lot of coincidences must have aligned to get me to this point, but still, I was glad to be where I was.
…But even during that last moment when the photos were being taken, mom was nowhere to be seen.
I never thought she might not have been invited to the wedding.
Could something have happened to mom? Did something happen?
No, it can’t be.
If something had happened, the goddess would surely have told me.
Even at that last moment.
“……..”
But still, I felt uneasy.
If something had happened after I arrived here, might I not know about it? Could I have missed something that happened to mom because it was nighttime, or maybe because the bakery wasn’t open that day?
“What are you thinking about like that?”
As unnie came down from the stage, she asked, causing me to flinch.
“Ah, I, well…”
But I couldn’t talk about mom here. Right now, mom and I were strangers to each other.
“I’m, uh, just a little hungry…”
I made up an excuse awkwardly, but unnie, who had experienced my appetite over the past month, held back a laugh with a smile.
“Yeah, it’s about time to be hungry.”
The wedding had started in the morning. Now it was almost one o’clock, just around lunchtime. My excuse seemed plausible enough to be accepted.
“The restaurant is upstairs—”
“Auntie!”
Unnie’s words were abruptly cut off by someone’s shout.
The one who shouted was Yuri unnie.
Yuri unnie, holding onto her dress hem, quickly ran and hugged someone who had just entered the venue.
“Oh my.”
The middle-aged woman she hugged was startled and then asked in a sincere voice.
“Sorry, did I arrive a little late?”
“No, it’s fine. I know you’ve been busy. I’m just glad you could come.”
“Our Yuri is such a sweetheart.”
The two of them exchanged a smile before releasing each other and stepping back a little. The woman glanced over Yuri unnie, smiled warmly, and said.
“You’re really beautiful. I wish I could have been there when you were upstairs…”
As she spoke with a hint of regret, Yuri unnie replied with a smile.
“I’ll send you a video.”
After a moment, Park Hyunseung, who had arrived a little later, stood beside them.
“Hello.”
“Oh, Hyunseung!”
The middle-aged woman looked up at him and said.
“You’ve grown so handsome.”
“Of course, now I’m the head of the family.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yuri unnie playfully elbowed Hyunseung’s side, looking embarrassed.
“Ah…”
Watching that scene, I stood frozen, unable to move an inch.
The person who had just entered the venue after the wedding was over, the somewhat thin middle-aged woman in a navy suit…
“Mom!”
Unnie, who was next to me, cheerfully called out and rushed over.
Yes, that’s right. Unnie always called her mom like that.
Mom had always treated unnie almost like her own daughter. It wouldn’t be surprising if she was closer to unnie than to her own biological parents, whom she fought with every day.
There, mom was standing.
She looked at unnie and smiled broadly, so much so that she looked a few years younger at that moment.
Mom’s appearance hadn’t changed much from my memory. I thought that after five years, there might be some change in the atmosphere, but it was still the same.
I’m relieved.
….Mom seems to be doing well.
“Oh my, my daughter, have you been well?”
Mom said this while tightly hugging unnie, just like Yuri unnie did. Her hand patted Ayun unnie’s back.
Did mom and unnie get closer after I died?
Mom had always called unnie Ayun, but she had never openly called her daughter like this before. It was probably because unnie’s biological parents lived upstairs.
Now that they were living in a different place, maybe that’s why things had changed.
“I missed you.”
When unnie said this, a smile appeared on mom’s face.
The two of them stayed in a warm embrace for a while before pulling away. Mom carefully looked at unnie’s face and placed her hand on unnie’s cheek.
“Why did you lose so much weight? Haven’t you been eating well?”
“No, not at all.”
Unnie smiled when she saw the worried expression on mom’s face.
Mom had always reacted like this when unnie lived on her own. She would clear out the fridge and prepare a full meal every time unnie came to our house. Unnie liked anything mom cooked.
“Why have you lost weight, mom?”
Unnie asked while touching mom’s arm. Mom smiled awkwardly, and Yuri unnie, who was standing next to them, laughed and said, “Oh, you two are exactly the same, really.”
It was like a scene from a painting.
And in that scene, I was the only one standing far away.
I had wondered many times what to say to mom when I saw her. Hello, nice to meet you… But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find the right words.
I just wanted to run to her and hug her.
I wanted to tell her I loved her. I had never said it before, except when I was very young, because I was too shy. After I died, I regretted not saying it more often.
…But all of that, I knew, was not something I was allowed to do now.
“Huh?”
When I realized I was still standing in the same spot, unnie turned her head.
She smiled at me and gestured with her hand.
She probably meant, “Come here.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I took a step toward unnie, following her gesture.