'It's so beautiful...'

Reaching towards the tissue box on the coffee table in front of her, Pepper plucked a tissue out and used it to blow her nose. On the television screen in front of her a couple was kissing; a romantic ballad playing in the background to heighten the sense of romance. She balled up the tissue in her hand, dropping it onto the floor with the others as her eyes stayed focused on the loving couple as they continued to kiss with cherry blossom petals now dancing through the air.

"I want that..." she whispered aloud, wondering why she was so unlucky when it came to love.

At twenty-eight-years-old, Pepper never expected to be alone still, but knew that it was all her own fault. Growing up, she knew that she wasn't the prettiest woman around. She wasn't one of those girls who ate nothing but salads and spent every moment not maintaining their image chasing after boys. Pepper grew up constantly worrying about her weight and the blemishes that would appear like a rash at least once a month. Her hair never laid down straight and looked like she had come straight from a hair salon. It was always slightly curly and wild – and in hot and humid weather – untameably frizzy. Her image hadn't bothered her until she had hit high school, a place where all those runway ready girls in her class all had dates. The only date she had at the time was with her scale that her parents kept under the sink. She let her own perspective of herself shatter her self-confidence to the point where she shied away from other boys for fear that they deserved someone better than her. Throughout her twenties, there had been multiple times where Pepper wanted to try to put herself out there again, but she wasn't sure as to how to. Besides, it wasn't like those whispering demons that shattered her self-confidence had ever fully gone away.

To attempt to make up for the hole that she felt in regard to her love life, she filled the time with watching romantic k-dramas. She let her imagination wander while watching them, pretending that she was the main character. It allowed her to live a life that she had always wanted for herself but was always too scared to chase after.

Just as the scene on the screen before her faded to black, Pepper heard a knock at her front door. Quickly wiping the frozen tears off her cheeks, she sniffled as she slipped her feet into slippers and made her way towards the front door. Through the window next to the front door, she saw that her best friend, Idalia was standing there. Confusion etched across her face as she unlocked the door and opened it. Idalia's hair was all tied back into an elegant bun on the top of her head; a few strands having fallen free to frame her make-up clad face. Pepper let her eyes wander from her best friend's face to the elegant white dress she was wearing. A variety of lace looking flowers decorated the arms and bosom of it making her look like some sort of garden angel.

"What are you doing here?" asked Pepper, still confused. "Isn't your wedding today?"

"It is," she replied, "But it's missing something."

"Oh no. Not this again," said Pepper. "Didn't you get my gift?"

"I did, but that doesn't replace your presence."

Pepper left the door open as she backtracked into the interior of her apartment. Her best friend stayed at the door for a moment before stepping inside. Her eyes went from Pepper towards the television where a frozen image of the show Pepper had been watching remained.

"You need to be at your wedding venue," said Pepper, snapping Idalia's attention back to her. "I mean, you are all dressed in your wedding gown and everything. I told you several months ago that I unfortunately wouldn't be able to make it."

"You can watch your k-dramas any day. I am only getting married once. At least, that's the plan," she said. "I'm not leaving here until you come with me."

"No. That's not how this works. You're not going to make being late to your own wedding my fault."

"Then don't make me late," said Idalia with a wink before clasping both of her hands together. "Please Pepper. Please come. I promise you won't have to stay for long. Just get through the wedding and then I'll make sure you are chauffeured back home. You're my best friend and I want you to be one of my maids of honor. I'm still missing one."

"I..."

"I really didn't want to have to do this, but I want to cash in my coupon."

"What coupon?"

From within a hidden pocket in her wedding dress, Pepper watched as a well weathered paper was withdrawn and put on the kitchen island in front of her. Her eyes scanned the horribly messy bubble letters of the 'grant wish' coupon card she had made for Idalia for her birthday one year in middle school since she hadn't been able to afford a gift.

"You still have this?"

"I do. I was saving it for an important occasion – and - " Idalia paused as she unfolded the coupon fully to point at the fine print at the bottom. "It says it can be used for any situation and any time once."

"But that was back..."

"It also says 'no buts'," said Idalia with a smile as Pepper tsked, crossing her arms.

"Well, I...I don't have anything to wear."

"No worries. I know your size and I have a bridesmaid's dress waiting for you at the venue."

"I should be mad at you for doing this to me."

"But you won't be because we're besties and you love me."

"Fine, I'll go," Pepper said with a sigh as she watched a bright smile light up Idalia's face.

Idalia wasted no time in proceeding to usher Pepper towards the door, leaving her with nothing to stay but a startled 'oh' as she tripped over the threshold and out of one of her slippers.

- - -

Suit. Check.

Tie. Check.

Socks.

He paused in his mental checklist, looking down at his feet to see that they were bare on the white tile bathroom floor. Casting his gaze up, his expression showed just how bewildered he felt.

'Who forgets socks?' he thought as he quickly moved into the adjoining bedroom.

He yanked open his dresser drawer, rummaging through for a pair of decent black socks as his cell phone rang. His eyes flick to look at the top of the dresser to see the caller ID displayed across the screen. Reaching out a hand, he accepted the call and put it on speaker before continuing his search.

"Are you ready to go yet?"

"Almost."

"That's what you said an hour ago," said the man on the other end of the call before sighing, "Jungkook, why are you taking so long? It's not like you're getting married today."

"You know why. I hate social occasions of any sort. The only reason I agreed to go Seokjin is because I'm trying to hide from my father and I have no inspiration at the moment."

"You forgot it's also because you love me," said the man.

A small smirk came across Jungkook's face as he finally unearthed a non-holey pair of black socks. He yanked it out of his drawer like he was yanking the sword from the stone with a cry of 'yes'!

"See? I knew it!" stated the man on the other end of the line, mistaking the victory cry for confirmation as to what he just said.

"Look, I already told you I'd come and now I found my socks," said Jungkook.

"You didn't have..."

"Can't talk now, hyung. I will be on my way in five."

Jungkook reached out a hand to hang up before moving to sit down on the edge of his bed. He tugged his socks on, letting out a satisfied sigh at his now sock clad feet. He got up from where he sat, freezing again when he stood up.

"Shoes. Where are my shoes?"