Six Weeks Until Forever

The woman stopped a few feet away.

"Seo Jun."

For the first time since she'd met him, Ga Eul saw genuine surprise on his face.

Seo Jun slowly straightened.

"Ji Hye."

The woman smiled.

"It's been a long time."

Neither spoke for a moment.

The tension between them was obvious.

Ga Eul suddenly felt like she was witnessing a conversation that had started years before she arrived.

Seo Jun finally turned toward her.

"Ga Eul, this is Han Ji Hye."

Ji Hye extended her hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you."

Ga Eul shook it.

"You too."

The words were polite.

The atmosphere wasn't.

After a few minutes of brief conversation, Ga Eul excused herself.

"I should head home."

"I'll walk you out," Seo Jun said immediately.

Outside the mansion gates, the evening air felt unusually quiet.

Ga Eul looked ahead.

"She seems important."

Seo Jun didn't pretend not to understand.

"We grew up together."

"And?"

He hesitated briefly.

"Our families once thought we'd end up together."

The answer was honest.

Ga Eul nodded.

"I see."

She tried to sound unaffected.

Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely successful.

Before leaving, she forced a smile.

"Good night, Seo Jun."

"Good night, Ga Eul."

As her car disappeared down the road, Seo Jun remained standing at the gates longer than necessary.

For some reason, the only thing on his mind wasn't Ji Hye's return.

It was the disappointed look Ga Eul had tried so hard to hide.

A few days later, both families gathered in a private dining hall to discuss the wedding.

Unlike previous meetings, the atmosphere was warm.

Comfortable.

For once, nobody was questioning the marriage.

Instead, they were planning it.

Ga Eul immediately regretted attending.

Stacks of catalogs covered the table.

Venues.

Decorations.

Flowers.

Guest lists.

Invitation designs.

The pile seemed endless.

Across from her, Seo Jun looked equally exhausted.

His mother opened another folder.

"What about this venue?"

Ga Eul stared at the photographs.

"There are more?"

Seo Jun rubbed his forehead.

"Apparently."

Ga Eul leaned toward him.

"I thought running a company was difficult."

"It is."

He glanced at the mountain of paperwork.

"But this is worse."

For the first time all afternoon, she laughed.

Their parents exchanged amused looks.

Hours later, the families finally settled on a date.

Six weeks away.

The moment the date was finalized, everyone celebrated.

Ga Eul froze.

Six weeks.

Not six months.

Not someday.

Six weeks.

Her father noticed her expression.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

Seo Jun spoke before anyone else could.

"I'm more concerned about surviving the planning process."

The room burst into laughter.

Even Ga Eul smiled.

The following weeks became a blur.

Wedding preparations consumed nearly every spare moment.

There were venue visits.

Cake tastings.

Meetings with photographers.

Discussions about music.

Arguments about invitation designs.

And endless shopping.

One afternoon, they attended a cake tasting.

Rows of beautifully decorated cakes covered the table.

Ga Eul immediately pointed toward a rich chocolate cake.

"That one."

The baker looked surprised.

"You haven't tasted it yet."

"I don't need to."

Seo Jun folded his arms.

"That's a terrible strategy."

Ga Eul looked offended.

"It has chocolate."

"That's not a strategy."

"Yes, it is."

"It's really not."

The baker struggled to hide a laugh.

Another day was spent choosing flowers.

Seo Jun quickly discovered something.

Ga Eul had strong opinions.

Very strong opinions.

"Not those."

The florist blinked.

"Why?"

"They're ugly."

Seo Jun looked at the flowers.

"They look exactly like the other ones."

"They do not."

"They absolutely do."

Ga Eul glared at him.

Seo Jun wisely decided not to continue the argument.

As the days passed, spending time together became easier.

Natural.

They no longer needed to force conversations.

They no longer felt awkward sitting in silence.

Somehow, between planning meetings and endless wedding preparations, they had become friends.

Real friends.

Neither mentioned it.

But both noticed.

The most important day arrived sooner than expected.

The wedding dress fitting.

Ga Eul stood nervously behind the changing-room curtain.

The designer adjusted the final details.

"Ready?"

"No."

The designer smiled.

"Too bad."

A moment later, Ga Eul stepped out.

The room fell silent.

Her mother covered her mouth.

Tears immediately filled her eyes.

Even the designer looked emotional.

Ga Eul suddenly felt self-conscious.

Then she noticed Seo Jun.

He was staring.

Completely silent.

Which was unusual for him.

Very unusual.

The designer smiled.

"Mr. Lee?"

Seo Jun blinked.

Everyone turned toward him.

"What do you think?"

For several seconds, he simply looked at her.

The elegant dress.

The nervous expression.

The way she suddenly looked less like his business partner and more like a bride.

His bride.

The thought caught him off guard.

Finally, he spoke.

"...Beautiful."

The room erupted into smiles.

Ga Eul felt her cheeks grow warm.

To her annoyance, she couldn't stop smiling.

That evening, after another exhausting day of preparations, Seo Jun and Ga Eul found themselves sitting on a rooftop café overlooking the city.

For once, there were no planners.

No family members.

No schedules.

Just the two of them.

Ga Eul leaned back in her chair.

"I'm tired."

Seo Jun handed her a cup of coffee.

"You've said that six times today."

"And I'll say it seven."

A small laugh escaped him.

Ga Eul stared.

"Did you just laugh?"

"No."

"You did."

"I didn't."

"You absolutely did."

For a rare moment, Seo Jun smiled openly.

And somehow, the city lights seemed a little brighter.

The conversation slowly faded into comfortable silence.

Neither felt the need to fill it.

Below them, the city continued moving.

Around them, life continued as normal.

But for the first time since this arrangement began, neither of them were thinking about contracts.

Or obligations.

Or expectations.

They were simply enjoying each other's company.

And neither realized how much that had come to mean.

As they left the café together, the wedding suddenly felt much closer than six weeks away.

And for the first time...

Neither of them seemed afraid of it.

Ga Eul smiled as they walked toward the parking lot.

"Can you believe we're actually getting married?"

Seo Jun looked at her.

"No."

"That was supposed to be reassuring."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes.

Some things would never change.

A moment later, Seo Jun's phone vibrated.

He glanced down casually.

Then stopped walking.

The smile disappeared from his face.

Ga Eul immediately noticed.

"What happened?"

For several seconds, Seo Jun didn't answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

Slowly, he locked the phone.

"It's nothing."

Ga Eul frowned.

It was very obviously not nothing.

Before she could ask again, another notification appeared.

This time she caught a glimpse of the sender's name.

Han Ji Hye.

A strange feeling settled in her chest.

Seo Jun looked toward the city lights.

His expression unreadable.

Meanwhile, miles away, Ji Hye stood on the balcony of her hotel suite.

A wedding invitation rested on the table beside her.

Her gaze lingered on the names printed together.

Lee Seo Jun & Choi Ga Eul

For a long moment, she said nothing.

Then she picked up her phone.

And made a call.

The person on the other end answered immediately.

Ji Hye's expression hardened.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

She looked once more at the invitation.

Then quietly replied,

"Stopping a wedding."

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