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Pardon me while I levitate off the ground.
I just can’t believe I’m Mrs. Kang Ki Tae!
If the old saying is true, that what goes around comes around, I must have done something really good. The wedding was absolutely perfect. Except that he didn’t sing to me. Now that we’re married, I hope he’ll serenade me at least once before I leave. Then my life will be complete. I can die a happy woman. But if Ki Tae sings to me, I’ll probably live to be a hundred just from sheer happiness.
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At the ripe old age of twenty five, Letty McDonnell already had nine bridesmaid dresses hanging in her guest room closet.
Nine!
She could list every eye crossing color from memory. Fuchsia, teal, lavender, pink, pink, gold, pink, silver, and a burgundy velvet number with a faux fur muff that she carried in her one and only Christmas wedding where the bride filled the stage with trees and had the flower girl pulled in on a custom-made sled.
What could she say? She had a lot of friends. So the time consuming process of post-ceremony pictures was old hat by now. And after four reality weddings crammed into one morning, it was picture time again. But she had never experienced it with fifteen cameras pointed at her face.
Each member of the band had their own personal video journalist, or VJ as they called them. The brides also had their own assigned VJ that followed them around to capture their reactions. And there were stationary cameras that stayed by the director and filmed the wide shots. Any stray hair or nose picking was guaranteed to be caught by someone.
Three women took on the sea of floor candles as they crawled around blowing each one out. Burly men with work gloves carted away the outlying carpet while the crew concentrated on the stage with the heart flowered arch. The B4U guys were positioned on the steps first and an assistant brought the brides one at a time to stand next to their husbands.
Mimi and Ji Ah went first as the man arranged them to his satisfaction and looped their hands through the grooms’ arms like they had just walked down the aisle. When it was Sana’s turn, she rushed to Chance’s side and grabbed his arm. The B4U leader jerked a little to the side as she latched on, but pasted a stiff smile on his face.
Letty stood off to the side as the crew bustled around her. She fussed with the collar of her sweater and straightened her pillbox hat as she waited. Her stomach growled and she clutched it and glanced around to see if anyone noticed, but they were all too busy focusing on the stage. She smoothed the satin fabric at her waist and tried to be patient. She’d spent about seven minutes total with Ki Tae and that just wasn’t enough. An assistant director motioned with his hand as he approached her and led her to join the group. She climbed the steps and stood on Ki Tae’s right side.
“Hello again.” She smiled what she hoped was a non-threatening, not-too-eager expression.
Ki Tae smiled back, a little hesitant but not as nervous looking as before. “Hello.”
She gently tucked her hand in the bend of his arm, looked to the couple on the other side of her, and saw Chance standing off-keel as Sana pulled him down to whisper in his ear.
The photographer called out something and Ben translated in her ear piece. “He’s ready to start. Stand up straight and smile.”
“Kimchi!” Letty shouted at the camera and held up two fingers in a V.
Ki Tae laughed beside her and she did an inner fist pump of victory that he thought she was funny.
Chance leaned over from her other side. “You’re allowed to just say ‘Cheese’ like normal,” he told her in English.
“I know. But it’s more fun using the Korean equivalent. Besides, I made my husband laugh.”
Chance grinned at her but was yanked away by a sulky Sana who glowered at Letty like a fussy toddler protecting her favorite toy. Picture time continued, and Letty posed, made finger hearts, and smiled until her cheeks ached. The balls of her feet screamed at her to take her shoes off, but there was no end in sight.
After thirty minutes, the photographer lowered his camera and called something to the group.
“Are we done?” Letty asked hopefully.
“Not yet,” Chance said from her right side. “Now we have to go outside and take pictures with the glory of nature.”
Letty cocked an eyebrow at his unoriginal turn of phrase.
“His choice of words, not mine.”
The wedding party made their way up to the very top level of the agency where a rooftop garden had been converted into a second photo shoot. The lights stood ready and the director called for Mimi and Young Joon to take couple photos first. The rest of the B4U boys disappeared through a side door and their brides were dismissed toward the ever ready camping chairs.
Letty collapsed into the first one she saw and kicked her heels off.
“Ohhhhhhhhh,” she moaned as she rubbed her aching feet.
“Are you okay?” Ben appeared at her side carrying a small plastic cooler.
“I am officially Mrs. Ki Tae.” Letty grinned up at him. “I’m in Heaven!”
“What about your feet?”
“I think they stayed back on Earth.”
“I brought your suitcase up.” Ben pointed somewhere behind her chair. “Do you have a coat you can put on?”
“It’s not too bad right now.” Letty looked up at the clear blue sky. “I’m enjoying the sunshine. I think it was colder in that big empty room with the concrete floor where we had the ceremony. You'd think all those tea candles would generate a little heat. That place felt like a freezer.”
“Are you thirsty?” Ben opened the cooler he held to reveal an assortment of drink cans, yogurts, and water bottles.
“I’d love a pop right now.” Letty leaned forward in her camping chair and surveyed the assortment.
“Pop?”
“You’re from Cleveland,” Letty said. “You must know what pop is! That fizzy, carbonated beverage that the heathens call soda.”
“Of course I know what pop is!” He looked offended that she suggested otherwise. “It’s just been a while since I heard someone call it that. Makes me feel a little homesick.”
“I know what you mean.”
“So you want pop?”
“Yes, but don’t give me one.” Letty held up her hand, determined to be good and stick to her weight loss plan.
“Why not?”
“My diet.” Letty sighed.
“Why would a dainty thing like you need to diet?” Ben eyed her in confusion.
“Dainty? That may be the best adjective anyone’s ever applied to me. Thank you!” Letty stood up and did a little spin with one hand over her head like a ballerina and flopped back in her chair. “Honestly, this is the smallest I’ve been in years since I lost ten pounds for my friend Hannah’s wedding. I was the maid of honor and had to look my best.”
“You wanted to look good in the bridesmaid dress?”
“Of course. That and the fact she was marrying a handsome Korean-American, and I was hoping he’d have some hot cousins for groomsmen.”
Ben laughed at her brazen admission. “And did he?”
“No. They were all friends from college. Was I disappointed! The wedding’s over, but I’ve tried to keep making healthier choices and most of the weight stayed off. Plus a little last minute carb purge helped when I found out about the show.”
Ben picked up a pop can and held it out. “Are you sure you don’t want to splurge on a day like today? We’re going to be going like crazy until way past dark."
“Do you know how many calories are in one serving of that stuff?” Letty shuddered as she thought of how long she’d have to spend on the treadmill. “It took me years to train myself to visit the gym every week, but I know I won’t have the energy after filming all day.”
“So you cheat a little.” Ben waved a soft drink back and forth like he was trying to hypnotize her.
Condensation dripped off the icy red can and Letty’s mouth salivated on cue like Pavlov’s dog. A little jolt of caffeine would be nice after the long morning. Letty shut her eyes and thought of Ki Tae. He was more than worth the sacrifice.
“Go away you pop pusher.” Letty shoved his hand to the side. “I can’t afford to cheat. Maybe it’s easier to keep the weight off here in Korea where you eat lots of fish and vegetables. But it’s hard to eat healthy when you come from a place that puts french fries on everything, even the salads.”
Ben tossed the can back into the cooler and crossed his arms. “I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to flatter you and say how great you look. Why do women always do this?”
“Hey! I worked hard to lose those extra pounds. Would one flattering remark kill you?”
“It might.” He rifled around in the cooler, pulled out a water bottle, and wiped off the moisture on his jacket sleeve.
Letty leaned her elbow on the armrest, propped her chin in her hand and pouted. “And here I thought you were such a nice guy. Guess I was wrong.”
“Sorry. Guilt trips slide right off me. I work in the television industry, so I’m immune to the feminine tricks of a gorgeous woman.” Ben grinned as he passed her the water.
“It’s not like it costs you anything.” Letty grumbled as he walked away. “What’s the big deal if—wait!” She stopped mid-sentence as it hit her what he said. “Gorgeous? Is that what you said? Gorgeous!”
Ben kept walking as if he hadn’t heard her, but that hardly mattered. Letty snuggled back in her chair and grasped the freshly dried water bottle to her chest.
“He called me gorgeous.” She sighed.
Was it wrong to fake marry one man and swoon over another in the same morning? Letty hoped there was no such thing as reality cheating, or else she might be venturing into dangerous territory.
