102

Jyeon leads the way up a narrow path worn down and not defined all too well, but a pretty walk through the trampled grass. Lined with trees and shrubs in a secluded part of the island, which took thirty minutes to drive to and I'm shocked he managed to find this place.

"Where does this lead, and how did you even find out about it?" I have a tight grasp on his hand as he guides me and stops every few minutes to check my footing, although it's a pretty easy walk and not steep either. It's a casual meander through nature, and we come out on top of the most breathtaking flat top with short grass due to some wild horses we saw near the makeshift car park further back. It's a plateau on a cliff that's not as high as my thinking spot but looks out over the island's north side where there's no sign of the village or harbor and feels crazily secluded.

"The lady in the bakers told me about it and set it up on my phone app with GPS. It's the prettiest and quietest spot on this island where you can see….." he points out across the churning sea today, at mountains in the far distance that seem almost surreal and misty. "Peak point. That's where we come from, baby."

"What?" I blink in the direction again and move forward nearer the cliff edge to look around, knowing that it must have been on this side of the island that I washed up if we can see the city mountains from fifteen miles away.

"Over there. The big one." He leans in close, keeping a grip on me as if he's worried I'll walk right off the edge, and point's in the direction of the mountain that sent me here. I stare in silence for a moment. Not sure how it makes me feel. This spectacular view and gorgeous setting and there in the distance, the place I literally came from. The mountain top of Peak view.

"I figured we could have our ceremony up here, but if you don't like it …" Jyeon trails off, and I shake my head, refusing to be stupid about this and seeing it as an opportunity to put all of it behind me. That accident may haunt my dreams and has left me with residual fears, but it also changed my life entirely. It brought me Greta; it even got me Jyeon, in a far different way than how we were living. He had to lose me to know he always loved me. I couldn't have come to this point without that car diving from that mountain that night, and it feels symbolic to take our vows in view of it, even at a far distance.

"I love it. Really, I do. I like what it means." I step away from the sheer drop of thirty feet to a sheltered beach below that seems inaccessible except by sea and turn around to appreciate the space up here fully. It's not huge, and with an edging of trees and a higher cliff backing, it's shielded from the wind and a view of anything back there. On a sunny day with a bit of décor brought up here, a few seats, and our small group of guests, it would be beautiful to do it here. Picturesque and showcasing why I love this island so much.

"Or we could use one of the speedboats they hire out at the west end and go down there. Have it on the private cove." He nods down over the edge to where I had already peeked, yet I like the earthy green feel of up here. It feels like we're higher than we are, and I could jump off and fly into the fluffy clouds and soar over the sea. It's cut off, and no one will wander in accidentally. The trail up here took a good five minutes trek from the car.

"If you're happy with it. I can have everything set up and organized for a week's time." Jyeon drops the bombshell that I know must have been what Greta was hinting at, and I spin towards him in surprise: my heart leaping into my mouth because I didn't expect it. I know he said within the month, but that's days away.

"That quickly? Who's going to do the ceremony on such short notice?" I gawp at him, thinking hard about whether anyone on here can do it.

"Bryant. It's a vow retake. He already looked up what's required of him and the right speeches to make. He's sure he can do it and do it well. We don't need an official for this because there are no legal papers. He's my best friend, and he's been my rock while you were missing. It feels right to have him be the one to bring us back together."

I think about it for a second, and I like it, as weird as it sounds. The thought of Jyeons best friend, my childhood brother figure, doing the ceremony while my best friend is the maid of honor… I can't imagine anything better. The four of us sharing such a precious moment.

"If he's okay with it, I thought we could ask Yoonah to give you away." Jyeon looks out over the sea, avoiding my eye sheepishly while letting me go to stroll closer to the edge as though he thinks I might not like this, yet I do. It makes perfect sense. Yoonah is special to me, and of course, it will depend entirely on him and if he feels he can, but I couldn't imagine anything better. If it doesn't hurt him to be the one, I want it to be Yoonie. His father did it once, and now it feels like it might give Yoonah closure if he was the one to do it this time. Can see this is what I want and that Jyeon does too.

"Okay." I smile softly, pulling Jyeons eyes back to me, and he seems to exhale with relief. Glad that I have no issues with any of this. I know he's building a new relationship with his brother, and this matters.

"I feel like Mother should have an important role in some way. I feel like I need to bond with her again and put the past to bed." I have no idea what that will be, given this is not a real wedding. All I know is if Yoonah has a role, and Bryant is the official, Greta the maid, then mother has to have some task.

"We could have her come and get ready with you. Spend some time beforehand doing whatever women do at something like that. She can come here in the car and hand you off to Yoonah. Who, of course, will be my best man too."

I never thought I would ever hear the day that Yoonah would be Jyeons best man. He wasn't even back then. It was Avery.

"That sounds like a plan. I think she'll like that. Make her feel involved."

"We have the presentation with the island committee in ten days. To present our plan. That means we have a wedding and then a honeymoon weekend before we get back to work." Jyeon raises a brow, warning me of the schedule, but I like that we get three days of respite before work kicks in.

I did tell him that I was not on board with an extended honeymoon, given Greta would be here alone, and she's not used to that yet. I have been here every second for two long years. Bryant can't stay all the time, and I want to be here to make sure things start to get rolling if the islanders give us the go-ahead. There s a lot of work to be done, and the island construction might tie us up for the next five years or more. It's going to be a slow hog.

"Are we going to sail off and spend it locked in the bedroom?" I giggle at him, knowing that lately, he's been a ravenous porn star, and a honeymoon to him just means more time in bed. I don't really care where we go or what we do as long as we're together and have a few days to chill out. I need a little respite.

"There's a remote island about twenty miles from here that I figured we could moor near. Tow a speedboat and use the private beach on it to do some naked sunbathing and have ourselves a sea and sun, beachy getaway."

"And I guess I'll be the one cooking." I point out, knowing that Jyeon doesn't do that at all and three days on a desert island means fending for ourselves.

"You can do that?" He squints at me as though this is news to him, and I guess he's never actually seen me cook. I chuckle at the ignorance of this man and shake my head. It's not like I have had reason to.

"Yes. After two years of living with Frauline Greta and her Gestapo-type care, she had me cooking entire menus in the first year of life as a waitress. I like it too. I'm good at baking. Maybe I'll bake us our wedding cake."

"I want to try your cooking. It's sexy to me that you got domesticated. I want to watch!" He winks, a Hollywood smile beaming my way, and I sigh at this man. He was pampered from birth and never had to cook, clean, or do anything domesticated since the day he was born. Not that I did either until I came here.

"When we figure out where we're living… let's not have a cook and cleaner. If I am a part-time VP, I want us to run our own home. Cook together, not have anyone else in our space. Maybe buy something not overly huge like the house was. Something similar to your apartment." I'm thinking out loud, knowing how accustomed I am to living in the shack and enjoying all that comes with being self-reliant in the cozy home. Greta has taught me the pride and satisfaction in doing things essential to others.

"So now you're okay with us buying a house… or two?" Jyeon walks back towards me, catching me in his hands by the waist, and tugs me into him to stand pelvis to pelvis.

"Hmm. It makes sense, I guess. The boat is okay, but I miss having space to spread out, and the kitchen on there is minute. I think you're right that we need somewhere here so Bryant and Greta can have their own privacy, and I'd like a home office. As you said, a house in the city for when we're there, and mother can visit. So we can spend less time at OLO but still keep on top of things when we need to. I don't want to go back to our old bedroom in that house."

I know I am agreeing to everything I said no to before when he brought it up, but day by day, I'm relaxing, and things don't seem scary or as fast anymore.

"Me either." Jyeon frowns, his eyes glazing over as though thinking back to memories and how cold and distant we were while sharing our marital bedroom. The room I trashed. That soulless symbol of forced proximity, yet there was no love or companionship. "I'm glad you're finally coming around and agreeing with me."

"Marriage is about compromise, right? Maybe I'm just tired or getting soft, but it makes sense to start putting down roots. Thinking about the distant future. I know we're not going anywhere… that this us, forever." I can finally admit that I don't see a future that doesn't involve him and Greta… I know he's my life now and my heart is so irreversibly lost to him that I have no escape.

"We'll have to build one. There's nothing available in this remote place unless you want to bunk with another family." He laughs, making a joke but knowing him, he's probably already made inquiries on houses since he's been here.

"If we build one, I get the final say on the layout and design. You have way too much of a grandiose urge when it comes to building things. Remember the theatre charity project? You took what was meant to be a small community theatre and made it a stadium." A few years back, I remind him of our goodwill project for underprivileged children in the community planning, where he had to triple the budget to cover his inflated design plans. Jyeon is sometimes so wealthy-minded that he forgets money isn't endless.

"I swear, you will get full say so. The secret to a happy life is a happy wife. I know that now, and I'll never forget it." He tugs me in and plants a fierce kiss on my lips, squishing our noses together and grinning.

"You're such a dunce." I giggle while bopping him on the head and take one last look around this pretty scenery and find myself smiling. The longer we stand here, the more I adore it and really can't wait to stand here and make a commitment to Jyeon for the second time.

"You did good, Park. It will be a beautiful day, and I like what you chose."

"See. Sometimes I do the right thing." He leans in and pecks me on the lips with a gentler approach. Moving to a semi passionate kiss of a few seconds that melts my heart and gives me butterflies before turning me and placing his hands on my shoulders and starting to push me back towards the trail

"Enough of that now, though. You've been tired all day, and I can hear your belly grumbling for food already. You look exhausted, and I promised you an afternoon on the couch. I'll buy you dinner."

"Can we have snacks too?" I glance back over my shoulder. Already hungry again, even though we had our cold platter, it wasn't that long ago. My appetite has been slowly improving this week, maybe because I'm working my butt off more than usual with OLO being back on my radar. It's not a simple transition, and I am so out of practice that it's been hard mentally.

"Whatever you want, baby. I'll even settle for a chick flick and watch it like a good husband."

"In other words, put one on for me and then sit reading papers and pretending to watch?" I point out, knowing fine well that's what will happen because we are too immersed in the research and strategy phase of our planning, and Jyeon has always been a workaholic.

"Ummm." He replies sheepishly.

"It's fine. As long as you're on the couch and I can cuddle up with you, you can read whatever and do whatever work you want to do. Just keep feeding me." I slide out of his arms and take his hand instead. Leading the way down the path we came from with a happier bounce in my step, I can feel Jyeons eyes on the back of me as he obediently follows.

"I love you, baby. More than you'll ever know. Thank you for making me the happiest guy alive and coming back…giving me another shot at this." His words catch me off guard. The emotional and husky way they come at me from behind, and I turn my head to notice the way he's staring at me with a locked gaze. My heart flips up and tightens my chest with how much I need him.

"I love you too. Thank you for keeping on looking for me. For realizing you loved me." Tears blur my vision, and I sniff and squeeze his hand as he comes level and takes the lead. Pulling me in against him and guiding the way back down.

"I'll love you forever and then some."