Ji-Ah stepped into Nisa's room and paused.
It smelled like skincare and expensive anxiety.
Nisa lay stretched across the bed with a pale green sheet mask covering her face, hair wrapped neatly, hands folded over her stomach like a bride preparing for ceremonial preservation.
Arisoo sat beside her, cross-legged, scrolling through her phone and complaining dramatically.
"I'm telling you," Arisoo sighed, "living in America is character development I did not ask for. Rent eats you alive. Groceries judge you. Winter attacks your soul."
Nisa's voice floated up from behind the mask. "Then come to Thailand one day. Sun. Beaches. Mango sticky rice. No snow. Only happiness."
"I will," Arisoo declared. "I'll heal and become soft."
"That would be a miracle," Ji-Ah said dryly, stepping forward with a cream envelope in her hand.
She held it out like a royal decree.
"The wedding invitation."
Arisoo grabbed it first.
She blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Nisa."
Nisa peeled off the mask dramatically and sat up. "What?"
Arisoo handed it over carefully.
Cream textured paper. Gold embossed lettering. Clean serif script. A faint ivory floral border. Understated and refined.
Nisa ran her fingers over the raised letters.
"This is beautiful," she said softly.
"It looks… important," Arisoo added. "Like if you hold it wrong, you owe money."
"It does owe money," Ji-Ah replied.
They laughed.
Ji-Ah moved toward the vanity and slipped her hair tie off, letting her hair fall down her back. She combed her fingers through it absentmindedly.
"We've distributed almost everything," she said. "Everyone we care about has received theirs. Your parents' invitation is already on its way."
Nisa's expression changed instantly.
"They called," she said, smiling. "They're really happy."
Ji-Ah nodded once. "Good."
The door creaked open quietly.
No dramatic entrance.
Just soft footsteps.
Nikki padded in, rubbing his eyes.
He walked straight to Ji-Ah and gently tugged her sleeve.
"..."
She looked down at him.
"Yes?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Aunt Ji-Ji."
She blinked. "Ji-Ji?"
He nodded as if it had always been that.
Arisoo clutched her chest. "That's illegal. That's too cute."
Ji-Ah tried to maintain dignity. Failed slightly.
"What do you want, Ji-Ji's landlord?" she asked him.
He held her hand with both of his tiny ones. "Play."
She looked exhausted. "Ji-Ji is tired."
He squeezed her fingers gently. "Pwease."
No shouting.
No drama.
Just quiet persuasion.
She sighed softly.
"You're dangerous."
He smiled.
She bent down and lifted him into her arms.
"How about," she murmured, adjusting him comfortably against her shoulder, "I sing you something instead?"
He nodded immediately, satisfied with this compromise.
She sat on the edge of the bed and began softly singing, the sweet Korean children's song about the three bears.
Her voice was smooth.
Clear.
Warm in a way that didn't try too hard.
Arisoo stopped scrolling.
Nisa leaned back against the headboard, listening quietly.
Ji-Ah swayed slightly as she sang, brushing her fingers gently through Nikki's hair.
By the second verse, his breathing had slowed.
By the last line, his head had tipped fully against her shoulder.
Asleep.
She finished the song softly anyway.
Arisoo looked at her with wide eyes. "You sing beautifully."
Nisa nodded. "I knew she could sing like that."
Ji-Ah smiled faintly. "I contain multitudes."
Then she leaned backward dramatically onto the bed.
"I think," she muttered, eyes half closed, "we should let the bride rest alone."
Nisa immediately reached out and grabbed her sleeve.
"No. Please."
Ji-Ah cracked one eye open. "You were just advertising Thailand."
Nisa pouted slightly. "Do-Hyun isn't here to say please."
Ji-Ah stared at her for a long second.
Then nodded.
"Fine."
Arisoo stood carefully and lifted Nikki from Ji-Ah's arms.
"Come on, tiny strategist," she whispered, carrying him toward the door.
They slipped out quietly.
The room settled.
Nisa lay back down, holding the invitation against her chest.
Ji-Ah remained beside her, hair loose, staring at the ceiling.
The lights were dim now.
The room had shifted from bridal headquarters to soft, late night honesty.
Nisa lay on her side, scrolling through wedding videos. Veils floating in slow motion. Brides crying.
Grooms pretending not to cry.
Dramatic violin music doing the most.
Ji-Ah lay beside her, staring at the ceiling.
After a moment, she turned her head.
"Are you nervous?"
Nisa didn't answer immediately.
Then she nodded.
"A little."
She kept scrolling.
"It's strange," Nisa said quietly. "Even though Do-Hyun and I moved into this mansion recently… we've barely been together."
Ji-Ah snorted softly. "Two hundred rooms will do that."
"Exactly," Nisa sighed. "We live in the same house but sleep in different wings like historical royalty avoiding scandal."
Ji-Ah let out a small laugh.
Nisa kept talking, eyes still on her phone. "Tomorrow everything changes."
Ji-Ah turned onto her side, facing her.
"I'm happy for you," she said simply.
No teasing.
No commentary.
Just truth.
Nisa's scrolling slowed.
"Thanks," she replied softly.
Silence settled again, gentle this time.
Then Ji-Ah's phone buzzed.
She reached for it lazily.
Notification from Jeon-Seo.
Attached image.
She opened it.
Min-Hyuk standing close to Seo-Yeon, carefully fastening a delicate bracelet around her wrist. Both of them smiling like they'd just solved life.
Ji-Ah's lips curved.
She quickly forwarded the picture to one contact saved under:
Grumpy Sir – Ha-Joon.
Within seconds, a reply came.
Cool.
Ji-Ah stared at the screen.
"That's it?" she muttered under her breath.
Nisa glanced over. "What?"
"Nothing. Emotional range of a teaspoon."
She rolled her eyes dramatically and tossed the phone onto the bedside table.
Then she slid her head under the pillow halfway, like a dramatic turtle retreating from the world.
"Sleep," she mumbled. "The bride and the overworked assistant both need it."
Nisa smiled in the dark and turned off her phone.
The mansion was quiet.
Tomorrow would be loud.
But for now, two girls lay side by side in the stillness, letting sleep slowly claim them.