Author's Note: Sorry it's taken a week to get a new story up. I've been working on my sister's blanket so it will be done before he goes off to college, and it's time consuming. But I've taken your ideas and kind of rolled them in to one story with some added fun. I hope you like it.

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"Eri! Come here!"

Eri turned at her name being called. She had been living in South Korea with her new family for the last four years which made her total occupation time two and a half years. She had gone through her ups and downs with this small group but the best had come out of it. She now had a loving husband and two wonderful kids.

Things had been going so well. Everyone was now in their thirties and extremely happy. Jun Pyo and Jan Di had their first child last October and fought about how to raise her. Jun Pyo wanted her spoiled rotten. Jan Di wanted her to live as she had. Neither could agree. It was quite humorous to watch. An outsider would say it was all insanity, but it was their family.

Kyu Lee and Ji Hoo had gotten married and were expecting their first child. Eri didn't know why it was so damn important to have a kid within the first year or so of marriage, but her friends had done it. They were keeping quiet about what they were having so it made it harder for everyone else to buy gifts for them. They were even keeping their nursery under lock and key.

Eri and Woo Bin had moved into a split level home with Yi Jeong and Ga Eul. The Song family lived downstairs, and Yi Jeong and Ga Eul had the upstairs. They shared the kitchen and garage, but the men had so many cars it was pointless. So they parked the essential cars in the garage and the others were left at the parents' houses. They spent every breakfast together and dinner if they weren't meeting the others. The house was close to Yi Jeong's studio even if it was further away from Eri's work.

Living together had its perks. There was always someone there to watch the kids if Eri and Woo Bin wanted to go out which they usually did once a week. No one was ever alone. There was always someone at the house piddling around or doing something else. Every now and then Yi Jeong brought his work home and let the kids paint the pots whatever color they wanted. Their table was full of acrylic paint markings from where they missed the pot and papers set before them.

It had been very helpful when Eri had made a big decision. After being partially deaf for twenty-five years, she had consulted with her doctor and made the decision to get cochlear implants. At first, everyone had been a little apprehensive because she had denied the procedure for years due to her body's inability to take anesthesia, but after hearing her out about why she wanted to do it, they reluctantly gave their blessings.

Things had been difficult in the beginning because she had to get used to being able to hear all the time. Some things were new and louder, such as trucks passing by or horns honking. They had to be adjusted because she had spent so much time with hearing aids that she was used to lower frequencies. Jan Di had asked her why she had suddenly decided to get them implanted and her response had shocked them.

She had wanted to hear the heartbeats of her husband and children.

No one had dared defy her after that. This was something they couldn't even if they tried. Eri had never been rash, even when the pristine wall that had held her long-forgotten emotions came crashing down. She thought things through, so for her to make a decision based on a feeling meant she was progressing.

Ga Eul turned a full 360 with a huge smile plastered on her face. "How do I look?"

Eri spun her finger around again and the woman spun slowly. The dress flared at the bottom and the bow strings added a swipe of color. She looked the woman up and down, noticing that the dress accented everything about her figure.

"Why isn't Yi Jeong doing this?" she asked.

"He hates shopping now. He used to love it but as the wedding gets closer, our mothers aren't getting along."

"Why not do it the way Woo Bin and I did?"

"My father would kill us."

"Is his going to be there?"

"I'm not sure."

The doctor made a noise that wasn't very happy. Yi Jeong had finally proposed to Ga Eul after nearly eight years of dating. As soon as they had told their parents, their mothers had started fighting. It would be humorous if Yi Jeong's mother hadn't been making demands from her hospital bed. Yi Jeong didn't put much stock in his mother's words, but Ga Eul's mother was going to be his mother-in-law. He had to respect her for the moment even if he didn't agree with her.

Luckily for Ga Eul, she had three strong women who were already married that could help her. Kyu Lee had an eye for colors and decorations, Jan Di was becoming a shrewd bargainer as she got discount after discount on things they needed, and Eri was just blunt. With all three together, Ga Eul was getting the best wedding any woman would want. Plus she had the best husband-to-be in the world.

Well, one the four best husbands-to-be, but the other three were already taken.

"Thanks for deciding on long bridesmaid dresses," Eri said as she picked at the fabric on the dress.

"Don't thank me. Yi Jeong came up with that idea," Ga Eul replied.

Even after four years there were things Eri didn't talk about. No one had ever seen her in a skirt but they had enough sense not to ask. Nothing was worse than an angry Eri. Yi Jeong obviously knew, but there wasn't much he didn't know about his best friend. Ga Eul had pressed him but he had only said it wasn't his story to tell. She had trusted him and had changed the length of the dress.

The girls at the front of the store started to ooh and aah. Eri and Ga Eul turned as Woo Bin came in holding a little girl on one hip and holding the hand of a little boy. Bin Ji was hard to miss. He had his father's dark eyes but his mother's wild wavy hair. He was their three year old son that almost didn't make it into the world. The little girl on Woo Bin's hip was Ahn Na. Woo Bin and Eri had adopted her when she was born. She was a total daddy's girl and clung to Woo Bin as such.

Bin Ji gave a holler then snatched his hand out of his father's and shot off across the salon. Eri grabbed him and scooped him up. He immediately poked two fingers in her face and lifted her mouth in a fake smile. But the light that lit her eyes was genuine. Normally they were lit by some other fire, but this time it was love for her family that changed her.

Woo Bin made a little noise through his nose. "Wow. Ga Eul you look great. Yi Jeong will lose his mind."

She smiled, crinkling her nose just a bit. "Do you think so?"

He nodded. "Of course, and next time when you do something else I'll drag him out. He's starting to mope around the house when you're gone." He looked at his watch. "Why don't you change so we can meet everyone for lunch?"

Nodding, Ga Eul stepped off the pedestal and followed the attendant back into the dressing room. Eri looked at her husband and shook her head. He smiled the pressed a kiss to the little girl's cheek. She shyly turned her head, pressed her forehead to her temple. Even across the room each holding a child, the air was sizzling with their love and passion for each other.

Ga Eul returned and took Bin Ji from his mother. She allowed him to go, taking Woo Bin's hand as they left the salon. Bin Ji told jokes to his aunt as they walked down the sidewalk. They were meeting at a high-end restaurant that Jan Di had wanted to try. She had pestered them until she had gotten the desired results.

"Did you guys miss not having a wedding?" Ga Eul asked suddenly.

Woo Bin shook his head. "No. Eri doesn't have any family other than grandpere and Francesco and my family is too nuts to care. I got grandpere's permission beforehand. It was cheaper too."

Eri tightened her hand in his but didn't say anything. He left out the pertinent information. It wasn't that she didn't have family; she just didn't talk to her parents since they essentially blamed all their hardships on her. The last time she had seen them was two years ago at grandpere's funeral, but all of them had been there so she hadn't had to talk to them. Now all that was left was Francesco and he was a nutcase.

They arrived at the restaurant and found everyone in a room. Jan Di and Jun Pyo were arguing about Man Ni's crying as everyone else sat around looking completely at ease. As soon as he saw him, Bin Ji wiggled out of Ga Eul's arms and ran straight for Yi Jeong. Now they were two peas in a pod. Bin Ji had Yi Jeong wrapped around his finger. Whenever he was in the studio, he always got to do whatever he wanted. Lately he had been painting pots.

Yi Jeong held him over his head and shook him from side to side. Bin Ji squealed in delight then wrapped his arms around his head. Yi Jeong smiled and pulled the boy to him, patting his back as he held him close.

"How's everything coming?" Ji Hoo asked as they sat down.

Ga Eul made a face. "My mother keeps nagging about my wedding dress and all crazy stuff. She won't lay off of it."

"You should have just done what these two did." He pointed at Eri and Woo Bin who were engrossed in their own little world at the moment. He shook his head. "Seriously these two."

The bride-to-be watched her friends, all of her friends. They had gone through some seriously hard times. Eri hadn't trusted anyone, Woo Bin had had to deal with his brother attacking Ga Eul, Yi Jeong had dealt with his past, Ji Hoo had taken over his grandfather's legacy, and Kyu Lee had gotten over her hatred of Eri. To have eight friends meet up once a week and maybe more for dinner meant they were stronger together.

"Oh!" she exclaimed causing everyone to look at her. "I wanted to give these to you." She passed out three boxes to the women. "Since I'm doing a fancy wedding, you girls need these."

Kyu Lee, Eri and Jan Di took the boxes and untied the ribbons. They pulled the lids off and looked inside. Matching necklaces gleamed out at them. They were all different metals but they were the same design and length. Eri's was silver with her name embossed in Korean. Kyu Lee's was bronze and Jan Di's was gold.

"Ga Eul," Jan Di whined, "you didn't have to do this. It's your wedding. We should be getting you more gifts."

Ga Eul shook her hand in front of their faces. "No, no, no. Don't start that. I wanted to get these for you."

"You know I can't wear it," Eri said. No one was surprised. She had two young children who liked to grab things. Bin Ji was a prime example as he was gnawing on Yi Jeong's tie.

"Just wear it at the wedding. It'll make me happy." She wasn't finished as she took the other woman's hand. Eri flinched at first but a soothing hand on her back told her it was okay. Ga Eul smiled. "I know I shouldn't be asking this but it' already been clarified. Eri, I want you to be my maid of honor, or matron of honor. I know Jan Di has been my best friend forever, but you're important to me and Yi Jeong. It wouldn't be right having Woo Bin as best man without you as maid of honor."

Eri looked over her shoulder at Yi Jeong. The soft smile on his face said he was in agreement with it. She stared at him long enough that he thought she was going to turn them down. In the end she just nodded her head without a word.

Like usual they thought their lives were perfect, but fate has a way of screwing everything up when least expected.