“Lila, stop spinning — you're going to tear that dress!”

 Chris heard his mom’s voice from downstairs as he adjusted his tie in the hallway mirror for the third time.

 “Why are ties so dramatic?” he muttered.

 From behind him, Sienna’s voice chimed, “That’s because you tie it like a stressed accountant. Come here.”

 Chris groaned and turned to face her. “You don’t even wear ties.”

 She ignored him and stepped in, fingers smooth and practiced like she’d done it a thousand times. “I've watched enough TikToks. Besides, it’s Jin’s sister’s wedding. You can't show up looking like a rushed choir boy.”

 Nick walked past in a sleek deep-blue suit, grinning. “Yeah, Chris, we gotta represent. Can’t have people thinking you’re just the quiet cousin.”

 Chris rolled his eyes. “I am the quiet cousin.”

 “Not when you’re doing boyfriend voice with Ash,” Sienna muttered with a smirk.

 Chris went red instantly. “You wanna get drop-kicked before the ceremony or after?”

 Their mom’s voice rang again from downstairs. “Shoes on in five minutes, everyone! Lila, that includes both shoes!”

 Their dad chuckled softly from the kitchen, holding a to-go coffee. “Holidays with this family,” he murmured, sipping like he hadn’t just seen his youngest do a somersault in her dress.

 Tiana wasn’t home — stuck in school with finals — and neither was Ash. Chris had already texted him that morning, and even though Ash couldn’t be there, he replied:

“Wish I could go with you. Steal me a meat pie.”

 Chris smiled at the message as they all piled into the car, dressed up and buzzing with energy. The ride was full of laughter, chaos, and Lila humming some random pop song while insisting she’d be the “flower girl… just really late.”

The wedding was, in a word, immaculate.

 From the soft flower petals lining the aisle to the elegant fairy lights wrapped around every pillar, everything felt straight out of a modern fairytale. Chris, Nick, and Sienna arrived with their parents — and of course, Chris’s little sister Lila, who kept spinning in her flower-print dress like a ballerina on sugar.

 The wedding banner on the reception tables read:

 “Welcome to Minji & Tobi’s Wedding Party 💍✨”

 Minji, Jin’s older sister, looked radiant in her white dress — sleek, minimalist, and effortlessly beautiful. Her husband, Tobi, stood proudly beside her in an emerald green suit that looked like it cost a fortune. He wore it like it was tailored by royalty.

 Jin waved them over excitedly when he saw them. He was in a neat black tux with a pale green tie that matched the groom’s.

 The reception was bussing in every way — a live band played Afro-fusion tracks between soft K-R&B songs. On the buffet tables, there was spicy jollof rice beside kimchi fried rice, suya skewers beside bulgogi, plantain beside tteokbokki, and a cake that was somehow both traditional and modern at once.

 Chris watched Sienna spin between tables with wide eyes.

 “This is crazy,” she said. “Like the best of both worlds.”

 She turned to Jin suddenly. “Wait — what’s your full name again?”

 Jin laughed. “It’s Seo Jinwoo.”

 Sienna blinked. “Jinwoo? That’s so pretty.”

 Chris snorted. “You’ve told us that like five times, man.”

 Nick nodded. “Yeah, and somehow we never remember.”

 Chris added, “Jin is just easier. And better.”

 Jin rolled his eyes but grinned.

Later in the evening, after the couple’s first dance and a round of wedding games, the dance floor opened — and chaos followed. Chris didn’t expect his dad to bust moves that made the uncles cheer, or for his mom to try galbi and ask if it could be made with goat meat.

 Everything buzzed with laughter and love.

 After a while, Sienna flopped down beside the boys, slightly breathless.

 She watched a group of guests doing the zanku while another couple attempted a K-pop choreo on the same floor.

 Then she said, “Yeah. I’m definitely marrying a Nigerian guy.”

 Nick raised a brow. “You’re just saying that ’cause of the jollof and the party.”

 Sienna shrugged. “That, and they dress so good.”

 Nick sipped from his cup. “And if you don’t find a Nigerian guy?”

 She shrugged again. “Then I’ll just—”

 Nick cut in smoothly. “Just get a Black guy.”

 Sienna paused.

 So did he.

 Their eyes met.

 It was brief. Maybe two seconds.

 But something passed between them — something quiet and unexpected.

 Chris, sitting between them, didn’t say anything. But he noticed.

 Sienna stood up suddenly. “I’m getting something to drink.”

 Nick leaned back, tapping his fingers on the table.

 Chris bit back a smile and reached for another puff-puff.

 By the time they left — Lila asleep across Chris’s lap in the backseat, their parents humming along to an old song on the stereo — the stars had come out.

 Chris leaned his head against the window, the warmth of the night still lingering on his skin.

 And for some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about that two-second stare.

Later that night, Chris lay sprawled across his bed, one leg dangling off the side, Facetiming Ash like he hadn’t already spent the whole day around people. But this was different.

 With Ash, he never ran out of things to say.

 “…and then there was this huge table with Korean side dishes on one end and Nigerian rice on the other, and Nick legit tried to mix the two and almost passed out. Lila got her face painted like a butterfly. Oh, and guess what? Sienna asked Jin what his full name was again—like she hadn’t heard it twenty times already—and got all impressed.”

 Ash laughed from his dorm room screen, hair pulled back in a loose bun, shirt slightly slipping off his shoulder. “Sounds like a proper fusion wedding.”

 “It was vibes,” Chris grinned. “I kinda wish you were there. You’d have killed it in a green suit.”

 “Don’t tempt me,” Ash said, smirking.

 Chris rolled onto his stomach, kicking his feet a little. “When are you coming back anyway?”

 “In like… a month, maybe.”

 Chris nodded, trying to act casual. “Oh, nice. I should be done with my SATs by then. So no school stress, no exam stress. Just… you and me.”

 Ash went quiet.

 Chris raised a brow. “What?”

 Ash tilted his head, voice lower now. “Honestly? I want you so badly, Chris. I keep thinking about the last time. I miss you.”

 Chris’s cheeks warmed, but he didn’t look away. “Yeah?”

 Ash licked his bottom lip. “Next time I see you…” he leaned closer to the screen, voice deep and smooth, “you won’t walk for a week. I swear.”

 Chris buried his face in his pillow, groaning. “You’re not serious.”

 “I’m dead serious.” Ash’s voice was soft, dangerous. “I’m going to make you say my name like it’s the only word you know.”

 Chris let out a laugh that turned into something breathier than he meant it to. “You’re evil.”

 Ash grinned. “You love it.”

 And the truth was? He did.

 Chris welcomed every word, every tease, every promise — laughing like he wanted to pretend it was all a joke, but deep down?

 He wanted it more than Ash did.