Dojin got an early call from his father.
It was quite unusual for the old man to look for him that early therefore Dojin rushed as soon as he heard the news.
He walked to his father's office and knocked twice before entering the room. His parents were engrossed in a deep conversion and did not even notice that Dojin was standing there. There were several papers scattered over the table but amongst them one piece of paper caught his eye. It was his grandfather's letter.
It was that piece of fate which bought them together.
Before he could look at it, his father noticed his presence and smiled warmly at him. "You're here, Dojin" his father greeted gently.
"Sit down," his mother spoke softly "We have a lot to discuss."
Dojin sat down on the big black chair facing his parents. He did not know why he felt a sense of nervousness crawl up his back. Why did he feel like there was an impending doom?
"We have decided to set the wedding for next weekend." His father announced excitedly. "We spoke to His Holiness and he said it will be an incredibly lucky day. We have also prepared for your coronation too."
"I cannot believe that you are already at the age to get married." His mother reminisced tearfully. "It still feels like yesterday when I first held you in my arms."
"Children really grow up way too fast." His father sighed happily as he looked at Dojin with adoration.
While his parents were recalling events from his childhood, Dojin felt his grounds shaking. He now understood why he felt that sense of doom. He now realized why his parents called him this early in the morning. But no matter what, he just could not believe it.
"What?" Dojin asked, perplexed.
"We said" his father began as if he was talking to a little child. "You are getting married on the next weekend."
"We have already made the announcement to the media." His mother stated. "We are going to make the formal proposal to Yeona's family today. Don't worry you won't have to come for Eui Hon and Napchae though."
Dojin took a deep breath to calm himself down. He need to think clearly before he said anything. His father said that he was getting married next weekend which means that he has gotten total eight days give and take.
He clenched his jaw to supress his rage as he looked at his father with a seemingly neutral expression. "Father…" he started slowly, "For how long you have been planned this?" he asked, looking directly at his father.
His father raised a brow at him before letting a long-drawn sigh. "Since we chose Yeona to be your spouse."
That was it.
"Why do you never ask for my opinion?" Dojin whispered, his whole body shaking from his emotions.
All of a sudden, he felt anger surging through him. He felt choked, as if someone were strangling him. The rage and frustration that Dojin was trying to withhold, overflowed his senses. He wanted to scream his lungs out at how unfair this entire situation was towards him. How could they treat him like that? Why won't they ever ask what he wanted? Why?
"What?" his parents said in unison, shock evident on their face .
"I don't want to get married!" he exploded making his parents gasp at his outburst. "I don't want to get married to Yeona! I don't even know her!" he shot, seething with frustration.
"What do you mean?" his mother asked sternly.
"I do not even know her, Mother. Why should I marry a stranger when I love someone else?" He answered exasperate.
"Who is that?" his father demanded; voice threateningly low.
"I love Shin Soomin." He announced firmly, looking at his parents directly. "If I am getting married to anyone then it has to be her. I don't want to…" but before he could finish his sentence, his father got up from his chair and slammed a hand on the table before yelling a clear "ENOUGH!"
Dojin looked at his father and instantly a shiver ran down his spine.
His father looked furious. "Enough! You are getting married to Yeona and that is Final. I do not want to hear anything else. Now leave!" his father ordered, his stare cold and authoritative.
Dojin looked at his mother for support but saw that she had the same expression as his father. He bowed his head down and got up from the chair. He bowed deeply in front of his parents and muttered a small 'I apologise' before walking straight out of the room.
His fate was already doomed from the moment he met that girl.
∞
It was around midnight when Dojin finally got the chance to return to his room. After meeting his parents in the morning, he had gone to the company as he was assisting their team on a new project in telecommunication. By the time he was finished with his task, he was exhausted both mentally and physically.
He quietly walked down the hallway as he recalled the morning's events. He just could not understand why his father wanted him to marry Yeona. Was this really happening just because of his grandfather's letter? But he did not understand why his father needed to take that letter this seriously. He also did not understand why they were so opposed to him getting married to Soomin.
His parents were always nice to Soomin and his whole family adored her whenever she came over. Then why in the world were they so opposed to the idea of Dojin marrying Soomin? And honestly, how can his father be so sure that everyone was going to like Yeona when Dojin, her to be husband, does not like her yet.
Why were they so sure about Cha Yeona?
He was thinking of all sorts things when suddenly something moved in his periphery. He stopped on his tracks and looked through the window which overlooked the garden. At first, he did not see anything because of how dark it was but then he saw something move near the boundary walls.
'What the hell was that?' he muttered to himself before running towards the garden.
As soon as he walked there, he saw someone trying to climb up the boundary wall. He quietly creeped behind the person and instantly grasped the intruder in a choking headlock. The intruder gasped before they started flailing their arms and legs.
"Who are you?" Dojin growled as he tightened his grip around the intruder.
"I-ts C-ha Ye-o-na" the intruder croaked out, barely audible.
Dojin's eyes grew comically large and he immediately let go of her. As soon as he did, Yeona dropped on ground, gasping for breath. Even in the dark, Dojin could clearly see how hard she was struggling to breathe because how tight his headlock was.
"What the hell were you doing?" Dojin asked, feeling incredulous. Seeing her like this was the last thing Dojin could ever think of.
"I was trying to run away…" Yeona said, still panting hard.
Dojin let out a loud sigh before he picked Yeona up by her arm and dragged her inside the palace. He had a lot of questions to ask but it would not be wise to speak out in the garden like that.
He was already tired but it looked like the day demanded more from him.
∞
"Why were you running away in the first place?" Dojin demanded when they were finally inside Yeona's room.
"Because I didn't want to get married…" Yeona answered meekly as she placed the backpack near her table.
"What?" Dojin asked, feeling a little surprised.
"I said I was running away because I didn't want to get married. I was almost out when you caught me…" she grumbled as she sat down on her bed.
Dojin looked at her in disbelieve. He did not know whether he should laugh or bang his head on the door because what in the world was actually happening? He was quite sure that Yeona was excited about getting married to him. If his thinking was right, then why did she want to run away?
He let out another sigh as he messaged the sides of his temple. "And why you don't you want to get married?" Dojin asked, his patience was already running low. He just wanted to return to his room and sleep the night off. He did not even want to eat anymore.
"Because…" Yeona looked at ground and continued "Because I heard you…this morning" she mumbled.
"Oh…" Dojin voiced before sitting down on the loveseat. He looked everywhere else except at Yeona.
Dojin, for the first time in his life, was rendered speechless. He did not know what he should say anymore. He does not even know if should get angry at Yeona because she eavesdropped on a private conversation. He glanced at the said woman and saw that she was fumbling with her shirt because of nervousness. Even though Dojin would not like to admit it, at that moment, Yeona looked incredibly cute.
He let out a sigh and decided that there was no point in getting angry at Yeona. She looked like she was suffering enough.
"See Yeona…" he started softly and Yeona looked at him with her big owlish eyes. Dojin did not know why but he could not look at her.
"I don't know what exactly you heard but you should know that there is no way we can get out of this. My parents have already decided upon you, so even if you run away, they will find you." He said firmly with a stoic face. "No matter what…"
"So, if you run away, it will only bring your family dishonour. Therefore, its best, if you stay just put." Dojin explained grimly.
"But you love someone else Dojin…" Yeona whispered, her voice shaky. "This…This marriage will only make you suffer" she stated with sadness lacing her voice.
If Dojin knew Yeona, then he would have noticed the pain in these words. He would have seen how difficult it was for her to think and even utter them. But since he did not know her, he did not notice the hurt he had already inflicted on Yeona.
'Yeona must have heard everything…' Dojin thought to himself as he let out another sigh.
"Look," Dojin begun as he got up from his seat. "It does not matter. You were chosen by my grandfather and my parents have already decided upon you. So even if this marriage makes us both suffer, there is nothing that we can do."
Dojin did not know why he felt somewhat guilty about this entire situation. Just today morning, he was cussing out Yeona when in fact this woman was in the same situation as he was. They were both getting married unwillingly. He was getting married to someone he did not love and Yeona, on the other hand, was stripped of her simple carefree life. It was not wise on his part to blame her like that.
"You see," Dojin said as he started walking towards, "I have had a tiring day, so I am going to take my leave now."
Before he could leave the room, Yeona spoke, stopping him on his tracks.
"Can we at least become friends?" Yeona asked with a hopeful voice.
"We…We can try," Dojin answered without turning back and left the room, leaving Yeona with an expectant smile.