The days passed in a blur, each one worse than the last. Étienne—no, Ji-hoon, he still clung to that name in his mind—felt like he was walking through a dream. A nightmare. His routine became mechanical. He would wake up to the sound of his alarm, go through the motions of the day, and return to his room at night, exhausted but restless.
His mother had tried to speak to him a few times, to explain, to smooth things over, but he avoided her. He couldn't bear to look at her, couldn't listen to her hollow words. Lucien didn't try to explain at all. He seemed content to continue with the charade, assuming that Ji-hoon would accept his new role eventually.
But Ji-hoon couldn't accept it.
He felt like a stranger in his own skin, trapped in a life that wasn't his, surrounded by people who didn't see him for who he truly was. Every day was a reminder that his identity had been stripped away. Even at the prestigious ballet academy Lucien had enrolled him in, he was no longer Ji-hoon, the boy from Seoul. He was Étienne D'Arcy, heir to the greatest ballet legacy in the world.
Everyone expected perfection from him. They expected him to be like Lucien. His instructors pushed him harder than the other students, demanding more from him because of his last name. The other dancers watched him with a mix of envy and awe, assuming he was destined for greatness simply because of his bloodline.
But Ji-hoon didn't feel great. He felt broken.
One evening, after another grueling day of training, he collapsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His muscles ached, and his mind was heavy with thoughts he couldn't shake. Why was he still here? Why hadn't he run away yet?
Part of him wanted to pack his bags, walk out of the mansion, and never look back. He could disappear, go back to Korea, live a quiet life far away from the D'Arcy name and all it represented. But deep down, he knew that wasn't an option. Lucien had too much influence, too much power. If he tried to leave, they would find him. They would drag him back into this gilded prison.
He sat up, running a hand through his messy hair, feeling the frustration build inside him. He couldn't stay here. But he couldn't leave either.
He was trapped.
A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Before he could respond, the door opened, and his mother stepped inside. She looked tired, her usual grace dimmed by the weight of their strained relationship. She closed the door behind her, standing there for a moment as if unsure how to begin.
"Ji-hoon," she said softly, using his Korean name for the first time since they'd arrived in Paris.
It hit him like a punch to the gut. He hadn't realized how much he missed hearing it, how much he longed for someone to acknowledge who he truly was. But her saying his name didn't make him feel any better. If anything, it made him angrier.
"What do you want?" he muttered, not bothering to hide the edge in his voice.
She took a deep breath, stepping closer but keeping a careful distance. "I know you're upset. And I understand why."
Ji-hoon scoffed. "Do you? Do you really understand?"
Yuna winced but didn't back down. "Yes. I do. You overheard us, didn't you?"
He didn't respond, but the look in his eyes was enough.
She sighed, sitting down in the chair by his desk. "Lucien and I… we wanted to tell you the truth, but we didn't know how. We didn't want to burden you with something you didn't ask for. This life… it's complicated. I know you didn't choose it, Ji-hoon, but—"
"But you did," Ji-hoon snapped, cutting her off. "You chose it for me. You decided that I was going to be the heir because Lucien can't have kids. You're treating me like I'm some kind of… replacement."
His mother's eyes filled with guilt, but she didn't deny it. "It wasn't like that. At least, it wasn't supposed to be. We thought this would be a fresh start for you. A chance to give you a better life."
"A better life?" Ji-hoon laughed bitterly. "You think this is better? Being forced to be someone I'm not? Being told to forget who I am and become Étienne D'Arcy? You took my name, my identity. You don't even see me as your son anymore. You see me as Lucien's heir."
Yuna's hands trembled in her lap. "That's not true. I do see you as my son. I've always seen you as my son. But Lucien… he needs you too. You're the only chance we have to keep the D'Arcy name alive."
"And what about what I want?" Ji-hoon shot back. "Did you ever think about that?"
His mother looked down, tears brimming in her eyes. "Of course I thought about it. But sometimes, Ji-hoon, we have to make sacrifices. Life isn't always about what we want. It's about what we need to do for the people we care about."
Ji-hoon clenched his fists, his anger boiling over. "You're asking me to give up everything I am for a man I barely know. For a legacy that means nothing to me. How is that fair?"
Yuna wiped at her eyes, her voice breaking. "I know it's not fair. But life isn't always fair. I left you once, Ji-hoon. I'm not going to do it again. I'm trying to do what's best for you, for all of us."
Ji-hoon stood up, turning away from her, unable to look at her any longer. He felt like he was suffocating, the walls of the room closing in on him. "I don't care about the D'Arcy name," he said quietly, his voice trembling with emotion. "I just want to be me."
His mother stood up as well, her face etched with pain. "I know. And I wish I could give you that. But this is the life we have now. It's not perfect, but it's all we have."
Ji-hoon shook his head, his voice hard. "No. It's the life you chose. Not me."
Without another word, his mother turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Ji-hoon collapsed back onto his bed, burying his face in his hands. His chest ached, his heart heavy with the weight of everything that had been forced upon him.
For the first time since arriving in Paris, he realized just how powerless he was. He wasn't just chained by the expectations of others—he was chained by the very circumstances of his birth. No matter how much he resisted, no matter how much he fought, he couldn't escape the truth.
He was Étienne D'Arcy now.
And there was no going back.