“So it’s settled then, we’ll be arranging a meeting with the Park family from the northern kingdom to finalize the details.”  Mark’s mother gracefully got up from her chair and turned to leave. “We’re glad you didn’t hesitate to make the right decision Mark, this marriage is critical to maintaining the status of our family.”  This was the last thing she said before she returned to her duties and left Mark feeling conflicted.

Mark had always known this day would come.  Arranged marriage was a common occurrence in royal families, both of his sisters had already been married away to their suitors and his turn had finally arrived.

At first he felt uneasy about the entire idea; it felt like a violation of rights to be set up with a stranger for the gain of your family but as the years went by he could feel his mind changing.  They had held hundreds of parties over the course of his life and as soon as he reached the ripe age of 15 his parents were constantly introducing potential wives to him from all over the country.  It always ended the same way though, the princess would practically throw herself at him the moment he saw them, compliment him on his good looks (everyone told him he was handsome but he still couldn’t quite see it himself) and tried to woo him with a ridiculous amount of flirting that had no effect on him.

He figured one day he would meet the girl of his dreams, but years went by and every girl his parents introduced him to would eventually leave his side completely forgotten.  He never had even the slightest interest in any of them.

He knew his parents were constantly disappointed in him after all these failed attempts, so when the time came for a wife to be partially forced upon him he agreed to the whole deal with no complaints.  If he wasn’t interested in a single girl in the entire kingdom thus far he finally decided it was never going to happen.  He was never going to find a wife for himself; he had never even liked a girl, where was he going to find a girl he loved? He believed the entire process would be all cleared up if he just agreed to marry the woman who brought his family the highest status and he would just learn to like her after a couple of years out of habit.

The more he thought about it the more he realized what a sad decision it was. His entire life he had never met his parents expectation as a royal and if this was something he could do to make them happy then he knew he was making a sound decision.

“Is this it then?  Is this when we’re finally going to split up?”  A blonde haired man clad in a black suit suddenly tackled him back into the chair he was sitting on.  “All these years together, partners in crime!  It’s finally coming to an end…”

“Jacksonnmmphh, getuffme, can’tbreaf!!!”  The man finally clambered off him. Mark noticed tears in his eyes, threatening to fall.  “Jackson relax, we’re not splitting up.  Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean I’m getting rid of you. You’re my personal butler, you have to go everywhere with me.”

 “That’s a relief!”  Jackson took a seat on Mark’s lap instead of any nearby chair.  Mark was used to this by now so he didn’t even bat an eyelash.  “And here I thought all those years of friendship were over!” 

He had an interesting relationship with Jackson Wang.  In the past, he had been employed by his family as a regular servant but after countless mistakes and general rowdiness he had been fired after just a month of working there.  Mark had found the whole ordeal to be a bit unfair so he begged his parents not to fire him, and he offered to instead have him reassigned as his personal butler.  They had been inseparable ever since, literally.  Jackson’s job was to be at his beck and call 24 hours of the day but as the years went by they formed a bond much greater than just that.  They had become good friends to the point he almost forgot that Jackson was actually employed to work for him.

“I couldn’t imagine life without you Jackson.”  Mark deadpanned.

“Now that’s all cleared up, I can’t believe my Markie-poo is getting married!”  Jackson wiped fake tears from his eyes.  “They grow up so fast…”

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m the older one here.”

“Please, we’re practically the same age!”  Mark questioned on a daily basis how he was able to put up with this for the past six years.  “Anyways tell me about the girl, what’s her name?  Is she pretty?”

“I don’t know her name and I haven’t seen her yet.  We’re set to meet for the first time in a week.”

“Whoa, so this is a completely blind sort of deal?  You just agreed to this without even seeing her face?  What if you don’t like her?”

“That doesn’t matter at this point, she’s the best fit for our family and I’ll learn to live with whoever it is.  I’ve given up on actually finding the right person for me.”  Mark ended his sentence with a sigh.

“Prince Tuan, giving up his search for love at the ripe age of 22, how sad.”  Jackson chided.

“You know how arranged royal marriages work Jackson; I’m surprised they waited so long on me.  Most of us are married away in our late teens.”

“Since you already agreed to it I guess I can’t tell you anything but good luck!  Just to let you know, no matter how pretty your wife turns out to be she’s going to still be reaching to be worthy of the most handsome prince in the eastern kingdom.”

“I told you, I still don’t see it.”

 One week had flown by and he found himself arriving at a palace that rivaled his own.  After the ten minute walk through the long garden path in front towards the main doors, he concluded that this place was way fancier than his.

He had never met anyone of a higher status of him so he made sure he was on his best behaviour as he entered the grand hall that was considered just an entrance room.

A servant stood before them as they walked through the corridor.  “The meeting will take place in the main hall of the left wing,  I’ll guide you there to wait for the king and queen to bring the princess down to meet with you.”

The main hall was stunning.  The walls and floors coloured in reds and golds with a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  He was told to sit down on a cushioned chair in front of a grand staircase.

He nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard a servant clear his throat loudly next to him, “The Park’s have arrived please stand to welcome them.”

Mark stood up and brushed the non-existent dirt off of his epaulette, jacket, and trousers.  He looked towards the staircase he could feel himself trembling.  He hadn’t thought he would be this nervous but the significance of this meeting was finally hitting him. 

After a minute that seemed to last an hour three individuals started making their way down the staircase.  The two in front were obviously King and Queen Park.  The figure behind them he assumed was the princess, but the two in front managed to cover her until they reached the bottom of the staircase and moved out of the way to reveal her.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but as soon as he saw her he knew why his parents were so convinced he would be happy with her.  She was the image of an ideal beauty, pale skin, round face, long black hair.  She looked like a living doll.

“I present to you King Park and Queen Park, rulers of the kingdom of Jinhae,“  They bowed to them.  The servant then turned to the girl who had stepped forward. “I present to you Princess Park Sooyoung of the kingdom of Jinhae, your bride-to-be.”  He bowed to her as well and she curtsied back. 

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Prince Tuan.”  She said with a smile on her face as Mark held out his hand to her.

“The pleasure is all mine, Princess Park.”  A line he had rehearsed earlier, this was already going better than expected.

He hadn’t anticipated the meeting going like this.  She seemed normal enough.  Most girls he met were suddenly speechless the moment he looked at them or tried too hard to get his attention, but she seemed to be strangely calm, like she had been rehearsing for this moment as well.

After more formal introductions between the two families and some mindless discussion, the question finally was asked to both of them.

“You two have had time to meet, now are there any objections from the both of you?”  It seemed to happen so quickly but the princess was quick to speak up.

“Absolutely no objections from me father, I’m happy to be wed to Prince Tuan if he shall accept me.”

All eyes were on him as he tried to focus on the gold engravings on the walls instead of meet any of their eyes.

He had to admit, Sooyoung was aesthetically pleasing but that was as far as it went.  As per usual, there wasn’t any sort of spark that drew her to him.  He had no interest in becoming romantically involved with her.

He took one last look at his parents before he made his decision.

“No objections, I agree to the marriage.”

 All the preparations had been made and he was shocked when they set the wedding date only a few months from now.  Weddings were usually grandeur and took years in some cases to complete.  A shorter time frame, he decided, would be better, less time to regret decisions that were now final.

It was now the evening of the same night as the Park’s threw a huge party in celebration of the royal engagement.  It seemed as though they already knew the plans were not going to fall through. 

He’d been to grander parties in the past but this one was still quite large for the occasion.  Royalty from all over the northern kingdom had been invited.  Since he was not from the north he didn’t recognize many faces so he spent most of the night with his bride-to-be by his side, accepting congratulations as he received them.

Even though Sooyoung stood by his side all night she barely spoke a word to him.  A smile was plastered on her face as she greeted guest after guest but when they stood alone she hardly acknowledged his existence.  He wasn’t sure if he should try and initiate conversation with her.  They were going to spend the rest of their lives together; they had to talk at some point.

“Umm, miss Princess Park.”

“Please, we’re soon to be married.  Call me Sooyoung.”  She finally looked up at him and he greeted her with an awkward smile.

“Sorry, Sooyoung it is then.”  He took a gulp of the drink he was holding as he tried to come up with what else to say. “Are you excited, for the wedding I mean?”

“What girl isn’t excited for her wedding day?  I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I was a little girl.”  Sooyoung responded, using the same voice she used to greet everyone else.

“Oh, of course, I’m excited too.  I’ve never been married before.”  He realized that was a stupid thing to say just a moment too late.  She at least had the decency to laugh a bit instead of just staring at him awkwardly.

He was relieved when everyone was called out to the dance floor for partner dancing so he didn’t have to try and continue a conversation that was going nowhere fast.  Everyone went out towards the dance floor as he held hands with Sooyoung pulling her into the big circle.  They started the dance by bowing to each other and following the steps accordingly to the music.  He was used to this by now; he had been forced to do that same thing at all the parties he went to.

After about a minute of dancing, everyone got the cue to switch partners so he detached himself from Sooyoung and ended up with another girl.  This repeated as they spun round and round.  He had almost completed the entire circuit when he felt his hand grabbed by another quite firmly.

As he looked up at his new partner he tripped over the steps in shock, this only resulted in the other’s eyes crinkling up as he took a hand to cover his mouth while he laughed.  “That’s about the same reaction I’ve gotten from everyone tonight.” The black-haired man pulled him along so that they could seamlessly continue the dance despite Mark momentarily forgetting how to walk.

“I’m sorry, but what are you doing—“

“Uneven partners tonight, you’re stuck with me for one rotation.”  He replied in a teasing tone. 

“O-oh, I see.”  He looked back up at his face as he turned around.  “I don’t mind, I was just shocked, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry about it.”  He said and Mark twirled him around.  “Can you try not to look so tense while you’re dancing with me?  Just imagine I’m your pretty bride over there.”

“Oh, so you know about that…”  Mark reprimanded himself; of course he knew about it, this was a party in his honour for god’s sake.

The other seemed to read his expression and chuckled to himself again.  “Seems as though you’re not the smartest one in the bunch, I just hope you’re a good husband to her.”

Mark was trying to find something to pin the blame on for making his mind temporarily turn to mush.  He was having a hard time forming coherent thoughts let alone coherent sentences.   “Of course, that’s what I’ll do—be a good husband.”  Their hands disconnected and reconnected and he could feel himself getting flustered when he thought about how his hand felt intertwined with his.

“Are you sure you’re alright?  You’re sweating.”  The man said as they were face to face once more. He leaned his face a bit closer until their noses were only centimetres apart.  “It’s too late to back out now, Prince Tuan.  I hope you’re not regretting your decision.”  He smiled as he went to turn away from him when the music changed.

They circled round and Mark finally answered when he turned back towards him.  “Of course not, my decision is final.”  He tried to speak confidently but his voice betrayed him, coming out unsure and shaky.

The music picked up and their faces were together once more, the other boy purposely putting his face closer that it needed to be.  “Hmm, at least you’re attractive.”  Mark was sure that his face was noticeably red by now.  “I didn’t think anyone would match Princess Park’s beauty but I think you’ve even surpassed her.”  His breath was hot against his face and Mark’s heart was ready to jump out of his chest.

“I really don’t think I’m anything other than ordinary, but thank you.” The other just laughed at this.   Mark was grateful when he turned back away and twirled him around.  He couldn’t even look at him straight.

He was sure he felt a spark race through his body as their hands reconnected for the last time.  “Well then, just promise me you’ll take care of her, alright?  She deserves to be happy and I won’t stand for anything less.  You hurt her in any way and I’ll make you regret it.”

Before Mark could answer the song came to an end and everyone else started cheering.

“Congratulations on your engagement.  I wish you both a prosperous and joyous future.” He disentangled his body from Mark’s and gave him a quick bow.  “Thank you for the dance… it was nice.”

The boy let his hand linger on Mark’s for just a second longer than necessary before turning around and disappearing into the sea of party guests.

Mark didn’t see him again for the rest of the night.