“I know this is hard for you, honey… but you have to know that it is also hard for us,” my mother pleaded. I turned my face away. When my mother suddenly came home, I knew something was odd. She never left my brother, so why would she was here now?

My mother brought her palms to cup her red face as tears streamed down on her rosy cheeks. Meanwhile my father could only ducked his head down; his hands caressed the back of my mother lovingly. He looked at me with unreadable expression. But I knew that expression. He asked, if not begged, me to understand. But it wasn’t like that I didn’t understand nor I refused to understand. I understood it perfectly, it was just… it was just to sudden for me.

I could feel hot tears started pooling around my eyes. I heard my mother sobbed once before she took my hands in hers. I avoided her heavy stare. She gave me light squeeze. After a minute, I finally had the courage to look at her eyes.

“Please dear… It is for your brother,” my mother managed to say in between her tears.

I closed my eyes and a tear finally escaped my eyes. I took a very deep breath before nodding my head shortly. I couldn’t be selfish. It was for the sake of my brother. I also couldn’t bear seeing him spending his life in the hospital room when he was supposed to go to school and go play with his friends.

My parents looked at me expectantly. “Yes mom, I’ll accept the marriage,” I decided at last. My parents smiled in relief and brought me into a hug. I sobbed in their arms.

---

I rested my back on the bus seat. My mind was trying to sing along with 2NE1’s fire but it failed miserably. My mind and brain were too occupied with my decision yesterday about the marriage. I, 18 years old Song Hera, had accepted an arranged marriage with a stranger whom supposed to be the Kim’s sole heir which I didn’t know. I looked out the glass window. It was slightly raining outside, making the window to be blurred by its droplets.

I heaved a sigh as I reflected my life. I didn’t know what I was in my previous life that I deserved all of this now. My family was actually one happy family until my brother diagnosed to have something like kidney failure. It was hard to believe since my brother was so young, he was only eleven years old but he already carried the disease that usually aged people would have. He needed to get hemodialysis once a week and that wasn’t cheap. We did our best to support him but of course my family’s wealth kept on decreasing.

We planned to get him kidney transplantation soon but it will cost so much and we were still struggling with money. My parents tried to borrow money from here and there but it wasn’t enough. Until one day, my father remembered about his old friend whom now a successful businessman; having a lot of braches of hotels and restaurants and also managing few tourist sites in private islands in South Korea, the Kims.

Kim family agreed to help my family with one condition we must follow; I would have to get married with their only son. I didn’t know where this arranged marriage idea came from but my parents seemed to be a good friend with the Kim before that the Kim trusted their son to my family; to me.

I was getting buried deeper and deeper in my sea of thoughts that I failed to realize that I was arrived at my bus stop until someone I didn’t know, but he wore the same uniform attire as mine, asked in rude manner “Aren’t you going to get off?” he said, half-yelled.

I snapped myself out of my thought and shoved my phone and earphone to my bag before marched off the bus. In normal condition, I’d have been upset to the guy for behaving rudely but instead today I was thankful. If it wasn’t for him, I didn’t know when I would realize that I missed my stop to school.

Students were already pilling in to the school. Trying to forget the problems in my life, I faked a smile and headed to my class. Most of my classmates were already there. Some of them were grouping and chatting amongst themselves, some girls were getting excited at the new magazine which had EXO as its cover. Some students were sleeping and few others were merely busy with their own worlds.

My eyes automatically flew at the spot beside the window, at the very last row of the desk. There he was; the very familiar boy with earphone plugged into his ears. He sat very relaxed; leaning his back against the wooden seat. His head bobbed up and down lightly at whatever the music he was listening to. I couldn’t help but to admire him all over again. He had his eyes closed, his hair was neatly up-styled and his uniform was properly worn; only his tie that hung loosely on his defined collarbone.

My heartbeat tripled at the sight. A smile unconsciously crept onto my face. He was what people called as breathtaking. He was like a character that came out from fantasy book; too perfect and too good to be true. But he was real. He was a human being and I had hid some feelings for this god-like human. His name was…

“Kim Mingyu!” someone behind me yelled as they ran past me in a rush. I watched them approached my crush, making him slapped his eyes open. His friends, whom named Wonwoo and Hansol ran to his sides. I watched that boy took off his earphone and drowned into the conversation with his two friends.

I heaved a sigh and took my seat in the front row. Too bad my marriage was already set. I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance with Mingyu. I took out my literature book and opened a random lage. I tried to read the endless sequences of words on the book but I expectantly failed. I couldn’t help but to think again about my future.

Marriage? Getting married? I only had one ex in my whole life, so how I was supposed to handle a man? I had so little experience in relationship. What if my marriage breaks down? What if I fight with my husband? It wasn’t not like the dating relationship where you could easily break up and then get back together. This was surely way more complicated. I was in the middle of swimming in my pool of thoughts when the bell rang and the class started.

---

“Song Hera, would you mind to help me carry those dictionaries back to my office?” my English teacher, Mrs. Ahn, asked. I politely smiled and nodded my head to her.

“Yes Mam. I definitely don’t mind,” I offered. Mrs. Ahn nodded gratefully and took her leave first with her papers and documents. I stood up from my seat and walked to the teacher’s table and took the stacked medium-sized books. I carried them in my arms and I exited the class.

It actually blocked half of my view as the height of the books reached up to my chin. I was trying to balance the books in my hold while making my way in the same time. I didn’t really notice where I was going that I bumped into someone. The English dictionaries fell from my arms; scattered on the floor with annoying thud.

“,” I cursed silently. “I’m incredibly sorry,” I said, looking up to the person I bumped into. I almost had heart attack when I found out that I just crashed myself into the almighty demigod; Kim Mingyu. I was stunned; froze for a moment as I saw him kneeling down to collect the books. I hurriedly crouched down beside him.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated as if he didn’t hear me the first time. I heard Mingyu laughed lightly as he shook his head.

“What for?” He asked the obvious. When we were done, he already collected more than half of the books in his hand. I tried to take it from him but Mingyu brought the books away from my reach.

“Let me take that,” I demanded softly but Mingyu shook his head again.

“What kind of a man that makes me if I let a girl carry these heavy books alone?” I blushed at his words. I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear as I ducked my head down. “Where do you want to bring these books?” he asked instead as we started walking.

“Mrs. Ahn’s office,” I replied shortly. My heart was drumming against my ribcage. I tried to calm it down by taking several deep breaths but it was no avail. But I didn’t blame it for reacting that way. I mean, I was here, walking side by side with my prince. How I was supposed to act normal? Mingyu was obviously unaffected with our closeness and oblivious to my nervous state.

When we reached the teachers’ room, we both headed to Mrs. Ahn’s desk and put the books there. “Thank you,” I sincerely said as we exited the room. I looked to him and greeted with his side profile. His sharp jawline was as perfect as I imagined it to be. I squeezed my own palm to prevent myself from exploding.

“It is nothing. I’m more than glad to help you,” he said, turning to my side as he smiled.

I returned his smile hardly. Oh my God… Please tell me that he was the Kim I was going to marry.