03. Access Granted?

The hallway was filled with the shuffling of feet as Seulgi and Taeyong walked to the main family room. As usual, Taeyong was slightly in front of Seulgi.

Seulgi couldn't help but notice how in sync their steps were. The length of their strides, the rhythm of their steps, their walking stance. 'When did it all fall into routine and habit?' Seulgi thought as the couple silently made their way to the room.

They came to a stop in front of a room. Seulgi glanced at Taeyong as he took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Seulgi looked at her watch. They were early. They always were. Taeyong made sure of that.

After all these years, it became clearer and clearer why Taeyong was like that.

Seulgi pushed all her thoughts aside as soon as Taeyong pushed open the door and gently pushed her in before he walked in and close the door behind him.

"Good afternoon, father, mother." Taeyong and Seulgi greeted simultaneously with a slight bow and smile. Donghae and Jessica gave them wide smiles as Seulgi and Taeyong sat beside each other on their resident couch.

"What's the meeting about that it's so important?" Taeyong queried as soon as he sat down and Jessica gave a laugh. 

"Mark is getting married." Donghae replied casually and Seulgi and Taeyong's eyes widened abruptly. They certainly did not expect this.

"Getting married? To whom?" Seulgi asked with some uncertainty as Taeyong's eyelid started to twitch slightly but he remained silent.

Jessica and Donghae merely exchanged glances upon seeing Seulgi and Taeyong's expressions. "Why does it sound shocking to the both of you?" Jessica asked and that statement alone was enough for Taeyong and Seulgi to know what they were saying.

"Why is the tradition applying to Mark? Shouldn't it have stopped when we got married?!" Taeyong said with some restrain but the annoyance in his voice was evident. Seulgi's jaw tightened as she felt the air getting tense. 

Seulgi glanced to Jessica and Donghae before her eyes shifted over to Taeyong right beside her. She could see a temple throbbing and he too, had a tight jaw.

"In all honesty, we didn't think Mark should be under the family's marriage tradition." Donghae said.

"Then why are we here, again?" Taeyong said rapidly yet with a calmness that he was raised since young to maintain at all times in front of his parents. Jessica took a gulp from her glass of water as Donghae breathed out, the back of his hand on his mouth.

'This isn't fair to Taeyong either though, if Mark wasn't made to go through this arrangement.' Seulgi thought helplessly.

With a silent, exasperated sigh, Taeyong spoke with some hurt and coldness in his voice.

"Do you really, really want to put Mark through what we went through?"

Seulgi immediately felt a prick in her heart as soon as those words left Taeyong's lips. She couldn't blame him at all for saying those words. He was right.

As much as it did hurt a little, Seulgi was glad and slightly relieved that Taeyong did care about Mark at the very least.

There was no mistake that there was a hint of a protective tone in his voice, for both Mark and also, unknown to Seulgi, Seulgi herself. 

Seulgi's hand subtly slid to Taeyong's arm and she held it with slight pressure hoping that it will distract him and calm him down. It was something that Seulgi learnt over the years and it always worked with Taeyong. Seulgi had an idea why but she never confirmed with him about it.

Taeyong felt a slight reassuring pressure on his arm and he didn't need to turn his head to know it was Seulgi. He gulped and turn his face away from his parents.

The more he felt Seulgi's hand on his arm, his mind became distracted and flashed scenes of last night's kiss. Just as he was reminded of how Seulgi pulled away abruptly, Taeyong snapped back into reality and mentally chided himself for being distracted in front of his parents.

Taeyong turned back to Donghae. Taeyong and Seulgi could tell Donghae was thinking hard.

"This marriage can change a lot of things, son." Jessica said and Seulgi and Taeyong's eyes darted to Jessica immediately. "What things?" Taeyong instantly shot back at his mother.

Donghae and Jessica weren't fazed by how curt Taeyong was. They had gotten used to it but they never understood when and why he became this frank.

"You'll see what we mean in due time." Donghae simply said. Frankly speaking, Jessica and Donghae weren't even sure if the change that would happen would be just as they wished.

Seulgi tugged Taeyong's arm back slightly as Seulgi saw his vein on his neck throbbed. 

Before anymore words could be exchanged by the two married pairs, the housekeeper knocked and entered.

"Mark is making his way now."

"Thank you, Mrs Kim." Jessica said with a smile.

"Be silent when I break the news to Mark." Donghae said and they nodded. As Taeyong head was tilted down, Seulgi could see him rolling his eyes and Seulgi stifled a snicker as she gently let go of his arm before they sat up prim and proper.

Minutes later, Mark knocked and entered. Donghae and Jessica broke out into large smiles as Mark bowed in respect to his family members. "Hi, mother, hi father." Mark said casually and cheerfully, smiling to his brother and sister-in-law before sitting in front of Donghae, at the other end of the coffee table.

"So what's so important that we're all gathered here?" Mark asked curiously and both Seulgi and Taeyong threw a quick look to him. All of them were paying attention to Mark's expression.

"So Mark, You'll be getting married." Donghae said quickly and causally. There was a pause.

"Say what?" Mark said out with shock. He couldn't believe his ears. The smile vanished in a flash and was replaced with a dropped jaw.

"You'll be getting married, Mark." Jessica repeated in English calmly.

"Married?!" Mark echoed before looking to his family members incredulously to see if they were serious.

"Okay, wait, hold up." Mark said in English and stood up and all their gazes followed him. Mark paced around as his mind tried to to process. Seulgi and Taeyong were anticipating whatever he was going to say.

"That's the family tradition, right? The whole arranged marriage thing." Mark said and Donghae nodded but added, "Mark, it's not just a 'marriage thing'." Mark didn't acknowledge that statement but continued.

"Why am I part of it?" Mark said and Taeyong's hand immediately flew to his face and face-palmed. Seulgi looked away and her lips quickly, 'Well, this clearly isn't as straightforward as they thought it would be.' Seulgi thought.

"Well, Mark LEE Minhyung, you are part of the family." Jessica said, as a matter of factly.

"Doesn't it only apply to the first borns of the family?" Mark stopped pacing and looked to his parents. As soon as Mark said that, Taeyong's head snapped towards his parents. Growing up, Taeyong had always thought this tradition was conditional and it didn't matter if it was for the firstborns or not.

'Don't tell me there has been a miscommunication in this stupid tradition.' Taeyong thought wildly as he stared intently at his parents' expression and body language 

All eyes were on Donghae as everyone waited for him to clarify. Donghae blinked as he felt all the eyes on him. "Let's get this straight, the tradition applies to every member of the family." Donghae said calmly.

This only made Mark more confused and lost. "I was very shocked when I heard about the tradition when I first returned. But I'm flabbergasted now, knowing that it applies to me too." Mark said as many thoughts were running through his head. He sighed and took a seat again and took a deep breath in and out.

'There's no way I'm getting out of this.' Mark thought as he tried to compose himself once again. Mark looked up. He knew he had to be professional, especially in front of his elders, which was everyone in the room. 

"Fine, I'm getting married," Mark continued calmly, leaving Seulgi and Taeyong amused at how well he was handling this.

"What is the purpose of this marriage? What am I supposed to do?" Mark continued.

"In essence, this tradition was supposedly to build connections between families and to preserve the prestige in the bloodline. But it has become more of a means to ensure my sons are well-wived, considering that you two, barely and didn't have a romantic life at all." Donghae said and Taeyong and Mark almost choked and Jessica laughed.

"Totally appreciate that statement, father." Taeyong added dryly and Mark nodded in agreement, Seulgi had to force herself not to laugh.

"Well, the family name still has to be passed down, so simply put, Mark, you need to procreate and have many descendants as possible." Jessica said.

WHAT?!" Mark stood up in shock again and blinked multiple times. 

"Procreation?!"

"Well, yes, If not how did your mother and I have two sons?" Donghae said.

"But, you and mother had something going on already!" Mark cried out, aware of his parents surprisingly stable and strong relationship. "Well, your mother and I didn't start out that well but thankfully it got all sorted out way before we had kids." Jessica said, throwing quick looks to Seulgi and Taeyong, trying ti hint at their 'slow' progress.

"If it makes you feel better," Donghae said, before directing his chin to Taeyong and Seulgi, "they've tried conceiving too."

Mark's eyes widened and gasped dramatically as Seulgi and Taeyong immediately felt their face burning, surprised at the sudden 'attack' from Donghae. Seulgi and Taeyong's eye blinked multiple of times but they didn't look up to anyone. Seulgi and Taeyong felt so exposed all of a sudden that their chins lost all the power to be lifted up.

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION!" Mark cried out frantically, covering his ears and shook his head.

Donghae and Jessica gave a laugh at Mark, Seulgi and Taeyong's reaction before Donghae continued.

"Thankfully, I'm still quite young for a grandfather so even though it has been 4 years, it's not so bad." Donghae said, secretly hoping Seulgi and Taeyong would get the memo.

Mark breathed in deeply.

"Okay, I get it, but what am I expected to behave?" Mark tried to divert the attention back to him, to spare Taeyong and Seulgi the embarrassment.

"Whether or not you become close to your wife, you and her have to act and be picture perfect. The media has all its attention on us." Donghae said and Seulgi's head dipped slightly. "You have to be prim and proper at all times too."

"You mean, pretend?" Mark asked.

As soon as Seulgi heard that word, she felt another, this time stronger, sting. Seulgi gulped as she gripped the hem of her skirt. Taeyong blinked and breathed out heavily and tilted his head away. 'Why does it feel like a shooting session, where she and I are the targets without defence?' Taeyong wondered.

Taeyong glanced at Seulgi's tensed up figure and felt empathy for her, considering the positions they were both in. Taeyong thought if there was any way he could let her know that he understand how she was feeling but something in Taeyong was stopping him from reaching out his hand for hers.

'So is this whole life, marriage, and everything just all a pretense?' Seulgi questioned mentally as she closed her eyes. Before she could answer that question herself, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Jessica's voice.

"You'll meet your wife now." Jessica said and this alarmed Mark once again. "Wait, she's here? Right now?!" Mark said and Jessica and Donghae face-palmed.

"You and your mum will visit your future wife now." Donghae said as Jessica rose up from her seat. Seulgi and Taeyong looked at Mark helplessly as Jessica waited for him to stand up. Before proceeding to push him out of the room.

'Poor thing.' Seulgi and Taey