Silently Eunhyuk and Nana were sitting on the couch, holding each others hand tightly. They both couldn’t believe what had happened and what was going to happen.

“Maybe...”, he quietly mumbled, “You can talk to the guy’s parents. Or the guy himself. When they hear that you don’t want to, they maybe won’t force you.”

She slowly shook her head. “I’d hope so but... I don’t think they’d listen to me.” Leaning her head against her boyfriend’s shoulder, she sighed. “Just when I thought everything was getting better, this had to happen....”

Gently he carressed her shoulder to comfort her. “Don’t worry. Nothing is decided yet, is it? As long as the public doesn’t know, you have time to convince them. Or should I talk to your mother?”

With wide eyes Nana looked at him. “You would do that?” “Of course.” A smile formed on her lips but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you but I have to handle this myself.”

In the evening Nana was picked up by her mother’s chauffeur and brought to the party. Eunhyuk actually didn’t want to let her go alone but she had insisted to.

Feeling more than uncomfortable in the dress she was wearing and the car she was chauffeured in, she thought about how to get out of this nightmare.

Much too soon she arrived at the party and was led inside by a butler. As she entered the room, her mother was already waiting for her with that fake smile of hers. Nana’s lips were pressed to a small line. She hated her mother for this. For everything that woman had done to her.

Her mother, acting as if everything was alright, came to her and led her to a couple. “This is my daughter, I’ve told you about.”, she told them before facing her, “Greet your future parents in-law, Nana-yah.”  The couple was smiling at her brightly. It was obvious that they were more than happy about this engagement.

Although she wanted to scream at her mother and run away, she bowed politely. If she wanted to talk to them, she’d have to be nice. Or else her chances of convincing them would sink even more.

“She is a real beauty. I’m so happy that our son will get such a beautiful wife.”, the man said and she knew that he was serious. Those people war honest, even though they owned a large company. She was impressed that they had managed to stay pure in the world of business and she felt even more ashamed of her own mother.

“Oh, there is our son. Finally the two of you meet.”, the woman said now and smiled brightly. A handsome man joined their small group and bowed. He favoured Nana with a soft smile. “Nice to meet you, Nana-shi. I’m Shim Changmin.” “Nice to meet you, too.”, she answered out of politeness. This was the man her mother wanted her to marry. Handsome, smart and rich.

“We’ll let the two of you alone a bit so you can get to know each other better.”, her mother said and their parents left. Feeling awkward and angry again, Nana sighed. “You don’t want this, do you?”, Changmin asked with a sad smile. Seeing him like this made her feel bad. “No, I don’t want this. My mother is just using me for her business and...” She stopped and looked closely at him. He was sad. Really sad. That was when she realized that, Changmin liked her. He wasn’t against this marriage and his parents also weren’t.

“We don’t even know each other.”, she said. Changmin laughed slightly. “I know it is strange. We met for the first time and yet... I fell for you right away.”

With wide eyes she looked at him, before she slightly touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Changmin-shi.”

If it wasn’t under these circumstances, she would’ve been happy to meet such a man like him and she knew that she would’ve been happy with him, but this wasn’t right.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?”, the voice of Changmin’s father echoed through the room. Proudly he was standing there with a glas of Champagne in his hand. “Today we invited you to celebrate the success of our company but there is something else we want to share with you.”

“Oh no...”, Nana mumbled in shock as she realized what he was about to say.

With a wide smile on his lips, he gestured towards Changmin and her. “Today is also the day we want to tell you about the engagement of our son. He will marry the beautiful daughter of the Im Company, Im Nana.”

Applause could be heard but the only thought that came to Nana’s mind was, that now there was no way of turning back.