How was one sentence able to change the rest of my life?

How was one boy able to change the rest of my life?

“The two of you will have an arranged marriage with each other.”

That sentence. Followed by silence. Dongho, who had paused his eating, just continued eating as if there was nothing wrong. I glared at him.

I opened my mouth to protest, but was cut off by my mother. “Honey, I know you’re unhappy with this now, but won’t you just-”

That was the last straw. I snapped. I slammed my hands on the table and stood up, causing my chair to fall backwards.

“Won’t I just what? You guys talked about this without letting me know earlier, without giving me any mental preparation, without even getting me to know this boy I’m going to be married to! You expect me to marry a total stranger? Of course I’m unhappy with this! What era is your way of thinking from? You know what? Maybe I shouldn’t have broken up with Jaeseop, because then at least I’ll have a good reason to refuse this… this… this rubbish!” I stormed off to my room, leaving the rest of my dinner and the dinner crowd behind.

“Jaeseop… Jaeseop oppa… I shouldn’t have broken up with you…” I cried into my pillow. I didn’t care about those people anymore, I didn’t care about Dongho anymore; all I cared about was getting myself out of this mess.

But then, I didn’t love Jaeseop anymore, he didn’t love me anymore, so really, what was the point?

“This is really stupid!” I shouted at myself and threw my pillow across the room.

“What’s so stupid? And who’s Jaeseop?”

I turned my head towards the door, where the voice came from. Dongho was leaning against the doorway, looking at me.

I wiped the tears off my face and glared at him. “Come in if you want, if not get out.”

He chuckled, walked in and closed the door softly behind him. “So… you haven’t answered my questions.”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood to actually answer your questions?”

“Yes.”

“Shut up.”

“Not until you answer me.”

“This, okay!? This whole… situation we’re in, this! It’s stupid!” I threw my pillow at him in frustration.

He caught it and hugged it, sitting down beside me. I returned to glaring at him. If only I could somehow injure him with my eyes. Not that he did anything wrong… but he was the person I was going to… marry. “That’s my pillow you’re hugging. And who said you could sit down?”

“Nobody. And please, just share your pillow with me. We’ll probably be sharing a bed soon anyway,” he replied cheekily.

I said nothing and directed my glare to the floor. I was fuming. Not only had I broken up with my boyfriend of one year odd, I had to go through an arranged marriage with this thick skinned guy!

“So, who’s Jaeseop? I presume he’s this guy in this photo.” Dongho was holding up a photo, a photo which I recognized immediately. It was the photo of Jaeseop and I on our first year anniversary just four months ago. He probably got it from the table beside my bed where I kept it.

I snagged the photo out of his hands. “He’s none of your business.”

“I bet he’s your ex.”

“No he isn’t.”

“You mentioned him just now in the dining room.”

“… …”

“Anyway, glad you’re not crying anymore!” Dongho grinned at me and headed towards the door.

“Huh?” I stared dumbfoundedly at him.

“Nothing. Nice heart-to-heart talk we just had!” With that, he left the room and closed the door.

I scoffed. Heart-to-heart talk? With him? No way.