▼▼▼

You are still bearing the brunt of your ridiculous decision as the deejay glances at the both of you warily, brain trying to process whatever that's going on.

Kyungsoo's pretty sure that his grandmother was joking when she left him a voice message last night saying he's going to meet his fiancee in the morning.

He'd crashed after a particularly late night editing and didn't think two hoots about it.

But now that you are standing in front of him, wide-eyed and demure looking with a brown luggage suitcase in tow, he's starting to question himself... And his grandmother's sanity.
 

"What... Is going on?" He asks again.

"Kyungie-ah, remember what I told you last night?" His grandmother flashes him a (creepily) bright smile.



"No?" He lies. Maybe if he denies it hard enough, he'll wake up from this nightmare.

"Your fiancee, Kyungie."

Both of you flinch at the mention of the word.
 

"Grandma, if this is your idea of a joke, it really isn't funny..."


The absurdity of the situation makes your cheeks blaze and you proceed to hold a friendly conversation with the floor because yes you can swallow me up now, thank you very much.



"It's not a joke, dear." She straightens indignantly. "Ga-eun ssi is going to live here, upstairs, until the two of you get married in a month's time."

 

"Wait, what?! I'm not marrying this..." His round eyes sweep over you.

You shoot him a warning glare.

"Sorry... Ga-eun ssi, right?" Kyungsoo his lips and tries again. "Look, my grandma hasn't been feeling well lately and she might have just gone a little wild with her imagination, so if you so please, let yourself out of the front door while I talk this over with her, that'd be really nice."


"No!" The elder opposes. "Ga-eun is not getting out of here... "

She slings an arm over yours. "I'm showing her the room upstairs."


"Grandma..." Kyungsoo strides over to pull the old lady aside. You are torn between wanting to flee right away or just bury yourself in the nearest hole.
 

"I don't know what you're trying to do here but this, isn't happening." He whispers, tone low and grim.


"And I say it is happening. Kyungsoo, you know grandma has never asked you for much. But this is something that has to be done."

His grandmother rarely addresses him by his proper name, always opting for the endearment Kyungie-ah or dear. Plus he's never seen her quite so serious, brows furrowed and lips set in a straight line.
 

This is real.

"I'll explain more to you later, but I'm showing Ga-eun her room first. Here, Ga-eun..." The old lady grabs your arm and you follow her meekly.



Kyungsoo contemplates running after the two of you, but decides it'll be better to wash up first because the cold water may do him some good in waking up from this surreal dream.
 

❖❖❖

It's not a dream, Kyungsoo realizes.

Because you are still there when he walks out from the bathroom.


You remain motionless, sitting adjacent to him and his grandmother on the couch.



The silence is so thick a knife can cut through it.


The deejay breaks the demise first.
 

"So you are telling me, that you and Ga-eun ssi's grandmother made a pact somewhat, and now I'm suppose to marry her? Like, as in an arranged marriage?" Kyungsoo asks, tone discriminating.


"You make it sound like it's a bad thing, Kyungie- ah."

Kyungsoo wants to face plant onto the nearest hard surface.

"Grandma, aren't you being too frivolous about my marriage?" He whimpers. "And why now?"


"Because you and Ga-eun ssi are already of marriageable age, besides... " The old lady pauses for a while. "It's the best way to get those nosy paparazzi off your back."

 

You suddenly find the grey rug underneath the coffee table exceptionally interesting.


Kyungsoo grunts.

"And what if I don't agree to this?"


"You don't get to disagree. It's already decided." Madam Park replies.

"No..." The deejay shakes his head. "No, sorry, I'm not going through this. Come on, Ga-eun ssi, I'll help you hail a cab to get home."

He makes to stand.


"Ga-eun ssi is not going anywhere, and the two of you are going to get married at the end of next month." The old lady states, tone strangely stoic, and you noticed she still made no mention of her sickness to Kyungsoo.


"Grandma." The deejay sounds equally somber. "I refuse to accept this arrangement and you can't make me."

"If you don't..." Her voice breaks slightly.

"I'm selling off Provence bakery."



Kyungsoo's mouth gapes open.

"You can't!" He cries out. "That's the sweat and blood of you and grandpa! You can't just give it up like that?"

"Provence bakery has always been a joint effort, Kyungie-ah. Before that, it was me and your grandpa. I've been passing on the ropes to you over the years and now it's you and me. But when I'm gone..." The elder trails off a little. "You'll be alone. And that's not enough. You need a partner. A trustworthy partner."


She glances at you in anticipation.

"M-Me?" You point at yourself, gasping.


"Grandma, you aren't serious are you?" The deejay sounds even more befuddled. "She's... not even part of the family!"



"That's why she'll be one soon." The elder beams.

"But she knows nothing about the business?!" Kyungsoo squawks.


And for once, you nod furiously in assent to the deejay's statement.
 

"Then let's have a test, shall we?" Madam Park's eyes twitches playfully.

"What... Test?" You murmur uncertainly.



The old lady smiles.

"Ga-eun ssi, as you know, Provence bakery is known for it's baguettes. It's not difficult to make, but it does take some practice. In order to test whether you are right for the job, you'll learn how to bake a Provence baguette. Kyungsoo here will teach you how to do it."


"Me?" It's the deejay's turn to exclaim in disbelief.

"Yes," The elder nods curtly. "In a month's time, we'll test Ga-eun on her ability to produce the authentic Provence baguette."


She fixates her gaze on her grandson. "If she passes the test, you'll have to stop your nonsense and accept all arrangements without complains."


"And if she doesn't?" He contends.

Madam Park peers at you.
 

"You'll have a choice."

❖❖❖

The room isn't half too bad.


A queen sized bed with pastel pink bedding occupies most of the space, a white bedside table lined up beside it. There's a closet right next to them and when you open it, a half length mirror inset catches the afternoon light filtering in from the open window.


You sink onto the edge of the bed with a sigh, recollecting the day's events.

"I'm not staying here, Ga-eun ssi." Madam Park had given you a smile.

"So I'm here... Alone, with him?" You gasped.


"The house maid comes by every weekday, so you don't have to worry and besides, Kyungie is a gentleman."

And a gay, you thought to yourself.

"But..."

"Remember to keep my secret."


You didn't have to ask to know what she's talking about.

You nodded.
 

A slam of the door downstairs jerks you from your thoughts.


You hear the ignition starting and then the droning of a car. The deejay is going out.


Relief filters through your system and you begin to unpack.



 

You don't see the deejay for the rest of the weekend.


Only the slight click of the door on Sunday night signifies the return of the male, but then you are already dozing off on the foreign bed, too sleepy to care about baguette recipes and odd marriages.

▲▲▲