Meizhen’s POV

I lean my head against the window as the world passes by quickly. My parents are so mad at me that they even made sure that the child safety lock was on so that I am unable to leave the car. Once again, I am trapped.

“I just don’t understand you, Meizhen!” my mother nags on. I have been ignoring her for an hour now and there is still three hours left until we reach our destination.

“I found the most perfect man for you! He is not only from a wealthy and respected family but he is an international heartthrob! What more could you possibly want?!” I sigh and glare at my mother. She doesn’t seem to realize that I want more to my marriage than just wealth and looks; the personality is also important. Ugh, and those rotten Exo punks...

“Oh! And those lovely Exo boys! Suho takes such good care of them! He could have taken care of you too!” She just doesn’t stop.

“Mom! I didn’t like him! Those jerks were only nice in front of you and I would rather die than marry any of them!” I roll my eyes and then avert my attention back to the window. Not all of them were mean to me, some of them were nice, but that is not the point right now. The point is that I hate Suho and I refuse to marry him.

“Wow, someone is a little melodramatic today now aren’t they? I am a great judge of character and I am sure you were only seeing bad things because that is what you wanted to see. Ugh, so ungrateful.”  Me? Ungrateful? I wish my life was normal like other people.

“You may have ruined your chances with this last prospect, but I have another one lined up for you. Suho would have been great for our ties in Korea, but this guy is the heir of the biggest company in America! Your life will be set!” She starts to get excited all over again about a possible future wedding for me. I decide it is best to ignore her like I had been doing earlier. Upsetting her more while I still have to stay cooped up in this car with her for three hours more may be detrimental to my mental health.

Kai’s POV

“Dude, you can’t hide here forever.” Kyungsoo nags.

“Why not?” I plead.

“Your mom knows that you and Jennie broke up and she wants you to go home. Your mom is sweet but she is scary when she is mad and I don’t want to be on her bad side. Get out.”

“You are a terrible best friend!”

“Psh, a terrible best friend who has let you hide at his house for three days!”

“Ugh, fine! Be that way!” I shout.

“I will see you tomorrow! My mom said your mom planned another charity event!” Kyungsoo shouts after me as I slam the door to his house. Some best friend I have. I run my hand through my hair in frustration as I get into my car. If mom planned another event so quickly than it means that she has probably already found someone for me to marry. Yup, that’s right; I told my mom that if she set me up with Jennie and she agreed to date me for real, then I would marry the person of her choosing if it didn’t work out. Why did I do that? Because I was stupid and desperate for a chance with Jennie, that’s why. I should have just manned up and asked her out myself. Then, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

---

I walk into the grand hall with Kyungsoo at my side. People expect our “grand entrance” at every event but in reality we are just late.

“Um, isn’t that Exo?” Kyungsoo mumbles. I glace toward the large group of newcomers and roll my eyes. What are they doing here?

“Why are they here?” I ask and Kyungsoo shrugs as we make our way to our usual corner of the room. I never really cared for these events, but I always thought that if I had the chance to Jennie to one then that could change. I see her on the dance floor, happily dancing with Yugyeom. With the look on Yugyeom’s face, I think I can safely assume that they are now an item. I snap out of my trance as Kyungsoo elbows my arm.

“Incoming.” He whispers. Ugh, the main reason why I dislike these events is because they consist of me and Kyungsoo tiredly standing at the side of the room while girls from other wealthy families approach us to try to marry into our wealth.

“Look, I don’t like you at all from how you treated me at our last meeting, but you are the only person I know here other than those punks. I dislike you slightly less than I dislike them so I am going to hide in the corner with you. Got it? Good.” The girl crossed her arms and stood next to us as if she belonged there and began to ignore the party like we did. The annoyance was very clear on my face and Kyungsoo was shocked at the boldness of the girl.

“Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?” Kyungsoo finally manages to ask.

“Certainly, I-“

“Just some crazy girl who tried to approach me on the beach.” I glare at her hoping she would get the hint and walk away. It didn’t work. The girl has the audacity to glare back at me! How dare she?!

“Woah, Meizhen! Flirting with other guys in front of me! Are you trying to make me jealous baby?!” An Exo guy says walking towards us with a pouty face. Huh, so she really does know them.

“What I do is none of your concern.” She says coldly.

“Hi, I don’t know what is going on, but if, um, Meizhen, doesn’t want you here than will you please leave?” Kyungsoo seems confused by the whole situation, but he tries to fix it anyway.

“Wow, knight in shining armor? Don’t make me laugh. Meizhen is going to be my wife so if you would kindly go away, that would be great.” The short annoying one says. Well, he is about the same height as Kyungsoo, but I am too nice to mock Kyungsoo’s shortness.

“This is my event. If you don’t behave yourself then I will have you escorted out.” I say coldly to the annoying man.

“I apologize on his behalf.” A tall, elf-like man says before bowing and pulling him away.

“You’re future husband is quite the catch.” I say sarcastically.

“Shut up. I will not marry that piece of trash. Not in a million years.” She says annoyed. “That one however…is he single?” I look to where she is pointing and see Yugyeom getting punch. I tighten my fist as I see the annoying man. I hate that guy.

“He is taken.” Kyungsoo answers for me. I feel Meizhen stare at me, only making me even more annoyed.

“What? Did he steal your girlfriend or something? Why are you so annoyed?”

“Actually, yes. He did steal my girlfriend.” I don’t see what is so great about him…gosh, this girl is so annoying!

“Oh gosh, I am so sorry; I had no idea.”

“Forget it.”

“So…how did you end up with Exo?” Kyungoo asks trying to change the subject.

“Ugh, my mom wants me to marry Suho because his family is very wealthy and our marriage would be beneficial to both of our companies. But I can’t stand the guy. He acts all sweet in front of our parents and his fans but he is actually a huge jerk! I thought I ruined our chances at the last party we had but my mother decided that she would invite him to see if we could ‘reconcile our differences.’ If not, then apparently some other prick here tonight is supposed to be my husband.”

“Prick?” Kyungsoo chuckles and I glare at him. There is no way that guy is me. I am not the only wealthy heir here.

“Yeah, apparently his family owns the biggest business in America or something.” She says irritated. Kyungsoo nudges my arm and wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“Look, I made it very clear at the beach that I was not interested. Your little stunt has gone on for too long so please, get lost.” I can’t take any more of this. I know I told my mother that I would marry someone of her choosing but this is too much.

“Excuse me?” Meizhen turns to me, clearly irritated. “Who do you think you are?” she starts to raise her voice.

“The prick!” Kyungsoo whispers loudly and jabs his finger towards me. Her eyes widen in astonishment.

“Oh, heck no! No way on God’s green earth is that happening! Nope nope nope!” She walks away quickly, wanting to get as far away from me as possible.

“Finally.” I sigh.

“Wow, don’t be such a prick!”

“Shut up Kyungsoo.”

Meizhen’s POV

I quickly walk away from that jerk. There is no way I am marrying that man. No way! He is almost as bad as Suho! Does my mother truly hate me?! I make my way to the refreshment table because I definitely need some punch right now. I quickly down two glasses, unable to quench my thirst.

“Slow down, you might get sick from drinking too much sugar.” A kind, deep voice says from behind me.

“Chanyeol, please don’t. It has been a rough week. If I get sick, than maybe I can go home.” I pour another glass but before I can drink it, Chanyeol takes it from me and drinks it in one go. “Hey, that was mine!”

“Meizhen, I understand that your week has been bad, and I am truly sorry for that, but this is not the way to resolve your problems.”

“Oh? And how should I resolve my problems?” I ask.

“Should I use the money I have earned as a celebrity to start my own business?” He asks sincerely.

“Chanyeol…” Unlike Suho, Chanyeol has treated me very kindly and even apologizes for Suho when he acts up. He is tall, handsome, and successful as well. However, he did not come from a wealthy family. His parents each own a restaurant, and although the food is delicious, it is not good enough for my parents.

“I mean it. If you allow it, I will ask your mother for permission. If she is willing to postpone your marriage for a few years, then I will start a business and become very successful! I once crashed a website with a seven second video! I can do it!” His eyes are pleading and full of emotion. He is being sincere.

“Chanyeol, thank you but my mother would never allow it. Having a successful business is not good enough for her. You would have to be more successful than Suho. That kind of wealth would take a lifetime. I’m sorry.”

“Can I, at the very least, dance with you?” He forces a small smile.

“Of course.” I take his hand and he leads me to the dance floor.

“You know, Suho really isn’t that bad.” He says after we begin our dance.

“Ugh, please no.” I roll my eyes.

“I’m serious. At the dorms, he is very kind and takes care of us as if we are his real family. He is only rude towards you because he doesn’t want to be forced into marriage; especially not at the peak of our career. And Sehun is only playing along because he finds it amusing. Usually, that kid doesn’t listen to a thing Suho says to him.” He explains.

“Wow, is he really only mean towards me?”

“Yup.”

“That jerk; I dislike him more now.” He laughs at my response.

“How about Tao, Kris, and Baekhyun? Are they usually nice too?”

“Well…Tao and Kris try to be cool so they act like that but they are actually really childish once you get to know them. Baekhyun, he just likes to have fun so he is playing along. They are also all afraid that if you marry Suho then you will take him away from us so nobody really stops them from bullying you.”

“I see…”

“Would it help you if I told you some embarrassing stories about Suho that you can use against him?”

“Yes!”

“Well, there was this one time that we ran into Girls Generation at SM and Suho spilt his coffee all over Taeyeon! Baekhyun was freaking out because he is a big fan and couldn’t figure out if he should yell at Suho or help Taeyeon so he just stood there stuttering like an idiot!” I laugh and then he tells me more stories. We continue to dance for multiple songs as he gives me the best blackmail!