The air was still as Ye Jin awaited to be told the reason for the meeting. Next to her, Yoon Gi remained seated, not sparing a glance at her. 

"Today, you have been called to discuss the matter of your suspicious relationship," the Min clan leader introduced. 

Ye Jin shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She let her mind think that if it weren't for her magical ties, she would never have to openly discuss her private life. 

"Never in our clans' histories have a member from both clans gotten married. This is simply not allowed," the leader bellowed.  

Still, Yoon Gi remained silent and statue-like.  

"Do you have anything to say?" The Park leader continued, looking more at Ye Jin than Suga. 

This was her time to let the truth known. "Yes, I do," she began. "We don’t have that kind of relationship. What could have made you think that we did?" 

Finally, Ye Jin sensed Suga's eyes on her. However, she refused to acknowledge him.  

The Park leader cleared before continuing. "We have had our eyes on you two since you were in High School together. We understand that the two of you were romantically involved, frequenting your school's rooftop?" 

"Yes, but we never confirmed anything. It's quite normal to have feelings between classmates. Friendship is one thing but marriage? I think you're very mistaken." Ye Jin was aware of the harsh tone she was using, but hadn't they been up-to-date with her interactions with Suga? There wasn’t anything important happening since he left. 

"Okay, then what about your recent rendez-vous in Chuncheon?" The leader asked. 

"I don’t know what brought him there. Maybe you should ask him," Ye Jin responded coldly. 

She turned to look at Suga and found that he was still looking at her, with the pain showing in his eyes. She felt a pang of guilt, but he brought this on himself. He left her and never contacted her. What did she owe him? 

"Min Yoon Gi?" His father asked from in front of them.  

Never taking his eyes off of her, he responded, "I went there because I missed her. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be near her. I went there because I needed to be near her." 

"This was before the rule was abolished?"  

"Yes." 

His father sighed, frustrated with his son's admittance.  

"Are you two currently involved in anything romantic?" The Park leader asked. 

"No!" Ye Jin yelled. She turned away from Suga and looked forward at the leaders. "We no longer have a reason to see each other." 

"Ye Jin-ah," Suga pleaded next to her. 

"Is there anything else you are curious about?" Ye Jin  asked the leaders.  

"Yes," the Park leader said. "With the separation rule gone, will either of you be changing schools to be closer to each other?" 

Ye Jin scoffed. "I just said we have no reason to see each other. Why would we do that?" 

"I put in a transfer request," Suga answered for her. 

She returned to look at him, eyes wide with confusion. "Why the hell did you do that?" 

"Because we said we wouldn’t run away from each other anymore!" He yelled back. 

"That was before you left with your father acting like a depressed puppy! I don’t want you in my life if you're going to keep hurting me and even if we wanted that, our clans would never let us do that!" 

"But-" 

"This I what I've always told you! No matter how much we want to be together, we just can't! Now just move on with your life instead of being stuck in the past!" 

The room went silent after Ye Jin's outburst. Suga looked at the ground in front of him, with eyes red with hurt and despair.  

His father cleared his throat, cutting the tension. "Son, she's right and you know it. From now on, the two of you will not be caught in anything romantic. If you go against the clans' rules and laws, you will be punished as we see fit. Is that understood?" 

The two of them nodded and the leaders motioned for them to leave.  

Ye Jin stood first and headed for the door, desperate to get out of that environment. Her brutal words replayed in her mind as she walked back to the bus station. Tears threatened to overflow, but she kept herself steady as she moved.  

She knew she did what she had to do. Their love was doomed from the start.  

But, was this just her youth giving her hope? She needed to overcome this as soon as possible. As much as it pained her to say those things so bluntly, she knew what she had to do. Anything going against the clans meant death. 

Was their love worth death?