Chapter 5
Traumatized

"Wow," Seohyun shined at the look of the ring but then commented, "that is the most unromantic proposal I've ever seen."

This made the Jung heir laugh at her comment but did agree to it someway.

"It's for added effect to the whole show," he remarked as Seohyun put the ring on her finger. "The wedding is in one week and we wouldn't want to gain the press's attention by not letting them see a ring on your finger."

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go but inside this mansion, anyway." Seohyun said.

"Not exactly, we have to go outside and go around the area though. We need to show more proof that we are a happy couple and don't let the people know about the different agreements our family has made through the years." He explained. That was reasonable.

But Seohyun was happy: at least she could finally go outside the dreaded, boring mansion as she would like to describe it.

"Tomorrow looks like a pretty good day for a date." Yonghwa teased.

"What makes you think it's a date, Yonghwa?" Seohyun raised a brow.

"Because," Yonghwa wrapped an arm around the heiress' waist and pulled her closer, much to Seohyun's surprise. "Tomorrow will be the day we'll make our debut as an engaged couple, dear."

"Is this part of the deal, Jung?" Seohyun asked pulling away the dark-haired man's hand around her.

The Jung heir laughed. "It could if you want it to, Seohyun." He said and once more by trying to be too familiar. This just made Seohyun roll her eyes at him but shrugged it off and left the room.

And Yonghwa was right. The next day was a pretty good day for a stroll around the city. The sun was up and so was his mood. He can't really figure out why he was looking forward to this day so much since yesterday. Maybe the Seo princess was growing into him—and that was a mystery for him, they've just known each other for a day and Seohyun is still in shock mode after finding out the truth and was practically sold to gain money.

But the question that Yonghwa never really answered was: did he really want this marriage? Surely, he doesn't have a choice now but if he did, would he still accept it or not? And he himself doesn't know the answer to that as well. All his life he grew up to the customs and expectations the Jung family has given him and the whole arranged marriage thing was something he did expect.

His thoughts were interrupted when the Seo heiress walked down the stairs of the mansion, and she looked, in Yonghwa's perspective, beautiful. She was wearing a dark blue spaghetti strapped dress that reached to her knees, a beige coat over her dress, and plain white flats to match her whole outfit. Yonghwa found himself staring at her until she walked up to him and he looked away.

Get it together, Yonghwa. You're a Jung gentleman.

" Yonghwa?" Seohyun called.

"Ah yes, let's go." the heir said after finally regaining his thoughts. Being a gentleman that he is, he presented his arm for the lady to put her hand around and both of them walked towards the waiting car. Jaesuk was already waiting for them and the butler opened the door for the pair.

And they were off.

Yonghwa was expecting his companion to be excited about their day but when he turned towards her, he could see that her eyes filled sadness and loneliness once more, just like the first time he saw her. He got worried and decided to ask her about it.

"Seohyun," he called her by her name again out of respect. "Are you okay?" And her response took him by surprise.

Seohyun looked at him with sad, teary eyes with tears that threatened to fall down her face. She let out a sniffle and suddenly she cried, much to Yonghwa's dismay.

"What's wrong?" the brown-eyed man asked.

"Oh Yonghwa," the beauty sniffled, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "It's scary. I'm scared. I can't help but remember the last time I rode this car." She cried.

And that's when Yonghwa remembered. The last time she rode this car was when she was taken away from the Seo manor and was brought to the Jung's place. He felt bad for her. It must've been a really scary and traumatic experience for her.

Yonghwa didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do the crying girl in front of him? He was never good at handling these kinds of things. The Jung heir just reached out to the lady to try and coo her but he was suddenly shocked by Yonghwa wrapping her arms around his shoulders. And Yonghwa felt her emotions even more: he could feel her shoulders trembling, her tears dampening his shoulder—not the he minded, and the sad tone he could hear from her voice.

It was very traumatic for her.

The dark-haired man allowed Seohyun to cry on his shoulders, and he rubbed his hand up and down on her back as a way to pacify her. The ride around the city wasn't long, but it was filled with cries and sadness from the Seo heiress.

"I want to go home now, Yonghwa." he heard the heiress sob. His hold on her tightened as he tried to figure out what he's going to do next.

And then he decided.

They entered the Jung mansion silently.

"How was your day, young master? That was a bit fast, might I say," Jaesuk greeted as he let the pair enter the house.

"We didn't go through it as planned," was Yonghwa's reply.

"Oh, I see. I'll have lunch prepared for you at once, young master,"

"Thank you, Jaesuk." and the butler left.

Yonghwa looked at the woman beside him. She was still looking down and her shoulders still trembled, as if it was her first time to enter the house.

" Seohyun —" he called but was cut short by her voice calling out for him.

" Yonghwa …" she called still looking down.

"Yes?" was his response. He didn't show it, but he was worried. Her voice when she mentioned his name was cold. As if her whole being changed and he wondered if he'll ever see her smile again around him?

"I…" Seohyun tried to find her voice. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes again and as if, for the moment, she couldn't speak.

And it happened. She jumped once again in his arms and cried. "Oh, Yonghwa! Yonghwa!"

The dark-haired man noticed that they were attracting the attention of some of the maids in the house and decided that they should take this somewhere else. With that thought in mind, he led both of them to his office and closed the door. They sat down on Yonghwa's favourite couch and Seohyun continued her sobbing there.

"I'm sorry," she heard him say. "I shouldn't have forced you to go out awhile ago. I should've been sensitive to think that going out like that would make you upset." Yonghwa gently his companion's hair as she cried.

" Yonghwa, I…I've decided…" Seohyun mumbled through her tears.

He waited for her to continue. But she never did.

"Decided what?" He asked when she didn't say anything. He gently nudged her to urge her to continue but to no avail. He looked down and saw that Seohyun fell asleep against his arms.

This made him smile but at the same time worry for her, she cried herself to sleep once again. He sighed and slowly he stood up from the couch and positioned S