She thought Taemin was dead. She thought her brother didn’t keep his promise. On that night, when the doorknob turned and Kai crept into her room, she couldn’t control her anger. She grasped the collar of his shirt. 

“Y..You! You promised. You promised me not to kill him! What have you done now?!” 

“N..No, Naeun…please, let me explain.”

She glared at him with reddened eyes. 

“I didn’t kill him. The shot was to trick father. Father told me to kill him but I didn’t want to, so I shot a bullet up to the sky.” Kai explained desperately. 

Naeun loosened her grip on him. 

“Naeun, you’re my sister, of course I won’t kill someone you love. You know who I am, I’m not someone who is as cold-hearted as our father.”

She studied his expression and remained silent. 

“And..” He added. 

She frowned in question. 

“And… he’s my pen pal.” Kai muttered. 

Naeun widened her eyes. “You mean.. the pen pal that you’ve been writing to for 10 years?!” She asked with a hoarse voice. 

Kai nodded. 

It was fate. She thought. She loved her dear Francesco, and fate made him her brother’s best friend. It was fate that saved his life but it was also fate that dragged them away. Why couldn’t her father let her go? Why, why is her soulmate separated from her?

She stared into Kai’s brown orbs again, and asked for confirmation. “So you really didn’t kill him?”

Kai sighed. “Naeun. Why would I kill my 10-year friend and your lover? Don’t think of me as someone who only follows father’s orders. I am a person, I have emotions, I have my own thoughts too. Naeun. I’ve let him go, and so… please, Naeun, please.. now focus on yourself and take care of yourself.

Yes Francesco is my pen-pal, but you’re my sister. I’m hurt to see you, and you both like this.”

Naeun looked down on the floor, unable to utter a single word. 

Kai lifted up her head gently. “Promise me. Promise me that you’ll stand up again, and live. Live for him and for yourself.”

Naeun thought of the day on the beach, when she asked Taemin, what if they ended up like Romeo and Juliet. She remembered that he told her that he’ll always be beside her and always love her, despite being separated. 

Her eyes glassed with tears. All she could do now, is to live. Live without him, in her suffocating cage. 

———————

3 weeks later. 

Naeun came back to Korea. She had been directed to go to meetings everyday about her luxurious wedding. 

The wedding that she hates the most. 

Days ago, her mother told her about her wedding arrangements. One month before the official wedding, the two families will hold a ball in the biggest hotel in Seoul. It is designed to welcome Naeun and her to-be husband as newlyweds. The ball theme is masquerade, so guests would have to wear masks for entertainment purposes. Shortly after the first half of the ball, guests were free to take off their masks. The ball was designed for the newlyweds. 

But Naeun knew this wasn’t the point. 

The point of the ball was for companies to know, that the biggest companies/families in Seoul are working together, hand-in-hand, and that businessmen and companies will continue to kneel under the two strong forces in Korea. This not only will strengthen the Son company’s reputation, but also attract both foreign and local trade with the Son company. It wasn’t a party for the newlyweds, it was a business gathering. 

Naeun knew. She knew from the start that her arranged marriage will end up like this. But she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it. She tried running away, but she ended up back into her father’s plans. She tried loving someone else, but fate pulled them away. She could do nothing but just follow her fate. 

Today, Naeun was dragged to the largest boutique store in Korea, to try out her wedding dress. She imagined herself walking down the aisle, with a forced smile and glassed eyes, kissing her husband but to have another man imprinted in her mind. 

She sighed as her sister walked with her into the store. As soon as she looked up, she saw a familiar figure.

“My, my, is this the almightily Ms Son Naeun here? Why are you in Korea?” A familiar, cocky voice rang in her ears. 

It was Minah. The girl who threatened her in New York, the girl who participated in her father’s plans. The girl who made her lose everything - her freedom, her love and her life.

Naeun couldn’t help but to feel angry at her. “You’re asking me why I’m here? I think you should know it yourself. It’s all thanks to you.”

Minah paused with slightly widened eyes. “Wait… you think I was involved in the operation to drag you back to Korea?”

Naeun rolled her eyes. “If it’s not you, then who was it?”

Minah raised her eyebrow. “Ah... did the lover boy not tell you?”

Naeun froze. It had been 3 weeks since someone had mentioned Taemin to her. And in these 3 weeks, he had been living in her brain. She wears the bracelet everyday, reminding her that her true love is already gone. She thinks about him every night before she sleeps, and every time she is forced to prepare for her wedding. 

Minah didn’t seem to re