[Note: The author is using Korean age system in the fanfiction, so their actual age is 1 or 2 years younger]

“NOO!!” Yumi shouted, she was so shocked of her mother words. It was the most unbelievable thing she would hear from anyone else her whole life. It was not surprising for her to be worried of Mr. Lee’s current condition, but it would be so ridiculous to do such thing like getting married in her 19 to grant Mr. Lee’s will. Yes, it was literally an order to get married in her young age of 19 to a boy who was an 18 years old high school student. It was clearly a violation to Korean’s law and she would never ever wanted to do such ridiculous thing her whole life. She had already devoted her future to make a living for her family, but to sacrifice her whole life was a completely different thing.

“Oh stop being so selfish Yumi! It’s for your own good and everyone’s too!!” Yelled her mother, she was not in a very good condition yet she put so much strength in her voice. Yumi was just going to cry, she didn’t want her life to be determined to everyone’s heart content, not even to her mother’s. “Ohh look now you’re crying! Don’t be so immature! You have to think of Mr. Lee’s condition! He’s the one who has saved our lives and poverty, and everything we can do right now for him is to make you marry his son! He’s very sick now Yumi! You (cough) think about him too (cough cough).”

“You’re sick too, Mom…stop yelling too loud..” Yumi spoke while trying hard to hold her tears. She hated the fact that she was so angry right now, all she wanted to do then was to stop this ridiculous getting married conversation.

“Look at you! If you’re really worried at me you should just marry Taeyong!” She said in a slightly husky voice and coughed again, this time the coughs were so severe that she couldn’t stop coughing so Yumi took a cough medicine in the drawer near her mother’s bed and gave it to her.

“I’m gonna get you some water.” Yumi told her without looking at her face and walked to the kitchen.

Her mother coughs were heard unto the kitchen, and Yumi felt so much complicated feelings that were raging inside her emotion as a tear slipped out of her left eye. She hated it because she couldn’t ever stop her tears once they were starting to fall. So she cried, trying hard not to make any sounds as she didn’t want anyone to come into her current situation then. She didn’t love Taeyong, no, she hadn’t ever loved somebody her whole life. Her life was too much a burden to her so she didn’t want to add some more by doing the date and break up things. She hated men since her father left with the 4 years ago, she had a trust issue with men so she would never wanted to give her heart to any men who came to her life. It was also the same thing when it came to getting married, it was not some usual ceremony one would do every year, it was a big one that would change the whole future of one’s life.

Yumi always dreamed to get married only once her whole life, she wouldn’t want her husband to be a douchebag like her father and she wanted someone who would love her wholeheartedly. Someone who wouldn’t left his family with some he met at his work. Taeyong was clearly not the one, she hadn’t even had any real conversation with that person. He didn’t like her because he thought that she stole all his father’s affection  and Yumi knew it.

Yes, it started two years ago. It was a burning hot summer, and she was working in a five stars restaurant that was so famous in Gangnam district. It was the first time she met Mr. Lee and his family. She was a waitress and she was the one in charge to get their order. It was a little bit awkward for her then as the whole family was looking at her like she was some antique painting in an art gallery. She knew something was wrong but she decided not to give too much concern so she left after they made their order.

It didn’t end as quick as she thought, Mr. Lee called her as his family finished their fancy dinner and she was so confused when he started to ask her questions. They were so much and so private for her, and he kept asking another questions once she didn’t answer one of them. She was so cornered then since she was only a waitress and had to make sure that every customers there left in a pleasant mood yet she was so uncomfortable to tell her current situation to some curious stranger that was there with his family, she didn’t want to lose the job either. Every curious eyes that was looking at her burdened her that time, she didn’t know what to do and she didn’t want the questions to last forever, so she was desperately answering those questions. She regretted her choice but then she hadn’t had any other option and it made her life easier than it was.

Yes. It did get easier.

Mr. Lee wanted to help her with her current situation and he offered her money. She rejected it of course, but he didn’t give up, he had never given up. So he offered her a job instead, it was a maid job in Mr. Lee’s house, he said that the salary was higher than the one she got here so she decided to take the job. She never had any other option since her family was in a tough situation as her father left with the , the only thing he left there was a note saying ‘I’m sorry’ which was so ridiculous and outrageous then.

She ended up working at Mr. Lee’s house, she did wonder about why he was so fond of her as she saw a big family photo displayed at the living room. She saw a girl standing there elegantly while wearing a fancy dress. The girl wasn’t there at the restaurant last night, but it wasn’t the thing she concerned about. She had a very similar facial features with Yumi, almost looked alike. She was stunned there for a while before Mr. Lee called her name. She turned around and looked at him. She didn’t know what she just got herself into. He saw her stunned and he told her that the girl was his daughter who died in a plane crash during her school trip to Bali. She didn’t know if she should feel sorry or lucky, but she knew that things going to be happen in a different way afterwards.

She had never done her maid job properly. Not that she wanted to but it was because Mr. Lee never let her works, he always gave her the easiest job among all and he often invited her to go shopping with his family or doing things like she was his real daughter. It wasn’t once or twice when Mr. Lee called her using his died daughter name, and it made her felt so uncomfortable. She knew that it wouldn’t be good for him to keep presuming that she was his died daughter so after plucking up some courage she decided to tell him to stop thinking that she was his dead daughter, she was a completely different person with a different life. Things didn’t go as what she expected them to be. Instead of accepting the truth, Mr. Lee asked her to be his step daughter which of course was rejected by her. He insisted, so she told him to ask her mother’s permission on that. She knew her mother, she wouldn’t give her to anyone else so she believed her in this situation.

Well. She thought that Mr. Lee had given up on that, she didn’t know that Mr. Lee and her mother had made a ridiculous  agreement to match her and Taeyong in the upcoming future. That was the reason why Mr. Lee gave up on taking her to be his step daughter. No one knew about that. No one, not even Taeyong’s mother and Taeyong himself. Not even Yumi. She felt so dumb then, she had never known that things going to be happen in a very bizarre way.

The next event to be happened was that Mr. Lee got a severe disease, it was so severe that he was avowed to die in a couple months by his doctor. It brought grief and sorrow to everyone around him including Yumi. Regardless his exorbitant obsession on Yumi, she knew that Mr. Lee was a good person. He had been so nice to her and although she didn’t want to admit it she had already thought him as the substitute of her father. And the next thing to be happened had already been expected, Mr. Lee wanted her to marry Taeyong before he died. As ridiculous and cliché as that. She was like being trapped inside a lousy romance novel, and she hated that. Being a main character in the novel might be pretty interesting though as those novels had always had a happy ending. But hell no it wasn’t a novel, it was her real life to deal with right now and she was so depressed thinking that her mother and Mr. Lee were so obsessive to make her marry Taeyong.

“Noona, why are you crying?”

She jerked and wiped her tears quickly. She saw the little boy who just brought her to her real place and situation then and she forced a pathetic smile. It was Daehan, one of her little brothers. His little hand was grabbing her pants as he asked the question.

“It’s…nothing Daehan-ah. Noona was just a little bit sad cause…” she stopped because she couldn’t stop her tears. She could never stop them by her own will.

“Noonaaa, don’t cryyy..” Daehan puled and started to cry, his fluffy cheek got reddish as he cried louder.

“No, Daehan-ah. Don’t cry.” She whimpered and hugged her little brother tightly. She was crying along with Daehan before her mother came to the kitchen.

“Oh, look at you!” She shouted when she saw both of them. Yumi was just crying, she didn’t know what to say at that time. Minguk and Manse who were playing at the living room approached them, and without knowing or saying anything they cried. “Oh good heaven! Why are all of you crying?”

Her mother hugged Minguk and Manse, she was starting to cry too and the triplets crying was just getting louder.

“Mom…don’t cry…” Yumi sobbed and hugged Daehan tighter, “It’s okay Daehan-ah. Noona is fine…”

“I’m sorry for making a silly request, Yumi-ya.” She spoke in the middle of her crying. “But I want you to have a happy life, and Taeyong is a good kid…and…and…this is Mr. Lee’s last wish to you. The wedding will give you prosperity and honor. I can never stand those who said that you won’t have a good future when you stopped attending school, I don’t want you to be like me. I want you to be a bright woman with a bright future ahead. You are a good daughter Yumi-ya, you will be a good wife too.”

Yumi couldn’t refuse that, her heart was always weakened every time she saw her mother cried. “I…I will marry him, Mom…I will…”

“I’m sorry for not being a good mother…” Her mother said while crying. Yumi couldn’t stand it anymore, she could never stand seeing her mother showing her weak side. Her mother was always being a melancholic woman the moment she started to cry.

“You are a good mother mom…” She whined and wiped her tears although more of them were streaming down eventually. “I’ll marry him. I’ll marry Taeyong…”

“Thank (cough) you.. (cough)” She coughed and cried. Yumi stood up and wiped her tears.

“Oh, shoot Mom I forgot to give you the water…” Yumi muttered before she took a glass, she was just going to fill it with water when her mother took the glass away.

“I (cough) can do it myself.” She spoke and fill the glass with water. She drank it and still coughing.

“You should drink your medicine again, Mom…” Told Yumi. She was going to go to her mother’s room when she hugged her tightly.

“(cough) Thank you so much for being my daughter, sweetheart. (cough) I’m sorry for being your mother and give you a tough life… (cough)”

“Mooommm!!”

***

Taeyong was waiting for Mr. Kim to pick him up at his school when his phone rang, he took it out his pocket and he looked at it to see who was calling, it was his mother. He picked it up and spoke. “What is it, Mom?”

“Taeyong-ah…”

Taeyong was a little bit disconcerted when he heard her scrannel voice, it was like she was just crying a little while ago and having lots of thoughts then. “Wha…what’s wrong, Mom?”

Taeyong got frightened suddenly, the worst thought that maybe his father had died was haunting him. Currently his father was very sick and avowed that he was going to die in a couple months, or maybe anytime in any conditions. He gulped and tried hard to drive away those thoughts. They were so tormenting and he hated that. His mother was silent, and it just made the thoughts getting worse. “Mom?”

“When you get here…” She gave another pause, and it was more torturing than anything to him. “Your father might ask you a favor, you should say yes okay?”

Taeyong let out a sigh of relief and spoke. “Okay…”

“Good.” She said in a heavy voice.

“But Mom, I should know what is the favor first, don’t I?” He asked before his mom hung up the phone. There was another silence, and he was wondering what made her mother having that lots of thoughts. It must be a bad thing for her and might be for him too.

“Well, it is so ridiculous and silly. I really don’t get why your father is so bizarre and whimsical and—”

“Just tell me what is it, Mom.” He interrupted her mother’s words. She was so angry then so he thought that it must be a very goofy request.

“Well…” She was hesitating before she continued. “He wants you to marry Yumi.”

“WHAT THE—“ He stopped, trying hard to control the sudden anger he felt then. It was sillier than what he thought it would be. That girl was really going to ruin his life eventually and he knew it since she came to his house. His father was so fond of her that he might had forgotten the fact that he was his real son and she was the stranger. He was always with that girl anywhere and anytime and she also seemed to like it. Well, okay. He knew that her father had left her, but it was so ridiculous to stole someone’s father instead. It must be real fun for her to get closer to his father. “You are joking right, Mom??”

“I know it’ll be hard to you.” She replied and sighed. “But it’s your father final request…that’s why I want you to say yes…at least just do it to make him happy.”

“But…” He held his anger. “It’s silly MOM! I’m a high schooler and…and…God! Has father gone crazy or what??”

“He is crazy I know.” Told her mother. “And it’s so silly. But you know, he’s been sick…and such…so you can just say yes and pretend that you marry her for a while. Just to make him happy.”

“But…” He paused, it was still a hard task to do. It was that girl’s position he was thinking about then. Playing around with wedding and his father heart was not a very wise thing to do and he knew that. “What about her?”

“Oh she’ll understand honey, unless she’s some crazy gold digger that wants to marry a high schooler to get his wealth.” She answered cynically. Her mother must also didn’t like her so much, she was only a school dropouts who was living in poverty that happened to have a similar facial feature with her foregone daughter.

He was hesitating. He still didn’t want to deceive his father, but he also didn’t want to ruin his own life. So then he made a doubtful decision. “Okay…”