it was jimin's parents' 9th anniversary of marriage.

jimin looked up at her mother, "mama, how did you and daddy meet?

although the small five year old had heard the story multiple times before, she loved to hear it over and over again. 

 

a reminiscent smile blossomed on mama's face.

she began, "back when i was a young girl at the ripe age of sixteen, i worked on my parents' farm as a milkmaid. your father was the delivery boy who came every week to take milk jugs to the town. one day, a storm began to brew and he stayed over at our house. that night i fell in love with him. throughout the nightfall he embraced me tightly every time thunder shook our old home. we waited until i turned twenty to sign the contracts and we moved to chiang mai so we could properly raise you."

when she finished jimin always asked, "mama, will that happen to me someday?"

"yes, yes jimin-ah." her mother hugged jimin then kissed her spouse on his forehead. 

 

days like this when everyone was happy was what pleased jimin the most.

days like this when she didn't have to worry about the future and could be content with the present.

jimin always thought she was a little too mature for a five year old.

 

one of the basic things jimin learned right after she wrote her first essay, was how society worked.

not necessarily the socializing part of it, but the relationships chunk, especially the romantic ones.

 

her teacher explained, "the main goal in life is to sign a contract with someone and live happily with them."

"a child ages normally and should focus on their studies through elementary and high school." she pointed her whipping stick at a crudely drawn baby on the chalkboard.

"then at twenty, the body stops aging. no matter how many birthdays pass you are still legally considered twenty."

 

jimin tilted her head.

wouldn't you want to flaunt your age?

'i've lived fourty years independently and enjoyed every moment of it!"

was what she would've said if she ;

   a) was actually fourty

   b) wasn't afraid of getting smacked by the teacher's stick

 

her teacher continued, "once you turn twenty, it's best to find your partner. there's only one partner in the world designed for you and occasionally may be a foreigner."

"the moment you meet them, a golden aura surrounds them and the environment's color is suddenly more vivid. a desire to live passionately fills you. although some of you may not understand what that means, remember my words."

"after you both can confirm that you are each other's partner, you both sign a contract binding the two together for life."

the teacher held up a crinkled piece of paper, "then you age together until death decides to take you both."

 

she sat down at her desk, "that's it for today. we'll discuss actual marriage another day."

they never did but she managed to pick up bits and pieces through talk and research.

the only other memory she has of it is when her ex-fiancé proposed to her. 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

jimin was now eighteen.

it's the beginning of the 20th century and the conventional idea of assigned binding is dissipating.

but her parents were not that way and still believed in deciding jimin's future, regardless of how they had met themselves.

she'd begged and pleaded, but her parents were as stubborn as her. 

 

the day after her eighteenth birthday, she would arrive at a local coffee shop at ten o'clock sharp. 

her fiancé was approximately twenty-three minutes late. 

jimin found herself impatiently tapping her foot and glancing at the pendulum clock.

 

when her fiancé finally arrived, his hair was lightly ruffled and he breathed heavily.

a small grin formed on his mouth when she observed his strange formal attire compared to his face.

jimin spoke up, "what kind of fashion is that?"

he simply answered, "western."

 

he seemed to be wearing a beige waistcoat under a black tailcoat with trousers.

"you have a weird taste in clothing," she bluntly stated. 

he gave her a confused look.

clearly he wasn't to used to women other than his mother criticizing him.

 

he ignored her statement and apologized, "sorry for being late ; i live pretty far away and i'm still accustoming to my car."

"c-car," jimin slowly pronounced and tilted her head, "what's that?"

"it's like a wagon but it does all the work by itself," he waved his hands around trying to explain, "there aren't any animals driving it - i think it's called an engine? anyways, it's becoming huge in the west so i bought one."

jimin rolled her eyes, "you're really weird." 

she was liking him less and less and she didn't even know his name yet.

 

"what's your name?" she changed the topic.

"robert," he replied as he began to remove his tailcoat.

"excuse me?" jimin said loudly, "robot?"

he sighed, "robert."

 

"what kind of name is that?" jimin's eyebrows scrunched together.

"i legally changed my name. it's really popular in america."

"you're korean, right? what's up with your obsession with the west?"

he replied, "it's not really an obsession but they're always starting trends so i need to be on top of them."

 

jimin hated superficial people.

especially this one she had to marry.

 

jimin stood up, "sorry for making you drive all the way over here in your car but im really not interested in you."

he stood up as well, "why're you being so overdramatic? we just met and we've barely conversed."

"did you just call me overdramatic? if that's what you want i'll show you overdramatic." jimin was pissed now.

she speed-walked to his car, the only one in the wagon lot, and took a melted chocolate bar out of her bag.

 

jimin tore the wrapper off and smeared it all over his car.

he rushed over with an angry and confused expression, "i don't understand why you're doing this. didn't anyone ever teach you to be submissive? how did you live for eighteen years and manage to stay so feisty?"

he took out a notepad, "i'm suing you for property damage."

 

 

 

and that's how jimin ended up two months in the local juvenile detention center. 

her mother spoke throught the glass, "why, jimin, why?"

"honestly, i didn't even damage it. can't he just wipe it off? a stain isn't even that bad." jimin rested her chin on her palm.

"it's not just this, jimin. you're constantly making trouble and being resistant. you need to learn."

her mom stood up, "take some time to think about all your actions so far." and walked away.

 

and jimin did think about them.

she thought about them long and hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

two months creeped by.

 

jimin stretched her arms as the warm night air enveloped her.

her body had adapted to the frigid and constantly air conditioned building. 

 

her parents hadn't contacted her since her first week at the center. 

although she knew they loved her, this lifestyle constantly tore through jimin.

she headed toward a nearby train station and bought a ticket. 

it was late and very few people were on the train.

 

a man around her age sat on the same bench as her and lied down so that his head was right next to her leg

his face was strangely angelic and his hair tickled her thigh every time he exhaled. 

the two stayed in the same position until someone began to call to him. 

he immediately sat up and talked to another man for a few minutes until he walked away. 

jimin turned away and began to rub her cold hands together. 

 

"hey...do you mind if i lie my head in your lap?"

jimin turned to the man, "what?"

 

 

the train had arrived at its destination, a small subdistrict named thung kwao.

jimin released a loud snort as the man she befriended tripped over nothing.

it was early morning but the two playfully joked around as they searched for an open restaurant to eat at.

 

"just wondering, but are you a runaway too?" he asked while shoving food down his throat. 

jimin tilted her head, "i guess so."

"this is kinda random and i know we just met, but do you wanna go on an adventure together?"

she paused for a moment, then a brilliant smile lit up her face, "i'd like that."

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

hey guys this is marina coming back with a new story!!

sorry for the confusion but this plot is going to go a lot more further than you think and i feel like a proper explanation / layout is necessary so you guys can understand.

anyways, please feel free to comment thoughts, criticisms, theories, etc.