“We’ll be having dinner with one of your father’s business partner tomorrow night. So come home early from work so you can prepare early and be on time for the dinner,” her mother informed when paying her a visit in her room.

“Do I need to come? I have a meeting tomorrow, I don’t think I can leave early,” Eunhee told her mother as she took a seat beside her on the bed.

“Postpone the meeting, then. It’s really important and your father needs you to be there. Even your brother and sister-in-law would be there,” the older woman smiled softly, but Eunhee couldn’t help but think that something was off with her smile.

She nodded hesitantly, “I’ll give my secretary a call later.”

Her mother just sat there and stared at her daughter, and then she sighed, raising her hand to caress Eunhee’s face, “Why did you have to grow up so fast?”

“Mom, everyone’s meant to grow up,” she said grasping her mother’s hand in her own.

“What’s wrong, mom? Why are you crying?” the younger one asked when she saw her mother tearing up.

“Nothing. It’s just that my daughter is so beautiful,” she wiped her tears and gave her a wide but tight smile, “Go and give your secretary a call, or else you’ll forget to do it.”

“I won’t,” she reassured her mother when she stood up from the bed to leave.

“You should get a rest right after. Good night, honey,” her mother greeted before she closed the door.

“Good night.”

Before she goes to sleep, she did what her mother told her to do. She called her secretary and told her to postpone the meeting that she was supposed to have tomorrow as she had an important dinner she needed to attend.

Little did she know that the dinner will turn her life upside down.

---
 

There she was sitting in her seat in the private room of the fancy restaurant her father had reserved for the dinner. She was dressed in a baby pink dress that reached her knees and had her perfectly curled hair down. Her brother was sat next to her and his wife next to him. They were all seated and are just waiting for the other party to arrive.

“Do you know what this dinner is for?” Baekhyun asked his sister.

“I thought you’d know?” Eunhee asked him, confused. He was older so she thought he would know everything about their family and the business. But it looks like he’s just as clueless as she is.

“There you are, finally!” the two siblings snapped their heads to look at their father standing up from his seat, smiling happily, greeting the guests who just entered the room. Byun Youngjun is known as a serious businessman, but that smile on his face when greeting the guests was probably one of his sincere smiles. “It’s been a long time! How have you been?”

“I’m good as new,” the other man laughed his heart out. Both of them looked truly happy to see each other.

Her mother greeted the company of the old man with an equally pleasant smile. To avoid being rude, Eunhee, Baekhyun along with Haeun, her sister-in-law, stood up to greet them.

Along with the older couple, was a young and tall man who looks the same age as Eunhee. He stood behind his parents, watching the exchanges. Baekhyun being the older one than Eunhee, stepped forward to greet the man.

“I’m Byun Baekhyun, the eldest son of Byun Youngjun, and this is my wife, Haeun, and my little sister, Byun Eunhee,” he introduced us. Eunhee and Haeun bowed slightly and greeted him with a polite smile, “Your face looks familiar. Have we met before?”

“I’m Sehun, it is a pleasure meeting all of you,” he greeted with an equally polite smile. “I believe this is our first time meeting? I don’t have any recollection of us seeing each other before.”

“Aigoo. There’s no need to be so formal, kids,” Sehun’s father laughed as he heard the conversation between the youngsters. “Sehun, do you not remember? You used to play with Eunhee and Baekhyun when you kids were young.”

“Your name sounds familiar too,” Baekhyun wondered to himself.

When we were young? Eunhee thought to herself, tilting her head unknowingly, trying to remember a childhood friend.

“Is that so? I don’t remember,” Sehun rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sehun? Oh Sehun? That small, pale kid who we used to build sandcastle with us every time we visited the beach?” Baekhyun suddenly asked out loud.

“Yes, yes,” their father had laughed at what Baekhyun said, confirming his memory.

“You grew taller! But still pale,” Baekhyun patted his shoulder and about his skin. Haeun slapped her husband’s arm and turned to Sehun to say, “I apologize for Baekhyun’s rude comment. Although, he’s always rude.”

“You don’t look like you remember, Eunhee,” Sehun’s mother smiled softly at her when realizing her distraught expression.

Eunhee’s eyes widened when getting caught being lost in her thoughts, and admitted sheepishly, “I don’t remember anything.”

“I’m on the same page actually,” Sehun smiled awkwardly to everyone.

“Oh, that’s alright. Let us all sit down and let the dinner begin,” her father announced, already taking his seat with a happy face.

It was then she got answers. Her family along with the Oh’s had been family friends since way before. Her grandfather and Sehun’s grandfather were good friends since they were in middle school and it lasted until their last breath. The friendship was passed onto their sons. Sehun was older than Eunhee by a year and they had moved to the States, following Sehun’s grandfather’s death when he was eight, and just recently came back to settle in Seoul. Sehun, on the other hand, had returned to Seoul three years ago. He often flew back from the States to Seoul, and then back, when he was eighteen, but decided to permanently reside in Seoul when he inherited the business at twenty.

It was true that they were childhood friends, best friends, in fact. According to the elders, they were the Three Musketeers. But after Sehun had left for the States, they were never in contact again, hence, explaining why Eunhee had no recollection of the past. Fifteen years is a long time. She was twenty-two now.

Eunhee’s grandfather had passed away four years ago due to a heart attack. Her grandmother had passed away long before that. Now that everyone is here, their fathers thought it was a good idea to have a little reunion.

“So, everyone, may I get your attention?” the head of the Byun family cleared his voice after everyone was done with their food, “As everyone is gathered here tonight, I have an important message to pass.”

He took two envelopes out of the pocket of his coat and handed one to his wife and one to Sehun’s father, who were both sitting at his sides. The envelopes were soon passed on to both Eunhee and Sehun.

“It’s for you,” her mother had whispered when she passed the envelope, giving her a smile, which looked slightly sad and worried.

“What is it, father?” Baekhyun asked their father, confused about the envelopes.

“They’re letters, from both your grandfathers when they passed. Me and Sungjin were told to pass the letters to you two,” he explained.

“I don’t have good feelings about this,” Baekhyun whispered to his wife when Haeun squeezed his hand after noticing his anxious state.

“Long before, when Eunhee was born, the two made a promise to each other. It was to have their grandchildren marry each other when the time comes, and I think this is the right time to tell you about that promise as you both are adults now.”

Sehun’s face paled even more, if that’s possible, and rushed to get the letter out of the envelope to read it, while Baekhyun curled his hand into a tight fist.

“E-excuse me?” Eunhee stuttered, still looking at her father at the end of the table, with wide eyes, “G-grandfather wouldn’t do that. He never told me anything about it.”

She chuckled nervously, “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m afraid I’m not, Eun,” her father smiled apologetically.

“T-that couldn’t be,” she stated and looked at Sehun to see him reading the letter with his fists curling on both sides of the paper, crumpling it. She then looked down to the letter she have in her hand.

Opening the envelope with trembling hands, she carefully took out the letter and opened it. The handwriting in which the letter was written confirmed that it was indeed her grandfather’s handwriting. To add to that, the signature was one that she knew so well. When she was younger, she had once begged her grandfather to teach her how to do the signature as it looked fascinating to her. There was no way she would forget how his signature looked like even though four years have passed. She felt as if someone had squeezed her heart, and she haven’t even read the letter yet.

To my beloved Eun,

If you are reading this letter, that means you are truly an adult now in your father’s eyes. But to me, you have always been a mature lady who does not like depending on anyone. You have always been a wise one. I am sorry for the times we lost after I passed. I am sorry for leaving you behind, but please trust me when I say that I am watching you from above.

The tears that she tried so hard to hold finally fell, one drop after the other and onto the old pape, remembering what her grandfather told her the day he passed away.

“Don’t cry, little one. I will be watching you from above, I promise. And I will continue to shower you with love and blessings even when we are apart. Don’t tell Baekhyun, but you are my favourite."

It had been two weeks after the attack and her grandfather had wanted to talk to everyone personally, and she was the last one he spoke to before he passed away two hours after their conversation.She didn't know it was their last conversation. So when she received the news that he had passed away, all smiles were wiped off from her face, her guard that she put up was broken down and she cried. On that day, she wasn't the strong Eunhee her grandfather told her she was. She was just the weak girl she used to be.  

And I am truly sorry I couldn’t tell you about this arrangement myself. From the moment I laid my eyes on Sehun, I had a feeling that he will be a great man for my granddaughter if I have one. A year later, you were born and I thought this must be a sign. All the men in the Oh family is a responsible one and I believe the same for Sehun. Please don’t hate me, my little one. I just want the best and only the best for you. Forgive this grandfather if you have a different wish than I. With this letter, I will give you my last present that I was able to pick by myself. I hope you like it. Live happily, Eunhee, my dear.

Love, Byun Byunghun.

Receiving this news was shocking, reading the evidence was overwhelming. A few tears escaped her eyes but she wasn't sobbing.Eunhee wasn't going to let herself be the weak girl again. She just found it hard to breathe and she didn't know how to feel. She wasn't mad, there was no hatred, no, she doesn't hate her grandfather. Her heart just felt heavy. 

“E-excuse me,” Eunhee stood up from her seat to leave the room, with the letter in her hand. She couldn’t stand being in the room. Not when she was about to lose her mind at the moment. She needed to breathe.

“Eun-ah,” Baekhyun called after her when his sister stood up and both he and Haeun went to go after her.

Sehun just sat there staring into spaces, thinking about what he should so. He was torn. On one hand, he wanted to grant his grandfather's wish, although still reluctant, but on the other hand, he knew it himself that he couldn't do it. Because he already planned how his life was going to be. And it's not this.When he finally snapped back from his thoughts, he stood up and excused himself to go find Eunhee. 

He found Eunhee in at the garden, Baekhyun was kneeling down in front of her, holding her hands and Haeun was sitting next to her with an arm wrapped around Eunhee’s shoulders. Eunhee wasn’t crying anymore, she just sat there, deep in her thoughts, ignoring what her brother is saying.

Sehun walked towards where they were sitting and voiced out his question, “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but can I talk to Eunhee alone?”

Baekhyun looked at him and he didn’t look like he will leave his sister alone with him, but Haeun had intervened, helping Sehun out.

“We should let them talk,” Haeun pulled on her husband’s hand and stood up to leave, dragging Baekhyun who was constantly looking back to make sure his sister was fine.

Walking back to the private room, Baekhyun sighed, shaking his head, “I can’t believe they’re doing it again.”

“It was your grandfather’s wish, Baek,” Haeun tried to argue.

“Still! It’s an arranged marriage, Haeun,” he stopped walking and faced her, “We may be able to overcome the situation but I don’t think Eunhee can. This is my sister they’re marrying off. I won’t just stay still and watch.”

“Baekhyun, Eunhee is stronger than you think,” Haeun reminded him, her hands on both Baekhyun’s shoulder, “And we will help her. If we can’t stop the wedding, whatever she will go through, we will be there for her. I promise I will. Eunhee’s like my own sister.”

“God, I love you,” Baekhyun groaned, hugging his wife, “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I love you too, but now we have to go in there and try to persuade them to stop the wedding,” Haeun smiled at him and with that they continued their walk to the room.

Walking into the room, Baekhyun immediately noticed the worried expression of their parents and that’s how he knew that both sides didn’t want to force the two into marrying each other, and he was relieved for that.

“Father, is there no way to stop this?” Baekhyun asked the question still, with a frown on his face.

“Is there a way you can stop a promise from being made between your grandfather and Hwijin?” his father asked sternly.

“No, but – ” Baekhyun sighed .

“It’s all up to them. We won’t force it on them. The wedding will only happen if both of them agreed to get married. If they don’t, I’m sure their grandfathers will understand,” Sehun’s dad hoped.

After processing what Sungjin had said, Baekhyun turned to his parents, pleading, “If she doesn’t want to, which I’m pretty sure she doesn’t, will you promise me to not force her? No matter what happens? And please, no more arranged marriage? Do you not remember what happened to me and Haeun, mom, dad?”

“We promise, Baekhyun. It was our mistake for forcing you and Haeun and we won’t make the same mistake again,” his father reassured and Baekhyun nodded, trusting him.

And that’s how it is. They don’t do anything. They just wait.

--

After Baekhyun and Haeun left the garden, Sehun took a seat next to Eunhee and they both sat silently, both busy with their own thoughts.

"Eunhee-ssi," Sehun started, taking a deep breath, "I have a girlfriend."

It was expected. Of course someone as good looking as Sehun would have a girlfriend. And from his eyes, Eunhee knows just how much he doesn't want to do this. 

She nodded at Sehun's words, understanding, and without looking at him, she asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I won't go with the arrangement. I can't," he shook his head, while looking at her with fear filled eyes.

Eunhee gave him a small smile, before looking away once again, "Don't worry. I don't agree with the arrangement as well. I'm not ready for this yet."

Sehun sighed in relief, "That's a relief."

"Sorry for my rude behaviour back there, it was just overwhelming."

"No, it's fine. I understand, really. And thank you, for understanding my situation as well."

"This is too much for our first reunion, don't you think?" she joked, trying to make the atmosphere lighter around them.

Sehun chuckled, "You bet."

Despite having the conversation that they needed to have, they still felt uneasy. Uneasy because they couldn't fulfill what their grandfathers wanted.

Taking a deep breath, Eunhee stood up, saying, "Now that it's clear that there will be no wedding, we should go back in and tell our parents about it."

"We should," Sehun agreed and they walked back to the room together, preparing themselves for the worst.