Bittersweet Romance

Chapter 4:

The Truth

A/N: There will be some BGM for the last part of this chapter. It is recommended to listen to it while reading that specific part. Link will be in the “ *….* ” Thnx for reading~

“UGHHHHH!” You groaned loudly as you threw the new fancy dress your mother had prepared for you for the date onto your bed. “Young Lady, please…” Lian sighed as she picked the dress back up and held it in her arms. You groaned again and paced around your room in absolute frustration. You suddenly stop and stared at Lian crossly.

“I’m not going!” You declared. Lian sighed and shook her head. “Young Lady, you need to go. Your parents and his have already prepared everything.” She explained. You scoffed and raised your hands in anger. “I am not going! Period! I cannot f**king stand that d**che anymore!!” You yell in frustration. You had enough. You were sick and tired of Minhyuk’s attitude toward you and the amount of obvious hate he projected at you was too much. He didn’t like and wanted you around. That was it. You took the hint and wanted out. You wanted to quit this stupid arranged marriage with this jerk and go back to being less hated.

“Young Lady, I understand how you are feeling… but we can’t just bail out when things are already set up.” Lian tried to reason with you, but you ignored her in frustration. “I don’t f**king care anymore! I am done! He hates the living guts outta me and he obviously isn’t changing his mind!” You yelled as you swing your arms in frustration. “I never wanted this and this a**hole acts like…” You paused to breathe and stared at Lian with angry and sad eyes. “He freaking acts like I wanted this… that it’s all my fault.” Your voice cracks when you spoke those words and an aching pain surged through your chest. You looked down at your feet and breathe in sharply. “I hate this…” You mumbled.

Lian doesn’t say a word and walked up to you. She stared at you and sighed as she raised your head up, forcing you to look her in the eyes. “Well, telling your parents that everything was terrible after you lied to them that it was all well is going to be troublesome.” She told. You looked away and winced. You forgot that you lied to them. You obviously now regretted it. Lian just sighed and handed you the dress. You stared at her in confusion. “Lian…” You said, but she interrupts you.

“Let us do this,” She began as she turned around and started to organize the make-up and accessories for the date, “This will be your last date. Give the man one last chance today, and if it still isn’t working out…” She paused and sighed. Sounds of disappointment escaped her sigh and she turned back to face you. “I will tell your parents about how you feel and have them call off the marriage.” She finished. You stared at her, a little reluctant about it. You were already so fed up with Minhyuk. A whole day with him would just be painstakingly terrible. But, at the same time, it could be a good thing. It meant more time with him, more private time and a possibility to talk things out or maybe just get to know each other a tiny bit more. You knew Minhyuk had said he had no interest in getting closer to you, but there’s no way you won’t learn something about someone after a whole day with them, right?

You pondered a little more and after a few more seconds, you sighed and nodded. “Fine.” You agreed. Lian smiled in relief and walked over to you. She patted your back and nodded. “Good, now get dressed so I can do your make-up.” You groaned and reluctantly nodded as you placed the dress down and began to remove your shirt. Lian bowed and left the room for your privacy. When she disappeared, you stood in your room alone and sighed. “I hope… things will be a little better.” You mumbled as you threw your shirt onto your bed and proceeded to remove the rest.

After changing and letting Lian do your hair and make-up, you had grabbed your wallet and phone, placing them into your purse, and walked out the door with Lian behind you. However, to your shock, the second you stepped outside the house, you were met with a fancy looking car. You stared at it confused and dumbstruck. You looked at Lian, who seemed to be just as confused as you. “Lian… is this your car?” You asked. Lian shook her head and placed a hand on her hip. “No. It’s not mine nor your parent’s car.”

Suddenly, someone exited out of the car and as soon as you saw who it was, your entire expression fell into shock and you backed away a little. “Young Master Minhyuk.” Lian bowed as she spotted him. He quickly walked over to you two and bowed. You stared at him absolutely stunned. He bowed toward you again and looked over to Lian, avoiding eye-contact with you. “I am here to pick up, Y/N.” He told Lian. Lian looked at him quite shocked. “O-oh? Yes. That is great.” She said as she looked over to you and then back at Minhyuk. Minhyuk nodded and looked over at you. “Shall we?” He motioned his hands toward the car. You stared at him, still stunned by his sudden gesture. However, you didn’t linger onto it for too long and nodded, walking toward the passenger side and reaching for the door.

However, Minhyuk quickly takes the door and opened it for you. This was new, however, you had a feeling why he was acting so… polite. You thanked him and quickly got into the car. As he closed the door, you looked out behind him and saw Lian watch with worry. Minhyuk then quickly rushed back around to the driver’s seat and hopped in. You waved to Lian, who bowed back. You wondered if this “last chance” was worth it. You could already tell, that it may not be. However kind he was acting right now, didn’t make up for his rude behavior the past few days. You also knew quite well he was only acting so there wouldn’t be any trouble. Just like he was when you two first met. Minhyuk soon started the car and driven off.

It was silent for a few minutes, stiflingly silent. You were feeling very uncomfortable and pretty much annoyed. Was this how it was going to be? Then again, if this doesn’t work out, you always had your plan B. The awkward silence was getting irritating, so you were about to plug in your earbuds and listen to music, but Minhyuk suddenly spoke.

“If you’re wondering why I came alone, it’s because my parents made me.” He said. You paused what you were doing and slowly dropped your hand down back to your lap. “Is that so?” You replied, knowing that that was pretty much the reason why he was still with you in the first place. “I could just drop you off somewhere and we can both pretend that this date happened, but…” He paused as he stopped at the stop light. He took a breath and sighed. You looked over to him and raised a brow in curiosity. You were also pissed that he actually had the audacity to say he planned on dumping you in the middle of nowhere and pretend that the date happened.

“My parents put a tracker into my car. And they have some agents watching me.” He told you nonchalantly. You stared at him shocked. “W-What?” Minhyuk smirked and scoffed as he started driving again. “I don’t understand either.” He spoke. You looked away slowly and thought to yourself in shock and confusion. His own parents are tracking him? Do they have that little trust in him? Do they know that much on his relationship with the Jungsuh girl? You looked over at him as he was concentrating on driving. His face was so handsome, you had to admit. But it was filled with resentment and annoyance. You felt sour knowing fully well his true feelings and looked away. “I’m sorry…” You mumbled. You didn’t know if he heard you or not, he didn’t answer anyway.

You two finally arrived at Lotte World and had both stepped out tiredly from the car. Minhyuk was a fast walker, so you had to struggle to follow him as he headed to the ticketing area.

The place was huge and extravagant. Lotte World was literally a heaven for children. It held the largest indoor amusement park, the largest outside amusement park, a water park, and so much more. It was THE park. You awed at as you two walked deeper into the park and everything was just revealing itself to you. As a kid, you had always wanted to come here. You begged your parents so much to have them take you, however, they never had any free-time to take you or they forgot. Yura had eventually promised to take you, but… she was kicked out before she could fulfill your wish.

You were too busy gawking at the scenery that you didn’t notice Minhyuk abruptly stopping and you ran straight into his back. “Oof!” Your face made impact into his back and you almost fall over. However, you manage to balance yourself and keep upright. You immediately bowed and rubbed your nose as you apologized to him. “I’m sorry… ouch…” You said as you rub your face. Minhyuk turned to you and looked at you as you bowed. He didn’t say anything immediately, but just stared at you until you looked up. “Be careful next time.” He merely said as he continued to what he was doing. You pouted and sighed.

Minhyuk had turned in the tickets and was talking to the ticket keeper. You didn’t pay too much attention and just waited. You had never been here before and was actually pretty excited. Even though, it wasn’t very good that you were here with Mr. Grumpy-Pants, but it was better than nothing. While you were in your thoughts, Minhyuk had called out for you, but you didn’t hear. He didn’t even wait to call again and just grabbed your wrist and pulled you over to him. You were immediately taken aback by his gesture and tried to pull away, but he was much stronger than you. He then placed your hand onto the counter and scolded you. “Listen to me when I call for you.” He scolded as the man in the booth wrapped an entrance bracelet around your wrist.

“Ah… I’m sorry.” You apologized. After the man finished putting the bracelet on, Minhyuk had released your hand and began to walk into the park. You quickly followed behind him, embarrassed. You two had walked casually into the large inside amusement park. The second you stepped in, it was filled with loud cheers, laughs, chattering, and everything happy-go-lucky. You were entranced by the joy and free-spirit of the place. There were a lot of people too, the crowds were huge, and lines were long. So many people and so much noise, it was cluttered but filled with such a fun atmosphere that no one would really mind the crowds and noise. However, Minhyuk suddenly stopped, luckily you noticed and stopped before ramming into him again.

The guy turned to you and stared at you with a stern expression. Your happiness immediately died, and you knew you were in for some other insult or rude statement. You sighed and looked away in annoyance. “What is it now?” You asked. Minhyuk crossed his arms and looked around. He spotted something in the distance and scoffed. You noticed and try to look at where he was looking at, but he stopped you. “Don’t even try looking.” He told. You stopped midturn and sighed. “Why?” You asked, turning back to him. “It’s best that you don’t know.” He told as he looked away from where he was looking at. You had a guess that it was either 1) the agents that were watching over the two of you or 2) Jungsuh. The chances of her being here was slim, but anything could happen.

You sighed and nodded, not wanting to aggravate him anymore than you already have. “So, what do you want to tell me?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. Minhyuk walked over to you and stared at you with judging eyes. “I need you to stay at least three feet away from me but also not go anymore than ten feet away from me.” You looked at him confused and lost. “W-What?” You asked, unsure about the meaning of his proposal.

“I don’t want you close to me, but I also can’t afford losing you… like last time.” He explained. You scoffed and stared at him in disbelief. “You mean to tell me what happened last time was my fault?” You asked. “You were the one who suddenly jumped off and dashed away!” You complained. Minhyuk didn’t say anything and stood his ground. You scoffed and groaned. “Okay fine. Whatever. A**” You agreed, although mumbling the last part. “I had a reason for what happened that day.” He suddenly spoke, sadness slightly reverberating in his voice. You looked over to him and sighed.

“Really?” You said. He nodded and sighed. “Anyway, just keep close but not too close. And…” He paused and scratched the back of his head. “Let’s try to make this not get too intimate.”

You scoffed at his words and began to walk toward one of the entertainment stalls. “It would be better if we went our own ways, but whatever.” You stomped away, wondering to yourself how boring and frustrating this will be. You honestly would’ve had more fun on your own than with him, but things had to be so. You arrived at the stall and looked at the fun activities that were being held. It all looked so fun and exciting. There were also some athletic activities that looked interesting, however, you were in a dress and that is no attire suited for heavy moving around. You sighed in disappointment. Suddenly, Minhyuk comes up behind you and watched as the people had fun. You felt a ping of annoyance with him next to you and scooted away. As you did, you had accidently touched the person next to you. “Oh! I’m sorry!” You exclaimed. The man you accidently ran into chuckled and waved his hands. “No, no, it’s okay.” He smiled assuring you it was fine. You smiled and nodded. The man then looked at you and stared for a bit. You were aware of him staring at you and tilted your head. “I-is there something wrong?” You asked. He quickly looked away and shook his head. “A-Ah, no. It’s nothing… You just…” He paused and smiled. You stared at him curiously. “I?”

He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed his head. “You just look really beautiful and look like someone I know.” He said. You were taken aback by his words and backed away a little, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “O-oh okay…Thank you…?” You smiled sheepishly and bowed to him. “Well, sorry again for running into you and um… goodbye.” You quickly backed away and hurried to another stall farther away from the one you were at, totally forgetting about Minhyuk. As you reached the stall you hugged yourself in slight relief and shuddered. “Yeesh… that got kinda weird fast.” You said as you looked back. The guy was still there but talking to someone on his phone. You sighed and released yourself. “This is why I can’t stand strangers.” You groaned as you looked at the things that were being sold in the stall.

“I thought I told you to stay at least ten feet away from me?” Minhyuk suddenly popped out of nowhere and hovered over your back. You yelped and jumped at his sudden arrival. “D-Don’t scare me like that!” You exclaimed as you held your chest in fear. Minhyuk stared at you shocked and then scoffed. “Stay within my range and I won’t scare you.”

You pouted and turned away from him in anger. He apparently had no remorse for scaring you half-to-death. You continued to observe the stall’s items, ignoring the rude a**hole behind you, and admired the stuff. “Is there anything specific you’d like, young lady?” One of the stall owners asked you as she approached you. You looked up and shook your head. “Aha! No, ma’am. I’m just browsing.” You told her. She smiled and nodded. However, she then grabbed a cute piece of jewelry and handed it to you. It was a lovely black leather bracelet with an infinite symbol on it. You looked at her quizzingly and blink