chapter 1

It’s been a month since I found myself to be relieved that I managed to graduate one year earlier than expected, the fact it only took me only 5 years to finish my master's degree at Seoul University than the normal 6 years it would take for an average student but obviously I know I’m not average since I finished both high school and college as a valedictorian candidate. I haven’t talked to anyone I’ve known from high school since then but I knew that they clearly would have expected me to study to be a lawyer or something since I participated in most class discussions but what else would I need to say? They never knew me all that well and that’s not what I wanted to live for. Basically, since I’m not exactly a people person like I used to be back then.

I finally snapped back into reality today on March 14th, in which it wasn’t only White Day today, but it was also approximately one month since I’ve graduated with my master’s degree in creative writing and I’ve come to realize I have not spent much time thinking about what I wanted to write and what my purpose was. However, my biggest issue is that no one in my family knew that I’ve already graduated since they apparently didn’t get the invitations I sent out in the mail since they’re apparently too busy with their own lives, meaning that neither my parents nor my siblings knew anything. Maybe they even saw it but didn’t care about my accomplishments. Perhaps they were jealous of the fact I had a perfect GPA and I've always been valedictorian.

It was a few hours later when I was enjoying this book I was reading when my younger sister, Yumi, knocked on the door coming in said, ”Unnie, our dad’s home and he has something important to talk to all of us about.”

“I’ll be in the living room in a moment and next time, don't open the door until I give permission. It's rude,” I said scrambling around to find something to save the page in my book.

“What is it, father?” I asked when I arrive down the stairs seeing how happy our father was.

“Great news, I found a family who wants to do business with us and they offered to have you arranged to marry with their son after you graduate next year,” my father said.

Oh no, why me? I’m the third child in the family, why me first? My parents constantly said my eldest brother, Byungsoo was to get married first since he was 28 years old but look at it now, all the sudden, my parents decide to make me get married first just because they found this great business offer that they could use to build a bigger business. But since he said next year after I graduate, I clearly knew that no one in this house knows that I just graduated.

“What do you think about it Bora?” mother asked after seeing I didn’t react.

“I don’t know, but what is his name how old do you think I am asking me to marry who you want me to?” I asked realizing I did have a really bad feeling about the whole idea besides the fact that my parents are trying to get me to get married the old fashion way? They shouldn't be able to have control over that especially since I'm almost 25 years old now.

“His name is Jackson Wang,” my father said.

At shock the of hearing the name, I coughed starting to panic in shocked as I said, “Jackson Wang? The Jackson that went to my high school that’s going to graduate soon and now helps his family run their business while going to university wherever?”

“Yes, that’s the one, how did you know all of that?” mother said.

At that moment, it hit me so hard, my parents didn’t care about that the person they arranged for me to marry harmed me in the past. Jackson did not harm me physically but he did harm me emotionally and mentally. The leading reason to why I tried to avoid engaging in social activities with others.

Unable to say another word, I ran out of the living room back up the stairs and back in my bedroom locking the door hoping no one would come to bother me. This has to be the worst nightmare ever, making me marry someone who ruined my life in high school?

-Start of Flashback-

I was waiting for the 1st year writing teacher to come in the class while sitting at the table on the side of the room next to the teacher’s desk correcting the students’ tests for the teacher I was an assistant for during my free hour when this student from the class, Jackson Wang, in particular, walked up to me with a cocky smirk on his face. I knew what that meant, the fact that he wanted to make another one of his sick ual jokes normally he makes to irritate the class while making the byuntaes of the class laugh, but this time I knew he was about to target me seeing he was walking straight up to me.

“Bora, why are you always checking my Facebook profile? Do you realize what I have on there? The fact that I post my nudes on there?” He said scoffing.

I clearly knew he was only saying that to embarrass and humiliate me in front of everyone since I checked his profile only twice but remembered everything that was posted on there since it was almost too terrible to forget. There were no pictures of any type of existed on that page but these oh-so-called fan signs did. They’re not what I would consider being real or official fan signs because all it is is just his name wrote out by the girl on their thigh or above their bosoms which always made me wonder who the hell would make up such a ridiculous term just because how cliché it sounded.

“If you posted your nudes online and asking if I know that, do you not realize what that means? Not only I’d see them but your friends, family, and anyone who’s friends wi