Chaeyoung watched as Junhoe threw playful smiles at a group of young female Healers walking past them. The females spared her no glance, only fixing their eyes on Junhoe and Chaeyoung scrunched her nose when they giggled shyly when he greeted them.

She had initially refused to go for another day to spend with Junhoe upon his family’s request. If it hadn’t been for her father’s wrath that would only put her mother into distress, she wouldn’t step out of her house when Junhoe came.

“It is hard, of course. But you’ll learn to love him.” Her mother’s words floated in her mind.

She felt not an ounce of jealousy when Junhoe flirted with other women even when she was just beside him, even when almost everyone knew that they would be united as husband and wife. But with how he was acting, Chaeyoung didn’t think she’d be able to like him. Even a tiny bit of love would be impossible to grow within her. And how could she surrender herself to someone she had no feelings for?

Chaeyoung didn’t have to ask to know. Nevertheless, she did. “If our families didn’t have this plan for us to be united for any reason at all, honestly, would you actually want to be united to me?”

His mouth formed a little smirk. “Marriage isn’t for me, Chaeyoung. Even if it is, you’re the last woman I’d want to get tied to.”

It was supposed to be upsetting to hear that. But she didn’t get upset. The corners of her lips lifted in a small smile briefly. She was glad to hear that, but it wasn’t too gratifying to know that especially when the reality at the moment was that he had agreed to take her as his wife.

“Is it too late to withdraw from this planned unison?” she asked softly, eyes staring far away. “I can’t imagine sharing my life with you. And you… you don’t even want to get married. There is no point.”

Junhoe stopped walking and when Chaeyoung glanced at him, frown hung heavily on his countenance. “Withdrawing from it isn’t as easy as you think,” he said lowly and began to walk again.

“You don’t know that.” Chaeyoung gripped his arm. “We’ll only know if we try.”

“It is not easy,” he repeated, a little aggravated as he pulled his arm off her hold.

“Come with me,” she said. “I’ll talk to my father. I’ll talk to your parents. If what we want is mutual, I am sure –”

Junhoe chuckled darkly. “You can try if you want. But you’ll only fail, trust me.”

When Chaeyoung arrived home, every one of her family members was present. Her brother had just come home after a full day spent healing ill elders of different sectors while both her parents had just spent hours with the Koos. Her father was drinking when she confronted him.

“I beg you, Father. Please cancel this unison between Junhoe and me.” Her father gave her a brief look, an uninterested look. She chewed her lip hard. “He doesn’t want this marriage, and neither do I. There is no way we can live together. I do not love him, Father. I can’t love him. And it is impossible to learn to love him.”

Her father’s eyes finally settled on her for a longer period. He was unreadable. She didn’t know what he seemed to think at that moment. A moment later, his mouth formed a small smirk. The next moment, he scoffed. “How is love important?”

Her chest tightened. What sort of question was that? Shouldn’t two people be united for love? Her fingers curled, fists clenched tightly till her knuckles turned white.

“Listen, Chaeyoung,” her father said after taking a sip of his drink. “For a Healer with a reputation as terrible as yours, love isn’t something you should put forward. It should be at the far end of your mind. If possible, it should be erased.” He looked straight into her eyes when he said, “You must remember one thing. Duty comes first.”

Duty, her mind scoffed. “How do you expect me to be together with someone like him?” she burst. “He’s been with tons of women and even when he knows that I am to be betrothed to him, that I am to be his wife, he still does that.”

By the time she said that, her voice raised, and she could feel that she’d tear up anytime soon. Her father’s expression had darkened with anger. His fingers around the glass tight.

“Do not raise your voice at me.” His deep voice dropped lower.

“Is that the only way I can carry my duty as a Healer to contribute to the village? How preposterous!”

A second after she yelled the last word, water splashed sharply at her face. Her eyes tightly shut, lips trembling, and she gnawed at her bottom lip, forcing herself not to cry. She heard Jimin’s voice screaming ‘Father’ and she felt her mother’s arms around her.

“The next time you raise your voice at me, it’ll be my hand that you’ll feel on your face.”

Chaeyoung pushed her mother’s arms away. She pushed her brother’s hand on her shoulder. She muted her ears to their voices calling her name as she ran out the door. The tears that she felt in her eyes were gone. They solidified, frozen. Like a glass, they layered her eyes. Inside of her was nothing but a snowstorm.

The pond. She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but the pond. If she couldn’t get the peace she wanted and needed, she’d perhaps do something terrible. Only the pond could provide her with the peace and comfort she’d truly need.

She ran faster, ignoring the eyes of everyone watching her, the mouths of everyone speaking loudly around her. She ran and ran until she entered the woods. Her pace was quick until her eyes settled on a figure about to enter the pond.

Immediately, the storm inside of her slowed down even though only a little. Her already cold heart froze when she saw Jungkook stripped bare and even from a distance, she could see the invisible flames around him. She hadn’t expected to see him there, especially not after the time he left the pond when he realized that she was present.

At the moment of observing him, her mind opened up a memory of what his grandfather had said to her.

“Wait until he finds peace. Only then your words will get a clear path to get to him.”

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