What will happen when two strangers marry each other?

credits: kickazzkris @ soompi (thanks kris! <3)

Title: For Better or Worse
Date Started: 20th Feb 2012
Date Finished: --/--
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, light comedy
Cast: TaeYang and other YGFamily

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Prologue

I, Lee EunJung, have forgotten my groom’s name.

This is bad.
Really bad.
It’s a disaster.

Because it was on our wedding day, in front of the priest, during the time when we were supposed to be exchanging vows, right before being announced as an official married couple.

Well, you can’t blame me for forgetting his name. If there was anyone to be blamed, it should be my dear father, the one whom had forced me into this marriage with his best friend’s son. Apparently, my father thought that I was too Westernized—since I grew up living in America and all—that I was forgetting my traditional Korean roots so he decided that the best way to make sure that I would die as a true Korean woman would be marrying me off to this Korean man, this man whom I had never met in my entire life.

However, Appa tried to convince me that we did have meet before. “Before we moved here, you guys used to play together all the time. Don’t you remember?”

“But Appa, I was five when we moved from Korea!” I protested, “How am I supposed to remember that?! This is absurd!!” I slapped my forehead with my palm. I think that it was beyond ridiculous for this thing to be happening to me.

Appa pretended not to hear me. Instead he continued with his words of wisdom, “I’m sure you’ll have a great marriage with him. He’s Korean. Besides, you two have vowed to marry each other once you’re all grown up. His parents, your Umma and I were the witnesses.”

“Appa, it’s not legal to hold on to our words when we were still in diapers! How can I marry him when I don’t even know him?! I bet even he doesn’t remember about this stupid vow.” 

I couldn’t believe that even after so many years of living in America, my father could still be as old-fashioned as ever.

“I’m sure he remembers. He was eight at the time, old enough to remember. Unlike you, your future husband is a filial son. He didn’t even protest to this idea of an arranged marriage between you two,” Appa said. A fond smile started to erupt on his face as though he was suddenly reminiscing on old times. “Your mother and I was a product of an arranged marriage too and look at us now. We’re still happily married. I think this marriage is the best thing for you. You’ve become too Westernized nowadays and I’m afraid that you’ll get even worse. Those Facebook pictures are evidence to this.”

This whole “You’re too Westernized” part started after my friend Lizzy had posted our college graduation party pictures on her Facebook account and my dear traditional father happened to stumble upon them. You know how wild that kind of party can get. Appa nearly had another heart attack after seeing the picture of me kissing Sarah on the lips, with a fake tattoo on my upper arm and holding a cigarette. I looked like the typical wasted party girl in that picture. In my defence, the cigarette wasn’t actually mine—I was just holding it for someone—and me kissing Sarah was nothing unusual; we do that all the time.

However, Appa had suddenly thought that I had turned into a lesbian wild party girl so he immediately rang me up and shouted for me to take the earliest flight home the next day. Once I was home, my parents had nagged me for about two hours before dropping the huge bomb—that they’re going to marry me off to a Korean guy. They had made it clear that I had no say whatsoever in this matter so I had no other choice but to accept it.

Apparently, my parents had never heard of basic human rights and I was too scared to defy them, especially after seeing my Appa’s eyes nearly bulging out when I tried to protest to the idea of the arranged marriage. I was afraid that he would get a second heart attack because of me.

So here I am, two weeks later, in a church somewhere in Seoul, dressed in a beautiful white gown, standing in front of a priest and just about minutes away from being announced the wife to this handsome stranger in front of me. I find it ironic that he was my father’s choice to bring me back to my roots when he doesn’t even look too Korean to begin with. I mean, traditional Korean men wouldn’t be having a short razored fohawk hairstyle now, would they? As a matter of fact, this man looked as so-called Westernized as my next door neighbour.

However, I can’t back out now. If I do, I’m pretty sure that my father would disown me.

If only I remember his name so that this whole thing will be over.

I wrecked my brain trying to remember his name but it was a futile attempt. My family had told me his name so many times but my mind remained completely blank at that moment.

Oh, sh1t! Oh, sh1t! Oh, sh1t!

Think EunJung. He’s a famous singer. You can’t be forgetting his name.

I sneaked a quick glance at the priest who was still waiting for me. Then, I glanced at my groom and he was staring at his shoes, looking bored.

“Err—”

“Yes, Miss Lee, we are waiting,” the priest said in his kind voice.

From behind me, I could hear the guests whispering among themselves. Flashes of lights—from the reporters’ cameras—soon ensued, reminding me of the fact that I was marrying a celebrity and would probably end up looking like an idiot on tomorrow’s front page news. My sister, EunHye, who was the maid of honour, came closer to nudge my arm. She was probably thinking that I was daydreaming—something that I always do in my free time—and probably wanted me to finish this faster.

I bit my lips.

Just think, EunJung! You once made fun of his name.

Dong something. I remember laughing and calling him the bell since his name was kinda strange for a Korean name.

Bell. 
Dong. 

A-ha! Finally I remember his name. I smiled at the priest and breathed deeply.

“I, Lee EunJung, take you, Dong DongBell, to be—”

My voice was cut off by the sound of the priest coughing loudly. Puzzled, I turned to look at EunHye and she was shaking her head off, mouthing “Wrong name” while crossing her arms to make an ‘X’.

I winced.

The guests were murmuring among themselves, probably shocked that I didn’t even remember his name—this so-called super duper famous celebrity that was going to be my husband.

In a desperate attempt to recover from the embarrassment, I leaned in closer towards my future husband. “Hey, what’s your name?” I whispered to his ear, “I forgot.”

“Dong YoungBae,” he said curtly. I guess he was slightly miffed that I had gotten his name wrong.

“Got it, thanks!” I said and retreated back to my spot. I turned to look at the priest and flashed him my brightest smile.

EunHye leaned in closer to whisper to my ear, “Yah, what are you doing?! Don’t embarrass us, please Unni! There are so many reporters here!” I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was clenching her teeth again.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. My sister is forever my future husband’s number one fan. I took a deep breath, slowly lifted my gaze to meet the priest’s eyes and said, “I’m ready.”

The priest smiled of relief and nodded. “Go on, Miss Lee,” he said.

I turned to look at my future husband. He was looking at me with a slight amused expression displaying on his face. He was probably expecting that I would mess up his name again. 

“I, Lee EunJung, take you, Dong YoungBae, to be my awful wedded husband—”

It wasn’t until I heard EunHye’s loud gasp from behind me that I realized what I had just said.

Crap!

 

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A/N: Hi guys, I'm here with a new TaeYang fic. I've promised my best friend to write a TaeYang fic since last year but I didn't have any idea what to write about. I watched Eugene's drama Creating Destiny and got the idea to write this story. Plus, the thought of strangers marrying each other really fascinates me. I think it's sweet that the arranged marriage couples learn to love each other after marriage, rather than before. Okay, enough of my rambling. If you're reading this A/N, that means you're reading this story and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for clicking and reading this story. Please subscribe if you like it. :-) Just as a heads up, since I have two other ongoing fics, the updates for this story will be late. 

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SUMMARY

Deemed too 'Westernized' by her father after a leak of her wild partying photos surfaced on the Facebook page of her best friend, Lee EunJung was forced to marry a Korean guy—a complete stranger to her—so that she would become more 'Korean'. Afraid to be causing another heart attack to her father, EunJung reluctantly agreed to this idea. However, she later found out that her husband was actually a really famous celebrity in Korea and her life was never the same again afterwards.