“Isn’t this place great?!”

It would have been nice if I shared the same enthusiasm with Sunggyu’s fervent mother. But I couldn’t. She was too overexcited about the whole wedding. My dad and Sunggyu’s father were outside the hotel, probably talking about the wedding ceremony and all.

Even though I disliked the idea of having to marry Sunggyu, I couldn’t help but sympathize with him. It felt like our mothers were the one getting married. We’ve been at The Plaza for the entire morning.

However, the wedding is in a week. Much to my utter dismay, I have to go through it.

“Come here, sweetheart. I want to show you something.”

I followed my mom to where Sunggyu’s mother was sitting. Above the table was a huge, rectangular box that was wrapped in a pale violet package. The ribbon on top was cute though. When Mrs. Kim opened it, my eyes widened at the sight of the most beautiful wedding dressI’ve ever seen.

Mrs. Kim must’ve seen my admiration of the dress because she removed it from the box. She presented it before me, giving me an encouraging smile.

“It’s so beautiful,” I murmured, the dress. It has glittering crystals throughout the bodice and there were flowing front ruffles at the bottom part of the dress. It was too pretty to ignore. For a moment, I’ve actually forgotten my misery about getting married to someone I disliked.

“I have your shoes, too,” Mrs. Kim added, bringing out another box. “Your mom chose this for you. We ordered it from the America. It’s a Brian Atwood pearl pink wedding shoes. It’s kind of high since the heel measures, like, about six inches. But you can do it. I know you’ll look pretty.”

When I twisted my head to the side, I saw Sunggyu’s eyes boring unto me. He immediately turned away when he realized I was staring back at him, too.

“Come with me, son,” Mrs. Kim urged, waving her hand. “Let me show you what you’re going to wear, too.”

Mrs. Kim probably wanted to give me time alone with my mom since I have seven days left before I’m completely married to her son. I needed it anyway. I needed to talk to my mother. Maybe she’s going to change her mind about the whole marriage thing.

“You’re finally getting married,” Mom says, her voice breaking. Now she’s getting emotional with those four words. I wanted to tell her that she was the one who wanted this, not me. But I guess it would be a rather bad move.

I nodded slightly. “Yeah, I know.”

“Sunggyu will take care of you, I know it,” she told me confidently. It’s like she fully confides in him. “I know I did the right thing. I know he can take care of you. Sweetheart, you have to believe in him, too. You have to let go of Seunghyun-ssi someday.”

Why does everyone keep telling me to let go? Why can’t they see that I can’t?

I avoided mom’s gaze. She was going to make me cry. “I can’t do that.”

“You have to, sweetheart.” She placed her hand on my arm. “You have to. Even if you say you can’t do that, I know you can. You’re brave. And you have Sunggyu now. He’s going to make you happy.”

No one can make me happy as much as Seunghyun did.

“Why did you agree to this pact, mom?” I wanted to know. I’ve wanted to know ever since they made that announcement.

“Your father and I never really wanted this to happen,” she explained, caressing my cheeks. “Trust me, honey. We didn’t want to force this on you. His father has been asking us ever since you turned fifteen, while you were dating Seunghyun. But we saw how happy you are with Seunghyun so we told him to forget about it. But then…” she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

I knew what she was going to say next anyway.

“… And then the accident happened,” I finished the sentence.

She nodded. “Yes. I saw how… miserable you are after the accident,” she told me. “You were so depressed that you didn’t eat for days. You blamed yourself for Seunghyun’s death even when it’s not your fault. I know that Kwon Yuri, Seunghyun’s ex-girlfriend, blamed you for his death. And you think that his mother blames you, too. That only made you worse. Your father and I were so worried. We didn’t know what else to do.”

And then it all made sense. My parents wanted to do something for me. In the end, both of them got me into this pact that both Sunggyu’s grandfather and mine promised.

“Honey, we want you to know that we only wanted what’s best for you,” she clarified. “Sunggyu has been your friend ever since you were born.”

“How come I don’t remember him?” I probed.

She frowned. “That I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I think it’s because you centered your entire world on Seunghyun that you forgot about Sunggyu, too. His family moved to South Korea even before we did. Still, they kept their communication with us. You used to send him letters. You don’t remember that?”

I shook my head.

“I was convinced that Sunggyu could take care of you,” she added. “That’s why we agreed to this.”

I frowned. “But I don’t want to marry Sunggyu.”

She brushed her hands on my hair. “Sweetheart, I’m really sorry.” She sighed. “But sweetheart, if you think about it. There are people who undergo the same thing that you did. Some even do political marriage or the typical business marriage. Two people who are not in love get married but does that mean that they won’t love each other forever? There are various ways of expressing love, but the most important thing is… it’s still love.”

Will I really be able to love him in the long run?

At least I know that they never really agreed to this. That they didn’t do this to me as sort of punishment. I guess I was too dejected about Seunghyun’s death. Could this even help me? Even if I’m married to Sunggyu, does that mean I could move on?

It seems impossible. With many memories shared with Seunghyun, how can I be able to forget him? I loved him too much.

“I didn’t like this idea but you’ll be living with your husband after the wedding,” she announced. “I tried reasoning out with your father and his parents but they were right. Once you’re married to your Sunggyu oppa, you deserve your own privacy and you two need your own place.”

I blinked. That fast? How am I supposed to…? Ugh.

She leaned back, crossing her arms on her chest. “We and Sunggyu’s parents have already bought the house,” she explained. “It’s a little far from our house but it’s okay. At least it’s accessible when you go to school. Your husband can drive you to school and he can pick you up.”

“But then, the school would know.”

She bit her lip. “I didn’t think about that.”

“I can go home on my own,” I insisted.

She looked at me sadly. “Okay. You talk about it with your Sunggyu oppa.”

I nodded. I really don’t have a choice now, do I? In less than a week, I will be married to someone I don’t even know. Or perhaps, I do know him but I’m probably getting amnesia or something. I’m still curious as to why I can’t remember even a speck of him in my memories.

“I guess I’ll be crying a lot on your wedding day,” she muttered, wiping the tears gathering in her eyes.

I forced a laugh. “It’d be weird if you won’t.”

♀ ________________________________________________________ 

go to chapter one for the banner made by luckybead! it's really nice and i appreciate her 

for making it for me. thank you lucky bead! this chapter is dedicated to youuuuu. wohooo!

this a rather short chapter, i'm sorry. i promise, it'll be longer for the next chapters.

comments, please? i need to know how i've been doing. bye! xoxo