Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolving the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...

Okay, someone had obviously been watching a Star Wars DVD in my room, and they should not have been in there since my room was COMPLETELY off-limits, and I should have gone to find the culprit instead of doing what I was doing, but I was TOO PISSED AT WOO TO EVEN THINK STRAIGHT! “You lied to me!” I screeched as I hurled my green giraffe at my bodyguard’s head; his mysterious ninja reflexes had him dodging it at the last possible second, so I picked up another one and threw it at his chest. Ha, it made contact! Take that, Jang Wooyoung! “YOU SAID JAY WAS HERE AND HE WASN’T AND THAT MEANS YOU LIED TO ME AND UGHHHHHHH!”

“Young miss,” he tried to calm me down, but I was not having it.

“HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME?!” Oh, and there goes my purple dinosaur. Why a college girl still has stuffed animals...I mean, I love my stuffed animals. Don’t get me wrong. But...I guess it’s a bit weird for a twenty-year-old to still be hanging onto her fuzzy friends...OH, WHATEVER. WOO. TARGET. MUST HIT. “I am just so mad at you, words cannot begin to express my madness!”

His face twisted the tiniest bit, as if he was about to reply sarcastically to that last comment, but instead he allowed himself to be pummeled with every stuffed animal I owned...and then some, since I don’t think the mascot stuffed animals for both my high school and college count, since they’re less stuffed with fluff and more stuffed with sawdust; seriously, these things were really hard for stuffed animals.

Finally, he bowed his head and said quite sternly, “Young miss.”

Oops. My panda went flying at the last minute; his nose hit one of Wooyoung’s eyebrows and left a bit of a scratch. Whatever. Still pissed, but I suppose I could listen to him. “What?”

“My apologies for the small fib, but it was done with the best intentions.”

Stupid overly polite bodyguard. “Pft, and what might those intentions be?”

“Your parents have requested to see you immediately, though I brought you up here just in case you wanted to rest for a while before seeing them.”

I stared at him, my eyes narrowing into a glare the more accusing my intentions had become. He lied the first time, what’s to say he wasn’t lying right now?

“You know I don’t lie to you without a reason, young miss.”

“What do they want me for?” I attempted to remain in my angry state...which wasn’t working too well for me.

“I have not been informed of that.”

Some help he was...

“Whatever.”

“When you’re ready, young miss, I’ll accompany you downstairs. They’re waiting for you.”

“EXCUSE ME?!”

“You heard us loud and clear, Park. Min. Young,” my father’s voice boomed in a very authoritative manner, with the side of threatening pauses between syllables included. It was scary, if you couldn’t already tell.

“NO!”

“You will be arranged to marry the MBK Center’s CEO’s son as soon as this semester concludes.” My mother had blatantly ignored me. They do this all the time; I’ve hardly ever left a family meeting not feeling patronized. She glanced at my father. “We will need to confirm the date we have set with his family, darling. Do remember to tell his father when you play golf with him again...”

“I REFUSE!”

My father’s clenched fist made contact with the polished wood of the table, the loud bang echoing against the walls of the vast room.

“DAMN HELL YOU DO!”

I immediately shut up, lips pursed.

“You WILL marry. Period.”

And that comment threw me over the top completely; bursting into tears, I stood up and ran past them both (actually I think I somewhat shoved my mother, but at this point in time, that didn’t matter). Once inside my room, I slammed the door shut and twisted the lock so that no one would be tempted to come up and console me. Pft. I’d like to see them get past the threshold. An army of stuffed animals would greet them before they could put one foot into my bedroom.

How can they do this to me?! Damn it, did no one believe in true love and fairytale marriages anymore?! Why can’t I just be like every other girl out there, hoping and praying that one day, Prince Charming will fly through my bedroom window on a Pegasus horse, sweep me off my feet with his dashing good looks and brilliant smile, and then carry me off into the night? Why can’t I dream about having to be secretive about the wedding plans around my fiance, who would be dying to know every detail but holding back because OH MY GOD I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THEY WOULD FORCE ME INTO AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE!

I can’t even hope that he’s attractive or nice or decent at all. He’s going to be horrific, borderline psychotic, and with that ugly hook nose every guy who is placed into an arranged marriage has. The disgusting Severus Snape nose! Ugh! My children will look like mutants! And not even the cool kind that have psychokinetic powers or that shoot freaking lasers from their eyes! I will be the mother of backwoods, inbred-looking creatures!

AND WHAT THE BLAZING DEVIL IS THAT POUNDING NOISE?! Ugh, see what my parents did?! My inner voice has gone British on me!

“Young miss?”

Oh. Wooyoung. Like I’m going to let him in. He probably knew they were going to do this all along. Stupid, stupid, stupid bodyguard. UGH. Just go away, Woo. Leave me alone to die. I should put on some Elvis music or maybe some depressing TVXQ music...I need “Heartbreak Hotel” or “White Lies” blasting in here...

“Young miss, please open this door.”

Way to sound SO concerned, Wooyoung. I swear, he never changes his tone of voice. Guy has, like, no emotion. I slapped a pillow over my face to stifle my sobs; if he heard me crying...too embarrassing...I’m so ignoring him.

Bam, bam, bam! “Young miss. Do open this door now.”

“Why should I?” I whisper, too low for him to hear. “Like you even care about me...” Yep. Emo music definitely getting played tonight.

And shortly after, the repetitive pounds against the opposite side of my door ceased.