♥
 

I try my best to look pretty for my future mother-in-law, because this is what my parents have wanted me to do.

I am only eighteen and marriage, the very thought of it, has yet to invade my thoughts, but I agree to call her ‘umma’ just the same.  She sits beside me while mother and father settle themselves into the other luxurious chaise lounge before us. This decision of theirs makes me nervous, for while they are sitting so near to me, I feel that they are already giving me away -- to this woman, to her son, to their family. I am not ready for this, but I remain in my seat, prim and proper, just like what my mother has instructed me to do.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” She says kindly, almost motherly even, and I smile in return. My future mother-in-law, the Lady as she is often called, has a small frame, and her fine features make her look like one of those expensive, exquisite traditional Korean dolls halmeoni keeps in her glass cabinet back home. Her hands are soft, and for a moment I feel like it is my mother who is holding my hands. Comfort sets in, but it halts just as I begin to truly believe that maybe, getting married to this family will turn out well.

I am almost convinced by the fragility that she is projecting, but I notice how hard she presses her hand firmly onto mine. I look up to gaze at her and I see her eyes; small, round, obsidian eyes so dark I can almost perfectly see myself in them.

They hold no kindness. In her eyes I can see that she is someone I must obey at all costs, and not love as if she were my mother.

Still, I smile. “Umma,” my lips murmur softly, and her eyes harden and brighten at the same time.

“That’s it,” She turns to my parents, the corners of her lips curling up in approval. “Minji surely is a fine lady, so perfect for my son. I cannot find anyone worthier than her.”

My parents beam at this, proud to have pleased the Lady  greatly. I know their happiness is not for the fact that they are able to find a suitable husband for me, but for earning the opportunity to further expand their business and strengthen their dominance amongst other chaebol clans in Korea.

A pang of pain stabs my heart at the thought of being a mere business token, but I dull it for my parents’ sake. We are not on the verge of losing everything just yet, but my parents still need to quench their thirst for our company’s continued success, hence, the arrangement with the Lady’s only son. Seeing as how my family’s company is currently thriving immensely, the Lady more than willingly accepts.

All for the sake of her family’s company, too.

“Well then, now we wait for my son.” She moves her hand back on her lap, and looks rather imperiously at the old man standing a few feet away from us. The old man bows slightly, and proceeds to talking on his pager with a somber face. I fidget in my seat, and my mother reaches her hand to smoothen my dress all too quickly. I give her a look, something that the Lady notices, and my mother smiles apologetically at her for it.

“Minji isn’t used to these things,” She hastily explains, as if what I did was totally unbecoming for a young woman like me. She turns around to my father and continues, “Right? She’s always running off somewhere.”

My father says nothing and only nods at her in agreement.

“The more she is compatible with my son, then,” The Lady says mildly. “I guess she will be able to tolerate him the best possible way?” It doesn’t take me another second to realize that the question is already directed at me. I glance at my father, whose face is currently devoid of any readable expression, hoping to see a reassuring smile he often gives me when I am unsure of what to do. A little disappointed, I mask myself with an expression of enthusiasm and agree with what the lady has just said.

“Of course, umma.”

She smiles benignly at this, and I feel my parents sighing in relief inside.

A loud noise is suddenly heard outside the room, making me and my parents jump in surprise. Interestingly so, the Lady grows still, and as I look at her for answers I begin to see the lines in her face appear more evidently than before. She beckons the old assistant to open the large doors, and the assistant does this promptly without any questions asked.

Two burly men in black suits enter the room, dragging a screaming and kicking young man with them. My eyes grow wide at the sight, and so do my parents’ as they watch him throw a big tantrum in front of his mother and us, his mother’s guests.

“LET ME GO!” He shouts, violently shaking off the bodyguards’ strong grip on both of his arms, to no avail. “I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!”

Great. He has yet to lay his eyes on me, and yet the hatred harbored at the thought of meeting me, his possible wife-to-be is so intense I can almost touch it. I can feel the humiliation creeping up my body, threatening to make me crumble, but I persist to be a little more strong for my parents and our family.

The Lady, however, is having none of her son’s violent cries.

“Let him go,” She orders, and the two men instantly drops him before bowing to the Lady and quietly leaving the room. The young man, although a little startled by the freedom instantly given to him, quickly regains his footing. Glaring at his mother, he yells, “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO NOW?!”

“Sit down.” The Lady answers simply, but the young man only sneers, completely ignoring her command. Not one to lose poise easily, the Lady turns to my parents again and says, “He is my son, Jong In. He is not in his best mood right now, but I assure you, his attitude will not hinder us from completing our agreement.”

“What is this?!” For the first time since he entered the room, Jong In, the Lady’s son, faces me. He looks angry, frustrated...almost disgusted, but despite all of this, I look back defiantly at him.

“You’re going to marry her.” The Lady chooses not to beat around the bush anymore. “And that’s final.”

“You can’t do this to me!” Jong In snarls, but the Lady only displays an expression of indifference at this. Fists clenching he continues, “You can’t do this to Jina and I!”

The very mention of the girl’s name is enough to make the Lady’s face redden in irritation and displeasure. “I am having none of your delusions anymore!” She snaps. “That young foolish girl will never be a part of our family!”

“You’re the one who’s foolish!” Jong In yells back, and I look at my parents, pleading them to not pursue this arrangement anymore. They look a little rattled by the scene unfolding before us, but they refuse to leave their seat.

There is a flurry of heated exchanges between the Lady and his son, and as I watch the two of them fight over the matter, I begin to realize how pathetic my life is. I am eighteen, marrying someone who seems to despise me with all of his being. All for money and status.

Jong In must be the same, but then again at least he is in love with someone -- someone who loves him back sincerely, while I have yet to find that someone who will do the same thing to me.
 

As I begin to ponder about this unfortunate situation of mine a little more deeply, a hand roughly encloses itself on my wrist, and I am instantly pulled out of my seat. I hear my mother’s startled cry, but before any of them or the Lady’s men can stop me from getting torn away from the plush sofa I shared with the Lady, my legs sprint and I find myself running along with the person who grabbed my hand  out of nowhere.

Both of us breeze right through the huge doors, to the empty corridors, passing the intimidating gate of the mansion, all the way to the paved street, away from everyone else. I am already short of breath, but I continue tagging along. Admittedly the running is the most adventurous  thing I have experienced recently, so I show no signs of protesting.  

Where is the person going to take me?

“I can’t, I can’t run anymore.” Both of us halt after running for so long. Both of us are panting rather feverishly, and I take this chance to look at the person who took me away from the Lady and my parents.

My eyes grow wide at the sight of the person beside me.

Kim Jong In. Both hands on his knees, drops of sweat dampening his hair and his shirt as he tries to catch his breath. I gawk at him, speechless. He just angrily announced a while ago that he hates the arrangement our parents made without our consent. Why did he take me with him?

As his breathing returns to normal he looks up at me, and the look of surprise I had appears almost instantaneously on his face as he realizes that I have been running with him all this time.

“Wha --” His lips begin to move as he stands up straighter, eyes never leaving my face. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” I answer back incredulously. “You grabbed my wrist and took me away from my parents, who by the way, must be worried to death now!”

“I was intending to take Jina with me!” He yells, and for a second I grow confused. Wait, there was another girl in the room? But I was sitting with the Lady --

“I was sitting beside your mother,” I inform him. “How can you make a mistake?”

“So Jina must still be inside the room, left alone with my mother and her minions.” He groans in agony at the realization, completely ignoring my question. After cursing himself he glares at me. “Why didn’t you tell me that you weren’t Jina?! You must have done this on purpose!”

His accusation offended me. My blood is already simmering at his impudence, but I will myself to remain calm. The indignation in my voice however, cannot be tempered at this point. “It wasn’t my fault you were too dumb to not notice the difference,” I say. “I was sitting far away from her for goddamn’s sake. I didn’t even see her, you prick! How is this my fault?!”

“You feisty little --” I am expecting to hear a more scathing insult from him, but he stops and instead runs his hand through his messy hair in frustration. “Aish. Forget it. I won’t waste my time arguing with you.” He begins to walk past me, and it took another second for the fact to finally register in my mind.

He is leaving me. Alone. With nothing. No money, no mobile phone, no nothing.

“Hey!” I shout at him, my aching legs moving fast as I try to catch up with his big, brisk strides. “Hey!”

He turns around for a brief second. “What?” he asks, then goes back to walking again.

“What about me?!” I sound too whiny for my taste, but the exhaustion is finally setting in and I am finding it hard by the second to sound likeable. “I don’t know this place!”

He only scoffs loudly at this and doesn’t stop walking.

“KIM JONG IN!” I screech, now running after him. When he hears my frantic steps just behind him, he begins to run as well.

“Leave me alone!” He yells, his long legs almost flying now as he keeps the distance between us bigger. “Find your way back home yourself!”

“Don’t leave me --”

A cab shows up out of nowhere and Jong In seizes this opportunity to his advantage. He opens the door, sticks his tongue out at me before finally disappearing inside. The cab swerves to the direction he was walking to and speeds away, leaving me miserable and lost.

Will I ever see my mother and father again?