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♥"Hyo-Rin, calm down," orders Ga-Rib, and I try. But try as I might, I do not succeed. There is a reason I am hyperventilating, and it has to do with an arranged marriage that I do not agree to.
"Ga-Rib," I sob, and my bodyguard looks down at me with an unfathomable expression on his face. It's not pity, and it's not sympathy. What else could it be? "Ga-Rib... I've been expecting an arranged marriage for the longest time. You know that. But... why does it have to be Min-Soo? I can't marry him!" Not that I have a choice.
It's hard, being the president's daughter, but it's a little better when you manage to beg your parents to leave you with only one bodyguard... of your choosing. It was hard, but eventually I got them to let Ga-Rib, my childhood friend, do it. He wasn't too bad a candidate, with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and medals from shooting competitions. My parents were very reluctant, but I won out in the end.
None of that is comparable to the emotions that surge when you realize that your mom gambled you off when you were five. To be more precise, she lost way more money than we could afford, and the winner decided that she would let the money go if I married into the family. I blamed my mom three years ago when she first told me, but slowly I got used to the fact that I wouldn't be able to marry someone legit. I was simply content in knowing that I'd be marrying someone only a year older than me.
But when my parents told me the name this morning, everything shattered to tiny, razor-sharp pieces.
Why does it have to be Min-Soo?
I started being home-schooled after my dad became president, because I couldn't cope with the false flattery that the other students offered. I still hang out with my friends, so nothing much has changed, but it was annoying to have students suck up to me for no reason at all.
Min-Soo Han went to the same school as me before the presidency. He had chocolate brown hair and eyes that you could stare at forever, and man was he hot. It was a year ago, at the tender age of sixteen, when he broke my heart. I guess I'm partly to blame, because I only liked him for his appearance, but it was the way he rejected me that riles me the most. If he didn't like me, he could have just said that. If he just wasn't looking for a relationship, he could have just said that.
But no. Min-Soo had to smirk, pause, then laugh for what seemed like hours. It wasn't the happy-happy laugh I'm talking about. I'm talking about the cynical laugh, the snobby laugh that wordlessly declares, "I'm way above your league." That laugh alone was embarrassing, but by the next day everyone knew that Hyo-Rin Lee had asked Min-Soo Han out, only to be rejected in the worst manner possible. It had to have been him who spread the news, because I'd made sure we were alone during the confession. The gossip eventually died down, but until it did, I was the center of all the teasing. It was mortifying.
"What do I do, Ga-Rib?" I sigh, and instead of replying, he suddenly embraces me in a tight hug. I almost can't breathe, but I'm too startled to pull away from his embrace. He's about a head taller than me, and his breathing is warm against my forehead.
"I love you, " he says breathlessly. I stare at him, perplexed. He's joking, right? "Hyo-Rin, let's run away. Please... I don't think I can watch you marry some other guy. Just a few weeks and you're eighteen and married! That's not enough time for me to get over it." His eyes are boring into mine, and we're scrutinizing each others' faces. He's looking at mine to see if I'm in compliance with his wish, while I'm looking at his to fathom whether he's completely serious. It's an awkward sort of confession, one that you can't fully trust. Just a few seconds ago, he was my bodyguard and best friend. Now, I don't know anymore.
"You're kidding," I finally manage to reply. "What is this, the eighteenth century? Everyone knows my face, and even if we were to go to another country - not that we have the funds - we're stills pawns on a chessboard. Dead meat." He shakes his head no with that eerily solemn expression on his face. He's perfectly serious. Seconds tick by, and at last, he sighs. I hope he'll tell me to stop being worried because he's only joking, but I know that will never happen.
"Do you like me back?" he asks. "Because if so, then you can cheat on Min-Soo after marriage. I bet he'll do the same, since neither of you harbor feelings for each each other. Eventually, you guys can file a divorce. I don't see why his mom didn't just forgive and forget such a idiotic bet to begin with."
I shake my head. I don't agree to the marriage, but I don't like Ga-Rib back. But the confession is piercing me like a thousand shards of glass. I don't know how to act around him anymore.
"If you don't like me back, I'll quit," Ga-Rib warns. "And not just the post. I'll quit you, too." In his eyes I can tell that he has hope, that he expects me to apologize and tell him how much I need him. However, I only nod. I realize I probably won't be able to see him ever again; he's always been good at avoiding people he doesn't want to see, and I don't see why he'd want to see me after this rejection. But I really don't like him in that way, and agreeing to cheat with him would only be me using him.
He turns around and leaves, his steps brisk with disappointment. It's final. Ga-Rib has never been the type to lie, or even exaggerate. He's always been the reliable and trusty guy who would always help me out.
The moment I can no longer see him, my legs give out and I collapse onto my legs. The confession, and him leaving me, has somehow changed my perspective. The boy with soot black hair and eyes has turned into someone that I want to see again. His hair has always subconsciously reminded me of a plain shot of coffee, my favorite thing in the whole world. His eyes have always drawn me in, too, like the deepest hue of the most beautiful jewels in the world.
Furthermore, I know just how much I need him with me. He's the only guy who listens patiently as I cry about the dumbest things, and when I go somewhere with him, the place lights up like a thousand stars. It doesn't matter where we are, or what we do, just being by his side is enough to make me happy.
It is such a pity that I've only realized now, when he's too far from my grasp.
I manage to get up and run the way that I saw Ga-Rib go. It takes me a long time to finally find him, and I trip several times along the way due to my heels. Fortunately, the heels are only one-inch. If I were wearing stilettos, I would have died before I made it half way to him.
"Ga-Rib," I call out. "Ga-Rib, turn around."
He does, and the expression on his face isn't pretty. He's not scowling, but he looks extremely pissed. Undoubtedly, he's wondering what I could possibly want from him at this point. He stops, but he's impatiently tapping his foot.
"What do you want?" he asks, and his voice is so cold. I dimly realize that this is the way he speaks to most other people. The soft, gentle voice he uses with me is a tone specifically reserved for certain minorities, and a few tears fall from my eyes before I can stop them as the fact that he's no longer interested in me finally settles in. But can feelings change in a matter of seconds? I'm skeptical, but still distraught.
"Ga-Rib Sung, I like you," I say hoarsely. "I'll try my best to cancel the marriage. I need you, Ga-Rib. I'm sorry. Are we really over, just like.. this?"
He smiles and declares, "I was hoping you'd say something like that."
I exhale, relieved, and we walk toward each other. Once we're barely a foot apart, he lifts his arms. Expecting a hug, I lift my arms too, but instead he grabs my back in a tight embrace and forces me towards him. He pulls me up a little and I put my arms around his neck for support.
When our lips meet, it's like all that I've been waiting for in my life. It's soft at first, but it gradually intensifies and we're soon having a serious make-out session. All the while my heart is thumping so fast and so loud, it's like a broken drum, and I can only think about how much I love him.
 Chiseri · Sun Nov 11, 2012 @ 06:14am · 0 Comments |
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