DAECHWITA

nine

The first thing that caught Jangmi's eyes was the darkness that engulfed the room at large. There was not a single speck of colour, rather, the entire chamber gave off an empty, miserable atmosphere.

The bed was in the center, decorated with lush, extravagant pillows, gifted by royalties of other powerful nations, in attempts to please the Emperor. 

Min Yoongi himself, was sat upon the bed, his eyes observing every move that the Choi girl made, his fingers grappled upon the hidden dagger beneath his hanbok. 

It was a habit that could not be shaken off.

"Sit," He ordered, patting the space besides him, and the girl tentatively made her way to the bed, before lowering herself cautiously next to the Emperor, placing her hands on her lap, her eyes trained upon the floor.

"This marriage," He voiced, his tone utterly and completely cold. "Is simply for the purpose that the throne is secure even after my passing. It will be a quiet ceremony and will not be displayed to the public. And whilst you are here, you will follow exactly what I say, otherwise there will be consequences,"

At her silence, Yoongi continued.

"Do not disturb me whilst I work, do not come into my room without my permission. The less that we see of each other is better. If you need anything, go to the boys. Don't leave the palace premises without my knowledge or without one of the boys. And you will address me as 'Emperor', nothing else. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Jangmi forced herself to say. 

The Min narrowed his eyes. "You aren't a complete prisoner here, you are allowed to wander around the gardens and the palace. But do not create a scene,"

Taking a final look at his wife-to-be, he nodded. "Leave,"

The Choi girl stood, directing a bow towards the Emperor before exiting his dark room. 

As the door faintly shut behind her, Yoongi exhaled, letting out a breath of compulsion. Yes, he thought, those rules were good enough. 

It wasn't like she had agreed to this being a proper marriage anyway. She'd only agreed because she knew her family would be tortured otherwise.

As Jangmi shut the door behind her, her fingers moved on their own, clenching into fists. She tried to think of Taehyung's words earlier, about how he wasn't as bad as he seemed. But she couldn't help but think of the man as an absolute prick! 

But there was no time to think of that. The girl glanced left and right, trying to think back to the path of which they had taken to reach Yoongi's room.

"Jangmi?" 

The blond hair of Park Jimin appeared into view, his pink lips upturned into a smile. "Have you finished talking to Yoongi? I hope he didn't put you off,"

At her expression, the Park boy grinned. "He did, didn't he? He can be so annoying sometimes, come on, I'll take you back to your chambers,"

As the two returned to Jangmi's room, the girl learned that Jimin was one of Yoongi's oldest friends, having known him since they were quite young. He was the Chancellor of the nation, a legal official within the palace, and he certainly looked the part, dressed in expensive robes that only someone of his status could afford.

"Wash up, and we'll call you down later for dinner," Jimin advised, waving. "See you later Jangmi,"

"Thank you Jimin,"