"We may not have birthed you but you will be our daughter, one way or another. Start with a scholarship and end as the Queen, any path you take is your choice to make."
In a modern-day monarchy, Ari is every bit a struggling student as any other. T...
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Joshua's exasperated voice gave away the last of straws he was grasping on. He trailed behind her, marching forward with unyielding hope in his eyes that the woman he knew, the Royalty he had bowed his head to would not betray him. "There is some reason behind this arbitrary decision-making, yes?"
Ari nodded to acknowledge the large array of servants that the Royal Residence housed. They bowed every time she walked past one, like a dog bending to his owner. It had felt revering once. But now, their attitudes felt ironic. Her? The owner? Ari rather fit the description of a champion show dog, all but trained to please the crowd by the great King of Korea. It was a fixed match, a sold-out repeat of a show. And she, was the entertainment.
"Give up, Oppa," Ari uttered the dreaded words when they had walked out of earshot. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "There is no Plan B. I no longer wish to humiliate myself by letting the King do what he wants." Checking around for a spy, Ari's glances became more furtive. Anything even a whisper or a mention against the King in the Royal Residence was a low form of treason. "It's time for me to leave."
Ari stepped into her study, the enormous door sliding open far too smoothly for her liking. Had the room gotten used to her now? Joshua followed suit, shaking his head. He was hearing it from her yet his brain refused to process such information. Ari? Giving up without a fight? It was almost as if one were to throw away nearly cooked ramyeon into the bin-a catastrophe. "No," Joshua intervened as Ari let her back touch the soft velvet of her chair. "Does someone have something on you? Why are you giving up so easily?"
"Maybe I'm done." Ari cajoled Joshua, standing behind her desk, "Maybe I'm more tired of being a pawn in someone's game, have you considered that?"
Joshua's expression flickered, concern in his eyes, "Are you?"
It was burdensome.
"I don't know." Ari sighed, looking away from his trusting gaze. She was burning his career with every word and some guilt remained, "But I'm aware of the forces standing against me and I cannot stand in the illusion that everything I do will always work out. This isn't a fairy tale, Joshua," Looking down at the stationery sprawled over her desk, she tried to hold back her frown in poor practice, "I..."
"I uh..." Like a marble stuck in her throat, it became difficult to get the words out, "I have lost."
Joshua felt his feet lose ground at the sight before him. Steadying himself with a step back, he held on to the hilt of the chair next to him. Ari's eyes were dry, lifeless and clear with judgment. She delivered words like an axe on a guillotine, restrained only by the emotion of hurting someone else. "You... Can't."
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A breach of his imagination and the emotional weight of her words pulled him down. "You can't do this to me."
Hong Jisoo, a child with imperial blood, the son of the only sister of the great Queen Lee Is Eul. There was no noble blood purer than his. All the Counsellors, ministers, relatives to the crown and else fell inferior to the blood than ran in his veins. Jisoo, paired with a Crown Candidate like Ari was the only hope of the Hong family to continue supplying a consort for a second generation.
"Oppa, you know I was never going to honour that marriage proposal from the start," Ari addressed the elephant in the room, "I am grateful for the Hong family's support, I truly am," She pleaded with her eyes, "And as much as I value you or the throne, I would never squander my emotions in its pursuit."
Joshua faced downwards, his hold on the velvet of the chair digging into his palm sparingly. Breathing heavily, he tried to understand his situation, "But if you step down, I... What will become of me?"
The pressure to please his family had always come first. Ari tried to soothe his worries, "I will talk to Seungcheol. I'm sure we'll find a suitable—" "No!"
Ari closed her eyes briefly at the desperation in his cry. It physically pained her to see him like this. Broken. Frazzled. Shaken.
"No." Joshua spoke once more, now looking steadily at her, "Do you know what this makes me? I bragged about you to my parents, I made them bet on you! If I don't do this, if I don't marry you..." He was losing his mind. How could he not? The world as he knew it was crumbling at his feet.
"Oppa, please." She begged softly, "You call me your dongsaeng*, don't you? You've never loved me in a romantic manner either. I will talk to the Hong family. I'm sure they will understan—"
"It's you who doesn't understand." Joshua intervened a second time, shaking his head. He walked around the room, a crease permanently etched over his forehead, "The Hong family will neither spare me nor you. Or Seungcheol if they find out about me."
Ari's eyes trailed over his erroneous walk around the room, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Joshua sighed.
Just then, as if he'd been waiting, a knock sounded on the door, stealing the attention of both the debaters. "Come in." Ari recognised the silhouette outside the door.
Seokmin stepped with a guilty smile on his face. "Came here to hand you this." He offered the handkerchief Ari had left behind in the conference room earlier. The soft cotton fabric felt weak on her fingers. Seokmin had clearly heard a major part of the conversation from the meaningful look in his eye. "I'm sorry," He apologised softly to Ari, as he walked to the friend he'd known all this while.
Proceeding to place a reassuring hand on Joshua's shoulder, "I think it's time to face the truth, hyung." Seokmin held great care for the people in the room. To him, Joshua's want of acknowledgement, the fear of disobeying his own family, was a past he'd dealt with every day. "It's time to step away from this god-forsaken family, together."
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Ari watched her assistant crumble under the immense pressure he'd struggled with all his life. Burying his head in Seokmin's shoulder, his expression broke into a thousand pieces of grief, making Ari's guilt in her throat go tighter. The marble of responsibility only grew with time and abandoning it came with shame. This was Ari's blame to bear with only the softest whisper lingering in the air.
