"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...
A/N Chapter 1-34 are now edited! Added a lot of Yuri-Seungcheol scenes within (closest edit in Chap 33 where Hoshi makes his first appearance) so please do check it out once!
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"I'm sorry."
Ari's repeated apologies hung into the hollowed out air of the room. Joshua had turned away, a hand in his forehead. He faced Seokmin who seemed more taken by the man's condition. Ari blinked. How had she not seen this before? Their friendship was extraordinary. Bending forward, Ari tried to peek at her assistant's expression. "Are you crying?"
There were no sounds of him sobbing or bursting into tears dramatically. Ari wasn't expecting something like that anyway. It was the concept of Joshua crying that piqued Ari's curiosity. Joshua never cried. The man had a sarcastic and aloof response to everything Ari came up with. To see him crying was a spectacle Ari would pay for. The only problem was, if it really was Ari that had finally forced the tears to spill, it would make for the worst possible situation.
"Are you?" She sverved to the side for a look but Seokmin gestured with his hand for her to walk away. What was she, a fly? Ari frowned, "I understand I'm being a jerk but all I've done is escalated something that was meant to happen anyway."
Joshua did not react but Seokmin's eyes had shifted to Ari. That meant something. There was anger somewhere in there but a large part of Seokmin respected Ari far too much to say anything insulting.
"Candidacy or not, you're going to still need me." She chose to target Seokmin first, "What do you think will happen when your family finds out about your relationship? Who will protect you when the world becomes your enemy?"
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Seokmin's eye twitched at that. Was she making an offer or a threat? It was hard to guess when Ari had taken the role of a mad wild horse in the cutthroat competition of candidacy. The two had seen her act from the front row seat. Her words weighed more than gold, silver or precious stones.
Ari smiled. Seokmin was frazzled. One down, one to go. This time, she turned in the opposite direction to peek at her assistant. "You're not crying." She concluded when she saw Joshua scrunch his face up in a frown. He still seemed dissatisfied by the situation but as long as there were no tears, Ari was relieved she hadn't pushed him over the edge yet. "Did you really think I didn't know?"
Ari took a step back, walking to her desk to continue. "Do you think I haven't calculated what will happen when I walk away? The dangers of the world are coming anyway. They are inevitable." She picked up the papers on her desk, looking them through. Her smile had disappeared. Her voice grew firm, "You will have to face your family one day or another, Joshua."
Her assistant turned with a frown on his face. Ari wasn't joking nor was she in the mood to. Her light tone was thick with meaning beyond multiple lines. "Did you mention the cruelty that the Hong family was capable of? The political prowess they possess?" She quizzed, "Did you say that when the cat is finally let out of the bag, they wouldn't leave you, me or even Seungcheol? Fine. Let them try. Seungcheol and I are grownups, Oppa. We can handle ourselves." She looked him in the eye, staring into the deep abyss of uncertainty he held. If Joshua was an unstable flame, Ari was every bit the calm water.
