"it's absolutely dreadful."
"i know. i completely agree. it's a monstrosity of a product," seokjin took a sip from his wine, "it's questionable why it was released to the public."
jisoo chuckled vacuously. both of the adults were chatting in the kim residence wine cellar. both were obviously intoxicated as they shared idle chit chat over an array of cheese and wine.
jisoo seemed to have been enjoying herself. unlike her initial expectation, it wasn't awkward at all. being the social butterfly that she is, she expected seokjin to be hesitant in conversing with her, but it shocked her tremendously when he was the first one who offered that they go to another part of the house while they left their parents to their own causeries.
the kim heir was very charming indeed. his attitude had done his looks some justice. he was a chivalrous gentleman and was easy to get along with.
jisoo paused for a moment, her mind returning to the moment that occurred between them this morning. "by the way, how did you know my name even before we met?"
"jisoo, the thing is, our families are arranging a marriage."
"oh? exciting. between who?" she took a sip from her champagne. the burning sensation it left in her throat was truly satisfying.
"who else but us?" he said it nonchalantly as he finished his glass of whiskey all in one go.
it took all of her willpower to stop herself from spatting out all the alcohol in her mouth? them? she wasn't ready for marriage! why was everything suddenly about her tying the knot? she had no husband-to-be to speak of, much less a suitor. she had to work overtime to prepare for her promotion and she had to take care of her precious dog, dalgom.
oh, dalgom. jisoo's time for him was already cut short due to work and now he would have to share with a husband!
sure, kim seokjin may be nice and everything, but she certainly wasn't going to dive first into a marriage with a man she's had one conversation with. she saw him as a potential friend and maybe a business partner, but not a spouse!
but wait.
she hadn't considered his take on the whole affair. if he didn't want to get married to her, then maybe they could collaborate on a way to stop it from happening, and if he did want to get married (which was a long shot), well she'd figure it out when she crosses the bridge.
"well, do you want to get married, seokjin?"
...
the doorbell of her million-dollar condominium rang incessantly. jisoo rolled her eyes as she pushed herself off of her highly gemütlich sofa.
she walked wearily towards the metallic door and opened it with the least amount of gusto; however, she straightened up when she saw the person on the other side of the door.
it was none other than her fiancé.
well, supposed fiancé.
"seokjin," she breathed out, "please come in."
she opened the door wider. seokjin offered her a small smile before entering her residence. it was wonderful and was worth the money she was paying for it. the whole place was fully furnished when she purchased it, complete with the most comfortable couches and beds, the most well-decorated rooms she could ever imagine and well, the best cleaning services.
when the both of them were seated across from each other in the living room, jisoo was left with nothing more to say. she was speechless.
she was sure seokjin hadn't expected her to be after she left without a word for three months.
the night in the wine cellar, seokjin answered with an unhesitating 'yes'. it turned out the bridge was much closer than she expected and it was her fault for putting off her reaction. what she did was rude and unreasonable— she was confused and a bit scared, so she walked out on him, booked the earliest flight to the states and left without a trace. she called the company to file for an indefinite leave and haven't returned since.
of course, her parents expected her to return and live somewhere a little repressed— like a small apartment in the country side or maybe have an ephemeral stay in one of the small motels around town. what better to defeat the expected than to do the unexpected? live somewhere flashy because her parents would never look for her.
"listen, jisoo—"
"before you say anything, i just wanna say sorry for what i did. that was irresponsible of me."
"sorry? what are you sorry for? it's partly my fault, i hadn't considered how you would react and i shouldn't have been clueless."
"but i left without saying anything."
"i know and i understand." he smiled, "jisoo, the thing is, i'm willing to make this marriage work, but if you're not comfortable with it, i'm not going to force you to get married. a marriage is for two, and it can't work without a partner."
jisoo looked at him dead in the eye. she was reading him the best that she could. the thing was, she and kim seokjin hadn't known each other for long which made it impossible for her to decipher any look he was giving her.
but
but she was certain that there was some sort of warmth in his eyes as he stared at her. they've only met twice, and both were in the same day. they hadn't heard of each other's being beforehand and yet jisoo was already willing to consider him a friend.
"i know this marriage is for business purposes, and i appreciate that you're willing to take the first step forward to make this arrangement compatible," she smiled, "i think it would only be right to reciprocate your efforts. just one step at a time alright? no rushing."
"no rushing."
