An August Wedding

Ch. 1 - The Ceremony

You could hear people talking around you. Possibly talking to you, you weren't sure. It was just this droning buzz in your ear.

A hand waved in your face and your maid of honor shot you a look. You shook your head and she simply patted your shoulder in sympathy.

She was the only one in your wedding party that really understood what was happening. The rest probably thought you were zoning out because of nerves or cold feet. Or maybe you were just this happy to be getting married.

None of that was true. Your husband to be was almost a total stranger. You hadn't chosen him. You'd only met Min Yoongi two other times before today.

Your parents had arranged this from around the time you were sixteen. They'd always wanted a son so that someone would take over the family company. They were old-fashioned that way, and despite your insistence that you could handle it, they refused to believe you.

Yoongi's parents wanted him to stop chasing his frivolous dead-end dreams and settle down to make something of himself. They didn't have companies of their own, but they were rich enough to invest in a lot and they met your parents at a shareholder's event. 

They decided that this would be the easiest way to get what they both wanted. Plus, marry their children off to a family they already knew and respected. 

At the age of eighteen, they sat you down and explained it. Told you that since you were a minor at the time, they'd practically signed your life away without your consent. Told you that there was a clause in the contract for you and Yoongi.

If you did not go through with the marriage or violated your clause, you would lose all rights to the company. If Yoongi violated his, he would lose all his inheritance and you would be left with nothing. They had trapped you.

The church was beautiful, with large stained glass windows of pink, yellow, and blue mosiacs shining through the sunlight outside. You hadn't lifted a finger to do anything - the venue, the food, the music, the guest list, everything had been decided by your parents. And from the outside, everything looked perfect.

But looking through your thin veil, you were trying your best to keep breathing evenly. You were constantly teetering between trying to stay calm and remembering that this was all really happening. 

You felt someone put their arm in yours and lead the way down the hall. Every step you took felt heavier than the last, like someone was tightening a weight around your ankle. If you kept this up, you really would be trapped. You wouldn't be able to escape without drastic consequences. You would have no one to turn to.

Maybe that's why despite the voice screaming in your head to turn and go back, you continued forward. You walked towards the altar with your head held high. You were not a helpless child. You could figure out how to handle this, one way or another.

You just had to endure for now. And you'd just have to endure it with him.

Yoongi kept his eyes forward throughout the ceremony. He looked past your shoulder, just close enough that it seemed like he couldn't keep his eyes off of you.

You met for the first time a year ago. You knew his name, his family. That was pretty much it.

His parents made comments about him rebelling and their hope that he would truly settle down with you by his side. His hair was blue when you met.

He'd dyed it back to black by the time you saw him yesterday. Your parents had agreed that you should at least see each other again for the rehearsal so you didn't look like complete strangers at your own wedding. They made a show of including you in things like that. Things that benefitted them. 

You nearly flinched as Yoongi removed your veil, lowering his lips to kiss you and seal the ceremony. When he felt you start to pull back, he wrapped his arms around your waist immediately, burying his face into your neck like he was overcome with joy.

He obviously had some acting experience to pull this kind of thing off. Still, you returned the hug before grasping his hand tightly and making your way back down the aisle. You just needed some air before you suffocated completely.

"I can't believe you kept this a secret for so long," one of your friends said as she congratulated you at the reception. 

You felt a hand on your back. "Well, we didn't want a scandal," Yoongi said. "You can never be too sure about these things."

She ate it up. They all did. Yoongi's parents had thought of that. Part of making sure that your marriage was successful was giving it a happy foundation, even if it was fake.

That was the Min family at its finest. Avoiding scandals by any means necessary. It was no surprise that they had drafted up the contract. 

They had organized the entire wedding and footed all the costs, adding additional touches here and there to make it seem genuine, like putting your favorite fruit as a decoration on the cake. Or adding their own people to the wedding party to give surprisingly tear-jerking or hilarious toasts about the two of you.

It was incredible how well they planned this. They had even gone so far as to doctor photos to make it seem like you had a history together. This looked like a real wedding in all aspects. Only a handful of people knew that it was a fake, and that's the way it was going to stay. 

You plastered another smile on your face as Yoongi pulled you into his side.

The limousine ride once you finally left the reception was silent. The driver was one of Yoongi's groomsmen, so he obviously didn't press you for conversation.

You would be staying in one of the Min family's vacation homes for two weeks during your so-called honeymoon. That would give your parents enough time to hire movers to put all your stuff at your new house.

They wanted to make it as smooth of a transition as possible. You weren't sure who that was meant to benefit but didn't argue about it.

You were too tired to argue anymore. They got what they wanted, a nice son-in-law from a wealthy family. And you, giving up on your desire to run the company.

At least...that's what they thought. All you had to do was survive the next two weeks and then you were going to figure out a way to get your company back. Arranged marriage or not, there was no way you were letting them take that away from you.

You smiled wryly as you glanced out the window. Maybe it wasn't all bad. At least you'd gotten the August wedding you'd always wanted.