The Big News

Dojin woke up to one of the biggest surprises life has ever given him.

He was getting married to someone he does not even know, and it angered him. Not only was he angry, he felt scared too and it was a feeling he had always disliked. He thought that it was some kind of prank that his parents were playing on him, but when he saw the festive mood around the Palace, he was sure that whatever it was, it was true.

"What do you mean that I have to get married to her? I don't even know her name!" Dojin asked, frustrated. He had met his parents the first thing in the morning when he saw how everyone around the palace was gossiping about the news.

As usual, his parents had sat him down, tried to explain the reason why he needed to get married to this girl, told him repeatedly that his marriage was promised to this family when his grandfather was still alive because of an unimaginable service this family had done for the Royal family. They had even said that they had searched the family's entire background, had even asked about information from their neighbors and they had concluded that the family and its members were indeed good, law-abiding individuals.

But no matter how many explanations he got, no matter how good this girl and her family was, he just didn't understand why he needed to get married to a normal civilian who had no connections to any of the Royal or prestigious families in South Korea. He just did not understand it at all.

He tried arguing again but as soon as he opened his mouth, his father looked at him sternly. "I do not want any more arguments. What I have decided for you is the final decision. You will get married to her. That's it." His father said with utmost authority.

"But father!" he protested. He felt like tearing his hair because of how unfair this entire situation was for him.

"Enough!" his mother snapped, her beautiful face morphing into a frown. "Your father has made the right decision for you. It's time you get married and I am sure Yeona will be a good woman for you. You will find happiness with her." His mother affirmed, letting out a soft sigh.

"How do you know that mother?" he asked, his tone borderline sarcastic. "Just because you did not find anything suspicious about them, you thought she will be suitable for me?"

"Are you doubting our ability to judge?" his father interrupted in a stern voice. His father's brows were knitted together and Dojin knew well enough that at this point, he should not anger his father anymore. Right now, it was not his father speaking to him, it was the King who was addressing him.

Hence, he slumped back on the chair as he knew he had already lost this fight. "No…" he answered with his head slightly bowed.

"Then it's final." His father announced, still holding the frown from earlier. "The Royal Engagement will be held within two weeks and you'll get married before the end of this month."

Dojin's eyes grew bigger as his mouth fell open in disbelieve.

"But father, that's too early!" he protested. Not only was he getting married to a stranger, but they also were not even giving him the time to process everything. How could they be so cruel towards? How can they not even give him the time he needed to accept this arrangement? Why were they in such a hurry that they wanted their eldest son to get married to a stranger within a month? What in the world was happening?

"It is decided then." his father ordered, turning a deaf ear to all his pleas. "Now please leave us alone"

∞

He walked out of the study quietly and wandered down to the garden. Even walking right now felt too much for him. So, he sat down on the grass near the garden alter and closed his eyes in hopes of calming the storm inside his heart.

He really cannot understand what the hell was happening with him. It was simply too much for him to handle. He knew that he would never get to make his own decisions as a prince but this all 'arranged marriage' thing was something he never even imagined.

He could have considered the marriage if he at least knew the woman he was getting married to, but he has no idea whatsoever. Hell, he does not even know how his future spouse looked. What if this Yeona girl was a real weirdo and was secretly a murderer or something? Even her name was weird.

"Yeona…Cha Yeona," Dojin whispered to himself. He knew it. He knew that even the weight of her name on his tongue felt weird.

As he was getting immersed in a whirlwind of thoughts, he saw a tall, dainty figure walking towards him.

"Hey!" he heard Soomin's melodious voice and he looked up to see the woman approaching him before sitting down beside him quietly. Soomin smiled at him softly and Dojin just could not take his eyes off her. As he studied her face, looked at her gorgeous almond eyes, her cute button nose, and her pink plump lips, his heartbeat started to increase rapidly. Dojin wondered if Soomin could hear how loud his heart was whenever she was near.

"Soomin…" he said softly as he let himself smile at the sight of Soomin, the only one he genuinely loved.

"So, is this true?" Soomin asked him after a while.

Dojin begrudgingly nodded his head and stared up at the sky. Only last night he was thinking about proposing to Soomin but look at them now, discussing his marriage with someone he did not even know. They were still sitting near the garden alter which was situated in front of the greenhouse. It was the place where he first met Soomin and it was also the place where he fell for her.

How ironic.

"I don't want to get married, Soo." he sighed, looking down at his lap. He was on the verge of crying, but he held it in. He was a Prince, and he was not allowed to his emotions.

"You have no other options, Jin." Soomin patted his shoulder with sympathy. Dojin knew she was trying to be sympathetic, but he hated it. He hated how Soomin was pitying him.

"I don't even know this girl." He scoffed. "I just cannot understand this situation." he felt the same frustration and anger creep inside of him. He was just so angry about this entire situation.

"Yeona is a good girl, Jin", Soomin said, trying to encourage Dojin. "I know her."

But Dojin did not want to have any of this. He does not want to get married to this girl when he was so in love with Soomin. He just cannot. He wanted to scream, wanted shout at Soomin, and tell her that she was the one that Dojin wanted to marry but he just could not. He cannot do that, never. He will never be able to follow his heart because he was a Prince, and he had to do whatever his parents deem good for him.

∞

Yeona felt weird today.

She did not know why she kept choking on her food and she just cannot ignore those strange stares that she was getting from the other students. Even a few professors had come to her to congratulate her personally which made her even more uncomfortable. Moreover, Woobin had disappeared to god knows where and even Jia was kind of unavailable right now. Jungmin on the other hand could not stop gushing about how lucky she was and how adorable they would look like a couple.

Yeona had seen the Prince around the college twice but she had looked at him closely. It is not that she has not seen him in newspapers and television, but she never paid him much attention. She simply could not understand why everyone was so hyped about him. He was just another human being, made out of flesh and blood like everyone else. She understood that Prince Dojin was extremely handsome and had excelled in everything but apart from his handsome face and princely status, there was just nothing so special about him.

Yeona was walking towards her dorm after her class when a man dressed in a black suit stepped up and stopped her.

"Cha Yeona – ssi?" the man asked inquiringly. Yeona looked at the man cautiously and stepped back a little before nodding her head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mam." The tall man bowed for a second before standing up straight. "I am here to escort you to the palace. The Royal Family wishes to meet you" the man informed politely as he showed his ID card from the palace.

"Uh..." Yeona stuttered. She was shocked and surprised. She did not know how to reply. The Royal Family wanted to meet her? Her as in Cha Yeona?

"Mam?" the man asked once again, waking her up from her trance.

"Uh...Um...Okay..." she answered, dumbfounded. Having received the answer, the man asked her to follow him to the car.

Before they could reach the car, Yeona stopped in her tracks.

"Wait!" she almost yelled. The man turned around and looked at her with a confused expression. "Does my family know about this?" Yeona asked nervously.

The man chuckled and said, "Of course Mam. I just dropped them off at the palace."

Yeona sighed reluctantly and got inside the car.

The car drive was silent and Yeona fidgeted in her seat. She checked the time repeatedly and wished that Jia was here with her. She opened her kakao talk and texted Jia that she was visiting the Royal Palace and might be late. She waited for a while, staring at the empty screen but as usual, Jia did not reply. After what felt like an eternity, the car stopped in front of a big gate and someone opened the car door for her.

Yeona got out of the car and was amazed by the beauty of the place. It was huge and was painted in pristine white. It did not have the traditional Korean structure but was a mix of western and Korean styles. It had a Korean style roof but had the structure of a western palace. There was also a beautiful fountain in front of it which held many statues of mermaids and dolphins. As she walked inside the palace grounds, she noticed that there was a huge garden to her left which was surrounded by different kinds of flowers and trees. To her right, there was a small lake surrounded by cherry blossom trees.

It was her first time, entering the Royal Palace and it truly took her breath away.

She was asked to follow the man again as they entered inside the main building of the palace. They walked down the hallway and Yeona was amazed by how beautiful it looked. The floors were covered in white marble and the walls were painted pristine white. The walls also held images of the previous kings and queens and had pictures from various eras. Yeona felt her gut-twisting as she looked at all the previous emperors. How could she stand up to their standards?

Soon the hallway ended, and they turned to their right to enter the guest room when Yeona bumped into someone. She groaned at the collision and looked up to see a tall, otherworldly woman looking at her with a scowl. The woman or should she say the girl looked younger than her and had jet black hair. She was taller than her and had a slim figure. Her facial features were incredibly sharp, and she looked like she had just come out of a high cut photo-shoot.

"Your Highness," the man bowed deeply and seeing that Yeona bowed slightly too.

"Is she my new maid?" the girl asked as she eyed Yeona from head to toe.

"Your Highness, she is..." but before the man could finish his sentence, the girl cut him off and looked at Yeona directly.

"Listen, I want a cup of bubble tea right now in my room." the girl ordered her and walked away without wasting another second.

Yeona looked at the man beside her and asked with complete confusion "Mister, who was that?".

The man sighed and said, "That is Princess Areum. She recently came back from Canada after finishing high school."

Yeona nodded her head in understanding as they entered the guest room and was immediately pulled into a tight embrace by her mother.

"Yes, mom…I am fine..." Yeona could not help but chuckle as her mother hugged her tightly. Both her parents were there and for a fraction of second, she forgot that she was supposed to meet the Royal Family anytime.

As soon as she noticed that there was no one around, she instantly popped the question she had been holding on since morning. "Mom, what is this all about?" she asked, leaning close to her mother.

Her mother let out a deep sigh and shook her head dejectedly. "I do not know, Yu. We are as surprised as you are."

"But they said that it was because of a favor grandpa did to the royal family. How can you not know about it?" she beseeched in hopes of finding anything regarding this but before any of her parents could answer, they heard a soft cough behind them.

They turned around and saw the King and Queen walk in. As soon as the royal couple stepped inside the room, Yeona could feel the superior aura oozing off them. She just could not raise her to look at them directly. Yeona and her family instantly got up from their seat and bowed deeply. They only took their seats when they were asked to by the King.

"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Cha." the King greeted them with a perfect smile.

"Good afternoon your highness." Yeona's father stammered a little probably because of the immense nervous he was facing.

"Shall we order some tea?" the Queen asked, her smile sweet like honey. Yeona glanced at her secretly and she did not understand how that smile melted all her nervousness away. The Queen raised her hand elegantly and soon enough a butler arrived with the tea arrangements and poured each of them the hot beverage.

As they sipped on their tea, the two families started discussing the customs of marriage, the food they would be serving, and everything that was needed for a successful royal marriage. Yeona listened to it half-heartedly and spoke only when she was addressed to.

After some time, the King called for the same butler and whispered something into his ear. The man instantly went out of the room and was soon back with two people following him. Yeona kept her head low and tried not to look at the two figures standing a few feet away from her.

"Yeona..." the Queen called her politely and Yeona instantly looked at her with respect. "Meet my eldest son, Prince Dojin" the Queen introduced and Yeona slowly looked up at Dojin.

Their eyes met for a few seconds before Yeona looked down again. Yeona insides completely went like '!!!' and she tried hard not to blush. She had seen the Prince, but she never imagined she would get to see him this up close. The Prince looked breath-taking and Yeona gulped hard to steady her beating heart. The Prince too had black hair and his face was small. His eyes were round-shaped with a sense of alluring. It felt as if he was drawing you in with his eyes. His nose did not have a high bridge, but it looked smooth and had a plump tip which made it a whole lot cuter. His lips were round and red but had sharp corners which made his lips look extremely sexy.

He was way too handsome and Yeona could not believe that she was looking at him from such a short distance.

"Meet my daughter, Princess Areum." the Queen introduced pointing at the tall girl standing beside the Prince. Yeona turned to face the younger girl and felt her gut twisting once again as Areum gave her a smirk. Yeona instantly looked away, feeling a little flustered.

As the Prince and Princess took their seat, the King cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"As we have decided, the Royal Engagement will be held within two weeks," the King announced with a proud smile. Yeona instantly glanced at the Prince and saw how dejected he looked. He had his head down and Yeona did not know why she felt so sad for him.

Just as she thought that they were done with announcements, the Queen smiled at Yeona and added happily, "And I wish Yeona to move in with us after the engagement."

The Royal couple smiled happily as they completely ignored the shocked reactions from everyone around the room.