Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
Y/n woke up with a headache. Her eyes felt heavy, and so did her entire body. It felt like she was sick, except she wasn't. She was simply under the sleeping substance.
She opened her eyes, analyzing her surroundings. 
Was it not a dream?
She recognized the room. It was her room. It was the room she last slept in before leaving for Korea for her mission with Seventeen. It was exactly as she had left it. 
Did anyone clean my room? Or even step inside?
She groaned as she tried to stand up, but her body was still weak. She held onto the table, chair, couch, and bed as support while walking around her own room. 
She knew it was her room, the room she grew up in, but yet it felt so unfamiliar. So empty.
"Sweetie, you're awake." Ms. Jeon entered the room with water and food in hand.
Y/n's eyesight was still hazy, but she recognized the footsteps, the voice, the way she walked, her strong smell.
"Come sit, I brought you food and water. I'm sure you're hungry." Ms. Jeon helped her sit on the bed.
"What happened?" She asked
Of course, she remembered everything, very clearly, but she couldn't show strength in front of Ms. Jeon, especially not when Y/ns vulnerability is her soft spot.
"Oh dear, you don't remember? I was told it is a side effect of the anesthetic. It's okay, you don't need to remember as it is not important." She spoon sped her.
"Tell me, are you feeling better?" Ms. Jeon asked, still feeding her.
"I'm okay, I just need some sleep." The last thing Y/n needed and wanted was to see Ms. Jeon. Or just anyone who would remind her of Seungcheol.
"Of course, I'll leave now. Eat your food and go to sleep. Don't worry about a thing in the world. You're safe now." She kissed Y/ns forhead and made her way to the door.
"Oh, by the way," she turned around as she opened the door. "We'll go and shop for a wedding dress tomorrow, so try to get a lot of rest." 
And just like that, she left and closed the door. Leaving Y/n all alone in her room, sitting on her bed in silence under the howling moon. 
The things she'd do to go back to when she first met Seungcheol. The first time, she met all the members. The dinners, the drinking games, the late night conversation over the balcony.
She can't just let go and give it up. This isn't her. She was taught to fight for what she loved, and that's what she's been doing all her life. 
She stood up with all her power and walked to the balcony, taking in the fresh breezy air.
"Seungcheol...are you giving up too?" She hoped to hear him talk beside her, to hear his voice once again but nothing. It was complete silence.
She went back into her bed and drifted to sleep. She wanted the time to go quickly by and for all this to end quickly.
As she lay in pain in China, halfway across the world in Korea, Seungcheol was facing his own battle. Beaten and discarded, he struggled to hold on. As he was shouting for his members, they were all found in the same state.
They had all been beaten up as a 'lesson' from Ms. Jeon, or more like a warning.
As they knew their way around, they called some colleagues for help, and they were picked up by the dumpster and dropped off at a mansion, filled with bodyguards.
As they went inside, they got taken care of by maids, doctors, and so on. It wasn't like they were some rookie group with no money and power, as a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite. They had all the money and all the power in the country.
"So you're saying Ling isn't actually Ling?" Dino tried to understand as it was too confusing to follow.
"Yes, Hoshi heard right. Kim Y/n is the heir to Ms. Jeons assets and she was sent to us as a spy. I think I've explained this enough." 
Seungcheol was frustrated as he was forced to keep talking about her even in his own despair. He kept being reminded of their last moments together, and he kept getting reminded of how much he didn't want to let her go, how much he wanted to refuse her betrayal.
And how his feelings grew even more when she was threatening the team leader. How good she looked, shooting down the guards. He couldn't refuse his feelings anymore.
"Are you sure she wasn't forced?" Dokyeom tried to make up her story, but all of it was in vain.
"Enough of her. I do not wish to hear of her anymore in this house. That is an order. You are dismissed." He left the room and went straight into his room. He wasn't one to cry and be heartbroken, but this was more of a heartbreak.
It's not like they were anything, but it still hurt. 
Was she really lying? All of it couldn't have been a lie, right?
His brain and heart kept on fighting about what her true feelings and motives were, but it was a hopeless argument between logic and feelings, an argument beteeen the truth and the lie he wanted to believe.
11:40 AM
As she woke up the next day, feeling lighter but her heart was still heavy.
She washed up and got dressed as she was going to shop for wedding dress. As she sat in the car with Ms. Jeon on their way to the shopping mall. She knew that there was no going back from this, and she had to proceed with the wedding. Yet she wanted to confront Ms. Jeon about her feelings for Seungcheol and maybe, just maybe, she says, 'Let's cancel the wedding and bring you to him.' But then she knew that wasn't a possibility. Especially since Ms. Jeon had gone through this herself.
"A friend of mine owns the shop, so just go around and look freely. If you want to try anything on, just take it out and try it on." Ms. Jeon seemed more excited than Y/n. It was as if she were the bride.
"Do I really have to do this? Is there really no other way for me to inherit?" Y/n asked in tears.
Of course, there was another way. A way that was almost impossible.
"Unless you kill me," Ms. Jeon held her hand.
"You're going to be okay, Mr. Jung isn't a bad guy. You've worked with him and his daughter before." She tried to reassure.
But he wasn't the problem. It was the wedding, the arranged marriage, there were no feelings involved. Just a paper and a signature.
2:15 PM
She had tried on at least 20 dresses, and none of them fit up to her expectations. They were either too big, too small, too revealing, too closed off, or maybe she was just being extra picky and unwilling to choose anything just for the sake of it.
"Y/n, this looks perfect." Ms. Jeon once again looked her up and down in admiration.
"I don't like it, it's takes so much space. And the arm is too tight." 
"Darling, you're being too stubborn about this. How come not one dress fit you? They have about 500 dresses, and you have tried on almost 24 of them. Hurry and try another one. We will not leave till you find one." 
They were both persistent and Ms. Jeon knew why, exactly why Y/n was acting so immature.
"Dear, I know you miss him and don't want this marriage, but it is for the best. We both know that you and him can not happen. Maybe in another lifetime but not in this one." She walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.
After all, the only person who is able to emphasize with Y/n in this moment is Ms. Jeon. At the end of the day, she had gone through this exact same thing herself. Leading her to be standing all alone now. Loveless and childless.
And Y/n knew, when she had heard the story, she thought that it was pathetic. She had called Ms. Jeon weak and dumb for letting a stupid and childish feeling such as love ruin her life. Except she is now in the same position.