The Seven Wives of Jeon Jungkook

Transfixed

The letter rests unopened atop her kitchen table, lying across from the vibrant bouquet of begonias she had placed in a glass vase.

Sunlight reflected off of the glass, splaying hues of translucent colors across the table.

She had been eyeing the letter for the past thirty minutes, gnawing anxiously at her nails.

Groaning irritably out loud, she grazes her hands through her hair, messing it up, and leans with her elbows against the table.

Of all the people in town, why had he chose her?

What did he mean?

His words play over and over in her head.

"I'll be waiting."

She absentmindedly tugs at her ear, heat pools into the center of her stomach at the memory of his breath against her skin.

A frantic knocking at her door causes her to reel back in shock.

"JI EUN! ARE YOU THERE?!!"

The familiar voice of Areum rings shrill from outside.

Upon opening the door, she's met with panicked eyes that flush with relief upon seeing her, the other pulls her into a tight embrace.

"Ow! Areum! What's wrong?"

She pulls the other in, closing the door.

"What's wrong!?" Areum looks at her as if she's gone insane.

"Everyone's been talking about it all morning!! King Jeon has his eyes set on you!!"

She blushes, recalling those entrancing eyes.

Areum balks. " Snap out of it Eun!! This isn't good!"

She scowls remembering the ridiculous rumors surrounding the King.

"In my honest opinion, he looked nothing like the way you made him out to be"

"Of course he doesn't. He's devilishly handsome but, that's the catch. What lies underneath is a different story".

Annoyance pricks at her.

"How would you know what lies underneath?" She mocks the other.

Areum stares at her in disbelief before her eyes land upon the vase of flowers.

"What's that?" She points to the letter.

"Nothing-"

The other ignores her snatching, the letter tearing it open.

"HEY!"

She reads it facial expression set disapprovingly before dropping it onto the table facing her.

"It's a formal invitation," she sits on the kitchen stool, running a hand through her hair stressed.

"Is it?" Ji Eun picks it up, skimming through it.

In small, neat, handwriting reads

The presence of Lee Ji Eun-

He already knew her name?

is requested by the King at dawn tomorrow in the royal dining hall.

The seal of the Kingdom is stamped in crimson red at the bottom.

"How would he know if I even wanted to accept this?"

Areum scoffs

"You think you have a choice? He's our King Ji Eun no one can refuse him! Unless-"

She freezes mid-sentence, emotions flickering through her eyes in a fraction of a second before she springs from the stool.

"Come with me,"

"What?"

"My mother is planning to visit her sister in the countryside tonight. We can leave together. We don't have to come back. He'll never have you,"

Ji Eun eyes her confused before laughing.

"I'm not leaving Areum. I refuse to run away from my problems."

"This would be the one exception that you can!"

"No," she shakes her head, taking hold of Areums wrist as the other allows her silently.

Leading her to the door, she hugs her friend warmly.

"Please listen to me. I don't want to lose you." Areum pleads.

"I'll be fine, trust me."

The other looks unconvinced but relents, leaving reluctantly.

Ji Eun watches her shadow disappear in the distance and sighs, exhausted.

She would go to the castle and see for herself what all this fuss about the King was.

🌸

Dawn comes faster than expected. She gets less sleep than anticipated due to her anxiety.

Pulling her best dress over her head and combing through her strands of long, black hair. She looks over herself in the mirror one last time.

The dress she chose was one of her aunts' favorites passed down to her upon her untimely death.

She smiles fondly at the memories of her dearest aunt.

It's snow-white with puff sleeves decorated with lace designs extending to her elbows, the chest piece is heart-shaped, decorated with lace and pearls. A satin ribbon wraps around her waist, tied in a bow behind her back. Below it lay three layers of flower embroidered netting ruffled at the ends of each layer. It extends down to her ankles, where she wore patent, white heels that clicked with every step.

She left her hair loose, braiding a few strands in the front, towards the back. The baby hairs that were growing above her forehead touch her eyebrows, the longer ones curl to the sides of her face.

Dangling from her ears was the only piece of gold she had ever owned, a pair of long teardrop-shaped earrings.

She had applied a small amount of tint to her lips and cheeks made from crushed roses and oil.

The perfume she wears smells of gardenias and peonies.

The sound of hooves in the distance draws her attention to the window. A large, oakwood carriage with gold vines engraved into the sides pulls up in front of her cottage.

How did he know where she lived?
Before she leaves her home, she pauses, glancing back at the vase on the kitchen table. She reaches over and plucks a bright pink begonia from its stem and sets it behind her ear. She doesn't understand why she does it, only that it feels right.

Climbing into the carriage, she tries to calm her breathing as both anticipation and anxiety gnaw at her.

After what feels like hours, the carriage comes to a halt. The oak door is pulled open, revealing before her the large, limestone castle. Her heart thrums in her chest as she approaches the maple wood doors of the castle.

In her head, his words play out over and over.

"I'll be waiting"