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Jeno wasn't pleased with the arrangement. Despite his efforts to cancel it, the threat from his grandmother loomed too large, instilling fear in him.
"You said you were going to cancel this?" You confronted Jeno as you entered the room, your frustration evident.
"Jeno! You know I don't like you, right?" you added.
Jeno stops what he's doing and turn back to look at you coldly. It gets you a little scared because his face is already scary.
"Do I love you? No, I don't. And this arrangement is bullshit. I don't even know why they picked you out of a thousand girls at the dance party."
You don't know, but you feel hurt by his words. You feel like you're just nothing besides the 1000 girls he mentioned.
"Then why me?!" You push him a little. But of course, it doesn't faze him. He takes your shoulder and pushes you until your back hits the wall.
"It's all about Haechan. If you want him alive, do as they said." You look at him in disbelief.
"Why - why is Haechan involved in our problem?" you asked. You really don't know why Haechan intervenes in the arrangement.
But from Jeno's eyes, he can see how you care for his brother by looking at your scared face.
"Haechan will be banished to the Lost Island if he doesn't accept his fate. You make my grandmother hate him more, you know. You always want to marry him, while my grandmother just wants you to marry me."
Jeno feels like everything is hurting when he knows that you want his brother rather than him. "I never said that, Jeno. And his fate? What do you mean his fate?"
You feel like there is so much going on inside the palace. Even you can feel how many thoughts Jeno has inside his brain right now.
"The terms to be the next king involve having a wife, Y/N. My grandmother hates Haechan because... he is not my mother's child," Jeno explains, avoiding your gaze. "Grandmother treats Haechan so badly, different from my dad. He loves Haechan more, but my dad is sick, and grandmother takes control of anything going on in the palace nowdays."
You reached out to Jeno, seeking to understand his inner turmoil. "Why is Haechan's fate intertwined with ours?" you questioned.
Jeno's eyes softened momentarily, betraying the depth of his inner conflict. "Haechan's fate is tied to the ambitions of our family. My grandmother's disdain for him stems from his lineage. She sees him as an obstacle to our family's legacy."
Your heart sank at the revelation, empathizing with Haechan's past. You couldn't forget the way he was always treated differently.
"Jeno, if this marriage ensures Haechan's safety, then.. i'll do it."
Jeno observed the lingering affection in your eyes, understanding that your heart belonged to his brother.
"But may i know why you prefer him over me, Y/N? what that he have that i dont?" Jeno stepped closer, his gaze intense as he cornered you against the wall.
"He is special." you responded firmly, meeting Jeno's gaze with unwavering determination. "He always has special place at my heart, even after we marriege, Jeno."
After saying that, you walked away, leaving Jeno stunned. He understood that no matter what, he could never take Haechan's place in your heart.
