My breath clouded as it left my lips. Even my thick coat couldn’t protect me from winter. Snow crunched under my boots as I followed mother along the pavement toward the building, which had the most luxurious wedding store. Niki,trailed closely behind, my constant shadow and my sisters along with Gabriel.
Opening the doors let us into the brightly lit inside of the store and the owner and her two assistants immediately greeted us. “Happy birthday, Ms. Morgan,” she said in her lilting voice.
I forced a smile. My eighteenth birthday was supposed to be a day for celebration. Instead it only meant I was another step closer to marrying Jaehyun. I've never seen him much but except for my birthday and special occasions of the 127. He’d bring me expensive jewelry for my birthdays, Christmas holidays, Valentine’s days and the anniversary of our engagement but that was the extent of our contact.
“Only six months until your wedding if I’m correctly informed?” the shop owner asked. She was the only person who looked excited. No surprise really, she would make a lot of money today. The wedding of the 127 mafia. Money was irrelevant.
I inclined my head. 166 days until I had to exchange one golden cage with another. Ruth gave me a look that made it clear what she thought of the matter, but she kept her mouth shut. At seventeen and a half, she had finally learned to reign in her outbursts, mostly.
The shop owner led us into the fitting room. Niki and the other man stayed outside the drawn curtains. Noel and Ruth plopped down on the plush white couch while Mother began browsing the wedding gowns on display. I stood in the middle of the room. The sight of all the white tulle, silk, gossamer, brocade and what it stood for, corded up my throat. I’d be a married woman soon. Quotes about love decorated the walls of the fitting room; they felt like a taunt considering the harsh reality that was my life. What was love but a silly dream?
I could feel the eyes of the shop owner and her assistants on me, and squared my shoulders before I joined my mother. Nobody could know that I wasn’t the happy bride-to-be,i have to stay strong. Eventually, the shop owner approached us and showed us her most expensive gowns.
“What kind of gown would your future husband prefer?” she asked pleasantly.
“The naked kind,” Ruth said, and my mother shot her a glare. I flushed, but the shop owner laughed as if it was all too delightful.
“There’s time for that on the wedding night, don’t you think?” She winked.
I reached for the most expensive dress in the collection, a dream of brocade; the bustier was embroidered with pearls and silvery threads forming a delicate flower pattern. “Those are platinum threads,” the shop owner said. That explained the price. “I think your groom will be pleased with your choice.”
Then she knew him better than I did. Jaehyun was as much as stranger to me today as he had been almost two years ago.
*****
The wedding would be held in the vast gardens of the Jeong mansion in Seoul. Everyone was already excited with the preparations. I hadn’t set foot into the house or even the premises yet, but my mother kept me up-to-date, not that I’d asked her to.
The moment my family had arrived in Seoul a few hours ago, my sisters and I had huddled together in our hotel. Lee Taeyong had suggested we live in one of the many rooms in the hotel until the wedding in five days, but my father had declined. I was glad. I didn’t want to set foot into the mansion until I had to.
Father had agreed to let me share a room with Noel and Ruth, so he and mother had a room for themselves. Of course, a bodyguard was stationed in front of every of the three doors.
“Do we really have to attend the bridal shower tomorrow?” Noel asked, her bare legs swung over the backrest of the sofa. She turned sixteen in November. She looked like the Korean singer Taeyeon. The only difference was she was tanner and shorter
“Of course, we have to,” Ruth muttered. “Eeden is the happy bride, remember?”
Lily snorted. “Sure.” She sat up abruptly. “I’m bored. Let’s go shopping.”
Niki and Taeil wasn’t enthused about the suggestion, even with another of my father’s bodyguards at their side, Taeil claimed it was almost impossible to keep us under control. Eventually he relented as he always did.
