case 143 // seungin

chapter 17 | ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜ ²

-sᴜɴᴅᴀʏ-
seungmin's pov
looking at my reflection in the mirror, i groaned internally. i had eye bags under my already swollen eyes, and hair that wouldn't stay straight no matter how many times i ran my brush through it.

worst of all, my clothes were crumpled as hell, because my forgetful ass forgot to iron them yesterday. i started to rummage around the toilet cupboards for hairspray; they were overflowing with various products that i'd never seen in my entire life.

if you find me dead in a pool of goodness-knows-what products, you'll know an avalanche of them fucking killed me.

'Kim Seungmin! You better be fully dressed and presentable by the time I come up!' a very exaggerated intake of breath, and then, 'And I'm coming up right now!' as those words were hurled out of nowhere, the dull thumping of feet against the stairs became clearer as they slapped against the marble tiles outside my room.

the gruff voice and footsteps belong to none other than my dad, who insisted i come over to his stupidly gigantic mansion for a 'grooming check'.

apparently, i needed to impress the girl i was arranged to meet, and then move on to our marriage that was planned to take place next month, which my dad and the girl's dad had agreed to in the dark, behind my back.

"Seungmin, this is so you can settle down and have a stable family, before both of you are too old to give me grandchildren." my dad smiled at me, but i could see though his act.

his greedy eyes held evil intent, and every card he pulled was always played to his own advantage.

i nearly spit out the tea i was drinking.

gripping my cup tighter, i managed to force the words out of my throat.

"you did what?"

"Nothing more than secure a bright future for you, son."

if i had the balls, i would have splashed my hot, steaming tea in his smug face.

i knew that this day was inevitable, but i hadn't expected this entire arrangement to be so... soon. all this just so my dad could establish connections with his apparent soon-to-be daughter in law's dad. all this effort put in just for the company; dad never cared about getting consent or our own feelings for everything he did that concerned us.

getting dragged back to reality, i heard my door get wrenched open before my bathroom door faced the same fate. turning around to lean against the basin counter, i glared at whoever came to disrupt my game of hide and seek with the hairspray bottle.

'what the hell?! do the inhabitants of this fucking mansion not have any basic manners?? first the maid who creepily came into my room at 5 in the morning and now, you!'

my dad only narrowed his eyes, staring me down as he crossed his arms, ordering me out of the toilet.

'Come now, son. I've not seen you in person for such an extremely long time, won't you give your old man a hug?' dad's mouth twisted into a smirk, spreading his arms wide as he stalked over to me.

i remained in my spot, stiffening as the man wrapped his bony arms around me. i grimaced; he reeked of alcohol and cigarettes.

'enough.' i was surprised my voice didn't quiver; i was fucking pissed.

dad took a step back, faking a hurt expression on his face.

'Seungmin, your manners have deteriorated ever since I got you into that prestigious university. Has your time there made you cocky? That you think you're above everyone else, even your dad?'