❝ It's a blessing, to be able to get tainted by your love, angel. ❞
┃ IN WHICH ;
➣ Sim Aera finds love in the arms of her elder brother's best friend, Park Sunghoon.
★ genres and tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, brother's best fri...
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THIRD PERSON POV
at the Park Mansion;
"sunghoon, do make sure to come home within five p.m. today. me and your father have decided to arrange a dinner party to announce your engagement with aera. all the other families are invited too." mrs.park informed sunghoon as he was leaving for his office.
"she... agreed?" sunghoon mumbled quietly to himself, but unfortunately, his mother had heard him too.
"what do you mean by that?! why wouldn't she agree? did you think that she'll refuse and you'll be able to achieve your dream of staying unmarried all your life?!" mrs.park glared at her son before smirking, "stupid boy."
"mom." sunghoon scowled before he was pushed out the door by his mother.
"get out. i don't want you to be late to the dinner." mrs.park said as she shut the front door.
at the Sim Mansion;
AERA'S POV
i truly couldn't believe that i was going to become a married woman soon. maybe especially because the news dropped on me like a horrifying bomb. i was going to get engaged at the start of the next month, which would be within two weeks and get married a month after. i kind of expected the quick timing considering our families had known each other since generations, but it didn't help with the sudden news.
though i was a bit thankful as i knew that my in-laws were sweet and understanding people. minju was one of my close friends since childhood, so i was glad to have her as my sister-in-law. we could go to different spas, manicure and pedicure sessions, go shopping and do other stuff together, which was a huge plus point. mrs.park was genuinely one of the most beautiful people i had ever met. her heart is so pure that having a conversation with her felt therapeutic. mr.park was also someone i respected and loved, and he was understanding, a quality most men usually don't possess.
and as for my apparent husband... though i was definitely very close to him when we were kids, i didn't really spend much time with him after growing up. we didn't talk properly so i never really got to know his current likes and dislikes. but if there was a label known to everyone, it was that he was an absolute clean freak. something i was far from. he cared about details and perfectionism way too much, and if you ask me, it was nothing less than pathetic. i was the complete opposite of him, someone fun and spontaneous, qualities he clearly didn't possess.
and as much as i hate to admit it, i was a hopeless romantic. i was also very delusional, as my friends said. well, not like, they weren't. sunghoon and romance were not two words that could be used together.
today i had to go to the dinner party arranged by sunghoon's family. truth be told, i was completely clueless. i didn't know what kind of outfit to wear or how to style my hair or what accessories to accentuate my aura. i was feeling hopeless. absolutely hopeless.
well, that was what i would've been if my dear best friend, my darling lover minju, who was also sunghoon's younger sister, hadn't called me.
"minju, babe, can you please help your friend out? i have no idea on what i should wear." i complained to minju as a devilish smirk slowly found its way onto her lips.
"of course i'll help my soon to be sister-in-law out." minju giggled as i scowled.
"shut up." i grumbled before i started showing her my collection of the dresses and accessories i had picked out for the event.
we eventually chose a white sundress with light purple coloured small flower prints, the garment reaching my mid-thighs. as i was getting ready, i kept a mental note to myself to carry a lavender cardigan with me, in case i got cold. keeping my makeup simple, i wore a small heart shaped silver locket around my neck and two rings on my left hand. after contemplating on what to do with my long hair, i just decided to keep it open, slipped into my two inch heels, grabbed the cardigan and made my way to the front door to see everyone already prepared, my mother coming out of her room.
"oh my god, my daughter looks so good!" my mom had the guts to start gushing about how i looked like i could be a model when she looked even better than me.
"mom! you look so beautiful." i spoke cheerfully not wanting my family to understand how nervous i truly was.
"aera, we can clearly hear the nervousness in your voice. you sound like you're going to a haunted house." jaeyun rolled his eyes before dad slapped him on his back. serves him right.
before my brother had a chance to complain, mom rushed us out the front door.
"let's not be late." mom warned us all before we went inside the car and drove off.
at the Park Mansion;
as soon as i entered inside the house, mrs.park rushed to give me a hug.
"hello, darling. how are you doing?" she asked me after greeting others and sitting on the sofa beside me.
"i'm doing well, mrs.park. what about you?" i was buzzing with nervousness, and i hoped she couldn't catch it. it would be a bit embarrassing.
"oh, i'm doing great! also, call me mom." she looked at me with a soft smile adorning her lips. she's such a sweetheart i swear. can't i just marry her instead of her son?
"thanks, mom." i said grinning.
"okay so, i called sunghoon and he's on his way back. i'm sorry he got a bit late." mr.park looked at us with an apologetic smile.
"it's okay, we understand." my dad said as he smiled back at him.
slowly, all the other families also started arriving as my thoughts drifted off to when me and sunghoon were just kids. apparently, we were very close as my mom said. i do remember that one time when i had wanted to make flower bracelets and he still tried even though he knew nothing about that stuff. we sat on the grass of the garden of his house for hours while i showed him the steps, making a flower bracelet and tied it around his wrist. with quite difficulty, he reciprocated the action and made me wear it. truth be told, i was quite an emotional person. so even though a decade probably passed by, i still kept that bracelet he made for me in a closet drawer carefully.
"sorry, i got late. meeting ran over." i looked at the person, my eyes widening slightly as the earlier nervousness settled back into my mind.
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× author's note: the fifth chapterrr 👀 i kind of know AND don't know what i'm going to write further in the story 💁👎 anyways please don't hesitate to vote if you enjoyed reading and comment your thoughts !!
