grey roses ♢ bts

One.

"Miss Minji has arrived." intoned the head butler as I stepped through the opened double doors into the grand dining hall.

I bowed to my awaiting parents. "Good morning, Father. Good morning, Mother." They nodded, and a maid stepped forward to pull my chair back for me. I sat down.

"Today's breakfast is a strawberry and banana crêpe with a side of plain yogurt and mixed berries. The drink for today is an English breakfast tea." The head butler continued. It sounded so rehearsed. Everything he said sounded rehearsed. I wonder if he did actually rehearse it. I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"Thank you." My father said with the tone and air of dismissal. Did the servants ever get tired of this treatment? Or did they just grow accustomed to it?

The butler nodded, and the majority of the present maids and butlers left, with only the head butler and head maid still present inside the hall.

"I will eat well." I murmured quietly, and had just taken a single bite of my food when my father called me.

"Yu Minji."

I looked up, half out of obligation and half out of curiousity and surprise. Meals were usually silent, and rarely had a single conversation going. I chewed, and swallowed. "Yes, Father?"

"Today is your first day at Seoul High, is it not?"

"Yes, Father. I will be leaving in twenty minutes to head there."

"Okay." He paused for a moment. "Minji, your mother and I have been thinking, and we've decided on something."

"What is it?" Were they going to file for a divorce? But then again, if they were going to divorce, they wouldn't have told me.

"You have turned sixteen as of this year. We have agreed that you are now at the proper age where you will be able to manage yourself properly in public, which is why we will permit you to spend time outside of the mansion and school grounds."

I froze, processing these words. They were words that I had never expected to hear coming from them. All my life, I had been kept under lock-and-key. A driver drove me to school each day and picked me up from school as soon as the bell rang. Any friends I had were not allowed to come to my house, and I was not allowed to come to theirs, even for a school project. I had lived in Seoul for all of my life, and I barely knew anything about it. The only reason I ever ventured outside of school or home was because my parents were bringing me to the company building to prepare me for when I would take over the family company.

People said I was antisocial. I said I was restricted. But maybe now that wouldn't be the case anymore.

"Father, I have," I paused for a moment. I had to be specific about this. "A question."

"Just one?" He looked amused. That was a first. "Ask away."

"What are my limitations for this privilege?"

"I suppose that question covers everything. Very well. Your schedule releases you at half past twelve. We expect you to be home at half past five. Your driver will drive you anywhere you need to go. He will also drive you back here. You are not allowed to ride with anyone else, regardless if they are a friend or not. Any social events requires my permission. You will be allowed a monthly allowance. Do not take advantage of this privilege, or we will revoke it. Understand?"

So just the basic set of rules. "Yes, Father."

"Good."

"Honey," My mother said. I had never heard my mother call my father anything else but that, and in return, he never called her anything else but "dear". I wonder how they had ended up together. They were so devoid of love, I couldn't imagine them falling in love. Maybe it was an arranged marriage. "Minji needs to leave in fifteen minutes. You best let her finish her meal."