SEVENTEEN | Imagines

Dino (IV)

note: longest one-shot to date, you have been warned. arrangedmarriage!SVT

. . . 

Dino

You were getting married to a total kid.

. . .

You folded your hands quietly in your lap, on top of one of the many expensive dresses that you owned. You never really enjoyed the clothing your parents forced you to wear, they were usually so uncomfortable. But you knew what punishments would follow if they caught you in a t-shirt.

So you sat there silently as you studied the goings on between your mother and father and the other couple. There was a small boy your age who was flipping through a book; not a book that your parents would've let you read. It looked fun, bright colours mixed with fantastical beasts adorned the cover.

He seemed totally oblivious to the situation, you could already guess what the purpose of this was. There could only be one reason why your parents would bring you to what seemed to be a business meeting, the presence of a boy your age was the nail on the coffin.

You were getting married.

Of course, you knew you weren't going to be married anytime soon, but it was a contract. It was going to happen, regardless of your wishes, nor his. You wondered if he knew that his future was going to be tied to yours from now on. He seemed too innocent, you couldn't help but to feel jealous that he still hadn't lost his childhood like you had.

Your back ached from sitting so primly on the chair and you looked longingly at the way the boy was laying reclined on a sofa. It was his house, so you supposed it wasn't totally wrong, but it just meant that you had to be on your best behaviour while he relaxed.

The voices of the adults settled into a silence and you could feel all four pairs of eyes scrutinizing you while you smiled prettily, the way your teachers had taught you. The boy's mother hummed in approval before she called to him, "Come here."

The boy put his book down face first onto the couch before making his way towards where you sat. You couldn't look at him, you were afraid that your eyes would reveal how upset you were. You didn't want to look at the person who you were going to be trapped to for the rest of your life.

"Introduce yourself," the woman prompted.

"Hi," his voice was quiet, but held faint traces of warmth. This empowered you to lift your head to meet with his dark brown eyes.

"Hello." You returned, hands still folded tidily together no matter how much you wanted to wring your fingers together.

He smiled. "I'm Lee Chan, it's nice to meet you."

. . .

It had been two years since you had first met Lee Chan. Nothing had really changed though, the two of you got along alright, but the underlying expectations always cast a shadow onto your interactions. At least for you. You doubted that Chan even knew that the two of you were technically betrothed.

You think that he felt hurt because he could tell that sometimes you felt uncomfortable spending time with him, but you couldn't explain. It wasn't your place to. After all, you were only twelve; twelve year olds shouldn't have to worry about things like this.

But you were.

Your little hands plucked daintily at the strings of the miniature harp before finishing and turning to acknowledge the applause with a small inclination of your head. But in the brief moment you could see the audience, you noticed immediately that Chan wasn't there. Typical.