forced marriage - jaesung

[three]

The next few days, Jisung tried to avoid his father as much as possible.
He didn't even show up to the usual meals they had together: breakfast and lunch.
Sometimes though, he would eat dinner with him in order to calm him down a bit.
Needless to say, that never worked out the way he wanted it to and he had to listen to a long lecture every time they sat together at the dining table.
But he payed no real attention to his words and only ever said a few short agreements, like "I know", "I understand" or the best & most effective one: "I won't do that anymore".

His mind however was always somewhere else.

He was always thinking about his fathers words regarding the potential meeting with Fores, the kingdom they had fought against for decades now. They were supposed to be his enemy and he was sure that he wouldn't be able accept anything other than that.
They were the reason his mother was dead.
He wouldn't forgive them.
Which is also why he didn't understand his fathers sudden efforts to stop the war against them.
Did he forget the pain they caused them and their kingdom?

-

After another long day of letting out his anger by training and fighting, Jisung entered the castle as the sun got ready to rest too.
He quickly cleaned himself and dressed in his usual formal clothing, ready to hear his fathers rants at the dinner table once again.
But suddenly he felt an intense pain in his head and his vision started spinning before he could leave his chamber.
For a second, tiny dots started clouding his vision.
He knew that he had eaten and drunk too little these past few days, especially since he trained so hard and sweated so much, but he never felt nor cared for the consequences up until now.
So he tried to ignore the pain and took his steps in the direction of the dining room his father was probably already waiting for him in. His personal guards followed his every step.
They already noticed that their prince was behaving odd the moment he practically stormed away from his father after hearing the news. They never brought it up as they knew the reason why it was troubling him so much.

When Jisung stood before the big door to the dining room, he stopped for a moment.
He heard voices mumbling to each other in it.
His father wasn't alone, which could only mean something happened.

Multiple familiar voices quickly went quiet as soon as he entered.
"Jisung, we've been waiting for you."
The stare the king gave seemed to be holding anger directed towards him.
Different to the usual dinners there was not only him seated at the table but also some royal advisors and knights, all of them looking at him.
"We just received a letter from Nora."

And there it was.
There was what Jisung had tried so desperately not to think about, but couldn't help but let it consume his every thought.
There was the possibility of Fores accepting the offer.

"May I ask what their answer was, father?"
He knew better than to let these intense emotions go. He couldn't just curl up in the middle of the room, letting the tears flow, nor could he run up to the king, his father and punch him in the face. Even if it was what he wanted to do at that moment.
Especially with all these important and trusted people around he would just ruin his reputation.
Therefore, he put on the mask he usually only wore during fights and tried to keep his calm for as long as possible, hoping for the best.

And even as the most trusted knight and the person that was like a second father to him, Lee Tae Yong, started to read out the letter from their supposed enemy, he was able to keep calm.
Until he understood the meaning behind it.

They accepted it. They accepted it. They accepted it. They accepted it. They accepted it. They accepted it. They accepted it.
How could they?

The clouds that swarmed his vision before now turned into a fog which blended the faces of the present ones into their surroundings and made his head hurt so much. He saw the fogs moving and speaking to him but their words where whispers compared to the thundering ringing in his ears.

„Jisung!", called a loud voice before a tap on his shoulder was able to get him out of his daze.
„Excuse me, father." And a bow to him was the last thing Jisung could to before he stormed out of the room. He squinted his eyes as a poor attempt not to let the tears flow.
He lost control of his emotions and he couldn't help but notice that nobody followed him as he entered his chambers again and spent the rest of the weekend locked in and unable to move.

He felt trapped.

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i'm sorry that i didn't update in so long but we went on vacation and i honestly forgot to write :/
don't worry, jaemin and jisung will meet soon but I wanted you to know more about them individually before their relationship will become the main focus point of this story.
hope you liked this chapter & that you have a nice day/night!