No Question ||《Jenyong》

My Love Is: Vacant

Prologue Two

From a very young age, Taeyong knew he wasn't going to marry someone for love; rather, for political and financial gain. His mother, the ever so perfect pureblood wife, drilled her own ideals of the perfect bride in her son, wishing he'd want what she wanted for him. She had no qualms about stating her opinions towards muggleborns, although his father couldn't care less. "Usefulness, wealth and reputation out weigh the consequences of tainting our bloodline," he'd say, causing his mother's eyebrow to tick and her fists to clench.

So, to Taeyong, falling in love was a luxury; The only luxury, in fact, that his parents wouldn't give him. His parents were betrothed at a young age; his mother's family being one of the most powerful in Korea while his father's family having one of the oldest bloodlines. The Lee's had managed to sneak into the sacred 28 in England as pureblood lines began to dwindle after the war of 1998, his grandfather managing to marry off his father's older brother to Daphne Greengrass.

His Uncle's marriage to the Greengrass sister gave them an open door to an opportunity they couldn't deny. From then on, they decided to build their lives on English lands, relishing in their new found status.

With the current prestige they held, Taeyong knew he was going to marry whomever his parents so chose for him. It was life. It was his normal.

It wasn't until he was ten years old that his father disclosed a bit of information about these pureblood marriages; infidelity was normal and almost never frowned upon among the elite. His father didn't say whether he had or hadn't gone behind his mother's back at some point, but he made sure Taeyong understood that, much to the little boy's horror, he and his mother didn't love eachother. They were merely two people who lived under the same roof for the sake of a signed contract.

Not knowing how to react, he excused himself as politely as his shaking stature could and stalked off to his suite. He cried that night, his pillow drenched in tears and snot. His mother caught him in this state as she strode into his suite to tell him.... something. Whatever it may have been, she had forgotten it immediately at the sight of him. "Taeyong," she called, voice calm and strong. He looked up, rubbing his eyes furiously as the lights in his room magically turned on. "What did I tell you about crying?"

He sniffled, standing up from his bed dejectedly. "It's n-not right f-for a man to-to show h-h-his emotions."

She lifted an eyebrow. "So you understand that a punishment is in place?"

With a mere nod, the little boy held out his wrists towards his mother who pulled out a long, thin wand from her sleeve. The dark, polished wood glinted as she moved, and the crystal accents sparkled. Pointing the tip towards his forearm, a whispered incantation fell from her lips as Taeyong felt a burning sensation climbing up his arm.

Fighting to keep his pain at bay, his face scrunched up as the burning spread to his neck and face. The sensation sent him shivering and he held back a whimper as it moved towards his chest.

His mother relented after... who knows when, and he collapsed on the floor beneath him, his hands grasping the woolen fabric of his carpet as he fought to control his breathing.

His mother kneeled (something he thought he's never see his mother do) in front of him, putting a well manicured finger to his chin, raising his face up to look at her. "Power is everything in this world, child. Weakness does nothing but hinder those who strive to be more." She kissed his forehead after that, then turned to leave him by himself in a world that, he then knew, had no such thing as love.