Chapter Text
Haku Shota and Lin Yin.
He was a child of a wealthy family, and she was too. He was a lonely child, and she was too. He hadn’t many friends to call, and she hadn’t either. Yet they both had each other, each other as neighbors. At a young age their friendship blossomed as if it was the first rose of the season. Whenever his friends would come over to play, he’d invite her to tag along. She’d fall over and get hurt, but he’d quickly run to scold her and bandage the wound. Sometimes at night the two of them would sneak off to one or the other’s backyard to gaze at the stars which twinkled brightly from above. They grew up together. They were inseparable.
However, like all good things, slowly what they had died away. Hitting high school age triggered the start of the death of their friendship. Shota made new friends, Yin made new friends, and they both moved on. Well, Shota moved on, at least. One heart moved on; the other stayed put.
Yin never admitted it to anyone, but she loved Shota in a way a friend wasn’t supposed to love a friend. She wished it was more than a simple friendship. Her heart sang and the butterflies in her stomach took flight whenever Shota was around. Even if all he did was say a simple “Hello”, she’d feel happy. Even when their friendship dissipated and they were no longer careless kids, she’d feel like a child again around him. All Yin’s friends would advise her to stay away from him — it was him who left her alone after all. He didn’t want the friendship anymore, so he distanced himself. But, still, no matter how far away he was, all Yin wanted was to be with him.
…
Years passed by. Before the both of them could count the seconds that have passed since they last saw each other, Shota turned twenty-one and so did Yin. By then, they had fully distanced from each other. As the children of wealthy families, marriage started to become a daily conversation.
Hunched over at a table at a random cafe, Yin picked at the sprinkles on her untouched donut with monotony. Kim Minjeong looked at her friend with a concerned expression followed by a sigh.
“Yin, you should eat that quickly,” Minjeong said, pushing the plate closer to Yin. The latter stared at the plate and shrugged before picking up the donut to take a bite. When Minjeong was satisfied with the amount of bites the younger girl took, she offered to eat the rest of the donut. At times, Yin was very grateful to have an older sister figure like Minjeong.
The two girls sat in silence for a few seconds, the older girl examining the younger girl’s face for any trace of emotion. A sudden giggle escaped Yin’s lips. She didn’t know what she found so funny, but maybe it was how awkward the silence was or how serious Minjeong looked.
“Unnie, you look so serious right now,” Yin snickered. “If you’re assuming I’m not mentally well or something, don’t worry. I’m okay.”
Minjeong playfully scoffed. “I– Well, yes, I was worried…” the young woman admitted. “But I just want to make sure you’re alright. Especially because… I heard your parents are looking for a spouse for you.”
Ah, right. Yin didn’t want to be reminded. Because the Lin family needed to extend their bloodline so that the legacy could continue, they were already quick to find a potential spouse for their twenty-one-year-old hopeless romantic daughter. Since Mama Lin and Papa Lin were very well aware that Yin usually couldn’t make it past the second date, they decided that one date with a few different guys would help Yin to decide on a spouse. Obviously, one date was not going to be sufficient but Yin was far too scared to defy her parents’ logic.
“Do you know what kind of guys they are going to be putting you on a blind date with?” Minjeong asked, sipping leisurely on her iced americano.
“Dunno. Most likely fellow rich people,” Yin responded blandly. “Hopefully they look like my type too…”
“... And your type is..?”
Yin giggled and lightheartedly hit Minjeong on the arm. “As if I’ll tell you!”
Silence engulfed the little area that the two girls sat in.
“Okay, maybe I’ll tell you.” Despite the defeated look on her face, Yin was going to voluntarily share her private thoughts. She continued, doing just that. “I like a guy that’s a fair height, not too tall or too short. Wealth and status don’t matter to me. He has to be at least a little bit funny, because I cannot handle a dry person. To be honest, appearance doesn’t really matter to me. Oh, wait, I’m a sucker for cute faces or extremely hot guys though. It’s either one end or the other, no in between.”
The way Minjeong blinked said more than the words she said afterwards. “So… Either a baby-faced cutie or a sexy devil. Got it.” A smile spread on Minjeong’s face as Yin playfully nudged her yet again.
“Hey! Well, yeah, but when you put it like that it sounds so weird!” Yin said with mock offense in her tone.
As the evening continued, nothing else eventful happened. Yin gossiped about things she’s seen at her university and Minjeong showed her some stuff that her friends had given her as gifts – which happened to be a bunch of expensive perfumes or jewelry. Had the sun not set so quickly, the girls likely would’ve continued chatting ‘til the cafe employees had to force them out. Yin’s curfew was getting closer, so Minjeong offered to drive Yin back to the Lin Family Estate.
Yin never liked talking about her personal life and family. Mostly because her family wasn’t just an ordinary wealthy family: they were multi-millionaires. The Lin family’s legacy was most prominent in the architecture scene, resulting in a wonderful estate to call home.
Minjeong’s Mercedes-Benz made it to the front gate of the estate. At the gate, she rolled down her window and pulled out a black keycard. As she held up the keycard at a flashing red light coming from a small box, the box beeped and the light changed to a bright green. The gate opened and Minjeong got on with driving inside. Minjeong always insisted on driving inside – it isn’t like Yin’s parents minded. Mama Lin and Papa Lin loved Minjeong like their own, anyways. That’s why she was allowed to go onto the estate unannounced or to stay over on short notice. She even had her own room on the third floor.
Today, sadly, Minjeong was not allowed to stay. That was because there were a few highly regarded guests that were staying for dinner.
“Thank you, Minjeong, for taking care of our Yinnie,” Yin’s mother said as Minjeong was getting ready to leave. “I know she can be a hassle –” Yin shot her mother a dirty look. “– to take care of. We can always count on you to bring her home in one piece.”
“No worries, Mrs Lin. Your little Yin is too goody-two-shoes to do anything dumb or reckless.” With that, Minjeong left and Yin went off to go to her room. Well, she was going to until her mother grabbed her wrist to stop her in her tracks.
“Ah-ah. Yin… We have guests over for dinner. The chef has prepared a hearty full-course meal for us, and me and your father would really appreciate it if you sat down to talk to them. You haven’t spoken to them in a long time.” The request was simple and Yin didn’t mind. She really wanted to know who her parents invited over, though, especially because she apparently hasn’t spoken to them in a long time.
A pleasantly delicious scent wafted into Yin’s nose as she got closer to the dining hall. As her mother pushed the doors open, she caught a glimpse at the exaggerated set up. The table was set as if it was regal France and the royal scholars were looking for a wealthy feed. That analogy made more sense in Yin’s mind.
It was the guests that were really surprising. A beautifully aged woman and a gently composed man sat across from Yin’s father, all three chatted cheerfully about a topic Yin didn’t care to eavesdrop on. Next to the woman was a young girl who looked like she could be a model. Scratch that, she probably was one already. When Yin’s gaze landed on the final guest, her mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened by a mile.
Sitting there all neat and with a look of mundanity was Shota. Haku Shota.
Yin felt stupid. She should’ve recognized the familiar scent of Mrs Haku’s floral perfume or the perfect facial structure of the youngest daughter of the Haku family. Her mind had then realized that it was the residents of the neighboring estate that her parents had invited. The Haku family. They lived right next door, as the neighborhood Yin lived in was a very private but very crowded one. Many mansions were close together, albeit the separation of a large backyard and high-tech fence. Thinking about the neighborhood made Yin realize that, yes, it has been an extremely long time since she’d ever seen or spoken to the Haku’s. Maybe about five years or so. However long it has been, Yin was sure she’d have forgotten how Shota looked.
But she didn’t forget. Not even a little bit. After growing up together and being best friends for so long, Yin took notice of all the little details about him. The way he was the loud sort of quiet, the way he randomly made some sort of video game noise if he didn’t want to or know the answer to something, the way he was a picture-perfect boy that all the girls in their private school would fawn over. Yin included. She never admitted it, but she had had an enormous crush on him for as many years as she could count. Possibly ever since she was six years old and understood the concept of love. Even though for five years Shota wasn’t part of Yin’s life anymore, she’d dream about him being there in moments he wasn’t. When Yin turned seventeen and met Minjeong, who was a wannabe singer at the time operating under the name ‘Winter’, she stopped worrying about Shota. Or so she wished. In reality, her longing for him grew as they grew apart.
In the mornings before school, Yin would head out just in time to see Shota get into a fancy black car to head to the same institution she was. She’d see him in the hallways at school, too. He never took notice of her. When they both hit fourteen, Shota had already made a new best friend. A kind-looking boy who was as equally interested in video games as the former. Yin couldn’t remember his name, but it wasn’t anything too memorable anyways. At least she thought so.
Maybe in that long moment, Yin had proven herself wrong. Yes, she hadn’t seen the Haku family for five years, but every day she’d see and think about the eldest son of the family. The beautiful and captivating Haku Shota. He was just so hard to resist. Who could say no to a cute face with a tall stature? Definitely not Yin.
Her mind was brought back into the moment when her mother urged for her to sit down. From there on, the rest of the night was dull. Dull, boring, and not interesting in the slightest.
Yin’d eat her steak slowly and with caution so as not to look like a pig that hadn’t gotten a feed in a week. For a split second, she looked up and her bored eyes locked with Shota’s pearlescent brown ones. A mild blush heated her cheeks. Shota smiled, however very awkwardly. Something in Yin wished that interaction wasn’t as awkward as it was made to be in the end.
One little interaction made the rest of dinner very awkward. The rest of the night turned awkward too. When the Haku’s finally left, Yin felt herself release an overdue breath. Her mother looked at her and then turned away with a sigh.
“Next time, Yinnie, try to look interested in what they were talking about…” she said, finishing the last of her wine glass. “But, then again, it must’ve felt weird to see your old friend again. Especially because…”
Yin looked at her mother with curiosity. “Especially because what?”
“Hadn’t you been listening to the conversation? Ah, nevermind.” Her mother seemed hesitant at first, causing Yin to tilt her head even more.
“No, no, tell me! Sorry, I really should’ve been listening. Surely it wasn’t that important though…”
A groan escaped from the girl’s mother. “Yinnie… Never change.” She smiled at her daughter sweetly. “We were discussing things related to marriage. You see, Mrs Haku had been complaining that her son wasn’t very interested in marriage. Of course, she blamed it on how he was exposed to the internet so young that it consumed most of his life, but he’s twenty-one. He’s more of a kid than his sister!”
“Surely she isn’t that young… I’m pretty sure Shota’s sister is a teen–”
Mrs Lin interjected right there. “I see you’re still comfortable enough to talk about him informally.”
Yin blinked and then blushed a bit. “Well, uh, I guess it’s just a habit I still have.”
“Ah, I suppose so. Back onto topic, me and his mother put two and two together and came to a decision…” The build up Yin’s mother applied to the situation was likely bound to end up being just some mundane or disappointing news. However, the sparkle in her eyes said something else. Something was worse than disappointing. Something… devastating.
“No…” Yin said, but it came out like a breathy cry.
“Yes, Yin. We’re sorry, but we both decided what was best for our families and our legacies. We were sure the decision would make you two happy as well.”
Yin’s mother paused before continuing.
“We’ve arranged for you and Shota to get married before the end of the year.”