Chapter Text
“I refuse!” Sunghoon stood up, the heavy chair screeching mercilessly behind him as his dark—almost void-like eyes—burned in utter anger.
How could they?
How dare they?
“I do not agree to my engagement with Nishimura Riki of the Southern Nishimura Clan. I refuse to tarnish my reputation because of being tied to him in any manner.”
“A pity that there is no choice.” His father’s eyes stared into his; cold, calculating, a deep grey similar to that of the stone from which their very castle was made. “This treaty is crucial to the well-being of the Northern Parks. Are you really willing to have your people freeze and starve to death, just because you refuse to tarnish your reputation as a consequence of being tied to Nishimura Riki in any manner?”
Sunghoon had no rebuttal to that, and seeing that he hit his son in the right spot, Park Songhyun continued, “What will your people think after finding out that you value your reputation more than their survival and well-being? Will that not tarnish your reputation as well?”
When Sunghoon did not reply again, he drove the nail in the coffin, “The news of your engagement and treaty was a statement previously agreed upon by both involved clans. Had it been a question, I would have brought your hot head with me to the treaty signing. Even your dear brothers agreed to this, so I see no reason in calling the announcement off and potentially multiplying the South's hostility towards us by a thousand.”
Sunghoon understood, but he still wished to show rebellion—he was not informed of any talk of marriage when his brothers and father rode out to the Nishimuras’ clan to mediate the clans’ enmity that had run for generations.
“We may have the advancements and weapons. But the Nishimuras have manpower and supplies. Our clan is slowly starving—especially when winters are upon us, which is more than half the year long; the Nishimuras are not. They are great in number, their soldiers robust and muscular, while ours wither away. The man you are set to marry—Nishimura Riki—is also the finest warrior they have had in a long time; having him beside us would be the most advantageous.”
Sunghoon’s jaw ticked, knowing nothing could be done about the engagement, and that once his father was insistent on something, nothing could be done against it.
So he left—coat billowing behind him as he threw the doors open and walked out in the icy winds.
His father was right.
Park Songhyun was always right.
Sunghoon admired and hated him for it.
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Somewhere, more than a few thousand miles away, sat a frail figure by the edge of a magnificent pond. Its water held a crystal-like beauty, and a few specks of light in the form of fireflies flew atop it.
The view was… breathtakingly beautiful.
And yet, Nishimura Riki’s heart was an ugly, dark void.
It had been for a long time.
Warmth used to come in tiny, barely noticeable acts—most of which went unacknowledged; at least they'd let a feeble light shine through that void. It was unnoticeable, but enough for Ni-ki to stay satiated.
At least—he hoped—his soon-to-be-husband would finally bring the spark to the light, and help him warm his heart despite the allegedly stabbing cold of the North.