Archive of Our Own

And if all of that really wasn't enough, you were 100%  convinced that there was something major going on when you saw your father's composed front falter when you questioned him directly. Your father was an incredibly successful businessman who had completely mastered his poker face over the years, but no matter how much be perfected it, he would never be able to fully mask his feelings in front of his daughter.

Your knowing smile turned into a frown when your father chose to remain quiet. You hadn't been too worried before, but now you suddenly were.

"There's something going on...isn't there?"

A stifling silence smothered the table. Your parents exchanged anxious glances and it only made you feel even more unsettled about the situation. A moment later, your father finally decided to ditch the act. He should have known better than to try to hide his feelings from you in the first place.

"Sweetheart, I don't even know how to say this," he sighed, the wrinkles in his forehead deepening as he looked at you. Your mother's were eyes trained on her plate as she cut a piece of steak a little more forcefully than required, the startling screech of the knife against the fine china plate making you wince. 

You looked between your parents warily, wondering what kind of Pandora's box you'd just forced open. Your parents had never acted like this around you before. You were an only child, and your parents had always been more like your best friends. They'd never been so hesitant or apprehensive about anything.

Was JDB going bankrupt? No, that was impossible. Even though the family business had seen much better days, everything was still relatively okay; or at least you thought it was. Had the stocks drastically fallen to the point where they were irrecoverable? No, you were sure that was impossible too...not that you actually knew a lot about how it all worked. Had there been a media scandal or something, a lawsuit maybe? No, that was definitely impossible because your father always made sure there was no room for that to happen. 

Your mother slammed her fork and knife down on her plate, "I said this before and I'll say it again. You shouldn't even be having this conversation with _____," she said sharply, clearly displeased about the situation...whatever it was, "It's too much to ask of her,"

Ask of you? 

You loved your parents more than anything and everything else in the world and would readily do anything and everything for their happiness, so what could they possibly ask of you that was 'too much'? 

You hid your rapidly growing sense of concern and immediately placed your hand over your mother's, stroking the pearls on her wrist gently, "Look, Mom, whatever it is, I'd rather you just tell me outright and talk to me about it," 

Your father's gaze was downcast. Honestly, nothing about the current situation was quite as daunting as the fact that his usually calm and composed demeanor seemed to have evaporated into thin air. He fiddled with the napkin in his lap uneasily, and it was obvious that he was struggling to find the right words to convey his predicament.

"_____, well, it's -"

"You better think about this again before you decide to tell her," your mother warned one more time, inhaling deeply as she picked up her fork and knife again.

The friction between your parents was thick and suffocating, and you didn't even care about what they were going to ask of you that was too much anymore. Your curiosity was bubbling to the brim and you really just wanted to know what was going on.

"Go on Dad, what is it?" you urged him to continue, giving him a reassuring nod when he glanced at you for confirmation. 

Looking at you, your father wondered where all the time had gone and when you'd grown up so much. You always made his heart swell with pride and joy, and he felt ashamed that he was even entertaining the thought of what he was about to say.

He took your hand in his, the words feeling nauseatingly heavy and burdensome in his throat, "Sweetheart, you have the full right to reject what I'm going to say to you. If you don't want to do it, it won't happen. There is absolutely no pressure from me, or from anyone else either, okay?" his grip on your hand tightened, more for his own sake and sanity than yours.

The disclaimer only made you feel more queasy. Your stomach was starting to feel heavy with the anxiety that was slowly settling at the bottom of it, and you didn't trust your voice to stay steady so you nodded in response instead, waiting restlessly for him to continue.

"You know about Golden, right?" your father asked.

You hadn't been expecting that turn in the conversation.

Nevertheless, you nodded. Unlike you father, you weren't a business expert even in the slightest, but you had definitely heard of Golden, the company that had burst onto the scene and grown exponentially over the last decade to become one of the biggest tea and soft drink manufacturers in the country. They might have technically been your family business' biggest competitors and you should've probably felt guilty about it, but your fridge was always stocked with their mango and passionfruit iced tea at all times because it was your undisputed favourite.

"We're currently in discussion with them about a big collaborative deal, probably the biggest in JDB's history," your father continued, and you slowly nodded once more, not entirely sure what any of this had to do with you. Again, you were no business expert, but you knew that Golden coming together with your family's JDB brand would probably shake up the food and beverage world.

Your father hesitated, pausing for a few seconds before he reluctantly spoke again, "You're probably wondering how and why any of this involves you,"

Your father was the Chairman of JDB, and he had taken the title from your grandfather when he'd passed away a few years ago. You were your father's only heir, but it was your aunt's son - your cousin and current CEO of JDB, Park Jimin - who had been taught the ropes of the business and would ultimately take the reigns and lead the company in the future. You and your family were perfectly okay with that because your parents had given you the freedom to choose whether you wanted to get involved with the family business or not, and you had politely declined. Besides, you didn't think there was anybody better than Jimin to succeed your father when the time came. 

"Golden has one condition for the contract to go ahead though," 

You stopped playing with the food on your plate and looked up at him, having a horrible gut feeling about what was going to be said next.

"What...what condition?"

Your father didn't know how to broach the subject but he'd already beat around the bush as much as he possibly could have, so he just went for it.

"The founder and Chairman of Golden, Jeon Joongki...as part of the deal, he wants you to marry his son."

You blinked. And then you blinked again as your brain tried to process the revelation.

"Marry...his son?" you repeated slowly, your eyebrows rising and your eyes growing a fraction wider than before as the implications of your father's words properly set in, "Why? Is he really that insecure about the agreement or something?"

Your mother put her cutlery down again, a little more gently this time, "You don't have to go through with it, sweetheart. I think it's absolutely ridiculous and I was against your father even telling you this," 

If looks could kill, your father would've been six feet under the ground from the angry glare your mother was directing at him. 

Your father looked down at the tablecloth, no longer able to meet your gaze, "I can't believe I've even said it," he sighed for the umpteenth time that evening, regret dripping from his voice as he rubbed his temples. 

You twirled your fork around in your pasta, appetite completely gone and unlikely to return, "And I'm assuming the deal will get called off if I disagree?"

You honestly didn't know what to think or what to say. You didn't know how you were supposed to react to this or how you were supposed to respond.

Your father's lack of response confirmed that your guess was correct. 

Your mother's expression softened as she turned back to face you, "_____, sweetheart, that's not for you to worry about,"

Your father wanted his company to prosper and he'd temporarily been blinded by his desire to revive the company and make it as successful as it used to be...but now, in this moment, he realised that you were and always would be so much more important to him. You were his one and only daughter, the apple of his eye, and he instantly felt immense guilt consume him for throwing you into such a dilemma without any warning; and more so for even considering Jeon Joongki's proposal to cement the business deal and unite not only their businesses but their families as well. He hadn't even properly met the boy in question, only having seen him briefly on a couple of occasions, and he felt horrible for sitting here and asking so much of you, asking you for something that affects not only your present but your future and the rest of your life.

The stifling silence had returned and was hanging over the table like an oversaturated raincloud. You were tracing patterns on the golden tablecloth, biting your bottom lip as you tried to make sense of it all.

Your mother could clearly see on your face that you were actually thinking about it and that you were actually considering the idea and it made her heart wrench, "Sweetheart, you don't -"

"I want to meet him first,"

Your heartbeat was roaring in your ears and you wondered where the courage and resolve to say all of this was coming from. Like yeah, you were a pretty rational person. You tended to be level-headed and open-minded, but you were surprising even yourself with how calmly you were responding to this.

You looked at your father, "I want to meet this guy I'm supposed to marry,"

"You're not supposed to marry him!" your mother protested, absolutely outraged.

You smiled, reaching for both your parents' hands and squeezing them gently, "Whatever it is, I want to meet him first,"

Despite the situation, you laughed when your mother looked like she was going to violently object again, "I'm fine, really," you said, admittedly more to yourself than to your parents, "You don't need to feel bad about anything," you added softly when your father looked at you like his world was falling apart. 

Your father closed his eyes and swallowed, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry _____, I just..." he trailed off, once again struggling to find the right words because there was nothing right about this cliff that he'd placed you on. There was nothing right about what he had said to you. There was nothing right about you reassuring him instead of him reassuring you. 

"It's okay Dad, really, I understand," you said with a comforting smile.

And you really did understand. You understood exactly what this would mean for JDB, for its profits and for its success. 

You just didn't understand what this would mean for you. 

---

"They haven't said yes yet, because the girl wants to meet you first," Jungkook's father said as he gazed outside the window pensively, watching as rain showered the city below him. 

The words made Jungkook freeze and his blood run cold.

He had no idea who you were or what you were like, but he certainly didn't think anybody in their right mind would have - or even should have - agreed to such an outrageous proposal.

That was the only reason he'd indulged his father until now; because he'd been so sure that you wouldn't. 

He stopped scrolling through his phone and sat up a little straighter, dread beginning to settle into his bones, "I can't believe you actually want me to do this," he chuckled bitterly, "This will affect my whole life...does that not matter to you? Does what I think about all of this not matter to you? I don't want this. I don't want to get married, especially not to a girl I've never even met before...does that really not matter to you?"

His father turned around to face him as a defeated sigh left his lips. He'd been fully expecting the resistance and the scorn. He was even prepared for a screaming match or two because deep down, even he knew that he was asking a little too much from his son.

"Please Jungkook. It will seriously help the Golden so much and -"

"Of course, that's all you care about...your company," Jungkook scoffed, rolling his eyes.

He knew better than anyone that his father had worked incredibly hard to rise to where he stood today; all the way from the very bottom of rock bottom to the top. He knew that his father had invested everything he had and everything he was into his company, not just his time, money and effort. He knew about all the sleep his father had given up and all the meals that he had skipped, all the blood and sweat he'd poured into building his legacy. He knew just how difficult the journey had been, how lonely and exhausted and completely overwhelmed his father had felt over the tears.

That's why Jungkook couldn't fully hold it against him. Because he knew that his father loved him, but he loved Golden too.  

His father shook his head, heaving out a sigh as he made his way across the room and sat down next to his son, "You know that's not true. Just meet her please. For me," he pleaded, taking hold of Jungkook's hand. 

"Is that really what you want? You really want me to exchange my entire life for Golden's success?" Jungkook questioned, looking up at his father.

He respected his father's ambition and passion to expand his company, admired it even, but he couldn't help the hurt and disappointment brewing in his heart.

Jungkook had wanted his father to prioritise him for once. He had expected him to prioritise what he wanted and what made him happy, but here his father was, asking him to throw his life away and go through with a stupid marriage of convenience just to seal a business deal.

A stupid marriage of convenience that wasn't even completely necessary to seal a business deal at all. 

The expression on his father's face faltered and he shook his head again, "Jungkook, son, come on, you know it's not like that, I -"

Maybe Jungkook had expected too much. 

"Fine. I'll meet her," Jungkook interrupted, sliding his hand out of his father's and standing up. He didn't want to continue this conversation because he knew his emotions were going to get the best of him and his tongue would race ahead and spit out things that he'd regret later on. 

His father frowned as he stared at him, wondering what was going on beyond his son's cold tone and undecipherable expression.

"Are you going to meet her seriously or are you going to meet her just so you can coerce her into saying no?"

The question - or rather, the doubt and the mistrust behind it - felt like an arrow straight to his heart, and Jungkook clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms.

"I said I'll meet her," he repeated, feeling like he was going to burst in a few seconds. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his back still facing his father, "I won't let you down, and you know very well that I never have. What do you even take me for?" he muttered before he left the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. 

Jungkook's father sighed as he watched him storm off.

Once again, he wondered whether he was really doing the right thing by pushing his son into an arranged marriage purely for the sake of his business and its success.

He also couldn't help but wonder whether he would ultimately end up losing more than he would gain from this deal.