Chapter Text
6 AM get up
6.10 AM morning skincare
6.30 AM watering the balcony plants
7 AM feeding Choco and Drop in their tank
The rest blurs like always. Just basic stuff like getting ready for work, eating breakfast, prepping a meal for the mid-schedule break in between shoots.
It became a fast and comfortable routine for Juhoon since he moved away from his family home. He felt more independent and carefree finally living on his own. Most of his peers are probably sharing flats with other people, trying to scrape by until they get their degrees. Some are most likely still living with their parents.
Juhoon also could've stayed at his childhood home, in fact his parents would've been delighted to still have him under their wing. They pour every piece of love they've ever known into him. They always gave him whatever he needed or desired to try.
Being born into a wealthy family may be a blessing or a curse. You could end up spoiled rotten to the core or still be kind and pure. The purest of them all, a dreamer with the prettiest heart. That's what Juhoon's parents were able to achieve. Sure, Juhoon may have gotten everything he asked for on a whim, but they never forgot to make sure to teach him how to be kind and understanding of those who are materially beneath him. Everyone is human, no matter the numbers in their bank accounts or what chaebol family they are the descendants of.
But in this world not everyone was lucky to turn that way.
Around 8.40 Juhoon's chauffer called him making it known that he was already waiting for him and ready to go whenever the other was ready. That's one thing that his parents didn't let him of the hook after he moved away. Juhoon didn't mind it much since he didn't have a driving license of his own, but it also worked as a protection to his private life. A way of avoiding crazy fans and stalkers.
Some might say that being a model in Korea is as grueling and dangerous as being a kpop idol. That is why most people with great potential back away from the opportunity to become such models. Too scared to deal with obssesed mass, with unpredictable mindsets.
They see them as psychotic, dangerous, crazy. Not Juhoon tho, in fact he feels sorry for them. He sees them as poor souls with a broken mindset and a longing for affection they perhaps never had the opportunity to experience. Of course, a hopeless romantic like him would think like that and be able to fully retrospect his feelings on a topic like this one.
After making sure he didn't forget anything, Juhoon made his way out of the apartment down to the underground parking lot, where his chauffeur was already waiting.
Being a model at your families agency has its obvious perks, such as seeing your lovely parents during your schedules and having somewhat control over your paycheck or changing the schedules to your own liking. However, Juhoon never took advantage of it, he was already greatful for his parents generosity and letting him work there as a model instead of learning the ropes to take it over.
His ride to the agency was spent on looking through his busy schedules already planned for him for the whole week. Checking if there was any alignment between his schedules and Keohnos' lectures so they could go and spend their time together, going out for some coffee or binging a show like always, since both of them shared a deep love for pure romance.
Maybe he'd take him to eat dinner with his parents that evening.
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First half of the day went by the same as always. Hairstyle preparations, makeup, putting on extravagant outfits for the shoots and constant monitoring your own progress on the huge studio screens for any imperfections. It was tiring, but Juhoon loved his job. He was always confident in his modeling skills and his own beauty. Not to the point to be acting all mighty, but to be aware of his privilege.
During his makeup touch-ups he asked about his parents whereabouts, only to be met with short cut answers about them being in a very important meeting and asked to not interrupt them.
In this industry it's common for agencies to hold various meetings regarding collaborations between their models and brands, but Juhoons' parents never minded him sending a few messages through staff to them during such meetings.
Juhoon shrugged it off, but he couldn't shake off the weird gut feeling, that something wasn't exactly right.
At around 1 PM he was finally allowed to take a quick break in-between schedules. He made his way up the fire escape stairs like always up to the third floor. He could've used one of the lifts available to everyone that works here, but he never really liked taking in the space there, feeling guilty of taking a place where someone else with a much more imporatant reason to get on that lift than him had to wait for another one.
Juhoon moved effortlessly in the long hallways, walking there like it was just a part of his routine, one of the things from the list on his schedule.
He may have moved out of his family house, but he never refused to miss any kind of meal with his parents. He made a small promise to them to always come over during his lunch break to eat together.
As he made his last turn towards the meeting room his parents usually used for better atmosphere, like they used to say, a middle-aged couple walked out of the conference room. Both of them looked around his own parents age.
A beautiful Korean woman with black hair pinned in a low bun, she was dressed very fashionably, a brown pencil skirt that reached her mid calf, short kitten heels in the same colour as the skirt and a light cream flowy shirt with long puffy sleeves filled with small flower patterns. A bunch of pearl accessories completing the look.
On her left a very tall man walked with her hand in hand. Obviously a foreigner from his complexion. He had a dull green coloured suit that paired really well with the woman's chic look. A pair of golden rimmed glasses laid heavy on his nose.
They both sent Juhoon a smile as he slightly bowed at their appearance. When he looked at their expressions he could immediately tell how the smile never actually reached their eyes. After them a few other important-looking officials walked out of the room.
When he was finally sure no one else was coming out of the room, he walked over peeking like a child if his parents were inside. Of course both of them were there. They stood very close to each other hunched over the window, talking quietly. The atmosphere felt very dense and angry.
Juhoon rarely had the opportunity to see them angry at something or someone, he himself never caused them any trouble to be upset with him when he was still a child or a teenager.
He slowly appproached them, trying not scare any of them. "Good morning" the pair immediately straightened up and turned around towards the voice. When their eyes landed on him the whole atmosphere seemed to change sour, they shifted uncomfortably from side to side, giving eachother silent glances.
After a short awkward silence his mom finally spoke up "Morning dear, what are you doing here?" her voice faltered with the obvious nervousness. "I thought I'd come by for lunch and eat with you, did I come at a bad moment?"
"No, of course not. Actually we have something we'd like to discuss with you" his dad said. The petite woman next to him gave him a sharp jab to the ribs with her elbow. Throwing the older man slightly of balance, she gave him a nasty look before turning to her son again.
"How about we go to our office and eat there?"
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After all of them were already sat in the huge office at a small round table eating their food without rush, the vibe hasn't changed at all. Juhoon could feel deep in the pit of his stomach that perhaps something indeed did happen during that meeting.
His parents haven't uttered a word since they sat down to eat. Both of them looked very anxious, Juhoon noticed the small conversation they shared with looks.
He knew his parents better than anyone could, so instead of pressuring them to talk, he'll wait for them to give up and say what is weighing on their hearts.
When they finished eating, Juhoon was getting ready to go back to finish his last few shoots for the day and visit Keohno on his way back home. He stood next to a tall stool reserved for wine and other drinks laid for high ranking guests. He packed his now empty food containers that he laid there before.
Meanwhile his parents were standing to the side harshly whispering to eachother. Just when Juhoon was done and about to head out, his mom stopped him and asked if he could spare them a moment, to which he agreed.
"As you may remember, we were supposed to have a closing deal with a big group of brands this week" his mom started, Juhoon nodded slightly remembering how they excitedly mentioned it once during their dinner a couple of weeks ago. "Everything went smoothly until today" his father continued.
"They wanted to change some clauses last minute and add a new condition for the deal to close" what could've been so repulsing for his parents to become so upset before and not close the deal like planned.
"We put the closing on hold, because we wanted to discuss the condition with you first. We didn't want to make that decision without you" the woman said with a serious tone. Did the brand want him for something like a collaboration.
"You know if they wanted a collaboration or for me to become an ambassador, you could've agreed right? Mom, I wouldn't mind at all, I would've done anything if it was to help you both" Juhoon retorted, he reached for his parents hands and squeezed them reassuringly.
"Dear, that's not it at all" the woman said as she lowered her head not being able to look her son in the eye. His dad spoke instead of his wife seeing her hesitation "They want to create a long lasting collaboration between our companies, that would benefit both of us very greatly"
"Well, isn't that a good thing?" Juhoon said very confused by the whole situation.
"Under the condition that you'll marry their eldest son"
Juhoon felt a heavy stone weighting at bottom of his stomach. Marry. Wasn't that a bit extreme? They're in the 21st century, who comes up with conditions like that anymore? Are they really that big of a hustle to not decline immediately.
"W-what? Marry who? Why do you want to discuss it? You didn't tell them that it wouldn't be happening?" Juhoon felt the panic rising in his gut. Why wouldn't they outright refuse? Is the pair that he saw earlier responsible for this? This moment doesn't even feel real.
The older pair looked guilty seeing their son panic so much. The petite woman grabbed Juhoons hand into her now trembling hands, squeezing him to ground him. "We know it's too much to ask, but we really need this deal. If they were a less influeancial company, we would've refused on the spot" her voice broke in-between words showing that she was just as upset as he was in that moment.
"But we're talking here about at least five different fashion brands"
"This deal would open even more opportunities for all of us"
"Please at least think about it, we never want to pressure you into anything you're not ready for"
"But we ask you of this one wish, please darling, take some time and reconsider it" his mom was in tears, begging him to think it through. Her husband held her and Juhoon with both of his arms, cradling them together.
Juhoon didn't say anything, he was too stunned and scared of what might come out of his mouth that moment. He didn't want to hurt his parent's feelings, but the whole ordeal felt unfair to him. He didn't want to marry someone he never met, that's not how he imagined his future. Also he didn't think of getting married this young. He doesn't mind it being a man, but missing the free will to find someone just right for him and live through the experience of first love weights on him.
He didn't move at first, just stood there, the warmth that enveloped him from his parents didn't bring the usual comfort he always felt. He felt numb, sure he wanted to help them anyway he could, but even now he's not sure if it's worth it. Sometimes the hustle isn't worth the price.
"What brand"
"W-what"
Juhoon took a deep breath in attempt to calm himself down. He needs to be reasonable." What brand wants me to get married with their son and who hypothetically would I be marrying?"
The elder couple exchanged weak glances before speaking.
"WARDS, Martin Edwards Park"
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Juhoon didn't finish his shoots that day, he asked his parents to move them to another day, he promised to them that he'll think about it. Why did he do that? Why didn't he just say no and move on, to be honest he's not sure if he would be able to move on from that without feeling guilty.
Instead of going to Keohno's house and staying there for a bit, he texted Keohno beforehand to meet in the front to take him to his own flat.
He knows that mrs and mr Ahn are kind people, but they are extremely nosy and can't keep their mouths shut. If this had gotten out it would've been the end for him.
After a short ride he and his chauffeur pulled up in front of a house with a tall white fence. Behind it stood a one floor house with modern accents. Keohno didn't live here before, his old house used to be a bit smaller and old looking. He said something about moving closer to university and better transport when he told him he was moving elsewhere. Deep down he feels like it might have not been the case.
The boy wasn't that much younger than him, they were only one year apart, Keohno being 19 and Juhoon 20.
Keohno became a child prodigy at the ripe age of 13, starting his athletic career fairly young. Juhoon sometimes envies the youngers' way of living. Sure he may be popular, but people don't try to get to him by stalking where he lives or spends time at, allowing him to cross streets without being bothered by admirers.
Just as Juhoon was about to call Keohno to come out of the house, the younger opened the tall fence door walking out on the street before locking it behind him and hopping in to the back of the car to sit next to the other.
"Hey, long time no see" said the dark haired boy as he leaned over to give Juhoon a side hug before putting on his seatbelt. "Hi, it sure have been quite a while"
"Yeah, uni has been crazy, just like you said it would, but i'm having fun" said Keohno with a cheeky smile.
"You seemed really stressed over text, did something happen?" The younger one always amazes him on how quickly he can read the room. For a guy who is normally jolly about everything, he is very mature for his age. At the very least that's what Juhoon thinks.
"I'll tell you everything at home, I really need some good advice now" Juhoon said while dragging his palm on top of his face. He was really in a deep pit now. Usually he would figure things like that on his own, but he really needed the mental support and a litlle glitter in his life. Thankfully Keohno can do both.
"It must be really important if you cut your schedule short" the other stated the obvious. "Don't even mention it, I already feel guilty about moving it for later"
"Then let's make it worthwhile, since you already moved it"
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For Juhoon and Keohno the pure defenition of 'worthwhile' would be a glass of some disgustingly old wine, a warm blanket and a romance show playing on the big screen in Juhoons apartment. As much as Juhoon would want to be able to focus on the show, the thoughts of the weird condition kept coming back into his mind. Why is it so important for the WARDS to marry him off with their son.
Juhoon always had an impression of the brand as strictly heritage centered business. He figured that they would want a pure Edwards blood heir to take over generation after generation. What do they get out of this? Perhaps, there's an ulterior motive they didn't know about.
On one hand, he has the whole shady ordeal of the brand, that somehow was able to gang up other brands with them to go against the agency. He new they were inluencial, but didn't know that they had that much of an impact.
On the other hand, Juhoon is pretty sure he never heard anything about their son. Martin Edwards Park, surely a wasian since his mom is Korean and dad is Canadian, but Juhoon doesn't recall ever seeing him online or at any banquets held by his family.
If he were to consider such option he would like to get to know more about the man they wanted him to marry.
Keohno seemed to be able to sense Juhoons inside turmoil as he turned off the TV and positioned himself infront of the other on the big bubbly shaped couch. "So, what you mentioned earlier" the boy started.
"What happened?"
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"Did they tell them why they wanted you to marry eachother?" asked the dark haired boy. He was very repulsed after hearing everything that happened. "I don't know, they didn't say anything to me about that"
"Well, if they wanted to give you the choice to choose, they should've at least given you more context" Keohno's voice was slightly raised from frustration. If the pillow in his hands could talk, it would probably be asking for mercy, because of his death grip on the object.
"How crazy do you have to be to propose such things"
"This is crazy.." he let go of the pillow and put it underneath him to anchor himself better on the couch.
Both of them fell into a heated silence, seemingly deep in thought. Juhoon didn't know what to make out of the whole situation. He took a small sip from the wine glass he was holding. The taste still lingering in his mouth after swallowing, exactly like the problem at hand.
"Do you know anything about him" Juhoon said quietly, glancing at the boy now next to him.
"The brand owner? I'm pretty sure we could find some dirt on him or his stupid company.." Keohno retorted already reaching for his phone.
"No, I meant the son. Martin"
"Martin... not really. I don't think I've ever seen the guy before" the younger one stopped in his tracks and started pondering. "Now that i think about it, I don't think I ever saw anything about him.. That's strange"
"Right? I don't think, I've even ever met him at their own banquets" Keohno quickly opened his social media to look for the mysterious guy online. Nothing on instagram, facebook, twitter or even reddit. Their last resort was to find anything on sketchy news medias on google. However nothing really stood out, he didn't have any photos taken of him, no social media, not even one scandal on the guy. Is that even possible?
"Damn it, there's really nothing on him" Keohno scratched himself on the hand, fairly confused, how can you be a child of a such popular brand and be basically nonexistent in the public eye?
"Maybe check for something older" said the other leaning his arm on the couch behind the younger, looking at his screen intently. After he said the latter quickly filtered through the searches for something, anything that could give them a slight insight on the man.
They land on an article from 2008, 'WARDS newborn heir' was the title, Keohno opened it without hesitation and skiemmed right through to the main text ' WARDS now third generation has been born, a new heir to the prestigious brand Martin Edwards Park a boy born the previous evening on March 20th...' a few old photos were attached to the article showing the same couple Juhoon saw earlier, but just slightly younger looking. The small human the lady was holding was none other than the man he was told to marry.
"2008, so he should be 20 by now, at least we know he's not some old prick" Keohno said trying to lighten up the mood. Juhoon looked back at the screen againd reading the article again. "March 20th I'm even older than him"
"Yeah.. wait. Shouldn't he be in his seconed year of uni then?" both boys looked at eachother in realisation. That's right, if they both are the same age there definitely should be something on him in the university forums. "How are we supposed to find him if we don't what he looks like?" the dark haired boy said after turning on the All Soul University forums platform.
"Check for acceptance lists, we should be able to find his major that way" the other searched like he was told only to be met with a wrong search meaning no one like that ever gotten accepted. "There is no way, he would just not go to a have a degree just incase" Keohno said already getting upset by their constant failed efforts.
Juhoon pondered slightly, perhaps if he didn't have any achievements announced with his full name, maybe he didn't use his actual surname at all?
"Check for Martin only, my year" Keohno gave him a weird look before typing the mans name. To their suprise something actually popped up. The latter opened the post, to be met with a long list of names for different majors of year 2027. They quickly skimmed through the list to find the foreign name. Martin J. Edwards Music major.
"Ain't no fucking way, our little fashion boy dreams to be musician" The younger one seemed to be extatic at the revelation. He changed posts and read over lecturer names looking for someone he was familiar with. "Professor Hwa-jin lectures us both, I'll ask him about the guy, maybe I'll be able to pin point him then"
"We're not even sure if that's for sure him"
"Better this than nothing right?" Keohno was right, it's still better than being stuck.