"You didn't tell me your father was here." I whisper-yell, stomach starting to bundle up with waves of nerves at the sight of Mr Jeon.
Accompanied by my father, he walks into the
room demanding all eyes to focus on his tailored suit. A man of taste is what Taehyung always calls him because of his grandiose style. All I see is a father in law that doesn't like me at all.

Jeongguk places a warm hand on my thigh as a form of comfort and support. If there's anyone who knows about the one sided hostility between his father and I, it's him. The man's very vocal about his disdain towards me. Knowing he's here makes me more anxious about this evening.

From Taehyung
Don't pee your pants.

I scoff at the message because I might aswell. Not only does he demand respect, he scares the life out of me. One look from the man and I'm a meek and quiet lady.

From Taehyung
Wasn't he in Europe?

To Taehyung
Yes! Idk why he's here.

"Hey, relax." Jeongguk calls, pulling me out of my head with a finger under my chin. "I spoke to Dad and he said he'd be nice." I should feel better by his words and smile, but I don't. If Mr Jeon could immediately leave Europe to come to Seoul for a day, it means he must have something to say.

"I love you." Jeongguk says, placing a peck on my lips. The words being a reminder that no matter what goes down here, he's got me.

"I love you too."

Our moment is interrupted by Mother clearing her voice as she stands at the opposite end of the table. Her eyes, similar to Taehyung's, rake over all of us with a seriousness that internally makes me groan.

"Thank you all for being here this evening." She smiles, "Mr Jeon, thank you for coming all the way from Europe to attend this important occasion." He gives her a nod of his head as acknowledgment.

"As you are all aware, Jeongguk and Soa are engaged and as the Kim family, we are very happy to accept CEO Jeon into our household and family, but before we can do so, there are procedures we have to follow." She smiles at the two of us. "So, I'll hand over to Kim Seokjin, my eldest son, to explain. Thank you."

-

"Can you warn me the next time you decide to go against our parents like that? Why would you even whip out that thing?" Jeongguk asks following me out of the dining room and into the study. Fast paced footsteps the only sound filling the empty hallway.

"I'm not going against them," I say, twirling around to face him. Judging from his deep frown, I know he has just as much to say as I do, but I take a deep breath and force myself to stay composed. I've been told all evening how unsightly it is for me as the future Mrs Jeon to lose control over my emotions, even though the situation calls for just that. "I've made it very clear that we're not getting married to merge our companies, but it seems like no one wants to understand."

"Soa, regardless of what we discuss in there, you know I'm not allowing the official contract to hurt you. Yes, this is not a business marriage, but unfortunately, as CEO's, we'll have more terms to protect our companies aswell. Transferring your shares doesn't mean you're no longer a member of board." Jeongguk chides, stepping forward so that he's directly in front of me. To the point where I can feel his breath falling on my forehead. "I know you're hurt by the suggestion, but it's to protect you. That disclosure agreement will only do you harm."

I take note of the change in tone. He sounds affectionate and with his hands grasping at mine, I know he's trying to soften me up. "Don't do this, okay? Don't try to use your influence on me to get me to comply." I let out, pulling my hands out of his grasp and folding them over my body. A completely defensive type of body language. Even his face falls at the action.

"You don't seem to understand that those people, we call our parents, are in this to gain. Not so much from you. I'm the one being targeted, " I let out, giving a scoff into the air. "Have you ever met a CEO with zero shares in their company? What power will I even have in a board meeting?"

Jeongguk tucks his hands into his pocket, his eyes looking away from mine. "You're being unnecessary throwing a tantrum like this. The fact that you're a CEO is already a lot. You should be grateful you still get to keep your job and title." He turns to me and there's nothing on his face that shows humour. He's dead serious.

Unnecessary? Tantrum? Grateful? He sounds exactly like Mother. I look away from his face, focusing my eyes on something else in the big room.

"I actually worked to get to where I am. This type of response is exactly why I asked Jimin to make that agreement in the first place."

"You asked Jimin?" Jeongguk drawls, taking a step back.

"You heard me." I answer, meeting his eyes again. "We weren't looking at rings that day." His faces morphes into realisation, shock then anger so quickly, I almost miss it.

He takes two steps closer this time. His eyes twirling with anger as he grits his teeth, his jawline making itself visible. With drawn eyebrows he spits, "I know you're trying to hurt me by saying that, so I'll ignore it. I'm saying this for the last time. Leave that agreement out of this marriage, especially if it's from him." With that he turns, taking big strides toward the door. "Come back when you're ready to handle this like an adult."

The words strike a nerve in me.

"Why can't you just defend me for once?" I yell, breaking the walls that I've been trying to keep together for so long. Tears start littering my face with trails as I let the dam wall break. "You're always freaking being composed and telling me you're on my side, but now, when I need you most, you compare me to a child?"

They're thoughts that have plagued my mind for a while now. Sometimes it feels like he's also part of the group of people who want to change me into the perfect wife. A quiet version of me. A Soa that will easily comply to everything, even if it makes no sense.

Jeongguk pauses at the door. His back still turnt away from me. "I never called you a child, Soa."

"You implied it." He hangs his head, taking deep breaths. "Calling this a tantrum! Telling me to come back when I can handle this crap like an adult! You fell in love with me because I am the way I am! What happened to that? What happened to the Jeongguk that-"

"Don't finish that sentence." He turns to me.
"I'm trying my best to stay calm, but your freaking mouth keeps edging me on."

"I promised you, I'd never allow myself to lose my temper to that extent again, but here you are trying to be the cause of my anger." He points an accusing finger. "Since when do we lie to each other, huh? You know how I feel about you spending so much time with Park Jimin! I try to conceal how I really feel because I hate arguing, especially when it's with you!"

"Why couldn't you turn to me for help? Then you lie to my face when I ask you about it?" He yells, taking steps toward me with every word. Face a light shade of pink, neck veins popping out all over.

"Now you're crying and for what? Do you seriously expect me to go in there and disrespect our parents? Just because I'm not making an effort to dispute everything they say doesn't mean I'm not defending you! Unlike you, I choose my battles and I know using my guns now won't help us build our future! I've matured since our days in college and I assumed you did too, but it turns out I'm still with a damn toddler!" He yells, leaving a chill in the room.

For a moment it's silent. The only sounds being my quiet sniffles and his breathing. I'm sure that everyone must have heard this argument. It's not everyday where we argue to the point of screaming at each other. 

He's the first to break the silence. "Soa."
I hardly expect him to even want to talk to me, let alone cross the space between us and take my face into his hands. Thumbs wiping at every escaping tear, causing more to follow because I'm melting at this point.

He plants his lips on my salty ones, taking my breath with him when he pulls away. His brown eyes stare into mine with intensity and I know he's still worked up. I want to say I'm sorry and tell him I'll be better, but I know now is not the moment. Not after I kept pushing him to argue with me.

"I'm going home when I leave this room. I think we both need time and space away from each other to really reevaluate if we want this." He says, voice cracking near the end of the sentence. The sound making me feel even more sorry for doing this to him. "Let's use this time apart to think and figure out what our expectations are going into this marriage-"

"Jeongguk-"

"I'm not breaking up with you, love." He sniffs, letting go of my face to wipe at a stray tear. "I just think we need to spend time away from each other, so no calls, meet ups or anything. I thought we were ready for the next chapter, but we're not-"

"Jeongguk-"

"Shh." He says, connecting his forehead to mine. "I'm still the more sensible one between us and I would rather do this then divorce five years down the line." He chuckles, but tears still flow.

More tears escape me when he says that, my fingers moving to wipe them because I've only got myself to blame. I did this and he's right. I still haven't grown up.

"I still love you and I still want you to wear that ring." He says, kissing my forehead. The sweetest kiss, but also the most painful. My heart stings as I feel him move away from me, eyes piling up with more tears.

"Jeongguk." I call watching him take hurried steps toward the door. My feet following after him. "Don't go." I moan, pulling at his suit jacket hard enough to pull him into a halt.

I press myself into his back, knowing I'm probably leaving a nice amount of make up behind aswell. My tears most likely to leave a stain too. "I love you and I'm sorry." I let out, knowing it's not enough, but I need to assure him that even after this time spent away, I'll still only want him.

"I'm sorry too." He says, pulling my arms off of his body. His long figure disappears out the door, while I stand watching him go with tears rolling down my face.

Now I can say that my words really do hurt and I've pushed away the love of my life because of them.

-

AN: I'm a sucker for angst, but this really hurt me. I'm so sad that they're taking a break, but I think they both need it.

Please comment, vote and enjoy this chapter. Hope it breaks your heart too. 💔