Love is only a feeling
Chapter 3 – Kiss Goodbye
Some things never change
The confidence she possessed just seconds ago vanished. Of all people! She took turns to glare at the three people in the room, her gaze settling longer than usual on Hwang. It had been a long time since she'd seen him since he left for the Coastal Defence Force. But she never imagined their next meeting to be like this. For a long while, nobody spoke.
Impossible. Not him. She had to wake up from this dream soon.
"I hope you're not thinking of doing anything stupid." Han Myung warned, breaking the awkward silence. "Just to let you know, it is a privilege that you get to see your husband before the marriage ceremony. Most people only ever get the first look at their spouse on the wedding night."
"I know," she said through gritted teeth. Think, Mina. Her original plan would never work in such a situation. She had had more than a few bad experiences with Hwang – he'd been the unfortunate witness to many of her tantrums before. And besides, she knew Hwang would rather die than to defy her father's wishes.
"Now sit," he gestured beside Hwang, the familiar crease on his forehead undoubtedly meaning he was in a no-nonsense mood. "While we shall discuss the details of the wedding."
But Mina didn't want to discuss the details of the wedding. She looked purposefully away from the discussion most of the time, occasionally glancing at Hwang, who seemed to be extremely preoccupied with the specks of dust on the table. So it's not only me who's not interested, she thought triumphantly. That thought somehow comforted her a little, though she was still determined to get her way. She started fidgeting just a little at first, but by the middle of the discussion her father had shot her a warning look that did little to stop her distracting movements. There were just so many things happening now, and the last thing she wanted to do is to sit down and not be able to clarify anything.
"Hwang, won't you take Mina out for a walk?" Han Myung said finally.
"But Father!" Mina protested as realistically as she could.
"Sure," Hwang replied. Mina scoffed and stormed out of the room. Hwang followed closely, and found her waiting for him in the corridor, some distance away from the closed doors of the study.
"You," she turned to face him, her eyes bore deep into his. Her accusatory tone was quiet but menacing. "You knew about this didn't you? I'm sure Father planned it a long time ago!"
"Yes, I did know," his voice did not falter, much to her disappointment. Neither did he take his gaze off her. However, a thin sheen of sweat had formed on Hwang's forehead by now, and it glistened under the sun.
"I suppose," Mina started. The first few shards of the sabotage plans had just surfaced in her mind. Hwang looked genuinely surprised that she had even bothered to continue the conversation. "You just came back?"
"I came back last month," Hwang proceeded carefully. He knew how much Mina had wanted to be in the Coastal Defence Force. The last thing he wanted was Mina flaring up again. "How have you been?"
Mina hesitated. The past few months were mundane at best, torturous at worst. Her everyday routine revolved around training, eating and making herself useful around the house; a far cry from the days where she used to spend days on end doing nothing. There was no news about the Soul Edge or Soul Calibur at all, much to her dismay.
"Well, I've been squandering Father's money, messing up the house and," she added in a low whisper, "planning my next escape, tomorrow night."
Mina fought hard to keep the expression on her face still; all Hwang could see was her willful smirk. His expression was a curious mixture of horror and shock – this was going just as she had planned. He had bought her tall story.
"How could you!" Hwang's furious voice barely rising before Mina's shrill voice cut his words short.
"How could you even believe for a second that that was true?" she demanded, eyes narrowed and arms folded tight across her chest. "I thought after everything we went through together, I might have changed your mind in believing that I am no longer a selfish brat!"
"What…?" Hwang growled. The deep shade of purple never left his face, although Mina noticed what seemed like a guilty expression in his eyes, which he chose to focus on the ground.
"Trust, Hwang," she said softly. "Trust you to actually…" Mina eyed his balled up fists cautiously. "What's this? You want to hit me now?"
"No –"
"I can't imagine what we'd be like if we do get married. This would never work out in a million years." Mina promptly turned on her heels and left the gaping man in her wake.
I might never make Father change his mind, but I can certainly make you beat a hasty retreat forever.
AN: If there are any mistakes with the technical details of the story, I apologize in advance. I am just a normal girl with an average general knowledge capacity. Anyway, I'm back:) I promised to update in May, and here it is!