Chapter 9: Day 1

"Let's get started, shall we?" the Oracle announced with glee.

My heart thumped so loud in my chest that I almost couldn't hear the excited chatting coming from the crowd. Every citizen in the Greater Kingdom of Korea had grown up learning about Seed Bearers and how they were our nation's saviours. Some people treated them like they were gods; others saw them as princes. I was different though, as I knew they were the only ones who were worthy of having me as their wife.

Eomma had always warned me not to look at the men with black hair because they were tainted. 'Spoiled seeds' was what she called them, and there was no way she would ever allow me to fall for one. She encouraged me to view them as my pawns that I would use as practice, whether that be sexually, perfecting my flirtation skills or using my feminine wiles to get them to do my bidding. Since they could not produce children, that was all ebony-haired men were good for in Eomma's book. She didn't care how many men I slept with as long as I would be able to fully satisfy my Seed Bearer, which would guarantee a baby grew within my body.

"Good luck," my friends and I said to each other in hushed voices. While they might have meant it, I did not. I would be angry if any of my friends became assigned females while I did not. I was more beautiful and deserving than they were.

I watched as the Oracle came down the stairs and began walking through the crowd. My Eomma had told me what to expect, so I knew he liked to be down with the women so he could feel their energies. "We have our first assigned female!" he said, addressing the crowd with a cheerful tone to his voice. "I see a bright future for you, along with The Radiant One."

I watched as two guards came down and escorted a woman onto the stage. The bright yellow hanbok she was wearing was the only thing I could see as the two black-haired men guided her to stand beside one of the cloaked men in the middle. I tried to keep my face neutral as I watched her beaming smile. I wanted to gag with how she was glowing with happiness.

Six more chances.

"...The Majestic One."

"You are assigned to The Heavenly One."

Four more chances remained for the Oracle to select me as one of the Seed Bearers' females. One by one, as each woman was announced and brought up to the stage, I felt myself growing more and more nervous. I was internally seething due to the fact that I was more beautiful than any of them were.

Three more chances.

It was down to two Seed Bearers. My mouth dropped on its own accord as I watched the Oracle walk up to the fat cow. I was beyond horrified when he declared that she—a heifer who had no self-respect in their appearance—was assigned to the second last Seed Bearer. How anyone who was wearing tight rags like her could stand beside someone known as The Glamorous One was beyond me.

I crossed my fingers as I saw the Oracle walk towards the area I was standing in. When he made a beeline in the direction of me and my friends, my murmured mantra of 'please be me' came out over and over again. I felt like the heavens opened and angels began singing as the Oracle stretched a hand in my direction and told me I was the last assigned female.

As I walked to the stage with the two guards, I mentally changed the next goal I had to work towards. I needed to focus on falling pregnant, whatever it takes.


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I felt the burn of bile in the back of my throat as I listened to what Bang Si-Hyuk was saying on the stage. I was horrified at how he dared to assign women to the disguised men, who I assumed to be BTS. It sounded like he expected these ladies to basically whore themselves out, all in the name of procreation. But I didn't know what was worse—that the women were willingly here so they could be subjected to this archaic and chauvinistic practice... or that they were excitedly throwing themselves at Si-Hyuk in hopes of being chosen. I wanted no part in this. However, if I was being honest, I found myself unable to move. It felt as if there was an invisible weight on my feet that forbade them from moving an inch.

The women cheered and clapped as Bang Si-Hyuk, or the Oracle as the crowd called him, began to move towards the crowd. The way the first woman was selected and then brought up onto the stage, her smile was as bright as her yellow hanbok. She looked so happy and relieved; it almost made me want to throw up in my mouth with the way I was disgusted by the whole thing. I'd never felt so strongly about something that I would speak out in front of an entire crowd, but that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to scream and shout at the women, telling them that they didn't have to go along with this. I wanted to show them that they had the choice to say no. But my introverted self wouldn't allow me to do that, and I had no idea what would happen if I did speak out. If I died in this universe, would I also die in mine? I didn't want to find out.

One by one, a woman was assigned to each of the cloaked men. I felt sick seeing how each one was looking happier and more relieved than the last. I heard murmurings from those in my general area and I looked up only to find Bang Si-Hyuk standing right in front of me with an arm outstretched towards me. I looked at him in a thinly veiled bewildered disgust.

"Yes. You, my dear, are perfect for The Glamorous One," he said with laughter in his tone.

The same two guards dressed in traditional garb came down, grabbed my arms at the biceps and escorted me to the stage. As I was forcibly escorted towards the stage, the irony of being assigned to a man known as The Glamorous One while I was looking my worst was not lost on me. I'd never been known for my fashion sense—which could be shown through my current attire—but I at least took pride in my appearance. It wasn't my fault that today I was covered in dirt and sweat from both the humid Costa Rican rainforest and what I'd been subjected to during my ordeal in this universe.

I was led to the cloaked man who was standing the second to the right. Even up this close, I had no idea who he was. The only thing I knew was that he smelled amazing. I shuddered to think what he must make of my appearance... and odour. As I stood there basking in his scent, I kept thinking about how if only I had kept my kaftan and had not used it for scraps of fabric to help save my life, I may have looked somewhat decent.

One last female was brought up to the stage. As she climbed, I couldn't help but inwardly compare myself to her. Where she was thin and toned, my body was curvy, fat and padded. Her face had a natural radiant beauty, while mine I thought was quite ordinary; Esther was always the beauty between us two. But most of all, I was envious that she could wear that gorgeous purple hanbok. For many years, I refused to wear the colour. Even though purple was my favourite and the colour of ARMY, it was unlucky for me; bad things always came whenever I wore something in a shade of purple.

I found myself being brought back to reality when a hand rested on the small of my back and urged me forward. I noticed that the others in the line before me had already moved off the stage and I was holding up those behind me. I looked over at the man beside me and nodded in thanks. I'd hate to embarrass myself—or him—any further, so I hurried to catch up to the couple in front.

We were led into a large, opulent room that looked like it once was a residential room for the royal family. My eyes didn't know where they wanted to explore first. As I looked around, I saw small side 'rooms', each decorated differently. The bright one that was filled with lots of natural light called my name and I wished I could curl up in there with my sketch pad and draw. The other one was darker, and I thought that would be a good place to chill out when life got too busy. I was mesmerised by the large, intricate piece of artwork that served as the backdrop for a red seating area. It looked like a beautifully painted map that showcased the different countries surrounding Korea. The whole room looked luxurious, especially the plush sapphire blue couch that sat underneath the artwork.

My hands itched with the desperate need to see if the stone tiles on the walls were as smooth as they looked. But once again, I found that my feet wouldn't cooperate. I was beginning to wonder if magic was playing a part in keeping me from running, or whether my body knew something that my mind didn't. Either way, I didn't have the chance to find out as the Oracle entered the suite, a large smile lighting up his face.

"Welcome Seed Bearers of the summer Allocation Rotation. And ladies, congratulations on being selected as the women assigned to these fine Seed Bearers," he said, receiving a soft round of applause from a few of the females.

As the Oracle spoke about it being the female's duty to bear children, pangs of resentment, anger, insecurity and cynical jealousy flowed through my body. I huffed out a sardonic laugh hearing that each of the chosen women would have one year to fall pregnant. By day 365—so the first of July 2024—the assigned women should be either pregnant or have given birth to a child. If they failed to do so, they would face the consequences. It seemed like everyone bar me knew what those consequences were since they were not outlined and no one asked any questions about what they could be.

"Consequences... That's exactly what I need to hear right now."

I heard a soft snicker from behind the mask of the man beside me. It made me frustrated that I still didn't know who any of the seven were. Shouldn't I know who I was to procreate with? Wasn't it only fair to know who I was to open my legs for?

As if the universe heard me, one by one the men removed their cloaks and handed them to the waiting black-haired man collecting them. Even though their masks remained on their faces, I knew exactly who these men were by the auras they radiated. My suspicions were confirmed when as one, the men all took off the masks to reveal that it was in fact the seven members of Bangtan Sonyeondan standing before me.

Each had a different hair colour, which was a strange sight to see since every male I had encountered in both Seoul and Daegu had black hair. There was one with soft bubble-gum pink locks, another with a bright blue mane. The remaining men's heads were adorned with hair in the shades of platinum blonde, muted red, dark silver, bright orange, and soft mint green.

I looked over longingly at Hoseok. As I was wondering how I could go and speak to him, I felt a hand once again rest on my back. I knew my chance to talk to my bias had slipped through my fingers.

With a sigh, I murmured, "I'm coming, blondie," as my assigned man directed me out of the room. "Where are we going?"

"To my family's castle," he replied with a voice I had heard so often that it was engrained in my mind forever. "It will be your home for the next year."

'Great. Just bloody brilliant.'

Not only was I assigned to The Glamorous one, aka Park fucking Jimin, but I had to live with him for an entire year.

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