He was panting as he ran backstage looking for a bottle of water to quench his burning throat. Hands shaking, he grabbed the water and aligned it with his mouth.

I'm fine, he told himself, feeling his body giving up on him as he had drained his energy.

A pair of eyes stared at him worriedly; he stared back with his hands still slightly shaking as he drained the water bottle in seconds.

"How many time do we have to tell you this Jeongguk?" Jimin asked, tired of seeing the younger killing himself over and over again. "Think about Yun Hee if you don't care about yourself."

Jimin knew Jeongguk was exerting himself by practicing, and it hurt him more because he knew how it felt because he too had done the exact same thing, yet it was like talking to a wall. Jeongguk never says anything about how he feels and if anyone tries to break those walls, he would build them back stronger.

"I don't understand what you are talking about," Jeongguk said, staring at his hyung as if he has no idea what his friend is saying.

Jimin glared at the younger. He was doing it again, and maybe he should talk to Yun hee about it since they are a couple, but why does he feel that Yun Hee only knows the Jeongguk the fans know? Whenever he caught them together, Jeongguk seemed to act the same way he acted with his fans. Jimin shook his head slightly.

I'm sure they are different after all why would Jeongguk marry a girl who he couldn't be himself with, he pondered.

"Whatever," Jimin replied, shaking his head slightly."See you later."

Jeongguk watched Jimin walk out of sight before collapsing on the couch. His body was exhausted, and each part of of him ached in agony. He closed his eyes, hoping the pain would numb out, but it didn't. Actually, it seemed to be getting worse and there was nothing he could do as he found himself drifting off on the couch.

*******

Cecilia smiled ear to ear as her parents informed her that they had a surprise waiting for her.

Maybe it's my graduation present. I really wish it's a BTS concert ticket or I'll have to spend my own money, she hoped.

She skipped downstairs to where her parents sat as she kept thinking of the different surprises it could be, but what she didn't know was that the surprise was only good for her parents.

"So, you are eighteen years old, and you are going to start a new life which we couldn't be happier for," her dad, Zack, told her while giving her a big smile.

"Remember Dante?" Cecilia's mom, Layla, asked in anticipation.

"Yeah...why?" Cecilia asked confused.

I thought I was getting a present.Why would they bring Dad's best friend's son into this? She wondered.

"Then, you should know how we mentioned that the both of you would eventually tie the knot," Layla smiled at her.

Cecilia's faced dropped with each word that left her mom's mouth. Her mouth went dry, and pain erupted in her chest as she found herself trying to compose herself.
Please don't say what I think you are going to say, Cecilia thought.

"Wasn't that a joke ?" Cecilia asked laughing nervously. "I thought it was a joke."

"No, we were serious," Zack replied, looking at his daughter with like 'what do you mean it was a joke look'. "You are getting married."

"I can't believe you would stoop this low," Cecilia whispered, not being able to speak properly as the pain in heart seemed to worsen. "Why...do ...I have to...marry him?"

"It's to join two powerful companies and make them invincible," Zack's eyes danced with a vision of success. "You never go on dates even when we allowed you to, unlike most parents."

"He's a nice guy," Layla said, clearly trying to convince her daughter. "Give him a chance for us, will you?"

Layla didn't expect her daughter to be so upset. It almost seemed like she was in a secret relationship, and the news broke her down to pieces. She expected Cecilia to shout or a protest that she is young or something like that, but she never did.

"I'll talk to you...later," Cecilia managed to say, getting up from her seat and walking up to her room as tears fell down one by one. It took everything in her power not to break down at that moment. Her parents had not called her to come back, and she was glad because there was no way she was ready to face the bitter truth.

As soon as she shut the door, Cecilia ran, jumped on her bed, and let the waterworks flow -making the loud sobs the only thing audible thing in the room for hours.

Why me? I studied hard and my only dream other than to get into a good medical university was to travel and see the world with my best friend. Cecilia thought while crying on her bed.

With that thought, she wiped her tears and dialed her best friend's number, the only person that understood her despite being in a different country.

"Hey," Eira greeted her cheerfully. "What's up?"

Hearing her best friend who was more like sister talking triggered her tears all over again and she started crying on the phone.

"What's wrong?" Eira asked, her tone laced with concern for her friend.

" My parents...want me...to marry...Dan...te," She managed between sobs.

Eira felt anger rise within her as she heard her friend continue the story. No one deseved to be forced into something like this. Marriage was a big deal and she already had problems. Now,her best friend having them as well just tore her apart.

"We'll figure something out," Eira comforted. "For now, why don't you forget about your parents and tell me what you are wearing to the BTS fan meeting."

"I'm still so jealous of you."

Cecilia giggled at her friend's words; decided to forget about the matter and focus on more important things like the upcoming fan meeting.

"I was thinking about wearing a white shirt paired with a black leather jacket and black jeans," Cecilia said. "Oh, and black boots."

"Damn girl you went all dark not that I'm complaining," Eira giggled.

"I feel like going classic is the best, " Cecilia answered.

"I think it's perfect," Eira agreed." So...are you going to give the letters?"

" I don't know ...should I?" Cecilia asked.

"Weren't you preparing them for this moment?" Eira questioned."This your chance."

"I wrote these when I was fifteen, and some of it is very embarrassing," Cecilia said, feeling the embarrasment already.

"I highly doubt you will see them properly again, so do it," Eira encouraged.

"You are right," Cecilia stated, feeling confident.

The girls continued talking for hours not realizing that the sun was about to rise. When Cecilia saw the rays of the sun leaking into her rooms, she looked outside and gaped. Quickly, she bid her friend good night and let sleep consume her tired figure.

********

Jeongguk sat up with a jolt.

" I slept," he panicked. " I need to go home..."

His voice trailed off as he saw the members entering into the room.

"Jeongguk?" Jin questioned, looking puzzled."You didn't go back.No wonder we couldn't find you."

"Yeah, I slept here by accident," Jeongguk said, rubbing his neck nervously. He felt daggers being thrown and when he turned around, he was met by Jimin's piercing eyes. A sigh escaped his lips because he knew there was nothing he could do to stop the older from lecturing him...again.

"Be careful Jeongguk," Jin stated, worried about him especially because Jeongguk had started acting weird again lately. Distant was the right word of choice for the boy in front him, and at the moment he looked lost as well.

"We'll cover up for you," Namjoon said."Now, get up and quickly go back to the dorms and freshen up."

"You guys are the best!" Jungkook beamed while running away leaving the members shaking their heads. He really was always going to be a child.

"I'm worried about him," Jimin stated after Jeongguk was completely out of sight.

"He has been acting strange lately," Taehyung agreed. "Do you think something happened?"

"Guys, give him some time," Yoongi stated. " We all know how he is, so just leave him alone for a while ."

They were forced to break their discussion as they were called to get ready.

*****
The cold water ran down his body and he didn't flinch from the cold but enjoyed the chillness cooling off his mind. He wanted to get rid of the thoughts in his head that kept repeating over and over again.

" Please," he whispered to no one." Stop."

His tears mixed with the water as he sat down in the shower letting his tears stream down.

He must have stayed there for an hour staring numbly ahead before he changed into some fresh clothes. A curse escaped his lips as he noticed his bloodshot eyes.

"Great, this is exactly what I needed," Jeongguk mumbled.

He sighed and picked up his phone to see Yun hee's name. His thumbs moved above the screen slightly, before he opened up her message.

My Fiancé

Hey Kookie

I miss you so much

I heard you have a fan meeting today, so good luck!

The members told me that you are free today, so how about we go out?

Jeongguk stared at the messages for a while before typing back.

Jeongguk

I miss  you too

Sure. Let's go and eat at the usual place.

He really missed her, but he wanted to be alone. He wanted to run away from everything for a while, but he was stuck.

******

Cecilia dressed up and went outside her house, not bothering to greet her parents. They were already upset because she spent so much money on some boy band and now after the conversation she had with them, there was no way she was going to talk to them. She needed time.

I wish you were here with me Eira, Cecilia thought as it was time for her to go and meet all the members.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was far from ready to talk to them. The members didn't know English well and it was very hard to speak Korean since she was still learning.

Slowly, she took steps and found herself face to face with the first member- Hoseok.

"Hi," Cecilia said, trying out her Korean as she handed her album to Hoseok.

"Hi," Hoseok replied, giving his beautiful sunshine smile."What's your name?"

"My name...is... Cecilia," she replied, trying hard to remember how to speak in Korean.

"What a pretty name!" Hoseok exclaimed, smiling at her effort to communicate.

"Thank you," Cecilia replied, a blush forming on her cheeks."How are you?"

" I'm fine," Hoseok answered, surprised the girl hadn't asked any questions, but then he realized she was struggling, so he understood.

" This is letter I wrote," Cecilia said shyly. "I know you busy but hope you read it."

Hoseok just smiled at the girl in front of him.

"I'll try my best," Hoseok told her as she was told to move to the next member.

Each member greeted her so nicely that she didn't feel like moving. It all felt so surreal to her. Some of them even spoke a few words in English for her, and she was so happy when they all praised her on her effort to speak Korean. Namjoon was the only fluent one in English, and she felt at ease when she got to speak to him.

"Hey," Namjoon greeted her. "I can tell you were struggling in  Korean, were you able to understand the members?"

"Well I understand Korean half-half," Cecilia told him. "It's hard for me to make sentences but when I try, I can.I guess it's because I don't have anyone to talk to in Korean, so I'm not good at it.I did understand the members though."

"That's so coo,but your Korean is already really good," Namjoon smiled, his dimples appearing on his cheeks.

Cecilia handed him the letter and said what she had told all the members: to read it if they had time.

Namjoon nodded as she headed towards the final member, and the person she was excited to see but didn't want to: Jeongguk.

Jeongguk was waiting for her to arrive since he was curious about the letters. Fans didn't usually give letters to each of them, but only to their bias, so this confused him a lot.

"Hi," Cecilia managed to say, feeling her heart beat faster every second as she mustered some courage to cast her eyes up, immediately mesmerized in his form. His jet black hair, falling in waves against his face, his deer like brown eyes peering through the stands that fell on his face and he moved his strands, meeting her eyes which made her look down again.

I can do this.You talked to all the members without messing up, and you can do it with him too, she thought, trying to comfort herself.

"Your name is Cecilia right?" Jeongguk asked, making sure of her name before signing her album.

"Ye-s," She stuttered, cursing herself mentally for screwing up already but she should have expected this to happen as her heart was pounding against her chest and she wasn't sure how to even look him in the eye. He couldn't be real yet when she looked up to him for the second time, her eyes were glued once more and she felt heself entranced as her eyes refused to believe he was a real life person and not someone out of  a fairytale. Actually, he was better than every Prince Charming.

Breath, she told herself.

Jeongguk couldn't help but smile as she noticed her struggling to maintain eye contact with him. The poor girl had turned a deep red, which he found to be very cute.

Cecilia handed him the letter.

"Um...read it or actually you should never read it," Cecilia mumbled on and Jeongguk stared at her amused.

"Okay," he replied, not knowing what to tell the rambling girl who seemed to be regretting what she just did.

"I'm sorry," Cecilia blurted as soon as she realized what she had been doing.

"It's okay," Jeongguk assured her as he flashed her a smile. "Your Korean is really good."

Internally, she was screaming at what he had just did and from the way her cheeks felt warm, she was sure she was blushing. She returned his smile as she finally managed to talk to him, getting lost in their conversation that ended way too soon for her.

********
She was still in a daze from earlier as Jeongguk's face danced before her eyes and she was lost, dreaming about another opportunity to be able to see his beautiful dimpled smile once more.

Nothing could ruin her day not even the fact that her parents would definitely bring up Dante again, but for now, she wanted to be happy for as long as she could.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't long because as she entered her home, a surprise waited for her: her 'fiancé' was here with his parents.

********

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Comment below and tell me what you think and if you liked it, consider dropping a vote.

I still can't believe I wrote this and published it.

Just wanted to tell you to follow the pictures above because they play an important role in this story.

See all real soon. Bye!!!

Take care,

Sera

Edited.