Jake would have to admit that more than once in his life he had to pretend to have the situation under control, pretend to agree, and follow the orders that the community leaders imposed on his life. It may sound selfish or not, but when he was younger, he didn’t care much if the forced marriages of many of the girls in his community were mentioned—he didn’t have sisters to worry about, at least not from the same mother.

That changed when he reached adolescence. Marriage topics became more present in his life, now involving his future, specifically his future with you.

However, Jake was naïve enough to believe he would have the slightest say in the matter. His perspective on marriage had changed with you in his life. Despite knowing you since childhood, it wasn’t until adolescence that Jake had the courage (with his friend Sunghoon’s support) to declare his feelings for you, which would have been perfect if not for the environment you lived in.

This ultimately led to the current situation.

"I really don’t understand," Jake sighed, covering his face with his hands in frustration. He was lying on the grass while you were leaning against the shade of a tree, looking at him with a sigh.

"How are they able to do that? Can’t they see two young people in love and decide to marry the girl off to her boyfriend’s best friend, just like that?" he grunted in frustration, rolling over until he was close enough for you to stroke his hair.

Jake was clearly upset—how could they try to separate you from him? Did they think that with a simple arrangement of your marriage to another guy—his best friend—it would be enough to end things between the two of you? Oh no, they were very wrong.

"You can’t leave me..." he murmured softly, "Do you prefer him over me? I’m sorry we got caught, it’s my fault, I admit it, but please don’t leave me, darling, please..."