marriage. something aera never wanted. but still was forced to do so just because that's how it worked back then. love marriage was non-existent for people. it was something impossible for the society. it's not like she would find "love" anywhere because she didn't know what it was and how it felt.
being suffocated inside 4 walls was something she knew. being looked as a burden and an asset too. and thats it. she vividly remembers what her mother told her before she walked down the aisle.
"be a good wife to your husband and don't ruin our reputation by being a burden. let him do whatever he wants without any complain. don't bring shame to our family."
nothing like 'stay happy', 'take care of yourself', 'we will miss you', 'if something happens, tell us okay?'.
nothing. just a "don't bring shame to our family."
who was she kidding? it was her fault to have some expectations from her parents. as she walked down the aisle, she knew nothing would change. it would be the same but around different people. as she was married to the general, she knew she didn't need to do any housework.
they had housemaids, that being the reason. all she had to do was sit, look pretty and listen to her husband like a doll.
fortunately her husband, kim namjoon, had some decency to make her feel comfortable. it was the bare minimum for him but for her, it did wonders. she was never given a world to explore, her world was her house, the four walls she was kept in.
he knew how she was treated by her family and so offered the proposal to marry her. her parents said yes without any hesitation, which infuriated him even more.
but he kept quiet. as long as he got what he wanted, he was okay with anything. namjoon wanted to take her away from that surrounding and treat her the way she deserved to be treated as. a human, not an asset.
he wanted to protect her from everything that might scare or affect her negatively. he wanted to be the one she would run to for comfort. he wanted her to explore and feel what freedom felt like. he wanted her to do things she was restricted to do for no reason. he wanted her to feel...alive.
and that's what he tried to do. it took a lot of time and effort but it was worth it. it was worth it for her happiness and freedom. but in the process, something happened that both namjoon and aera never thought would happen. they fell in love.
love wasn't something namjoon never planned to happen, but it just did. how could his heart stay away from her angelic beauty and pure soul? and how could aera's heart resist his kindness and affection for her? they both didn't. and that's how they fell in love.
but it was all too short lived. a war broke out and namjoon, being the army general, had to go away from his family to serve. aera wasn't happy.
she knew how loyal her husband was to the country, but it still disheartened her. but at the end, she couldn't let her selfishness get in between and not let him go for the war. he had to go and she couldn't stop him from going so.
the day was inching closer and closer. aera wouldn't be able to meet namjoon for god-knows-how-long. it might also be the last time they see and touch each other, and the mere thought of it scared aera to the core. the days they spent earlier might be the last days of them being together.
but she put those thoughts aside, just so she didn't jinx anything, and she tried to make their last days memorable. horse riding, visiting farms, gardening together, reading books for each other, talking about memories buried deep down and just having fun with themselves.
in their last night they cried in each other's embrace and emptied out all their sorrows.
the day was finally here, all adult men between the age of 18-42 were supposed to serve in the war.
the sound of wailings of all the wives, children, lovers, mothers and even the men themselves were audible all over the country. all the soldiers were to leave first and then the men of higher positions would leave.
back in the general kim's residence, aera was putting the badges that namjoon earned on his uniform in front of him while he was standing in front of the mirror.
after putting on the last badge, she looked down and turned around and saw him staring at her longingly. they stood there in the same position for a while before aera choked out a sob.
namjoon almost immediately turned her around and cupped her face. "sweetheart, i don't want you to cry in our last moments together. i will come back, all safe and sound. trust me love."
aera looked into his eyes and showed her pinky finger, "promise me that you will come back." namjoon hesitated, he knew promises like that had a high chance of breaking, but nevertheless intertwined his pinky finger with hers.
"i promise love", he said before leaning in and kissing her softly. she reciprocated, letting her tears run down her cheeks.
after a while, they pulled back and heard the carriage outside their mansion that was there to pick the young general. the butler came in and took all namjoon's baggage to the carriage.
the couple walked towards the gate and namjoon went inside his ride. he put his head out of the carriage's window and looked at aera.
"i will be back my love, until next time." and there, he went away. aera smiled as she saw the carriage gets smaller and farther away from her.
"until next time."
only if she knew that the next time they meet, he would be in a casket.
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