Asakusa, Tokyo
(04:11pm)
"What?! You can't be serious, Papa!"
"I've never been more serious, Musume."
"P – Please think about this."
"I have."
"And this is what you've decided on?"
"Yes."
"No... No, I won't allow it!"
"You won't... 'allow' it?"
"This is my life, Papa!"
"This is for our family."
"I – I've always followed your rules without complaining. I've been an obedient daughter. You know I'll do everything for this family and I will never do anything to hurt us. But... choosing my husband... the person I'll spend the rest of my life with? That's crossing the line."
"That's a small sacrifice that will greatly benefit our family."
"But –"
"It has already been decided. This will solidify our alliance and have easier trading in Kankoku. There had been disagreements over the decades with the Triple Tigers. I can't afford to lose any more men in this petty feud. This marriage will solve that. It will serve as a unification of both parties."
"Why can't Onii-san do it? He's your heir, isn't he?"
"The Yi family only have sons."
"Right, so you decided to offer your own daughter."
"YUKI!"
"..."
"You will marry Yi's second son. You will unite the families. And you will not disobey me. This is final. Nothing you say or do will change this. If I have to drag you by your ankle to the altar, I will."
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and slid the doors open before entering the dojo. Papa was training his men. When he saw me enter, he raised a hand. The men instantly stopped.
"Kyou wa kore de owari. Saru." That's it for today. Leave.
Truthfully, he shouldn't be the one doing this. But he told me once that this was his way of bonding with his people. If he trained them personally, they would be better and stronger.
He only trained those he trusted well, though.
"Musume, it's good to see you," he said to me, as soon as we were left alone. I couldn't see his face because it was covered with his head gear but I could tell he was smiling. "You don't visit me as often anymore."
Before I could decide if he sounded sad, he turned around and headed to the other sliding door that led to the room where he usually received guests and offered them tea. I followed him and to no surprise, there was tea waiting for us. I sat in a kneeling position across the table from him and waited until he removed his gear before I spoke.
"I was busy, Papa," I told him, with a little smile.
When I was younger, I was more playful and carefree around my father. Even if he was strict and overprotective, he was my hero. When I was old enough to learn what he did for a living, I was hurt and angry. And yet... he was still my hero.
But ever since he made that marriage announcement three years ago, the daddy's girl in me suddenly grew up. I guess I never thought he'd actually give me up as a peace offering one day.
He nodded. "Hai, hai."
My father looked strong and healthy despite his age. Well, if he could train those men hard enough, he had to be capable of managing them.
I never understood why everyone was so scared of him because he always looked gentle to me... until we had that argument years ago.
He was stoic as a rock.
"You've been busy with a lot of charity work, I heard," he mentioned, without looking at me. He was busy pouring us some tea.
This is it. Time to drop the bomb.
I cleared my throat, before stating, "I've also been in negotiations with the Triple Tigers located in Busan for several months now. We reached an agreement two months ago and made our first trade last week."
It wasn't easy. In fact, it was near impossible.
Triple Tigers, the most notorious Geondal in South Korea. Their power and influence were almost one with the government that they were practically undetected. They controlled three of the biggest cities there; Seoul, Incheon, and Busan.
Their organization worked like a web, only those at the very center had the ultimate power. Everyone else was disposable. That was why no one could trace anything back to them.
Many didn't even know they were working for Triple Tigers.
These past couple of months, I had to endure racist and sexist comments all throughout our meetings. But I managed to keep my mouth shut and push through.
I had to prove myself. I wanted to show my father that this kind of deal was possible even without the official alliance. Most of all, I wanted him to see that if I could do this, there was no need for marriage at all.
"Impressive," he said, picking up his tea and drinking.
He didn't sound surprised. Did he find out I was meeting with the Triple Tigers? But if so, why didn't he stop me?
After putting his tea back down on the table, his eyes finally met mine. "I, however, doubt that you didn't receive any help."
I frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I trust you, Musume," he assured me, in that fatherly kind of way he did whenever he was being patient with me. "You are smart and very resourceful. I'm proud to call you my daughter."
I was about to turn into goo with his words because he never complimented me so much like this, and that was exactly why I sensed that what was coming wouldn't be good.
"But this is a matter that goes beyond your skills."
I knew it.
"This feud has been going on since before you were born. They won't allow an arrangement to happen as simple as that. You received outside help whether you know it or not."
"No," I disagreed, shaking my head and refusing to believe it. There was no way. "I did it on my own," I added, my hands turning into fists on my lap.
I wanted to cry in anger but I held myself back.
I wouldn't allow him to let me think that all that hard work was for nothing. It took all my willpower not to rip those bastards into freaking shreds whenever they talked shit about me and the things they would do to me if I wasn't a Yakuza Hime – in front of me. I had to stop myself from bursting into rage just so the deal would be made.
All that... and I had help?
My father sighed. "Thank you for your efforts, Musume. I truly appreciate it."
My jaw clenched and I started breathing hard to control myself from flipping out. I hated how he sounded sincere. I also hated how he closed the subject just like that.
"Since you're here, it's better that I let you know."
I raised my chin up and prepared myself for another blow.
"The wedding preparations are almost done."
My eyes widened in panic. "Already?"
"It's been three years," he said, as if we were discussing the weather. "Meonjeo and I have decided that you're both ready."
All my life, I've been warned that there was animosity between the Yakuza and the Geondal. But here was my father, who just referred to the Geondal boss 'Meonjeo' like they were long time buddies.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like 'Meonjeo' is their boss's first name or anything. It literally translates to 'First' because he's considered as the 'First Tiger,' the first in command. Same with his sons, Duljjae and Jesam – Second and Third.
"Jesam will arrive next week."
Speak of the devil.
Jesam, the second son of the Yi family and third in command for the Triple Tigers. The one I was supposed to marry and spend the rest of my imprisoned life with.
"Papa," I pleaded to him, leaning forward and hoping against all hope that he'd listen to me, "I was able to make trading arrangements with the Triple Tigers in Busan. Isn't this proof that the marriage is not needed to unify us?"
His expression changed. It hardened, like an immovable anchor. I realized at that moment that I wasn't looking at my father anymore. In front of me was the boss of the head family.
At that point, I knew it was a lost cause. But I still looked at him straight in the eye. There was one more fight left in me before I lost all hope.
"Is there really no way to convince you not to go through with this?" I asked him, slightly impressed with myself because my voice didn't crack. "This will destroy me, Papa."
"I told you," he answered patiently, like he was taking his time. But then, his eyes held mine and his tone was firm, as he added, "It's already done."
I closed my eyes, nodding. "Sodesu ka." I see.
I give up.
Bowing, I said, "Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu." Excuse me for leaving first.
Without waiting for his reply, I got up and turned to leave. It was obvious that I was dying to leave, because I wouldn't be this rude. But I needed to get out of here. I needed to breathe.
"Yuki," he called calmly.
I stopped but didn't look back. "Hai?" Yes?
"Ki wo tsukete." Take care.
I nodded. "Un."
Walking through the dojo, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. There was a part of me that wanted to cry but the bigger part of me was calling me a wuss for even thinking that.
I stopped walking when I reached the balcony-like wooden pathway outside, where it was overlooking the garden. Putting a hand on a pillar, I let myself get lost as I stared into space.
I used to really love this huge house, with its traditional Japanese all-wood design and trees covering the entire compound from the outside. It was calming, being surrounded by nature.
But it brought a false sense of peace.
No, I didn't want this. I wanted chaos. I wanted to forget, even for a little while.
I didn't have to deal with this until next week. Right now, I could still do whatever I wanted. And I wanted to –
"Yuki-chan?"
I dropped my head at the sound of his voice. I didn't want to face him right now.
"Daijobu?" Are you okay?
Shaking my head, I answered truthfully, "Iie." No.
"It's supposed to be me."
I turned around and faced my older brother. "But it's not."
He ran a hand through his dark hair, messing up it up even more. But he didn't seem to care. Then again, he never did. I guess that was what made him cool. Leaning his back on the opposite pillar from me, he watched me for a second before a playful smile reached his lips.
"Do you want me to order a hit on Jesam?"
"You won't do it," I said, rolling my eyes. "His death in your hands will start a war."
He sighed and looked away, putting his hands inside the pockets of his trousers.
I didn't want him to have that worried look on his face, because it made me feel even worse than I did before. It was like he was confirming that I was in such a terrible situation. The last thing I wanted was for him to blame himself because he felt like he wasn't able to protect me.
"I'll be okay, Onii-san," I assured him. For a brief moment, I believed myself, too. "He can't be worse than you," I added in a small smile, in an attempt to turn things light.
My brother's forehead creased, pursing his lips and looking deep in thought.
"Actually, I heard he's very assertive. When he started taking over their Busan territory, the first thing he did was to get rid of kkangpaes that were causing trouble in the area."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't you have done the same?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't let those worms swim laps in the ocean for hours on end. I'd end their misery right then and there. He seemed to enjoy torturing them."
I shrugged. "At least, he didn't kill them."
"Trust me," argued my brother, shaking his head. "They were better off dead."
My eyes wandered back to the garden. It wasn't like I didn't already know this about Jesam, especially when I've been spending time with some filthy Triple Tigers. They talked a lot.
Great, now I was reminded of how much of a waste of time that was.
I needed to get out of here.
"Should I be scared?" I asked nonchalantly, stepping away from the pillar I was leaning on.
He sent me a serious look. "I'm saying you should be careful."
"Noted." I nodded, before turning around. "Arigatou, Onii-san~!"
"Otou-san would want you to stay here, you know."
"Well, he wants a lot of things," I pointed out. Looking over my shoulder, I added, "Don't worry, I won't go and get myself killed. I wouldn't want to break the alliance with my death."
Too bad.
_____________
Is it just me or does Yuki sound... different? Matured, or just... a little lifeless? It's like she's not the same bubbly girl we used to know in Seoul. Tokyo changed her. :(