Someone Arrange Me A Marriage With Joshua Hong Too - Tumblr Posts

13 Days, 13 Men, 13 AUs #12:

JOSHUA HONG + arranged marriage au

1,2k words /// genre: fluff (?) /// warnings: food mentions. that’s all.

In which it’s hard not to fall for him, even in your circumstances.

One small agreement changed your life forever. For the better or the worse, you were not sure. But it sure was different from what it was before.

Two months after your engagement, you were still wary of the cameras. You didn’t grow up in the public eye like he had. You hadn’t been of much importance to the world until your name began appearing next to his.

Joshua seemed anything but nervous, effortlessly smiling and showing off his good looks to the press. You couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

“Relax a little,” he leaned down to whisper in your ear. “They won’t bite.”

“But the viewers might,” you mumbled while faking a smile. He laughed at your comment, as if it was a joke between the two of you. “Glad you’re so amused.”

You felt him grab your hand and squeeze your fingers in a comforting manner. “I know it’s still scary, but I’m here for you.”

“I’m not too sure how you’re going to help me.”

He offered a mischievous smile and leaned closer to your ear. The cameras began flashing at double the intensity.

“Hey, what do you call a magic dog?”

You resisted the urge to scoff. “Not one of your dad jokes again.”

“Oh, come on,” he whined, pulling on your arm gently while you led him into the venue and out of the view of the cameras. “Entertain me a little bit.”

You sighed and came to a stop to turn to him. “One joke.”

“One joke,” he agreed with a smile. “Just one.”

“Alright.” You straightened your back and readied yourself. “What do you call a– what was it? A magic dog?”

“A magic dog, yes.” He grinned. “Do you want to know?”

“Sure.”

“A labracadabrador.”

You laughed. Why? You did not know. It seemed silly. “That was so bad.”

“Seemed to amuse you,” he pointed out, “and that’s all that matters to me.”

You could only hope the cameras didn’t catch your flustered state.

The longer you were together, the more natural it felt to be with him. Even though your friends pitied you, saying how unfortunate it was for your marriage to be arranged, you didn’t feel so bad about it. It was what it was. And if you were in an arranged marriage, you were glad it was with Joshua.

Joshua made your days easier. He quickly found a place in your daily routine, as if he belonged there from the beginning.

Friday nights were reserved for events and galas. His silly jokes and endless compliments were there to cheer you up and cheer you on, his hand never once left your waist. He stood tall and smiled bright whenever someone said anything along the lines of "You look great together."

On weekdays, he often made his way into your lunch plans. He never hesitated to pick you up at 1 pm sharp, equipped with his charming smile and a restaurant suggestion.

“I’m sure your company doesn’t appreciate your long lunch breaks,” you told him while twirling pasta onto your fork. “Must be annoying for them.”

Joshua scoffed. “What are they gonna do? I’m the chairman’s son.” He offered you a wink right after. “Besides, they all know I’m busy romancing my gorgeous wife-to-be.”

You wondered if the endless compliments would ever stop making your heart skip a beat.

On Sundays, he liked to take you on dates. Just the two of you. And sometimes the paparazzi. It became a game of sorts, a challenge to see if you could outsmart and outrun them.

The Sunday afternoon a week before your wedding would be held was no different.

You did your best to muffle your laughter as Joshua led you through a narrow alleyway, further away from the public view.

"Did we lose them yet?" He asked you over his shoulder though his pace never slowed. Months of sneaking away had made him both more skillful and competitive.

You glanced back. Sure enough there was someone coming up behind you, their gasps for air and clumsy steps echoing between the walls, and a shadow stalking the noise.

"Not yet," you whispered back before feeling his hand squeeze yours a little tighter. "Where are we going?"

He let out a rather helpless chuckle. "Hell if I know."

"The rooftop?" you suggested.

"I like the way you think!"

You soon found a ladder – your escape route. Joshua went up first, though he kept looking back to make sure you weren’t far behind.

“Hurry! They’ll catch us!” Despite his anxious voice, his face betrayed a sense of mischief and adventure.

“I’m coming,” you softly called to him.

He was up on the rooftop before you could even get halfway up the ladder. He leaned his head over the edge to smile at you. “You’re kind of slow.”

You rolled your eyes at his remark and accepted his welcoming hand. He pulled you to the rooftop – and right into his embrace – in just the nick of time. You could hear the paparazzi’s ragged gasps for air and hasty footsteps below as Joshua held a hand over your mouth.

“Just in case,” he reasoned a moment later before smiling brightly again. “That was fun.”

“They won’t find us up here, right?” you wondered and sat down next to him on the ground, ready to stretch out your limbs and bask in the sunlight.

Joshua laughed. “They might if they saw a certain slowpoke climbing the ladder.”

“... I’m divorcing you,” you joked, but failed to keep a straight face. His smile was infectious and soon you were giggling among yourselves on the rooftop.

“You can’t divorce me yet, silly,” he pointed out and tapped your head. “We’re not married yet. You’ll have to marry me first.”

“Then I’ll marry you first and then demand a divorce at the reception.”

He scrunched up his nose a bit. “I’d prefer you didn’t.” The look he gave you almost melted you into goo right there. Never before had you felt so important. He seemed as fond of you as you felt of him as he said, “I quite like having you around. It would be a shame to lose you so early, and over a dumb joke.”

The silence was nice. It didn’t feel like a burden anymore, not like it had when you first met. You let your body lean against his shoulder, your head comfortably resting on his neat dress-shirt, and not an ounce of hesitation ran through you.

“Does it ever bother you?” he asked you as he leaned his head on yours.

“What?” you wondered but found yourself unable to move to give him the full attention he so deserved. He didn’t seem to mind too much though.

A soft sigh sounded almost like a secret. “The idea of marrying someone you didn’t choose for yourself?”

Maybe the idea had bothered you some time back – you realized – back when it was all still new and you listened to your friends for relationship advice. But sitting with him now, in that moment, felt right. And so you knew your answer.

“It doesn’t.”

He hummed a tone higher than usual. “Really? I figured it would bother you a bit.”

“Why?” You chuckled. “You trying to leave me at the altar or something?”

“No! God, no!” He was offended that you’d even suggest that and you could see it in his eyes when he turned his head. The outrage melted into soft adoration once again and he smiled. “I was afraid you would.”

“But I won’t.”

“Then I won’t leave at the altar you either. Promise.”

“Promise.”

A/N: I can't believe I have only one fic left of this event aaaaaaaaaa . Also my keyboard sort of broke while I was writing this and I had to take it all apart and deep-clean it and it took like half a day so I had to sort of rush this au. Life's weird.