#w. cha wontaek 001.

[littlemarie]

there was a time before everything went to shit.

she’s four when they sit her down in pre-school and present to her a list of colour terms printed in mismatched ink, and they note the time it takes for her to sound the words out. she learns then, that she’s smart. it’s what mother tells her on the ride home, sings her praises the way her teachers cooed them only moments prior. before sumi was scary, before she was difficult, before she was bad luck, sumi was smart. then her curse comes to life and mother tacks all of those labels onto her ribboned dress.

as much as mother forgets it, sumi is still smart in the same way she’s still that girl, wide-eyed and smiling with teeth at mother’s compliments. she still knows all her colours.

it just takes time. she’s sitting across from wontaek in a red sundress, tulle ribbons in her hair and she hides her baffled frown behind sips of her caramel macchiato. he’s energetic in his speech, tosses in dubious words like scheme and deception enough that perhaps she’s meant to question if any of this was legal, if only she wasn’t still hung up on the realisation that this isn’t the date she thought it to be. but sumi is smart, so she catches up eventually. seconds after the— “wait— so let me get this straight: you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?” —right— “but you’re—” cha wontaek. —there. she catches herself before she says his name like it means something, because it’s too much power to give to a man in a negotiation. this is, after all, what all of this is, isn’t it? not a date, but a negotiation.

in the silence, she moves at a leisurely pace. places her drink on the table and tucks her chocolate tresses away from her face and behind her shoulder. “that’s easy enough,” she weighs in after clearing her throat, and for the first time since she’d grasped the true nature of this conversation, she looks him confidently in the eyes. he’s cha wontaek, son of one of the richest, most powerful families in eden, and she’s just a girl who’d like to continue exploring her list of secrets and hobbies. now, she’s looking at him. him, her means to do so. “what’s in it for me?”

stroop effect  /  @fkahermes