“ who is this grim you speak of? if you are referring to my fiance, i suppose i should applaud you for labeling him in such a manner. you’re right, he is rather grim. at the very least, the prospect of our marriage is grim considering he only cares for his work. ” the concept is amusing though, to say the very least, because if not for her fiance, she’d call out the fact that her dating anyone is far-fetched. dating is too idealistic for her at the moment. as much as she wants to marry for love, she isn’t naive enough to believe she could do anything under her father’s now watchful eye. 

          “ i really dislike repeating myself. is it not clear enough? he’s boring. ” but the truth is, hearing it put that way, that she despises him, makes her hesitate just long enough that it’s uncharacteristic of her. direct, decisive, demanding. those words suit her much better than cautious, hesitant, and afraid. at least, that’s how she wishes to be viewed. knowing what she wants and insisting on it makes her appear far worse than a male doing the same. if a man makes orders, if he takes as he pleases, he’s assertive, dominant, a real man. but a woman? unheard of, isn’t it? what brazenness to speak out of hand, how impossibly modern that a woman takes charge for herself. 

          “ why the both of them? ” though the idea that it would absolutely piss dohwan off to be mentioned along with her fiance is amusing, she does find it odd. to her, they simply don’t compar   —   well, actually … she does suppose there’s a few similarities. in her eyes, they’re both all work and no play, even if it’s more like all work and eating in dohwan’s case. they both would prefer she act more ladylike, whatever the hell that means. both her fiance and dohwan stay by her side out of obligation, even if the reasons differ. to her, taeyoung is bound by their engagement and dohwan is bound by whatever bond they still have lingering from their childhood that neither seem capable of letting go of. 

          “ since i don’t want this marriage, of course not. ” and, truth be told, until her fiance says otherwise, she has no true choice in the matter   —   unless she can manage to escape her father’s clutches and, short of faking her own death as bella suggested she do, it’s damn near impossible to do so. “ i don’t even want to be married right now. i’m only twenty-three and there’s much more i’d rather do than be married. what is married life? from everyone i’ve seen enter one, it’s boring, an outdated tradition, a burden to most and yet it’s necessary in business to seem more accomplished. a trophy wife on one hand and a phone in the other. that’s how she foresees her future going with her fiance if they do marry.