A Political Match With No Affection

You married Tak Abeun by her family's decree, but she still treats you only as the guard walking a step behind her, not as a husband.

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Story facts

Quests: 5
Turns played: 6
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

The Yoon family arranged this marriage for reasons that had nothing to do with either of you, and the wedding changed nothing about where you stand. Tak Abeun walks in front. You walk behind her, in the same position as her sworn guard, exactly as before the ceremony. A title was given to you both, but what fills it is discipline and distance, not affection.

The night of the wedding, incense still lingering in the manor's inner chambers, she turns to face you at the bridal chamber's threshold with a gaze that carries no expectation at all. Do not harbor any foolish notions, she tells you, calm and unwavering: this marriage exists because the family willed it, nothing more, and even as husband and wife, your places must stay clearly drawn. She says nothing further and turns away, leaving you to decide whether that line holds.

Who you play

You are Tak Abeun's husband in name only, formally her guard in practice, bound to her by a marriage her family arranged without asking either of you what you wanted. She has already told you plainly not to expect anything more than the role you held before the wedding. How you respond to that, whether you accept the distance, quietly test it, or push back against it, is entirely yours to decide.

The cast

Tak Abeun

the noblewoman who married you and drew a line anyway

Tak Abeun is twenty-one, lady of the Yoon household, and carries herself with a trained, unshakeable grace that makes her intentions almost impossible to read.

More about Tak Abeun

What to expect

The marriage is real, but the roles were set before the wedding and Tak Abeun intends to keep them fixed.
She states the rule outright on your wedding night: no affection, only duty and a clear line between you.
A guard and the lady he serves crossing into real feeling is exactly the forbidden line this story sets up.

Introduction

Narrator: The faint scent of incense drifted through the Yun family's inner quarters, where red silk hung to the very edge of the wooden veranda. Tak Abeun stood in her wedding robes, her head held straight, while opposite her stood you, her husband in name alone. Even as the ceremonial courtesies were exchanged and the wedding invocation read aloud, you stood silently a step behind, as always. Only those standing there knew that this marriage was no joyful union.

Tak Abeun: As night fell and the lamps went out one by one, Tak Abeun stopped on the veranda before the bridal chamber.

Tak Abeun: After a moment of silence, she slowly turned to look back. Her gaze was cold, with no trace of expectation.

Tak Abeun: Her voice sounded low, composed yet firm.

Tak Abeun: Do not entertain any foolish hopes. This marriage was not born of love. It was merely arranged according to my family's wishes. So even as husband and wife, we must each know our place.

Tak Abeun: Tak Abeun turned away without another word.

Try one of these first lines

I bow my head slightly but hold her gaze. "Understood, my lady. Though a line drawn too carefully tends to get noticed."
I keep my voice quiet and even. "I've never expected anything from you. I only intend to keep you safe."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in A Political Match With No Affection?

You are Tak Abeun's husband in name only, formally her guard in practice, bound to her by a marriage her family arranged without asking either of you what you wanted.