A gentle hand was placed on Jeonghan’s shoulder, proceeding to shake him until he was awake. He opened his blurry eyes to see a brightly lit room of gold and white elegance. He was met with the kind, wrinkled face of his personal maid. She was already dressed in a beautiful long ball gown.

“Jeonghan. I am sorry to wake you from your afternoon nap, but your mother has informed me that the ball will be starting in approximately 2 hours. You are required to prepare.”

Jeonghan yawned and stretched ungracefully, a contrast between the room he was in. He threw the blanket off him and yawned once more. He swung his feet around and stood up. “I’m still so tired.”

“I have drawn you a bath already.” She spoke up before walking to his wardrobe to prepare his outfit. “Will it be the red or the purple this evening?”

“You know, I trust your judgement, ma’am. Why don’t you decide for me?” Jeonghan called out from his bathroom where he was undressing.

“I’d say the purple suits your current cool-toned black hair.” She called.

“Purple it is.”

After an hour long bath, Jeonghan felt relaxed and at peace. His short bob was matted to his neck and he towel dried it before walking to his wardrobe to get dressed. He wore a sharp suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist.

“Hey, come tie my tie for me?”

His maid rushed over quickly. “Of course.” She grabbed each side and wrapped it around his neck, tying his tie with practiced ease. “Are you excited for tonight? You’re finally going to meet the woman your mother wants you to marry.”

“Honestly, I’m not excited at all. I’m not ready for marriage.” He snapped with a hint of bitterness. His maid continued to straighten out his suit and make sure everything looked in place.

“Hah, once you see her! You will change your mind. She’s beautiful.”

Jeonghan half-heartedly nodded. He was sure she was beautiful, but Jeonghan hated the idea of an arranged marriage (even if his parents assured him he wasn’t forced and that it was just a heavy suggestion) and he wanted to get married on his own terms. That much was understandable – he should be allowed to marry who he wants, when he wants. But his parents, being the rich business people they were, found that many benefits would come from Jeonghan marrying their newest business partner’s daughter.

The ball was to be the first meeting of Jeonghan and the Hong-Liu family’s daughter Amber in preparation for engagement. Jeonghan’s mother had stressed the importance of the event as not only a fateful meeting but an important business arrangement.

Jeonghan took a look into his floor to ceiling length mirror. He had to admit, the suit his father bought for him looked incredibly flattering on him, and the colour was just to his liking. He couldn’t help but feel nervous for the meeting. He would be meeting the girl he was going to marry.

His maid fussed about, fixing this, adjusting that, flattening down his hair, brushing and fluttering about. He could see the nervousness on her face – his parents must have been hounding her to make sure he was picture perfect.

After his maid finished fussing over him, he took the long staircase down to the main entry hall where his parents were sitting on plush white armchairs and speaking in hushed voices, each with a champagne flute in hand.

“Ah, here’s our man of the hour. It’s a good thing you came down – the first guests should be arriving soon.” His father spoke up.

Jeonghan walked to his side and stood by them. A waiter came to his side, offering him a champagne flute filled with a crisp yellow coloured liquid inside. Jeonghan politely refused. “Did the Hong-Liu’s tell you when they would arrive?” He questioned.

“Hmm, they just said to await their arrival at sundown didn’t they, dear?” Jeonghan’s mother answered. Jeonghan’s father nodded with a grunt.

“Sundown it is.” Jeonghan spoke. A knock at the door signalled the first guests arriving and Jeonghan quickly walked over to answer. He was met with the beaming face of Choi Seungcheol – the son of parents who owned a major gym franchise. They bro-hugged and Seungcheol and his parents entered. Jeonghan’s parents greeted Seungcheol’s parents before taking them to the main party area.

Seungcheol had been a friend to Jeonghan for a long time. They met in their first year of high school and had been close ever since. Now he was the main person Jeonghan went to when he had any sort of problem.

“So, Jeonghan. How excited are you to meet your future wife?” Seungcheol asked, elbowing the boy gently. The two boys walked down long corridors, reaching the grand sunroom. They plopped down on a large leather three seater and looked out at the gardens. The evening sun was setting, giving everything a soft orangey glow.

“If I’m honest… I’m not really?” He let out a soft sigh. “I can’t exactly say that to my parents. They have their heart set on me marrying this girl. But what if she’s crazy? What if she’s a murderer? What if she… I don’t know!” Jeonghan let his head flop back and held a hand over his eyes.

Seungcheol gently pat his thigh. “It won’t be that bad. She’s pretty cool – I’ve met her a few times. Totally normal and totally cute.”

Jeonghan nodded. He guessed that he could trust Seungcheol’s judgement. But something about marrying a woman he barely knew made him feel uneasy. After some time of watching the sun slowly descend behind the horizon, Jeonghan’s maid walked into the room.

“Jeonghan… The Hong-Liu’s are here.” She spoke softly. “Your mother would like you to greet them.”

Jeonghan nodded. “You can hang out here Seungcheol, I’ll be back.”

He walked quickly down to the entrance hall and his mouth almost dropped to the floor. Sparkly eyes, soft smooth skin, fluffy brown hair… His eyes feasted on beauty beyond his comprehension. An ethereal being met his eyes, and eyes that held galaxies observed him carefully.

Then he averted his gaze slightly to the left, where he met eyes with who he assumed was Amber.

She was beautiful, but she was on a different level to the godlike man next to her, with the face carved by angels and a softness to his features that overall made him seem above human.

“Holy .” Jeonghan breathed.

first chapter yay! sorry for any little errors. chapters are probably going to be a little short but hey, thats how i keep motivated hahaha. this gained a huge amount of views and attention just for the foreword so i hope you all like it! thanks to all those who subscribed. please upvote and comment if you can :D