A gypsy. She was a gypsy. A common gypsy.

The lovely prince shook his head and tried to distract himself with the lovely peonies in the royal garden. He should be with the Royal Head of the Guard, practicing his swordsmanship. But he was too distracted to do so. Besides, he figured the Head would have no time for him. They were too busy attending to his Father's commands. He had plenty of time to spare.

Which was good since he needed some time to think.

Those eyes.

His late mother, the Queen, gave him a book to read before she died. She told him that whenever he felt lonely, he should pick up her book. It was a story about a boy who lived alone in an island and fell in love with a star. He didn't know why his mother thought it'd be helpful; he felt lonelier whenever he picked the book up. But today, he wasn't lonely.

He was just really distracted. 

He set the book aside as he laid down on the grass and closed his eyes, remembering the night of his celebration.

The lovely prince knew he wasn't the only one astounded by the "Silver Belle," as the Duke called her. The Grand Hall lost air at the sight of her graceful yet seductive movements. All she had to do was flick her fingers and they were automatically under her spell. She only spent more than five minutes in the middle, but it felt like years of watching her.

He remembered how she finished the dance with a flourish, how her eyes never left his the entire time. It felt like she spoke to him through her body movements. 

By the end of the performance, he could hear his heart pounding wildly against his chest.

She said no more afterwards. All she did was bow humbly, deaf to the lustful praises of the men and the scornful remarks of jealous noblewomen. The mere gypsy kept her eyes on the Prince, bowing low to express her gratitude, and leaving immediately. No one even offered her food or drinks or even water to wash her feet. 

She just left.

For some reason, he could not get over her. He didn't even know her name. The Duke who gifted him her presence did not either; he said he only picked her up in the streets. He only knew of her as the Silver Belle. The prince couldn't help but be annoyed; the Duke didn't even bother to know her name. 

The sound of carriages crossing on gravelly grounds caused the prince to open his eyes. Amidst the clopping of horses and the wheels, he could also hear excited chatters and loud laughter -- very much unacceptable within the castle grounds. Judging from the racous conversations, he sensed peasants were crossing nearby. 

Such noise, he thought, slightly annoyed. 

"...the celebration for the Prince's birthday must've been something, huh?"

There was a delicate giggle. It sounded like the rinigng of bells.

"He must've been entranced by you."

"Who wouldn't? I bet those greedy nobles wanted you to stay."

Another tinkling laughter.

"They couldn't make me even if I wanted to."

Strangely, the prince sat up at the sound of the voice. Without thinking, he stood up and looked above the hedges. The voices sounded like they came from the other side. He walked up to the tall forms of greenery and looked up.

He could still hear voices.

"Did you get near the Prince?"

A chuckle.

"I couldn't event if I wanted to."

V couldn't take his eyes off the slim velvet surface of Park Jimin's expensive-looking jacket. He couldn't even stop staring at everything the young man did -- how he stood quietly behind Kim Seokjin as the older one taught him about investing or whatever, how he laughed politely at a crude joke from one of the investors, how he smiled at his fiancee. For some reason, he just can't take his eyes off this man. 

Even when they were behind a closed door meeting, V found himself staring intently at Park Jimin through the glass doors. 

"Hyung?"

V's reverie was broken by JK's sudden re-appearance. 

"Hey, where did you go?" he asked. 

"Ah...well Go sunbaenim said I had to follow him first a while ago," answered the dongsaeng, "He showed me the room's floor plan so I'd know the nearest exits and entrances."

"What for?"

"I dunno. In case someone tries to attack Kim Seokjin and his family?"

The older boy nodded and returned his gaze to the silver-haired chaebol. Park Jimin's laughter rang and managed to pass through the thick glasses of the meeting area. He couldn't quite describe it, but V thought such laughter was melodious and inhuman at the same time. 

"Who's that guy following Kim Seokjin again?" asked JK.

"Park Jimin," answered V.

JK looked at Park Jimin with astonishment. "Wah, would you look at him?"

"What?"

The dongsaeng's mouth gaped at the sight of Park Jimin.

"I don't know...there's something about him," he said, "Maybe it's the grey hair on a young guy that bothers me."

"Y