It was always, always him who had to answer the door. Hong-Ki was the house worker after all, and both his step brothers and his step mother kept making him work for them, and he was sick of it. Even now he was mopping the floor when that bothersome someone came around and started knocking on their door. Hong-Ki left what he was doing and ran along to see who it was. A messenger from the palace stood in the doorway looking arrogant as ever and read out what was on the rolled paper which he held in his hand.

                “To all the young men of this house, we gladly invite you to the grand ball which will be held on behalf of our Prince Jong-Hun’s Birthday on the seventh of March at seven pm in the evening, please dress appropriately and also be there by the time when the event will start. Thank you
signed, the King and the queen”

Hong-Ki made a face. “Why young men?” He asked. The messenger looked bored as ever and answered; “Because there will be a lot of young women there for a single prince”

Hong-Ki pursed his lips and turned to leave when suddenly-

“Yah! Lee Hong-Ki!!! Who’s there at the door!!!?” It was his step mother.

 “Nothing, just the king’s messenger…” He said and began to close the door on the messenger’s face.

“Waaaaahhhit!!!!” Shrieked his step mother and hurried towards the door. Hong-Ki really did hate her, and her weird and completely annoying attitudes made him hate her even more. The messenger repeated his message as Hong-Ki returned to his work.

He was not someone to be working for anyone; he had been the son of a rich merchant who lost all his fortune along with the flood which happened five years ago. That was the reason why he got remarried to this rich widow who had three sons, in order to bring up his own son and bring him to a better place. But he couldn’t live his dream for too long. He died due to an excessive case of typhoid fever and poor Hong-Ki was left alone, being a slave to his mean step mother and his stupid step brothers.
“My sons SHOULD go! LEE HONG-KI!!! Get over HERE! You’ve got WORK TO DO!!”
He rolled his eyes. It was just typical for him. Only just it got worse when something special was coming around.

                Meanwhile, Prince Jong-Hun sat on the window sill of his bedroom looking bored and fatigue. He was turning twenty three next week, and throughout the twenty two years he’s spent so far, as he thought, all he had had were all bad and lacking of happiness. He had most of his bad experiences with girls. He had two older sisters who thought nothing else mattered as long as they looked pretty and it just made him hate them more and more. He couldn’t just stand them, he thought girls were only exhibits who loved to look good for those who really bothered to look at them, so he had no desire, whatsoever, to get married, no, not to one of those annoying mannequins who thought of nothing but their beauty, he had to decide, there had to be a way to stop it. He hopped off the window sill just as he realized what his case really was. He knew almost what exactly his heart kept telling him.

                The night of the ball was a complete catastrophe for Hong-Ki. He ran around ironing the suits, washing the shirts and polishing the shoes of the two step brothers. He was not told to help out his step mother since she was a woman; it was approximately two hours later that Hong-Ki sat down for a rest. As he sat there, he wondered…how must the palace look like, how was the ball going, how were his step brothers going, he even had this vision of himself dressed up in a long coat and tight pants with boots up to his knees, wandering around the dance floor of the ball. It just gave him this sudden urge to go to the ball too. If his completely loony-nutcase stepbrothers could go, why couldn’t he? Plus he looked a lot better than them. But only, he didn’t have the suitable clothing or a vehicle to drive in. Though he really wanted to go, he couldn’t. So he sat back, staring at the sky, wishing for god to let a miracle happen.

And that was exactly when it did.

At first, he heard only a tingling sound, then footsteps. It scared him at first, but when it came fully into view, he was grateful. It was the exact resemblance of his mother. It was his Fairy-God-Mother.

“My son…?” she asked in the voice he still remembered from years back. “I will help you to go to the ball” Hong-Ki said; “Yes please!” She smiled. “But remember, return before the clock strike midnight”

So he was asked to find something which could be suitable as a car, he found an old toy car which his Fairy-God-Mother turned into a luxurious Mercedes Benz convertible. Then she asked him to find someone who was suitable enough to be turned into a chauffeur, he went and found the kitten who lived in their kitchen, and with a single flick of her wand, the Fairy-God-Mother turned it into a fully dressed man with a…well, it had a completely cat-like face, but however, after that, transport arrangements were done. Then it was the time to dress Hong-Ki up. The Fairy-God-Mother asked him to stand straight and as he did, she flicked her wand at him, and voila! There he was! Dressed up in a striking tuxedo and his hair was done in the most perfect way, on the whole, the Fairy-God-Mother knew he was going to be the most handsome man of the ball who would catch the eye of every girl there.

“Remember, Hong-Ki~ah…be back before the clock strikes twelve!” Said the Fairy-God-Mother as she watched him climb into the car. “I will…I promise…” Hong-Ki said, and off he went to the palace where the ball was going on so well.

At least Hong-Ki thought so, but Prince Jong-Hun had the worst of it. He was forced to dance with all the girls who came by, and he hated it. None of them made him feel better and he was sure any of them would not, no, not in this life. He couldn’t help it, he hated all of them. It didn’t matter him, no matter how pretty they looked, no matter how well they danced, none of them seemed to impress him, and in the end, he was completely sick of it. He decided, it was the worse birthday he’d ever had. But what caught his interest after all were the young men who were also invited to come since there were too many girls at the ball. They seemed to be more peaceful to be with, and the girls seemed to be enjoying their company, but he certainly couldn’t expect their company after all. The young men were way too engrossed with the dancing girls. After pretending to enjoy dancing with one of the girls, he disappeared through the crowd and sat in a chair, watching more and more people streaming in. That was when he saw him; one of the men who came through simply caught his attention right away. It was a young man, not older than the prince himself and was as handsome as that. He also seemed to catch the attention of the girls, but Jong-Hun was faster. He got up on his feet right away and made it through the crowd towards him. This was his chance. He was going to take the maximum use of it and show the others how he really felt. By the time he was there, the young man was already speaking to one of the girls. But Jong-Hun interrupted her, and when the girl was out of sight, he introduced himself to the young man.

“…and I’m Hong-Ki, Lee-Hong-Ki” he said and held out a hand which Jong-Hun took and shook gladly. “Happy Birthday anyway…your highness” Added Hong-Ki. “It’s odd that I was born two days before you did” Jong-Hun smiled. “Then we probably as well celebrate the birthdays together!”    
Hong-Ki smiled back. “But the ball…isn’t it to find you a bride?”  Jong-Hun nodded, and shrugged. “Yes…but I have no desire to find myself a bride” Hong-Ki made a face. “Why not?” Jong-Hun hesitated and opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t get a chance to. He was interrupted by whomever who was speaking on the mike.

The music for the ball was by a band in which there were four members; Choi Minhwan, Lee Jae Jin, Song Seung Hyun and a former member of the band who agreed to play with them that night named Oh Won Bin. It was him on the mike, he, Seung Hyun and Jae Jin were doing the vocals, and Won Bin wanted the prince to take up the performance as it had been requested by the invitees. Jong-Hun shrugged, and looked at Hong-Ki. “Would you join me?”

Hong-Ki just couldn’t say no, so he agreed.

Through the applause of the crowd in the hall, both Hong-Ki and Jong-Hun made it to the stage, and Jong-Hun took his seat at the piano. Hong-Ki was given a stool to sit by Won Bin, and when they were all ready, Jong-Hun leaned over and spoke to Hong-Ki. “Listen to what I say and sing along with me, it wouldn’t be hard” Hong-Ki was also given a mike, another was set up for Jong-Hun, and as the noise of the audience gradually died, Jong-Hun started playing the piano. It was wonderful, everything about it. How he swayed along the music, how his slender hands moved in a tempting pattern over the keys, how his music made them feel, it was just wonderful. Hong-Ki was definitely impressed; he was even more touched when the prince started to sing. It was mesmerizing. He sang each syllable clear and well-pronounced, his eyes were closed and along with the movements of his hands, his voice also moved. It was like the glittering raindrops splashing onto the silvery surface of a lake during the spring, it touched the hearts of each and every one in the audience. The beauty of the song grew even more as the sound of the other instruments joined in. Hong-Ki listened to him, and took each word into his mind. Then it was his turn to sing.

The audience in the crowd couldn’t believe their ears. In fact, they thought they were taken to a completely different dimension. Hong-Ki’s voice was beautiful…no…it was something more than that, there were no words to explain. Some thought it was like a breeze in the summer, some thought it was like the music a running river made, or was it the sound of the trees swaying in the wind? Whatever it was, his voice just gave tingles all over them, the old women of the crowd were crying, the girls were all in their own dream worlds, and Jong-Hun…he was more than impressed. He couldn’t believe it, He couldn’t help it, and He was falling. He was falling for this man, he was falling for his voice, his charisma, the feel of his singing and the way it touched his heart. He couldn’t help it anymore, He was in love.

The song ended too soon, and the audience was disappointed, they wanted more.

“Sing with me Hong-Ki~ah” Jong-Hun said pleadingly. And he did. He sang and sang until he completely forgot the task he was supposed to fulfil. It was the best day of his life as he thought, and he was sure he would never forget it. His two step brothers envied him, not knowing it was their working-boy Lee Hong-Ki, his step-mother was in tears, and his singing had taken them all to a completely different dimension. They even wondered if they could come back to being themselves.

It was later, when the clock started to struck twelve that Hong-Ki remembered; he had to go. He couldn’t waste anymore of his time there. He was disappointed that it was over, he was sad that he had to leave all his dreams here and never return for it, but he had to keep the promise that he made for his mother, and he couldn’t reveal his true self to the crowd here, otherwise we would never lead a normal life. He got to his feet, hopped off the stage and ran through the seated crowd to the door. The prince was surprised by his movement. It took him a few minutes to realize that his first love was running away from him, and he couldn’t let that happen. He would save it, his love, and let him know how he truly felt, and he will also let others know how he really was. The prince too, wasted no more time and ran after Hong-Ki and made it to the entrance. But Hong-Ki was nowhere in the sight. Suddenly he saw it, a moving figure in the royal garden. He ran towards it. But as he did, it move away. He followed after it. And finally he had it cornered in the maze of trees. He did it. It was Hong-Ki.

But there was something different with him from the last time he saw him. He looked pale and dirtier, He was not wearing the same cloths he was wearing before, and they were completely different from what he wore before. They were discoloured, worn-off and ripped, it explained his poverty. His hair was completely a mess. His eyes were tired and red, and he wore the very worst boots that the prince had seen in his life. He was horror-struck and worried at the same time. “So guess you found out” Hong-Ki muttered, and sat down on the grass. Jong-Hun sat next to him, and Hong-Ki told him everything. How badly he was treated by his step-mother and his step-brothers, how he wanted to come to the ball, and how he met his mother who was now a god-mother, and how he got a chance to be there at the ball…

After hearing it all, the prince was even more impressed. He was touched, and fell for him even more. He couldn’t help him anymore. So he confessed.

This caught Hong-Ki by surprise. He didn’t expect such feelings from the prince towards him, and though he did feel something odd and warm towards the prince himself, he didn’t accept it. He strongly believed it, the fact that they were both men no matter what. Men couldn’t love men, and even if they did, that wouldn’t be of any worth,  they couldn’t expect much from each other because they had nothing much to give. It could be love, but not the kind of love that they could give for a woman, or not the kind that one could get from a woman. They had to believe it, no man could love another in the way that one could love a woman, and it was what Hong-Ki explained to him, though it hurt him so much inside. He knew he was hurting Jong-Hun just the same, or more. But he couldn’t help it. He was a prince, a prince who badly required the love from a woman, not from someone from the same kind. Hong-Ki also, needed love himself, and he’d be waiting for it, until it finally comes around for him. But the love that Jong-Hun had for him, He couldn’t accept it, for the sake of both himself and the prince.

The prince was disappointed. He was broken-hearted and wretched. It was his first time that he actually fell for someone, and it was apparently for a man, and he couldn’t believe it. Hong-Ki he…he touched his heart. It was odd and weird but the feeling of his voice, the warmth that it gave him; it just made him fall in love. But then again, it was true. He was to take up the throne, to become the new king, so he couldn’t be that way. He should be stronger, and should be ready to accept it, that what he needed the most was the love of a woman. He couldn’t love a man, true, he wouldn’t have much to take or give from such a relationship. He had to give up on him; he had to lead a natural life of a man. He should search for the love of a woman of his desires. That was what he thought of when he returned to the palace, after saying goodbye to Hong-Ki who left him there, alone on the stairway, with a toy car and a kitten in his hands.

Prince Jong-Hun sat down on the steps, with his face buried in his hands. He shouldn’t think of it anymore. He needed love, and it should be only the love of a woman. He promised himself, though it was hard, that he would forget all about the man he love for the sake of both him and himself, and he’d do what Hong-Ki wished for him, he’d find a bride. He’d find himself his true love.

That was when he heard it, a sobbing of a girl.

Those made him swiftly turn towards where it was coming from. It was a girl, a rather beautiful one with dark hair falling down to her waist, and beautiful features that any man would have expected of a woman. He couldn’t see her face, she had it covered with her pale slender hands, but what concerned him the most was how she looked. She was hurt, it was an obvious fact, more than that, and she didn’t look like an invitee of the ball. He even wondered if it was one of the maids of the palace, but she was dressed worse than a maid. She wore a dress long only up to her knees, a frilly apron which might have looked white before, but now looked dirty and discoloured, and it seemed as if she’d been working with all her might that her hands looked dirty and used. She went on sobbing, breaking into tears occasionally, and best of all…her sight just melted his heart. Maybe Hong-Ki was right. The best kind of love, he could only receive it from a woman. He could love a man, but it wouldn’t feel the same as it would be with a girl.

Prince Jong-Hun got up to his feet, and walked towards her, his eyes only focused on her, and he felt it, the warmth growing inside him coming up to his cheeks and running throughout his whole body. As he reached her, climbing up the marble steps, his boot hit something. It was a glass shoe. The girl dropped her hands, looked up at the prince and he held his breath. She was beautiful, he couldn’t think of any words to explain it. But as soon as she saw him staring down at her, she got up on her feet to leave, wiping her cheeks. Prince Jong-Hun reached out, and caught her hand. She looked down at her feet and muttered; “Let me go…your highness” But he kept his hand gripped around hers, and he spoke. “Sit down” She followed him. How couldn’t she? He was the prince.

As she sat down, he took the glass shoe in his hands. The girl looked at him, pleadingly, but he smiled at her, and took her pale slender foot in his hands, and slid it into the glass shoe. She held her breath. It was finally happening, what she expected the moment she came here. The prince finally took her hand. She was up on her feet again, still looking down at her feet as he twirled his fingers through hers, and smiled.

Behind the trees, watching the union of the lovely couple was Hong-Ki, smiling to himself. So he did it, he changed the princes life. He would be a completely different person from now, and he was happy for him. At least one of them got what he desired, which simply made the other happy. Hong-Ki stepped back, out of the shadows of the trees, and held the kitten against his cheek, and muttered “See? Prince Jong-Hun’s got his girl…” The kitten meowed as if it replied.

“Is that…your cat?” a girl’s voice asked. Hong-Ki swiftly turned around to face a girl in rich clothing who was standing behind him. She looked cheerful, and was really cute, and looked unconcerned of his appearance. She approached him in slow steps, and held out her hand. But Hong-Ki stepped back. He was surprised. Why would a rich girl like her approach a poor boy like him? “Can I hold it?” She asked.  Hong-Ki hesitated for a minute, but when she smiled and nodded, signifying him to come, he couldn’t help it, so he went to her; with a smile plastered on his face, and handed the kitten out to her with trembling hands, careful not to touch her. She took it, and cuddled it against her chest so happily, and smiled. “It’s so cute! Is it really yours?” She asked, happily. Hong-Ki nodded and smiled even wider.

The girl happened to stare at him as if she just saw the most wonderful thing on earth, and said; “You’ve got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen…”

And that was where it really begun.