I keep on listening to Taylor Swift - Style. I don't know why but I'm hook. Perhaps because Dominic is so handsome! It's the guy from Style MV. Anyway, I write half of this chapter listening to Style.

To some readers who are confused with Kai's intention:  Kai likes Inna genuinely. He just feels that liking Inna will make his parents furious, and he likes her more because of that. But he doesnt want Inna just to infuriate her parents. So please don't misunderstand our oppa Kai's intention :)

ENJOY LOVELIES!

You got that James Dean day dream look in your eyes

And I got that red lip classic thing that you like

And when we go crashing down we come back every time

We never go out of style

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“What?” Hyuna asked, staring at Hyunseung suspiciously.

“No, nothing, it just that you reminded me of this girl. And it seemed that it’s you after all.” He said.

Hyuna’s mind faced a block. “What?”

“You see, there was this one girl, back in my old home at the Song neighborhood who once cried because of her guilt eating her up. So this girl came to the neighborhood’s park, and I gave her my handkerchief. I brought her home to face her parents.” He said with a smile as he sat in front of Hyuna.

The memory hit Hyuna hard, and for a moment there was a silence. A look of astonishment clouded her face as she stared at Hyunseung. Sharp eyes, dark hair…

“You’re the boy?”

“I’m the man,” He grinned.

“So, it was like, hey, I was that boy who gave you a handkerchief, instead of a shoulder to cry on?” I ask as I munch my meaty hamburger.

Hyuna gives me a look of disgust as she scoops her low-fat plain yogurt. I give her a stink-eye.

“Yes, he was like that. We weren’t like in movies whereas the characters had to go through problems after problems to find out their childhood sweetheart. At least I think he was my childhood sweetheart. He began to tease me a lot after that.”

“Did you date him?”

“No! Are you nuts?”

“Of course not,” I roll my eyes. “But you both like each other.”

“Yes—at least I think so! I’ve seen him with so many ladies and trust me; he acts with them just as he acts with me.”

“You’re saying that he’s flirty.” It’s more like a statement than a question.

“Exactly.” Hyuna sighs. “As much as I like him, I will not put myself for him to take like a low-life. If he likes me the way I like him, then he better do good to get me.”

“I know you’ll say that.”

And we laugh, knowing how true it is.

The day passes uneventfully, and soon it’s time for the winter ball. Hyuna hires two hairdressers and has them to do our hair beautifully. My hairdresser braids my hair then curls it into a bun. I hiss every time she pulls my hair too hard, and then she apologizes, which I answer with ‘it’s okay’. After the hair, the hairdresser stands by the side while Hyuna’s appointed make-up artist puts her magic on my face. Honestly I can’t see why all this bother. I mean, it’s a ball. Why is Hyuna making a big deal out of it? Unfortunately, my mouth has the words pouring out before I know it.

“Because, my dearest Inna, this isn't just some ball. My uncle actually puts his time to supervise the decorating and the foods. This ball is going to be like one of those balls you’ve read in your novel. It’s going to be filled with sophisticated chandeliers and delicious English and French desserts. You’re going to love it, I promise!” Then to the make-up artist: “You don’t have to put so much on her eyes. We’re going to wear masks, after all.”

Right, it’s a mask ball. Just like that ball she had gone to with Hyuna and her brother. The night when she danced with Kai for the first time. The thought has her trembled with excitement. If Kai is somehow at the ball tonight, she’ll be the happiest woman alive.

The make-up artist, Luna, ignores Hyuna’s words and continues to put eye blushes on my face, with whatever color she has. When the make-up artist finally finishes with her last mark by putting a light pink color lipstick on my lips, she asks me to look at myself in the mirror.

What I see in the mirror get me to gasp. The woman in front of me has her eyes lined up with black eyeliner, but it’s not too much that it just lines her eyes softly. The eye blushes are of gold and silver, and they are also put lightly, not smoky like Hyuna’s. The soft pink lipstick polishing her lips is the best as the light color gives her a soft feature. Overall she looks like a refined young lady with soft features. She looks like any protagonist will look like. She isn’t excessively pretty like Hyuna who has her eyes made like a cat, and she certainly can’t pull the eye-catching red lipstick that Hyuna has donned on her lips. But she gives out aura that will certainly make everyone feel comfortable and happy.

“Wow.” Hyuna mutters. “You look like what I hope you would! You look like one of that kind, lovely ladies in your book.”

“Shut up.” I mutter, feeling my cheeks red.

“Now, now. Take off your clothes and wear this dress we’ve bought.” Hyuna grins.

The ballroom is huge. Gigantic chandeliers hang over in the middle of the room and small sophisticated bedside look-alike lamps hang at the wall with good distance between one another brightening up the room. On each side of the room, a long table is placed for foods and drinks. On a corner are the musicians, playing something out of the 1800s. A grand door on the right side is opened, leading out to the beautiful garden with a fountain. The other grand door on the left side is closed, but people come in and out from there too.

Kai stands idly by the side while looking around boringly. His father has him forced to come and told him to mingle with the other heirs and heiress who come to the ball. Honestly, it’s a stupid idea considering it’s a mask party. He won’t even know who’s who here.

Shaking his head, Kai rises up his glass and sips his drink whilst turning his head toward the entrance door. The entrance door is on a balcony so everyone who comes to the party will have to walk down the marble stairs. It’s really grand, Kai has to give that. The decoration of gold and black give the elegance aura and everyone who comes outdone themselves. As far as Kai is concerned, he finds out that every winter ball has a dress code and this year, surprisingly, is old kind of dresses. Like the Elizabethan era or the Victorian era. Even the French fashion in the 1700s. Whatever. Kai doesn’t care. He only cared when a servant came up to me by his father’s order, and donned him in a highly out-of-2000s style fashion.

He looks down to find himself wearing a buttoned-up white shirt and a black vest. As for the outer, he wears long dark blue coat which ends until his calves. The coat is donned with gold lines; like what the Victorian era males wear. He wears white britches as well, for godsake! The britches are so tight he feels so hard to walk, but he says nothing when the servant helped him wear the damn thing. (He actually lets the servant to help him because he cannot do it without tearing the pants)

The last item is a pair of black boots. That, perhaps, is the only thing he can accept from the whole fashion.

Enough about his clothing, he continues sipping the whisky sour he’s drinking. Since he’s not yet out of high school, he shouldn’t drink alcohol. So he chooses one that he feels do not have lots of alcohol.

As the night grows darker, the ballroom grows merrier. A lot of people arrive at the ballroom around eight, and based on Kai’s knowledge, the ball will last till morning, if there are people who can stay that long. Sighing, Kai darts his eyes around the room, and stops when he finds a familiar pair of eyes staring back at him.

“It’s so hot,” I grumble as Hyuna pulls me inside the room.

We walk down the stairs and I shake, feeling uncomfortable with all the staring.

“Everyone feels the same; stop complaining,” Hyuna hisses.

I side glare Hyuna, which she ignores. We reach the floor, and almost immediately we walk to the beverages table on the right side. Since there is an opened door, there is slight breeze blowing in. I can feel my lungs filling with air again. Wearing this gown requires a corset, which manages to reduce my waistline by five cm. Amazing accomplishment, and now I have that kind of waists my heroine had.

The room is bustling with energy. People are here and there to mingle and socialize, chattering about stuffs. I notice most of them are old people so I wonder what the purpose of the ball is actually. Hyuna says it’s been going for generation and since it’s a ball hold by her uncles, she never asks. But perhaps it’s for business or something.

I feel out of place, of course, if it hasn’t because of the masks. Luckily, Hyuna manages to soothe me out of my worries. She gives me a glass of something and I wrinkle my nose when I sip on the sour drink. It has a strong scent, and also smell of something fresh. Though strong, the drink is quite good. So I sip again. I let my eyes wander then, and I catch a male donned in blue princely kind of coat with white britches. I find my breath hitch as I look at the male’s dark hair and tanned skin. Even with his blue golden mask with frilly blue feather, I know who that is.

I can feel my heart beating like crazy as I stare at him like a fool, all the time waiting for him to look back at me. And when he finally does, my heart stops.

Kai.

It’s her! Kai tells himself. Even from afar, he can recognize that pair of beautiful eyes everywhere. The noises around him become quieter, then gradually reduces to silence. It seems as if the time has stopped; if not moves very slowly. He can feel his own heart beating sounds, and the fire burning in his veins. He sees those eyes in Inna every time he talks to her, and he knows it’s one of the reasons he courts her. Due to his parents’ unpredictability in the matter of his love life, he knows if he looks for one girl he doesn’t know anything about will bring unwanted attention to his parents.

Inna is a safer choice. He does like her and it isn't to spite his parents that he wants to court her. He really likes Inna. She’s kind, shy with strangers; outspoken to ones she knows; and she’s beautiful. People may not agree with him, but for him, Choi Inna is beautiful. Her soft brown eyes that look at someone with fragility, her wide smiling lips that put him into sweaty nights. Besides, she’s real. Inna is real. He knows where to find her, knows her features; bottom lines, he can see and feel her.

The girl he met in the school ball was more like a one night dream. She disappeared so quickly that he didn’t even find anything out about her. He remembers her eyes though. Those eyes haunted him for few nights. He remembers her with a mask on and after he began to notice Choi Inna, those eyes no longer covered by masks. It became a part of Choi Inna in his vivid dream. Then the eyes completely gone; changed to Inna’s eyes—even though he can’t find the differences. Somehow he suspects she is Inna, but the girl said no.

Now that the girl who once haunted her dream appears before his eyes, Kai is frozen on his spot. His eyes lock tightly with the girl’s not letting her to dart her eyes away. Then before he knows it, he crosses the room to her.