~~Chapter 004~~

    Luna Park and Lee Jinki were on good terms again. Lee Jinki did not despise Luna for scoring a higher rank than she did. Studies had eased down until the last two standardized exams would occur. Luna felt relieved and often spent her time humming cheerfully.

Onew, on the other hand, groaned about his boredom and that he had no material in his textbooks that he didn't already know. Luna became agitated, listening to Onew's complaints.

"Yah, you want me to teach you how to play the piano?" Luna suggested.

Onew's eyed brightened and he nodded. "Sure, whatever." He tried to seem apathetic about playing the piano, but Luna could sense his eagerness.

Luna led him to the portable piano she brought from the States. She sat down at the piano and motioned for Onew to sit next to her.

"Okay, lets start by learning the basics." Luna smiled, as she began to discuss the fundamentals of the piano.

Onew nodded seriously. Luna played a sample piece and showed that her fingers were not tangling amongst each other.

"Wow, you're exceptional." Onew gaped. Luna blushed.

"Umma taught me all she knew." Luna stated proudly.

"Omeoni was so kind." Onew reminisced.

"Aniyo! She always chastised me." Luna disagreed.

"That's because you were a troublemaker." Onew smirked. "And you still are."

Luna pouted and said, "Yah, if you make fun of me, I won't teach you how to play."

Onew stopped laughing and waited patiently for Luna to play.

Mrs.Lee knocked on the door gently and opened it. She smiled at the sight of Luna and Onew sitting side by side.

"Luna, Jinki, can I speak with you two?" Mrs.Lee said slowly. Luna stopped her piece and turned to face Mrs.Lee.

"We are having a formal dinner with a dance tonight. I want you two be dressed up. Luna, some of the people attending are your mother's friends. Please be kind with them." Mrs.Lee informed.

"Omeoni, I don't have a dress." Luna said.

"That's alright. I bought one for you. Jinki, your suit is in my closet. You can go get it later." Mrs.Lee stated.

"Umma! I don't want to dress up! Parties are a waste of my time and I will not even know anyone!" Onew complained.

"Lee Jinki! Do not say such a thing! You are wearing the suit and coming to the dinner party. That's final. There will be ballroom dancing as well." Mrs.Lee said sternly, leaving the room.

"Ballroom dancing in a small house party?" Luna giggled

Onew sighed. "Its just a tradition my parents like to do. Their great great great great great great grandparents were royal, so in order to keep the tradition, they host a fancy ball. Its really boring."

Luna's eyes brightened. "Wow...that's so amazing!" She stood up and smiled. Luna never attended a ball, so she hoped it would be fun.

~~~

"Jinki-ah, you look handsome. Make sure you greet everyone kindly and smile." Mr.Lee reminded, leading Onew out. Onew nodded, staring at the ground. He was stuck with boredom for at least 2 hours.

"I'll be back. Wait here." Mr.Lee said, heading into his own bedroom.

He rolled his eyes and suddenly froze. A beautiful woman stepped out of the bathroom timidly. She was wearing a silk knee-length baby pink dress with no sleeves, but covered her shoulders and collarbone. Her blond hair was twisted into a French braid and her face was clear with rosy pink in her cheeks. Her brown eyes were given tremendous amounts of attention with even a small line of black eyeliner.

"Annyeong haseyo. Do you need any help?" Onew said tentatively, still mesmerized by the woman's ethereal beauty.

However, the woman was too shocked to say a word.

She was taken aback by Onew's appearance. His normally disobedient hair had been neatly combed without a single hair out of place. His black overcoat emphasized his broad shoulders giving a masculine look. He stood elegantly, as if he was waiting for his queen to arrive.

"Excuse me?" Onew repeated.

"Yah, is that really you?" The woman exclaimed.

"Pardon me, but I don't know who you are." Onew said.

"Yah! Pabo, its me Luna!!" Luna laughed hysterically.

Onew turned red and rubbed his eyes. Was Luna really this pretty underneath the immaturity?

"Wow, you clean up well. How do I look?" Luna asked, winking at him.

"Uh, you look beautiful." Onew stuttered, looking away.

Luna thanked him, just as Mrs.Lee called the two to come downstairs.

As Luna and Onew descended the stairs, eyes turned towards them. It seemed as if they were a royal couple. They fit well together and brought attention to themselves.

"Who is that next to Onew?" A woman asked Mrs.Lee.

"That's my friend's daughter. She's staying with us for her studies." Mrs.Lee said.

"She and Onew make a great pair, if you do not mind." The woman sighed.

"Of course they do." Mrs.Lee smiled proudly.

Onew greeted and smiled at people, while Luna awkwardly followed him around. Finally Onew became agitated.

"Yah, stop following me!" Onew whispered, taking her to the side.

"But where did I go then?" Luna questioned, aggravated.

"Aiish. Go make some friends." Onew said, leaving Luna in a hurry.

Luna frowned and walled around the hall. She heard music coming from the room that  Onew had entered and walked in.

Luna gasped. The room was actually a ballroom. It was almost a replica of the castle's ballroom in Cinderella. There were chandeliers and wide pillars in various spots in the ballroom.

Suddenly, Luna heard Onew calling her.

"Yes?" Luna walked up to him.

"Meet my friends. This is Kim Jonghyun, Lee Taemin, Lee Joon, and Cho Kyuhyun." Onew introduced.

"Annyeong haseyo. I'm Luna Park. Its nice to meet you." Luna greeted, smiling.

" Would you like to dance with me?" Lee Joon said eagerly.

"Okay." Luna said. Onew frowned, and watched her leave his side.

As they danced, Lee Joon attempted at a conversation.

"So, how is South Korea?"

"Its nice."

"Have you made any friends?"

"Yes, a few. I'm still adjusting though. Eventually, I'll make more."

"Does your boyfriend miss you?"

"I don't have one."

"Oh." Lee Joon suddenly pulled closer. Luna held her breath. She felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"So, do you want to go out sometime?"

"Sorry, I'm not interested in anyone."

Lee Joon nodded. He crept closer to Luna and pulled her waist closer to him. Luna glanced at Onew, pleading for his help. Onew broke eye contact and Luna thought to kill him at a later time. As Lee Joon went closer to her face, he was interrupted by someone.

"Excuse me. I would like to dance with her." Luna turned around. Onew stood, unsmiling, staring at Lee Joon.

"Dude, chill." Joon said, backing away from Luna.

Onew placed his hands on Luna's waist and shoulder as they danced. Luna remained silent, content to be dancing with Onew.

"Thank you for coming." Luna whispered.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry for what he did."

"Aniyo, its not your fault." Luna smiled, as they danced around some more.

Soon, they ended their dance and left each other's side.

"Luna!" Mrs.Lee called. Luna walked towards Mrs.Lee.

"Meet your mother's friends. This is Luna Park, Yoon Hee and Soonkyu. Her Korean name is Park Sunyoung." Mrs.Lee smiled.

"Wah, Park Sunyoung. That is such a beautiful name. You're such a lovely girl. How is your mother?" Yoon Hee asked.

"Kamsahamnida. My mother is well." Luna smiled politely.

"Alright. Lets go have some water." Mrs.Lee said, leading the ladies away.

Luna sighed. She was tired from all the dancing and roaming around she had done.

She went to her room and laid down on her bed. The door opened and Luna immediately stood up.

"Yah, what are you doing here?" Onew said, removing his overcoat.

"I'm tired. Why are you here?" Luna questioned.

"I need to study."

"Can I study with you?"

Onew groaned and finally gave in to her puppy eyes. The two sat side by side, reading the textbook.

However, 15 minutes into the reading and Luna had fallen asleep on Onew's shoulder. Onew turned to stare at Luna. She looked so innocent, sleeping.

Onew closed his textbook and gazed at Luna.

Wow, you really are pretty, Luna Park. Onew smiled. He suddenly leaned in closer and closer to her until their lips were centimeters apart, when Luna opened her eyes.

Instantly, Luna screamed in shock. Onew gasped and hid behind his table in hopes no one would see him.

Aissh. Onew, you're so stupid. Onew reprimanded himself for being so careless.

"Luna, what's wrong?" Mrs.Lee asked, worried.

"Nothing, omeoni. I just fell asleep and had a nightmare." Luna said.

"Oh. Okay, well, you can go to sleep now. The dinner and dancing are over. I wonder where Jinki went." Mrs.Lee pondered, leaving the room, in search of her son.

Onew took a deep breath and stood up. Luna smirked and said, "Now, who's smitten with me?"

"Shut up. You had something in your eyes and I was fascinated by it." Onew denied.

"No. Don't try to cover your love for me, Lee Jinki!"

"Yah, don't call me that!"

"Well, its your name." Luna giggled, taking her clothes into the bathroom so she could remove her heavy dress off.

Onew took a deep breath and sighed. He was glad that Luna had not told his mother what he tried to do. Lee Jinki did not understand, however. Why did he do such a thing?

~~~

"Hey, we don't have a huge test today. Why are you so worked up?" Luna wondered aloud.

"Its an evaluation, which is just as vital to your grade." Onew replied, as they drove to the college bus stop.

"I usually do pretty well in these, but these days, Luhan-ssi has been doing well. Too well..." Onew continued.

"Omo, then I have no chance in falling into second place." Luna sighed, hopeless. Onew chuckled.

"You might get third. We'll just see." Onew put his foot on the brakes and Luna got out.

"Annyeong! Lets hope you are ranked first!" Luna called.

She smiled. She only wanted to see Onew smile and laugh. That was all. Every time he was down, some part in her felt sad, too. His happiness boosted her vigor. She only wished for his contentment.

~~~

"Congratulations Lu Han for placing first in your evaluation. 2nd rank was earned by Lee Jinki. Congratulations! Students, please collect your evaluation sheets here." The professor announced.

Onew widened his eyes. What was happening? Why was this occurring to him? He used to be invincible.

Luna turned back to look at Onew. His face resembled a lost puppy. She immediately stood up to console him.

However, another student interrupted her.

"Luna-ssi, annyeong haseyo." The student smiled gently at her. Luna caught herself, gazing into his beautiful eyes. "I am Choi Minho."

"Right. You teased Onew-ssi a while ago." Luna stated.

"I'm sorry for that. I was only joking." Minho chuckled.

"That's alright. Well, I'll see you around." Luna was about to leave, when Minho held on to her hand.

Onew, who was staring at Luna the entire time, stood up. He had momentarily forgotten about his rank.

"Luna-ssi, will you go out with me? Please?" Minho tilted his head.

Luna blushed. "I-I cannot."

"Why?"

"Because she has other plans." Onew walked up behind Minho.

"Onew. Do you have plans with her?" Minho smirked.

Onew ignored him and led Luna out of the classroom. Class had ended, after results of the evaluation had been given, but Luna and Onew had prolonged.

"Komawo!" Luna thanked, as she stepped into Onew's car.

Onew nodded.

"Are you upset?" Luna questioned.

"I'm alright. What was Choi Minho doing with you?" Onew pretended not to know Luna's interaction with Minho.

"He asked me on a date." Luna said.

"Aiish. Every guy wants to go out with you. Yesterday, it was Chanyeol, now it's Choi Minho. Next, who will it be?" Onew muttered to himself.

Luna giggled at Onew, who she thought was acting like an elderly lady with his muttering. She was shocked to see that this many people actually liked her.

 Onew couldn't help, but smile either at Luna's cute laugh.

What is happening to me? This girl probably doesn't even have a good IQ. I cannot fall for her. She does not deserve me. Onew convinced himself.

Author's Note:

Hi chingus! Wow, I updated a long chapter, didn't I?

Where I live, its currently almost summer break! So my classes are ending. My professors are bombarding me with work, though :(

I also have final exams, so that will get in the way of my updates.

How did you like this chapter?