The dim glow of lilac lights casted a somewhat ethereal atmosphere around the off white marble palace. The contrast of the royal color against the pure white and the earthy green made Minseok feel as though he were in a different universe, a place where faeries lived. He adjusted his tie uncomfortably as he gazed around the front yard of the royal palace—a place he had only seen from afar, a place he never would have dreamed of stepping foot on, not someone like him. Distracted, he bumped into the person in front of him. The bigger older lady glared viciously at him and he bowed repeatedly apologetically and quickly ran away before she could chastise him in front of all these wealthy people. Where the hell was Jongdae?!

A hand wrapped around Minseok’s arm and dragged him over to a less crowded part of the sidewalk and Minseok was greeted by a laughing Jongdae, “Minnie, you really must be careful here. People will get suspicious with you acting as if you have never been to a palace before.”

“I haven’t.” Minseok shrugged, causing Jongdae to sigh.

“My point exactly. Remember why I brought you.”

Minseok nodded and allowed Jongdae to straighten his suite. Minseok was a poor boy from the slums, a place that was filled with rich people who cared of no one lower than their status. That is, all rich folk save Jongdae, who continually visited the poorer areas of the town. He stumbled upon a starving Minseok a little over a year ago and fed him and found him a place to live, and for the past year the two boys have grown quite fond of each other. They taught each other lots of things, Minseok taught Jongdae how to be tougher and survive on wits, while Jongdae taught Minseok how to read and write as well as how to be more proper. See, Jongdae had a plan when it came to his Minnie, and tonight, he was going to execute it.

He was going to find Minnie a wife.

Minseok was two years older than Jongdae, and was dirt poor, stealing stale bread to survive and only bathing when it rained outside. Jongdae wanted a better life for his best friend, wanted him to live as lavishly as he did, so he snuck Minseok to his home and let him take a real bath, as well as sleep on a bed, and dressed him in a fine tailored suit, and brought him to the yearly ball, where many suitors tried to woo one of the king’s daughters or sons. Tonight was a special night, for this was the last ball for the suitors, the youngest daughter, Princess _______, was now of age to be wedded, the last of the royal family to have a ball.

Jongdae did not really believe Minseok would get a princess, but, all cleaned up and shiny, he was an extremely attractive man, some woman at this party would surely fall in love with him, and beg her father to marry her off to him. Soon, Jongdae thought with a sly smile. Soon, my friend, we shall be even, and you shall never need again.

Inside the palace, away in her room sat Princess _______. She stared sadly at her reflection as her maids fussed over her hair.

The door opened wide and her mother strolled in wearing a rich deep blue dress that dragged effortlessly behind her. “My beautiful princess,” her mother cooed, cupping her face. “You look absolutely stunning. You are, by far, the most beautiful princess to ever walk these halls.”

The Princess rolled her eyes and sighed, returning her gaze back to her reflection. She just barely turned nineteen, and already her family was trying to get rid of her. Marriage was the last thing on the young princess’s mind, but in this family, one had little say on how to live one’s life.

Her father made the decisions.

“A young lady as lovely as yourself will find a suitor whose handsomeness can shine just as bright. Tonight, we will find you a man who is worthy to carry our name.”

Her mother grinned and lowered her head so that it was right next to the princess’. _______ looked nearly identical to her mother, save for the look in her eyes, which were dull and lifeless compared to her mother’s strong and determined ones.

Princess _______ tried not to think about her mother’s wording to much as trumpets started to blare from downstairs. Her mother straightened and bounced on her toes excitedly, “it is starting! The final ball is starting! I am going to head back to my chambers, honey, please do smile and act happy. Tonight is a very important night for you.” With that she scurried away, leaving the princess to sulk alone with her maids.

Now inside the palace, Jongdae could not help but to laugh at Minseok’s expression. The awe that brightened his features as he looked around the giant ballroom amused Jongdae greatly. Once Minseok found the food, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, there were so many delicacies! Stuff he only dreamed of! Was that… cheese? He had to find out immediately. He ran to the table, stuffing the small yellow cubes into his mouth one after another. Jongdae tilted his head and studied his friend until he noticed the people around him staring in disgust. Now was the time to intervene.

“Minnie!” He swung his friend around and burst out laughing when he saw his cheeks puffed up like a hamsters, stuffing food for later. “The wealthy do not gorge ourselves,” Jongdae scolded between chuckles. “We eat one at a time.”

“With our pinky out!” A deeper voice said vehemently from behind the two. Minnie swallowed quickly and the two young men turned around to see a taller boy with black hair that splayed over his forehead and a brilliantly bright smile.

“Ah, Park Chanyeol,” Jongdae bowed to the taller boy, who returned the favor.

“So, Kim Jongdae, this is the one you were talking about?”

Jongdae nodded, “yes, Chanyeol, this is Kim Minseok, the one from the slums.”

“How do you do?” Minseok greeted, bowing towards the younger boy as he was taught.

When he straightened up, Chanyeol was nodding approvingly, “you taught him well, Jongdae. We can only hope that it worked long enough for him to catch some eyes.”

“Oh, I am pretty sure that eyes have been caught,” Jongdae grinned.

Minseok blinked and glanced around, noticing a few younger girls eyeing him. One girl winked once they locked eyes and he nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“Well, he is very handsome. A bit too handsome, if you ask me,” another boy states, running his fingers through his russet brown locks.

“That is simply brilliant coming from you, Luhan,” Jongdae rolled his eyes at the pretty boy, and smirked darkly.

“He is a catch,” the older boy continued. “And also a stranger. The woman here are intrigued. Expect quite a few to get bold and approach you… what was it? Kim Minseok? You are going to have quite the night.”

Minseok gulped and stared at the doe eyed boy, whose somewhat evil smirk never left his face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, the party has officially started,” Chanyeol said. “Let’s began our rounds shall we?”

Chanyeol and Luhan began to walk into the crowd. Jongdae right behind them until he was stopped. Minseok gazed at him nervously, “what does ‘rounds’ mean?”

Jongdae smiled warmly at his older friend, “you go around the room and approach the ladies. Ask them to dance and get to know them. The princess does not come out until around ten or so, and the king and queen are watching us, seeing how we interact with the opposite , if we are mannered enough, and what not. We are trying to impress them, but you just need to impress these women. One of them has to fall for you.”

“But I—” Jongdae left Minseok before he could finish and he sighed as he was left alone by the table.

“I guess I might as well humor him,” he muttered and headed over to the girl who winked at him earlier.

For the next hour and a half, Minseok danced with nearly half of the female population that were in the room. Some were around his age, others older, a few younger, and all seemed pretty interested in learning about the new boy in the nice suite. Jongdae made a backstory for Minseok before they had arrived.

“My father just moved here from a slightly bigger town across the country,” Minseok lied to the bright eyed woman who he twirled around effortlessly. “He owned a big fishing company back there, and decided to retire. In a few years, I will probably be heading back to take over the family business.”

“So that is why I have never met you before,” she practically purred. “I must say, I am quite disappointed of that fact, but I am glad to have met you now.”

Minseok blushed as she grinned and pressed herself closer to him. “it is a bit hot in here, is it not, Kim Minseok?”

Nervously, Minseok nodded and gulped.

“I need some fresh air. Why don’t we head out over to the trail?”

“After you,” Minseok gestured to the open doors that lead outside and the woman lead the way.

“I am terribly sorry,” Minseok began once they were out in the open. “I have yet to learn your name.”

“Mine?” The girl giggled, covering modestly. “I am Park Sunyoung. Daughter of Park Chansung.”

“The owner of the banks, correct?” Minseok said rather stiffly.

Sunyoung nodded confidently, “so you have heard of him?”

“Why, yes I have.”

The two continued on deeper into the forest beside the palace. Once they were surrounded in darkness, Minseok yelped in surprise as someone pushed him to a tree.

“I would really like to get acquainted,” Sunyoung whispered into his ear.

“What… What are you doing?”

Sunyoung shushed him, “the only thing I want your lips for is kissing.” And with that she attacked his lips with her own, and he tried his best to fight her off but she was rather strong for a woman of her size.

“As you all know, my youngest daughter, ________, is officially nineteen,“ the king addressed the crowd beneath him. “This party is in celebration of her coming of age. Now we must find her a suitable husband who will take care and treasure her as much as this town does!”

Cheers filled the room as the king finished his speech. “I now introduce to you, my lovely daughter, Princess _______!”

The applause grew louder as _______ slowly made her way down the marble steps. She took deep breathes from , praying she would not slip. Her gown was incredibly heavy and big, trailing all around her, but the soft lavender made her skin glow and not a hair was out of place. Once she finally landed onto the floor, she sighed with relief.

She was quickly bombarded by her guests. Men and women alike approached and nodded at her, and she nodded back respectably, as noble as possible.

“Would you care for a dance?” A young tan man asked her, holding a hand out towards her. She hesitated, not really wanting to dance, but with a quick glance at her mother, who nodded, she reluctantly took it and forced a smile, “I’d love to.”

The night grew longer and the boys continued to approach her and she humored them all, engaging in conversation and allowing them to get drinks for her. In a weird way, she was actually having some fun. The boys tried very hard to impress her and she liked the sort of power she held over most of them. A few seemed about as interested in this as she was, and those where actually the ones she had the most fun with, but until then, they kept coming and she kept dancing.

She could not picture herself married to any of them, however. None of them struck her as husband material, and she was disappointed that at the end of the night, one of these men would be her fiancé.

She approached her mother and whispered to her, “I am going to get some fresh air. I shall return soon.”

Her mother wanted to stop her, but it was her night, and she was doing rather well—better than she had thought she would—so she allowed the princess’ request. “Come back soon, my love.”

_______ nodded and left quickly. Once outside, she dropped the “royal walk,” slumping her shoulders and taking off her heels. She headed over to a bench and relaxed her feet, fighting tears.

“To be a royal means you must walk and talk the way money smells. You must act as though you are better than everyone who is not related to you, for you are better than them. To be royal means you must marry young and bear children to keep the blue bloodline growing, you must teach your offspring that they are powerful and they must know that…” _______ sighed, and quickly wiped a tear that escaped. She shook her head and stared at the full moon, “what does it all matter, if I cannot even fall in love?”

With a deep sigh, _______ continued on the moonlit path, distracted by her near future, she failed to notice the sound of feet hitting gravel and someone straining for breath.

She did feel that body collide with hers.

She roughly hit the ground, hands scraping against the sidewalk in a way that made her wince. She couldn’t move because of the body on top of hers. Once that person lifted their head, they locked eyes and she gasped.

It was a man, with round stunningly dark eyes that contrasted with his pale skin.

His eyes widened further once he registered what had just occurred, and he quickly stood up, brushing himself off and apologizing profusely.

“It is fine,” _______ laughed at the man. “Your apology shall be accepted once you help me up.”

“Oh!” He nearly jumped on her, grabbing and tugging on her outstretched hand so that she was standing. “I am so sorry. I was glancing behind myself, and was not aware of your presence.”

“I am just as at fault as you,” she smiled warmly, taking in his dark hair that was wild and stuck out at different angles. “I was distracted, and was not watching where I was going.”

It was silent as the two tried to catch their bearings.

“What is your name?” The princess asked the man.

He smiled softly and lifted his eyes from his shoes where they seemed to have been glued too, “Minseok. Kim Minseok.”

“I have never seen you before…” He nodded and opened his mouth to feed her the story he had been giving everyone that night, but the sound of heels clacking on a hard surface made him freeze.

“Oh no.”

“What is it?” _______ asked, but instead of answering her, he grabbed her by the waist and ran off the sidewalk, behind a tree close by.

“What are you—?” Her question stuck in as Minseok placed a hand over and shook his head softly.

The clacking got closer and slowly came to a stop directly in front of the tree the two were hiding.

“Minseok?” Sunyoung called, glancing around. Minseok held his breath in hopes that the wild child would leave well enough alone. After a beat of silence Sunyoung shrugged, “maybe he went back to the party. He cannot hide from me forever.”

With an evil chuckle, the girl continued a rushed journey back to the palace.

Minseok closed his eyes and sighed with relief, leaning his head against the tree. The crazy girl was gone.

Someone cleared , and Minseok remembered the other lady he had dragged here with him. He opened his eyes and locked them with hers. He had forgotten the girl was between him and the bark, and had pressed himself against her. He jumped back and tripped on a root, he yelped as he swung his arms around ferociously, trying to regain his balance, but it was in vain. He landed hard on his with a humph.

Giggling drew his attention up to the girl, and he stared at her, mouth a gap as she laughed into her palm.

“You are quite clumsy, Kim Minseok.”

Minseok could not look away from the dazzling girl. The full moon enveloped her in an angelic glow, and her lilac dress floated around her, adding to the heavenliness.

She was beautiful.

Finally, she stopped laughing with a sigh and smiled down at Minseok, “thank you.”

He dragged himself back onto his feet, and watched where he was going as he rejoined her by the tree, “for what?”

“For making me laugh. I cannot even recall the last time I laughed so genuinely… it felt nice.”

A pang of pity hit Minseok in the chest as he watched the girl frown slightly. That pity was met by confusion, why should Minseok feel sorry for someone who never had to struggle a day in her life?

“I never got your name,” Minseok informed the girl.

She blinked up at him in surprise, “you do not know who I am?”

He shook his head and something flashed in the girl’s eyes, but it happened to quickly for Minseok to pick up. “_______. Princess _______. So who exactly are you?”

“I…” Minseok realized his mistake. Of course! If he was rich, he had to know what the youngest princess—whose party this was for—looked like. For a split second, he was going to tell her a lie, but something about the way she was glaring at him, with a childlike anger that made his heart flutter and made him want to laugh, made him decide to tell the truth.

“Do you know Kim Jongdae?” He asked her. Slowly she nodded, recalling the stiff yet extremely sarcastic boy who was somewhere in the palace. Minseok sighed, and lowered his eyes in defeat. “He found me over a year ago, on the outskirts of the slum, dying.”

He heard her gasp but did not dare check her expression. “He took me under his wing, gave me a place to live and food to eat. He taught me how to read and to write, and how to walk with my shoulders back, chin held high. He trained me to be one of wealth, but…”

“But?” _______ urged in a whisper.

“But, I am still a young man from the slums. I am dirt poor and have nothing to offer to the table.”

“Then why are you here?”

He shrugged, “Jongdae believes I can woo one of the ladies here. He believes if I act wealthy, I can find me a bride.”

“Is that what you want?”

Minseok shrugged again, “being a boy from the slums is not easy. I believe living a life of wealth probably is. I would like to live a life without worries, a life where I will not need or want for any.”

_______ placed a hand on his chest and he finally met her eyes. Once they locked, he could not look away. Her eyes possessed a sorrow that seemed beyond her years, yet she smiled, sadly, but all the same. “Oh Minseok, it is not as easy as it seems.”

The two spent the next hour walking the path getting to know one another. Never had the princess felt like this before, eager to hear everything the man beside her had to say, eager to steal a glance or two at his sparkling eyes and wide reassuring smile. He was handsome, more handsome than any man she had ever seen, and she found herself awed by is subtle ruggedness.

He told her about growing up. How his father died in the army when he was six and how his mother could not afford to raise him on her own, so she threw him out when he was ten. How he spent the next thirteen years trying to find food, water, and shelter. He told her how he met Jongdae, and how at first, he thought the younger boy was going to spit on him and beat him up, like most of the wealthy do once they spot a poor boy, but how he only lifted his hand to help. He told her of the plan Jongdae had for him, and how he ended up running away from that Sunyoung girl.

_______ told him what it was like growing up as the youngest of seven. How it was like growing up as a princess. She told him the rules and regulations she had to follow, and how she never truly had a say in her life.

“I just want to be happy, but my family believes that they can create my happiness for me. As if only they know what true happiness is. But I do not believe we share the same definition of the word.”

Minseok nodded, “it must be hard then.”

She nodded in response but quickly glanced at him, “but surely not as hard as not having a family at all!”

Minseok lifted one corner of his mouth and peeked at her guilt-ridden expression, “we all have out battles. They may not all be the same, but every battle is difficult.”

She sighed in relief, thankful that she had not hurt his feelings or angered him.

“We should probably head back,” Minseok suggested, much to the princess’ dismay. “They are most likely worried by now.”

“I have been gone longer than I promised,” _______ sighed and spun around, heading back to her beautiful prison.

Once inside, the two split ways, _______ to her parents, and Minseok to find Jongdae.

_______ could not stop glancing back at Minseok, and whenever she lost sight of him, she quickly checked every face around her until she saw his handsome one. She found her mother, sitting on her throne and quickly approached her. Once her mother saw her coming she hopped out of her seat, “where have you been?! It is almost time for the big announcement.”

The smile on the princess’ face quickly melted off as she heard her mother’s words, “you already found a suitor?”

Her mother nodded, “I am quite jealous. He is an extremely attractive man. If only I were thirty years younger…”

_______ cringed at her mother’s implications. “But mother I—”

“Do not ‘but mother’ me. Mother knows best, dearie. He will treat you well, I am sure of it.”

“I…” Her mother grabbed her hand and dragged the two of them over to her father.

“We are ready,” her mother beamed.

“Very well then. Let us end our final ball.”

“Jongdae!” Minseok called as he approached the young man. Jongdae was leaning against the wall, looking mighty bored as he spun his cup, sloshing whatever was inside of it. He perked up once he heard his name called and searched the room until he found the face that accompanied the voice.

“Minnie! Where had you run off to? I have been looking for you for hours.”

“I am sorry, I have had quite the adventure.”

“I told you,” a silky voice murmured from behind him and Luhan came into view, Chanyeol a few steps behind. “So please, do spill.” Luhan’s impish smirk graced his lips and his eyes twinkled with mischief.

“I, uh…” Minseok suddenly felt uncomfortable with the two around, but Jongdae did not ask them to leave, and they leaned against the wall beside him, the three waiting for Minseok to continue.

“Well,” Minseok took a deep breath and recounted dancing with Sunyoung, and how she dragged him off into the forest and started making out with him. He had to roughly push her away and run with all his might until he bumped into a girl that just so happened to be the princess. He told them how they chatted for about an hour before deciding on returning.

“You talked to the princess!” Chanyeol yelled, his deep voice gaining the attention of those around him. Once they all looked away, Minseok nodded.

“Oh, and what is this? You are smiling why too hard, and is that… blush?” Luhan teased, a condescending smile on his face.

“What? I am not!”

Jongdae began laughing, “Well it surely looks like you are.”

Minseok hid his cheeks with his palms and frowned at them.

“Do you think she… liked you?” Chanyeol asked softly.

Minseok shrugged and turned his head to where he had seen her last, there she was talking to her mother. So softly that only he could here Minseok sighed, “I hope so.”

The boys began to discuss other topics, until they were interrupted by the music changing to the royal theme song. All the guests of the party attention was brought to the top of the stairs where the king, queen, and princess stood.

“Now is the time for our new prince to be named,” the queen began, her smile big and bright with excitement.

“The new prince will be…” The King began, the crowd moved leaned in closer with anticipation.  “Kim…”

Minseok gulped.

“Kim Jongin!” The place roared with applause as the handsome boy smirked and sauntered up the stairs to greet his new bride-to-be. Minseok tried to dismiss the disappointment that ached in his chest. He glanced at the princess to see her reaction, and froze when they locked eyes. Hers watery with unshed tears. She mouthed one word that seemed to make Minseok’s chest burn more, “sorry.”

Princess _______ lifted her chin high as her parents stood beside her on top of the stairs.

“Kim Jongin!” Her father revealed her fiancé’s name, and she tried not to break down then and there. For now, she must be strong, and she was, that was until she happened to find Minseok in the crowd. He was frowning and nodding his head in a way that made her think he was met with a harsh reality. Something about the way he was nodding brought her guard down, and the tears she was fighting so viciously against began to gain the upper hand. She took a deep breath and held it, hoping that would postpone the waterworks. Minseok must have felt her stare, because he was suddenly looking at her, within her. She could tell that he knew. He knew exactly what she was going through, and understood her, even though they had just met, even though they barely knew a think about one another, he knew, and that realization is what made her apologize and turn away from the crowd.

Jongin had reached them at that moment, and so it seemed she had turned to greet him. He got down on one knee and took her hand, kissing the top of it. He stood up and looked into her eyes earnestly, “I shall try my best to be a good husband to you. I promise you that.” Then he smiled brightly, his eyes becoming crescents, and even though there was a charm to him, his smile did not hit her like Minseok’s had. Yet, she nodded and remained standing next to him as her father called an end to the ball, dismissing the guests.

The party was over, and so was _______’s life. 

A/N: heey, its been a long time since ive posted a oneshot. you know, with all the drama thats been going on lately, i have been feeling uninspired. but now i think im back. So tell me what you think. there is going to be another chapter so anticipate!!! Also, credit to the owners of the images :]