Minseok was glancing around the ballroom with a bored expression on his face. His father, the king, had insisted that now that he had come of age he should find a suitable girl to be betrothed to and in turn rule the kingdom with once he was crowned king. Minseok had begrudgingly agreed after all his protests were fallen on deaf ears. He didn't want some pretty gold-digger sharing his bed, let alone his kingdom, alas this was tradition and try as he might, he can't escape it.

He was about to stifle a yawn with his hand when a person appeared in front of him. The man was dressed impeccably and Minseok guessed that he was probably a prince too, maybe accompanying his sister to the ball. The other prince was a little taller than Minseok himself, with droopy eyes and a lazy dimpled smile on his face. He bowed deeply to Minseok as a sign of respect and Minseok return the bow. What Minseok didn't expect was for the prince to grab his right hand and lift it to his mouth to press a soft kiss on his  knuckles.

Minseok raised a brow at the man after his hand returned to his side. "I'm not a princess."

The man's eyes twinkled in mirth. "I know your highness, you are the crown prince, Kim Minseok and this ball is held in your honour to help you find a suitable queen."

Minseok frowned. "Well if you know so much then why did you kiss my hand?"

The prince's smile widened causing the dimples to get deeper. "I couldn't help myself to be honest. The crown prince is a person of immeasurable beauty and grace and should be cherished and loved at all times. I thought I'd give you my share of loving and cherishing."

Even as Minseok narrowed his eyes at him, he could feel a blush playing on his face. "What's your name?"

The prince bowed deeply again. "Prince Zhang Yixing, your highness, but you can call me Lay."

As the night went on, the king was getting increasingly frustrated at his son as he refused to converse with any of the princesses and chose to only stay near the foreign prince. He wasn't too disappointed though, it has been a while since he saw a genuine smile on Minseok's face and if the prince was making him happy, who was he to complain. At least he'll leaving the scolding for now and probably reprimand the crown prince tomorrow.

Minseok threw his head back and laughed at something Yixing had said whilst Yixing stared at him with adoration in his eyes. Yixing's personal servant appeared and whispered something in Yixing's ear, causing the prince to frown. He nodded at the servant and sent him on his way. Minseok was still laughing when Yixing took his hand and kissed it again.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I must be going now." He said with regret.

Minseok's face fell. "Oh...umm well...thank you for attending my ball."

Yixing flashed him a dazzling smile and a wink. "The pleasure is all mine." He leaned forward and gave Minseok a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll meet again."

Minseok's cheeks coloured and he stared with an open mouth as he watched Yixing walk away, wishing that the next time they'd meet would be soon.