There was some truth to the rumors after all. Her family was rich, as shown by the fact that he was looking up at the gates of the house before checking if the address was right. People were pulling up in expensive cars and heading inside, and he felt out of place.

“Why did I agree to this?” Kyungsoo rubbed at his forehead before going through the gates, Jongin following behind.

“Because you like me.”

“Yeah well, so does half of the school.”

“What about the other half?” He frowned at Kyungsoo who simply shrugged.

“They think you’re weird for hanging out with Lim Chaeyeon.”

He should have expected that, honestly. It was clear that the students of the school either thought she was an abomination, or that she was the cold, rich ice princess. And neither of those were true.

She was simply Chaeyeon.

“Do you think that, Kyungsoo?” Jongin asked quietly.

Kyungsoo turned back to look at him with an expression that implied that he was stupid, and Jongin grinned.

The door to the house was open, and the music notes wafted through the air. The crystals of the chandelier sparkled above them, and everyone milling around looked important and comfortable in their suits or dresses.

And through the crowd, he saw glimpses of a girl in a long, burgundy dress, fitted to the waist with the skirt flaring out and falling elegantly to the floor. The person in front of him moved, and she was smiling while talking to someone, nodding. Her hair was down, falling over her shoulders and not hiding the thin straps of her dress.

Their eyes connect, and she excused herself from the guest, striding toward him with bright eyes. And it was then that he realized that she looked so ridiculously pretty that his breath was caught in his throat. It wasn’t like he was blind. He knew that she was pretty.

But this was the first time that it really connects.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Hello,” Kyungsoo popped up from behind Jongin’s shoulder, making the two of them smile.

“Thank you two for coming, really,” she sigh