There was never a night more alive than the eve before the Autumn Harvest Festival. It was well-known throughout the kingdom of Silla that the elites loved to throw the grandest, noisiest balls every autumnal eve. As the moon appeared the biggest and roundest that it would that year, the usually quiet and empty mansions were lit up and filled with people.

As the lights and laughter of the party filled the air, a lone figure stood on the balcony of the mansion nearest to the castle. She was an elegant creature to behold with her white dress draped across her feminine frame and her hair pulled back to reveal her gentle face. She looked up at the stars, preferring to spend her time in their company instead of being with the other elites.

Kang Seulgi could never remember a moment in her life where she did not love the night sky and its magnificence. It was painting that was never the same but was always constant in her life. It was graceful but chaotic, beautiful but hard to see. The cold night breeze brushed against her skin as she hummed and stared at the stars.

A gentle knock on her door interrupted her brief state of bliss.

“Who is it?” she asked with a heavy sigh.

The door opened to reveal her brother, Kang Wonwoo.

“I expect that by now you have the entire night sky memorized,” he teased when he saw her come back in from her balcony. He knew that she was probably looking out once more at the night sky. “It isn’t a good idea to go out only wearing that dress. Isn’t it cold?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “What does mother want now?”

Wonwoo sat down on her bed. “Well, the usual. She wants us to socialize with everyone, entertain and charm a few guests… nothing new.” He stared at his fingernails for a moment before continuing. “And perhaps she did mention that she wanted you to meet a certain Lord Im Jaebum. Something about a potential match.”

Seulgi groaned. The moment she had reached the ripe age of 18, her mother had been trying to marry her off to all sorts of men, none of which have successfully captured the heart of the stubborn maiden. 

“She actually thinks he has a genuine chance,” Wonwoo added before making a face. “Like we haven’t heard that before.”

She could only sigh in return. Before she could say anything, there was another knock on her door.

“Come in!” she said as she sat down beside her brother.

A familiar and comforting faced peaked inside as the door opened. It was her best friend, Son Seungwan. The other girl was clad in an equally beautiful gown and was quite ravishing and enchanting to look at. If Seulgi didn’t know better, she would have thought Seungwan was an elite as well.

“Seungwan!” Seulgi cried out and the two girls embraced.

“You locked yourself in again, haven’t you?” Seungwan teased.

“You know her,” Wonwoo joined in, “head always in the clouds, heart always in the stars. If she had her way, she would marry one of those stars she’s always looking at.”

Seulgi stuck her tongue out at him. “Your presence is no longer needed. Go flirt with some girls or whatever.”

He put his hand over his heart in mock hurt. “I’m glad I mean so much to you, sis.”

She rolled her eyes at him as she pushed him out. “Cover for me for a while, please. Distract mom. I promise I’ll cover for you when you don’t want to watch the orchestra or ballet or whatever next time.”

He saluted her. “That’s more like it.” With one last wink at his sister and a nod at Seungwan, Wonwoo finally left the two girls alone.

“We all know the reason why you don’t want to go out,” Seungwan mentioned as she sat down on Seulgi’s bay window.

Seulgi sat in front of her dresser as she fixed her hair. “And what could that be?” she mused absentmindedly.

“You’re avoiding a certain somebody, aren’t you?”

Seulgi froze for a moment. She cursed Seungwan silently in her head. Her best friend knew her too well. 

“Bingo,” Seungwan exclaimed as she saw her friend’s reaction.

Seulgi sighed. “I don’t want you to misunderstand. It’s not because I’m not over him. You know that I’ve moved on from him a long time ago… It’s who he’s with. I don’t want to see her. Not after all those misunderstandings… I can’t bring myself to face them. It might make things complicated.”

Seungwan shook her head. “The entire mess with Krystal is a shame. Over a guy, of all things. Honestly, Jongin? I mean, he’s handsome, romantic, kind, and rich but he’s way too flirtatious for his own good. Not to mention he gets attached and falls in love easily. That boy is trouble.”

“Tell me about it,” Seulgi said knowingly. “Anyway, I just don’t want to involve myself in any drama. That’s all.”

“It’s still a shame though,” Seungwan remarked as she went around the room. “You were looking forward to the party as well. Aren’t your relatives from the north coming over?”

Seulgi’s mood brightened immediately. “I completely forgot!” she exclaimed as she quickly rushed over to the other girl and started pulling her to the door. “I’ve been waiting all year to see them.”

The two quickly exited the room and made their way down to the main ballroom. It was boisterous and busy; men and women flirting about, dancing around, chatting a lot. It was quite a spectacular sight to see but dull in comparison to the night sky if you asked Seulgi. She looked around and upon spotting a familiar face, quickly rushed to him.<