The night of the masquerade arrives at long last. Yves has been busying herself since school ended hours ago, fussing over her hair and makeup. With the help of Jiso, she manages to calm herself down enough but the jitters never left her body. As she hooks the last of her earrings on, she leans back from the mirror at the dressing table, smiling happily at her own handiwork. She slides off the chair, the train of her black gown flowing behind her as she saunters over to the full length mirror. She runs her hands down the gown, smoothing any creases and adjusting the gown. 

She gathers one side of her wavy hair, moving it to the back of her shoulder leaving the other side at the front. Doing one last check to ensure that she hasn't forgotten anything, she grabs her clutch off the bed and hears Jiso's yell from downstairs. 

"YOUNG MISS! YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!" 

Yves speeds out of her room, the sound of her heels clicking against the floors resounds as she makes her way down the stairs - careful not to trip and tumble down. That would be embarassing! She sees Haseul and Jiwoo standing beside Jiso, both decked in beautiful evening gowns. They greet Yves with a smile as she takes the final step off the stairs. 

"Hi! Thanks for coming to pick me up!" 

Haseul shakes her head, her smile not fading. "It's quite alright. We were the only ones going without dates anyways." 

Yves is surprised to hear that Haseul didn't have a date. She knew Jiwoo simply didn't like anyone enough to accept a date but Haseul was different. Yves was sure that Haseul would go with Vivi. She decides against questioning Haseul about it, returning with a smile of her own. 

"Well, we can make it a friend night then," Yves jokes despite knowing that would be the most unlikely case. 

Haseul and Jiwoo exchange glances, laughing along with Yves's joke.

"Come on! We don't want to be late!" Jiwoo says, linking her arms with Yves and Haseul. 

They bid Jiso farewell before heading into the elevator, chatting excitedly (mostly just Jiwoo), stepping out into the lobby. They walk out of the lobby and hops into the Rolls parked outside on standby. Haseul has the driver depart from the penthouse grounds. The car ride was surprisingly quiet as Haseul and Jiwoo whispers hushly to each other. Yves doesn't think too much of it, simply leaving them to their conversation. She chooses to look out of the window, watching as the reddish orange skies blends with dark blueish black in the horizon symbolizing night fall. 

She tries to forget her anxiety towards meeting Hana again. That was the only thing that she's been concerned about since they exchanged texts and as the time nears, her worries grows tenfold - she's afraid. Was it warranted? Probably because she's had to endure weeks of torture due to Hana's absence. It made her anxious because she doesn't know what Hana would say to defend herself. She sighs deeply because somehow, no matter how much Hana leaves her dry or hanging without a reason, she knows she'll forgive Hana. But can you blame her?  She didn't choose to fall for such a charming girl. 

"We're almost there." 

Yves snaps out of her thoughts at those words. She looks out of the window and sees the venue - an upscaled hotel in the middle of the city. The driver makes a left turn and pulls to a stop in front of the entrance. A bellboy rushes from his place to open the doors of the Rolls - Haseul and Jiwoo slides out first and Yves follows after them. They thank the bellboy before making their way into the hotel. They find their way into the elevator as Haseul pulls out the black VVIP card that came along with the invitation card and waves it over the scanner. Receiving clearance, the doors close as the elevator begins to ascend, taking them to the highest level. 

Once they arrive at the top floor, the elevator doors whir open with a chime. They step out into a luxury entryway and are surprised to see metal gates with an archway in the middle which separates them and another space. Armed bodyguards stand by the entrance of the archway, guarding it. Yves wonders if the bodyguards were necessary considering it was just a regular ball but then, she comes to a conclusion that nothing is ever too much for something hosted by The Roses. As they move towards the archway, the bodyguards stops them and requests for their names. Once they confirm that Yves, Haseul and Jiwoo was on the guest list, they are let through the gates. 

Turning left from the gates, they could hear the distant sound of music coming from the doors at the far end of the hallway. As they near the doors, guards push open the doors for them as they are welcomed into a massive ballroom. Yves marvels at the grand scale of the ball - everything was painted gold. There were two massive artificial trees made out of gold on either sides of the room. She spots a quartet playing on the right above a platform stage, an open bar on the left perch ideally below one of the golden trees - waiters buzzing about busily with platters of hors d'oeuvre and champagne. The middle of the room left empty to create space for a dance floor as she sees a few couples performing the waltz, expertly moving across the floor gracefully.

She returns her attention to her friends when she spots Vivi approaching them, holding her hand out to Haseul with a small smile. Haseul takes it as Vivi tilts her body down to give Haseul's hand a small kiss, resulting in a very red Haseul who mouths 'Sorry' to the other two before being whisked away by Vivi, disappearing through a flurry of bodies.  

Jiwoo follows when one of the guests leads her away leaving Yves alone by the entrance. She cranes her neck, trying to find Hana but is unsuccessful. She huffs in frustration, suddenly feeling the loneliness and nerves creeping up her spine. Yves is about to walk over to the bar when she feels a pair of hands grab hold of waist, keeping her from moving. She freezes, panicking as she prepares to elbow whoever it was when she hears a familiar soft voice. 

"It's only me, Yves. Relax, I can feel how tense you are, princess." 

Yves shivers when she feels hot breath fanning against the back of her neck with each word that leaves Hana's mouth - her poor heart receiving a blow when Hana calls her with an endearing nickname. Yves looks over her shoulder and comes face to face with Hana's warm brown eyes. Yves's heart skips a beat at their close proximity as she stares at the face that she's missed so much. She sees that Hana's black mask was pulled down to her neck and her signature smile along with her dimples were on full display tonight and it makes Yves's heart cave at how beautiful Hana was. She reaches her hand up to touch Hana's face, just to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. She feels the warmth radiating off Hana's face as Hana leans into Yves's touch. 

She's real. Yves thinks to herself. 

“You look beautiful,” Hana breathes out when she sees Yves in the gown that she handpicked. "Breathtaking." 

Yves blushes as she pulls her hand away from Hana's face and moves her eyes downward. She takes her time to study Hana’s outfit for the night, a black ensemble comprising of a silk blouse tucked into black slacks and a thin scarf tied loosely hung around her neck. She gulps when she notices the way the slacks fits snugly, accentuating the curve of Hana's hips. 

“Are you done checking me out?” Hana’s voice cuts through Yves’s staring as she clears , averting her eyes.

Hana lets out a soft chuckle as she pulls Yves into a tight hug. The sweet smell of vanilla mixed with a flowery scent overpowers Yves's senses as she greedily inhales, burying her face into the crook of Hana's neck. 

 “I’ve missed you," Hana whispers softly. 

“Me too.”

They stand their in each other's arms for a while until Hana finally breaks away from the hug. Yves whines at the lost of warmth but she stops when she sees Hana smiling giddily at her. Her eyes folds to form crescents and her dimples growing deeper - Yves resists the urge to poke them. Yves is surprised when Hana grabs hold of her hand, lacing them together as she tugs Yves to the middle of the dance floor just as everyone begins to clear out.

“Hey, have you ever heard of the broken tango?” Hana asks through hushed whispers.

“I might have. Why do you ask?” Yves whispers back.

Hana tilts her head to the right as Yves turns her head and sees the other members of the Roses along with their respective partners from the student council. Yves looks back at Hana with raised brows, expecting an answer. 

Hana gladly indulges Yves. “The Roses are expected to perform a dance with our partners and tonight, it so happens to be tango.”

Yves smirks, not frightened by the idea of performing a dance with Hana. Instead, she's bubbling with excitement. 

“Then, I supposed you’ll just have to see now, won’t you?”

Hana chuckles in amusement. “I hope you can keep up, princess!”

Hana separates from Yves as they take their place on opposite sides of the dance floor, following the other Roses-student council couples.  With a flick of Lip's hand, the quartet begins as the music flows through their instruments fluently. The pairs approach each other, meeting at the center, curtsying elegantly. Hana and Yves exchange flirty smiles as Hana takes a step forward, placing one hand behind Yves’s back and intertwines the other with Yves’s - Yves then puts her free hand up on Hana’s shoulder.

The pairs begin by gliding across the dance floor, transitioning smoothly back and forth as they circle the dance floor in a full rotation resembling the moon orbiting Earth - snapping their heads from side to side as they twirl their partners with one hand before bringing them back to the same position. Throughout the dance, Hana's eyes never leaves Yves, a silent understanding as their hearts slowly sychronises - beating together as one. 

As the song reaches its , Hana snakes one arm around Yves’s waist, looking to Yves for permission. She receives a smile in return - a sign that Yves trusts her as Hana lifts her up high, twirling them around before lowering Yves back to the floor - catching Yves perfectly in her arms, pulling her even closer than before. The pair earning gasps and claps from the crowd.

"You're a natural, princess," Hana compliments in Yves's ear.

Yves smiles bashfully, hiding her red cheeks with her hair as Hana laughs - she was on cloud 9, never wanting this feeling to end. At the precise moment when the violinist’s hand stops, so does the pairs - applause thundering throughout the room. Yves pulls away from Hana, shyly looking up at Hana, averting her eyes almost immediately when their eyes meet midway.

“Come on, I’ll take you somewhere more private,” Hana whispers into Yves’s ear. 

Hana slides her hand into Yves’s hand, intertwining their hands together as Hana pulls Yves closer to her body.  She brings her through a small hidden door behind the platform where the quartet was performing – a private room. She sees the student council members and members of the Roses mingling together, deep in conversation. She looks over to Hana who merely flashes her a guilty smile.

“Sorry, I thought we would be alone. The Roses don’t usually hang around the others. So, we have a private room here to rest.”

Yves shakes her head, mumbling, “It’s alright.”

Hana brings Yves over to meet the Roses and figures their personal talk could wait.

The Roses surprises Yves as they are welcoming towards her. She notices how Jinsoul's arms naturally wraps around Lip's waist, the latter leaning back against Jinsoul's front comfortably. Yves observes the room and sees that just about every pair comprises of one student council member and one Roses member.  She cracks up, wondering how she fails to notice when her friends would rave about their significant other. Hana appears behind her, offering her a drink which she takes gratefully. 

"I see you've finally noticed how close all our friends are together," Hana says with an amused glint in her eyes. 

Yves takes a sip of her drink, quenching her thirst as she replies, "Yeah, I wonder why I never realised it. It's so obvious now that I think back."  

As time passes, Yves comes to realize that the Roses aren't so scary after all. They were a bunch of easy-going clowns especially when they are drunk - playing ridiculous games and betting on the winners just for the losers to throw insults at the winners. So far, the night was going well - maybe too well. 

Seeing her friends drunk never ceases to make Hana laugh. She approaches the student council-the Roses group who were deep into playing mafia but it was more drunken accusing and incoherent words. 

 "I think you’re all drinking way too much. You realize you’re going to wake up with a skull cracking headache tomorrow, right?” Hana says but she doubts any of them are paying attention to her. 

She rips the bottle of champagne from Hyejoo's hand, walking back to where Yves sat, placing the bottle onto the coffee table.  The kid has had too much to drink for the night - all of them had. 

Hana joins Yves on the sofa, softly smiling at Yves before resting her head on Yves's shoulder. Their quiet moment however didn't last long. In her drunken state, Lip stumbles over to them, holding an empty wine glass in one hand. 

“Well, if it isn’t the happy couple!" Lip slurs out, clearly drunk out of her mind, "You know I've never seen Hana care for any girl like she does for you, Yves."

Hana sighs, moving from the sofa to take the empty wine glass out of Lip's hand.

"I think you've had enough to drink for the night, Jungeun," a strict, warning tone behind her words.

Lip doesn't register Hana's words as she continues, "She's never cared for anyone ever since Y—" but Lip never gets to complete it as she is cut off abruptly. 

"Kim Jungeun!!" Hana yells so loud that it reverbrates around the room. 

Lip's eyes widen, realizing that she nearly blurts out a name that she's never supposed to bring up especially in front of Hana. Hana's yell brings silence to the whole room as she glares at Lip coldly but Lip doesn't miss the fire blazing within Hana's eyes. Everyone sobers up immediately as they turn to look at the pair of best friends with their jaws dropped. 

Lip opens to apologize. "Hana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"—Save it!" Hana growls lowly, forcing Lip to clam up. 

"Come, Yves! I'll take you home," Hana utters as she stomps out of the room, leaving Yves no room for arguments. 

Yvea exchange looks with a teary eyed Lip before chasing after Hana who was miles ahead of her. Hana's legs speeding up, fueled by her anger, stopping once she realizes that Yves wasn't behind her. She waits for Yves to catch up before continuing the path towards the elevator. The ride down to the lobby was spent with no words exchanged between them as Yves finds herself listening to the background music to distract herself from the awkwardness. The doors open with a chime as Hana speeds out with Yves struggling to keep up especially in her louboutins. 

Hana's driver was on standby outside the entrance as he spots his boss and her companion(?), scampering to open the doors for her. Hana steps aside, allowing Yves to enter first before sliding in after her - the driver shuts the door, running around the car to hop into the driver's seat. 

"Head for xxx penthouse suites," Hana commands. 

The driver wordlessly starts the car and pulls out of the hotel's entrance. Hana doesn't utter a single word to Yves, choosing to stare out the window. Yves was still confused about what happened earlier. Why did Hana get so angry over what Lip said? There must be something triggering but Yves could find none.

Letting her curiosity lead the way, she opens to ask, "What happened just now, Hana?" 

"It's nothing," Hana replies without looking at Yves. 

Yves furrows her brows. "Clearly that wasn't nothing. What did Lip say to piss you off like this?" 

Hana's head snaps towards Yves, shooting her a cold glare - a warning to not pursue the matter any further. Hana then turns away once again. Yves huffs in frustration but the thing about Yves was that she's no quitter and stubborn as hell.

"Would you at least tell me why you avoided me for two weeks? You said you were going to explain everything. Did I do something wrong?" Yves questions, wanting to receive something other than a cold glare and a dismissal from Hana. 

Hana sighs deeply. 

"No, you didn't," Hana breathes out tiredly, ending her sentence at just that. 

Yves flares up at the vague answer. She decides that she's had enough of Hana's attitude for the night, feeling all the emotions that she's collected over the last two weeks bursting through. She snarls angrily. 

"You say that all the time but I'm not getting a clear answer, Hana. Do you realize how much of an you are? You do all these things to make me fall for you - you say you like me, you flirt with me and treat me like I'm yours but then, you turn a whole 180 by ignoring me and avoiding me for weeks without a word or a text which made me feel like ! You make me question whether your feelings for me are real or you're just fooling around! Now, you won't tell me a thing about you while I feel like I'm pouring my everything out to you! Is it that hard for you to just let your guard down around me? Am I nothing more than a plaything to you?" 

Yves pants after releasing everything in one long sentence. She takes a deep breath, trying to cool herself down but she doesn't miss the way Hana's body stiffens at the accusations thrown at her. Yves must have touched a nerve. 

Hana clasps her hands together, tightening them as she throws back questions at Yves.

"Why do you want to know so much about me? Isn't it enough to just accept me without all that?" 

Yves is baffled. How can she accept someone that she knows nothing about? Wasn't falling for someone about getting to know the other better? To learn to trust and care for each other? Wasn't that what Hana wanted? To let Yves into her life and to share her world? 

"Because I want to get to know you. I want to understand you but you won't tell me anything," Yves replies, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. 

Because if Hana didn't want to share her world with Yves, why was she courting Yves? Out of boredom? Was that it? Was she truly nothing but a plaything to Hana?

"There is nothing worth knowing about my past and sometimes it’s better not to understand my reasons for doing so. That’s something I hope you’ll get," Hana mutters coldly. “Plus, we aren’t close enough for me to owe you an explanation.”

Just like that, the conversation was over.

Hana's last sentence silences Yves who turns mute and was trying her hardest not to breakdown as they spend the rest of the car ride quietly. The car finally stops in front of the entrance to Yves's house. Yves pushes open the door, not hearing a goodbye nor an apology from the girl beside her – absolutely nothing, only sheer frost as she jumps out of the car, walking into the lobby without turning back as she speeds up to catch the elevator. 

Yves drags her bare feet - having taken off her heels inside the elevators as she walks into her penthouse, feeling drained of her energy. Tears threaten to escape her eyes but she holds them in despite them blurring her sight. She weakly greets Jiso and walks up into her room, closing the door behind her before sliding onto the ground and pulling her knees up to her chest. Her tears slide down her cheeks as she finally breaks, letting out a heart wrenching sob – burying her face into her hands and bawling.

Recalling Hana’s distant gaze and cold words in the car rips open her already battered up heart. Heartbroken beyond saving over a girl she believes she could love and who could love her. Yet, here she was on her bedroom floor, crying her eyes out over the same girl who makes her heart flutter, the girl who gives her butterflies and the girl who makes her feel like the most special and the most loved person in the universe – the girl Yves didn’t think exist until Kang Hana barrels into her life like a hurricane with absolutely no warning signs and no disclaimers. Yves chooses to fall into Hana’s whirlwind without a single thought and that’s probably why she’s crying on the cold hard ground now but still, she can’t bring herself to hate Hana, no matter how much the girl hurts and tramples over her poor heart. Because Yves is helplessly and crazily in love with Kang Hana and she doesn’t know how to stop anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for Hana. The girl is just as broken as her lover is. She grits her teeth, slamming her fists repeatedly against the car’s leather seat. After watching Yves leave the car without a single word, Hana forces herself to look away. Her unshed tears drop one after another, wetting her slacks as she bites back her sobs, clearing and fixing her tone as she orders her driver to take her home. She then presses a button as a partition slides upwards, separating Hana and her driver as she finally allows the sobs that she’s been holding to escape her lips, whimpering out ‘sorry’, repeating it over and over again in between sobs.

All the apologies were meant for Yves, something that she didn’t dare to say even when she knew she was wrong. The second her last words left , she wanted to retract it back and apologize. Despite only knowing Yves for a short period of time, Hana trusts her more than anything and she’s grown attached to Yves in ways that she herself couldn’t understand. It was so easy to fall for Yves because Yves was everything Hana wanted and could ever need but she’s grown so accustomed to pushing people she loved away and now, she’s hurt the one person that she cares for more than anything else, the person that she’ll gladly throw everything away for – Yves Ha, the girl who stole her heart and the only person that Hana has allowed to break through her walls.

With her smiles, her laughs and her small actions, Yves has taken over whole being and yet, Hana has once again opted to hurt Yves. God, why was she this pathetic! None of this would have happened if she wasn’t triggered by Jungeun’s near mention of her. At the thought of her, Hana finally stops crying, hiccupping as she thinks to herself. Maybe it’s much better this way. Maybe Yves hating me will be the better solution. I can’t have someone else getting hurt because of me again. Never again, Kang Hana.

Hana dries her tears with the sleeves of her silk shirt. She needs to forget. Once Hana reaches home, she hops out of the car without a single word, ignoring the staff’s greetings as she marches down the stairs to the basement level. She pushes open the wooden door into the wine cellar, hastily pulling two bottles out, slamming them down onto the wooden table at the center of the room. She grabs a wine opener and pulls out the cork, taking a large mouthful and gulping it down. I need to forget. She takes another mouthful. Anything to numb this pain. One more mouthful. Anything so I won’t remember her smile. Her touch. Her kisses. Her.

“Young Miss, please slow down! You’re going to get sick!” Hana hears someone say with urgency. It was the head maid.

 Hana releases a bitter laugh, one so bitter that it releases waves of agony as it resounds inside the wine cellar. She falls to the ground helplessly, letting the bottle in her hand go as it rolls away - the remaining contents spilling out like blood. Hana wishes it was hers, she wanted it to be hers. Because then, there was a chance that she wouldn't feel the heaviness in her chest, that it would stop the ache in her heart.

It doesn't. 

The ache refuses to cease as her mind replays moments of her time with Yves like a broken cassette. Hana covers her ears with both hands, hearing distant laughs resembling Yves, ringing in her ears.

“Stop,” Hana pleads weakly. “Please.”

Hi, it's your author, H! This took me a while to write because I didn't know how to properly write the dance part. I hope you excuse the mistakes I made because I don't check them, hehe. I hope you're still reading this story :)) Please leave some comments too. Okay, that's it for now, bye!