“So, where do we start first?” I scanned the entire hall. It was grand and very…sparkly. The guests all wore their own masks and were either chatting or seated at their respective tables quietly, waiting for the host to appear.

“I have no idea, honey. Because this place is extremely huge, let’s find your parents first.” Kim Bear dragged me towards my parents who were sitting silently at their table. “Wow, look, you’re sitting with the Xi Family!”

Kim Bear pointed to the sign on the table which states: Xi and Jung Family.

“Darn it, this is not what I’d expected,” I mumbled to myself. My mother gestured for me to sit beside her.

“Go and sit with your mother, I’ll be with my own family. See you later okay, and don’t ever remove your mask unless necessary,” Kim Bear told me some more advices which I already know and went back to her family.

I sat down and adjusted my mask in case it’s going to drop. Ugh… so bored. I wonder whether Luhan will be here… On the dining table, I spotted a file placed on the table. It was golden too and with the words “Xi and Jung Family” on top. I was about to take it but my mother gave me the evil eye and I immediately retreated. Ugh.

The hall was now filled with richly dressed guests and the tables were almost full. The guards finally closed the enormous double doors and music was played. The hall’s light dimmed down and suddenly, the spotlight focused on two objects. Well, not objects. People.

“It’s Mr and Mrs Xi,” my mother whispered into my ear.

So Mr and Mrs Xi were both on the stage and were… dancing? They had their own personal masks on and were dancing on the stage. After 2 minutes of intensive dancing, they finally stopped and one of the servant passed him a mic.

“Welcome, to my son, Xi Lu Han’s engagement party.” He spoke up and I gasped. I was the only person who gasped. I scanned the crowd and they all smiled, like they’d expected this. *Well, it’s not my engagement party, so I shall just sit back and watch the show*

“As you all know, I will be expanding my business and need the help of the Jung family in order to do that. So we’ve decided to arrange a marriage between Eun Ji Agassi from the Jung Family and my son, Luhan.” He proclaimed.

The guests applauded and some even cheered for the great news.

I gulped down a ball of saliva and prayed that the Eun Ji that he was implying was not me. I closed my eyes and blinked a couple of times and even pinched myself to test if I was dreaming.

“Yah, Eun Ji! What are you doing? Stand up so people can see you!” my mother chided and forced me to stand up.

“But, but, but, I can’t marry that guy. I’m too young!” I tried to find an excuse, to get out of this mess.

“No buts, just stand. Now,” she ordered and her eyes turned to slits. I flinched but obeyed. Slowly, I pushed my chair and stood up to show myself. It doesn’t matter whether I covered my face or not, because once I put down my mask, people will start recognizing me.

“Look, there she is, Jung Eun Ji!” Mr Xi announced my name and I tried my best to hold my head up.

“Luhan, you may come out now,” Mr Xi commanded.

Like the wind, he appeared out of nowhere and stood just beside me. I whirled around to see Luhan clad in his handsome tuxedo and he wore a golden mask over his head. His mask was beautiful and I could see his gorgeous eyes behind the mask.

“Without further ado, I would like to sign the contract first before I commence the start of the Masquerade.” Mr Xi’s voice snapped me out of my reverie and he passed his mic to the servant before stepping down from the stage.

“Yah… Eun Ji-ssi you’re so pretty. Please, take a seat,” Mr Xi said politely.

I smiled and gave him a slight nod.

“So, both of you are to sign here and we’re done.” He opened up the file that I was so curious about before and inside was a piece of paper with the heading highlighted in bold: Jung Eun Ji and Xi Lu Han’s Engagement Contract.

Oh, please kill me now.

Luhan hadn’t spoken a word since he came here as he signed the contract obediently. Now I felt hundred pairs of eyes staring at me, creating a hole in all parts of my body. I held the pen and my hand started to tremble.

*Argh, freak this * I gripped the pen tightly and signed my most horrible looking signature and closed the file.

“Excellent.”

~

No One’s POV

After one round of introduction, the party finally started. The guests all started to dance with their partners in the middle of the hall. You were actually angry with your parents for not telling you or even hinting you anything. *How do they expect me to trust them in the future?!*

You cut one slice of cake and stuffed it in your mouth, but immediately regretted it when Kim Bear’s words rang in your head. Please be more ladylike.

“Ugh, my life !” you stabbed the innocent cake and sighed.

“May I?” a familiar voice spoke and you turned to look at Luhan half bowing, with his right hand outstretched waiting for you to take it.

“May you what?” you questioned, your head dipped to one side.

Luhan, who’s getting impatient while waiting for you to take his hand, offered a smile. “Dance, of course,”

“Oh, dance.” You repeated what he’d just said. *Why would he dance with me? Oh right, we’re officially engaged*

“Sure,” you took his hand and shivered at his warm touch. The guests made way for the main stars to dance. Fortunately for you, you danced with Luhan before so you weren’t so worried about it.

You placed your hand onto his shoulder while his other hand placed just below your shoulder blades. His touch was lighter this time, probably because you’re a girl now and he was being gentle. Your heart started to race and that funny feeling came back again.

“So, where are you studying?” he asked.

“Erm, I study in JY Academy now,” you lied. Because it’ll be suicide to say that you’re studying in the Academy now. “What about you?”

“I’m currently studying in SM Academy.” He replied. You couldn’t help but to smell his spicy scent that was emitting from him.

“Oh, I see.”

Luhan, too, felt his heart pumped faster. *This girl is too familiar. The way she talks reminded me of someone*He searched for your eyes that was behind the mask.

Luhan leaned closer to you, his body pressed against yours and whispered into your ear, “Don’t worry, after I’m certain that I’ll be inheriting the company, we’ll break the engagement and we’ll go separate ways,” he paused and you felt his hot breath against your neck.

“I’m sure you don’t want to be married to me either, right? Because I’ve a girlfriend and I want to marry her instead.” he waited for your response.

“Ye-yes, sure. By then I’ll go my own ways and you go yours. It’ll be perfect,” you replied, trying to hide your disappointment. *Wait, why am I disappointed? It’s not like I like him*

“We’ll meet during the weekends to show that we’re close, other than that, no other days,” his voice turned cold and you lost your concentration. *Means I have to live a double life starting from now?! NOOOOO WAY!!!*

You accidentally tripped over your own leg and fell, but Luhan caught you in time.

Déjà vu.

Luhan’s hand supported your back and he realized your collarbone looked damn familiar. *I’ve seen this before somewhere…* He thought of the sissy E.J that he was rooming with. *No, can’t be him.*

Your mask fell off because of the sudden gush of wind that blew your face when you fell. You found Luhan staring at your neck and cleared your throat. He then turned his head to face you.

You saw Luhan’s eyes rounded in shock and astonishment. *Why is he so surprised for?* Your breath then caught your throat when it struck you.

*Could it be that he recognized me?*

~

A/N: Oh noes! Cliffhanger! DX
Looks like something is going on between the both of them!
 

Will Luhan be able to recognise her? 

Stay tuned for part 2 :)

(LOL I sound so stupid and look! Double update for today!)

@SeungriBabyPanda: Oh my gosh! How'd you know it was going to be like that! *Scary* hahaha! Anyway thanks for your comments!<3

@ImmaExotics: Haha! Your comments are so cute. Thanks for reading! :)

@jjangqueen: Hey! Glad that I'm making you laugh. Thanks for commenting! :)