Chapter One: The Act

Calm down, Kim Taeyeon.

You can’t throw that teapot in front of you at your cousin.

That’d be rude.

And mean.

And very danger-

“Are you even listening, Taeyeon!? This is something that will decide my future! I don’t want to get married to this Kwon Jiyong guy! For all I know, he could be some old, fat ert! Besides, I have Seunghyun already! How heartbroken do you think he-“

“MIYOUNG!” Taeyeon yelled, clenching her fists. “You’ve been going on and on about the same thing for the past hour! I think I understand by now!”

Tiffany pouted, crossing her arms. “What did I say about you calling me Miyoung?”

Taeyeon let out a sigh, calming herself down. “Sorry, Tiffany. I didn’t mean to call you Miyoung or to yell. I’m just tired of you..well...whining."

Tiffany also sighed. “I’m sorry for spending all my time complaining to you, Taetae. It’s just…ugh…I don’t want to get married to Kwon Jiyong, when I already have Seunghyun. I don’t want my dad controlling my life like this.”

Taeyeon nodded in agreement. People tended to think that living as the daughters of wealthy families was a blessing, but for Taeyeon and Tiffany, it was horrible. Every aspect of their life was controlled and they were always being watched by the media. One mistake and their family's reputation could sink immediately. Whether they were happy or not, they had to listen to their parents and follow what they wanted.

"Ah, I just thought of something I could do!"

Taeyeon blinked, staring at her cousin curiously. "What is it?"

"You know how I'm supposed to be meeting him at the masquerade ball tonight, right?" Tiffany said eagerly. "Well, for that ball, we'll obviously be wearing masks. And just like me, he has no idea what I look like."

Taeyeon stiffened. For some reason, she had a really bad feeling about this...

"So...in my place, you can go and reject him!" Tiffany chirped excitedly, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Don't be silly, Tiffany. How can I go to that ball in your place? Do you know how much trouble we'll get in if I'm caught? Besides, you know I'm not good at rejecting people! And..and..if I go there, I'll have to wear a dress! And do my hair! And pretend to be you in front of your servants! Oh, and where would you be at this time, huh?" Taeyeon shrieked hastily, clearly panicking.

"Oh, c'mon, Taetae! Do me this one favor! All you have to do is tell that guy no and leave!" Tiffany begged. "I have to meet Seunghyun tonight!"

"No!" Taeyeon snapped. "You must be crazy if you think I'm going to agree to this!"

"You're the only one that can pull this off! Please, Taeyeon! If I go to that ball, I'll be betraying Seunghyun!" Tiffany pleaded, her eyes filled with desperation.

Taeyeon groaned. "Why does it have to be me? You can have a maid go in your place."

"A maid will tell my dad, I know. There's no one else I can trust for this job except you. It's not like you want to see me being married off to some random guy either!" Tiffany retorted.

Taeyeon wet her lips. That was true. She didn't feel good about her cousin getting married to a guy that she'd never met before. And she felt pity for Seunghyun, who had always been there for Tiffany. 

"All...all I have to do is go there and tell him I don't want to marry him?" Taeyeon stammered.

Tiffany instantly smiled. "Yes! Oh my god, Taeyeon! Thank you so much!"

She hugged her cousin tightly, letting out a high pitched squeal. Taeyeon simply smiled weakly, wondering if she really had made the correct decision.

It'll be easy, Taeyeon. Just reject him and come back. It'll only take a couple of minutes.

"Dad, you can't make me get married to some weird girl! Not without my permission!"

Kwon Jiyong ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. His stupid parents were making him get married to some random girl that he'd never met before. For goodness sakes, he was only 24! He was still young. At this age, he should be getting to know as many girls as possible!

"Do you know how horrible our company's image has gotten because of your playboy nature?" His father remarked sternly. "You can quit playing around with those girls by getting married to the Hwang's daughter."

Jiyong rolled his eyes. "Dad, this isn't the 1800s! Arranged marriages? Seriously? I haven't even seen this girl before! She could be an ugly with a rotten personality for all I know!"

"Jiyong! Stop that kind of language!" His dad snapped. "I assure you, she is a charming, lovely girl. You'll love her."

Jiyong couldn't believe his dad. Was he really going to sell him off into marriage just for the company's image? That'd be ridiculous. He would never agree to this marriage. Never. The sky could turn purple and cows could fall from the clouds, but he would never agree to getting married to this Tiffany girl.

"You have no choice in this matter. The marriage has been decided between the parents."

"The one getting married is me! I get to make the decision, dad! What are you going to do, if I don't show up to the wedding or something!?" Jiyong yelled.

"Oh, i know you won't do that," His dad said calmly.

"How are you so sure? You know how rebellious I am."

"Indeed, you do cause a lot of trouble, with you getting drunk and fooling around with a bunch of low class girls," His dad agreed. "Those times, I let you off easy. However, this time, if you do not agree, I will remove your name from the family register and cancel all your credit cards. Your money comes from me, Jiyong. By going against this marriage, you'll be going out on the streets."

"That's...that's..." Jiyong trailed off, at a loss for words.

His father rose from his seat.

"So it's an agreement then? You'll go to the ball tonight and meet Tiffany. I'm sure you'll get along perfectly well."

"God, Taeyeon, I don't see why you're embarrassed. You look gorgeous!" Tiffany commented, applying some lip gloss onto Taeyeon's lips. She had been giving the girl a makeover of some sort for the past three hours.

She had no idea why her cousin hid behind plain white blouses and black pants, when she had a decent figure and a beautiful face. Had she put on make-up and dressed better, Taeyeon's social life could have improved immensely.

"Are you sure I look alright?" Taeyeon asked unsurely. "I mean, are you sure that I somewhat look like you?"

"Taeyeon, you're wearing a wig and you have a mask on that covers half of your face," Tiffany sighed. "Besides, this guy has never seen me before. He wouldn't know the difference."

Taeyeon took a glance at her cousin. "You're going to be recognized before you even get to Seunghyun. What kind of "commoner girl" wears Dior sunglasses and carries a Prada handbag?"

"I can act well." 

"Oh, sure."

Tiffany ignored her and stared at her watch. "I'm gonna have to go now, Taetae. Seunghyun doesn't want me late. Do well at the ball! If you're caught, we're both gonna be dead!"

"Well, thanks for the pressure," Taeyeon said sarcastically.

Tiffany opened the window in her room, the cool breeze coming in. "See you tomorrow!" She called out loudly, as she jumped from the window. Alarmed, Taeyeon rushed to close the window before any of the maids could come in.

She heard a knock at the door. "Miss Hwang? Is everything alright? I think I heard some yelling."

"I-It's fine!" She stuttered.

"May I open the door? It is time for you to leave to the ball."

"Y-Yes..you may!"

The maid walked in, taking a good look at her. Taeyeon gulped, fiddling with the ends of her dress. Surely, her cover couldn't be blown already, right?

"You look wonderful, miss. I'm sure that Mr. Kwon will be amazed," The maid finally said with a reassuring smile.

Taeyeon nodded unsurely and followed her outside her room.

Don't be scared. Kwon Jiyong is probably some old, weird guy. Tiffany is always set up with those kinds of people.

"Miss, we have arrived."

Taeyeon opened to speak, but no words could express how shocked she was. The ballroom was massive and crowded, filled with chatter and laughter. She knew that this masquerade ball was big event, but never had she expected it to be of this scale. With this many people, they could probably form a small country!

"Miss, you are said to meet Mr.Kwon by the fountain outside. I will you there now," Her (well, Tiffany's) chaffeur said, taking her hand. He led her to the garden by the back of the ballroom and brought her to the large fountain by it. She took a seat on the bench next to it.

"Please just wait here. No one else should approach here except Mr.Kwon and he should be here soon," He replied, before bowing. "Then, I will be leaving now. Please have a good night."

Taeyeon smiled nervously. "Thank you."

As he walked away, Taeyeon let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, she felt uncomfortable with people around her, even her own parents. The only people she could really be comfortable with were Tiffany and her boyfriend, Seunghyun. They were the only people that wouldn't judge her negatively on every action she did. 

Seunghyun was not the son of a wealthy family, but he was still a very kind, charming man. Though his appearance was a bit intimidating, he had a warm, sweet personality and he loved Tiffany with all his heart. Though the couple was only 24, Taeyeon knew that they were deeply in love and trusted each other with their lives. They would probably be a wonderfully happy married couple.

In a way, their love was very sad. They always had to meet in secret and had to face the disapproval of Tiffany's parents. Normal couples could go out and have dates, but Tiffany and Seunghyun always met at his house or in disguise. 

It's probably best that I came here, Taeyeon thought to herself. I'm protecting Tiffany and Seunghyun's love. If they ended up spltting because of me, I wouldn't be able to face Fany again. I'm not doing much anyway. I'm only rejecting him.

Taeyeon frowned. That reminded her. Where was this Kwon Jiyong guy? Why on earth was he so late? In most places, wasn't it considered impolite for the man to be later than the lady?

"Are...you Tiffany-sshi?"

Taeyeon immediately jumped up, her eyes blinking furiously.She spun around, her jaw dropping as soon as she took in the sight in front of her.

Kwon Jiyong was not a weird old man. He was not pimply or awkward. He was not creepy or fat.

He was gorgeous. He had milky white skin, broad shoulders, and a charming, cute smile. His mask was being swung around loosely in his hands. Had Tiffany not been in a relationship with a Seunghyun, she probably would've actually married Jiyong.

Taeyeon quickly looked away. You're here to reject him! You're not Kim Taeyeon right now, you're Tiffany Hwang!

"That's...that's me," She stuttered, bravely staring into his eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Taeyeon cut him off. "The..the only reason I came here is because I want to reject you. I already have someone I'm in a relationship with."

He looked genuinely surprised. "It seems that we have the same thoughts then. Neither of us wants to go through with this marriage."

"You have a girlfriend too?" She asked brightly.

"No," He snorted, taking a seat by her. "I just don't want to get married. It's a hassle. Honestly, the point of youth is to explore and try new things. I'm too young to be committed to one girl. At this age, I should be getting wtih as many chicks as possible."

"That's ridiculous."

Jiyong blinked blankly, staring at the girl next to him. "What?"

"No matter what age you are, I don't think it's acceptable to fool around with many girls. Even five year olds know that they should only be liking one girl. What makes you think that playboys are so attractive? I think they're rotten to the core. They don't realize what's so bad about what they're doing," Taeyeon said softly, feeling courage build up inside of her.

He let out a hearty laugh, puzzling Taeyeon. 

"What's so funny?"

"It's just...you remind me a lot of a mother scolding her child. Though we're not getting married, I think it'd be nice to hang out as friends, Tiffany-sshi!" He said between laughs. "Here I thought you'd be some fake, clingy spoiled girl, but you've actually got some intelligence and backbone!"

She pouted, a blush flaring across her cheeks. "J-just put on your mask! This is a masquerade ball, you know!"

"Puah! Masquerade ball, my . What is this, the 1800s?" Jiyong joked. "I would rather go clubbing with my friends than be here."

"You can leave if you want. I only came here to..well..call of this marriage. I'm glad that you think the same way as I do," Taeyeon said, rising from her seat.

Jiyong grabbed her hand, a cheeky smile on his face. "Hey, hey. I'm already here, you know! I can't just leave. If I'm here, I might as well have some fun and make the best of it!"

Her face heated up at the touch of his warm hand grasping hers. "What..what..do you mean, have fun?"

Oh god, Taeyeon. You're becoming one of those lovesick girls. This is bad. Very, very bad!

His grin spread wider, as he jumped up and leaned in close to her.

"Tiffany-sshi, you haven't played before, have you?"

She leaned away, scowling. "I...I have!"

He snickered. "Oh really?"

"....No, I haven't," Taeyeon admitted in humiliation.

He ruffled her hair affectionately and smiled. "Well then. Looks like we'll have to have some fun tonight!"

He stuck out his hand in front of her and this time, she accepted it willingly.

A/N: Sorry for the short first chapter! ^^" I know that there's not a lot of G-Tae or TopFany yet, but in the next chapter, I'll be sure to include a lot of G-Tae (and some TopFany too! :D). Thanks for reading and I'd be thankful if you took the time to leave a comment! :)