03/25/13

           The day was bright, and the Palace buzzed with excitement. It was a few days before the king and queen’s wedding, and everyone was bustling about, finishing up the last touches for the monumental day.

            Yoona’s first task as one of the queen’s maid was to attend her wedding. Pssh, what a joke, Yoona thought to herself. The past few days, the only thing she did was follow Hyuna around and do menial tasks. Victoria had ordered the two of them to be inseparable until her wedding day so that Yoona could get acquainted with the Palace and not get lost. Although Yoona thought doing menial tasks was boring, she didn’t object to Victoria’s orders. To not get lost meant to not have surprise encounters with men.

            But one bad outcome that came with sticking close to Hyuna was that she was now one of the queen’s bridesmaids. Even worse, she was paired with none other than the king’s ert brother.

            Oh well, Yoona sighed. I’ve seen men like him before. They only know how to drool and guffaw at me. At least there’s no danger in his presence. He wouldn’t make a move on me.

            :::::::::

            Hyuna led Yoona to the waiting room containing all the queen’s bridesmaids. They were lining up and getting ready to rehearse the walk down the aisle. The bridesmaids were lined up according to their titles, the person with the most important title in the front of the line.

            Yoona was an exception in this line-up. Since she was the most recent addition to the group, she should have been last in line. However, since Victoria ordered for Hyuna and Yoona to stick together like two peas in a pod, Yoona was second in the long line of ladies-in-waiting. Hyuna, with her title of the royal assistant, was first.

            Third in line was Hara, a bubbly girl with big eyes and a cute smile. Yoona realized that if she hadn’t arrived, Hara would have been paired up with Taecyeon, since Hara was ranked as the queen’s first maid.

            “Congratulations on being paired up with Taecyeon!” Hara said enthusiastically. She didn’t seem to hold any grudge against Yoona for taking her spot as second in line, but she did add that, “Taecyeon is the talk of the Palace nowadays. All the ladies are swooning from his charm.”

            Charm? What charm? Yoona thought to herself. He’s a bumbling idiot to me. Turning her attention back to Hara, she replied. “I don’t want to be paired up with him.”

            “Better than being paired with Jackass Junhyung,” Hara pouted cutely. “Now I have to deal with all of his teasing!”

            Hyuna laughed. “Oh come on, Hara! You know he’s teasing you because he likes you.”

            At that, Hara’s face turned beet red.

            Leaning over to Yoona, Hyuna whispered, “Somebody likes bad boys.”

            Yoona gave a little smile. She never really liked boy talk. Never really understood it.

            :::::::::::::

            During the rehearsal, Yoona felt the eyes of the ‘lady charmer’ on her back. She pretended she didn’t notice. The boy only wanted attention, anyway. But when the choreographer ordered the ladies and gentlemen to face each other, Yoona got a brief glimpse of his face. She frowned, confused. Instead of seeing a goofily dreamy expression, she saw a troubled, searching face.

             That’s not what I expected to see, Yoona admitted. Then she mentally shrugged. Oh well, he must have been just disappointed that I’m not paying attention to him like all the ladies in the Palace.

            ::::::::::

            Finally, it was the actual wedding day. The king and queen wore their traditional red silk robes, excessively adorned with gold jewelry. Although the ceremony was long and arduous, Yoona wished that it would have lasted longer. It was rare for her to see two people openly display their love and affection for each other.

            They look so happy, Yoona observed. And their happiness has seeped through to everyone in the audience.

            The king and queen were pronounced husband and wife, and the couple began to walk down the aisle. That was the cue for the bridesmaids and best men to stand up and follow the royal couple out of the wedding hall.

            The best men followed the groom on the left of the aisle, and the bridesmaids followed the bride on the right of the aisle. Just as they did in practice, Yoona and Taecyeon walked side by side. They were the third ‘couple’ to leave the wedding hall.

            When she left the wedding hall, Yoona’s first thought was to go over to Victoria and congratulate her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Taecyeon’s hand move up before she took a step toward Victoria’s direction. Suddenly, an overexcited bridesmaid rushed by, causing Yoona to tip backwards.

            Ah! She cried inwardly.

            Just when Yoona was certain that she was going to fall on her , she felt an overwhelming force at her elbow, pulling her to safety. Collecting her thoughts, Yoona realized that she was not on the ground, but instead, she was held up by Taecyeon’s hand on her elbow. The hand that she noticed was moving up.

            For some reason, Yoona felt a soft buzz originating from the nape of her neck travelling down her spine. Breathing suddenly became a chore. She looked up at Taecyeon, and he returned her gaze.

            Dark brown eyes so dark that they seem black, she thought absent-mindedly. Not the eyes of a naïve boy but the eyes of a mysterious man.

            Realizing what she was thinking, Yoona quickly shook away Taecyeon’s grip. But the buzz she felt in her body amplified when she realized how Taecyeon towered over her. She felt miniscule in comparison. His shoulders were even broader than the king’s.

            “Are you okay?” Taecyeon asked.

            Yoona was relieved that he was keeping his distance. She nodded, looking down. For some reason, her face was hot.