{Chapter 1}

          The night was cold and dark and only the beautiful lights surrounding the building can be clearly seen in the area, the old building was quaint and somewhat gothic but its classic beauty didn't fade along with the years that had passed, its columns supporting it stood proudly in front and at the both sides of the walking guests, its capitals were ornated with leaves and all sorts of ancient designs creating a beautiful masterpiece stretching along the marble hallway, the shafts were just as beautiful, even the base were all pieces of art too.

            Juhyun couldn't believe what she was seeing; never in her life did she see a building as classic and beautiful as this.

           "This is so beautiful." she gasped, even the most modern building couldn't match up with this building's beauty, she thought.

           "Yes, it is." Seolhyun, her best friend commented who was just as awestruck as her.

           "Let's go inside, Juhyun. I'm sure the hall is even more beautiful." Seolhyun dragged Juhyun inside the big doors of the hall, their high heels clicking loudly as they made contact to the marble floor which was beautifully crafted by the who-knows-who talented artist hundreds of years ago.

             The doors of the hall opened revealing a big room filled with guests with their masks on, talking and linking their arms together for toasts. Juhyun was certain that she couldn't really tell who the people behind the masks were or if she knew anyone of them, and she was equally sure that they too couldn't tell it's her.

             They walked inside and blended easily with the guests, the women wore all sorts of gowns and dresses in all sorts of colors from reds to violets, and men were in their suits, some with bow ties, some with neck ties and some of them have none.

             Juhyun looked around the room, silk cloths draped over the ceiling making it look even more exquisite, the big chandelier above hang elegantly as it shone just as bright towards the guests' heads, and the whole place was covered with elegant looking thin fabrics in reds and whites.

             "Hey! Juhyun we're here to attend a party not have sightseeing." Seolhyun protested as she adjusted her red glittery mask.

             "Well, I'm sorry if the building is far more interesting than the party itself." Juhyun chuckled lightly facing the other girl.

             Juhyun knew that a party like this was once in a blue moon but she couldn't help but to admire the old building more. "By the way you are gorgeous tonight, Seolhyun." Juhyun praised her friend candidly.

            "So are you." Seolhyun commented.

             But Juhyun thought otherwise, if she was Seolhyun, she wouldn't find herself gorgeous not in a simple white dress she borrowed from her land lord just a few nights ago when she was informed that she's invited in such a glamorous gathering, lucky her she had some skills in repairing the dress, so the dress she's was wearing wasn't as simple as it was before.

             The tube dress hugged her perfectly in all directions, revealing her well-proportioned body, little beads and sequins made their way around her body giving it a more elegant look, little swirls of laces dotted along the hem of the tube dress, well it's not as simple as she thought, but still average compared to the women around, even Seolhyun had a very glamorous dress herself, a red spaghetti glittery dress which paired with her red mask, red lipstick and even her stilettos were red, she looked really gorgeous and very attractive without even seeing her face.

            Juhyun was answering when the faint music started to play and the lights were dimmed to candle-lit like side lamps lining perfectly on the walls.

            "Ladies and Gentlemen.” a voice of a man echoed throughout the wide room,

            “Shall we start the ball? We have a little gift for the singles tonight. Can you see the numbers on your invitation cards? Those who came with partners have the same numbers as their partners and those who came alone had numbers written randomly on their invitation cards that correspond to the opposite 's number. So everybody! Go and find your partners, the supposed to be strangers of the night! and let the stranger lead you to the dance floor and dance the night off!” He chuckled lightly, anticipating for more surprise, of course.

            “And when the clock strikes twelve let's all remove our masks off and reveal our prince and princess’ faces beneath these colorful masks. But for now, enjoy the night, Monsieur and Mademoiselles."

           Juhyun checked her own invitation card, and surely there was a number that she didn't notice before and it seemed like it just magically appeared on the card, when the speaker acknowledged it.

            "So, what's your number?" Seolhyun grinned.

            "I'm sure you're liking this." Juhyun rolled her eyes and turned the speaker's direction before speaking again "It's 11, Happy?"

           "Mine's 10. Wow, our partner's should be friends too!" Seolhyun suggested as her eyes sparked with anticipation.

          "I highly doubt it. Didn't you hear what he said? It's random. And it's not like we're really going to dance with them." Juhyun mocked her friend.

         "We are not? But why? This is the chance we'll met a very handsome man and dance with them!" Seolhyun shrieked and pouted slightly earning a small laugh from the other girl.

        "Okay, if you're interested then do it, it's not like I can really forbid you, but I'm not really interested with this kind of prince and princess roleplaying, so I have to pass." Juhyun stated as a matter of fact.

          Seolhyun gave her a look of pity, but Juhyun was firm with her decision, the only reason she attended the ball was because of the beautiful venue it had, she was never interested in these kind of things. She just let Seolhyun enjoy herself with the crowd and endulged herself with the beautiful interior of the building, but not with the feeling of being a wall flower, of course.

         The crowd started chattering and finding their respective partners which were not really easy because of the large number of the attendees; even Seolhyun had a hard time doing so.

        "Huh" Seolhyun sighed.

       "It's not as easy as it sounds." She blabbered under her breath.

       "Well, good thing I wouldn't have to go through the trouble." Juhyun laughed.

       "Whatever" Seolhyun said eyeing the other brunette as she walked back to the crowd and blended in.

          Juhyun who was obviously getting uncomfortable being a wall flower but was too uninterested to join the clique, found her way through the french doors half walking half running not wanting draw attention from the other guests, but even before she could reach the door to the balcony, she saw a guy from her peripheral vision staring intently at her.

          She dared look at the man and their eyes met, his doe eyes were telling her what she thought was sadness and grief that somewhat touched her heart in so many ways. She looked away and started walking not wanting to look at his sad eyes any longer. She reached for the knob and opened it and slid through the slightly parted door and closed it almost immediately.

          The air outside was slightly frigid and dry, it gave her chills that run from her head to toe, maybe it wasn't really a good idea to go outside, she thought. She was walking to the door again when she saw the same guy she saw inside approaching her way. Her eyes widened in shock and the next thing she knew she was sitting on the bench facing the garden in front of the building.

         "Hey" a soft melodic voice found its way to her sensitive ears.

          She slowly shifted her gaze to the man who was standing just in front of her. Truthfully, she was thankful this was a Masquerade Ball, at least they couldn't see her face and wouldn't recognize her.

         "Can I sit here?" he asked, his doe-eyes glistening behind his black feathery mask.

         "Yeah, sure you can. It's not mine anyway." she replied. She couldn't really remove  the way his eyes looked earlier inside her head, full of agony and longing, and how they changed just like that.

         "Thanks" he chuckled lightly.

          He sat down beside her and they just stayed that way for what it seemed like forever until he broke the silence by saying “Aren’t you cold?”

        “Uhm, No.” she lied, the truth was she was so cold that her toenails were all cramped and stiff.

       “Whatever you say, Miss but I think you should take this in case you’ll feel cold later.” He removed his jacket and handed it over her but she declined.

       “I’m fine”

        He looked at her for a while but didn't say anything.

        With their silence, the music sounded clearer, the sweet and smooth sound of the violin, cello, bass, piano and flute were like honey to their ears and they just found themselves swaying with it until a voice of man interrupted their slow "dance".

        "Ladies and Gentlemen, Do you know what time it is?" said the man in an over acting voice.

         Murmurs of the guests were all over that the speaker needed to clear his throat before speaking again.

        "It is only 5 minutes ‘till midnight!" he announced happily.

         Juhyun frowned and heaved a heavy sigh upon hearing it. She really couldn't get the whole idea of this role playing.

       "I guess, I'm not the only one doesn't like this idea." Juhyun suddenly turned to look at lad who was currently playing with his invitation card when she heard his comment.

      "I just don't get the whole idea of match making here. What if the person doesn't like it?" Juhyun explained.

     "Me either. But obviously everybody loves it." he chuckled

     "Apparently, I don't like it." she rolled her eyes and he just laughed at her honesty.

    "By the way, can I see your invitation card?" he asked casually.

    "Why?"

    "Just give it, okay?" she gave him a look but handed her card anyway, he flipped it open and stared at it as if looking for something that wasn't really there, it took him a while before he finally checked the backside and he laughed loudly, a rich gentle sound in the frigid air, it just felt like music to her ears.

   "Why are you laughing?" she asked bewildered and annoyed.

     Instead of answering, he turned the backside of the two invitations at her.

   "H-how?" her eyes widened in shock.

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Yay! Chapter 1 posted :) Hope you'll like it! Btw, please please tell if there are spelling, grammar or any errors here, I will quickly change it!.

Thank You! Comments are love <3

P/S: I want to thank the person who gave me karma points though I don't really know what to do with it. Hihi. Thank you very much generous fallen angel! I love you! Hihihi

Btw, for those who don't know who Seolhyun is, here's her photo: