Sarah woke up because her phone never ceased to ring no matter how many times she cancelled the call. She was still so sleepy and entertaining a call at such early hours of the morning was not her priority. Lazily, she took her phone from her bedside table and answered it.

“My lovely, dear Sarah, where in the world are you now?” It was Denise, a friend of hers.

“Denise, of course you know where I am. I’m home now taking a good sleep until you called,” she replied curtly, rubbing her eyes as she glanced at her Jaejoong clock on her table. It was ten in the morning already, and her appointment she made with Denise suddenly flashed back into her mind.

“Oh my goodness, bessie!” she exclaimed as she jumped out of her bed. “I’m so sorry!” she said while rushing to the bathroom to wash her face.

“Thanks now, you remember. What a pity I had to wait for you for a few minutes and then decided to go by myself,” Denise replied with contempt.

“You’re on the way already?” Sarah replied, holding her phone away from her face.

“Of course, milady!” Denise retorted.

“Bessie, I’m profoundly sorry for this discomfort,” Sarah said while rushing back to her room, almost also in time to see her 19-year-old brother barging in her room, waving a piece of paper.

“Goodness, gracious, ate! Please put some clothes on,” Richard yelled at her as he turned his back on her.

“I’m your sister anyway,” she yelled back as she fully undressed and slipped into a new set of underwear.

“I’m a man, you know,” he replied annoyingly.

“Oh, get out of my room. It’s my private haven, you know,” she said and clipped her phone between her cheek and shoulder.

“By the way, sis. I doubt you can go out today,” he casually announced to her as he threw a piece of paper on her bed.

She told Denise to hang on for a while and faced her brother, showing him her smirk and raised eyebrow.

“And what do you mean, playboy?” she asked curtly.

“There,” he pointed to her the piece of paper lying on her bed.

“What’s this?” She picked it up and read it only to gasp aloud, letting the paper loose, and it floated into the air for sometime only to land on the cold marble floor.

“Bessie, I’m so sorry. I am in a situation right now wherein I am in a much more dire situation than yours,” she reported to Denise and slammed her newly-bought, “ultra” expensive phone to the floor.

Richard looked at the broken phone, wishing it was thrown to him instead.

“Do you need to do that? You could have given it to me,” he told her but a large pillow landed on his face.

“Stupid. That wouldn’t be anger at all!” she cried out loud and slumped on her bed.

Amused rather than annoyed by her sister’s sudden outburst, Richard just felt his face hit by the pillow, softly massaging it to relieve the pain.

“Good luck!” he said mockingly before leaving the room.

Sarah let out a loud cry as she lay on her back. The words continued to ring in her ears “Join me on my Thailand cruise. I will be waiting for you in Singapore.”

It was her aunt, Marcy Sy, considered the richest woman in Asia, and second in the world, who gladly paid her a visit – which she rarely did – through a very surprising, thought-altering letter in her very own handwriting! She wouldn’t be sulking but rather partying upon reading such invitation had she not have a prior appointment to go to Korea to watch TVXQ’s homecoming concert.

TVXQ’s Seoul concert was hailed as one of the best concerts they would have in years and she was profoundly excited to be in the same crowd which would go gaga over the five, gorgeous, young men who could definitely let their loose with just a mere wink from their tantalizing eyes and to breathe the same air the guys would.

“Bessie, are you that angry with me?” she asked after her Denise answered her call. She was using her landline in calling.

“What’s with the strange voice?” Denise asked with a wonder.

“I can’t go to Seoul.”

“You’re kidding me. You were the one who dragged us into going there. And now, you’re backing out?”

“It’s not that I have a choice!” she replied, annoyed.

“What are you talking about?”

“I can’t go because Aunt Marcy graciously invited me to her Asian cruise.” She sobbed.

“Did she force you?”

“No.”

“Then, you are so free to decide not to go!”

“How about the McLaren in the garage? I’m so feeling damn guilty if I won’t go? Do you understand my situation now? I am torn between two very important people in my life. How can I be so free?” She sat up on her bed and looked at the big Jaejoong clock on her wall.

“I guess you have to be loyal to your aunt. Tita Marcy is sure a hothead, you know. And besides, you can always attend any party and concert in the world if you appease your aunt.”

“Oh, Denise. I’ll be missing you. On the day after next, I would be on the plane to Singapore while you will be on your way to Seoul. Please send my regards to Jae if you ever meet him in person.”

“Bessie, I will put your name first.”

***********************************************************

The great luxury ship Pallas Athena was 30 minutes late, and Sarah was already waiting there for quite sometime that she had grown impatient and annoyed by the long delay. She was standing there on the dock, savoring the wonderfully salty breeze blowing past her while waiting for the large and renowned ship to finally lower its ramp on the harbor.

She looked exquisite in a white summer dress graced with a wood and shimmer neckline, a shaping empire waist and a demure button-keyhole back with a matching shantung panama straw hat with a three-pleat flower band complemented with a stud pearl earring while standing there on the docks waiting to see her extrovert aunt go down the ship. Many a men looked her way as they passed by. Who could resist gazing at such a spectacular sight? She ignored most of them and sometimes casually smiled back at others whom she found undeniably hot.

At last, the passengers of the great ship slowly emerged out of the large exit. Glitters of gold and diamond filled the whole ramp as the parade of the rich started. She wasn’t expecting her aunt to flaunt like the others, but, to her utter surprise, she saw her aunt follow the others clad in an 1800s period dress matched with a peacock feather headdress.

“Whew! My aunt is sure a weird person now. Who would ever dress in such an uncomfortably hot gown in the middle of summer? But she admired her aunt because she carried the dress so well to the envy of others.

“Auntie!” Sarah greeted as she kissed her aunt on the cheek.

“My dear, Sarah. I haven’t seen you for years already. Have you received the Mercedes?” Marcy replied with a smile and walked astride with her niece.
“I have, auntie. Thanks,” she said with a forced smile. Her mind was still on the concert that would happen in three days, intensely wishing someone brave enough would bomb the Pallas Athena so she would have a valid excuse to immediately take the earliest flight to Seoul.

“Oh, you’re welcome. Actually, I wanted to give you a much more pleasant surprise last year but I had second thoughts so I planned to give them to you on board the cruise ship. I certainly know you will like it,” Marcy remarked with a chuckle before she entered the spacious confines of the Rolls Royce that was waiting for them.

The ship would only stay for a night on the harbors of Singapore and would soon take voyage to Thailand the next day, and Marcy had some things to deal with while on land.

“Please take us to the Pan Pacific, Carl,” she commanded as she opened her purple, velvet purse and took a candy case. She offered some to her niece.

“I thought you would stay in your penthouse,” Sarah said, taking a piece of candy.

“I have to meet an important person.” Then, she turned to the streets, a sign she didn’t wish to talk for the moment.

***********************************************************

She saw them. Their noses first came out, then their entire bodies and off they went into the air in an impeccable spin. The people clapped and whistled, others threw some food, which was discouraged by the crew. Sarah couldn’t help but feel the thrill as she remembered TVXQ’s experience in a dolphin show in Japan. Hero, her favorite wasn’t there that time so she wasn’t that much thrilled while she watched it. But she was also a Micky fan so she was, somehow consoled to see how he enjoyed the experienced.

“Auntie, did you see them? They were awesome, right?” she exclaimed, raising her voice so that her old aunt could hear her amidst the chuckles and laughs of the people around.

“Let’s go down to the rear, dear. You can see them best from there.”

“But you’re going out of your comfort zone,” she told her aunt who was already taking big strides to the outdoor elevator.

“Who told you I have a specific comfort zone. Your aunt is a cowgirl, my dear. Or perhaps you just don’t know your aunt that well,” Marcy replied with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Perhaps I didn’t really know you, auntie.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that. And, what’s with the face?”

The elevator door closed before them.

“You know there is a story that I learned about dolphins, especially those from this place.” The elevator stopped at the 5th deck and they continued to the open rear of the ship. “There is a legend in a small tribal island that once in a hundred years, the great dolphin gods of the seas grant the greatest wish of the person they like. As much as I learned, there was a story with the same plot that happened nearly a century ago. Oh, such legends are so enticing, right?” Marcy said as they neared the railings, where other people were crowding too.

“I didn’t know you are a lover of ancient literature, Aunt Marcy,” Sarah said as she squeezed through the crowd.

“A world-renowned woman can’t afford to be considered ignorant, Sarah,” she glanced at her niece and winked.

Sarah looked at the dolphins as they performed their acrobatic skills on the seas to the delight of the onlookers. A sudden gush of wind suddenly struck her, giving her a chill through her spine, when a large dolphin surprisingly jumped so high into the air that it leveled the deck resulting into a chorus of gasps and uttered admiration. But Sarah was sure – so sure – that she saw the speeding animal suddenly slowed down to an impossible speed, like it was played in slow-motion, and turned to her and winked.

“Auntie, did you see that?” she announced, turning to her aunt only to be surprised that her aunt was standing there like a statue together with the others.

The creepy atmosphere made her tremble.

“Your wish shall be granted tonight, dear lady and you shall find it so inspiring and immemorial!” a loud voice told her.

She turned to the dolphin and saw that it was the one talking. Freaked out by what happened, she shouted so loud, flailing her arms into the air. The lavish interiors of their penthouse suite met her eyes which made her shout louder.

***********************************************************

“Sarah! You’re scaring the wits out of me!” Aunt Marcy said worriedly as she approached her bed.

“Why am I here? I was there outside a few seconds ago!” she panicked, trembling hard, hugging her aunt tightly.

“What happened? You just fainted when the dolphin made an incredible high jump! You didn’t see it,” Aunt Marcy told her as she caressed her back lovingly.

“The dolphin talked to me, auntie. It said that my wish shall be granted tonight. I saw it talk to me,” she confided.

“Goodness, gracious, dear! What has come into your mind to say such cr… uhm… hilarious things? Of course a dolphin can’t talk,” Aunt Marcy told her.

“Auntie, everything seemed to be in a slow motion, like it was in a movie. Every second seemed like minutes and I saw you turn statue-like. It was so horrifying!”

“Goodness, darling. You immediately believe in my story,” Aunt Marcy rebuked her, standing up. “Why don’t you freshen up and prepare for the gala party tonight. It’s a queen’s ball so we will be wearing costumes tonight. And look what I have for you,” she showed her a gown hanging in the middle of the room.

Though still shaken, Sarah followed her aunt’s gaze and saw the surprise prepared by her aunt, a rare item – a Victorian ball gown made with the finest white satin and precious stones placed artistically in elaborate royal patterns. The odd experience she had vanished into her unconscious as the beautiful gown bedazzled her eyes. As she touched it, the exquisite fiber smoothly gave in to her fingers; the jewels blinding her sight.

It was a work of art, a gown that only the rich were entitled to wear.

She circled it as she checked every detail of it. At the age of 22, she was quite knowledgeable about stones for she took a shortened gemnology course in New York.

“Auntie, this is amazing! Who would believe that such a wonderfully created work of art is actually existing! Look! These gems are no joke! All of them are real… these rubies, and these sapphires! Oh my goodness, it’s my first time to ever behold a gown so lavishly decorated with precious stones in my entire life,” she exclaimed, glancing at her aunt who was also eagerly watching her every expression.

“My dear, that is the gown worn by no less than The Empress Frederick, popularly known as Princess Royal Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, the eldest of Queen Victoria’s children. She was a beautiful queen who became a German empress. My love, this is but one of your gifts tonight. You are the only one who deserves such gift,” Aunt Marcy told her, taking her niece’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

“But how? This is a historical gown worn by a very powerful woman before. How come…”

“Remember, my dear that your aunt is a very powerful woman. Don’t doubt her connections.”

Impressed, Sarah just smiled. She immediately ran to the luxurious bathroom and gave herself a royal pampering for she would be a great, and powerful empress tonight.

After a prudent make-up and hairdo, the aunt and niece ily paraded out of their quarters in their equally stunning and incredibly valuable gowns.

Sarah didn’t wonder much if most of the people they met along the way were wearing period outfits and she hated the fact that it was, afterall, a masquerade ball.

“I heard there is a Japanese boy group joining us tonight. They especially flew from Japan just to attend tonight’s party. I am very excited for you. In any way, you will be able to exercise you proficient Japanese skills,” Aunt Marcy whispered to her as they walked toward the spacious ballroom.

“I am more terrified than excited if that would be the case, auntie. You know I’m not the socialite type,” she retorted, carefully checking her gown.

“Then learn how to be one tonight, my love. I’m sure you will love this event more than those bumpy, gyrating parties you frequented.”

“I do not frequent those places. I only pay clubs a visit when there are important celebrations,” she defended.

“Oh, shut your mouth. Remember to be careful. Your gown is a great collector’s item and, as you know, it boasts a great array of gems. Be careful about it. You might find yourself stripped from jewels by the end of the night. And besides, you are an Empress tonight. All of these people know about the gown, well if they are educated enough.” Aunt Marcy reminded as she walked a little faster than Sarah, depositing her robe to the court attendant.

Sarah quickened her steps and joined her aunt’s side. She had an inkling every custom of an ancient royal ball would be followed, and so, it was. A loud tap of the golden cane echoed through the hall and the people gaily dancing stopped and looked their way. She suddenly felt a thousand eyes gaze at them to her aunt’s amusement but to her utter embarrassment. Such formality gave her creeps.

“Tonight’s host, Madam Marcy Sy, and Her Grace, Lady Sarah Sy,” the man called out and the whole dance floor parted into two to give way to them.

“Walk gracefully, my love. Some great guy might spot you,” Aunt Marcy whispered to her while they walked down the aisle to the grand table prepared for the great and important guests of the night.

But Sarah was oblivious of her aunt’s words anymore for her eyes were fixed on the man dressed in a black Royal Elizabethan suit waiting for them in the end. She felt a leap in her chest as their eyes met. She quickly swallowed the lump that blocked . He was wearing a black mask around his eyes so it was difficult for her to identify him. But he seemed so familiar, especially the blond hair that he was sporting.

“Konbanwa, Marcy-sama,” he said in Japanese so Sarah understood it clearly. He took Aunt Marcy’s hand and kissed it.

“Konbanwa,” Aunt Marcy replied properly and smiled meaningfully at him.

“My lady,” he spoke in troubled English as he turned to Sarah.

Sarah was quivering when their hands touched so much more when his lips kissed the back of her hand.

Unexplainably, her heart skipped a beat, and no matter how she tried to understand herself why she was that nervous and affected by his presence, she never succeeded.

After Aunt Marcy settled herself on the soft, velvety cushions on the grand platform, the loud music resumed and so was the dancing.

“May I have this dance, milady?” he asked her in Japanese to which she graciously accepted with reluctance.

Her feet weren’t that accustomed to old dance steps.

“Don’t worry. I myself am a bad dancer,” he confided to her as they walked towards the middle. “I’m so sorry if I immediately took you to the dance floor. I can’t help but be dazzled by your beauty,” he added with a familiar voice.

“I guess we are just pawns to this foolish game of the oldies, huh,” she told him after settling her hand on his shoulder.

“Guess we don’t have a choice,” he told her and smiled.
As they danced to the music of the orchestra, Sarah felt her heart racing fast as she tried to contain her excitement inside her. She had a very strong hunch that she really wanted to prove true.

“By the way, I’m Sarah,” she introduced herself after a long time of silence.

“Jae, just call me Jae,” he replied, deliberately avoiding her eyes.

Sarah swallowed the thickening lump in . She was getting more excited every tick of the time as she slowly uncovered the identity of this man.

After the waltz, they went to a nearby table and ate their fill, unminding the others who glanced at them. Just a few light conversation and jokes, they became comfortable with each other’s company that they decided to leave the hall to go outside – to the rear of the ship.

The cool sea breeze blew past them as they walked the deserted space. Surprisingly, there was no other person aside from the two of them so, they laughed around as they teased each other.

“You know, I never had this kind of fun for quite sometime,” Jae said as he raced with his breath.

He looked at her. Her face covered partially by a white mask around her eyes was a delight to his eyes. Her smile which was carved on her perfectly ivory face intoxicated him, luring him into a world of sheer happiness. No matter how he tried to convince himself he was trying to be desperately emotional, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was attracted to her.

“You know, when I was young, I used to dream of this prince who would sweep me off my feet,” she related as she neared him. She held on to the railing he was also holding and looked at him.

He was intently looking at her.

“Hey, you look so mesmerized. I’m beginning to think you don’t enjoy my company,” she told him with a smile.

“Of course I do,” he replied defensively. “In fact I really like you,” he shyly confided, that even in the shadows, his blush was clear.

Sarah chuckled, pushing back her hair which was being tousled by the wind.

“And I am so embarrassed to admit I am not as articulate as you in speaking Japanese,” he told her, turning to the vastness of the sea.

“My Lord, I have another dream. Do you have the patience to listen to this rubbish?” she said, trying to sound extremely polite like a maid speaking to her master.

He turned to her and smiled, a smile that almost knocked Sarah off her feet. She was really convinced he was Hero, the one person she adored in the entire universe.

“Please indulge yourself,” he played along with a small laugh.

“My Lord, I have this dream about a handsome, young man who blew my mind away. He is a great singer, a brilliant dancer, and a very good cook,” she paused to observe him. His expression suddenly changed as he turned away from her. “I dreamt about him almost every moment of the day, every minute of the hour. He is the object of my fantasies,” she stopped for a moment to contain herself or else she would lose her propriety and submit to her y inclinations. “I’m afraid he looks exactly like you, my Lord,” she went on, trying hard to repress her giggles.

“What?” he exclaimed as he faced her. Utter surprise was marked on his face.

“Oh, look!” she pointed to the moon, which had just gone out of a large sheet of cloud. “Isn’t that beautiful?” she avoided, knowing that revealing his identity that early would make him uneasy and retracted.

“Hai,” he murmured as he turned his head down.

He is really reserved when talking to strangers huh, she thought as she observed him.

She herself was a bad conversationalist especially with strangers.

Trying to break the ice that was starting to thicken between them, Jae suddenly braved up and approached Sarah, who was taken completely unprepared with his abrupt proposal.

He took her hand and pulled her slowly to him, still reserving a small space between them. Then he motioned her to step on the railings, which she obediently followed.

“I want to experience the feeling Jack and Rose had when they were riding the Titanic. I’m sorry for being so straightforward,” he told her in almost a whisper as her helped her up.

Sarah giggled as the cold wind brushed on her cheeks, causing shivers down her spine, much more with the anticipation that soon their bodies would be intertwined in and become one in the shadows. She rose higher on the railings, rising up to her waist, still giggling as she felt the cold caress if the sea breeze.

Her giggles suddenly vanished as she felt Jae’s body came close to her back. She suddenly wished she wasn’t wearing a thick gown so she could feel exactly the wholeness of his body. A different shiver ran through her skin as his smooth fingers slowly wrapped around her wrist as he raised her hands in the air.

For a moment, she felt so loved and understood for the first time in her life. She wanted to shout out loud to release the excitement welling up inside her, but the sheer excitement was far too strong to make her speechless. Her body stiffened at the mere touch of his hips on her thickly covered hips. Suddenly, the cold dissipated into the night and what took over was a terrifyingly unbearable heat that enveloped her being as Jae’s breath brushed on her nape.

“You’re shaking,” he remarked as he adjusted himself behind her.

“I’m…” her voice trailed off into the wind as she found her vocal chords knotted.

“I never thought Jack could have felt so wonderful that time,” he said to the base of her ears, prompting her to slowly turn her head his way, her lips sensuously awaiting for his kiss.

Jae found her lips irresistible as they parted before him and in a gentle swoop of his head, he met her warm lips in a passionate kiss, one he hadn’t had for ages. As they both submitted themselves to the power of that kiss, they lost track of themselves. A sudden gust of wind swept down from above, disrupting their balance and sending Sarah to bend over the railings. In a desperate effort to save herself, she quickly faced Jae, holding him tightly to regain balance, but her hip was too high over the railings making even the gentle rock of the ship toss them down into the cold, dark waters even when Jae tried to hang on, but his little effort was futile. They both cried out for help as they dropped straight into the ocean.

***********************************************************

It was already ten in the evening when Marcy looked for her niece who hadn’t joined her ever since she danced with HIM. She just chuckled as she thought she must have figured out who he was and dragged him to someplace more private. But when an hour passed and she still didn’t see her around, she began to worry, thinking that something might be wrong with her.

She called out to her secretary who followed her in the cruise to look for her niece.

She will be back if she hears the boys are performing, she thought and so she went up to the tour manager and expressed her wishes to him only to be met with the same problem as hers. Her back straightened as her worries deepened with the night.

“Jaejoong hasn’t returned, madam,” the tour manager informed her in a troubled tone.

“He is not that aggressive, right?” she cried out as she turned to the other four guys who were joyously chatting together.

“We fully understand he won’t do anything to her, knowing who she is, madam,” Yunho assured her with his signature don’t-worry-they-are-okay smile.

“What a relief,” Marcy sighed as she went back to the platform and looked around.

A little commotion started as the whole Korean crew panicked upon hearing Jae couldn’t be found anywhere. Hearing that, Marcy turned to her secretary who only gave her a blank look causing her to march out of the hall to her quarters where she called the Captain Zeggers from the bridge.

“I completely trusted the safety regulations of this ship, captain,” Marcy burst out as she walked back and forth. “I need you to find her at once!”
“Madam, we assure you of the safety of everyone on board here and as of the moment, most of my men are scouting for your niece,” Captain Zeggers calmly replied.
Soon after, a knock brought all of them on their feet, but it was the whole TVXQ entourage which rushed in, expressing their concerns to the captain. The once-before-joyful four were already in profound concern over the unexplained disappearance of their friend.
A few minutes later, the third mate of the ship came in with a crew who was presumably the last person to see the two together.

“I bet they fell overboard, sir,” the crewman said to Marcy’s outrage.

“Don’t bet on such misfortune, damn fool!” she yelled at him as she tried to steady her breath but soon she was found leaning on the large cushioned chiar near her.

“Are you sure of what you are saying?” Captain Zeggers asked for clarification.

“I don’t know really but the one thing I am sure is that I did not see them pass by me. Where else could they pass out of the lobby, sir?” the crewman fearfully replied.

“Madam, we will do our best to find them. Please make yourself at ease,” Captain Zeggers told her. “And you also,” he turned to the others.

Another few minutes passed and the whole search party convened in the penthouse suite only to reveal the shocking truth.

“My greatest fear is that they fell overboard, captain, madam. We could not find them anywhere,” the captain’s first mate said which brought Marcy into hysteria.

“You go back! Turn this ship around and look for them! I will pay as much as you want just turn back and save my niece!” she cried out aloud, finding support from her secretary as her knees melted beneath her.

The whole room suddenly became filled with an incomprehensible exchange of arguments as Yunho, Max, Micky and Xiah together with their manager rushed to the captain.

“We will certainly find them. I promise you that.”

“Please do,” Yunho cried out, keeping his tears at bay while the rest of the guys tried so hard to calm themselves.

All they didn’t know is that it was too late.