Joohyun clasped the invitation in one hand, and the chain of her bag in the other. The hall was filled with so many people she was supposed to know, yet didn't. Girls who were meant to be her age, and her classmates, turned unfamiliar in sweeping dresses that made a colourful disarray in bright lights. They walked and beamed with elegance, as many donned draping dresses of glittering stone, while others swept gracefully in lace.

The men, likewise, were nothing but sophisticated and smart. Common figures in black, grey and navy walked with suave as they accompanied many other girls inside the room. However, some she realized, were a bit terrible as odd suits of reds, pinks and yellows seemed just as out of place as she was. 

Or so she thought.

That night, they were all wearing masks. She was as mysterious as everyone else was. And for the first time, she wasn't the odd ball in the crowd. For the first time, this temporary disguise of her's masked her into a crowd of strangers. And for that, she felt like a new person. 

It was as if she was a child ready for some unknown adventure. When she was younger, she typically played as princesses with her best friend, Wendy, and thought the occassion of the night allowed her to do so once more. That night, she was a princess once again. But this time, she wasn't in those hideous pig tails she thought were lady-like when she was younger, nor did she have blotches of paint on her face to replace make up.

This time, she was her own princess. One who she imagined, had escaped from reality and into a night full of strangers. 

And most importantly, into a night full of unknown adventure.

The party began by the entrance of the birthday celebrant, who smiled ever so charmingly at her guests around her. She stood in the middle of the checkered marble floor, where balloons that floated to the ceiling hung just above her head. Behind her were more balloons of a larger, grander size, forming her name: W E N D Y

Joohyun looked at her best friend admiringly, as she was indeed the most beautiful in the room. She donned a beautiful dark blue dress, which complimented her chocolate brown hair, that flowed as freely as her personality had. Her shoulders were bejewelled to accentuate her lean figure, and the very dress itself cinched just below her s, and out to drape over her long legs, and onto the floor. She finished with an accent of a dainty heart necklace that Joohyun had given her, and smiled across the room over to her best friend.

 

Joohyun watched as her parents gave her their blessings, as well as a couple of friends of whom had prepared speeches for her. Joohyun particularly requested that she would not take part in any of this, as she is usually a nerve wreck in front of billions of people. She felt apologetic to Wendy at that moment, and so wrote her own speech to her, and gave it to her to read privately.

But she couldn't help but envy Wendy that night. The adventure she felt as a princess soon diminished as she began to compare more of herself to Wendy. Wendy was the social butterfly everyone wanted to be with at school. She was that loyal friend everyone saw and admired. She was the student that worked hard, and succeeded in receiving a high standing in school. And she was one, who was blessed with a beautiful, angelic voice.

Joohyun looked more into herself and felt disgusted. No matter what she wore that night, no matter what adventure she felt like having, she was no match for Wendy. Not by an inch or by a smile.

An event Joohyun was unaware of was soon announced, where Wendy was made to dance with a group of dancers she recognised were from her dance class. Joohyun noticed men in black tuxedos with white bow ties join Wendy in the centre circle emptied for their performance, while girls in turqoise soon accompanied to stand beside them. However, Joohyun kept her attention to the main dancer. He wore a dark velvet suit with a black bow tie, and took Wendy's hand in his as they began dancing. He also wore a black mask that covered his high cheekbones, and the surrounding areas of his eyes. But that wasn't the issue.

His smile was so radiant that it matched Wendy's. It was almost in perfect harmony, like the way their bodies swayed together. It was beautiful.

 

He was beautiful.

 

Joohyun sat where she was, still mesmerized by the mystery of the stranger whom her best friend knew, yet never told her about. She didn't deny that they matched well together. Both beamed in an aura that made it seem like they both shared a secret only they knew. She saw the glittering lights in his as he looked at her, and the shy smile Wendy pulled as she moved in to hug him before the dance was over.

The lights closed down by this time, but Joohyun still remained where she was. The other guests began dancing, she realized. And soon, she was the only one sitting amidst the tables. It made her realize that her adventures as princess were over. She was not that princess she dreamt of being when she was younger, nor was she the princess she dreamt of being that night.

She was just Bae Joohyun. The Bae Joohyun no one noticed, and ignored, and the one whom everyone had pushed away from their circle.

She was Bae Joohyun, the ugly duckling amidst a lake of swans.

 

"Would you like to dance?"

She was caught off guard as her view was blocked by a man standing before her. His hand was outstretched for her to take, yet she just sat there staring at him in pure bewilderment. The dimness of the light did no good in concealing who this person was, as she was already quick to recognise it was the man Wendy danced with. It was the main dancer who captivated everyone's attention.

"I don't dance with strangers", she coldly answered. She wanted to kill herself at that moment, and could not believe what she had just said. She would have loved to dance with him, but what relation did he have with Wendy?

"Okay", he sipped the last of his drink, before setting it on down her table. He pulled her off her seat by the simple tug of a hand, and looked into her crystal clear eyes with the next words he said. "My name is Xiumin. What's yours?"

She was shocked by the promixity of their bodies as she flung right into his chest with just a haul. Yet, she strangely felt no discomfort. His arms felt familiar and brought all her worries away. It was as if she'd known him for years. "Irene"

As he guided her to the dance floor, she knew that despite the small introduction, they were still nothing but strangers. She had used an alias which turned out to be the name she called herself, when acting as a princess when she was younger. He didn't need to tell her directly either. He had used an alias as well.

 

He swayed softly while still clasping her hand, and noticed how stiffly rigid she had gone. He chuckled and twirled her with the swift movement of his hand. She followed it and soon returned to him to be dancing just as he did with Wendy. Only this time, it felt different. He stared directly at her with a kind of silence she was unaccustomed to, and slowly drew her nearer to him. "You look beautiful tonight Irene."

She felt her cheeks turn a deep shade of red, which made her look away from him almost immediately. The night just felt so magical she didn't want anything wrong to crash between them. Yet, everything was wrong. She wasn't the person he thought she was, and she was definitely not Irene.

More importantly, she was Wendy's best friend. 

"How did you find me?" she voiced. She thought again, and rephrased her question quickly. "Why aren't you dancing with Wendy?"

He purposely ignored the second question and smiled softly at her. He placed her hand on his shoulder, gently caressing her other into his, as slow music began to play. "I noticed you the moment you entered. You stood out amongst the crowd."

She didn't see the compliment to his words, but felt guarded and discontent. "So i'm an odd ball again? Is that what it is? I'm just a cannon ball amidst a box of pearls aren't I?"

The anger to her tone immediately caught him, yet he laughed. It was masked by the music, but it was lovely. Although she felt insulted, she fell for his laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Your analogies are weird", he finally faced her, yet again with a smile that she felt was selfishly for herself. "You're not a cannon ball. You're more valuable than that."

For some reason, she felt as though he knew her troubles the way he looked at her. This stranger she hardly knew was intruding into the very edge that made her hard and rough. Yet, he softly drove by, with just the touch of his hand. "You're a beautiful gem stone Irene."

He brought her into a small embrace and drew her back to hand her a balloon. It was a dark pink under the dim light, but she knew it was a light rose shade. He tied it around her wrist, and brought her out of the dance floor and into her table. The whole while their hands were clasped together. She hadn't realized it until he finally let go. 

The lights came on and she finally saw the clarity of his features. His eyes felt different from the way he looked at Wendy, and the smile he wore was kind and sad. For some reason, she felt as though he hadn't wanted to leave. But for that same reason, she knew he had to.

She felt his fingers slipping slowly away from her's, and she felt the welling sadness of knowing she would never know who he truly was. She was not going to ask Wendy. For once, she wanted to keep a memory that was solely her's.

"Red looks nice on you Joohyun."

She sat stoned when he bid her farewell with his radiant smile, before he fled into the crowd. He had known who she was the entire time. But his voice seemed unfamiliar to her. In the end, he remained a stranger she'll never know.

Joohyun looked back at that day where she was finally able to be the princess she dreamt of being. Of course, this was only possible as she unexpectedly met a knight under the mysterious riddle of the night itself. His words were short-lived and simple, yet they impacted her deeper than he could ever imagine. It was he who finally lifted her up from her fears that night, and allowed her to relive a life she never thought she had within her. 

Most importantly, he melted the mask she made for herself and for everyone to see. He didn't throw it away, but he made her accept it. 

 

He made her accept the mask she thought was only the person she thought she showed everyone, but was never a part of herself to begin with. 

And with that, he crumbled her walls to finally be the person she wanted to be. Or when she was younger, the princess she wanted to be.

She, behind that gem encrested mask, was a girl who shied from everyone and everything. She was the girl who clung to her pink balloon before she could ask for freedom. 

And finally, she was that girl that was made for freedom.

 

 

A/N: Hey guys. Just thought i'd do a one-shot for once, which I thought I would never do. But this one in particular is special. Particularly special. It's a bit cheesy (okay maybe too cheesy), but in all simplicity, this is what I felt in a more dramaticized way the night i went to a friend's party. I didn't want to disclose this directly (but I just did lol), but I wanted to write about my feelings during that night with this story. I've been itching to get rid of these feelings I have, which I think I could finally do with this story. I hope you guys enjoy it! (Clearly i'm not one for love)