WITH GRACE.

19장

i sat in front of the mirror on my simple vanity table, a little lost with what to do.

i just got out from the shower and it's already five in the evening. the dress i would be wearing was laid out neatly on my bed.

"what should i do next," i started talking to myself.

i continued staring at my reflection for about ten minutes, wasting my time. i strangely didn't feel the need to rush despite this event being a dream come true for me.

reckoning the limited time i have left, i picked up a bottle on the table and started doing my skincare routine to prepare my skin. with my youtube-provided makeup knowledge and the few products i have, i proceeded doing my makeup.

to match my dress, i settled with a glowy and shimmery look. thankfully, my products were able to provide me with the resources i needed to achieve my desired makeup look. as i've already mentioned before, i'm not quite fond of makeup so i kept it as natural as possible.

an hour later, i had put my makeup and my dress on. i wore a sequined black off-shoulder dress that ended right above the floor. it invoked the image of the galaxy and i absolutely adored it the imagery it portrayed. i partnered the dress with a pair of silver kitten heels with some rhinestone embellishments. i hated heels because those brought discomfort to my poor feet so i settled with ones that are not too high, but still maintained the classy look. i had also put on some accessories to go along my entire outfit.

everything that i wore tonight were gifts from my parents before they passed away. back then, my mother was more excited for me to attend a ball than i felt myself. even when the academic year had just started, she already had a dress tailored for me. my father also went along with it, buying me this footwear and a few accessories.

unfortunately, i wasn't able to attend both opportunities.. my parents weren't able to see me wear this look now that i have finally gotten a miraculous chance.

when i went out of my room with a clutch bag in hand, i found the other two waiting for me on the couch. my babies looked both mature and youthful. they both wore a suit and pants ensemble with collared shirts inside. the difference was that jungwon had a pale pink suit and a necktie on while dongkyu wored a pale blue one with a bowtie. somehow, looking at them reminded me of macarons ㅡ those pastel ones.

"hyung's already waiting outside in his car, noona," dongkyu informed me.

the three of us went out of our unit and descended the floors through the elevator. once we stepped out of the lobby, i spotted sunghoon's car a little distance away. he probably saw us at that moment because the next thing we saw has him going out of the driver's seat while we walked towards his car.

this guy's visuals... is god-tier.

sunghoon wore a white suit with black turtleneck inside. his hair was also neatly parted to the side. i noticed he had eyeliner on and i swore it amplified the depth and beauty of his gaze. on top of everything, i absolutely adored his beauty marks. i loved how they were out and exposed and not covered by the thin layer of foundation he had on. his lips also looked plump and glossy in its natural color.

i don't know what's gotten into me, but i suddenly felt my ears heating up.

"looking beautiful tonight, madamme,"he suddenly commented.

"y-you look dashing as well, sire," i answered, trying to ride along his formal skit.

the two of us just stood there, looking intently at each other's eyes.

"are the two of you seriously planning to spend the entire night gazing at each other, hyung? noona?" dongkyu interrupted our staring session.

i broke eye contact and coughed awkwardly.

"may i remind you that there are minors with you, hyung and noona. please refrain from evidently flirting with each other," jungwon also interjected.

"f-flirting? we weren't!" i cried, feeling wronged at the accusation.

sunghoon just giggled.

"fine, fine. let's just go now. it's almost time," sunghoon said.

he opened the shotgun seat's door for me, earning complaints from the younger ones.

"hyung, aren't you gonna do the same for us?"

"daniel's right, hyung. why aren't you also opening the door for us?"

"quit acting like ladies, kids. it's time to go," sunghoon shut them up and the two entered the backseats, grumbling.

after a few minutes of driving, our group arrived at the venue's parking lot. once again, sunghoon hurried to open the door for me. this time, however, the two refrained from complaining.

once we stepped inside the actual venue, my eyes were immediately greeted by the fancy chandeliers hanging on the ceiling and the warm, pretty light they emitted. the place was well-decorated and i could almost not believe this design was made possible by the highschoolers themselves.

there were already a lot of people around ㅡgirls in pretty dresses and boys in nice suits.

we recognized the dance crew sitting by a table on one side. jake, jay, heeseung oppa, k oppa, ni-ki, taki and even youngbin, hanbin, seon oppa, geonu oppa and nicholas was there. i knew of the other guys when i asked jungwon about their other dance crew members.

jake looked so prim and proper in his gray suit. jay was totally cool and charming with his suit sleeves rolled up. heeseung oppa wore a collarless shirt inside his suit and it highlighted his laryngeal prominence. the rest were also in their respective suits whicu totally made them look straight out of a fantasy book.

we settled at the same table, sunghoon sitting beside me.

"eunhye, you look really pretty tonight," jake complimented.

"it's like you're saying this is the only time i look pretty," i jokingly pouted.

"eyyy, don't be like that. i'm just saying you look especially pretty tonight...especially in someone's eyes," jake answered, playfully moving his eyebrows.

"is sunghoon your date tonight, eunhye?" heeseung oppa was asking me this time.

"seems like it. he's stuck annoyingly close to me ever since he picked us up from our place, heeseung oppa," i let out a soft chuckle, feeling accomplished with my response.

"just watch me stick even more annoyingly close to you, madamme," sunghoon inched his face closer to me and the heat rose towards my ears once again.

"hey! no flirting in front of us gentlemen. geez, you lovebirds," jay interrupted.

lovebirds????