Starfall. |Lee Know

Five.

Dabin was watching the dazzling chandeliers, the interacting princes, princesses, and nobles. The hosts walked up and down the ballroom with trays of champagne flutes. It was obvious her brother and his friends were half-wasted from how hard they were laughing. The only totally sober one was the King, who just left his lady and headed over to his friends to witness the mess they were in and try, just try, to save their images.

Dabin stood at one corner with her still full flute, scared to sip on it especially after her brother went nuts. She had already made a mistake with her dress, so she didn't need another one to be added to the list if she got herself drunk.

"Overwhelming, right?" A voice talked, making poor Dabin get startled and jump in her place, almost spilling her champagne.

Why would someone creep on people like that?

She turned around, ready to yell but stopped once she saw the kind smile of an unfamiliar face.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to scare you." He took one step away. "I was trying to make an impactful entrance." He chuckled sheepishly. "And I did, in the wrong way." He rubbed his nape.

"I guess I was too far in my thoughts to notice a close presence around me." Dabin tried to give him a kind yet cautious reply.

"It's Lee Felix, from the Lee Royal Family." He introduced himself with a bow.

"Prince Lee?" She questioned. From what she learned, Prince Lee wasn't a blondie, and the one ahead of her was a blondie with freckles.

"Not The Prince Lee. I'm just his cousin." He replied. "His only good one 'cause the rest of our cousins are trash." He chuckled.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Lee." Dabin bowed at him.

"They are being too much, right?" He pointed at his friends.

"They are having fun." She shrugged.

"Why aren't you having fun with them then?" Felix questioned.

"I'm a little.. overwhelmed." She admitted, using his words.

"Would I bother you if I joined?" He asked for permission to stand by her side and share with her the corner she was in.

"Please." Dabin allowed him.

A captivating smile immediately covered his face. A host passing by stopped to hand him a flute and then walked away. The two companions were silently watching their surroundings.

"These chandeliers are really blinding." Dabin chuckled, trying to start a conversation and not to stay awkwardly silent.

"Never say that in front of the Hwang. It was a gift from his kingdom." Felix inched closer to whisper. "Those chandeliers are priceless. They were handmade by the Late Queen, his grandmother. She was such an artist. It took her seven years to complete them."

Dabin choked on nothing and looked at Felix with wide eyes. "Seven years?"

Felix nodded. "The poor thing passed away before she completed her masterpiece." He scoffed. "See that spot over there?" Felix pointed at the inner corner of one of the chandeliers that dangled from the roof of the second floor of the ballroom. "It's actually incomplete. That's why it's hanging that way. To cover up."

Dabin squinted her eyes to see what he was referring to. Hardly, she could see an area that was devoid of dazzling crystals. That seemed to be the incomplete part of the art.

While squinting at it, Dabin saw something moving behind it. Tilting her head to the side, her eyes fell on the most dazzling thing ever.

So gracefully, a human being was moving on the second floor until he stopped facing the railings. He stood there, one hand tucked into the pocket of his white tux slacks, while the other twirled the champagne inside the flute before holding it to his pointed nose, sniffing it gently and then, placing the rim to his lips to take a very brief sip of it as his eyes trailed on the people dancing and enjoying themselves down below.