The ballroom that is empty for most of the time, is now busy with a flurry of activities. There is only one hour until they will open their doors to the public, and the occupants are working together to make sure the event can be carried out with no problems.
Wooyoung is standing on a chair, busy directing some of the workers to correctly place the banner for this year's annual public ball, creasing his forehead as he feels that the banner is not at the exact place he wants it to be. He orders them to lower it down, before asking them to put it to the right, biting his lower lip in concentration as he finally sees the right spot. He gives an 'ok' sign as they hook the banner, and he had never looked so proud. San and Yeosang are busy joining the servants bringing in their spread, resisting the urge to have a taste of every dish they prepared. As the maids throw on the table cloth along the 10-metre table, they set down the dishes. San takes a step back to take in the whole scene, and at the same time his mouth is busy instructing them to arrange the spread in a presentable manner. Yeosang helps to make last minute touches to the whole table, with San nodding in approval as he finishes.
Jongho spends the time he has to practice, warming up his voice as he checks the condition of his guitar. He doesn't want anything to go wrong tonight, especially since Hongjoong said he would be coming. Mingi helps in the selection of the music he's going to be singing and arranging a playlist that would be played throughout the dance. Satisfied with his own choices, he then leans back against his chair, hooking his fingers behind his head.
Meanwhile, Akira, Yunho and Seonghwa are busy discussing on which flowers would look good at certain areas. They agree that creeping flowers would look good being wrapped around the staircase railings on both sides of the ballroom, so that is where they go. Seonghwa already has a rough idea on where each type of flowers should go, but he finds it amusing to hear Akira and Yunho bickering over them. He doesn't even feel the jealousy anymore; to him, they seem more like siblings rather than a pair of lovers.
"I'm telling you, the petals of those red roses should be spread along the floor."
"I think blue would look better."
"Akira, you can't even see the colours."
"Well then, fuck you too, Jeong Yunho."
Seonghwa laughs at their squabble before putting up both hands to calm them down. "I think both would look good, so we can spread both the red and blue petals on the floor."
"See? It's not that hard," Yunho sticks his tongue out to her.
"You just fought for the red ones like there was no other colour in this world," she rolls her eyes, but then ends up smiling.
Their preparation for the venue has finally come to an end, but it's now time for them to dress themselves up. They file out of the ballroom, each accompanied by several maids that will be helping them to get ready. Even San, Mingi, Jongho and Yeosang who say they won't need anyone's help is ushered out of the ballroom, with Wooyoung insisting that the representatives of the palace should be presentable. Seonghwa and Hongjoong are also a bit reluctant to have any maids help them dress up, but Akira and Yunho are a different case. They seem to be the most excited at the thought of having someone actually helping them to get ready for the ball.
"Can you believe this," Yunho whispers to Akira. "We're actually being treated like royalty. At this rate, all of them seem like they could be the king, couldn't they?"
Their conversation is cut short as they are escorted into different rooms, each with their own convoy of maids. Akira is lead into a room with the purple lace dress already hung, ready to be put over her. She feels weird being strip naked, the maids keeping an emotionless face as their hands brush against her body scars, fitting her into the dress and zipping it up. The dress falls just past her knees, and although this is the most exposed she has ever been, she feels comfortable in it. She knows that this occassion calls for heels, but the only heels she has ever tried on are the ones under her boots. So she opts to only go for flats, so she doesn't have to worry about falling flat on her face.
The next moment she is sat down in front of the mirror, looking at the reflection of her face that bear some faded scars, and she realizes that she has never looked at her face in the mirror for this long. She never finds anything interesting while watching her own reflection, so she rarely looks for a mirror. Instinctively, she touches the scar on her forehead, carefully hidden behind her hair. It was the first scar she got as soon as the title as a general was passed down to her. One of the maids deal with her hair, brushing it with care and letting it hang loose. They touch up her face, and finish with a lipstick that she hopes isn't too bright. As she is done being dressed up, they accompany her to the ballroom, where the rest are already waiting.
The rest of the boys are wearing similar attires, but their suits are embroidered differently, each of them having separate details. Some of them wear shoulder-padded ones. She's sure that the colours are all different, but she can't tell.
"Looking good, Akira," Yeosang greets her.
"Thank you. It feels weird but I'll manage," she grins.
"I told you, you would look good in purple," Wooyoung mentions as she approaches them.
"Well you wanted something provocative at first, didn't you?" Mingi adds.
"You wanted what?" Seonghwa growls.
"Ah, it's time for them to arrive, isn't it?" Wooyoung escapes the group, scurrying to the doors.
And he's right. The doors open and it's like the people have all been waiting behind it to flood into the hall. Wooyoung greets them with a huge smile on his face, and he smiles even wider when he sees some of the familiar faces of squealing women. They latch onto him like a tiger pouncing on a prey, and he has to signal to the others to help him with dealing with the guests. Music starts playing as Jongho moves onto the stage, ready to put on his performance for tonight. Most of the guests are young people; there are those who come alone, while others with their partners.
Yunho nudges her and she understands what he's trying to say. They quietly make their way to the buffet table, picking up every single type of food there is. At the end of the table, their plates are full to the brim.
"Let us live like kings, just for today," Yunho says as he licks his lips, tempted to dive right into the plate in front of him. They stuff themselves like there is no tomorrow, completely absorbed and not minding the other guests who are happily dancing across the floor. Hongjoong takes a seat next to them, although his plate only bears a significantly lesser feast than theirs. San and Mingi join them, taking their time to eat while enjoying Jongho's performace. The youngest is completely engrossed in his singing, and every time he finishes a song, the crowd cheers with Hongjoong giving the loudest cheer like a father proud of his son. Jongho's face becomes bright as he catches them cheering from their seats.
She looks around and notices something amiss. "Where did Yeosang and Seonghwa go?"
Mingi pops a strawberry into his mouth before replying with his mouth full. "They are probably running away."
"From what?" she frowns.
"From them." San lifts up his fork and points at one direction. Her and Yunho's eyes follow the direction and their eyes find a group of people at the table, seemingly a family. The group consists of two elders - a man and a woman - and two young women. All of them bring a sort of an ominous aura, as if warning people around them to not come close to them. "Yeosang's family." His fork shifts to the lady with the dangling diamond-shaped earrings, plump lips and hair up in a bun. "That's his... fiancee, if you could call her that."
"Fiancee? Now I'm interested," Yunho puts down his utensils and leans closer to San. "Spill me all the tea."
"Yeosang is a nobleman with the purest blood you can find. He comes from a family that doesn't want to mingle with any other people out of their ranks. I know, I know. There are people like that in Nyla too, not just Lucida." He adds when Akira gives him the look. "Yeosang used to be the same; we can't deny that his head is smart but damn, that ego could use a bit of work. He used to think of us as the equivalent of dirt when he first came to the palace. He didn't want to mingle with us. He was invited to live in the palace for, as you may have guessed, his exceptional medicinal skills. His family was elated because hey, that means their son is closer to royalty and that is something to brag about. His parents got him a partner because they wanted to 'chain' him down; they are scared that their son will suddenly change and fall for someone lower than their status at the palace. It's basically a forced relationship. Yeosang didn't mind though, since it's not like they ever did anything more than look at each other."
"But of course, he changed. Took him some time, but at least he's nice now," Mingi utters.
"And the other girl?"
"Ah, that's Yeosang's younger sister. Kang Yoojung, 21 years old. She is a... peculiar piece of work." San quivers as he mentions her name. "Since they grow up in the same household, it's hard to see a difference in their personalities. She is a carbon copy of the past Yeosang, except for the brains part. She also happens to be deeply in love with Seonghwa, which explains why he ran away from this hall, because she clings onto him like there's no tomorrow. Look... at her searching for her one-sided love."
Their eyes travel to her, who is already standing up and looking around the dance floor. She avoids the other people like they carry infectious diseases, her face crinkling with every avoidance. As she reaches the end of the floor and still has not found her prince charming, she huffs before stomping back to the table.
"I'm up for a dance, anyone wants to join?" Yunho says cheekily, while Mingi and San put their hands up while quickly finishing the plate in front of them.
"Don't look at me, I can't dance to save my life," Akira states.
They leave the table to the two of them, with Hongjoong quietly observing the scene. He chuckles when he catches sight of Mingi, Yunho and San, who look like they should be kicked out of the dancing floor. Everyone else is trying their best to dance gracefully, while the three of them seem to just let loose. Wooyoung is busy dancing with two girls on each of his arms; he looks like he's drunk although she knows that's not the case. They did tell her that they don't serve any alcoholic drinks because some of the guests might get out of control.
Hongjoong asks her if she'd like to come along with him, as he wants to go and have a little chat with some of the guests but he doesn't want to leave her alone. She politely refuses, saying that she's going to be fine and that she's planning to go outside to get some fresh air. So she leaves the hall, all the while keeping a lookout for Yeosang and Seonghwa. The sound of the music becomes muffled as the door closes behind her. She looks around for any sign of the two men, but only realizes that she is alone. She then leaves the main building, descending the stairs and she sees the carriages the guests must have arrived in being lined up on one side of the landing. She takes a guess that the gardener would be hanging around the garden, but again, finds no one there.
She decides to try her luck with the archery range, and this time she gets it right when she finally finds both of them there, Seonghwa playing around with his bow while Yeosang sits and watches from the ground.
"A bit weird don't you think? To have both of you here when there's a ball going on inside," she approaches them.
"Akira," Seonghwa lowers his bow, completely surprised that she found them here.
"Are they still there? You know those mean-looking group of people with two girls-"
She chuckles. "Your family? Yeah they're still there, and I think your lover is looking for you, Seonghwa," she mentions while smirking.
"The boys told you everything, didn't they?" Yeosang buries his face in his hands. "This is so embarrassing."
"Your sister gives me nightmares sometimes," Seonghwa hisses.
"My whole family gives me nightmares all the time."
"I can chase them out if you want. Just give me a sword and consider it done."
"Can you do that?" the doctor actually sounds desperate that she's taken aback.
"I'm joking; I can't go around ruining all of your hard work with this."
Yeosang's shoulders droop as he stands up. "Maybe I should just go and say hi to them. They're still family but please pray that I don't get roasted alive by them."
"And if your sister ever asks about me, please say you never saw me," Seonghwa reminds him.
He brings himself out of the range, and his figure is then swallowed by the night, leaving Seonghwa and Akira alone at the range. She turns to look at him, who's pretending to be busy with his bow. She stares at him before tapping his shoulder, asking him to turn around to face her. He does, albeit very slowly.
When she's sure that she already has his full attention, she suddenly says, "I love you."