waltzing in the ballroom with @cwnchul
daphne loved when the kingdom held such events. the thought of waltzing with a partner made her heart flutter. it was the perfect love story! she would look into their eyes, her hand wrapped in their’s as she twirled her way around the ballroom, and that’s when she would know they’re the one. although, it was a shame that this event was specifically meant for all attendees to wear a mask. if there was a chance she would fall in love tonight, the princess would do anything to know who they were. maybe, since the event wasn’t strict on keeping identities a secret, she could just whisper her name into their ear, so they could find her later on … NO!
no one could know it was daphne. not even someone she fell in love with at first sight! anyone who had been around the kingdom of spades knew how hated her father was, and consequently how much of the kingdom wasn’t very fond of her either. and if they weren’t aware, well, all it took was a listening ear to hear about the rumors of how unlucky the princess was. then what? by then they definitely wouldn’t want to be around her. who knew if her bad luck rubbed off on others? it was time for daphne to face the music; no one would love her if they knew who she really was. so, until she was certain they wouldn’t run away, the princess had to keep her identity a secret.
now the real issue was finding herself someone’s eyes to melt into, and it was hard when everyone’s face wasn’t recognizable. how could daphne tell familiar faces apart from complete strangers? furthermore, how was she going to tell whether or not they were her type? the night was full of surprises, and to her dismay, they were not the good kind. she only had two options: stand alone or hope her mystery partner was as dreamy as they were behind the mask.
her eyes scanned the room for a potential star to her romantic fantasy, and that’s when she spotted a slim figure standing along the walls of the ballroom. whether or not they wanted to be left alone didn’t matter because the princess already made the decision to steal their heart. yes, daphne was going to march over there and demand they spent some time with her! they’d see how lovable she really was and fall in love immediately!
her strides were filled with such confidence! it was as if she was ready to claim her own fate. the princess was tired of being a damsel in distress; she was ready to grab her prince charming by the hand and say, “hey! sweep me off my feet!” daphne’s heels stopped in front of the tall, mysterious figure as she gazed into his eyes. oh, wow. well, she thought she was ready to write her own story, yet it seemed as though the mystery man’s intoxicating gaze got the best of her.
“hello, i- well, would you possibly …” she was practically choking on her words as her mind got lost in his eyes, “i’m … uh …” snap out of it! hold yourself together, chen yanyu! the princess shook her head before politely greeting the man with a curtsy. “my deepest apologies. may i have this dance?”
Chul stood along the walls watched silently. There had been a couple of girls already eyeing him but surprisingly none had made a move on him tonight. He wondered why they were acting so coy and shy when their faces were hidden. He would have assumed that the ladies would be even more aggressive tonight, and now he was starting to wonder if he should just wear a mask 24/7 if it meant keeping the women away.
He broke eye contact with one of her girls when she started fluttering her eye lashes at him and quickly looked away when he saw her suddenly approach him. And he knew who it was right away. Her orange hair made her stick out like a sore thumb. And Chul found himself biting back a smile. Because watching her approach him so confidently only to stop and stare at him speechlessly was just so her. It didn’t take even a second for Chul to see that she didn’t recognize him and it was probably due to him cutting his hair after her last comment about his hair and her making fun of him. Still, Chul continued to gaze in her eyes and wait to see if she had the same guts that she always did.
She choked on her words slightly and then quickly curtsy and Chul couldn’t hold back the chuckle and grin that pulled onto his face. He quickly bowed back and held out his hand for her to take as he tilted his head to flash her a charming smile that he rarely let slip. But tonight he was protected by his mask and because she had been the bravest girl to approach tonight, he wanted to spoil her a little bit.
“Of course,” he kissed the top of her hand gently, “I am honored to be asked by such a beauty.”