CHARACTERS:
G-YAN
ETHAN - G-YAN'S BETROTHED
JUNSU
RI IN - JUNSU'S BETROTHED
Every Christmas eve, all of the most prestigious families in the country come together to attend the annual Royal Masquerade Ball. The ball would always be held in one of the most luxurious hotel in the country, hand-picked by the King himself. That particular year, they chose Seoul for the venue.
As your car enters the perimeter of the hotel, trees would be in sight. Each and every tree in the driveway was decorated with twinkling Christmas lights hanging from its branches to resemble fireflies surrounding the trees. Ice sculptures illuminated by lights of red, pink, yellow, and lime green were scattered along the bushes of the driveway and in the garden. The most exquisite sculpture was of Cupid’s and it can be found standing on top of the center of the fountain in the center of the circular driveway leading to the glass door entrance of the hotel. Once you pass through these two glass doors, your eyes will feast on the splendor it has to offer. The white marble floors were sparkling under the light given off by the diamond chandelier that was hanging over 20 feet from the ground. The ceiling was designed to be like that of a royal’s during the reign of the French monarchy. The marble walls by the doors that lead to the garden were covered by tapestries embroidered with rich and warm colors of scarlet and gold, made especially for the winter season. If you turn to your left upon entering the glass doors, you can find the concierge sitting behind the table made out of redwood inlayed with lacquer, elegantly crafted to resemble real flowers and vines, as if it grew on the table. Each and every room is styled to perfection, each different from the other to satisfy the variety of tastes their guests have.
Once you enter the Leslie Antoinette hall, a ball like no any other will welcome you. Maidens were mingling and dancing along the heavenly waltz played by the orchestra. The men were in their tuxedos discussing the political crisis of the country, accompanied by their dates in their colorful ball gowns, opera-length gloves and romantically styled hair. Not one of them could be recognized by merely looking at them as their faces were hidden behind intricately decorated Venetian masks.
In the middle of the masked crowd, there she was, G-Yan, in her red ball gown and her white opera-length gloves. Her long black hair was tied up in an elegant French bun, her skin showing off its glow through the décolleté neckline of her dress.
On the other side of the hall, there he was, Junsu smartly dressed in his tuxedo. His hair was made into style, unlike all the other men who had theirs parted and gelled back. He was holding a glass of champagne, having a small talk with the other men merrily.
“G-Yan!” A woman in silk, pearl white dress called. G-Yan turned to see who it was that called her as it was easy to get parted from your companions in the event as everyone had masks worn. Only those with wary eyes could see the small distinct designs that differentiated each mask from the other.
“Alyce…” G-Yan uttered the latter’s name. Kristine skipped her way to her, her curls bouncing up and down.
“We’ve been looking for you, where have you been?” Alyce asked as G-Yan saw Ethan, the man who was her betrothed. He was exceptionally dashing to her that evening, especially that innocent smile of his that she grew to love more and more each passing day.
“Ethan-ah…” She breathed, “You’re…” She was at a loss for words. G-Yan covered her mouth with her hands, showing her freshly manicured nails, “I’m speechless.”
The man chuckled a bit before taking his hand in her, placing a soft kiss on it. “Between the two of us, my fair lady, it should be I that is speechless. It is…” His voice trailed off as he knew that she was getting flushed with embarrassment, Alyce was still there, watching them amusedly. And then, he continued, “a crime for you to wear such a mask that hides your beauty, my love.”
Junsu lifted the glass of champagne and saw the tinsel shine through the contents of the glass. He let out a small smile as Junsu laid eyes on a mistletoe. And then Junsu saw Ri In, what is she doing here? Junsu asked himself as he hurriedly tried to blend in the masked crowd.
“Junsu!” He heard Ri In call him.
“Hey Ri In…” He faked a smile as he made his way towards the woman with smiling, half-moon eyes.
“Where have you been? I was looking all over…”
“I apologize for having you do that extraneous task, my lady.” Junsu lied, placing a kiss on the
back of her hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight was nearing, the most awaited part of the celebration. The glorious fireworks display made by only the masters of the craft was yet to appear. The orchestra played Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of Flowers, pressing the fact that Christmas was just minutes away. As the gentle music filled the hall, all the men bowed down to ask the hand of their fair lady for the last dance of the night. The women, in turn, placed their soft hands in theirs and started swaying along the music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G-Yan gently placed her head on Ethan’s shoulder and let it rest for even just a short while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Junsu looked away as Ri In looked up into his eyes, hoping that he too would look at her with the same love as she had for him. But, Ri In was wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G-Yan let Ethan sway her around as the song’s melody got stuck in his head, soon enough he was already humming it. It was time, Ethan told himself, to tell her those words that truly expressed how he felt about her. Ethan held her closer and whispered, “I love you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Junsu avoided Ri In's eyes, because in doing so, Junsu felt guilt eat him up. By merely holding her, Junsu already felt badly about it, what more with dancing wherein you have to trust your partner in leading you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And then, it came, the fireworks that turned into vivid ornaments of the night sky. Everyone stopped all of their movements and looked up through the glass ceiling to watch the display of lights. The stars were shining, but the iridescent glow of the lightshow shone brighter in contrast of the alluring night sky.
Junsu held his head down and then, he saw G-Yan. Her silk red gown flowed down to the white marble floors, G-Yan's milky white skin shone through the nightlights, and Junsu found her beautiful. If only I could see her face, he thought to himself.
G-Yan looked down from the skies to her betrothed and saw his face watching the lightshow. And then, her eyes looked past him and saw Junsu. Junsu's slightly messed up hair covered a part of his Columbine mask, embellished with shades of green, gold and black, his full and pouty cherry lips stuck out as if waiting for a kiss, his tall nose and well-defined jaw line made him striking even with the mask.
Junsu was looking at G-Yan, as G-Yan was looking at Junsu. The two of them hand their eyes fixed on each other, as if time had stopped. Junsu smiled at her and it melted G-Yan's heart almost instantly. It was a good thing that her mask wasn’t like his, hers was a Medico Della Peste which covered her face fully, or else Junsu would have seen her face flushed. As the clock was about to strike twelve, the guests of the party started a countdown, a countdown to the moment that everyone would remove their masks to reveal their identity.
Ten. Ri In looked down from the skies and tried to start a conversation with Junsu, but failed as Junsu’s attention was focused on G-Yan.
Nine. G-Yan snapped back to reality as Ethan held her hand, “Beautiful aren’t they?”
Eight. G-Yan betrothed’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Ethan turned from her, and answered it.
Seven. G-Yan wore a frown on her face as business took Ethan away from her, again.
Six. “What?” Ethan exclaimed with a shocked expression.
Five. Junsu jerked his hand away from Ri In, “I’m sorry Ri In.”
Four. “This arrangement just wouldn’t work for me, I’m sorry.”
Three. With that, Junsu weaved through the crowd to G-Yan.
Two. “G-Yan, your father’s been rushed to the hospital.” Ethan told her.
One. Ethan held G-Yan hand as they headed for the exit.
Zero. Junsu stood still at the very same spot she had occupied a moment ago, Junsu's mask in his hand. G-Yan took one last glance at Junsu but he was nowhere to be found. “Merry Christmas!” everybody cheered in unison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“G-Yan is there someone else?” Ethan asked as he took a sip from the porcelain cup.
“What do you mean?” She asked, putting down the cup and saucer on the marble table.
“If there’s someone else in your heart, may I know who it is?”
“I don’t know…” She answered truthfully. “I don’t even know if this feeling I have for that person is love.” A smile crept along her face and she turned to Ethan, saying as she reminisced that moment the two of them had their eyes locked on to each other, “I met him at the Masquerade Ball.”
“Did you see his face?” Ethan asked, surprisingly, without any bitterness. Ethan was too calm for a lover at a time like that.
G-Yan shook her head. “No, I didn’t get a glimpse of him.”
Ethan reached out to touch G-Yan cheeks. Ethan caressed it with his thumb, “You will find him, and I swear it to you, my lady.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Junsu what happened to Miss Jang?” Junsu's sister, Suzy, asked as she was watering the plants in their garden while he was engaged in a book.
“I told her that I cannot be with her anymore.” Junsu told Suzy bluntly. “I wouldn’t stand for an arranged marriage.”
Suzy sighed, “So typical of you my little brother.” Suzy plucked a flower and handed it to him. “You will eventually find your flower lady, so keep this until that day.”
Junsu was surprised as to how Suzy found out about his real reason for ending his engagement with Ri In, even if he didn’t tell her a thing about the said matter. Junsu thought about G-Yan as he spun the red flower in his hand, and he smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time had passed quickly as winter came. That year, the ball was to be held in Japan, hosted by the Jung family. Junsu was quite relieved when he heard that it would be his best friend who would be hosting the event because that meant that he would be able to see through the list of guests and find her. He just longed to see her like so.
“How do you even know she’s going to come?” Yunho asked as he walked around his friend who was painting a portrait of her.
“I don’t know.” He simply told him. “I’m just hoping that she will.”
“Well, if she does come, how will you know it’s her?” He stopped and turned to his friend.
“Well,” He laid the color palette and the paintbrush on the wooden table. He smiled at the portrait and said, “We’ll just see when we get there.”
Yunho peered in the painting and saw a woman in red, she was in the middle of a masquerading crowd. Her back was facing him, she was clutching her mask at her back, as if waiting for someone. “And what do you plan to do when you see her?” His eyes never left the painting. It told him a story, an unfinished story. And he was very anxious to see what was going to happen.
“You know what Yunho?” He stood up from the stool and turned to him, “Just wait and see it for yourself, because even I do not know what will happen ok?” He gave him a small pat on the shoulder. “Patience.” He reminded him before leaving his friend staring at him as he left the room.
“G-Yan” Her mother shook her softly.
She opened her eyes and sat up straight. She rubbed the sleepiness off her eyes before greeting, “Good morning mom.”
She gently stroked her daughter’s hair, “Your father and I have been talking.”
“It has something to do with Ethan breaking up with me, right?” she asked groggily.
“It’s time for you to get married, sweetie. You’re already at the right age and we decided to have you wed to someone who can give you and your children a bright future.” The old woman hung her head low. She and her husband were not the type of parents who would force their child into something. It’s only that they had no other choice left because Ethan left her. They had to do something to ensure her future.
Her daughter saw all of it and smiled, “Mom its okay. I don’t really mind.” She lied. At that exact moment, she told herself that she would see him, for it may be the last time she’ll get to see Jusnu as Yanazawa Gryanne.
That year’s Masquerade Ball, hosted by the Jung Family, resembled a winter wonderland. Stepping inside the party hall made one feel like he or she entered a different dimension. With shades of blue and silver and small hints of red, yellow, green and pink, it looked like it was snowing inside the hall. Hanging from the ceiling were replicas of snowflakes in larger sizes, replacing the chandelier. And only a select few of these snowflakes had mistletoes hanging from them. The floors looked so slippery that it resembled ice, even the walls. That’s why, for the ladies in their pumps, walking became so frightening for they might lose their balance and fall on their bottom.
The women were in their gowns in shades of white and blue. And G-Yan stood out from the rest with her white gown that had the color of ice in Greenland. Around her waist was a thin, silver belt that showed just how slender she was, her arms had black gloves and a silver bracelet on her wrist. On her feet was a pair of midnight blue shoes that had metallic silver embellishments. Her long and dark hair was curled at the ends, tucked behind her ears.
And there Junsu stood beside his friend in welcoming the guests, of course in their masks, in hopes of seeing G-Yan. Junsu wore the exact same mask he did the last time, hoping that G-Yan would recognize him by it.
But, it wasn’t there by Yunho where he found her. It was somewhere else, and it looked like it was taken out of his portrait of her. G-Yan only stood by the dancing couples, watching them longingly. Oh how much she had missed dancing with someone special.
Junsu approached her with a light tap on her bare shoulders. G-Yan turned to him, first with a surprised expression which slowly turned into a happy one, as she gave him a smile. G-Yan knew it was Junsu.
Junsu held out his hand to her, “May I have this dance with you?”
Without even thinking, G-Yan took his hand, which made her feel warm all over. They danced, as if no one else was there, just the two of them. Their eyes never left each other’s gaze. No words were uttered through out the dance, it was just silence and pure bliss.
When the dance ended, it was only then that G-Yan turned to look somewhere else. Junsu noticed this and lifted her face up to look only at him. “What’s wrong?”
Tears started to surface, but G-Yan held them back. “I think, I really am in love with you.”
Junsu smiled at her. “Same here. Why don’t you and I talk somewhere private, sounds good to you?” She nodded as Junsu led her away from all the others, hand in hand.
“Before anything else, I just want to tell you that this might be the last time we meet as we are.” G-Yan told him as she sat down.
“And why is that?” Junsu asked her calmly.
“I am bound to marry someone else.” She bit her lip.
“Now, that’s two things we have in common.” He once again, smiled at her, making her feel happy. Only this time, he smiled at her without his mask, he removed it.
The sight of his full face sent shivers down her spine. She had seen him before in a photograph shown to her by her mother. “You’re Kim Junsu, am I right?”
“How did you know who I am when I haven’t told you yet?” He asked. “You must have been stalking me!” He joked, causing a smile from the other.
“I have seen you in a photograph my mother had shown me not too long ago.”
“And?”
“Are you really Kim Junsu?” She asked, not fully believing that he was him.
“I really am Kim Junsu. And you must be Yanazawa Gryanne, my bride.” When she heard the last words that left his mouth, she could no longer hold the tears back. It was of happiness and she couldn’t hold back. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried in his arms, contented. Never had either of them thought that through a masquerade, something would bloom from two strangers who knew nothing of each other.Labels: by: Lyshim [sexy_green]
