nytis
the two took their sweet time walking through the darkening night chatting about anything that came to mind. if i could do this every night, then i would seriously be the happiest person alive. jihoon thought to himself while smiling along to one of soonyoung's wild stories.
nothing could beat the time he was spending with soonyoung right now, that's why neither of them cared when the guards at the gate glared at them saying "if you two arrived a minute later, the gates would've closed." the pair only exchanged amused looks and handed the men their invitations (soonyoung earned another glare when the guards saw how crumpled the card was).
although neither soonyoung or jihoon had seen what the inside of the castle looked like before, both of them could tell that weeks worth of work were put into the decorating of the ballroom.
all the walls started with a navy colour then closer to the ceiling, the navy faded into a deep, inky black. little gold dots were splattered all over the walls making it look as if it was a golden milky way.
stunning crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling sparkling a different colour from every angle. and as something extra, jihoon spotted small golden stars and moons hanging from the lights as well that would let out a crisp, quite chime whenever a light breeze coming from the opens doors knocked into them.
large white cereus were placed all over the ballroom, in vases, wrapped around the railings, some of them were even around the large pillars. "they haven't bloomed yet?" jihoon asked, glancing at all the large white bulbs which were all closed.
"most likely night blooming cereus," soonyoung said, "these flowers only bloom at midnight. when they do, they release a really fragrant scent. it's really beautiful, you'll get to see tonight."
"i can't wait." jihoon smiled and looked around the rest of the room. a large table of refreshments sat on the side of the room with all of the foods having something related with the night. the ballroom was filled with people all wearing dark shades purple, blue, grey (thank god jihoon decided to grab a black suit and not the light blue one that caught his eye).
everything about this was truly a midnight ball.
"it's a shame," soonyoung sighed as he looked around the room, "that such a pretty place is home to such rotten people." jihoon nodded in agreement when seeing a haughty noble woman snicker at another lady's ball gown most likely because it wasn't as pretty as hers (in jihoon's eyes, they both looked equally pretty and equally uncomfortable).
"let's go outside." soonyoung suggested, grabbing jihoon's hand. the other quickly nodded. as nice as it looked inside, it was a bit crowded for his liking especially in an unfamiliar environment like this.
stepping out into the cool night air and sitting down on a bench, jihoon looked around the nearly empty garden faintly recognizing few of the marble statues and the large fountain sitting in the middle. a few memories from his time here with kitae floated back to his head.
right, he's not here anymore. soonyoung's here. but how long is he going to stay? surely not forever. "soonyoung. you've stayed for a few months now." he stated slowly, "when do you plan on leaving?"
soonyoung sighed, "i don't know." truthfully, soonyoung really didn't know. and although he didn't tell his parents an exact date, he could imagine his mother getting more anxious everyday. it would only be a matter of time before she sent out people to bring him back. "don't worry about that jihoonie," soonyoung said, patting jihoon's hand reassuringly. "don't worry about anything, just enjoy tonight."
as if on cue, waltz music floated out of the castle and into the garden. soonyoung grinned and looked jihoon in the eye. "jihoonie... the music has started.." however jihoon sat on the bench unmovingly.
soonyoung stood up and walked in front of jihoon and paused for a moment before clearing his throat, "jihoon, may i have this dance?" he dropped into a bow and extended his hand to other. he had done this so many times before but this was the first time he felt nervous. excited. felt like he ment it.
jihoon stared at the hand, and stared at it some more. and some more. "soonyoung.. you're stupid." he finally said, breaking the silence. soonyoung lifted his head, mouth slightly parted, eyes wide. it was almost comical. "have you forgotten? i.. can't dance. never tried it, never learnt how. i think it's best if i just sit here rather than.. stumble every three seconds." in the pale moonlight, soonyoung noticed a light dusting of pink on jihoon's cheek.
"nonsense! it's easy, i'll teach you." soonyoung held his hand out once again and this time (very slowly) jihoon placed own hand in soonyoung's allowing him to pull him off the bench. "it's really simple," soonyoung said, placing his free hand on jihoon's waist. "put your other hand on my shoulder."
"like this?" jihoon asked uncertainty after placing his hand down.
"exactly jihoonie, see? you're a natural." soonyoung laughed.
"we haven't even started dancing yet," jihoon said, looking up at soonyoung. not a good idea. he had never been so close to soonyoung before and seeing his face so up close while being held by him made jihoon's heart do things.
it turns out that jihoon was a natural. only after a few minutes of soonyoung's instructions, the two were dancing around the garden with only a few minor trips. "i don't understand how people can do this for hours," jihoon said tiredly, pulling soonyoung to a stop. "this is tiring.. and boring." jihoon suddenly thought of something and grabbed soonyoung's arm, "i just thought of something we could try."
curious, soonyoung followed jihoon to see what the boy was planning. "oh jihoon-" soonyoung laughed when he realized what he was doing. "jihoonie we're just spinning in circles. offbeat circles too."
jihoon huffed, "this is much better than what you showed me." soonyoung's eyes crinkled. never once has he danced like this at a ball. sure there had been times he was tempted to but he never did because it was improper and unfit for a prince. it was refreshing to finally not have to do those ballroom waltzes.
"this is brilliant jihoonie," soonyoung laughed. jihoon made his whole world spin. literally. as the garden in the background started to blur the two boys stumbled all over the place with peals of dizzy laughter coming out of their mouths.
mess up hair, crumpled suit and red cheeks. the twinkling in jihoon's eyes put all the stars in the sky to shame. the wide smile that adorned his face was brighter than any light soonyoung had seen before.
this is it. jihoon is it.
soonyoung is positive that there is no one else in the universe will make him feel this way and that he will never feel this way towards anyone else.
it's jihoon or no one.
