ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋
❝𝗶 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?❞

Minho couldn't believe his luck.

Somehow, he had managed to not only work up the nerve and ask Alaska to dance, but she had accepted. He hadn't seen that coming. Even Chris and Jisung had urged him not to ask her, before Jisung ran out, because the three slices of cheesecake he ate weren't sitting right.

Minho had barely spoken a word to Alaska before, why now?

And honestly, they were probably right. Taking advantage of the fact that Felix couldn't be there wasn't the most gentlemanly thing he could have done.

But hey, he wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth now, was he?

Alaska looked stunning in her flowing yellow dress. She always did, he supposed.

But even as she laughed at his jokes, and only stepped on his feet once, she hardly met his gaze as he talked. She kept looking past his left shoulder, towards the windows that surrounded the far walls of the ballroom.

Minho didn't have to ask why she was so distracted. He already knew.

Why did it always have to be about Felix? He couldn't help allowing bitter resentment fill his chest, his eyes narrowing as he watched the lovely duchess before him.

He had nothing against Felix, persay. They just had the bad luck of having the same taste in women, apparently. Minho didn't think he could change Alaska's mind in any way. She had made her decision, and he respected that. But a man could wish for just one night, couldn't he?

"What's wrong?" he asked as casually as he could muster.

Alaska's eyes snapped back to him, fully registering his presence for the first time that night. "Oh! Nothing. I'm sorry, I'm just easily distracted." She bowed her head, avoiding his eyes again.

Minho forced a laugh, a weak attempt at making her comfortable. "Today's been busy, huh? It'll be nice when it's all over."

Alaska shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, I like dances," she said with a small smile. Her gaze flitted over his face once before drifting magnetically back to the windows.

Minho barely stifled a sigh. If she didn't want to dance with him, then why had she accepted? If she thought it would make him feel better, or it was a pity offer, then he didn't want it.

Maybe this had all been a terrible idea. His stomach roiled with regret, and he wondered if he would need to follow Jisung's example and go to the bathroom.

"Listen, I'm actually feeling a little tired myself," he began, glancing at his seat. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to sit down. I'm sure the dozens of men are dying to dance with you."

Alaska laughed as she turned back to him. "I'm sure you're right," she said, as if she hadn't fully heard him. "I'll talk to you later, Minho. Oh, and congratulations."

Minho's brow furrowed. "Congratulations?"

Now it was Alaska's turn to frown. "Your wedding?"

"Oh! Yes. Thank you," he felt his face warming at the thought. He opened his mouth to say something more, but couldn't come up with anything, and just hurried away to his seat. What was he supposed to say in response to that? "Thanks, I'm so excited to get married to a girl who hates me!" or, "I don't want to get married, it actually sounds kind of like a nightmare!"

Of course he couldn't.

Minho sat down next to Jeongin, Hyunjin, and Changbin, who had come to sit at at table together. They were all glaring at the dance floor with equally steely expressions, like they wanted to punch something. Or someone.

"What's up with you three?" Minho cocked a brow at them. "You look constipated."

None of them answered, and Minho followed their gazes across the dance floor, towards the group of girls who were dancing right in the center. They were gathering quite an audience.

Seungmin was dipping Lanhua in a dramatic dive, so low her head almost touched the ground. Gasps from the crowd echoed throughout the room as they cheered on the duo. Lanhua slapped his arm when he pretended to drop her, catching her at the last minute.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Changbin ground out, his teeth gritted so hard Minho could hear them scraping against one another.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "They're just friends, dude. Look at them. Seungmin is barely holding her waist. Besides, he wouldn't do that to a girl he actually liked."

"He wouldn't wanna cross a big guy like you," Jeongin joked, but silenced with a look from the guard.

"I could still punch his jaw in," Changbin growled under his breath. "He knew what he was doing, asking her to dance right in front of me like that." His hands were curled into fists, the prominent veins in his forearms bulging menacingly. His eyes bored a hole through the handsome earl who danced with his countess. His breathing was heavy as he forced himself to stay seated.

"If you like her, just say it," Minho shrugged. Not that it had worked for him. Maybe he was better at giving advice than taking it.

Changbin shot Minho a venomous glare. Yikes, maybe he should watch his words around that man. "I. Don't. Like. Her," he spat, his fist landing with a deafening crash on the glass table. The cutlery rattled, and a cup fell to the floor, breaking on impact. "She's my client, that's all. I'm here to protect her."

"I've never seen a guy get so pissed off over a-" Jeongin started, but with one look from Changbin, he stopped. "Whatever," he conceded.

Minho turned back to the dance floor. Riley and Chris were dancing together, but it looked like they were having a serious conversation. His hand gripped her waist much tighter than was necessary, and her face was bright red.

Suddenly, he leaned close and whispered something in her ear, before leading her off the floor and out the room.

Minho's gaze followed them for a moment, before getting distracted by a loud laugh near where Lanhua and Seungmin continued to dance.

JJ and Mya were dancing, JJ spinning Mya around so many times that the girl looked like she was about to fall over. Minho would be worried, if Mya wasn't giggling so hard she was out of breath. JJ pulled her back, and started leading them around the dance floor. The two made a surprisingly skillful pair.

Alaska approached the group, and was immediately scooped up by a handsome man, an earl from Obsidian that Minho thought he recognized. A spark of jealousy flamed through him, but she seemed equally as distracted with her new partner as she had been before. It was a good decision for him to leave her.

Jeongin watched Mya and JJ with baleful, almost longing eyes. His gaze followed the shorter girl as she spun around the floor, laughs escaping her as she had a wonderful time.

Minho nudged the man. "You good?"

Jeongin shrugged. "I just... I have to talk to her, that's all."

"Why don't you?" Changbin asked. "JJ wouldn't mind, shes one of the coolest girls I've met."

Jeongin shook his head, avoiding their gaze. "She doesn't want to talk to me. I already tried."

"Definitely not hard enough," Hyunjin replied. "She cares about you, dude. Just try again, for real this time."

"For real?" Jeongin looked away from the girl and over at his friend. "What if she ignores me again?"

Hyunjin snorted. "I don't think Mya could ignore you if she tried. Here, I'll go with you. It'll give me the chance to steal Laska away from that punk over there. I heard he's slept with half of Obsidian."

Jeongin paused, then nodded. "Yeah, okay, let's go."

The two stood up and started pushing through the throngs of dancing couples. Minho watched as Hyunjin shoved the earl who was dancing with his sister out of the way and took his spot. Alaska looked scandalized for a moment, but when Hyunjin muttered something under his breath, she just laughed and punched him in the arm. Wincing, Hyunjin pulled her into a hug, and the two moved around the dance floor together.

Minho wasn't certain of it, but he suspected Hyunjin was trying to distract her from more unpleasant thoughts. Despite what others might think, he was a great brother.

Jeongin had headed over to JJ and Mya, who were holding each other around the waist awkwardly. They certainly didn't look like they had any romantic chemistry, but they were having a good time.

Jeongin talked to JJ, who just shrugged and moved away. Mya tried to grab onto the girl's hand, begging her to stay, but JJ headed over to Minho and Changbin instead, taking a seat across from Changbin and next to Minho.

Jeongin offered his hand to Mya, who reluctantly took it, even though her face was bright red. When his hand went to her waist, she instantly stiffened, but not out of fear or even discomfort. What was up with them?

Minho continued to watch the couple for a minute, before turning to JJ.

"What's that about?"

"No idea," JJ replied. "It looks like they have a lot of history that we don't know about." Glancing around, she added, "where are your friends? Chris and Jisung, right? And Riley and Robin? And Tess! Did she leave early??"

Minho frowned. "I did see Riley and Chris leave together. Not sure where the others are though."

"You should go look for them," JJ said. "Especially Tess. Did you even dance with her tonight?"

Minho felt his face heat at the thought. "Erm. No, I didn't. Should I have?"

"Yes, you should have."

Minho tensed at the uninvited voice behind him. Son of a bitch. He had forgotten they were there. How could he have forgotten?

"Hi mom," he said heavily, not looking at her.

"You need to find your bride-to-be right now, and dance with her before the night is over," his mother commanded. "It's embarrassing that you've waited this long. And what were you doing dancing with Miss Hwang? If I see you dancing with someone else one more time, we're going to have words."

"But I'm not married to her yet!" Minho protested. "Besides, she doesn't want to see me."

"We don't care about that," his father spoke this time. Minho groaned inwardly, but stood up.

"Fine," he said edgily, pushing his chair in as loud as he could. That was something he would never have done before now, but he was just so fed up. Fed up with everything, from the expectations on his back, to the way that his family was ruining his life. He just wanted to live a normal life. He'd done everything right, he was respectful and smart, kind to the locals, and now he was being punished? If his good behavior wasn't going to be rewarded, why try at all.

"I'll go find her, and force her to dance with me like the gentleman I am," he snapped at his parents.

"Minho-" his mom began.

His father rolled his eyes. "Minho, don't start that now."

But Minho had heard enough. He whipped around strode from the ballroom, leaving Changbin, JJ, and his parents speechless in his wake.

He marched up and down the halls, pushing open doors, seeing if you were there. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if you'd already left. Dances had never been your thing. How much could you have changed?

Minho continued shoving the doors open over and over, the task becoming mindless.

But suddenly, when he was about to push open the last door in the hall, he stopped.

There were voices. Raised voices. It seemed like they were yelling, assuming they wouldn't be heard.

He stopped, pressing his ear against the wood.

Tonight was about to get interesting.

laska's note —
ooooh, tessa isn't the only one walking in on a conversation tonight! what do you think he's hearing? there's still a few options for who it could be... ;) do you think it's the same person tessa heard? someone different? and what do you think is going on with the other characters? everyone seems to be part of some sort of drama tonight. i know minho is being an ass right now, but i promise for all you minho lovers, he won't be this way forever 😭 again give me all your thoughts down below!

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟭𝟰 - 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀,
┊ ⇄ ◁◁ II ▷▷ ↻ ┊