AFTER finishing their setlist, the band goes back to their table and enjoys eating another course of meal. Chelsie should be happy about it, but she keeps on remembering how she rudely spoke to the youngest prince earlier at the garden. She munches on the chocolate-dipped strawberry, when someone suddenly taps her back. "May I have this dance?"

The voice of the guy awfully sounds familiar to her ears so when she turns around, she gets taken aback seeing the guy smiling at her and offering his hand. "You?"

"You?" He clearly isn't amused by her expression. "Aye! When are you gonna stop pretending that you don't know me?"

"You're still a stranger to me," Chelsie says, rolling her eyes.

Mark moves his hand nearer to her face. "Aren't you gonna take my hand? Please don't embarrass me. People are looking."

Chelsie frowns, crossing her hands over her chest. "I don't care."

"Chelsie, is that guy bothering you?" Haechan suddenly appears from behind her.

Mark raises both his hands up. "Mate, I'm only asking for her to dance with me. I mean no harm."

Haechan glares at him, then he turns to Chelsie. "What do you want me to do with him?"

Before Chelsie can answer, Izzy suddenly comes over. "Hey fellas! This isn't a boxing ring and no one's watching so don't make a scene. Chelsie!" She motions her to take Mark's hand so she hesitantly stands up and follows Mark towards the dance floor.

When they finally reach the center, Mark guides her hands over his shoulder, as he places his on her waist. "Thank you for not rejecting me."

"I'm basically rejecting you. I just don't want to make a scene," Chelsie answers.

Mark chuckles. "Alright. I really don't get why you're so furious at me."

Chelsie pauses, looking at him. He doesn't look bad. In fact, he is good-looking, but she just doesn't want the fact that he's acting all nice and giddy infront of her. It makes her uncomfortable for some reason.

"I'm sorry," Mark suddenly says, catching back her attention.

Chelsie narrows her eyes at him. "What for?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you feel anguish towards me. I just want us to be friends. That's all. Can't we start all over again?"

Chelsie doesn't speak. Although she feels the sincerity in him, she still doesn't want to admit that she also wants to be friends with him.

"I'm Mark. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mark offers his hand again.

Chelsie hesitates for a moment, but she finally shakes his hand. "Fine. I'm Chelsie."

Mark flashes a smile. "So we're good now?"

Chelsie sneers. "Maybe?"

"I reckon you should know that you look more beautiful when you smile," Mark blurts out, causing her cheeks to heat up unexpectedly. When he notices that she falls silent, he speaks again. "Are you alright?"

"Y-ye. Just... all this dancing made me feel tired," she says, looking away.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was being insensitive. I know you've been playing for hours on stage earlier. Do you want to sit down now?" Mark offers.

Chelsie nods, just to distance herself away from him because she suddenly feels weird after what he said. But before they can go back to their table, someone suddenly walks towards them in the middle of the dance floor. She watches the guy in suit approaching and realizes that he's the youngest prince himself. Prince Jeno.

"Can I take her for a while?" Jeno asks smiling, looking at Mark, who is quiet for a moment.

"Chum, you know Chelsie?" Mark asks in confusion, turning to her. "You two know each other?"

Meanwhile, Chelsie is more gobsmacked, realizing that the two guys are friends. "N-No," she answers, avoiding the Prince's gaze.

"That's what you answered when I told your friends that we know each other," Mark states, not convinced with her answer.

"I... don't feel good. Can you take me back to our table?" Chelsie says, looking at Mark, who responds with a nod.

"She doesn't feel good, chum." Mark shrugs at Jeno and helps Chelsie go back to their table.

♚♚♚

THE YOUNGEST prince walks back to their table and finds his brother looking at him with a smirk. He understands that she lost the plot, but now everyone in the Hall will think that he did something wrong to her. "Did my brother just get turned down by some girl?" Johnny teases, tapping his brothers' back.

Jeno sighs, sitting next to him. "I messed up."

"Oh, what happened brother?" Johnny asks.

Jeno shakes his head, glancing at the girl who just turned him down. "I really don't know how to deal with girls."

Johnny stifles a chuckle. "Ah. So this is about that girl? Wait, isn't she the one playing the keyboards with the band?"

Jeno nods.

"Do you want me to talk her out?"

"No. I like to fix this on my own." Jeno stands up and moves towards Mark, who is now back on their table.

Mark quickly notices Jeno approaching their table, making him wonder how he even met Chelsie. "Hey chum," he greets him casually, as the Prince takes a seat next to him.

"Jeno, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dancing with the girls?" Renjun asks, who happens to be on the same table with Mark.

"He didn't even ask me to dance and I'm a girl," Elexa butts in, who is now sitting next to her bestfriend, Renjun.

"It's because Jeno's afraid that Renjun might kill him if he did ask you," Mark answers chuckling, earning him a glare from Renjun. "Oh sorry, chum."

"So, what brings you here, Jeno?" Renjun asks, diverting the topic.

"You're friends with her?" Jeno asks, looking directly at Mark.

Mark swallows hard, seeing how serious his friend is. "Not exactly, but we know each other. Why?"

"Then, I need your help," Jeno finally says, confusing Mark more than he ever is.

♚♚♚

AT THE garden, Jaehyun and Traze are still hanging out with each other awkwardly, but Traze slowly feels more at ease every minute she's talking with the Prince. She has never felt this anxious and excited at the same time in her life. She feels as if everything is in slow motion and she doesn't ever want to stop it.

"I believe this is yours," Jaehyun suddenly says, bringing out a handkerchief from his coat pocket.

When Traze sees it, she realizes that it's the handkerchief she used when she helped him in bandaging his arm. "You carried it with you?" she asks in bewilderment.

"Like I said, I was hoping you'd be here tonight," Jaehyun finishes with a smile.

"What if I didn't come?"

"I plan on searching for you."

Traze suddenly gets struck by his words. "W-why?"

"It's because I wanted to thank you and return this handkerchief. It must have a value since your initials are embroidered on it." Jaehyun points at the letters 'P, Z and C' on the lowermost corner of the cloth.

Traze smiles at the thought of his dad, who gave the handkerchief to her. Chelsie also owns one. Their dad used to put their initials on everything they have, saying that if they ever lost it, they will always know who the owner is. "My dad gave that to me."

Jaehyun nods. "I'm right then. He must be a great dad."

"Ye. He was." Traze looks up after saying that.

"Was? Is he..."

Traze forces a smile. "He passed away years ago. But we had good memories with him."

"I wish father is like that as well."

"The King? Why?" She asks, then realizes she shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry. I know I'm not in the position to-"

"No, it alright. I'm glad I can talk to someone about things like this. Father is a good man. But because of his duty, he can be very strict and controlling. I understand all of that, though. Our nation is his life."

"Your father is a great king," she mumbles, looking at him sincerely.

Jaehyun nods. "I don't think I can ever be like him."

"You don't have to be like him. I know you'll be a great ruler, as well someday."

Jaehyun smiles. "Thank you for the encouragement."

Traze nods, returning a smile. Just then, the Prince suddenly stands up, offering his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"H-Here? Now?" she asks in confusion.

The Prince nods, so she stands up and takes his hand. "Let's head to the gazebo," he says, leading the way. But as she takes a step forward, her feet start to ache, causing her to wince. "Are you alright?"

She nods, taking another step, but the pain is still there. "I... think I'm just not used to these heels," she says, faking a laugh.

Jaehyun looks down at her feet, then thinks of something. "Can you wait for me here for a while? I'll just go get something."

Traze just nods, going back to the bench. Before Jaehyun leaves, he takes off his coat and places it around her. "I'll be back in a minute," he says, jogging back inside the Palace.

When he's finally out of sight, Traze heaves a deep sigh. She slaps her arms and face, confirming if she's dreaming or not. Fortunately, she feels all the pain so everything is real. She removes her shoes quickly, making her feel relieved.

Few moments later, she hears a noise coming from the bush near her. She stands up and walks towards the bush, barefooted and clutching onto the Prince's coat, as if her life depends on it. As she gets nearer, she finally sees someone behind the bush. He's on his knees, head down and it seems like he's throwing up. "Are you alright?" she asks out of worry, not minding if he's a stranger to her.

When the guy finally looks up, she almost wants to run away, upon recognizing him. "It's you again."

Taeyong smirks, trying to stand up, but he's so smashed he can't even steady his gait. "Hi luv. It's nice to see you here," he says, falling head first on the ground.

Traze cringes at his words, but she can't stand seeing him so helpless again. "Why do I always have to see you chunder?" she mutters, grabbing his hands to help him get up, but he's just too strong for her.

The moment she tries to pull him up, he pulls her down instead, causing her to fall on his chest. "Plonker!" She exclaims, trying to stand up, but he locks his arms around her, making her unable to speak and move for a moment. "H-Hey... get your hands away from me!"

"Please just stay with me, luv," he mumbles quietly, ignoring her and closing his eyes.

A/N: Have you guys heard NCT's tracks from Limitless? What is your fave song so far? I'm loving Angel and Baby Don't Like It. But all of the tracks are amazing! <3 I hope they'd get their 1st win with Limitless on music shows. They deserve it!

Anyway, did you like this chap? Are you shipping anyone yet? keke~

Votes and comments are much appreciated! Thanks for reading! ^^

~neoluv