August Ballet (12 Months Series - Part 1)

Chapter 03

Hak Yeon gulped and felt the hair at the back of his neck rising. He was wondering if there could be some hidden meaning behind this statement but he got nowhere near to solve the mystery of lady Victoria Arran.

Hak Yeon stayed anxious and couldn't focus on the performance throughout the whole first half. When there was a break and the lights went on, he immediately looked at the woman next to him. She had an angelic and calm smile on her face. "I love Snow White! It's so beautiful and tragic, don't you think?" She turned to him, looking straight to his eyes.
"Snow White?" Hak Yeon was confused. He took out his ticket and looked at it. "But I wanted to go for a Swan Lake!"
Victoria bended forward to have look at the ticket. "They play Swan Lake tomorrow..." She pointed at the date on the ticket. And then she bursted into laughter. "Oh my! You came to a wrong performance, sir."
"But how can that be? The hostess at the entrance let me in."
"She was probably lost in her mind for a moment. So this isn't your chair after all!" Victoria smiled and folded arms on her chest.
Hak Yeon felt embarrassed. How could he go to a wrong performance? "I should leave..." He mumbled.
Suddenly Victoria's hand landed on his knee. "Please, don't! Stay, sir. The ticket is marked, you wouldn't be able to visit the tomorrow's performance anyway. And I can assure you, that this ballet is better than Swan Lake."
Hak Yeon was staring into her sparkling eyes. He would stay with her until the end of his life if she asked him to do so. "Well... I suppose... It's a bit awkward..."
"Nonsense! Everyone can make a mistake. Let's make the most of it. Shall we have some light refreshment now? Champagne?"
"I prefer banana milk but I guess it's not served here." Smiled Hak Yeon.
"You underestimate my skills, sir. Let me show you my superpowers." Whispered Victoria and winked at him. She stretched her hand to a golden rope and pulled it. In a moment a young girl was standing in the entrance to the private box. "Be so kind and bring us some sandwiches, strawberries, champagne and banana milk, please."
"Very well, my lady!" The girl bowed and vanished to fulfill Victoria's wishes.
"What was that?" Chuckled Hak Yeon.
"That was ordering food and drinks, Hak Yeon Cha. However if you prefer to be pushed and pulled by the crowd, feel free to go and fetch refreshments downstairs."
Hak Yeon imagined being pushed and pulled by her and it was a pleasing image. However he would never leave her now. Not even if his chair burst into fire. "So you truly are a lady..."
"Of course, sir! Did you suspect me of lying to you?"
"Not at all. Do you have any kind of occupation or you spend your time reading poems, arranging flowers and drinking tea?"
Victoria giggled and shook her head. "Oh my! Someone read too many Jane Austen's novels. I'm a psychiatrist. My mother believes that being born as noble woman is a responsibility not an excuse. I specialize on PTSD."
"PTSD?"
"Post-traumatic stress disorder. Troops engaged in war conflicts suffers from PTSD a lot but not just them. However let's discuss something more interesting. I take a great deal of my pride from my ability to figure out people quickly but I'm struggling with you. You attended the fashion show and you are well dressed and also devilishly handsome. For the first sight I would judge you to be a model but your eyes are bright and witty, you simply seem too smart for a mannequin. Second option is a photographer and I incline to believe that it's your job because you keep watching me carefully like if you were considering if my face is photogenic or not."
Hak Yeon gave her an amused smirk. "Nice try, really. And I appreciate you find me handsome. But I'm neither model nor photographer." Hak Yeon then explained his job.
"That seems like a lot to handle. Don't you feel under a pressure sometimes?" Asked Victoria and her smile turned into truly interested face expression.
"I can't help hearing a voice of a psychiatrist." Smiled Hak Yeon.
Victoria smirked and nodded. "You got me. It's very hard for me to disconnect from my work."
"I'm sure your boyfriend is doing his best to change it."
Victoria laughed. "Oh my! Cha Hak Yeon! That's so lame. If you want to know if I'm single, why don't you just ask? These tricks are so see through anyway."
"Are you single?"
"Yes, happily single."
"It's hard to believe."
"That I'm happy?"
"No, that all the men around you are blind."
"I never said I have no suitors."
"Is any of them making progress?"
"Not a single one."
"Why is that?"
"Don't you think you ask about a little bit too personal things?"
"You said you are not interested in tricks. I could play some games to get those information but I play fair and square with you."
Victoria bit her bottom lip and checked him out from head to toes. "You are so sure of yourself. It's a nice change." She said and turned away from him as the girl came again with all the refreshments Victoria asked from her.
Hak Yeon smiled. She told him enough. Her suitors are shy and coward. He wondered if he could manage to seduce her before the performance ends. It would be a perfect ending of this evening. If she was just a bored rich girl, he wouldn't hesitate for a minute, he would be sure about his chances. However this woman wasn't so simple. Trying to openly seduce her, even though she prefers more straight forward approach, might offend her and he would lose his chances for ever. Hak Yeon decided to continue in light sophisticated flirting which seemed to suit her best. Her laugh and sparkling eyes were enough for him to feel satisfied. At least for now.
The girl left and Victoria handed Hak Yeon a large glass of banana milk with a silver straw in it. He took it from her and deliberately touched her fingers. She smiled at him and took a glass of champagne. "Tell me something, sir. Is Cha first name or surname? I know Chinese have the order the other way round. Is it the same in Korea?"
"It is. Cha is my surname."
"And how do you like the ballet so far?"
Hak Yeon got a little bit nervous. He had no idea what was happening on the stage, he was to focused on her. "It's beautiful." He answered.
Victoria scanned him properly, she leaned against the chair, dipped a large juicy and red strawberry in champagne and then bit of the tip of it. She raised her eyebrows. "Do you think it's wise to try to lie to me?"
"It was worth the try." Shrugged Hak Yeon his shoulders and gave her his cutest boyish smile. "I didn't watch the stage."
"And what were you doing?"
"Fantasizing about you."
"Why? Because I'm rich and I have a title?"
Hak Yeon felt the change of vibes. Suddenly she was on guard and maybe little bit mad at him. So this is it. This is the reason for her to keep all the impenetrable shields on. She thinks everyone is after her money and social status. He looked deep into her eyes to emphasize his words. "Because I can't help myself. It has nothing to do with who you are. It's because what you are like."
"What am I like?"
"Captivating."
Victoria watched him for a while in silence. She was apparently trying to tell if he's speaking truth. Whatever her conclusion was, she didn't let it know. Hak Yeon was looking back to her eyes and sipping his banana milk. It took several minutes, yet he would gladly continue in it. Her eyes were truly beautiful. However Victoria interrupted the silence. "You should reconsider your intentions, Hak Yeon Cha." She said and turned away from him. All her ice shields were back on and she closed herself from him again.
Hak Yeon felt like if he was left in a cold winter land and the only source of warm was taken away from him. He was honest with her and he got the impression she knew it. So why did she turned away from him? He felt hurt and disappointed like never before. His stomach started to ache. Hak Yeon sighed and put away the banana milk.
"I have nothing against you." Spoke Victoria. "You did nothing wrong."
"So what is troubling you?"
Victoria looked into her glass of champagne. "You look like a good man. I don't want you to be hurt."
"Hurt by what?"
"By me..."
Hak Yeon sighed and touched her arm lightly to make her look at him. "Lady Arran, I'm not expecting anything from you. I'm here for few days and intend to have a little bit of fun before coming back to work. I don't want to disturb you or annoy you..."
"You are not annoying me!"
"Good. Then there is no need for you to hide yourself behind this rock hard invisible shield of yours. We can be friends, can't we?"
Victoria seemed to think hard about it. Finally she got to decision. "I guess we can be friends."
Hak Yeon smiled and before she could dodge him, he went forward and kissed her cheek briefly. She parted her lips in a silent shock and touched her cheek. "I always kiss my friends and you should be no exception." Smirked Hak Yeon.
"How many friends do you have?" Whispered Victoria.
"It's interesting but the amount of my friends started mysteriously rising since I started to kiss them."
Victoria laughed shortly. "I wonder what could be the cause for this increase."
Soon the performance continued and this time Victoria moved her chair right next to him and made sure he sees at least something from the ballet. She was leaning close to him the whole second half, whispering into his ear when she thought he's not paying proper attention to the stage. Hak Yeon felt amazing with her. His whole self was in a harmony with her. He was reluctant to say good bye to her at the end of the evening but he didn't regret a thing.