The first thing that strikes her when she enters the ballroom is glamour, then awe. The air is heavy with the fragrance of fresh flowers, the room a sea of formal evening wear. Beautiful figures are dancing in chiffon, silk, lace and satin flowing gowns that make her own dress look more like sleepwear. She suddenly feels self-conscious. Surely they will notice her; she is a goose among swans.
Atelier shrinks away from the crowd, though perhaps trying to blend in would be a better choice. She looks around for Jungkook, but it proves to be difficult with her classmates rustling about. A few times, they bump into her as she takes slow paces across the room, and they turn to glare before gasping in disbelief, her appearance tonight leaving them stunned. She blushes furiously and hurries away, but she can feel their stares still on her.
It is normally a bad thing, to be stared at. But tonight, it feels different. It feels... nice, somehow.
"Atelier?"
She turns, her heart skipping a beat when she faces Jungkook. He looks so handsome in his black suit and red bowtie, still with his messy mop of ebony hair. She can't remember ever seeing him with neatly styled hair before, but he doesn't really need to bother with it. He looks fine just like this. Stunning, without any extra effort.
He breaks into a lopsided grin. They look at each other, neither speaking a word.
She can ignore everyone else; not care about what they say about her. But Jungkook's opinion matters. She wants him to compliment her and tell her what Shiozu has already said - in a deeper, manlier voice.
"Hi," he finally says, breaking the silence. Atelier hears herself squeaking a soft greeting in return. "Wow. Sorry. I mean – you look..."
A number of adjectives flashes across her mind. All good ones, considering Jungkook's character. Gorgeous? Breath-taking? Mesmerizing?
"... beautiful."
That works too.
---
She's so pretty. No one could take their eyes off her, Jungkook is sure of it. He certainly can't look away.
He has never seen her like this before. Were he more prepared to see her here dressed like a princess – he wasn't; he wasn't expecting to see her tonight at all – he might be able to grasp on a proper word to describe her, but she is practically glowing so much it's almost blinding. His mind whirls furiously to find an adjective, and after a brief moment, he settles on 'beautiful', because he decides that her beauty doesn't have to be described. It should be treasured, admired.
"Thank you," she mutters softly, sounding a tad more confident. He steps forward and offers her a bow.
"I wasn't sure if you'd come. I didn't see you yesterday. I thought –"
Atelier glances up at him with an expression that is half nervousness, half something else. And he is pretty sure he knows what that something else is. Soo Young was right; she does have a crush on him.
She smiles, but quickly looks to her feet when their eyes meet. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
The question is, does he like her too?
He takes her hand gently and responds to her surprise with a warm smile.
"Me neither."
---
Atelier doesn't know what to say. She doesn't know what to do with her hands, which seem to dangle freely on either side of her body. She doesn't know where to look, but it doesn't matter, because no matter where she turns to, she always comes back to his eyes.
She would notice that he's already looking her way. Their gaze would meet, and then they would look away shyly. It sounds awkward, but to her, it's slightly intoxicating.
"Are you hungry?" he asks her. "Do you want to eat something?"
Truth is, she's starving. She has been so nervous the entire day she barely ate anything at all. "Yes."
He leads her to the buffet table, where she gasps upon seeing the largesse all laid out; finger food of all kinds imaginable, some stacked up on racks, others piled on delicate glassware. She has never seen half of the food served tonight, much less tasted them, and she begins to panic.
"Punch?" says a server, balancing a tray of flutes on one hand.
"Maybe later," Jungkook says.
"Enjoy yourselves," the server chirps, tips his head, then briskly moves on to other guests. Atelier's gaze follows him as he weaves through the crowd. It wasn't until she feels something cold pushed into her grasp that she turns back to Jungkook.
She realises he passed her a plate. She looks at it, then back at him.
"Go on. Pick whatever you want to eat," he says, motioning to the spread.
"Anything?" she blurts. She feels silly, but Jungkook finds it amusing. He grins.
"Can't choose?"
"Well, they all look delicious."
"True. Why don't you just try a little bit of everything?"
She blinks at him. "Really? Everything?"
He laughs, though it isn't mocking. "Yes!" He takes the plate from her hands and gestures to a table on the far right. "Why don't you take a seat? I'll be there quickly."
Atelier nods. She trusts that he knows Pandemonium cuisine better than she does. She moves to the table before noticing that there are already a few people seated, munching away and making small talk. None of whom she recognises; they must be from a different class. She gulps.
One girl spots her and looks her up and down like she's trying to decide what to think of her. She finally smiles, and Atelier braces herself.
"Nice dress, Rosche," she comments. Her friends turn to look before flashing approving glances. "Looking good."
Atelier lets out a long breath she didn't realise she has been holding. They got her name right this time. And they like her dress! She smiles back, standing a little straighter.
"Come sit with us!"
"Really?"
They burst into a hearty laugh. She hopes they aren't about to follow up with a 'you wish!' But they don't. "Of course," another girl says. She waves to someone behind Atelier. "Jungkook! You sure know how to pick a date."
Atelier blushes, which makes them laugh again. Jungkook appears beside her with a proud smile, and two very full plates of food. He sets them down on the table before pulling out a chair for her. The others go back to their conversation.
She's fixated on the food as she takes a seat. This would feed her whole family for two days at least, and Kenton /is/ a big eater.
"I can't possibly finish all of this," she breathes.
"Of course you can. You must. These in particular; they're divine. Like little bite-sized pieces of heaven."
She giggles. It sounds unfamiliar and rather weird. She couldn't remember the last time she giggled, but being around Jungkook – she doesn't really feel like her usual self. It's not a bad thing.
She watches as he picks up a prawn roll and pops it into his mouth. "Hey, Jungkook?" He turns to her looking self-conscious, as if he was embarrassed she caught him eating.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
He swallows, cocks his head to one side. "What for?"
"For everything."
For a brief moment, there's this /look/ that crosses his face. It fades away quickly, and he hides whatever it is well with a sweet smile. He reaches over for her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Their gaze locks for what seems to Atelier like forever – which is fine by her – and then he breaks into a chuckle and returns to the food.
"You're not going to make me eat all of this alone, are you?"