The Kiss

"Let's give all the best wishes to our dearest bride and groom!" The host of the party sounded happily as the people around clapped in unison. By then, Gerald Yang stepped forward to take the mic into his hands and say a few emotional words about his eldest daughter. The spotlight was on him as the rest of the lights dimmed in advance. Pixie noticing it moved away from the crowd of people, not interested to hear any of it at all… 

Darah looked magically towards the couple, hand in hand and smiling at each other emotionally. Suddenly she felt a vibration which was from her phone, shaking her out of her daze. 

It was from Ryu… 

'Meet me at the balcony, now.' 

Darah sucked her lips to a side in bitterness from before but at the same time her heart was racing at the sudden enquiry for her from his part. Looking up the stairs, she could see the silhouette of a tall young man who's eyes she immediately recognised to be his. Why was he standing there alone and why would his lord be calling her for now? 

"Devin, I'll be right back." 

The man nodded in an understanding manner and watched her take slow strides towards the long arching stairs. Darah had all sorts of doubts passing through her mind but one thing was clear that she still hadn't recovered from the envy it brought on her when he had that stupid dance with Pixie. God it made her skin crawl but Darah found it stupid how easy it was to irritate her. It's your fault for being giddy about him anyways! She reminded herself spitefully. 

Reaching at the top most step, she saw a glimpse of the broad back of the young man gazing out of the balcony not knowing she was nearing right behind him. 

"Ryu." She muttered, disinterest laced on her lips. He smiled and turned around but it faded quickly into a piercing gaze which made her want to look away immediately. 

"Had the time of your life dancing with him didn't you?" Ryu muttered, as if he were a God passing judgement upon her, a mere mortal being. 

Darah was flabbergasted. He had the audacity to leave her all alone and dance with that woman who was trying all she could to latch onto him and now he was blaming her!? 

"Oh my my what am I hearing!? You were the one who ditched me for that fancy ass bitch! And now you're going to judge me because I had 5 minutes worth of a silly dance with my friend!?" Darah frowned, crossing her hands over her chest as she saw a smirk take over Ryu's lips. What was so funny about it!? 

"Look who's grown an attitude. Five minutes worth of a dance you could've had with me instead, Darah. Think about it." He sighed, as if she'd missed a golden opportunity to have a dance with the greek god himself. She could see he was so full of himself but what could she do!? Her heart was just as much of an idiot as she was. 

"You can't have two things in one night, Mr. Ryu Sheng! It was either me or her! Anyways, why do you care so much!? I don't even know where I stand! I can't even seem to understand what we are at this point. If only you've made it clear…" She twisted her face away from him in disappointment. 'What am I to you?' She wondered but couldn't muster up the courage to say that one sentence after all this meaningless bashing. 

"So that's what's bothering you." He replied with a warm smile over his lips. In fact, Darah had never seen him smile so relaxed, so genuine that she doesn't recall him passing that smile to anyone else. He slowly extended his hand and placed it over her exposed shoulder. She was mesmerized for a moment… Black eyes didn't look so beautiful until she noticed it on Ryu. It was a void of endless space, the sparkle of a thousand stars within it if only one looked deeper. But somehow, those eyes of his were always tired and empty, a very significant contrast to his vibrant and expressive lips. 

Forgetting herself in his gaze, she missed how his rough, large hand made it way down her shoulder over her smooth, soft skin until his fingers wrapped around her waist and pulled her harshly against his body.

"I can show you… What we are." His addicted eyes stared down on her as he  slowly held her shaking hand and placed it gently over his chest. Darah could only take a second's breath before he closed the gap between their faces and devoured her lips hungrily. To have a kiss on a dreamy moonlit balcony and that too being her first, Darah couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not. But for sure she could tell how the heat was surging within both their bodies as Ryu harshly pressed her bosom against his chest, his one hand tight around her waist while the other pulled down a delicate strap of her golden dress, very much forgetting that they were still at a public event. His tongue ravaged every corner of her sweet mouth and Darah could very faintly still taste a tinge of the fruity flavour of candy bursting within her taste buds. She pulled back, gasping for breath as she stared at him through heavy lids. But all she could see was an enticing smirk playing across his lips as his eyes looked over at a direction which Darah couldn't figure out. Seeing it, she looked behind only to find out that Pixie had been watching them the whole time, eyes red and filled to the brink with tears. 

"I asked you to meet me here! For what!? This!?"  Pixie spat with disgust in her voice but Ryu seemed to give no mind to it, staring at her coldly. Maybe it was his gaze that intimidated her enough from creating a scene. Without a reply, Pixie stepped back giving a hateful glance at Darah before she marched down the stairs. 

Suddenly Darah felt a wave of disappointment gush into her. His fingers over her waist seemed foreign to her right then. Why did he want her here at the exact moment Pixie was going to be too? 

"D-Did you do that… Just to piss her off?" Darah's head was bent low, her voice filled first with regret and then anger. Ryu's brows arched in confusion upon seeing her sudden change of mood. She looked up fiercely, eyes staring daggers at him. 

"I asked… Did you kiss me just because you wanted her gone!?" 

Ryu didn't know what to say honestly. Yes, she was partly true but it wasn't like he didn't want to kiss her in the first place. Looking at the pure hatred in her eyes, he felt his lips go absolutely numb. The last time he saw her this angry was when she tried to lowkey murder him with a kitchen knife. She scoffed angrily, trying to get herself out of his grip but Ryu's hands weren't letting him somehow, gripping tightly over her arms. His eyes looked cheated... But then an uninvited smile blossomed over his lips, as if he were drowning in Darah's gaze. It only made her more furious because she couldn't tell what was so happy about the moment.

"Let me go!" She yelled but was immediately muffled by another kiss, sucking the life out of her. Darah felt her legs go weak but her body was just as stubborn as her mind was. She hit his chest once or twice with her fists lightly but enough to let Ryu finally pull back as the both of them gazed at each other with heavy breaths. 

"I hate you!" She covered her swollen red lips with anger written all over her eyes as she roughly pushed him and aimed towards the steps. Maybe it was something about the way she got mad at him that Ryu liked.

But it won't be long before she realises, that there's no going back now...