The banquet hall was noisy as usual.

The melodies of the musicians cut through the air, and the sound of laughter and clinking glasses mingled to fill the ears. I was already used to letting all of that drift into the background.

When you stay in places like this for a long time, it happens naturally. Even if your face is smiling, your eyes look somewhere far away, and even if your mouth is speaking, your ears hear nothing.

So, it was truly an unexpected event.

It was across the hall.

And it was quite far away.

Between the flickering candles and the people passing by, for a moment. There was a moment when the view opened up for just a second. That's when I saw them.

It was a face.

I couldn't see anything else.

What the surroundings looked like, who was next to them, what they were wearing. Nothing. Just that one face was uniquely clear in the light.

I still don't know how that's possible. Hundreds of candles must have been illuminating hundreds of people evenly, so why did the light seem to pool only there?

I think someone was asking me something. I don't even know if I answered.

I thought falling in love at first sight was all a lie...

I was wrong.