His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Two ♚

|| HYEWON ||

Tragedy is clean, it is restful, it is flawless. in a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone's destiny is known.

Quotes are beautiful. Their words are made of fairy dust and luxurious. They make a foreign sensation erupt in your stomach, feeling nostalgia you never had in the beginning.

But fairytales? Nothing can compare.

I don't think I've ever been in a fairytale situation. Yet, I've always been fond of folklore and mythological stories. Maybe it was because most of the time Hanjin took up all of my mother's energy, I wasn't left to do with much else but read.

Over the years, Brothers Grimm and their books have been my comfort and my home when I felt alone. Watching the rain from my window as I read a chapter of Grimm's Fairy Tales and sipping on hot chocolate is truly the only way I can feel at peace during times of distress.

But no matter how many fairy tales I read, nothing tops Cinderella. It's a classic, it's heartwarming, and it's something I relate far too much to. Even though it's quite cheesy and far too melodramatic, I still find myself rereading it constantly over and over again.

I wish I was Cinderella. She got to leave her terrible living conditions to be with the prince, most likely living the rest of her like joyfully. She escaped and lived happily ever after, and that was that. But no matter how similar Cinderella and I are, there's one difference. She had a perfect ending. I for a fact know that's not the case for me.

She was blessed with a magic godmother who granted her every wish. The closest thing I have is a magic 8-ball laying on my bessie table that has ghastly wrong predictions for my future.

"Have I met my true love yet?" I ask the magic 8-ball while shaking it one late afternoon after school, tired and extremely bored despite being in the middle of a chess round. A faint 'In the near future' appears on the screen in blue letters.

Only a scoff managed to leave my mouth. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm disappointed, and embarrassed, that I got so desperate to even think of that hilarious question. I'm not like Hanjin, who always gushes about love at first sight and soulmates. In fact, I'm the opposite.

First of all, love at first sight doesn't exist. You just met the person, how can one be so certain that the person is the love of your life? It's a dumb proposition created to feed delusional little girls and no one should believe it.

Secondly, soulmates are just ridiculous. Plain ridiculous. There are 7.5 billion people on Earth, what makes you think you're just ALWAYS going to be with the same person in every life? It's a unfair expectation and I hate it from the bottom of my heart.

So, the moral of the story is that people are stupid and unrealistic in this world and we can't do anything to get them out of their fantasy delusions.

"13, 47, 66, 5, 29, 104."

The boy across from me mutters random numbers under his breath as he holds his napes tightly, concentrating far too hard on the chess table between us. He lets out a glorious gasp and snaps his fingers before moving the pawn diagonally, kicking my last piece of the board.

He jumps up to his feet, jumping joyfully. "Yeah yeah, you won. Are we surprised?" I roll my eyes, picking up my fallen chess piece and putting it away.

"Oh come on, Hyewon. Don't be a party pooper." Taeyoung smacks my shoulder, giggling profusely at my loss. Even though he is an absolute pro at chess (literally, he's won multiple chess competitions) he still managed to get super exhilarated when I fail to win.

I only have one friend. Maybe it's pathetic, but I quite like the peacefulness of only one companion. His name is Kim Taeyoung and he is a textbook definition of a geek. He plays Dungeons & Dragons, wants to work at NASA, loves reading comic books, and has a large concerning collection of Pokémon cards.

So in conclusion, if you want to become a nerd, come to Taeyoung for help.

We met last year in the middle of the second semester when he transferred here. I didn't have any friends before him, so lonely wasn't even the right word to describe me. We both eventually became friends since we both were part of the chess club in school.

"Don't you ever get tired of playing chess with me? You win every time." I say as I quietly put the items away on my shelves.

"Eh, not really. I like playing with you. You're fun." He shrugs, taking out a comic book from his backpack and leaning against my bed, flipping through it. See? He's reading a Marvel comic from 1988. He's a dork.

"Ugh, it's so cold up here." Taeyoung grits his teeth as he snuggles closer to my bed to find warmth. He was right, it got an awful lot cold up here in the attic, especially when it rains or snows. Usually, the snow or rain seeps through the roof and I have to patch it up using duct tape.

"Tell me about it. I'm waiting for the day mom realizes I need an actual room, rather than this hellhole." I laugh pityingly at myself. I live in a quite big house, with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. Yet mother makes me sleep in the attic.

"We need the other bedrooms for my boyfriend's kids!" She would exclaim. Ever since she got engaged to this Aaron guy, she's been spending less attention on me. She even made me move out of my old room so she can give it to Aaron's oldest child.

I gag at the thought of his kids. There's nothing wrong with Aaron, truthfully. He's a good guy, but his children are just a whole different species. Seriously, how did he manage to raise such menaces to society?

The oldest is Cynthia Yoon. Same age as Hanjin and I but much more bratty and entitled. she transferred to our school only a few months ago but she already walks around like she owns the place. She and Hanjin are like two peas in a pod. When Cynthia bullies or teases me, Hanjin only stands there and pretends it doesn't happen.

The second kid is Hailey Yoon. At 14 years old, she spends most of her time on Instagram or Tiktok, which is where she gets most of her humour from. Seriously, she still uses 'and I oop' despite that being a trend from what seems to be ages ago.

The third child is Cameron Yoon. He's 12 and the only kid I actually like. Unlike his sisters, he's respectful and not spoiled. He's awfully shy at first, answering questions with only 'yes' or 'no'. But once you get to know him, he's seriously the sweetest kid you'd ever come across.

And lastly, the youngest is Piper Yoon. She's probably the saddest 5-year old I've ever seen. She spends literally 24/7 on her tablet that is far too greasy. She throws a tantrum every time she has to be away from the device and is a literal demon sent from hell.

Aaron and his kids have been staying over more often. In fact, they practically live with us at this point. And soon my biggest fear will be coming true; Their wedding. The last thing I'd want is to have to live with those kids permanently.

It'll only make my life terrible. Like it isn't already upsetting enough.