His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Twenty-One ♚

||  HYEWON ||

Mrs. Wu and I sit side by side with each other in complete silence.

I tried my best to start a conversation with her, but it was practically no use. I'm starting to think it's a problem she has with me. Am I annoying to her?

We both were knitting together, but she was far better than I was. Truth be told, this is my first time ever knitting. Who knew it could be so hard? It seems like she's had her whole life to practice knitting because she's practically a pro at it.

"So uh... Mrs. Wu, what do you got going there?" I ask, fumbling around with the knitting needles in my hands. What I was attempting to make was a scarf, but it just looks like yarn that was scratched aggressively hard by a cat's claws.

"Mittens for winter." She says blankly. "Winter? It's only spring, I don't think you need to worry about that yet." I say to lighten the mood.

"I guess so, but I always get abnormally cold in the winter." Mrs. Wu starts. I place down my needles and pay full attention to her since it's not every day when you hear her speak in full sentences.

"Boqin used to make me a lot when he was still alive, but when he passed I had to start making my own. It soon became a habit of mine, and I can't stop knitting now." She says. Her words were sorrowful but her face showed no emotions. I wonder if she's bottling up her feelings, or if she just doesn't have the capability to feel anything anymore.

"Was Boqin your husband?"

"Yes. Married for 42 years right when we turned 18. He was my soulmate, alright..." She hesitates before continuing. "he was Chinese, and of course, both of our parents disapproved of the marriage. Right, when we got secretly married we ran off to the countryside of Korea and lived there for the rest of our lives."

"We had one daughter, Hayan. She moved out when she went to college and we barely saw her after that. When Boqin passed, I thought that she would visit me. But instead, she sent me to this nursing home." Mrs. Wu says.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Mrs. Wu was going to continue her story, but she was (unfortunately) interrupted. "Okay, I'm going to need all volunteers right here!" the receptionist calls out. I send Mrs. Wu an apologetic look before going to the receptionist.

"You called?" Yeji asks her red locks in a tight ponytail that revealed her collarbone to me. Soobin slides in next to her. I didn't know who to secretly look that, they both looked so fine.

"Listen, every year we like to throw a party for the residents. We usually do a special bingo night or maybe take them to a casino. But this year, the owner of the nursing home is expecting us to do something different."

She continues talking. "We get money from these parties, but never enough. The owner needs us to fundraise at least 1,000 dollars or else the nursing home will shut down."

All three of us let out silent gasps, glancing at each other. "How are we supposed to fundraise money?" Soobin asks. He was right, there would be no possible way for us to make money while throwing a party.

"I don't know, please try to think of something. The owner hates all of my ideas, so it's left to you guys. Please don't disappoint me." Her voice sounded pleading, so we all let her walk away back to her desk, leaving all three of us dumbfounded.

Yeji scoffs. "This is unbelievable! How are three high school students supposed to figure that out?" We all leave the common room, roaming the hallways next to each other. It would be peaceful if we weren't in such an intense position.

"If we don't found out an idea soon, the nursing home will shut down. We won't have anywhere to volunteer next year." I say, shuddering at the thought of it. I don't want to fill up a whole new application again.

"What if we threw a bake sale? Mr. Kang used to be a chef, maybe he can cook some stuff." Soobin suggests, making Yeji nod approvingly. But she stops.

"I don't think that's a good idea. A lot of the residents get sick easily, what if they contaminate the food? And a lot of them are very picky when it comes to eating, too." Yeji says.

"What about a walkathon? Actually, scratch that. The residents here probably hate exercising." Soobin says. We all slide down the walls of the hallway, landing on our butts as we sit there in disappointment.

We had lost hope.

Until I had gotten an idea. I jump to my feet, a smile on my face as I look at the duo on the floor. "What if we did a charity ball?"

"A charity ball?" Yeji asks, confused. "Yeah! Like when people wear their fanciest clothes, go to the ball and do a bunch of fancy stuff. I've heard a lot of charity balls can earn a lot of money, and you can even invite other people!"

Soobin gasps, but this time it was a happy gasp. "That's perfect! The residents can invite their family members, and even we can go! Hyewon, you're a genius!"

The next thing I know, Soobin comes colliding with me, placing his arms around me while jumping and squealing around. My body froze, not knowing how to react.

He eventually realized and backed away from me awkwardly. "O-Oh, sorry." He blushes, scratching his neck. But thankfully, Yeji came to the rescue.

"Come on, you two! We have a ball to plan!" Yeji places her arms around both of us, giggling like crazy. We all walk messily to the receptionist desk, shouting different ideas to each other while looking like idiots.

I know it might not seem like a special moment, but for me... Well, this is the happiest I've been in a while.