His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Twenty-Three ♚

|| HYEWON ||

"I've talked to the florists on the phone just now. The flowers will be here by the time of the ball."

"That's great, Yeji. I've ordered all of the decorations and they'll be arriving probably two days by now. Make sure to remind one of the nurses about that." Soobin says to all of us.

Everything was chaotic since we needed to throw a ball by the end of the month with little to no preparation beforehand. But, despite there being only three of us working on this, we were doing exceptionally well. And the ball theme?

Masquerade. Something that I came up with, so I think I have the right to brag just this one time. I've never been much comfortable wearing big puffy dresses, so the idea of wearing a mask lets the element of being pretty but also mysterious still exists.

"Our volunteering time ended a while ago. Should we head home?" Yeji checks the time on his phone. We had been here quite a while, it should be about time we leave.

We pack up our laptops and planners before bidding goodbye to the residents and leaving together. "I'm so excited about my outfit. I'm thinking about going to that fancy shop in the mall and buying something." Yeji's eyes glisten as she plans out her entire outfit to us. "What about you, Hyewon?"

"Oh, I was just probably going to go through my grandma's old boxes and probably pick something from there. She used to be a fashion designer, so she must have some fine pieces." I explain.

"Let me come with you! You're going to need my superior fashion advice." Yeji says, flashing her hair back in a glorious momentum. "Soobin, you should come too!"

"I'll have to pass this time. I already have plans with some of my other friends." Soobin says. "This is my street. Don't have too much fun without me!" He waves us goodbye before turning around and walking off in the other direction.

I was thankful that he had plans. There's no way I could let him in my house. Not if Hanjin didn't invite him first.

Yeji and I head inside my house and to the basement. The wooden floors creak as we slowly head down the dusty stairs. The basement was practically an abandoned room in our house that was only ever used for storage. I used to be terrified of it as a child. I still sort of am.

I turn on the flickering lightbulb, my eyes searching around the room to find the box containing the clothing. "Found it." I say under my breath as I find a cardboard box, labelled "Handmade pieces".

"Ugh, it's so creepy in here. I swear I just felt a spider crawl up my leg." Yeji shivers as we both grab the box and bring it back upstairs where we arrive at my room. "Why do you live in an attic?"

I didn't know how to respond. The only person outside my family that knew why I slept up there was Taeyoung. But I couldn't possibly tell Yeji the reason. What if she starts looking at me differently because of that?

"Nice privacy up here. I-I like it." I stutter, hoping she would believe me. I knew from the look on her face that she didn't, but she probably got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it because she shrugged it off. For now.

"Let's take out the clothes." Yeji changes the topic, bending down to the box, picking up the first piece. It was an Edwardian-styled pink dress, that had a bunch of feathers and ruffles.

"I would choose that if I wanted to look like a bird." I joke, throwing the dress into the new pile. It was far too extra for a simple ball, so a definite no. The second one was a purple dress, that was made out of a paper-like material and was full-sleeved.

"Gosh, this looks like it was made by a child. Feels like a tablecloth, too." Yeji scrunches up her face in disgust as she throws the dress away. I think I wouldn't even be able to move in that dress, so again, no.

A couple of dresses get pulled out but none of them was my style. Yeji lets out a gasp as she grabs out another dress, far more beautiful than the others shown previously. "Look at this one! It's gorgeous!"

It truly was. The original layer was made out of black lace, with a black corset around the waist and torso. But the sleeves and the trail remained a dark emerald green, with puffy sleeves that made someone wearing it look like a gothic royalty.

"It's cute... But I don't think I will look good in it. Feels too barbaric for me." I say. I was expecting her to be disappointed, but instead, she kept her smile. "Oh well! If you're not gonna wear it, I will." She places the dress on the side for herself.

The next dress she pulled out was of a silky yellow fabric. It reached down to my knees, flowing perfectly as the sleeves were short yet comfortable on my shoulders.

I reach closer to the dress, picking it up and inspecting the perfectly embroidered lines of fabric on the skirt of the piece.

"This is the one," I say, placing the dress against my body to see how it fits. It was decent enough for me to chose it, far better than the others that were shown. But it wasn't extra enough where I would get embarrassed wearing it. It was just right.

"You don't seem quite happy for a dress that's supposedly the one." Yeji nudges my shoulder. I didn't even realize until now, but I wasn't even smiling. Or in awe. I looked normal. "This dress will be the chance for everyone to see you like a princess. I'm not saying it's bad, but are you sure this is the one you want to choose?" Yeji asks.

My eyes trail back to the other dresses that were shown and back to the one on my dress. Maybe I don't want to be the centre of attention at the ball. Being on the sidelines is fine, so the dress is fine.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I say, trying to convince myself more than Yeji. "I'll wear this."