The Truth Hurts [exo]

5

"Your cheapest dress, please."

We were standing under a shabby tent where a family with little money was trying to fetch a few coins by selling their creations. The lady stood up upon hearing Jongin's request and then took a good look at me. I knew my face was well hidden under the darkness of the hood but my apprehension still rose. Maybe she would recognize me and rat me out.

"We don't have any in her size." The lanky woman crossed her arms. "For a little extra, we could get her measurements and tailor one to fit her."

Jongin shook his head and pointed to a light pink dress hanging on a line. "We'll take that one."

The lady sneered and clicked her tongue before crossing her arms over her chest. "That one would never fit her."

"How would you know? You can't even see her under her shawl." I shot Jongin a look even though he couldn't have noticed. He was being awfully rude to a lady he'd just met.

"Oh c'mon, boy. Let your dear mistress have the luxury of a custom-fit dress." The woman stretched her hand out to grab mine but Jongin brought me behind him.

"My sister," he snarled, "is rather uncomfortable around strangers."

I rolled my eyes at his little gimmick. What was so wrong about having a dress that fit properly? Obviously, Jongin didn't know how annoying a gown was when it wasn't tailored.

"It's okay," I said as I put a hand on his arm and stepped forward to face the lady in charge. "I was always taught that a proper fit made all the difference." My words seemed to please the woman as she nodded firmly. I gave her all the measurements that she would need as she beamed, probably excited that she was finally making a sale. I could practically feel Jongin seething behind me.

She nodded one last time as she gathered a few sewing pins. "You should learn a bit from your sister, young man," she said to Jongin. After a bit of persuasion on my part, he finally handed over the necessary coins. "Come back tomorrow morning, ma'am, and the dress will be waiting here for you."

I curtsied and walked away gracefully like I'd been taught to do since I was young. It wasn't until I reached the edge of the village square before Jongin caught up and pulled me to the side of the road. I hadn't even realized that I was walking through the middle of the dirt path.

"What'd you do that for?" Jongin looked vexed as he ran a hand through his dark hair. "Now we have to stay in this wretched place for the night."

I shrugged, not understanding the problem. "What's so wrong with this place?" I gestured to the village folk with an outstretched arm. "They seem nice."

He looked incredulous at my reply and stretched out his own arm. My eyes followed and I saw the castle that I had just escaped last night. "Who knows who's good and who's bad over here?" he countered in a low voice so that no passersby would hear.

"Why are you always so suspicious of everybody anyway? Just relax." I began walking away, uninterested in Jongin's words.

"Relax?" he asked as he followed me. "How can I relax when the two of us could get killed?"

"They're after me, not you."

"Yeah, and when you get killed, your father's gonna kill me."

I sighed and shook my head. "Nobody's going to notice it's me under this frumpy thing. You have nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" I looked over and saw a vein popping out by his forehead, signalling his frustration. "Do you see yourself? Even under that, you walk with a different air than any of these people." We had approached a statue of a man on a horse and I took a moment to look around. Indeed, there were a few people who looked at me strangely but they were probably watching Jongin go mad.