"Free will is an insufferable concept, don't you think, _____?" The handsome man stands up from his seat, his expression unreadable. You still don't know how he knows your name. "You're born with the choice of doing anything and everything you want with your life. Yet, no one seems to do the right thing with it."
He starts approaching you with absolutely no rush. Contrary to his puppets, the Master doesn't modulate his intonation much, nor does he let discernable emotion show on his face. Neither of those things were necessary to install a crippling fear within you.
You try to crawl away from him, pulling the rest of your body weight with you in one last attempt. The sight of him calmly catching up to your desperate crawling is nothing short of pathetic.
"It's humanity's insistence on freedom that's made this world such an unharmonious, boring stage. Freedom to do your desires is no worth if all it allows is for everyone to act like brainless animals. That's why people are such rotten and ugly beings. And stupid, too. Just look at where your free will got you, doll."
Yunho stomps his foot down on your broken ankle, and you can't help the scream that comes out with the unbearable flash of pain.
"Painful, right?" The smallest hint of a smirk forms on his lips, "Pretty girls like you don't deserve to carry such a burden. I can free you of that. I can free you from pain, from every ugly thing and feeling you ever had. Your beauty is too pure for this world to keep damaging it."
You groan, the pain barely letting you listen to his words. Not like you were particularly interested in his monologue, mind occupied enough with a broken foot knowing that he only made it more painful, and worse, that he has cut all chances of escaping for you.
"Beauty like yours is no worth if it's not for showcase, my Princess. I know you would capture the hearts of the public. You will be so, so, loved. I can make you beautiful. I can make you famous. I can make you... perfect."
He crouches down to meet you face to face, his calm eyes making contact with your weeping ones. You see the pink strings dancing around his hand as he reaches out to touch your broken ankle, the one he had so cruelly stepped on only moments before. You want to try to pull away, but the weight and pain are too much to deal with to avoid his touch. You scrunch your eyes since you don't dare look at the upcoming atrocity. But, surprisingly, the pain quickly reduces itself, until seconds later, it disappears.
"Give up, puppet." You open your eyes to see how he touches your face, the strings moving on their own to softly caress your cheeks too. Their touch is lighter than a feather, as they disappear into your skin, making the zone feel numb. You should be worried. You should be panicking even further. But you don't.
Maybe I should give up.
"We'll take good care of you. Won't we, my Prince?"
"Of course, Master!" You don't know the exact moment Seonghwa came back to life, but he returns to his sweet on stage voice, as now he seems to acknowledge the man behind his strings as he would in their usual act.
With very little effort, Yunho puts his hands under you and carries you to the edge of the stage, where he passes you to Seonghwa, who receives you in his own arms, he holds you softly and it feels like a warm embrace, lacking all the body heat.
He sits in the chair you were just in, and pulls you in to sit in his lap. He grasps his other arm around your waist, and gently pushes you back into him. If he tried any harder to bring your bodies closer together it would break your flesh. His strength is unnatural, but you can't complain about what's part of nature's order, you're sure none of this was.
"Just picture it." There's a glimmer in the taller man's eye, something akin to pride can be seen from his small smile.
"Lights, right there on your pretty face." The side reflectors move by themselves to bring even more light and attention to you. There's a glimmer, a distinct sparkle in his eyes while he tries to remain composure in his voice. Progressively, his words get more passionate. "As I introduce the two of you, the audience is thriving in anticipation. There's not a single person out there that hasn't heard about you. How impressive it is to see us, and such beautiful works of art you two are. You sit there, in the prettiest matching outfits. I'll make you so many of them."
