They're Made of Glass | SEVENTEEN

02 | the invitational and my death

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Two iridescent slippers.

They sparkled like jewels as if Hana had made them out of magic and rainbows - like something straight out of a fairy tale.

And now they were on my feet.

"You two look beautiful!" Inha gushed, rushing around to admire our dresses from every angle. I shifted nervously under her critical gaze. It didn't help that Hyemi, starting from the time it took to get ready up until now, was giving me this smug look that made me want to rip out all of her hair. I scoffed at her smirk and shifted my gaze over to the gardens where Seokmin was probably watering the plants or something. 

I craned my neck to see if Seokmin was anywhere to be found. Frowning, I looked again but the gardens were deserted. My attention was brought back to the conversation when Hyemi stepped on my foot.

Admittedly, Hyemi did look stunning. Her dress was definitely much more expensive then mine. The blue fabric looked like it was woven from the night sky. Next to her, I felt like a lump of sparkly cream cheese.

"Mr. Jung is waiting in the car. The Invitational starts in twenty minutes, Miss!" Hana called from the entrance hall.

"Thank you!" Inha called back. "And here are your masks." Hyemi frowned at the mask Inha handed her. It was covered in small white feathers, almost as if someone had plucked a chicken and glued everything to the mask. I tried not to laugh.

"I think you have my mask." Hyemi said, eyeing my feather-free mask. At first, I had thought so too. Her dress would've matched perfectly with the silver glitter covering my mask. But Inha said otherwise.

"No this is yours." She said, handing Hyemi back the white one. "And don't switch masks. I'll ask Mr. Jung to keep an eye on you two." Hyemi's frown deepened.

"What's with the masks this year anyways? I don't remember the Invitational being a masquerade ball." She grumbled. Inha's eyes glossed over as she got that dreamy look she always got when someone mentioned the Invitational.

"The board has decided to bring back the Fate Dance this year." She sighed. "I remember at my Invitational, when everyone participated. I wore a mask similar to Shuri's...it was silver and my dress was white. Towards the middle of the dance, the lights dimmed and they told us to search for someone with a mask just like ours. You two are so lucky you were chosen to participate this year."

"Chosen?" I asked. Does this mean not everyone is wearing a mask?

"Yes. Only thirteen couples were chosen this year." She smiled as her eyes scanned the two of us. Clasping her hands together under her chin, Inha sighed in content. But then her eyes fixated on something - something she obviously didn't like.

"Shuri..." Her dreamy tone was replaced with coldness. Still jittery about tonight, I flinched, almost tripping in the shoes Hana insisted I wear.

"Yes?"

"What happened to the shoes I picked out for you? Did you not like them?" Her eyes were still fixated on the shoes. I tried dropping my skirt in an attempt to hide them. This forced Inha's gaze back on mine which I found extremely uncomfortable. Either she guilt trip me by staring at the shoes I chose to wear instead of hers or she scare me to death by staring straight into my soul. I didn't know which one I preferred.

"No, I did like them." I said quickly, prompting a raised eyebrow from Hyemi.

"If you liked them, why did you change them?" She asked. Thanks Hyemi, I thought as I mentally kicked myself for accepting the shoes from Hana. Again, how did she convince me to wear them?