Mirrored Match // ATEEZ ✔

= 23 =

As her lips are coloured red, so are her shoes and dress, given to her by the stylist she never thought she would have in a million years. Her father had hired the stylist specifically for her for this event - the afterparty of celebrating his father's appointment as the prime minister - citing that in order to make her first impression, she'd need something bold. Something that people would remember, something that would make her stand out in the crowd.

But that's exactly what she's afraid of - standing out in the crowd.

She would attend the event finally as a new person to be introduced; the daughter of the prime minister, Bae Danbi, her father proud of her achievements. Whatever lies they will spew. Ever since the results of the elections were announced, she was brought away by the workers - some old, some new - to be having a what they call as a 'practice'. The old Danbi would find it ridiculous how she'd have to practice how to stand, to speak, to bring herself but as she saw the serious look on Yeosang's face, she knew that it was not a matter of child's play.

This is her new world, and she must learn how to fit in.

After that weird feeling creeping up on her when she hugged San, he let her go and they pretended as if it never happened. He had quickly left the painting studio, saying that she shouldn't be isolating herself for too long as they would start looking for her.

He turned away whenever she tried making eye contact, and he trained himself to become her bodyguard once again. She wasn't sure what she was feeling because it was the first she had ever felt that way, so she brushed it away saying that it was just all her mind confused and muddled up due to the fast current of events coming straight at her.

Instinctively, even as the stylist is fixing her hair, she looks around for her bodyguards, but specifically for San and gets slightly disappointed when they're nowhere in sight. They're probably taking port outside of the room, as the whole time she's being fitted into the dress behind the curtain, only her stylist and Yeosang occasionally pop in to make sure everything is going well.

She doesn't even know what 'going well' is to them, but she merely follows the flow. It's like her body has been programmed to receive whatever is thrown at her, automatically adjusting and adapting herself to the situation. As the final strand of her hair is tucked away neatly, she realizes how there is one thing that she would have to face, which may not make herself prepared for this at all.

At one point before she was whisked away to get ready, Wooyoung had asked to talk to her, his face contorted with worry and guilt that she couldn't guess what would come out of his mouth. When he did start talking she felt as if another one of her limbs were chained up, her feat as Bae Danbi had barely started but too much is already weighing her down.

"Before we meet again at the afterparty," Wooyoung brushes back his hair, clearly troubled, "I think I would have to warn you about how my parents might act towards you."

She had already eaten dinner, accompanied by the rest of them yet to her it felt like she would regurgitate it then and there. "Are you perhaps going to tell me that my twin... isn't approved by your parents?"

He sighed, knowing that he's caught blatantly. "You're right, and as you may have realized, they still don't know that Soyeon is missing. The only thing they know is that Soyeon is always isolating herself in her house, refusing to expose herself to the outside world. So it won't come as a surprise if they don't see her at the party."

"So what would come as a surprise is me, a twin that they didn't know existed."

"Exactly. And although they're my parents," he looked resentful, "their words aren't the nicest. So I hope I would be wrong but if I'm not, they'd probably have that spotlight on you. You might have to prepare to... deflect their questions."