Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom; peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman, and his little daughter, Cinderella. Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort, still he felt she needed a mother's care. And so he married again,

-- Narrator, Cinderella

Yeah, my story fits together with Cinderella’s about that much even though when I was a kid I strongly believed that I was a Cinderella. I ended up being a monster instead, but my story is a bit more realistic because if Cinderella was such a beloved daughter she was probably also spoiled rotten. She was just extremely unlucky to get such a horrible stepmother and stepsisters who happened to be more spoiled than she was. Well, at least, she met her prince unlike me… And there is another difference, my mother did not die. But if you ask me, she is as good as dead to me now so…

The story went like this.

Once upon a time, my parents divorced, or rather… my mother ran away with a rich man. One morning I woke up and she was gone. Simple and tragic. From then on, life was utter chaos and confusion until dad told me that I would get a new mother and what more, even a little brother on the side. I remember just shrugging because I didn’t know what to say. It was a confusing situation for a five years old girl who was told that her mother would never retur home. There was so much anger in me, so many unanswered questions bothering me day and night and then there was this little boy, and I hated that boy. I hated him at the first sight.

Unlike my own mother, who just gossiped and watched dramas all day long, this new mother knew how to do house chores and she cooked delicious food without burning it. She was kind and treated me well but I was a stubborn child and it took me years to accept her in the family. I’m still not sure if I ever truly accepted her in the end. Despite being a good person, she wasn’t as fun and interesting as my own mother, whom I missed terribly but never met again. As time passed, I kind of forgot about her and well... That’s what happens, we get over and we live on.

So, I mentioned that boy before, Kwon Ji Yong my non-blood related stepbrother. He used to be just a little boy, weak and shy, very quiet. He got bullied a lot in his childhood and I used to protect him. I hated him them, he was always crying, scared of every single thing, he was so annoying. But at least, back then he listened to me and did whatever I told him to do. Who knew he'd grow up to be this tall, stupid and conceited jerk (and good looking)? Who knew that I’d grow to like him, grow attached to him and eventually miss him like hell? He disappeared three years ago; exactly two years after our parents had died in a traffic accident.

Life has not been kind to me.

Since Ji Yong was one year younger than me and I graduated from high school earlier – I supported him, I worked part time anywhere I could, I fed him and I clothed him. Heck, I was prepared to send him to college, I was ready for that. My plan was to take over father’s business, the old dusty bookstore, and well -  that’s it.

And I knew Ji Yong worked somewhere too, he’d often come home late and exhausted. I knew he earned money and I also suspected that my father had left debts behind. No, I am sure Ji Yong paid those debts but he never told me. He grew up to be a lot like his mother – secretive and distant. At some point, he changed from an innocent weak boy into a snappy little demon, always picking a fight with me. He became the bully and I… I still loved him the same.

One day Ji Yong disappeared and no matter how I searched I couldn’t find him. Just like when we played hide and seek back in the days, he’d hide and I’d never find him. The only positive thought about this was that he always found me no matter where I hid. Perhaps, all I needed to do now was to hide and wait and he’d surely come? He’d find me just like the prince found the Cinderella.

Am I being too naïve again?

Probably...

The fact was that Ji Yong did not find and rescue me because he was no prince. He was a damn fool! And even though it hurt to admit, I wasn’t a princess either, the most I could be a fairy, a mean one to that. I was Tinkerbell captured by the pirates and forced to slave off for their pleasure. Yup – that’s exactly my situation at the moment.

Dressed in red tacky sequin dress that hugged my body a bit too tightly, my hair on a tight bun and my long straight bangs falling on my eyes, that’s how I looked like when I sang on the stage. It had been a long time since my face had been caked in so much makeup, but I had to admit that for once I looked pretty. The job was  less awkward than I had thought, but damn it was tiring. My throat hurt and my voice became hoarse, my face hurt from all the smiling and my eyes became watery from the heavy cigarette smoke. There was a lot of pressure to keep a good atmosphere in the bar, people would request songs and when they didn’t I’d pick whatever I wanted to sing.

The nights went by slowly. I’d come to work around 9 pm to get ready though I’d rather call that slave duties instead of work. The program started around 10 when the bar, to my surprise, usually filled with people. Of course, most of them were men who came to drink and spend time with the hostesses. You see, Tango also offered other kinds of services at the motel from across the road, their business partner. Not a big surprise, though.

Most of the hostesses were coerced to work through debt, just like me, others came because they needed money. But I didn’t know much about them because I didn’t talk with anyone more than necessary. To keep a low profile I just came, sang and left as quickly as possible to get my few hours of sleep. During the daytime, I still had to keep the bookstore open because I needed money to live, let’s be realists. Though, I couldn’t open it every day because I was so tired, let’s be realists about that too.

The old lady, whose debts I had taken on my shoulders, I haven't really told you anything abut her yet! 

She had a kind round face and her hair was always curly. I once saw her on her way to get a perm together with other neighborhood old ladies. They often went to the public sauna to hang out and gossip, sometimes I joined them but let’s pretend I didn’t admit that just now. At the restaurant, she was always dressed in colorful flower pattern clothes and wore a cute pink apron. She was quick to announce her opinions with her awfully loud voice and sometimes she went overboard, but she never apologized. Obviously, she