Heechul was not kidding when he said that Momo would be getting a complete makeover. After Heechul dropped her off, she waited for 5 minutes in a lavish lounge before being whisked away to a large room with a vanity table covering one side of the wall. The salon was staffed with a fashion consultant and multiple stylists who fussed over her for several hours whilst she was continuously served organic herbal tea. It was one that was worth the money thrown at it with menus on makeovers that had no prices and if you had to ask you couldn’t afford it. They began by giving her a manicure and pedicure at the same time while a hairdresser started on her hair.

As soon as her hands and feet were taken care of, a lady with to-thick makeup went to work on her face. A male stylist with a French accent oversaw everything, giving directions to his assistants while he sipped from a glass of champagne. He was dressed in flared trousers that were striped, paired with a beret and simple tight fitting shirt that made Momo worry until she saw her reflection in the mirror.

An assistant had fitted her with a long sleeve dress that was made out of silk and flowed like water. What surprised her more was her face. The stylist had done wonders and she stared at the stranger in the mirror, unable to breathe. She looked like a princess about to go to a royal ball. Wisps of hair curled out from her updo and framed her face along with the tear drop diamond earrings. Conservative makeup with a dramatic accent made her eyes pop and highlighted her cheekbones. Her lips were covered with a shade of pink that said cute yet y. “What do you think?” asked the stylist.

‘I…I don’t know what to say. You made me into Cinderella.’

“Thank you. I’ve never looked this good before,” she whispered in awe. The stylist slapped the air and chuckled. “Oh please. Honey, we were barely even needed. You were more than beautiful already. We just added some finishing touches,” he said. He set down his glass and handed Momo a pair of heels.

‘Put these on and do a spin for me.’

Momo slipped on the ankle-strap heels and stood up unsteadily. She stretched out her arms for balance then smiled as she began to walk. Filled with an unfamiliar confidence, she did a turn. The hem of her dress fluttered out and she felt her breath catch as she stared at herself in a full-length mirror that had been rolled out. The heels were only one and a half inches tall but they seemed to add plenty to her legs and there was only one word she could think to describe the whole look.

Perfect.

She blinked at her reflection then turned back to the stylist.

‘Thank you so much.’

‘It was my pleasure. Enjoy your evening.’

Momo was given a purse to carry and walked out to the car park, only stumbling once, where Heechul was already waiting for her in a tuxedo. He froze as he saw her approach and opened the door for her. “You look amazing,” he said, as he got into the driver’s seat. “I need to take you here more often.” Momo laughed and put on her seatbelt.

‘It’s fine. Once is enough for me. They touched me in places I haven’t myself and my arms, legs, fingers and toes feel like they’ve gone through war. Besides, I don’t even want to know how much that cost you.’

‘In the 4 digits so-‘

‘-I don’t want to know.’

Heechul smirked and started the car, driving them to the hotel where the ball would be held. They arrived in the midst of others and chatter already filled the air as they walked towards the lobby. Momo walked unsteadily on her heels and peered through the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sana who would probably already have arrived. As they entered through the doors, burly men dressed in suits directed them towards the escalators and Momo let herself be led. Heechul steered her by the elbow and greeted an older couple who stood behind them. “That’s the president of B Mart, the biggest provider of poultry and fresh fowl to all supermarkets,” Heechul whispered. “You’ll have to stick by with me for a while since I have to go through the formalities but once that’s done, you can go and hang out with Sana.” Momo nodded and smoothed the front of her dress, checking once more that she looked as good as she hoped.

~

Mina waited patiently as her aunt hung up the phone. They had left Ritsu at home and had hired a babysitter to look after her; Mayumi  checking on the babysitter.

‘Let’s go.’

The car door opened and Mina thanked the valet, walking forward to stand alongside her father. “Can I just hang out with my friends?” she asked. Her father shook his head. “You can go say hi to Tzuyu but after that you need to join me. We need to make the rounds of greetings,” he replied. Mina scowled momentarily then shrugged. It was to be expected and she rushed off through the crowd to find Tzuyu and her parents.

The Chou family were together in a corner of the room and Tzuyu stood restlessly as her parents conversed heatedly with their hands making quick motions. As she neared, she managed to catch the point of their argument: whether or not you could survive if you fell from an aeroplane.

‘You climb onto some piece of wreckage that’s bigger than you and then at the last moment, jump off it.’

‘You’d still have the momentum from the fall which would stay with you.’

‘That’s why the wreckage has to be bigger than you.’

Mina smiled as the exchange continued. It seemed to be only a smaller part of a larger argument that had played out throughout their marriage. She greeted Tzuyu who brightened at the sight of her and they shared a quick embrace. “You look good,” Tzuyu commented as she held Mina at arm’s length. “So are you going to introduce me to this mystery girl of yours?” Mina shook her head. She didn’t even know herself if the girl would be coming. She secretly hoped so but told herself that she shouldn’t expect too much or risk disappointment. “No,” she answered. “But I have to get back soon. The mingling’s just started and my dad wants me to walk around with him.” Tzuyu nodded sympathetically, probably having already done so with her own parents.

‘Alright then. Hopefully I see you later on before I go home.’

Since Tzuyu was still a minor, her parents considered it inappropriate to allow her to stay up later than 11. It was an unconventional view but Tzuyu’s parents were quite conservative in their own right and it was a blessing enough for them to have allowed Tzuyu to come. Mina gave Tzuyu another hug then dashed off, looking for her father.

She found him near the entrance, being surrounded by a group of men. It was a familiar sight; whenever a Myoui male was in attendance, others scrambled to talk with them. She sighed and gently pushed her way through the circle of people to reach her father. He was deep in discussion with another person she recognised as an owner of a large clothing label and he didn’t notice her until she tapped him on the shoulder. “Dad, we have to walk around,” she whispered. Her father didn’t look at her as she spoke but instead waved at her distractedly.

‘I’m a bit busy right now. You can go off with your friends. I’ll look for you later. Sorry.’

Mina rolled her eyes at his response but forced a smile and bowed to the assembled and excused herself. She went off in search of Tzuyu again and this time found her trailing after her parents as they continued talking. The parents had moved on from their previous argument and were now arguing about whether a bicycle with ice skates instead of wheels would work. Tzuyu shook her head tiredly as Mina approached and left her parents to their conversation.

‘So what do you want to do?’

Mina pursed her lips as she thought, eventually shrugging.

‘I don’t know. There’s nothing to do really. Unless you’re hungry then you can busy yourself at the buffet table.’

‘I ate already. How about we go searching for your secret lover?’

Mina gave a pained expression and sighed.

‘She’s not my secret lover. I don’t even know if she’s going to be here.’

‘Oh.’

Tzuyu deflated at that and they ambled around discussing Tzuyu’s parent’s strange arguments until someone called out to Mina. It was a guy from the group of people that Mina usually hung out with. The group was made up of kids around her age, all rich inheritors, and they would congregate at the parties and events as the adults talked. It had been some time since Mina had been with the group and she found herself feeling slightly reluctant to rejoin them. She waved back to the person calling out to her but gave a regretful smile. “Sorry, I’m looking for someone right now. Maybe I’ll join you later,” she said. The person nodded and returned to talking with someone else and Mina ignored the look that Tzuyu sent her way. Eventually, she found Tzuyu’s large unblinking eyes too intimidating to ignore and turned to face her.

‘What?’

‘Why’d you lie?’

‘Oh. I just don’t feel like going to talk with them right.’

Tzuyu nodded mysteriously as if understanding something and patted her shoulder. “I feel you,” she said. Mina deigned to reply and brought up another point of conversation as they continued walking. “So where’s your boyfriend?” she asked. Tzuyu shuddered visibly at Mina’s words and shook her head fervently.

‘Eww no. Boys are icky.’

The statement combined with the look on Tzuyu’s face was too hilarious and Mina burst into laughter at the childish response. Tzuyu reddened as she began to rethink her action and stood indignantly as Mina recovered from her peals of laughter.

‘You sounded just a kid in preschool.' 

At that, Mina folded over into another round of giggles and it took her three deep breaths before she stood up straight, wiping away tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry but that was too funny,” she apologised. “Why don’t we eat some food?” The pair had made their way towards the buffet table as they chatted and despite having said earlier that she had eaten, Tzuyu forgot about her pride and considered the long table laden with food. She grabbed a small white plate and started to fill it, wanting to sample the many delicacies on offer. Mina joined in and they walked outside with their plates to eat, finding an empty spot at a bench in the garden.

They were accompanied by the sounds of the night as they chewed silently and emptied their plates. Finished eating, Tzuyu leaned forward onto the table and sighed contently. “At least these parties have good food,” she said and Mina had to agreeing. If one thing, ignoring the amount of