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The room is filled with people attending to your needs. There are ladies fixing your hair, some putting nail polishes on your nails, and another working on the finishing touches of your dress.  Calling it a dress though seems to be an understatement. By the looks of it, your father made that gown tailored from a fine, world-class designer. You were done with make-up minutes ago. Everyone seems to be in a controlled panic because as you’ve heard it, the party has started about an hour ago and your presence is needed there already.

It’s not like you could do anything about it though, you purposely did this after all –being late and all. Your father even had to call you to make you show up and not ruin things. You couldn’t care but he was going to bring up your grandfather’s death again that you cut in and said you’d come. It’s always his way of making you do things. It’s getting old but you had to admit that it works every single ing time.

After some minutes more, you are being fitted on your ballgown. It is a combination color of cream and auburn. It contains laces and delicate, hand-sewn details that one would be in awe upon seeing it. The laced sleeves of it reach down your wrist and your back is bare from clothing that your milky skin is exposed. The frilled fabric reaches the floor and spreads all around.

After everything is done, you are pushed in front of a floor-lengthed mirror and stare at their masterpiece that is you. They all gasp and secretly squeal from hardwork and achievement that you smiled to it too. You know you’re pretty; you just didn’t care about it. You admit though, that tonight, you are beautiful.

You are led to the event hall as you are now waiting for your name to be called and present yourself in front of the many visitors and guests. You’ve always hated this part of the party. It makes you feel so weird uncovering yourself from all the strangers in front of you. You’ll never get used to it.

“And now for the celebrant of tonight’s party, let us welcome my daughter, Jae Min.” Hearing this booming from the speakers all around the hall with the voice coming from your father stiffens you. He really has changed, you just don’t know why, if it’s even a good thing or not. He never called you his daughter with that tone of voice, the one full of care and amazement. You wonder now what you did that made him act like this.

You walk out from the double doors that were opened a while ago and walk along the path towards the mini stage on the front part of the hall. Everyone is wide with awe and praise that some even had their jaws drop. Halfway towards it, you find yourself walking along beside Tao with his hands snaking around your waist and the other holding your hand. He leads you up the stage and leans his head by your ear.

“You look beautiful tonight, like always.” He whispers by your ear and kisses you on the forehead. You can even hear voices at awe seeing you two together like this. It is also just then that you look over what he’s wearing for tonight. He has a cream-colored suit that matches your dress and an auburn tie wrapped around his neck. This really prepared for tonight.

“You brushed up your hair.” You whisper. You’ve always loved it when he brushes up his hair, especially when it’s messily done.

“Just like you’d want it.” He grins and pats your head since he knows well enough not to ruffle and ruin it.

Your father said a lot more things after that as you are made to say an on-the-spot speech thanking all the guests who saved the date for tonight and come to your party. After the speech, you walk with Tao towards your assigned table.

The party is such grandeur that you can’t help but be amazed by all this. Your father really did well in choosing the decorations and colors for tonight. It has the theme of enchantedness, like a fairytale. You weren’t at all prepared for this. After all, you expected it to be another stiff and boring party.

“Have you seen Kris?” Tao asks. It is in fact only the two of you in the table.

“I was gonna ask you the same question. I mean he practically dragged me to come here.” You shrug.

“I know. But Hana and the rest of EXO are here.” He grins pointing at a far table big enough to fit all of them.

“I didn’t even see them! I can’t believe my father allowed them to come here.” You mutter in excitement. This is just really weird coming from your father. He is, after all, into business and having them here does him no good.

“Cut him some slack, okay? Maybe he just wants you to be happy after all.”

“And try and make up for the hours we lost? Hah, funny.” You still have that crazy feeling he gets something out of this in the end. It’s just still too hard to think of any good in him. And you don’t even feel bad for thinking this way.

Dinner has long finished and you are now dancing your twenty-one roses. You find it funny that your father actually still put this part in. It was pretty bizzare having him as your first dance that you only manage to give him small smiles. After it, you danced with some of the sons of your father’s business partners and for a while they don’t seem bad. You just felt awkward every time they would say you’re pretty and all. You didn’t even need to hear it from them. Tao saying it tonight was enough to keep you satisfied.

Kyuhyun danced with you next deeply apologizing beforehand for not staying until the end of the program because he needed to go back to their entertainment building for practice. You just can’t wait to watch him sing and dance better on music shows weeks from now.

The rest of EXO also danced with you, each having their unique ways of giving you the roses. Kai was the first one to, followed by Luhan, Lay and Xiumin. You and Baekhyun had a fun time talking about your dress as Baekhyun exclaimed you the walking epitome of perfection when D.O cut him in, followed by Chanyeol, Suho and Sehun. Sehun didn’t even want to let go of you yet that others had to help drag him away from you. It made you laugh. Chen who was the next in line talked with you about how he saw Kris minutes before, outside the halls that you didn’t even realize Tao come over already.

“Mind if I cut in?” Tao asks as he bows his down.

Chen is obviously startled by this. “Oh god –not at all. Here,” he grins hangingly and strides away from the ball. Tao is now holding your right hand as his other hand guides your back.

 “You scared him!” You are laughing.

“I thought my presence was obvious enough.” He feigns pain that you lightly slap him by the shoulder. He twirls you around and gives you the rose he’s holding as he kisses your hand. You would already have blushed if only you knew how to.

“So how long do we actually have to dance like this?” You ask. The music doesn’t even seem to end and it has been minutes and by far the longest time you’ve been dancing with a guy.

“I don’t know, until Kris arrives maybe? Why? Do you want it to end alrea–”

“No! I just…” You cut in and trail off after seeing an amused smile on his face. You lightly push him off that he chuckles to it.

“I was supposed to be your last dance you know. I just couldn’t take it having to see you dance with other guys anymore. I had to do something.” He grins playfully. Such an actor he is.

“Well aren’t you the smart one?” You comment on this.

“You love me anyway.” He states it like a fact.

“I never said that.” You shyly look away.

“Oh, but I feel it and that’s all that matters.” He smiles and leans towards you until your lips are touching.You can already hear people gasping and taking pictures all around you. You are after all the main attraction for tonight.

The kiss wouldn’t have ended if you didn’t hear someone clear his throat beside you. You both opened your eyes and find Kris standing straight towering over you. He stances angrily but the amused glint in his eyes tells you otherwise. Tao kisses you one last time and gives the floor to Kris.

“Way to interrupt, huh.” You roll your eyes.

“I was just stopping both of you from making such a scene.” He worries.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, we both know what I mean.” He smirks. You almost gasp remembering the time last Saturday when Kris entered your house to fetch you for your photoshoot and instead find you and Tao huddled on the cushions making out. It was like getting caught by your teacher cheating on an exam.  After realizing you actually had a visitor you separated far apart from each other faster than lightning.

You almost feel shivers run down your spine.

“It was… wasn’t my fault. I had too much chocolate ice cream that morning.” You reason out and he just chuckles.

“I really enjoy using that against you.” He muses over it and shakes his head.

“Screw you, Kris.” You roll eyes and stop yourself from actually kicking him on the shins again.

After you have danced with pretty much everyone around, which is a damn lot, you saunter towards your table where Tao and Kris are talking. Everyone else is dancing on the floor but you don’t even care. After all, you only know a very minimal amount of people around by names. Most of them are only familiar by faces.

“Tired?” Tao asks as he helps you sit down on your chair.

“I swear to god I’m gonna hire an assassin for whoever made this heels come to earth.” The two of them just laugh at your words. You slump your head on the table and wish for the party to end already. Tao excuses himself to go get some drinks for you. Kris was just all the while waiting for him to leave.

“Listen here Jae Min, and don’t interrupt me from speaking, okay?” Kris says and you nod. You’re too tired to argue anyway. “Don’t freak out, okay? But whatever happens tonight, just keep yourself together and don’t freak out.”

“What… why?”

“I can’t tell you, but you will know it before the party ends.” Your brow only creases because of this. He stands to leave saying that he wants to go to the rest of EXO for a while. “Be strong.” He whispers before he’s finally out of hearing distance.

Tao comes back minutes later holding out to you a glass of drink he brought. A voice booms from the speakers signaling everyone to stop what they’re doing and listen for an important announcement for a while. It’s your father, side by side your mother. They are both too genuinely happy that you wonder what exactly is happening.

A weird thought runs through your head. “Oh my god… Am I having a baby sibling?” You mumble that Tao looks at you oddly.

“That’s what you can come up with? Really?”

“What’s wrong with it? They look really happy and they know I don’t want to have one. It’s the only reason that will make them smile so hard like that. I mean, they don’t have to do things to make me miserable anymore. My sibling would be enough of a good substitute for that…” You breathe in. Kris is right if this is true. I am so close to freaking out already and they haven’t even said anything yet.

“And that’s an explanation.” He chuckles.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I was even thinking that my father had actually changed.” You cover your mouth with your hand.

“Jae Min, you think too much. Let’s just wait for whatever they’ll say, okay?” You nod and he holds your hand. You don’t exactly need it but it’s good that he’s holding it tight. You feel safe.

Everyone is now backing on their seats as silence fills the hall. All are anticipating on the news your father is going to give out.

“First of all, I gladly announce that tonight’s part is not only a celebration of Jae Min’s birthday…” Your father starts.

“I knew it!” You whisper and narrow down your sight on your father.

“… but it is also a celebration for another birthday.” You don’t understand. Your father gives the mic to your mother and she continues the little speech.

“Sixteen years ago, an accident occurred that made our Jae Min get traumatized. We had to put her under therapy but even after it, she still blocked memories from before the accident. For her own good, we decided to erase and burn all possible memories that will relate her to her past.” Your mother stops for a while as tears seem to have clogged her eyesight.

You remember crying after they tried to burn away your golden music box too. It’s the only thing that was saved. Maybe that’s why you actually remember the boy in the maple tree. Now you’re contemplating if it’s even a good idea it actually stayed.

You curl your palms again and Tao does his best to hold it tight. You’re tightening your jaw and keeping yourself from breaking. How could they keep this from me for sixteen god damned years and tell it to the whole ing world now?!

“During that accident, our little Jae Min got separated from the one she was always spending hours playing with. We only found Jae Min after, rocking herself back and forth with her eyes wide with shock and her lips and skin pale. We knew that if our daughter finally accepts the memories and remembers, it will hurt her and even break her knowing that the person she always plays with is no longer around.” Your mother continues.

You don’t understand. Is the playmate my mother referring to the same playmate I have under that maple tree; the little boy? Your mind is too messed up now.

“And we’re telling you all this because Jae Min deserves to know the truth, especially now… now that we found her.” Her. HER. HER?

Your mother lightly chuckles as she wipes the tears on her face. Tao, on the other hand, does his best to keep you from shaking. You didn’t even realize until just now that he already had his arms wrapped around you.

The mic is now back to being held by your father. “Without further ado, we present to you, our other daughter, Jae Min’s twin sister, Jaebin.” His voice booms the loudest among the cheers and applauses of all the people around you that you feel like fainting. You even see Tao flinch from the name.

Jaebin walks in from the double doors and continues walking straight until she reaches the stage. It is also there wherein she hugs your parents. She had a simple white Sunday dress that it took you seconds to realize it is the same Jaebin you held grudges on. The same Jaebin whom Tao once fell for. The same Jaebin whom the Orange Caramel came to knew and befriended back in Europe. The same Jaebin you saw back in the hospital and out in your front lawn.

For the times you are thinking this over, you are holding your breath.

“Jae Min, breathe.” Tao shakes you and you do inhale in suffocating air. You are in fact amazed at how you managed to hold your breath that long.

“Jaebin… twin… I… I–” You can’t even form out a sentence because of this. Everyone around the hall is too happy to even notice you breaking on the sidelines.

“Keep yourself together. Just tell me if you want anything, okay?” Tao worries for you more that you feel light-hearted. He attends to you even when Jaebin is here.

“I –I want to get out.” You manage to mutter out from your head. You even start walking out before Tao could stand up and walk with you. After opening the double doors you let yourself run to wherever wanting to be alone and hoping that Tao doesn’t find you for some time.

Tears are cascading down from your eyes that you almost couldn’t see where exactly you are running to. It’s too dark in the night and the moon is not at its brightest to guide you. You feel so unimportant right now. Your parents… well you never saw your parents that happy before. And now after actually finding the one they’ve been searching for sixteen restless years they are filled with joy that they thought you’d be better knowing this when it’s actually breaking you. You never felt loved; you who were around for sixteen damned years always trying to impress them –you eventually got tired of it and started to rebel. While Jaebin receives all the love; she who ran away from home sixteen ing years ago.

You feel that it’s all too unfair for you. You want to shut out the world again right when you actually feel like opening up to it. You even swear that Tao’s love for you can’t even cover up the pain inflicted to you by your own parents. They knew you were suicidal, damn it they’ve known that ever since. But they couldn’t even care and give a flying enough to consider that their actions might cause you to actually try to kill yourself again.

“Jae Min!” You can hear Tao’s voice from a distance.

You now know where you are, in the middle of the road around outside the event hall. It’s like you’re Cinderella and you’re running away from the party because it’s that time of the night where the clock strikes twelve and everything vanishes.

You can hear a car’s horn yanking closer to you as its headlights make your eyes squint from becoming too bright every millisecond.

You turn around and see Tao running towards you. You smile at him.

“Jae Min! Noooooo!” He screams his lungs out once again and it breaks your already broken heart this time. You can even feel the little teardrops trickling down your face.

It’s too late. No one can save me now.

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And I give you an update.
Wasn't this chapter exciting? Haha, I really had fun writing this you know.
It makes me feel both happy and mad.
I hope it finally answered most of the questions hanging around in your heads. xD
Don't worry though, it's not the end yet... but we're coming close to it. Waaaa.
Okay, 'til the next chapter. ^^
I love you all. <333 (((omg idk why I'm being like this -.-)))