Fei put on the rather impossibly tight fitting qipao against her will. The slit on the side was way too high, and the fabric on most part of the dress was see through. It was too uncomfortable just for her to move around, but it was the only garment that was given to her.

Fei flinched to hear the thunderous knock on the door.

“What took you so long?! It’s about time!” The hoarse voice from behind the door shouted.

Scared, Fei instantly unlocked the door. The door flew open. A man, round as a globe with stubbles across his jaw and a cigarette between his lips barged in and grabbed her wrist without mercy. Fei bit down her lower lip, swallowing back the pain. She knew that she was about to taste something a million times worse than this.

The man dragged her down the dim hallway. Lavish Baroque carpet spread on the floor, sleek, reflective doors mirrored each other along the wide hallway. They stopped in front of a door. The man turned her around roughly to make her face him.

“Remember, if you don’t know what to do, just don’t do anything at all. Let him do whatever he wants. Understand?” His voice was threatening. Fei nodded in fear.

“Do you understand me?” He shook her.

“Yes, sir!” Fei squealed in pain. The man opened the door and shoved her inside. The door closed with a loud slam that it almost made Fei jumped.

She quietly turned around and walked further into the suite. Fei gulped down her saliva, it felt thick in . She couldn’t imagine just what kind of torture was waiting for her inside. The room was empty; for now. Despite it was in the middle of summer, Fei was already shivering under the aircond in full blast. Her dress was too thin.

As she scanned her surrounding, there was a soft click coming from the door. Her heart pounded against her chest to see a tall man in fitting suit entered the room. His figures emerged from the shadow into the dim light, revealing an attractive figure. He paused in his steps the moment their eyes met. He was handsome; tall nose, big round eyes and pouty full lips. He immediately let out a sigh, looking annoyed as he walked towards the sofa instead. He took off his jacket and plopped onto the sofa, hands stretched across the top of the backrest, head thrown back. He closed his eyes and massaged his head with one hand.

Fei stood frozen at her spot. She didn’t know what to do. Would he get mad if she didn’t do anything?

“What are you doing?”

Fei flinched. His eyes was closed, his fingers making small massage at his temple.

“Take a seat. Are you going to stand there until morning?”

“Y-Yes sir.” Fei walked across the room and took a seat on the sofa across him. Fei clasped her hands tight to hide her nervousness and set it on her thigh. The length bothered her which caused her to keep pulling her dress down.

The man sighed and muttered. “Do they think I’m a child?”

He finally opened his eyes and leaned away from the sofa. His gaze was sharp, it made Fei even more nervous.

“Name,” he inquired.

“My name is Fei.”

“Fei.”

“Yes?”

“You’re not from Korea,” He stated.

“No, sir. I’m from China.”

He nodded.

“Your Korean is good.”

Fei hesitated a bit. “...I was a student here.”

“Have you had dinner?”

“No, sir,” Fei lowered her gaze.

“Me neither. We should eat something.” He hummed softly as he went through the menu, his expression cold and unreadable. “What do you want? There’s lobster, steak, pasta…”

“Anything would be fine.”

He nodded. He proceded to make the phone call.

Once he was done, he briefly scanned Fei’s appearance from head to toe.

“Fei.”

“Yes?” Fei’s heart almost jumped out of her chest when he suddenly called her name.

“Is this your first time?”

“…Yes.”

He nodded. “Do you see the wardrobe at the back?”

Fei nodded.

“There’s a dress in it. Change into it.”

“Yes, sir.” Fei got up and moved to the bedroom. Once she opened the wardrobe, she immediately covered from gasping out loud. It was a beautiful dress. A white Mandarin collared chiffon gown with flaring skirt, with lace sleeves and embroidery emebellishmenst around the hem of the skirt. It could pass as a modest wedding gown. She had no idea why would he want her to change in that dress, but that dress is so much better than her revealing qipao right now.

Fei obliged to his order and got changed in the bathroom. When she returned, she was surprised to see the man had his laptop on the coffee table. He seemed busy. As Fei stepped closer, he looked up and paused for a moment, and then nodded, satisfied.

“Much better,” he commented. With his arm, he showed her the sofa across him, inviting her to sit again.

Fei was dumbfounded. She thought he was going to ravish her body with his eyes, but he seemed harmless. If she was to be a bit more naive, she would have said that he was kind.

“The food will be here in a minute. You should eat and then have a rest. I have work to do tonight.”

She though she was dreaming; that or she had heard wrong. But the man kept to his words. After a very quiet dinner, he fixed himself a cup of coffee and busied himself with whatever business he had on the laptop, leaving Fei free by herself. Fei couldn’t fall asleep until early in the morning. Even then, he was still working.

His sleeves were rolled to elbow, his collar ed, his hair disheveled from the many times he ruffled it in frustration. He stood in front of the ceiling height window, watching the sun rising. He  enjoyed the subtle warmth and watching the sleepy sky slowly waking up. It felt like his life was taking a pause as the day started because it was the only moment he found that life was beautiful. He briefly looked at the girl who was lying on the bed. She was still fast asleep, in her white dress nonetheless.

She was gorgeous and intelligent, but he wasn’t curious at all how she ended up here. There were so many ways how girls end up like her and he was too occupied with so many responsibles to care.

Chansung reached the memo pad from the nighstand and scribbled something on it. Afterwards, he reached for his jacket and his laptop, and left the room.

Fei woke up to an empty room. She looked around but it didn’t seem like there was anybody around. Fei noticed the notepad on the nighstand and reached it.

You can keep the dress. Wear it next time we meet.

-Hwang Chansung.