'All the lonely people'

On an average, Kyungsoo had around fifty customers a day. Fifty lonely souls looking for love and knowing that Kyungsoo is the only one able to help them. He stands behind the counter an hour after opening, quickly working on a doll whose owner is expected to arrive today. He tiredly adds the finishing touches, painting the eyebrows and around the eyes.

'Where do they all come from?'

Now for the grand finale, ladies and gentlemen.

Kyungsoo looks around cautiously, making sure that no one walking past the shop was looking in. He gently sets down the brush and inhales deeply. This was always the hardest part. His hand begins to glow softly and he brings it to his chest. He exhales as he stabs his hand through his chest, as if skin and bones became water and allowed him easy passage to where his heart lay. He grunts as he pulls out a small, pinkish wisp. If he listens closely, he could hear the sounds of laughter and joy, something foreign to his ears. He sighs shakily as the wisp slithers its way into the DOLL, giving it a faint glow before ultimately disappearing.

"Awaken."

Kyungsoo's eyes have become lifeless as the DOLL begins to grow, losing its wooden limbs and gaining flesh and blood. He grips the counter in pain, knuckles becoming ashen white as a human male sits there and confused. The DOLL stares in a mixture of concern and fear as Kyungsoo heavily coughs into his palm before releasing a shuddering breath.

"Your name is Lu Han. Chen is your master and lover." Kyungsoo's gaze is cold as Lu Han nods slowly, signifying that he understood.

Chen arrives to pick him up an hour later. If he notices Kyungsoo's ashen face, he makes no comment. He's all smiles as he shakes Kyungsoo's hand with his left, and escorts Lu Han into his life with his right. Kyungsoo goes back into having a coughing fit when the door closes, body close to collapsing when he sees that Lu Han doesn't keep his eyes off of him until he's out of sight. They always seem to have sentiment connection with their Creator, they do after all hold a piece of him.

Kyungsoo frowns, realizing that he cannot continue to look like this in front of his customers. Chen was polite enough to not say anything, but others do tend to have less manners. He sees pieces of abandoned DOLLS in a cabinet at the corner of his eye.

"Greet customers with a smile." Kyungsoo smiles bitterly and goes over to the cabinet, scooping up whatever he could hold in his small arms.

He lays out the pieces in front of him and taps at his chin in thought. He analyzes each piece for its curves and edges, wondering how they would fit together. He looks at two broken faces, one being the right side of a face, blue eyes staring up at him with half a nose. The other piece is the left side of a face, broken lips and glassy eyes. Kyungsoo squints and grabs the two pieces and puts them together. His eyes widened and he clenches the pieces in a cold, hard grip.

"A mask," Kyungsoo whispers wistfully. "I'll make a happy mask."

He gets to work realizing today would be a slow day, giving him enough time to create the illusion of happiness to fit his face. He has all kinds of glues and tools surrounding him as he hunches over the pieces with thick framed glasses. His tongue pokes on in concentration as he fixes the eyes and noses to match each other. He has to repeatedly pause multiple times to cough into his arm and blink to keep himself awake.

When he finishes, he is staring down at his own face. A face he had not seen in a while. No eye bags, no wrinkles, and more importantly, a smile. Realizing that he would need more to have the mask look convincing, he inhales and strikes his hand back into his chest. He winces as he digs deeper and pulls out a small, blue wisp. The wisp drips itself onto the mask before completing coating it like paint. Kyungsoo grabs it as it glows and slowly attaches it to his face.

He grunts as he feels it grip onto his face like an octopus with its suction cups. He leans against the counter as he and the mask become one, his illusion becoming real. When he no longer feels anything, he stands up straight and immediately touches his face. It felt as if it was his own face, and he blinks in confusion.

"How the hell do I take this off?" He grumbles and walks to the nearest mirror.

The doll maker almost steps back in shock when he sees his face, as youthful as it was when he became the age of 18. His eyes were glowing with happiness and his skin is as smooth as a baby. He pokes his cheek with amazement and traces the skin below his eyes. Not a single flaw could be seen. There is a ringing at the door, signifying that a person had entered the shop.

Kyungsoo quickly turns around to face the customer and for the first time in five years, his face begins to stretch.

He smiles.

'Ah, look at all the lonely people'