“Sooyeon!” Kai called after her fleeting figure. The crowd split apart to let him through as he ran after her. But she was too fast for him, and she disappeared from his sight.

 

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Everyone who passed him gave him an odd look as he doubled over panting. He glared at all of them. “What are you looking at?!” They turned back to what they were doing, and he huffed in annoyance. 

 

When Kai got his breath back, he started running after her again. 

 

 

 

 

Sooyeon touched her cheek and winced when it started to throb uncontrollably. “Aish. This one won’t go away anytime soon. How am I supposed to hide this in time for the ball?” She thought back at the incident that happened not too long ago. She sighed. “I wish he didn’t interfere. Now when he leaves, they’re gonna torture me even more...” 

 

She finally reached her house and walked through the front door. To her surprise, Jessica and her stepsisters were waiting for her. She bowed politely. “Hello, stepmother.”

 

Jessica eyed Sooyeon’s empty hands and narrowed her eyes. “Where’s the food?” 

 

Sooyeon blinked. “W-what?” 

 

“The food. You went out to buy the food, so you could make dinner for us. Well, where is it? We were all waiting for you to come back, and you don’t even buy anything.” 

 

The blood in Sooyeon’s face began to drain out as she stood there, dumbfounded. “I-I-”

 

“I gave you one task to do, and you couldn’t even do it.” Jessica tilted her head and locked eyes with her, making Sooyeon shift in discomfort. “You know what that means.” 

 

Sooyeon’s eyes widened. “N-no! I-I didn’t mean to! P-please!” 

 

Jessica shook her head and looked at her solemnly. “You can’t go to the ball, Cinderella.” 

 

Sooyeon’s heart fell out of her chest, and tears started to form in her eyes out of devastation. “B-b-b-bu-bu-but but-” 

 

“I FORBID IT!” Jessica screamed sharply, causing Sooyeon to shut . The two sisters looked at each other with devilish glee and high-fived each other. Jessica calmed down and straightened herself out. “Now I don’t expect to hear any more protest coming from you, do you understand me?” 

 

Sooyeon, who was now looking down at her feet in defeat, mumbled, “Yes, stepmother.” 

 

“Excuse me? Speak up!” cried Jessica, obviously toying with her. 

 

Sooyeon spoke up in a broken voice. “Y-yes, stepmother.” 

 

Jessica smirked. “Good girl.” She made her way past Sooyeon and out of the room. The two sisters followed after their mother, making sure to bump Sooyeon’s shoulders in the process and letting out wicked cackles of joy. 

 

Now Sooyeon was all alone in the room, and her tears were freefalling down her cheeks. Her shoulders trembled, and she ran up the stairs. She made her way up the winding stairs towards the attic and slammed the door shut. She was breathing heavily while her eyes scanned the room for something.

 

She spotted the dress hanging on the mannequin. She slowly trudged her feet over to it and fell onto her knees. Her hands shakily reach out and touched the soft material. Her tears began to fall some more, and she cupped her hand over , trying to muffle her cries. 

 

Kai finally reached the house and went in frantically. He whipped his head around and ran towards the kitchen, her bedroom, anywhere that she could have been. Finally, he remembered about the attic and sprinted up the winding stairs. He burst through the door and saw Sooyeon with her back towards him. He sighed in relief. “Sooyeon!” 

 

Sooyeon stiffened at the sound of Kai’s voice, and she turned around and gave him an icy cold glare, causing him to freeze. “It’s all your fault,” she whispered. 

 

Kai looked at her confused. “S-Sooyeon, I-” 

 

“It’s your fault that you riled the people up in the town...” 

 

“I didn’t mean to-” 

 

“It’s your fault that I forgot to buy the food...” Her voice was increasingly getting louder. 

 

“What? I-” 

 

“It’s your fault that Jessica scolded me...” 

 

“She did what-” 

 

“And it’s your fault that she forbid me from going to the ball!” Sooyeon screamed sharply at him, causing him to look at her with shock. He had never heard her yell at him before. She had never looked at him with such anger before. Angry tears trickled down her cheeks like a waterfall. 

 

And it hurt him. 

 

“Sooyeon, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” He grabbed her shoulders, trying to plea with her. She cringed at his touch and jerked away from him, causing him to feel a hurtful tug at his heart. 

 

“Don’t touch me,” she hissed at him with hateful eyes. 

 

“Sooyeon-ah, I-” 

 

“You WHAT?” she said through clenched teeth. “You’re sorry?” She scoffed. “I don’t need your apologies! It’s over and done with! There’s no way I can go anymore, and it’s all your fault! You can’t do anything now! It’s your fault, and I hate you for it!” 

 

Kai’s heart were cut by her harsh words, and he reached out to her. “Sooyeon-” 

 

“I hate you! I HATE YOU!” She grabbed the nearest thing to her and threw it at him. “I HATE YOU!” She grabbed another thing and threw it. “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!” 

 

Kai took the hits without protest, and then suddenly he took her into his embrace. She tried to break away from his hold. “LET ME GO! I HATE YOU!” 

 

He winced at her words and held her tighter. “No, Sooyeon.” 

 

She beat her fists against his chest and cried some more. “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!” She slapped him across the face, which made him let her go in shock. She ran past him and tried to leave the attic, but he quickly grabbed her wrist. 

 

“Don’t leave,” he whispered. 

 

She glared at him. “What gives you the right to tell me what to do? You’re the one living in MY house, eating MY food, and sleeping in MY bed. Because of you, I lost the chance to go to a once-in-a-lifetime event! I won’t leave. I want YOU to,” she said in a low voice. 

 

“I’m not leaving you,” he said in a steady voice, his eyes piercing through hers. 

 

She narrowed her eyes. “It’s not an option that you can choose from. It’s either get out or get out! I WANT YOU OUT!” Her whole body was almost trembling with anger. 

 

Still, Kai shook his head in defiance. “No.” 

 

Sooyeon yanked her wrist out of his hold and slapped him again. “GO! LEAVE!” She slapped him some more, and he took it. “LEAVE THIS HOUSE! LEAVE THIS KINGDOM! LEAVE ME! I DON’T NEED YOU HERE! GET OUT!” Kai stopped one of her hands in mid-slap and took her into his embrace again, intending to not let go of her.

 

Every word and every blow sliced through Kai’s heart, but that only made him hold onto her more. Her yells and her punches started to slow and weaken as time passed, and she was reduced to sniffling and whimpers. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. Sooyeon hated the fact that he was comforting her and liking it. 

 

“I can’t believe this happened...” she whispered gently. 

 

Kai closed his eyes and laid his chin on the top of her head while hugging tighter. “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t think this would happen...” 

 

Sooyeon hesitantly raised her arms and wrapped them around Kai. “I know.”

 

He unleashed his hold on her, much to his displeasure, and held her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “Don’t lose hope. We’ll figure out a way to get you there.” 

 

“But stepmother-”

 

“Shh,” he shushed her. “You’re not gonna stay here your whole life, are you? You gotta learn how to fend for yourself, okay?” 

 

She looked down at her feet and bit her lip, not saying a word. Kai sighed and let go of her shoulders. He was about to leave the room when she called his name. “Jongin-ssi.” 

 

He turned and looked at her with surprise. “Yeah?” 

 

She looked up from her feet and look straight into his eyes. “I’m sorry for saying all of that to you... I didn’t mean it...” 

 

Kai tilted his head and smiled at her. He walked towards her again and did something that made her widen her eyes. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, making her heart feel like it’s going into a frenzy. 

 

“I know.”