Everything is blur for a while. When my vision clears, I have no idea where and what I am. I raise my hand as if it was the most natural thing to do. I look up and just across, there is someone who looks like me. He has hands like I do, a body like mine. We look alike, yet we’re not the same. I take a step forward and nearly lose my balance. It’s hard to move, but I manage to do so without toppling over. The thing that looks like me starts moving at high speed, in no time, he's right in front of me. I study his face with interest, he is not an ugly thing, that’s for sure. I watch as he places his hand on a see through wall that separates us. I copy his movements and place my hand over his, staring right back him.

“What are you?” I ask.

“I am like you. A life sized doll, a mannequin,” he answers, staring at me.

“A… Mannequin,” I repeat.

“We’re not supposed to move. But this place is special, we are special. We come alive at night, but once the sun rises, we are statues,” it explains.

“Where are we?” I look around, I'm in a place I don't recognize.

“Doll Street,” he answers. “Come out, we will talk some more.”

“How do I come out?” I remove my hand and straighten up.

“There’s a door,” he points. “See if it’s locked.”

“How?”

“Hold the handle and press it down. Then pull,” he instructs patiently. I step down and take stiff steps towards the glass door. I place my hand on the cool metal and shiver at the new feeling. I push down the handle, but it doesn’t move much.

“I think it’s locked,” I stare at him with helpless eyes.

He pauses and bends down, and lifts up the welcome mat and slides something through the gap between the door and the ground. I bend down, grab it and stand up.

“There’s a hole at the handle, slot the key in,” he continues to instruct me. I do as told and turn the key. There are a few clicks before I pull it out and successfully open the door. We freeze there for a moment, almost going back to doll form. He snaps out of it first and takes my hand. He brings me to a bench in front of a water fountain. Water splashing is the only sound that breaks the silence.

“I will give you a name,” he says.

“What is a name?”

“A label. An identity," he pauses and looks at me. "You will be Zoe.”

“Zoe?” I blink.

“Zoe means life, it is also the name of your shop, isn’t it? So you shall be Zoe,” he explains.

“Then what is your identity?” I ask.

“Kai. That name was imprinted onto my plastic wrist, when I awaken at night, it becomes imprinted in my skin,” Kai lifts his left wrist to show a black word written in cursive.

“Earlier you said we were not supposed to move, that we are life sized dolls. This is a special place, you said. But why are we different? Why are we allowed to move?” I probe, still utterly confused about the situation.

“We are on Doll Street, one of the oldest streets in the city. The street got it’s name because of a legend. The legend says…” Kai stops and inhales deeply, as if to calm himself down. “That a long time ago, really long ago, there were two people. One boy and one girl. They met and fell in love, but because their families had a deep hatred for one another, even way back from their grandparent’s time, it was impossible for the lovers to marry each other. When their families found out that they were secretly meeting at night, they locked their children up so they could never see each other again.”

“That’s horrible,” I mumble. Kai smiles grimly, the moonlight casting a mysterious silver glow on his face.

“They spent six years longing for each other. Apparently, the heavens took pity on them, and changed them into life-sized dolls and put them in two different shops in the market. Everyday at midnight, they would become human and come to their usual meeting spot— the fountain at the city square— to spend time with each other. Nobody knew they were actually humans and from the two feuding families, their families didn’t know where they went, and assumed the eloped together. And so the lovers lived like that, waking up from their slumber at midnight, become human and meet. Until…”

“Until?”

“Until the girl was taken away and thrown into the dumpster, because the owner of the shop got a new mannequin. The owner didn't know anything. The male mannequin was left to spend the rest of his days alone. Again, he was pitied and he was sent companions, just like him, they would turn human at midnight,” there is a distant look in his brown eyes. “Because of that, you and many others just like you, are able to come alive. You are the boy’s companion.”

“How do you know all this?”

He simply smiles. “I’ve been here for too long, Zoe, way too long.”

“But there are so many of us still in the shops, how come they don’t move?” I ask, looking around at the dark shops.

“I don’t know. Not all of them are like you. There are more I have met, just further down, shall we meet them? I’m sure they have awakened by now,” Kai suggests.

“Let’s go then,” I stand first. Kai follows suit and leads us down the pavement. We pass at least fifteen shops before we stop at a men’s apparel store. Kai raises his fist and knocks on the glass.

“Stop pretending,” he says. A few seconds pass before the mannequin— dressed up in a dark blue checkered button up, black pants and a casual pair of sneakers— rotates his neck stiffly and hops off the platform while his facial features become more human. He unlocks and pushes open the glass door with a smile bright enough to light up the midnight sky. I step back and unknowingly tighten my hold on Kai’s hand. Was that how I looked like when I first came to life?

“Hey,” the humanized mannequin steps out of the shop, stretching and twisting like he’s been still for too long. Which he has. His eyes are sharp, a rich chocolate brown colour and his nose looked handcarved by the gods themselves. His lips are pouty and a baby pink colour, and his chestnut brown hair flutters with the wind.

“A new addition,” he says, studying me closely. He rolls his left sleeve up and shows me the cursive word imprinted onto his temporary human skin.

“Baekhyun,” I read. Baekhyun smiles and retracts his arm.

“What is your identity, then?” He asks.

I look at Kai for reassurance. After receiving his nod, I turn back to the new face, “Zoe.”

“Come, there are others to meet,” Kai diverts our attention. We walk further down and turn left. After passing by different shops, we halt outside a secondhand shop, I don't know what that is, but the obnoxious sign says it all. The platform where the mannequin is supposed to stand is empty, he or she has already woken up before we arrived.

“Where is he?” Baekhyun asks nobody in particular as he scans the surroundings.

“Probably off borrowing clothes,” Kai fills in. “Forget him, we’ll probably meet him when we see our next brother.”

“What is a brother?” I question.

“A man or boy in relation to other sons and daughters of his parents,” Baekhyun so helpfully explains, but I still don't understand.

Kai simply scowls. “Know-it-all. Ignore him, Zoe.”

“Can’t help that I’m the most intelligent mannequin to ever walk the street,” Baekhyun shrugs smugly.

"In case you forgot, Baekhyun, I taught you everything," Kai gives him a look.

“R- Right,” I struggle to keep up with the other two’s long strides. I sigh in relief when they finally come to a stop. Over in the distance, there are two males, talking at loud volumes.

“For the last time, you irratating fool, borrow clothes from someone else. It’s not my fault you were put in a secondhand shop,” one snaps and pulls a blazer back.

“You literally have a rack of designer clothes right behind you! You wouldn't miss one,” Another retorts, snatching the blazer back to his side.

“I’ll break them up,” Baekhyun sighs and jogs towards the bickering two. I cast a confused glance at Kai before trailing after him.

“That is it you two, I will freaking dismantle your parts and toss them onto the road to be crushed, so help me—” Baekhyun marches right between the other two. The fight dies down just as Kai and I approach.

“He started it!” One yells.

“He was being selfish!” Secondhand comes in straight after. I seem to be the only one to notice Kai sighing deeply in frustration and irritation.

“Shut up! Save your bickering for a another night, we have a guest!” Baekhyun snarls. The arguing two zip their mouths and turn to me, as if they never noticed my presence before.

“Oh!” Secondhand yells exasperatedly and tosses the blazer he had been fighting to the death for into the air while the other scrambles to catch it, “It’s been so long since we’ve had new arrivals!” He vigorously shakes my hand.

“Y- Yes,” I squirm, my voice vibrating due to the violent shaking.

“Stop that,” Kai growls lowly. Secondhand freezes and for a while, I thought he had reverted back to mannequin form.

“Tell her your identities,” Baekhyun prompts cheerfully. I'm expecting Secondhand to raise his left sleeve or just show me his left wrist since he's in a simple orange t-shirt, but he doesn't.

“Chanyeol,” he flashes a toothy grin. “Name of my shop.”

He’s like me, he doesn’t have a label on his wrist like the others.

“I see,” I mumble, massaging the hand that he so roughly shook. I look expectantly at the other one. Like the first two, he raises the left sleeve of his yellow hoodie. “Doo?”

Doo scowls. “It’s D.O to you, missy. Dee-oh.”

“Sorry,” I take a defensive step back and accidentally brush my shoulder against Kai’s. I glance at him but he remains expressionless, almost as if he’s dead. That’s no surprise, since it’s the whole point of being a mannequin, after all.

“Why did I even offer to introduce her to these fools,” Kai mutters to himself, but I catch it anyway. Chanyeol and D.O continue to fight while Baekhyun tries break them up.

“They’ll join us later, once they’re done being stupid. We’ll meet the last one, and we’re done for the night,” Kai says, taking hold of my wrist.

“There are so little?” I question.

“More appear as the years pass. I’m sure there are others outside of Doll Street, but for now, we’re the only ones here,” Kai patiently explains. He glances back and smiles charmingly, “You’re a curious one, aren’t you?”

I blink, unsure how to respond. Kai chuckles and turns back to the front. After another few minutes of walking, we stop in front of a grand looking outlet.

“This guy… He’s expensive and branded. I doubt you’ve heard of Armani,” Kai grins. The outlet occupied at least the size of three regular shops. Behind the glass panels stand six mannequins, three on each side of the double doors. On the left side, there are mannequins in female attire, while the right is mannequins in male attire. I can’t tell which one is the one Kai is looking for, but he casually strides up to the last mannequin and knocks on the glass. There's still nothing happening after a few seconds, I am half waiting for Kai to say ‘stop pretending’, but he simply sighs.

“Sorry. This one takes a while to wake up,” he shakes his head and knocks again. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

This time, the mannequin starts to change. His stiff maroon coloured wig starts to look softer and silkier. The dents where his eyes are supposed to be become more detailed, he has eyes as dark as the night sky and lips soft and pink like cotton candy. As soon as the transformation is complete, the guy smiles and waves before making his way to the front door.

“Someone slide me the key,” he points to the floor.

“On it,” Chanyeol grins and slides the silver key over.

“A store this grand and expensive looking would leave their key under an obnoxious welcome mat,” D.O comments.

“The most dangerous place is the safest place,” Kai shrugs as the guy steps out.

Uh, guys? Shall we pretend that CCTV cameras don't exist? At all? That'd be great. Ha. Ha.