Seunghyun stood before the large mirror in his room, reviewing his outfit once more. He wore a simple, form-fitting tuxedo that he sometimes wears out at the club. He smiled in content as he silently thanked Kwanghee for making it a Halloween party.

                He gazed at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. Once again, the unchanging image of a beast stared back at him. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

                “You’ve never slept before.”

                He replayed Daesung’s words in his head over and over, honestly puzzled as to why he did that. He thought long and hard about what happened the previous night.

                Then, fragments of his dream came back, piercing him in the heart in the most unusual way.

                It was a dark night.

                Where was he…? Dark alley?

                Police were cornering him.

                He was huffing and he was tired.

                He shivered at the unusual feeling and shook it off. Running his fingers through his hair, he made his way out, looking at his phone. It was almost time to go. Where was Jiyong?

                “Hyung, should I really cross dress?” Jiyong asked, giving Daesung a questioning look. He held a short dress, carefully inspecting it.

                The boy was sitting on his bed in his room, surrounded by pantyhoses, shoes, and a couple of other dresses.

                “Trust me, it’ll be fun. You have a pretty face anyway! No one will think you’re a dude, honestly. Plus, everyone else is going to dress up.” Daesung said, rummaging through a drawer of women’s clothes. Seunghyun had a closet for ‘guests’ that he used to bring over to stay.

                “Alright… but what are these for?” he asked, holding two socks up.

                “Um, they’re for your b-” Daesung started, gesturing at his chest. “You know.”

                The boy gave Daesung a confused expression. “You know?”

                Daesung gestured again at his chest. “The thingies.”

                “What thingies?”

                “Support.”

                “Support?”

                “Thingies that ladies have.”

                Jiyong’s light bulb at his sudden realization. “OH. I GOT CHU.”

                Daesung breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. He pulled out a beautiful yellow dress that had a Victorian feel to it, its design modern but also complementing the old-time feel. “Try this on!”

                The boy obeyed and tried the dress on, awkwardly stuffing his socks in. The both laughed at this silly sight as Jiyong transformed from a young boy to a pretty woman. He slipped on his shoes and pretended to strut like a model.

                “Wahh, you seriously look like a woman! This is kinda scaring me!” Daesung exclaimed, clasping his hand over his mouth.

                Jiyong blushed and hid his face with his hands. “Augh, don’t say that! It’s embarrassing!”

                “Alright, alright! You look very nice. Very nice. We need a couple of finishing touches and we’ll be done!”

                Seunghyun shoved his hands in his pockets as he leaned back on the staircase. He was half excited, half worried for the party. What if Jessica is there? What if we run into some problems? What if something happens to me that cannot be controlled. What if Jiyong doesn’t enjoy it? The prince rubbed his hands together nervously, biting his lower lip out of worry.

                Shaking his head, he turned his head to the stairs as he heard light footsteps descend the stairs. There was a flash of yellow and light clomping of heels. His eyes widened as he saw the figure before him.

                Was it Jiyong? He couldn’t tell because the imminent beauty of the boy. He was clothed in a beautiful yellow dress that had a sweetheart neckline, exposing the boy’s collarbone. His skin was milky and he radiated pureness and beauty. His wig flowed effortlessly, possibly even making a bunch of models envy him.

                “J-Jiyong?”

                The boy shyly shuffled, slightly nodding. “Y-Yeah. It was Daesung’s idea. I-Is it too much?”

                “No!” Seunghyun blurted all too quickly. He shrunk back and cleared his throat. “I mean, uh, no. You look like a very pretty woman.” He felt himself blush as he said those words.

                It’s just because Jiyong looks like a woman. A very y woman. Nothing else.

                “Thanks.” The boy lightly laughed, making his way down.

                “Who are you supposed to be?” the prince asked, smiling down at the boy.

                “He’s supposed to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast!” Daesung called from upstairs, laughing. “Isn’t it ironic? You guys really are Beauty and the Beast!”

                The two blushed furiously as Daesung pointed out the obvious. “Well, he’s not scary! Halloween is supposed to be scary!” The prince protested.

                “Let’s be honest, Seunghyun. How many people do you think will actually dress SCARY to the party? Halloween is basically an excuse for girls to wear y nurse outfits and playboy bunny outfits. You guys look fantastic together.”

                The two nodded in agreement and laughed. “Well, we both look pretty awesome.” Seunghyun smiled, looking down at Jiyong. The boy smiled and bowed elegantly, already getting into character.

                Seunghyun followed, also getting into character, offering his arm for Jiyong to take. “Let us go, Ms. Belle.”

                Jiyong giggled and jokingly took his arm.

                Both felt the electric shock that shot through their bodies just because of that gentle touch… but they both relished it secretly, for they didn’t know what that unfamiliar feeling is.

                They arrived at Kwanghee’s place soon afterwards, Jiyong being mercilessly blown away by Kwanghee’s mansion. Beautiful lights illuminated the place and pulsing music had already filled the house. The boy looked from left to right and agreed with Seunghyun and Daesung: the girls indeed wore ty outfits and clad in fishnet stockings and red lipstick. He felt his chest tighten as he felt intimidated by the lively crowd inside.

                “Is that you, Seunghyun?”

                “Damn! The prince is definitely in the house!”

                “ing awesome, Mr. Choi! You top Taylor Lautner from Twilight!”

                Seunghyun flashed his signature killer smile as always and winked at the girls who passed by. They giggled and squealed as they saw such a y beast wink at them.

                “What a player…” Daesung muttered, rolling his eyes.

                “What?” Seunghyun asked, turning around.

                “I like flowers. Problem?”

                The three continued to walk around until Seunghyun found Kwanghee. “Hey, man! Awesome to see you!” He greeted Kwanghee with a handshake and a pat on the back.

                “I haven’t seen you in forever at the club! It looked like you disappeared off the face of the earth!” his friend laughed, ruffling Seunghyun’s hair. “Damn, those horns! And those eyes! And those claws! You definitely went all out.”

                “Tell me about it.” Seunghyun muttered, looking at Jiyong and Daesung.

                “So who’s the lucky girl?”

                “Oh, her?” the prince glanced at Jiyong. The boy smiled brightly, anticipating what Seunghyun would introduce him as. “She’s just a friend.”

                Oh. Just a friend. Jiyong thought, still smiling to hide his small feeling of disappointment. Get ahold of yourself. You just met him last night. What did you expect? He thought, mentally kicking himself.

                “I’m Ji Min!” he introduced himself.

                “Yahh, she’s cute!” Kwanghee exclaimed. “Are you sure you’re just friends?”

                “Yeah, hyung.” Seunghyun laughed. “Although…” he glanced over at Jiyong, “…we ARE Beauty and the Beast.”

                Jiyong felt himself blush severely as Seunghyun flashed him a smile.

                “Aigoo! You two are too cute! Just get married or something! I declare you two my OTP!”

                “Ah, hyung. You haven’t changed!”

                “Of course not! How can something this hot change?” Kwanghee let out a good natured laugh, patting Seunghyun on his shoulder. “Anyway, I gotta entertain these people. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

                “Sounds good!” Seunghyun chuckled, waving at his friend.

                “You’re staying over, right?”

                “Yep! We’ll talk in the morning then!”

                The prince turned around to Jiyong and Daesung. “I’m gonna linger around now. If you guys need me, just grab me!” He said excitedly. He obviously needed to quench his thirst of partying, since he’s been isolated from civilization for a while now. He immediately disappeared into the sea of people, leaving Jiyong and Daesung alone.

                “Argh, I have to go watch after him just in case if he does anything stupid. You just linger around, okay?”

                Jiyong nodded and smiled, giving him a thumbs-up. Watching Daesung disappear into the crowd as well, the boy let out a long sigh, feeling his heart sink. What were you thinking, Jiyong. Did you really think Seunghyun would stay with you 24/7? He is a rich playboy and won’t want to have anything to do with you.

                His throat feeling dry, he casually walked over to a place where they laid out beverages. He randomly selected a glass and downed it in one go.

                His eyes widened as he felt the unpleasant burning slide down his throat. What WAS this?

                “Woah, you’re a pretty awesome drinker.” A voice called out from behind him. Out of the crowd stepped a handsome guy, probably around Seunghyun’s age. “Do you handle alcohol very well?”

                “Ah… I guess?” Jiyong said, slightly laughing. To be honest, he’s never had alcohol before. He just turned 18.

                The guy laughed and offered his hand out to shake. “I’m Lee Seungri.”

                “Kwon Jiyong.” The boy said, smiling as he shook the friendly guy’s hand.

                “Dude name?”

                “Yeah, I’m cross-dressing right now.”

                Seungri’s eyes widened. “Woah, seriously? I thought you were a really pretty girl, no joke! WOAH.”

                Jiyong laughed. “Yeah, that wasn’t the first time I was told that today.”

                The two engaged in a lively conversation as Seungri offered Jiyong another drink. They conversed as if they had known each other their whole lives. They even went to the point that they exchanged numbers as well.

                Maybe this night wasn’t so bad at all. Jiyong thought, smiling.

                Seunghyun partied like he never did before. He immersed himself into the familiar vibe he oh so missed: pulsing music, hot girls, heated dancing, and alcohol.

                Alcohol.

                After some dancing, he waltzed over to the drinks bar and downed a glass of champagne in one go, just as Jiyong did. He saw the boy at the corner of his eye, standing alone, as if he were waiting for someone.

                “Who are you waiting for?” he asked, walking up to Jiyong. “You having fun so far?”

                The boy nodded brightly, smiling from ear to ear. “Yep! I’m having a lot of fun so far. I’m waiting on my new friend to come back with some good drinks.”

                New friend? Good drinks? “Who is it?” Seunghyun asked, his curiosity flaring up.

                “Lee Seungri. He’s so nice. We even exchanged numbers!”

                Lee Seungri? . Lee Seungri was one person you did not want to get involved with. He was 10 times as spoiled as Seunghyun and was a hardcore player. Plus, his father is head of the police force. If you get tangled up in some sort of mess with Seungri, you will be in deep trouble.

                He leaned forward closely to Jiyong and whispered. “You shouldn’t hang around with him.”

                The boy pouted at the beast. “What do you mean? He’s nice!”

                “Just because he’s nice…” Seunghyun started. “d-doesn’t.. argh..” He didn’t want to ruin Jiyong’s night or scare the poor boy. “He’s weird. C’mon. Let’s go before he comes back.” He grabbed his arm and began leading him away from the drinks bar.

                “W-What are you doing?” the boy shouted, feeling the beast’s grip tighten on his arm.

                “Taking you away.”

                The boy tried to open his mouth to say something but a shrill female’s voice entered his ears.

                “CHOI SEUNGHYUN. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I TRIED CALLING AND TEXTING YOU?”