I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream

 

At the corner of the street, in Sinsa, is a small perfume store. Even if it doesn’t look very fancy, it hides the most beautiful perfumes. It is famous for the unique and pure smells. It is also known for the beautiful lady who helps women and men find the perfect perfume.

No one works there, except her. Lee Soyoung. No one knows how she manages it but she does a great job.

“Can I help you with something?”

Her smile is always soft and friendly. Her eyes become two crescent moons when she laughs and she makes people feel safe.

“The music box. It has a small bottle of perfume inside, doesn’t it?” A customer asked the pretty lady. 

Soyoung nodded and took it off the rack. 

“How much is it?” The customer continued. Soyoung glanced at the young lady before her eyes fell on the perfume in her hands.

“Enough.”

The girl chuckled and got out her wallet. She was serious about buying it ever since she heard from her friends about that specific perfume. No one ever bought it even if many had the intention to.

“I have enough, believe me. Just tell me the price,”

Soyoung raised an eyebrow and glanced at the young girl. She was just a student, wasn’t very thin but she had a likable face. She didn’t know how to use make up properly but she had enough money to go to a saloon.

“Come with me,”

The girl followed Soyoung closely. They walked through a door that led to a corridor. The whole place seemed completely different than the front part of the building. It actually looked bigger than what she remembered.

“How does it smell?” The girl was really curious. Soyoung stopped in front of an old wood door. She smiled and turned the doorknob.

“Like magic.” 

She opened the door and let the girl enter first. The student was mesmerized. The room was beautiful. She could smell different scents that made her feel like floating. It was amazing. But the best thing was yet to be seen.

“Wow!”

The mirror on the wall was the best feature of the room. It was made of silver and diamonds. It was shining in the light and it made her feel beautiful.

The girl went in front of the mirror unconsciously and closed her eyes before she whispered, “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the prettiest of all?”

She didn’t feel anything weird. She didn’t hear anything; not that she was expecting something. It was only a beautiful mirror. After a few seconds of standing there, she was ready to open her eyes. However, she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“I am.” 

The whisper sent chills down her spine. She opened her eyes in time to see Soyoung’s reflection in the mirror. Her eyes widened. Soyoung pushed her head inside the mirror and absorbed the youth and beauty of the student. Once she finished, the room became dark and cold.

The student was still alive; only unconscious. Soyoung chuckled and looked at her reflection once again. She looked better. Her eyes became bigger and clearer while her skin was smooth and she swore she was taller.

Another diamond appeared around the mirror. Another piece had been added to the puzzle.

 

 

The girl woke up in the front part of the store. She couldn’t remember what happened after she asked Soyoung how much it costed.

“You fainted after you smelled it. It seems you have an allergic reaction to it.” 

The girl frowned. She didn’t buy that perfume. Instead, she bought one recommended by Soyoung. It smelled fresh; like rain.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” 

The girl left the shop with new found melancholy. It felt like something was missing. Soyoung watched silently as her customer walked out. She smirked when she remained alone. She looked down at her hand and saw green energy swaying around it.

“Magic, indeed,” She chuckled and waited for the next customer. 

The day had only just begun.

 

 

 

“I don’t want you to buy me a perfume. I am a man!” Dongjun was really annoyed that his friend was making him get into that girly shop.

“You’ve been using the same perfume for a long time now! Be a man and change it! Here, I’ll give you a push,” 

Kwanghee literally pushed Dongjun inside the small shop.Once they placed foot inside that place, nothing really changed in their demeanor. They were still boys. Dongjun glared at his friend and pushed him slightly.

“Why did you push me?” 

Kwanghee rolled his eyes and entered deeper into the shop.

“I told you I’ll give you a push. Here. This one looks interesting,” Dongjun had to keep up with his friend. He was moving around, looking at everything.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Hyungsik too? Isn’t that why we met here? Do you remember what we talked on the phone? The group date,” He lowered his voice when he mentioned the last part.

“Can I help you with something?” Soyoung appeared suddenly in the room. Of course, she was already there but they really didn’t notice her. Her big eyes and kind smile made the two remain speechless. She was beautiful.

“My friend here needs a perfume. Something sweet but manly.” 

She tilted her head so she could look better at the friend in need. He was trying not to look flustered.

“I’m sure we can find something.” 

Soyoung walked towards a shelf and started to search for something. Kwanghee was ready to go after her when Dongjun grabbed his arm.

“What about Hyungsik? And the date?” 

Kwanghee patted his friend on the shoulder but kept his eyes on Aida.

“We have enough time for that later. He can call us when he gets here.”Dongjun rolled his eyes when he saw how excited his friend became. He was very interested how each perfume smelled like. 

Truthfully, Dongjun was more curious how the group date will go.

Hyungsik did finish late his photoshoot. When he got in Sinsa, he didn’t see his friends. They were supposed to meet in front of Abercrombie. They weren’t there. He sighed and called Dongjun.

“Where are you?” He could hear the voice of a woman in the back. “And who’s there with you?”

“There’s a shop around the corner. Just come here. Kwanghee got himself busy with some perfumes.” 

Hyungsik sighed. Of course it was Kwanghee’s idea. 

“By the way, the shop is called Grimhilde.” The model frowned. What kind of name was that?

 

 

When Hyungsik entered Grimhilde, he didn’t expect to feel so dizzy. It was a perfume shop and he could smell a lot of scents mixed together but he was sure it wasn’t because of that.

“Hey,”

Dongjun was leaning against the counter bored. Kwanghee was talking to a lady. They had their backs turned to him.

“How long does he need? We have that group date in 10 minutes. The girls will come soon.” Dongjun sighed. “What’s so interesting about this place anyway?” The blonde shrugged.

“I guess we’re not girls so we can’t see the magic of it.” The two boys chuckled together.

“Alright. I’m done.” 

Dongjun and Hyungsik were more than happy to hear that. Kwanghee bought two perfumes and pushed one in Dongjun’s arms. 

“Thank me later.”

While the two started to bicker again, Hyungsik had the chance to see Soyoung. She was beautiful. Actually, she looked unrealistically beautiful. He didn’t even realize just how intense he was staring at her.

“Is there something wrong?” Her voice didn’t seem weird at all. She wasn’t necessarily suspicious but maybe he was thinking about it in too much detail.

“No. Sorry.” 

She smiled and nodded. She glanced at his friends and chuckled.

“Not many guys enter this shop. And not many guys are so undecided about their perfume,” Hyungsik rolled his eyes but laughed nonetheless.

“That’s Kwanghee for you,” His eyes moved around and he noticed the music box. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him stare with such concentration at the box. “It has a bottle of perfume in it,” She nodded. His statement was correct. “How much is it?”

“Enough,” 

Hyungsik glanced at her and chuckled, “How much is enough?” 

She shrugged innocently. She was messing around with him. 

“How does it smell?”

“Like magic.” She was using the same words she would normally tell to a girl. But he wasn’t a girl.

“And how does that smell?” She chuckled and shook her head. He was either a smartass or he was just curious. He was tricking her without doing much.

“I don’t know. It smells different to everyone. That’s the magic of it,” He hummed. He was almost caught in her web. That stopped when his phone rang. The spell broke.“Oh. I have to go,” He rushed to his friends and told them the girls were waiting. 

Dongjun almost ran out while Kwanghee took his time. Hyungsik turned to her and smiled cutely. 

“See you another time.”

Once he left the shop, Soyoung felt different. She felt playful. She liked that guy and he was quite handsome too.

The group date went well. Hyungsik forgot about Soyoung rather quickly. For the next few months, he had enough to care about.

 

 

 

It was a sunny day and Hyungsik had a photoshoot later in the afternoon. He was excited because he was going to work with a close friend of his. He didn’t even feel the day passing by and he definitely didn’t want to go back to the dorm. Kwanghee was being fussy lately for some reason.

Ever since he got himself that new perfume, he became paranoid and easily annoyed. Same with Dongjun. It was like they were possessed but Hyungsik shrugged that off. They were a little stressed with work and that was probably the main reason why they were acting like that.With those thoughts in mind, Hyungsik ended up in front of Grimhilde. He just stopped in front of the shop to look for his phone. Right when he was ready to make a call, he dropped it.

“Here,”

Hyungsik didn’t have time to grab it because someone else did it instead. His eyes widened when he saw her again. 

She was familiar but he couldn’t make out why exactly. She tilted her head to the side and pushed the phone in his hands.She turned her back to him and closed the door to Grimhilde. She could feel him staring at her intensely. Soyoung glanced at him over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Is your phone alright?” 

Hyungsik blinked quickly and got back to normal. He nodded even if he didn’t even check it yet. She chuckled and shook her head. 

“Would you like to help me with something?” 

He nodded unconsciously. He was curious from where exactly he knew her.

Hyungsik followed Soyoung to a side street. He didn’t know if he should be scared for his safety or for hers. She didn’t look like she could defend herself.

“Where are we going?” 

She didn’t respond. After a few more minutes, she stopped in front of a luxurious apartment building. Hyungsik’s mouth opened as he stared at the building. He didn’t even notice that she already entered.

“Hey! Wait!” He ran to her just in time. The door was electrical and he might have had remained outside. “Are we even allowed in this place?” Hyungsik asked curiously. She stared at him blankly.

“I live here.” 

His eyes widened.Suddenly, the whole situation became very uncomfortable. Soyoung was taking him to her house. He didn’t even want to know what she wanted help with. No, no. Hyungsik shook his head. She didn’t look like that kind of woman. Besides, she could get any man she wanted. He was nothing special.

The ride in the elevator was long. Hyungsik couldn’t even think about something normal. Even if he didn’t want to, his heart was beating fast in expectation. He was really nervous; he wasn’t supposed to have any expectation in the first place. When the doors opened, he gulped.

“What exactly am I going to help you with?” He asked warily.

Soyoung grabbed her keys and unlocked the door. She opened it widely and encouraged him to enter first. Once inside, his crazy ideas just faded away. Her house was really messy. Like, he never imagined he would enter a girl’s apartment and find such a mess. It was worse than the boys dormitories.

“I’ve been very busy lately. My sister lived here for a while but now she moved back in with our parents. I need extra help to clean.” She looked genuinely embarrassed.

Hyungsik sighed in disappointment. He thought he was going to do something meaningful and mysterious. She had that mysterious vibe around her. He only had to clean, sadly.

The cleaning process took the whole day. He was tired and just fell on the couch when they finished. His clothes got wrinkled and his back hurt. Soyoung didn’t seem tired, though. She smiled kindly and bowed. He was surprised.

“I’m sorry and thankful at the same time. I tricked you into helping me clean my own house.” He waved his hand like it wasn’t such a big deal. Unfortunately, it was a big deal. He lost one day for nothing. “Let me at least give you a present,” He tilted his head to the side and watched her enter her bedroom. she came back a few minutes later with a beautiful shaped box in her hand. “Here,” She smiled cutely and pushed it towards him.

“It’s fine.” 

He didn’t want her present for some weird reason. It felt weird. She shook her head and pushed it forward.

“I want you to have it. I want you to taste the magic of it.” He didn’t understand. He was too tired to comprehend her words and the meaning behind them so in the end, he sighed and took it. Inside the box was bottle of perfume. It was in the shape of a crown. He was amazed by it and wanted to smell it but she stopped him. “Don’t-” He looked up at her. “Do it when you’re alone. No one can smell it, except you.” 

When Hyungsik left, he still felt weird. The present he got was even weirder. He couldn’t point out why he felt so suspicious. She was a beautiful woman with nothing to hide, right? She was harmless.

But So Young was anything but harmless. She watched him depart from the window. She smirked leaned her head against the glass.

“Don’t disappoint me, Prince Charming,”

She sighed and closed the curtains. She had to prepare for a new day and a new playmate.