Sehun sighed as he cleaned the fireplace once again, as his stepbrothers sniggered at him. “Sehunderella, you missed a few spots here and there.” He bit his lip, and continued cleaning. “You’re no fun at all, let’s go, man.” One of his stepbrothers rolled his eyes and dragged the other away. What else could he do but clean?

A week later, his stepmother called a ‘family meeting’. Sehun felt it was more like a ‘family and maid meeting’ than anything. He crossed his legs and sat on the floor as the rest of the family sat on heavily cushioned chairs. His stepmother eyed him, her nose turned up.

“Anyway, the King has sent invitations around the country to find a proper husband for his daughter. You two will be going there and trying to win her hand in marriage. As far as I know, she’s a little bit out of control, but you two could handle her, I’m sure.” She smiled sweetly at her own sons, before glaring at her stepson. “You, on the other hand, will be preparing my darlings for the ball. Dress them up properly and take care of everything. You don’t need to go; the princess won’t notice measly trash like you.” She scoffed, stood up and left the room.

Sehun bit his lip once again, at the injustice of it all. He wanted to meet the princess too. He stood up and left the room, walking out to visit his friend, Suho. Suho was a good friend of his, who lived in the village. Suho’s parents were tailors, and he often gave Sehun good clothes for special occasions, such as his birthday.

When Suho heard that Sehun wasn’t allowed to go, he rolled his eyes and scoffed. “You’re going to go, and I’m going to help make sure of that. Now, go home and help your awful stepbrothers. I’ll even come over and help clean so you can come.”

Sehun scurried home, and helped with preparations at home. Suho, true to his word, delivered a tuxedo and tie to Sehun for him to wear, when no one else was at home but him. Sehun thanked him, and Suho left just as quickly as he came. Sehun had been cleaning the whole day, and he was almost done. He smiled at the clean house, and went back up to his room in the attic to get ready.

He ran out as his stepmother was waiting at the front door with his stepbrothers. “Please, let me go too!” Sehun pleaded with his stepmother as she smiled at him. “Boys, doesn’t Sehun look nice? Why don’t you tell him how he looks?” Sehun stepped back as his stepbrothers advanced towards him. They grabbed him and ripped his clothes apart, and laughed at him.

“Trash will always be trash, Sehun.” His stepmother cackled as she left with her sons, climbing into the carriage. Sehun sat there, not knowing what to do. He began sobbing, and buried his face in his hands.

Suddenly, a knock was heard. Sehun opened the door to see Suho standing there. Suho’s jaw dropped, and walked into the house. He took out a package from his bag and handed it to Sehun. “I knew this would happen, so hurry and get changed.” Sehun’s eyes began to tear up, as he ran off to get changed, thanking his friend over and over again in his heart.

Sehun stepped outside, and Suho pretty much yanked him into the carriage he had brought along with him. Suho sat Sehun down and fixed his hair, to make him look more handsome. “Remember to meet me outside by twelve midnight; I heard from my mother that your stepmother will leave at twelve thirty.” He warned.

“Suho?” “Yes, Sehun?” “Are you a fairy godmother?” “Yah! Do I look like a woman to you?”

By the time they reached, the ball was in full swing. Suho grabbed Sehun’s wrist and dragged him in, in case he got cold feet. Sehun saw his stepbrothers greet the princess, who seemed nonchalant. She gave them a half smile as she greeted them back.

Sehun had finally managed to break free from Suho’s grip, and was wandering around, trying to hide from his stepfamily. He was awestruck as he looked around and saw beautiful paintings and people dressed in the finest fashion.

He stepped out onto the balcony, his mind needing a break. He felt someone tap his shoulder, only to notice that the princess was standing behind him. “I didn’t see you come greet me, so I came to find you myself. My brother pointed out that you’d be here.” He smiled sheepishly, and bowed to her. “I should have greeted you, but I was a little distracted.”

She shook her head at him, “Honestly, I hate these balls. I had no choice, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to get out of there for ages. You know the Lee brothers? They came today, and boy, are they awful. Always trying to up to me.” Sehun grimaced as she insulted his stepbrothers.

“You know, Oh Sehun, you’re pretty cool. Come dance with me, please? I’d rather not end up dancing with any of those other guys.” He stared at her in disbelief, as she rolled her eyes and pulled him back inside to the dance floor.

He gulped as the princess guided his hands to the right position to hold her, saying, “I’ve never danced before.” She grinned up at him, and said, “Don’t you worry, it’s easy. Trust me.”

His stepbrothers noticed him and quickly notified their mother, who was horrified to see her stepson dancing with the princess. She had turned down her own sons, after all. Suho smirked at the sight of Sehun’s stepmother. The woman was nasty, and he wouldn’t have his sister dancing with the spawn of such a woman. He turned his attention back to the princess and Sehun, who were smiling at each other.

The other couples joined in, and she led Sehun away from the crowd and back to the balcony. Sehun’s stepmother tried to reach out to them, but Suho shut the balcony door and pulled the curtains down. He glared at her as she hissed at him, storming off.

Sehun and the princess talked and laughed all night long, truly having a good time. “You know, Sehun, it’s been nice getting to talk to you. I had my doubts when my brother brought you up when we were eating dinner together, but he was right.” She slipped her hand into his larger ones, and flashed him a sweet smile. It was safe to say that Sehun was captivated by the woman in front of him.

She tiptoed and kissed his cheek, blushing. “You made me really happy, thank you.” At that moment, someone threw a pitcher of water at them. Sehun’s stepbrothers had managed to sneak onto the balcony when Suho was busy attending to something else. “Oh Sehun, how dare you go behind mother’s back and come?”

One of the stepbrothers grabbed the princess by her wrist and dragged her out into the main hall. He yelled out to the crowd, “The princess had agreed to marry me, and we will be happy together!” Cheers erupted from the crowd as the villain next to her pulled her into his embrace. Suho, knowing something was up, pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the pair.

“You get the hell away from my sister, you rat! How dare you claim she would marry one such as you?” The crowd went silent as Suho punched Sehun’s stepbrother. Sehun had managed to escape from the clutches of his other stepbrother, and came just in time to witness the scene. He had never seen Suho get so angry before and rushed over to pull Suho back.

“Hyung, don’t do this! It makes you no better than him!” Suho stopped struggling and began breathing hard, lightly pushing Sehun’s arms away from him. The princess launched herself into Sehun’s arms and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest.

The king came over, and boomed, “What in the name is going on here? Would someone please explain?” The princess finally spoke up and said, “Father, this man claimed I agreed to marry him when I never did anything of the like!” She pointed to Sehun’s stepbrother, her gaze ice cold. Suho was using the same look as well, thoroughly pissed off.

The guards at this point, had picked the man off the floor and were prepared to him out at the king’s wish. The king waved his hand dismissively and they took him away. The princess brightened up and once, and taking Sehun’s hand in hers, she introduced him to her father.

“Your Highness, I would like to present to you Oh Sehun, the man I want to marry.” Sehun froze mid bow and slowly straightened his back. “M-marry?” Suho put his hand on Sehun’s shoulder and looked at his father. “I can vouch for her choice, he is a good man. However, he has been mistreated by his own family, and never once complained!” At this, he turned to glare at the remaining stepbrother and stepmother, who briskly walked out to avoid embarrassment.

“If he makes you happy, dear, you can marry him.” The princess turned to Sehun and hugged him.

“Oh Sehun, would you marry me?”

“So, mom, did they get married?” The little girl’s eyes shone. “They sure did, honey. They had a child too, and she’s very pretty.” The girl’s mother laughed as she tucked her daughter into bed. “Go to sleep, dear. More stories await you tomorrow!”

She closed the door and was met by the sight of her husband, Sehun. “Hey there, Sehun.” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. “I missed you, princess.” She rolled her eyes, before saying, “Come on, Oh Sehun. Go get changed and showered and we can watch a movie or something.” Sehun lit up and asked, “Cinderella?”

She laughed, “If that’s what you want.” He grinned at her as he ran off to get showered.

“Suho oppa, thank you for introducing me to Sehun. You’re the best brother ever.”