It was an average morning. Coffee was brewing. The apartment was buzzing with humans that ambled in and out of the apartment. And when Park Sora locked the door to her room, she spied new prey. A man of twenty-five who had too many boxes to move by himself. His hair was slicked back, a confused look evident on his ivory skin. He was too handsome to play with. But Ha Min would be upset if she didn't share such candy with the club. Biting her lips, she ran a finger through her hair and nervously contemplated her decisions. He was too handsome. He would fit in so well, but the results were always disastrous. Boys would always be boys and girls would always be girls.

"Oh, um, good morning!" the man exclaimed. He brought her back to the reality. His smile was small and quaint. But as he rubbed the back of his neck, she could see the fatigue in his eyes. 

"Do you need some help?" she asked carefully. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist. But she still had to ask, she had to ask if there was some room for help, for anything. She fought back the chaotic thoughts that floated about in her mind. The man ran a finger through his dark hair, smiled softly and she could feel her heart tremble a bit. Her eyes widened when his eyes caught hers staring. In ten seconds, the man in front of her had her dangling for his heart. He would be banished for such things. 

"If you'd like to, of course," he stumbled as if he was surprised that he even played her heart strings correctly. Oh, Ha Min would be incredibly disappointed if she didn't bring him. She smiled brightly. She caught him so innocently. She caught a handsome man like this so easily. How long would it be before her looks would vanish and so would this ability? Leaving her thoughts alone once more, Sora picked up a box and carried it into the kitchen. Her fingers opened up the box labeled plates and opened the cabinets, counting plate after plate. 

"What made you move here?" she asked as she heard a clatter enter through the door. Clumsy, the boy was clumsy, how endearing. Clumsy boys were always secretly perfect. There was a cough and a delay in an answer, but she heard a crescendo of an answer. 

"I wanted a change of scenery," he said as he came back in with another box. Her eyes moved away from the plates and back to the male. Caught off guard ocne more, he smiled in her direction. His canine teeth and his dimple left her observing the boy even more. "And because my engineering job was getting the best of me," he added. With a smile, Sora followed him out of his apartment. A smart one too, she could never let his feet enter the building. He was innocent. He was so perfect though. It became a struggle between bettering the business or keeping him away from the tragedies. 

"And of course, your salary could afford an extravagent apartment like this," she answered. His apartment was the best one in the building. It had the perfect skyline and the most spacious. Sora would have stolen it if it wasn't for the fact that the landowner was one of her regulars. 

"You could say that," he said with a laugh when their eyes met once more. His carefree smile made her heart clench and twist. There should be a law to play games like these with her. She fell in attraction so easily. But his smile already left her breathless. "It was the only one available in this building," he continued. 

"Do you like living here?" he asked. 

Sora wanted to tell him the truth. Her apartment was spacious because there were others who paid for it. She was the pretty princess living off others. She wanted to tell him that it reeked of lust and tasted like metallic kisses. But she just smiled and said, "It's okay. Not really much like your apartment."

Before long, his dark chocolate eyes were staring deeply into hers. Covering , she didn't know what to do in such a situation. Most men didn't stare at her like that. She didn't know what to do other than look away and find the other boxes. But he stared until she found a box and clattered about into his apartment. Most men didn't want to linger too long. She was just theirs for the night. Not for forever. She was a toy and the males who wanted her needed an escape from reality. 

She created a fantasy. She was no fantasy. 

"Stop staring. It makes it hard on me!" she joked. He came out of his trance and she laughed at his dumbstruck appearance. Clumsy, blank and smart, what was he? A Korean pop star? He laughed along too and his laugh only felt like a haunting. But she wouldn't say anything about it. She happily hummed to songs, putting away box after box.  

"So what's your job?" he shot back from the doorway. Sora almost shattered the glasses in her hands, but she was used to these questions in this apartment building and she knew the perfect lie. 

"An accountant for a local business," she said. It was technically true. Ha Min always put her in charge of those things. He couldn't even count his own fingers. And he wouldn't dare ask one of the other employees because they had their eyes set on one thing, money. He seemed content with the response and went back to unpacking his boxes. 

"I'm Sora," she said after a few rounds. Her name was obsolete at this point. But a neighbor was still a neighbor and if he didn't run away, he would be a neighbor for a few years. And she'd like to acquaintance herself with him. He was too handsome to not know the name of. He was too attractive. 

"Jaehyun," he said without skipping a beat.

It was a quiet afternoon. They laughed and exchanged conversation until there were no more boxes to unpack. He offered her lemonade for the sunny day. She only obliged with a sweet smile. They sat on Jaehyun's old couch. The sun was starting to set and they were drinking lemonade out of wine glasses. Inexpensive drinks in fancy glasses, it was an interesting way to go about with things. 

"You want to go out for dinner?" he asked after she drank enough of her lemonade. Work, there was work to tend to. Work, work. But he wanted dinner. "For helping me with all this," he added. She bit her lips, not knowing what to do. But a plan hatched in her mind. It would kill two birds with one stone. 

"May I pay then?" she asked. 

"Shouldn't the gentleman take the tab?" he asked with a curious grin. It was out of the usual for anyone to pay for the other party, especially the one that was offering it. Sora laughed when he called himself a gentleman. "I'm very offended that you don't believe I'm a gentleman!" he exclaimed in mock shock. She laughed, her head resting on his shoulder as she did so. 

"Of course you are, but I know this place better than you do. It's your first night here too, let me show you a good time," she said when her laughter finally calmed down. She lifted her head off his shoulder, smiled once again and fixed her messy locks. 

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Jaehyun chuckled, running a finger through his own hair. Sora laughed once more. She left him believing that this would only be a casual dinner. 

"One catch, you have dress nice," she finished. The man looked at her accusingly. "I can't take you out if you don't look good. I have to dress pretty too," she continued. There was no reason for him to even be assuming anything other than that the tab might be expensive. Men were always strange. 

"I pay half then." 

"Fine, if you can get the check." 

"Deal, Miss Sora."

"I'll see you in twenty minutes then."

 

 

"Keep this a secret between you and me," Sora whispered as they approached the golden gates. Jaehyun was confused. There was nothing wrong about taking a guy out for dinner. Well, it was embarrasing for someone like himself. But why would he have to keep this a secret? As she opened the door, he understood nothing. The palace inside was alive with pretty women sitting on bars. Pouring champagne for businessmen. Regal, red walls only opposed the men sitting in booths. Leaving whispers of love into a woman's ear. People on stage only played instruments of amazement and every beautiful person hid their face behind masks. No one noticed him. No one stared at his suit or his gelled hair. But they stared at the seductress by his side. 

They stared at the white dress woman with the feathered white mask. They stared at her sparkling heels and her red lipstick. No one noticed Jaehyun, they noticed the one attached to his arm. 

"You're late like always, Ducky," Jaehyun heard. In front of him, was a thin man in dapper attire. His brown suit and bowtie was a homely feel. His catlike eyes stared at Jaehyun. A curious smile only appeared on his lips and he felt the man look at him like jewelry. "Are we going to keep him?" his icy voice spoke. 

Sora clutched onto Jaehyun's arm harder. When he agreed to come to her workplace, he didn't assume it was to be offered a job or judged for his appearance. But Sora only twisted a smile onto her lips. 

"No, not at all," she muttered. "He's my customer," she added carefully. The man raised an eyebrow in amusement. Again, he gazed at Jaehyun. A glint of murderous content flashed through his eyes and he nodded. 

"Very well, but Pinocchio wants you after you're done with this one." 

A shudder disappeared.

"Thank you, Quasi. I'll see you right after I send this one off," she mumbled. And with that, Sora took Jaehyun's hands, dragged him to an isolated booth. He watched how the others all stared at him interestedly. Others shouted Ugly Duckling. Sora smiled politely. Her replies were always short and bright.

"My hostess name is The Ugly Duckling. You just met Quasimodo or Ha Min, there are others, but I don't want to overwhelm you," Sora stated. 

"You work as a hostess?" he interrupted. The girl swallowed her annoyance with a smile. Men never truly knew when to forget their surprise or their reactions. She didn't want to keep him. Quasimodo could play with him when she was done. The motto of the club was going to leave her lips. 

"I make dreams come true in Neverland for those who are rich enough," Sora stated robotically with a roll of her eyes. "I'm also the accountant here. It's easier to say than hostess," she continued. The music was too loud to reach his ears and he stared blankly at her. Her ruby lips, her eyeliner that was winged at the corner, her warm cheeks. She was no innocent neighbor. She had games that Jaehyun wanted to play. It was a game he never saw coming. 

"I don't know what to say, Sora," he said. It was off-putting to be attracted to a female that had such a job. Men never wanted to be associated with girls who were always touched by males. They didn't want wandering females. But Sora knew things that would leave him leaveless. She put a lock of her dark hair behind her left ear, her hand onto his. There was a jolt in his heartbeat. "I rather not be..." he trailed. Sora only came closer over the table, her fingers reached towards for his face. He felt the heat rise into his cheeks. There was red on his own ears. This game would never be advantagous for someone like him. He looked beyond the feathered mask, undid the ribbon, opened Pandora's Box. "I really shouldn't, Sora," he muttered, his voice slowly turning against him. 

"But you really want to, don't you?" Sora whispered seductively into his ear. There was the voice of reason telling him that she was a tainted female with black bleeding all over. She was only someone who wanted him to spend money on her. But she didn't need the money. She never wanted the money. He saw it in her eyes. He saw how she bit her ruby lips, begging him to believe her in the end. It was an accident that they met. It wasn't because she really wanted anything out of him. She let him see the secrets. 

He let his lips feel hers. Oh, she tasted like a sea he never wanted to drown in. "Don't stay here, don't. They'll want you to stay. Don't stay," she whispered seriously. It was a warning. He knew it. He knew it so well, but he was infatuated. He was infatuated with a kiss and her lips. "I have to go," she mumbled. As she redid the mask, her fingers touched her lips, a secret meant for the two of them. And with a smile, Jaehyun saw someone else approach his table. 

"Ugly had to leave? May I sit here?"

Pretty blue dresses, pretty gold masks and long hair, he couldn't say no to Cinderella. He had to stay.