A long time ago in Manhattan, there was this this beautiful girl named Chen who lived to do nails. Her family ran a nail salon in alley on small street. It wasn't very impressive and not very popular, but the people who knew about it said it was the best nail shop in the world. Chen’s  mother was a manicurist and her father ran their little shop from his office in the back. Chen was always in the front with her mother, watching as she seemed to change people's lives simply by putting polish on their nails.

"A manicure can make or break someone's day, so you have to be diligent, be kind, and be precise." Chen's mother made sure her daughter remembered her words "This is important for manicures and in life, so never forget."

Chen never forgot her mother's words. The little girl had grown into a young woman who had unfortunately had too many hardships in her life. Chen’s mother had passed away and was soon followed by her father who died of a broken heart. Their nail shop had been bought by an evil old woman who forced Chen to work for absolutely nothing. She worked long hours and when she was done, she always smelled like nail polish remover. The old woman gave the girl a small room in the run-down building next door that she shared with two other girls that nicknamed her Chenderella. When asked about it, the girls said it was because most people would be angry or sad about how Chen was living, but the girl was so kind that she didn't fight it. She was happy as long as she was in her parents' shop making people happy with manicures.

One night while Chen was cleaning her table off, her friend and coworker Lien sat next to her "Chenderella, have you heard?"

"Heard what?" asked Mei, their other roommate who had wheeled her chair over.

"There's going to be a party tomorrow night and I heard that there will be some rich, single businessmen there." Lien leaned on Chen’s shoulder and whispered "This is our chance to get out of here."

Chen wasn’t sure if it really was, but she hadn't had any fun in a really long time. "It would be nice to go out after being cooped up in here for so long."

"Oh this is going to be so exciting!" Lien was so loud that it caught the ear of the evil old lady.

The woman came from out of the back office and glared at the three girls "And what exactly is so exciting?" Lien and Chen immediately stood and bowed to the woman while staring at the floor silently. The old woman was growing impatient since the three girls had not answered her questions. She grabbed a fistful of Chen's hair and pulled "What is so exciting?!"

The poor girl tried to ignore the pain "There's a party we want to go to tomorrow. Please?"

The old woman released Chen and tapped her pointed chin "No. There is too much work here that needs to be done. So stop thinking about parties and get back to work!"

---

The night of the party came and Chen was in her small room where she could see the searchlights in the sky. She had never asked for anything, but she really wanted to see the outside world again just once. "Hey, look what I found!" Chen turned to see Lien bring out a long red dress that had hem dotted with little white flower petals and a pair of silver high-heeled sandals.

"That would be a perfect outfit to wear to the party." Mei looked over the outfit that had been pulled from the dirty closet of their room. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks "Chenderella, you should wear that to the party! You're the prettiest out of all of us. You're sure to attract a rich guy and save us from that mean old lady."

Before Chen could argue, the other two girls pulled her into the closet and got her changed into the gown and shoes. There are no words to describe how Chen looked, but to say she looked amazing would be an understatement.

"Now don't forget the old lady is coming to check in on us at midnight so you have to be back before then," Lien warned.

"Hurry now, you don't have much time!" Mei rushed the girl off. Chen promised to be back before midnight and was off to the party.

The party was much more than anything that Chen could have ever imagined. There were bright lights, good food and lots of beautiful people. Chen wasn't sure where to focus her eyes, but all the eyes of the businessmen were focused on her. They stared at her like she was a star that had fallen from the sky. There was one very handsome businessman named Xiumin who was the only one brave enough to ask Chen to dance. She agreed and the two laughed and talked and danced for what felt like the whole evening. It was the most fun Chen had had since her parents had passed away. Unfortunately, the it was nearing midnight and Chen had to leave before she was caught by the evil old lady. As she was about to run off Xiumin grabbed her hand "Please tell me your name before you go!"

"It's Ch--" Chen could see one of the church clock towers from one of the windows "I'm sorry but I have to go." Chen pulled her hand free and one of her fake nails came off in the process. She paid it no mind, but Xiumin had seen and he picked it up from the floor. He didn't know the beautiful princess's name but he would use her nail to find her.

---

A few days later there was a buzz going around that one of the businessmen at from the party was looking for a girl he had met. "Apparently, he only has her nail as a clue," Mei laughed as she kept reading the article on her phone.

"There's no way he's going to find her with just that," Lien rolled her eyes "It's not possible."

"Well it says he's searching Manhattan high and low for this girl."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Xiumin. You know, the owner of the biggest nail salon chain ever."

The girls stopped their conversation when the doorbell to the shop rang. The old lady came out and gave a sly smile at the nice looking man "How may I help you?"

"That's the guy from the article!" Mei looked back and forth between the man and her phone.

Chen had just finished her client's manicure when the old woman pulled her over to stand in front of the man who had come in "Chenderella here will take good care of you sir."

Chen's eyes widened in recognition of the man. It was the man from the party standing in front of her. She smiled brightly hand held out her hand "It's nice to meet you."

Xiumin noticed the missing nail from her ring finger. He looked at her other nails and he knew the design of all white and a cherry blossom branching down from the tip. He pulled out the nail from his jacket pocket "I believe this is yours." Lien, Mei and the old lady all stared in shock as Chen nodded. She remembered that her nail had came off the night of the party, but she didn't know that Xiumin had found it. "I'm happy I found you," the businessman took the beautiful girl into his arms and kissed her.

 

Xiumin and Chen were soon married and two beautiful children. Xiumin's company took over the shop which was redecorated in the memory of Chen's parents. Lien and Mei were matched with wealthy businessmen of their own and started their lives anew. The only person who didn’t fare well was the mean old lady who now lived alone among the stray cats. Oh well. Anyway, they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

---

A/N: I hope you enjoyed my little fairytale. I know it's kinda creepy for Xiumin to keep a girl's nail in his pocket but I had to make it short. Sorry if there were any mistakes, this was not proofread. Once again, I hoped you liked it! Kthxbaii!

-씨에라