CHAPTER 4

 

The boy was clad in a rather expensive dress—it was even more extravangant than any of the other dresses that were inside his closet. His mother had also ordered someone to put make-up on him, and it felt so itchy on his face. The boy wanted to scratch and wipe it away, but his mother had told him that if he ever does, she would lock him inside his room again. Not only that, she warned him that the lights would be turned off, and that was the last thing that he would want to happen because he hated the dark.

The boy furrowed his brows as he watched the house workers pacing back and forth. The mansion felt so much livelier with the curtains tied up and the doors opened. The gloominess of the house seemed to have faded away. Then he looked up and saw the dazzling lights hanging above him. He could remember his nanny telling him what it was, but he had forgotten. What was that again? He thought to himself. "Chan... Chande..." The boy tried to figure out what the word was, but he couldn't seem to get it right. He only let out a dejected sigh when he wasn't able to answer his question. He thought that could always just ask his nanny eomma what it was called anyway.

Speaking of his nanny eomma, he had not seen her since he had woken up. It was another lady, whom he had never met before, that took care of him, dressed him up, and was now by his side that day. He looked up to her and the lady immediately gave him a toothy smile. "You look like you have something to ask me, young miss. What is it?" She asked, bent her knees and matched the boy's level. The lady reached out for his cheek and lightly pinched it. She seemed nice and polite, but she was not as talkative as his nanny eomma was. The lady that was with him now was quiet and she rarely talked to the boy unless Yeon Ji asked her. What bothered the boy the most was how whenever he would go inside, the lady was sure to follow him. She did not leave his side. And every now and then, she would ask him what he was doing or what he was thinking. This is, of course, only when he is wearing his dress. Otherwise, the lady would not open at all.

The boy simply shook his head and gave her a smile in return.

"Okay," The lady smiled at him. "But if you need something, just tell me, okay?"

The boy in his dress nodded.

When they made their way out of the mansion and into the garden, the boy saw countless chairs and tables being arranged by some of the house workers. No one seemed to notice his presence as every single one of them seemed very focused on what they were doing. The house workers were also dressed formally. They all have the same tailored clothes and everyone looked so presentable. He knew what day it was. The boy knew exactly what the occassion was—It was his 10thbirthday. It had been ten years since the day that he was born, and every year, they would always celebrate it. However, that day somehow felt different. Everyone was putting more effort in preparing for his special day. It was as if they were going to throw a very big party for the little boy. How could he not think so when there was that big television screen installed outside the garden, and there was also a similar one inside the mansion? What differed between the two was that there was a podium placed inside the spacious living room next to where the wide screen was installed.

"Please don't touch anything yet, young miss," The lady that was standing next to the boy spoke up, startling him that he almost had the vase on the table toppling. Immediately, another maid was taking his hand aside all the while uttering soft apologies to him. She rearranged the vase back to its original position and had made sure that the baby pink tablecloth was straightened. The boy watched all of her actions, still feeling a bit shaken. He was simply attracted to the white rose and did not realize that he was absentmindedly touching the stem of the rose while he looked around the garden. If it weren't for the lady next to him and the other maid, he probably would have cut himself from the rose's thorn. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as he already knew how his mother would react if she were to find out that he got himself wounded on such a special day.

From then on, the lady held his hand and had never let it go. At first, she allowed him to wander off silently, but after almost causing an accident, she decided to finally do her job and speak to the boy. As they walked around, the lady chatted with him, asking him about his thoughts on the extravagant decorations not only inside the mansion, but as well as the garden. The boy, of course, chose his words carefully and was honest when he was asked. When they came across some house workers putting up some bunting, he murmured something among the lines of, "It's my face..." He placed his free hand on his cheek as if he could not believe that the person on the pink and white bunting flags was him. The person that he would see in the mirror at nights was the person whom he believed to be his real self to be, while the one that was wearing the beautiful birthday dress was the mansion's princess—the Lord and the Lady's one and only daughter.

"Of course it is you, young miss," The lady on his side answered him, bringing him back to his senses once again. "It is your birthday after all." She tugged the boy's hand and proceeded to show him the huge glittered banner that was currently being hung just right behind where the big television screen was. Written on there was: 'Happy Birthday' along with the name 'Cha Yeon Ji' in a large font—"Isn't it amazing, young miss? Later, when the evening comes, there would also be pretty sparkling lights." She waved her hand above their heads to get the boy to look up and see the lights. He did follow where she wanted him to look at and he then saw the lights that she was referring to. "I assure you that it would feel like there are fireflies here tonight—or even better," The lady's smile widened, "It would seem like you could reach the sky if you see the lights as stars instead of fireflies. Either of them works, but you should definitely look forward for it. If I am right, the madame also prepared some wonderful fireworks for tonight. You would love to see them, right? Just like in the fairy tale movies that madame bought you?"

The boy gaped, still processing her words. He longed to see the fireworks for so long. His nanny eomma always talked to him about it and how they were so nice to watch in the dark sky. However, she would always explain to him that because his parents wanted him to stay safe, they did not allow him to come near fireworks or even watch them. It especially did not help that he was still very young and fireworks were dangerous for him to play with. The boy remembered being disappointed each time he would ask his nanny eomma if he could try the fireworks, as her answer had always been 'No.'

The lady next to him chuckled before she closed his mouth with her hand. "Don't get too excited now, young miss. Time will come and you will see a party like the ball that Cinderella went to." She tugged at his hand once again to take him back inside the mansion, but she stopped before the doors to point at the white and pink roses decorating the doors and as well as the twinkling decorations that were hanging above the tall doors. The boy naturally followed her guidance and immediately spotted the ornaments that she was referring to. In addition, he noticed that the curtains were of different colour. Before, the curtains were of dull blue shade, but now, it was changed to both gold and white.

"Excuse me, young miss," A maid that was passing through said in a rush as she brushed past the boy. The lady that was with him, again, luckily caught him and had him out of the way before a collision. The maid was holding up a box over her head that it made the boy wonder what was inside, but due to the fact that the lady was already telling him to come inside the mansion, he simply shook his head and told himself in his mind, I will see it later anyway.

The madame had been going all around the mansion, her secretary on her side, as she instructed the house workers how she wanted the decorations to be like for her precious daughter's birthday party. She made sure to pay attention even to the littlest details and would ask the house workers to change whenever she catches their clothes being even the slightest dirty. Upon reaching the garden, however, she caught sight of the hanging bunting above them in an instant. The madame grimaced and immediately called for the one responsible for it. When a timid maid came up in front of her and her secretary, she asked, her voice laced with a bit of annoyance, "Why did you hang these? Can't you see that it does not fit and the lights would be covered if you put the bunting up?"

The maid kept bowing her head down as she apologized, "I am terribly sorry, madame. I-I thought that because it was at the back, that I should hang them—"

"It was put at the back for a reason," The madame snapped at her before she dismissed her and demanded that she take them down as soon as possible or she would fire her. Scampering to do as she was told, the maid went to fetch the ladder at once. The madame turned to her side and asked her secretary what else she has not checked.

"We have been to every place," Her secretary replied. "According to your checklist, everything is already set." She quickly wrote something down on her clipboard before she continued, "That is with the exception of the garden because of the bunting and..." The secretary trailed off when another maid went up to the madame and briefly asked what colour they should choose for the napkins.

The madame answered her with her typical 'isn't-it-obvious' tone of voice, "Alternate between White or Gold," She said, flashing a wide smile at maid. "Now get to it."

The maid nodded and then, another one stood behind them to ask a different question, "Excuse me, madame. I would just like to ask what your preference is for the size of the glass? Should it be—"

"The one on the right," The madame said as soon as she saw that the maid was going to hold up two kinds of glasses. The maid then put her head down to excuse herself before she hurriedly set down the type of glass that the madame wanted on the tables. The madame let out an exhausted sigh, "So, except for the garden, everything else inside the mansion are settled?"

"Yes, madame," The secretary replied.

Hearing her words, the madame clasped her hands together. "I am so excited!" She said dreamily. "Everything looks so wonderful now... Just a bit more and my princess' party would be perfect..." It was more like she was speaking to herself rather than to her secretary, but her secretary nodded along to her words anyway—"Speaking of which, where is Yeon Ji?" The madame asked, breaking out of her dreamy thoughts of the birthday party. She snapped her fingers and caught every house workers' attention. "Someone get Yeon Ji to come down here," She commanded.

Afraid of the possible consequences, a maid that was simply helping out the others, volunteered and told the madame that she would be the one to call her child. She excused herself and went back inside the mansion to do as she was told. Minutes later, the same maid came back with the madame's child trailing behind her. "The madame was calling for you," The maid whispered to the boy when he looked utterly confused about the sudden summon. As soon as he heard those words, he gulped and straightened himself up just like how his mother would like him to act.

Upon seeing her child, the madame's lips curled into a smile. "You'll follow everything that Mummy has to say, right?" She said, caressing the boy's cheek.

He immediately noticed the smile on her face, but he knew too, that it was forced and faked. A chill ran down his spine just seeing her act that way so he nodded his head, hoping that it would cover up the nervousness that he was feeling. "Y-Yes, Mummy."

"That's my princess," The madame said with a satisfied grin on her face. "Go upstairs and don't e