“We may say that the characters in fairytales are ‘good to think with’…[and that] the job of the fairytale is to show that Why? questions cannot be answered except in one way: by telling the stories. The story does not contain the answer, it is the answer.”  - Bryan Wicker

     Once upon a time, in a land, far far away, there lived a little boy called Minseok. He was very fortunate because he had a very loving father called Kris. Minseok’s mother had died while giving birth to him and sometimes Minseok felt the need for a mother’s love and affection.

Kris, once he noticed his young son's suffering of not having somebody to spoil him and comfort him when he was sad, he decided to get a second husband in the hopes that Minseok would finally get the affection he had always wanted.

When Minseok had found out about his father’s decision to re-marry he had been content because his greatest wish had been to have a complete family and to enjoy the warmth and kindness of one. His future father’s name was Kyungsoo and Minseok thought he looked really kind. He also had two sons, named Baekhyun and Jongdae, who were close to Minseok’s age. Minseok was sure that he would finally get the happy family he had dreamed off for such a long time. 

Things didn’t go as planned, however, because Minseok soon found out that his stepfather was really evil and that appearances could be really deceiving. In front of his father Kyungsoo acted all nice and innocent but behind his back he treated Minseok like a servant, always forcing him to clean the house or cook. His stepbrothers were perfect replicas of their father and they were making fun of Minseok and playing jokes on him all day long.

Minseok was starting to dread getting up everyday because he was aware of how much hard work they would make him do and how badly they would treat him. He cried himself to sleep every night because he didn’t want to make his father sad. Kris seemed to be really happy with Kyungsoo and Minseok, being the good son that he was, didn’t want to ruin that. He was willing to sacrifice himself for his father’s happiness.

His father was gone almost all the time due to business reasons so Minseok was in the care of Kyungsoo and he hated that. His father was completely blind to Kyungsoo’s machinations and Minseok had to bear the consequences of it.

One day it was announced in all the kingdom that the oldest son of King Suho was looking for a husband and that a ball was going to be organized, especially for this occasion. Minseok was convinced he would never be able to attend the party but he could imagine at least what it would be like to be there. He imagined all the participants would be dressed very elegantly and that the prince would be dashing and he would literally sweep Minseok off his feet. He would fall for Minseok in an instant and declare to the whole world that he wanted to marry him. King Suho would agree to the match and they would live happily ever after. Yeah, right. That only happens in fairytales and Minseok was no damsel in distress. He had a difficult life but he was not weak. He would carry out his destiny until the end.

Soon after this announcement, Kyungsoo had come to him and informed him that he would be attending the ball together with his two sons. He started enunciating all of his sons’ qualities which apparently, in his opinion, guaranteed, that one of them would marry the prince. Minseok could not deny both Baekhyun’s and Jongdae’s physical charms but their hearts were rotten and he was sure that the prince would figure it out eventually. That was what he hoped at least. He was almost positive that the prince was really a good guy and he didn’t deserve to have a husband who would only want him for his wealth and status.

Still, Minseok could not stop the prince from marrying Baekhyun or Jongdae if that was his intention and that made him sad.

Kyungsoo continued with his speech and informed Minseok that he would be taking care of the house while they were away. Minseok was not surprised but he couldn’t help being a little jealous because he loved dancing and a party would be the perfect opportunity for him to have at least a bit of fun. 

Finally the day of the ball arrived and it seemed that Kyungsoo and his sons had put in extra effort to make the house look really untidy and dirty. Minseok would probably have to clean all day long to be able to clear all the mess they had caused. That was probably their plan to make sure that the thought of attending the ball didn’t even cross Minseok’s mind.

After they had all gotten ready, Kyungsoo reminded Minseok once again of all his chores and Baekhyun and Jongdae had saluted him, more like kicked him once again, before heading towards the place where the party would take place.

Minseok felt miserable and tears were starting to form in his eyes. He wished for a miracle but he was sure there was nobody out there to listen to him. Now that wasn’t completely true because all the babies of the kingdom were assigned a Fairy Godfather at birth and Minseok was no exception. All of a sudden, a very young-looking and handsome boy appeared in front of Minseok and he was stunned.

“W-what are you doing here? Who are you?” Minseok felt his heartbeat increasing because of fear. He had no clue who the person in front of his was and he was afraid it might a thief.

“I am not here to rob you Minseok. I forgot to present myself. My name is Luhan and I am your Godfather. I came to help you.”

“Help me? Help me with what?”

“Help you get to the ball, silly!” Luhan seemed annoyed with Minseok’s behaviour.

“You can’t! My stepfather will kill me if he finds out I went to the party without his permission!”

“Minseok you really are clueless! He won’t find out because you will be gone way before him and his sons get home! Plus my magic lasts only until midnight so we have to hurry to get you to the party!”

“I don’t know about this. I mean, I don’t have anything nice to wear and not even a carriage! It’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible if you believe Minseok! Now trust your manly Godfather and close your eyes!” Minseok was not so sure about the manly part because he thought Luhan looked too pretty to be manly, but he decided to take a risk and trust Luhan. He closed his eyes and when Luhan told him to open them again, he was left speechless. He was dressed in a completely white suit which hugged every curve of his body to perfection, and he had a silver tie adorned with precious stones. He jumped into Luhan’s arms and thanked him over and over again. He was going to actually attend the ball and he couldn’t be happier.

Come Minseok! We don’t have time to waste!” Luhan dragged Minseok