"Minseok please~."

Minseok tried to block out the annoying voice that kept begging (more like bugging) him since yesterday. He buried himself under the blankets and covered his ear with pillows. There's no way he would let her twin--yes ing twin--sister do whatever she pleased. 

"You are heartless! Whose fault do you think this is?"  Sohee wailed. She pulled the blankets once again, silently hoping that her brother would finally relent to her plea. "Well, he should!" She thought. After all, it was Minseok's fault that her right leg had a thick cast on it. "Come on!" She tried again. 

"I admit that it's my fault but I will not do it! I definitely won't. Do you know how much embarrassing this would be?" 

Sohee managed to make out what Minseok said under the pile of blankets. She made face. Minseok was exaggerating again. If she knew Minseok was not cut out to the job, she would  have never asked him to do it. Sohee absolutely didn't have a grudge against her twin brother but...well it's still her brother's fault! 

"You said that you'd do whatever to make up to me." Sohee spoke weakly. "I know you were only protecting me back then but still..." She cringed at a particular memory of a humiliative stunt that Minseok pulled because of a misunderstanding. Somehow she could understand Minseok's reaction. Who would not react violently when their sister was being held down by her classmate? It was charming, really, that Minseok tried to "save" her but he moved without thinking. He forgot that they were only acting and it was a project given by Sohee's arts and performance professor. 

"It was you who mindlessly swung his arm to my classmate and somehow dragged me into it which caused me to fall down the stairs. Lucky me, I still have my beautiful face intact. Whatever. Given that it was only an accident, it doesn't change the fact that you--snot, tears, and all--promised me."

"I know!" Minseok's voice cracked at the end. He finally emerged from his fort. His chestnut hair was a mess but he couldn't care less. His masculinity was in danger and nothing was more important than that. "I promise you, I will do everything but not this! Please! I'm a man!"

It took all of Sohee's patience to stop herself from resorting to physical means (or maybe not, because she's not really physically equiped at the moment). "I know you're a man," She started slowly. If she wanted this to happen, she had to keep it together. "And I'm not questioning your uality. However, we have the same features, like, we're really alike. You are as beautiful as I am but, I heard other people say you are more so. It's a blow to my femininity but I will endure it."

"You know that's not an actual compliment on my part, right?"  Minseok deadpanned and threw a pillow towards his sister. 

"Wha--" Unfortunately, Sohee caught the pillow with her face. "Hey! It is a compliment. I'm telling you. With that face, you can beat--"

"For the last time," Minseok interrupted Sohee. He's sure that she would be gushing over a particular beautiful first year who was know for being the "goddess". If he could remember clearly his name was Sungjong (or god-knows-what). "That is not a good thing for me." He sighed listlessly and muttered under his breath. "Women are very unpredictable these days. They seem to prefer boys who are prettier than them." 

"Well, what's wrong with that?" It's Sohee's turn to throw the pillow to Minseok but Minseok easily caught the fluffy object with his right hand. She narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Whatever. We are drifting away from the main topic."

Minseok grunted. He thought he was safe from losing his manliness. Sometimes he felt like being cursed for having a sibling that almost always thinks like him. 

"I will not let this go until you agree."

"Give up." Minseok pulled on his hair then bang his head on the bed. He's losing it. 

"Then, say hello to eating noodles every day." Sohee started to walk towards the door and grabbed her crutches. A sinister smile graced her lips as a desperate "Wait!" followed her. She knew right then that she finally got what she wanted. "Great! We have an hour after your last subject for this day."

"Yay." Minseok feigned happiness. "My schedule is too convenient for you." 

Sohee turned around, her smile still intact, and leaned on the door frame. Minseok shivered at the sight. "Yes, indeed." Her smile widened at the thought of her dear brother wearing a frilly maid outfit. It would suit him for sure. It took an odd look from Minseok to snap her out of her dangerous imagination. "Now, don't try anything funny. I need you to be here at 3 p.m. sharp. You know what will happen if you escape me and if you think you can survive with instant noodles, I will make sure that you may never use your phone again."

"Wha--" Minseok couldn't believe it. Sohee threatened him when she already had the phone battery at hand! She flourished it front of him to prove her point. "Well, you already have it!"

"Exactly! So, be ready for a wonderful make over." 

Sohee exited Minseok's room with a triumphant smile while the latter was moping and wishing that the ground beneath him would open up and swallow him whole. 

Minseok, to say the least, was a walking zombie the whole time he attended his classes. His face looked paler than usual and his hair was a mess all through out the day. His lecture classes were not enough to distract him from brooding over his impending death sentence. Oh how he wished he could stop the time or maybe at least prevent his classes from ending. But of course, he couldn't make that happen. He couldn't help but sigh (and tear up a little) every time the professors say "class dismissed" and collect their things before sashaying their way out of the door. This was the first time he realized how important these lectures were (although it became important just when his life or at least his dignity was in danger). 

Suddenly, he was surrounded by strangers but he paid not much attention. His mind was somewhere else that he didn't realize that the people around him were changing seats. He felt a tap or two on his shoulder. 

"What's your group number?" The voice asked him. 

"Five. I think..." He replied disinterestedly. 

"Cool."

Six more people crowded him and by the time he minded what was happening, these strangers were already sitting with him in the long table. He glanced at each and every one of them. They all looked like they're his upperclassmen so he remained silent even though he was dying to ask why they were sitting here when in fact there were other empty tables in the hall. 

"Say hi to your groupmates for the rest of this semester. I am so tired of regrouping you every time we meet." A laugh. "Be nice with each other, okay?" The voice of their ever chirpy professor rang out in the lecture hall. "Choose your leader. Write down the name of your group and group members in a one-fourth sheet of paper. Pass it to me then you may go."

...You may go--WHAT?! 

Minseok almost stood from his seat. This was his last class! How could their professor be this cruel to him?! (Well, it's not as if their professor knew his predicament to start with.) And there he was hoping that he could somehow have reason to be late with the make-over session. He could see now that the odds were never in his favor. 

"...name?"

"Huh? What?" He sought out where the question came from and found that a girl next to him was asking him. 

"Your name." The girl repeated. "We asked for your name and year."

"Kim Minseok. Second year." After answering, he planned to tune out again but he didn't, since they're already discussing who should be the group leader. Of course, no one wanted to be the leader (unless, they're so overconfident). Since this was a given, he went and suggested the most rational thing he thought of (A.K.A upperclassmen's scapegoat): make a first year their leader. Somehow, he heard that two of his group mates were first years. He's not bullying them or anything but it's the tradition. Even he experienced being a leader just because he was a newcomer.  

"Right." The other upperclassmen agreed to him and the two freshmen looked at each other. "Rock-paper-scissor should be enough to decide who's the lucky one."

"Ah this is a pain." The awkwardly lanky dude spoke up. "Since my friend here, Jongin, is not used to this kind of thing, I think I should volunteer, yes?"

"Okay!" The girl next to Minseok chirped. "Thank you for your bravery, Sehun."

Minseok's feet felt cold. Everyone else were standing up and walking out of the room. It reminded him of his dreaded fate. He gulped. His sentence arrived earlier than expected and he's certain that Sohee would definitely be thrilled to see him so soon. He's one hundred percent sure that there's no humanly possible way to escape his situation. Sohee would know if he ran away. She had these crazy connections that he couldn't understand. All he knew was it's a perk of being a Communication student (and it's pretty scary).

"Remind me, again, why do you--" Minseok managed to blurt out before howling in pain. "WHAT THE--OW! HECK! GEEZ!" His voice resonated inside the bathroom. 

Sohee cackled at her brother's agony. Despite her angelic face, she enjoyed this little game called "make my twin brother suffer". It's probably the best thing she invented in her life and it's perfect since Minseok always fell for traps and had bad luck. 

"I was going to ask you why you have to work but now I only want to know why the heck do we need to use wax! Razor would have been enough! Ugh my leg hurts. I think it's bleeding." Minseok looked over at his leg. No, it wasn't bleeding but it's so red (fresh tomatoes would be put to shame). He swore he could feel his leg throbbing.  

"Quit yapping! Will you?" Sohee slapped Minseok's leg, making the red marks even worse. "Waxing is so much better than shaving. This way, I won't have to worry of your hair growing back soon. We'll be done in a blink of an eye. You'll see. So sit back and relax."

"Relax?" Minseok stressed. "Have you ever done this to yourself?" This earned him another slap on his throbbing leg and it really ing hurt! He hissed at the pain and finally learned how to stay quiet. He knew talking back to his witch of a sister wouldn't do him any good. He's well informed but he couldn't stop himself from fighting back sometimes. 

"Of course, I have. Look." Sohee indicated Minseok's almost hairless poor leg. "I'm doing a great job, right? Endure it for a while." She fell silent for a second and went back to applying wax on Minseok. As she was about to put a strip on top of a patch of his skin, she stopped as if she suddenly remembered something. "Oh about your question earlier, I think the answer is obvious. Someone in this apartment uses up too much of the monthly allowance that he starts stealing my share."

"I don't-"

"Yes you do. Don't you dare think that I didn't know." Sohee pointed the spatula she was holding to her insufferable twin. "And besides," She set aside the spatula then proceeded to rip the strip off of Minseok who hissed at the action. "I have my needs as a woman. I need to stay beautiful, you know?"

"Whatever." Minseok rolled his eyes at that. He was hoping he would hear a reasonable excuse but he was utterly disappointed. However, he wasn't surprised at all. Sohee had always been vain or at least, too concerned for how she looked. It's no wonder why she would work her arse off for that reason alone. "Still...why work at a maid cafe? You could have worked in a convenient store or something." 

Sohee stared at Minseok like he's the dumbest person she ever spoke with. "Yeah, right." It's her turn to roll her eyes. "Why would I want to wear a boring t-shirt and wait at the register when I could be pretty and attract male customers in the process?  The pay is higher in the cafe, plus, I get to wear nice dresses. Why settle for less?"

After another (grueling) fifteen minutes or so, they were finally done uprooting every bits of hair on Minseok's legs. He looked at these parts of his body and he didn't know whether or not he should be happy that Sohee really did a great job. His legs were a little bit on the muscular side but they're thin enough to be mistaken for a girl's. Meanwhile, Sohee didn't think she could celebrate because she's not through yet. 

"Okay. Let's go. I think we should do your make-up in the staff's room at the cafe. Unless," Sohee stood up from her place and stared down at her brother. "You want to do it now. In that case, I'll have you walk through two blocks, crossdressing." A smirk formed in her lips. 

Minseok's eyes widened in horror. "No, thank you!" He stood up. For him, wearing a skirt in a room was still much better than prancing at the sidewalk, dreading if someone noticed that you're actually a guy. He bet everybody would be disgusted if he were to be found out. 

"Before that," Sohee wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Wash up a little bit. You smell like an old geezer." She walked out of the bathroom before she could hear any complaints. She wouldn't have any of that. Even if Minseok say that he smelled fine, for Sohee, he didn't because he reeked of overpowering male perfume and sweat mixed together. "Use the shampoo and soap, I left there." She instructed further.  

Minseok bathed fast. In less than five minutes, he was already out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He also dressed quickly. He felt that there's no need to think how he would look when he would wear a skirt later anyway. Also, he won't be going there to hit on girls. He knew well enough not to associate with women who talked to his sister. Somehow, her craziness was contagious. For all Minseok knew, she could infect everyone and run a country of mentally unstable citizens. 

They arrived at the maid cafe without a hitch. Much to his horror, it was a ten minutes walk away from the university. He could see students he may or may not have met or seen in the campus. The sight made him swallow a lump in his throat. Before he could say anything, Sohee confirmed his distress. 

"Wanna know how I get my connections?"  She smirked as she pushed open the back door. Oh how he wished he could wipe off that smug look on her face. 

The staff room was empty when they entered. There were two vanity tables on one side of the room. The other side was covered with a big purple curtains. Minseok didn't get the chance to part the curtains but Sohee told him that the lockers were there. He sat in front of the vanity mirror so that they would get over and done with it.

"Please explain your job here." Minseok asked Sohee who was applying a BB cream on his face. 

"My alias is Peach--"

"Why Peach?" Minseok snorted. It sounded so lame to him.

"Do you know Princess Peach?" She didn't quite caught the mocking tone in Minseok's voice. She's preoccupied by the more important matter at hand: doing her best to even out the cream on his bumpy face. 

"Ah so you like being a damsel in distress?" 

"Yeah, whatever. I'll wait for my prince to save me from you."

"Uh so basically you're waiting for a plumber, right?" 

Sohee halted from her work. She glared down at Minseok, very unimpressed by his sense of humor. "Really?" She pinched his cheek. "Please tell me if you want me to make you look like a witch right now. " She didn't let go until she heard Minseok's much deserved yowl. 

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Minseok shrieked. "Let go of me!" He rubbed his sore cheek when Sohee released him. 

It took them (more or less) fourty-five minutes to finish because they couldn't agree on anything. However, Minseok kept losing the debates since Sohee's the one who's applying the make-up. It took him a long while to accept that he would never win against Sohee. So, in the last minutes, he stayed silent until Sohee finally leaned back and said "done". 

He was amazed. If he were to be honest, Sohee miraculously did a decent job. He put on the wig that's waiting for him in its stand. Sohee combed the wig, putting volume in the process. They stopped to look at the mirror. Minseok couldn't believe it. He looked exactly like Sohee, except, he's more beautiful. Yes, he could admit that one. He could tell the Sohee thought the same. She was admiring him like he's her master piece and she's very proud of herself. 

A woman who was wearing a frilly French maid outfit entered the room. "Oh my, is that your twin sister? Wait," The said woman stopped walking towards the pair as if she remembered something. "I thought you had a brother?"

Sohee laughed. Minseok didn't spare her a glare for he could tell that there's no malice behind it. "Yes, he is my brother."

"Hello." Minseok greeted awkwardly. 

"Oh my god." The woman blurted out. "Oh my god, there's two Sohee! Oh my--" She gushed. 

Minseok was speechless. Aside from the fact that the woman who's now gushing how angelic he looked, he couldn't focus because, damn, that girl looked hot and cute at the same time. Her pixie hair was as if its flaming and glowing even under the low light of the incandescent bulb that was lighting the room. She was shorter than Sohee but he couldn't care less because he really believed in the saying that "good things come in small packages". He was so engulfed by her beauty that he didn't realize that he was staring.

"Ahem." Sohee coughed and it immediately snapped Minseok out of his daze. "My dear brother, this is the branch manager, Sunny." She managed to say it despite being d here and there by their manager. She might had gotten used to it after working for so long in the cafe. Of course, she was sort of scandalized when Sunny just grabbed her in her first day. She avoided any physical contact with her manager since then but she eventually gave up and surrendered to Sunny's hands. The other employees were also victims. 

Minseok cleared his throat. At that moment, he remembered his primary rule: do not, in any way, make even a friendly relationship with Sohee's friends, acquaintances and the likes. He shook his head. He could not hit on his soon to be workmates. None of them were safe.

"Hi, Minseok!" Sunny greeted him with a wide smile.

Minseok was right to take precautions. Just like Sohee, Sunny was a freak too. She scoured through their stock of uniform to find the perfect fit for Minseok. Every time she found a dress, she would lift it up and see if it suited Minseok but in the end, she would wrinkle her nose to show her discontent. They spent a good half an hour for this specific task only. Minseok couldn't understand why women would take too long to pick a dress but he zipped his mouth. He could tell that opening his mouth would only bring chaos to the room. 

"You have guns, mister, so I think long sleeves should do the trick." Sunny handed over a decent looking dress to Minseok. It was still frilly but he thought he could put up with it. If he didn't wear it right then, then when would he? Sunny might change her mind and ransack the storage room again. He quickly made a trip to the restroom and wore the complicated cloth in a lightning speed. After that, he returned to the staff's room where her sister and the manager were waiting. 

"Ah you're so beautiful." Sunny said, her eyes sparkling in delight. Her hands made peculiar gesture as if she wanted to fondle something. Minseok instantly backed away. "Oh my, what am I saying?" She giggled and Minseok still felt like he was in danger. Men might want to be touched by a girl but to hell with that! Being touched without your consent was still categorized as ual harassment.

"Sunny, please." Sohee knew her manager well. She would do anything to prevent any disgusting events happening right in front of her. "Please control yourself. He's not a girl."

"Right..." Sunny turned bright red but the blush on her cheeks quickly vanished. She cleared and smiled to her companions. "Okay, Minseok. From now on, you will be called Peach. I'll explain to you how we work."

Sehun clicked his tongue with a bored look on his face. He wanted to return to his apartment early but that seemed to be out of the question. He could ditch Jongin and Luhan. Yeah, he could do that but they would make him feel guilty by showing their kicked puppy look. When Jongin and Luhan join forces, Sehun was sure he would not be able to handle it. He might look like a tough guy on the outside but in truth, he had a big soft spot for cute things. 

"Did you wait long?" Luhan, his childhood friend and apparently an upperclassman, called to him while frantically waving his hand. Luhan might be the oldest of the three of them but he sure acted like the opposite. He had been like that since they were children so it wasn't new to them. Beside Luhan, was Jongin walking meekly along. 

If Luhan was boisterous, Jongin was anything but. He might be chatty at times but he only talked to those who he knew. He would reply in short sentences and if he's in a bad mood, you might as well opt not to talk to him. Jongin couldn't stand people who he couldn't catch up to but somehow he got along with Luhan. 

"Yes." Sehun quipped. 

"In a bad mood, aren't we?" Luhan teased Sehun. 

Sehun rolled his eyes. They're late and Luhan still had the guts to annoy him. It would have been alright if he would gain something from this. However, seeing that they're only going to a maid cafe, he couldn't help but think that it's a waste of his damn precious time. Other men would have flocked that store but he wouldn't. Why? That's because he wouldn't be able to tell girls apart. It's weird. Everybody found it weird. He didn't know the reason himself but that's all right. He had been living like this ever since he remembered, if he suddenly recognize a girl, that would be really terrifying. Anyway, he thought he didn't really need the ability. He could live without them. 

The maid cafe was nearer than he thought. It looked lively what with the color of its walls and tables. The shop was colored with pastels and the design on the items in the shop made Sehun curious. His soft spot for cute things was definitely acting up in that moment. 

"Welcome home, master." A woman greeted them. Luhan and Jongin seemed to be enjoying themselves but Sehun just went with it. 

They were guided by one of the maids at their table. Instead of getting their orders, she called another one that was standing by the sides. She seemed to be nervous but that wasn't the only reason why Sehun couldn't take his eyes off of her. Somehow, he could tell her apart from the other maids in the room and damn, she's gorgeous. 

"M-master! W-would you like some tea?" The woman quickly bowed her head. Sehun could still see the blush on her face though. 

The other maid giggled. "I'm sorry our masters, she's quite under the weather so could you please be gentle with her?" She winked at them and left gracefully. 

"Peach, what happened to you? You're not your usual self!" Luhan pouted his lips. 

Ah so he frequents here a lot. Sehun thought.

"Uhm..." Peach, if Sehun got it correct, didn't answer. She looked like she didn't know what to do or say. She fiddled with the hem of her apron and Sehun found it rather cute. 

When it seemed like she didn't have the plan to answer, Sehun broke the silence by placing his order. Jongin followed right after. Luhan also ordered with a cutesy voice that Sehun regretted ever hearing. 

Sehun was staring at Peach all through out. He even followed her with his gaze when she had to get the tray where their order was placed. He almost lost it when her tongue peeked out of as she was trying to balance the tray in her hands. She was too cute for him to handle. He was giving all his best to stay seated because if he didn't, he would have walked over to her and pinch her cheeks or hug the life out of her. She was his type, if that made sense. He knew this was his first time to recognize a girl but maybe that's the reason why she was so special. 

When Peach finally arrived at their table, Sehun was too excited for his own good. He knew that his excitement would always show through his usually neutral look. His eyes were sparkling and his mouth was forming a smile. Jongin and Luhan shared a meaningful look but he was to preoccupied by a certain maid/waitress to notice them. He drank his chocolate macchiato all too eagerly that he spilled it on his shirt. 

"Master," Peach said with a laugh. Her nervousness dissipated. "Please take your time. No need to rush." She leaned down and with a white handkerchief at hand, she wiped Sehun's spoiled shirt. 

Sehun couldn't breathe. All the air in his lungs escaped and he was left with nothing but a pounding heart. 

"You must have really liked this drink." Peach smiled. 

"No" Sehun held Peach's hand in his own and without second thoughts he blurted, "I really like you."