His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Fifteen ♚

|| HYEWON ||

That day when I came from volunteering, I got grounded.

It was probably the worst punishment I've ever gotten. No phone, no TV, no books for two months. Mom has done some pretty harsh things for me, but she's never gone this far. And it was about to be five months but Aaron convinced her to lower it.

Now, my only escape from the world is the nursing home. At school, I'm a total outcast, and at home, I'm constantly being forced into labour for my mother. At least at the nursing home, I can pretend that my life isn't shit.

I head home after a fun day volunteering, slightly dreading the moment I step inside. I was expecting for mom to instantly throw a broom into my hands, but today she wasn't waiting in the living room for me.

A noise bangs from the kitchen as I follow the sound, my curiosity getting the best of me. There stood Mom, Hanjin, and Cynthia. They were all giggling and having fun with each other, while it seemed like they were cooking food.

"Oh, Hyewon. You're home." Mom's smile fades as she sees me. Her monotone voice made it very clear she wasn't happy anymore. I made everyone uncomfortable when I walked in. "We're having girls cooking time only."

Hanjin gasps, sending me a pitiful look. "Oh my god! we totally forgot to invite you, Hyewon. Can you forgive us, just this once? I'm so sorry, it's all my fault." Hanjin pouts her lower lip, her eyes watering as she begs for forgiveness (which I never really asked for).

"Hyewon! How dare you make your sister apologize?! You're so shameful! Go to your room, and wear something nice, we're having guests over. I'm done with you and your shenanigans." Mom lectures me, sending me away.

I walk away from the kitchen, sighing. "Good riddance," Cynthia whispers, making her and Hanjin erupt in hushed chuckles. I continue going up the stairs, pretending that I didn't hear what she just said.

I flop onto the chair, emerging my head into my hands. Sometimes I wish I could just scream and scream until my throat stopped working and I lost my voice. Then maybe I wouldn't be so stressed all the time.

My hands slid to the window which I open, letting the frisky air into the room. I take in a deep breath of the fresh oxygen as I close my eyes, doing simple breathing exercises to stay cool and calm.

Suddenly I hear chirping in my left ear. My eye opens to see two tiny pupils meeting mine, making me screech before running backwards onto my bed. I grab the first thing I could find to protect me, which happened to be a pencil.

But I stopped screaming when I saw who their eyes belonged to. There floated a distressed bluebird, chirping like crazy over the silence. "Oh, it's just a bird."

Thankfully, I happened not to be scared of birds. I walk down from my bed, hesitantly walking to the tiny flying animal. It must've come in from the window. I think as I place a hand out towards the bird, hoping it would relax on me.

Surprisingly enough, the bird lands on my index finger calmy. I place the back of my other hand on its back, slowly stroking its feathers. "You're quite pretty, aren't you?" I coo to it.

Even though I'm not a big fan of a lot of things, I do happen to love animals and nature. Humans have destroyed the world enough to the point where all I can see is a harmed planet. Nature is so valuable, and so many people take it for granted.

"You'll probably need a name, right?" I ask it rhetorically, thinking to myself about possible names. My eyes search the room, landing on my previous bookshelf that had all my books confiscated.

"Hmm, maybe Gus? Like the mouse from Cinderella? That fits you quite nicely." I say to the bird, looking into its beady eyes and yellow beak. It chirps, which I take for a yes.

"Let's see if you can help me like the birds from Cinderella too, Gus," I say, opening my closet and taking out two dresses. The first dress was of a black colour, with tiny white flowers all of it. It reached about my middle thighs.

The second dress was something my grandma gifted me. It was a more classical styled piece, with a blue-coloured base and a lace collar. The loose sleeves reached to about my shoulders and were also covered in lace.

"Go sit on whichever dress you like better," I instruct Gus, letting him fly off my hand. It seemed as if he only had to think for a second, because immediately after he sat on the blue dress.

Alright, that works. I place the dress over my head and let it fall to my knees. I apply some natural makeup and brush through my hair. "Okay, I should go now." I think, looking at myself in the mirror.

Mom is very strict on things such as how Hanjin and I present ourselves. In simpler terms, she cares a lot about how we dress and how we look. A fine lady always looks her best, just in case. She would say to me. even though dressing up isn't my cup of tea, I still have to as long as I live under this roof.

I was going to walk downstairs but get stopped when Gus flew in front of me, preventing me from walking down the stairs. In his mouth was a white ribbon that I was probably going to use for a project. "Hm? You want me to put on the ribbon?"

Gus puts the ribbon in my hands. I guess it couldn't hurt to try something different with my hair, since I've been usually tying it up into a ponytail or leaving it down for as long as I can remember. That's unlike Hanjin, who goes out to the salon to have her hair beautifully done every time we go somewhere.

I place the ribbon around my head, placing it like a headband. I tie it from the top, making it look like a bow. "Hm, you were right. I do look better with the ribbon. I turn to Gus, who was sitting in my mirror.

"Here, you deserve it." I take a leaf from the sunflower on my desk and give it to Gus, who he gratefully devours. "I'll get going now." I bid him goodbye before walking down the stairs, not forgetting to stop by at Piper's room first.

"Piper, did you dress yet?" I ask her from the door. She doesn't look up at me, her eyes glued to her tablet. Sounds of a Youtube video erupt from the device, and I was sure she didn't hear me correctly until she spoke.

"I forgot to." She says boringly. I sigh, grabbing away her tablet. Her lip quivers as she almost bursts out in tears. Gee, wonder what influence she learns that from.

"Piper, I'll give it to you after I put you in a dress, okay?" I ask her politely. She hesitates at first but eventually gives in. I go into her closet where I grab a floor lengthed skirt and a full sleeve white shirt for her.

After changing her outfit, I grab her by the hand and help her down the hallway, going to Hailey's room next. I knock on the door and go in, seeing both Hailey and Cameron in the room.

"Hyewon, save me!" He whisper-cries beside me. I turn to Hailey who was covered in a strong perfume. Cameron did need saving, you can barely breathe in this room.

"Hailey, that's enough fragrance," I say calmly, grabbing the bottle out of her hands and putting it back where it belonged. She wore a simple yellow dress that I remember she got for her birthday a few months ago.

"Cameron, come here. I need to use your hand so I can trick my followers that I have a boyfriend!" Hailey forces Cameron to come closer to her.

Hailey is sort of a wannabe influencer. And, surprisingly enough, she has over 50K on her Tiktok and 15k on her Instagram. But I'm pretty sure mom secretly buys followers for her, so I'm not exactly sure about that.

"Hailey, don't use your brother for clout. Come, let's all go downstairs." I say, picking Piper up as the four of us adventure down the stairs.

"Chile, anyways..." I hear Hailey mumble under her breath when we reach the end of the stairs. I let Hailey, Cameron, and Piper all go ahead first. I assumed that the guest was already here, considering that there were some unfamiliar shoes in our mudroom.

My feet start to lead me to the dining room, where I saw the rest of the family seated. Hanjin looked weirdly happy, smiling brightly and chatting on and on to the man in front of her.

Then I realized. The man must have been Choi Soobin. Hanjin would never talk like that to any other person.

And of course, I was right.