Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mina walked into the coin laundry store and put down her basket of dirty clothes with a disgruntled face. Outside was bustling with friends and couples out shopping and strolling the streets of Hongdae. Like she wished that she was doing if only responsibilities wouldn’t get in the way.

“Ugh…Just what I love. Doing laundry on a weekend while everyone else is out partying. It’s a beautiful day to go out. I can’t though since I’ve got nothing to wear. How nice it would be if I had a butler to do all of this for me while I was at school or working? Life is no fair. Hmph.”

She pouted so hard her lips were at risk of falling off her cutely chubby face.

“Life really isn’t fair sometimes, my dear. But as you wait for your laundry, there’s no reason that you can’t have fun. Sometimes you’ve just got to be the party. Or better yet let the party come to you.”

She was in the middle of counting coins when a man’s silky, musical voice and a bright light shimmering on her face distracted her. She used her coin purse to shield the blinding reflection, seeing there was a tall, dashing man dressed in light blue and white holding open a foundation case, using the reflection form the mirror to catch her attention.

She squinted and turned to get a better look. Once she did, she gasped and her throat went dry. It was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. He looked like a super model that just jumped out of a catalogue. But that wasn’t the only thing astounding. The ordinary laundry store had completely changed; transforming as if by magic into some sort of fantasy world. It was sparkling and glowing with romantic, soft lighting and a golden sign on the light pink wall read ‘Kat Maconie’. Which was a make-up brand judging by the letters on the cases the man held. The insides of the laundry machines were glowing hot pink and ocean blue.

The pony-tailed girl blinked in awe, thinking she was in the middle of some sort of hidden camera.

“Um… are you a sales man? Or a model? Am I interrupting a commercial by chance?”

“No, not exactly. I’m more of an artist. You’re not interrupting anything. I’ve been waiting for you, Miss. I have something to show you. Come this way~”

The fair-skinned, raven-haired beauty smirked and then went towards a machine that was glowing pink. Mina watched with her mouth wide open catching flies as he opened the door and stepped inside. He looked like he would be too large to even fit one of his legs in there. How was that physically possible? She must be dreaming. Maybe she’d fallen asleep after putting her laundry inside and waiting for it to finish.

“You can’t expect me to…in there…”

A creamy, flawless hand holding the foundation case slipped out and beckoned her to come. She gulped, taking hesitant steps against her better judgement. If he was ugly, she certainly wouldn’t have followed him. Out of curiosity, she leaned down and looked inside the glowing room but she saw nothing but pink metal.

She shook her head, thinking that she must be seeing things. Then, a pale, slender hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her inside. She fell through the hole head first, screaming and protecting her head as she spun through the darkness. She expected to fall on something hard and sharp that would crack her head open like a watermelon, but she landed on her bottom somehow; on something very fluffy.

Looking down, she saw that she was resting upon a plush sofa, which was suddenly moving. She grabbed on to the curved, wooden arm rests for dear life, squealing and closing her eyes tight. It felt sort of like a roller coaster, as if she were gliding rapidly. She peaked one eye open, stunned once more by what she saw. The surroundings were a room that seemed to stretch on forever with a soft blue and white tie-died sky and cloud-like blobs of bubbles. She couldn’t see a floor or a ceiling in sight though she was sure she was in a room not actually outside. There was no sun nor wind and it smelled of vanilla.

“W-where am I…?” she asked when the chair gradually slowed and came to a stop near a round table full of make-up products and a large princess style mirror with a golden frame that floated in mid-air seemingly by itself.

Separating a hill of the sparkling bubble clouds, the man from earlier came out, now dressed in a white shirt and grey pants which looked even classier than before. The clothes he was wearing not only fit him perfectly, they looked more expensive than all those in her closet. He was smiling sweetly. She noticed that his eyes were huge and dark and his cheeks had three moles on them in a triangular formation.

This (creepy?) stranger really was the dreamiest. The more you looked at him, the hotter he seemed. Like a prince. If he was human, then it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the girls in the world who didn’t get him.

“Welcome to Laundry Land~ This is where we will make you over and allow you to have the time of your life while waiting for your laundry to be done. This can only happen of course because you are the only person who will be in the laundry room for awhile. I feel sorry for you. Everyone else is out having fun in the middle of this fine day but you’re stuck doing laundry and you look like a total country bumpkin. So dull. Tsk-tsk.”

Mina pouted, looking down at her overalls and t-shirt, then touched her hair that was in a messy pony-tail. She didn’t look her best, but she didn’t look all that bad. Her look was cute and youthful, even if it was much cheaper and easier to do than his. Hardly country bumpkin. She didn’t appreciate the insult and the judgement. This man wasn’t nearly as nice as his looks suggested. He seemed rather pretentious and full of himself.

“Don’t worry. We can fix you up so that you look fit for the party. We’re experts.”

She jumped and screamed when a thick, deep voice came from behind her all of a sudden. There was another man who had been the one pushing her chair as it turned out. He was wearing a bright blue suit with a frilly white dress shirt and cuffs like he came from another era and country completely. He was even taller and his build was impressively large. His wavy hair was dusty blonde. His eyes were almond shaped and droopy and the color of amber. He wore a golden monocle over one eye that was a chain attached to a golden clock that fit perfectly in his palm.

She bowed to him politely, feeling calmed by his smile and pleasant nature. Then, she turned to the other man, sitting back in the chair. This was crazy but since it was all a dream, she decided to simply go along with it.

“And what is the purpose of this…Laundry Land? What do we do here?”

“We party of course. All the time. Every day, all hours, whether night or day. There’s a party happening on the hour. How much time do we have left, Nyel?”

“We’ve got ten minutes, Seongie hyung. Do you think we can handle it?”

The classy but mouthy brunette called ‘Seongie hyung’ who the suited man looked at suspiciously fondly as if he were his own special bottle of sunshine scrunched up his button nose and pursed his painted, heart-like lips that were prettier in shape and color than hers even. The more that she thought about it, it was annoying how pretty he was. It made her feel lacking and incompetent; wounded her feminine pride.

His gestures were dainty, his posture perfect, his limbs slender and long, his lashes going for days and naturally black, his skin glowing and flawless and incredibly fair. He was just like the princes of fairytales. Maybe everyone in the world or this dream would look at him with stars in their eyes, not just his helper. Though he stared and smiled in a way that she didn’t think was normal for two friends.

Could it be that they were…like that?

She covered her nose, letting out a faint squeal. The handsome pair looked at her with concern, asking her what was wrong. She shook her head, praying that no blood would drip out. The image of those two together like the webtoons she’d occasionally seen because her younger sister was a boy love otaku was dangerous. Attractive men together intimately—that was a lethal combination. She couldn’t help the shameful flush rising to her face.

“Let’s…get ready for the party. What should I do?”

“You do nothing, my dear. I do all the work and Nyel here, my faithful cutie-sexy puppy, assists.”

“Puppy?”

She wondered if this was an endearment for his boyfriend until ‘Nyel’ stepped around in front of her. She balked at the sight of a white swishing tail coming out of his back. Tucked in his fluffy blond hair was a pair of velvety, fuzzy white ears. ‘Seongie’ fondly scratched them and ‘Nyel’ barked, pressing up into his hand.

She could do nothing but stare and say ‘wah…’ Even for a dream, it was too much to take in. She guessed her imagination was much more active than she’d ever thought. Where had this ability been when she’d had to come up with a story for her creative writing class last semester? This would have gotten her at least an A minus.

“Yes, he’s a puppy hybrid. Cute, right? My Nyel is just the cutest and sweetest of all hybrids, aren’t you?”

He reached down to scratch under his chin and ‘Nyel’ blushed, smiling shyly before kissing his palm. ‘Seongie’ let himself be kissed there a couple times more, his smile widening and his eyes growing soft as if he were inwardly melting.

Mina cleared her throat and looked away, feeling as if she were interrupting an intimate moment or seeing something she wasn’t supposed to. How sad was it that even in her dreams the hot guys were interested more in each other than in her? She had to watch other couples being romantic even in her fantasies. How she hated the forever-alone life. She was practically the president at this point. Twenty-one years old and never once had more than a one-sided crush.

“Yes, he’s cute. You suit each other. You’re a good match.”

“Are we?” The man in white chuckled, dropping his hand and walking towards the table of products. “We’re merely friends though. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“If you say so…” she muttered doubtfully, raising up her legs to cross them more comfortably.

“You are the most unlady-like miss I’ve ever seen. There’s only so much I can do with a make-over. If you want to attract a boyfriend and escape you’re ‘forever-alone lifestyle’, the rest is on you.”

She immediately corrected her posture, wondering if he had eyes in the back of his head and how he possibly guessed she’d been single her whole life. The puppy hybrid snickered with a crooked, sort of sensual smile on his thick lips. Her eyes went to the monocle, wondering if it was magically connected to his partner.

Somehow, she knew it was. Because it was her dream. She also knew that they were much closer than what she’d just seen. They just probably didn’t like to show their affections privately or have people judge them, so they said they were friends. Not that it mattered what she thought. It was weird that she was thinking about that when she should be freaking out about being inside a laundry machine with suspicious strangers with magical powers.

“What are you going to do to me? What’s in there?”

“Just what it looks like, you silly manly bumpkin. It’s make-up. The magical, high quality sort. Which you desperately need to look decent. I’ll make you a hundred times cuter and more elegant. Like a celebrity.”

“Eh~ I’ve worn make-up. I don’t look all that different. If you’re not pretty, there’s not much make-up can do.”

“She thinks make-up makes no difference, did you hear that, Nyel? Laugh with me.”

They laughed together, a dorky sound that somehow echoed like music and made the bubbles dance. The sound was as mesmerizing as their looks were.

‘Seongie’ snapped his long, slender fingers and then ‘Nyel’ instantly stopped laughing, his face returning to charismatically serious with a smidgen of that soft, youthful cuteness. He looked overall kinder than the other who smirked with a cold look in his eyes. That could be thanks to the difference in amount of cheek fat and sharp bone-structure though.

Mina found herself flinching as he came over with his hands full of tools and palettes as if he were brandishing weapons. There was something oddly intimidating about him when he wasn’t smiling.

“Stay still. I’ll turn this rotten apple into a princess in no time. Or my name isn’t Ong Seongwoo.”

“Ong? That’s a strange last name. Where are you—”

“Shh, silly girl. When you talk, you move and then you’ll ruin my masterpiece. We can’t afford to be late here. We’re never ever late. I won’t have my spotless rep dirtied by any curious country bumpkin. There’s much work to be done with this one, Nyel. Prepare a look. I’m going for a Snow White bit the poison red apple but she’s immune to it so it makes her the sexiest princess ever sort of look.”

“Sure, hyung. I can match with that. Genius concept. As usual, you never disappoint.”

“Sweet but no time for flirting now, Nyel. We’ve got eight minutes. Rush, rush.”

“Rushing~”

Mina was tempted to peak open one eye to see their faces when they talked because their tone of voice was interesting but she was scared of angering the man rapidly swiping tools over her face. The make-up smelled wonderful and he was fast yet gentle at applying it. He did things that she couldn’t imagine since she’d only ever done the basics because it was troublesome.

A couple minutes later of listening to the men mumbling to themselves, the tools were finally cleared away. Seongwoo clapped his hands.

“Get up, silly girl. Well, now you look quite pretty and smart. Thanks to my magical hands. Of course, my ideas are the greatest. You are almost ready for the party. Have a look at yourself. See the miracle I’ve made.”

When she stood up, the mirror was floating in front of her. She hardly recognized herself so that she had to blink several times to be sure she wasn’t seeing things. She had glamourous, flawless make-up like celebrities or high-fashion models did. Her eyes looked bigger and brighter. Her lips thicker and softer and shiny. Her skin glowing and smooth. Even her bones seemed shaped differently.

“Woah…”

“Woah is right. I performed a splendid job, if I do say so myself. Rose red is a bold color choice but it works for you. I don’t expect you’ll be able to do the same but after the party, I’ll show you what I used.”

“Ah-hah! So, you are a salesman!”

He rolled his eyes and pressed away her finger as if it’s dirty presence greatly offended him. “I’m certainly no lowly salesman. What an insult. I don’t need your tissue paper money. I’m an artist. I simply need a muse. People to help and experiment on. That’s all. If you like my work and think your life would be better off with a new look, I will give you some of my make-up. For free. That is—if you can win over me in a dance-off.”

“Dance? So we’re really going to a party? A dance party?”

The girl lit up at the idea of dancing. It was basically her biggest interest and only talent. If she could, she would go dancing every night. She absolutely loved it.

“Seems you know of that art. I look forward to the challenge. I won’t be easy to beat, however. Don’t assume just because someone is tall and skinny that he doesn’t have any rhythm.”

Seongwoo smirked, a look that was arrogant yet playful so not unpleasant. If he had a more decent personality, she might have swooned on the spot. She smiled and nodded eagerly.

“I look forward to it. I really love to party and especially dancing. I’ll try my best!”

“Nyel~!”

With a pop, the suited man appeared with a large bubble in his hands. Seongwoo looked at it while brushing his chin and humming. Then he nodded and snapped his fingers. The bubble popped and disappeared. Mina blinked at her reflection in the mirror and she was suddenly in a tight-fitting, short, rose-red dress and matching heels.

“That will do. I’d do better if we had the time but unfortunately, we might be late at this rate. That simply must not be. Take us to the location, Nyel. We’re in a rush. Rush, rush~”

“Yes, hyung. Hold on. Rushing~”

Seongwoo sat on the edge of the chair, holding onto Nyel’s wide shoulder as he got behind it to push the chair. Mina closed her eyes and gripped the arm-rest again as they lurched forward, Nyel at a dead run behind them. She could feel the moist bubbles popping against her, each emitting a different faint smell of fruit or flowers or spices. She was terrified of roller coasters so she couldn’t open her eyes but the thrill of the much quicker ride than before made her squeal.

Seongwoo next to her laughed and cheered as if he were having the time of her life. Seeing that and knowing how he liked to dance and have attention on him, she assumed during a party he was the sort that was the life of the party. While she imagined Nyel would be like his wing-man that danced calmly off the sidelines and came to protect him in the case of any sort of trouble. A wild, easy-going diva and his loyal and overly concerned, protective body-guard, something like that.

They jerked to a stop but somehow she magically didn’t tumble out of the chair. It almost felt like it extended and curved to catch her and tip her back but she couldn’t be sure of anything since she was too scared to open her eyes. She took a deep breath and released her grip shakily.

“We’re here. Looks like the last ones, unfortunately. But most importantly, we’re not late. My rep remains spotless. The party has already begun. They’ve even left out the tea. You’ve got to try this, Miss. It’s delicious~”

Before she could respond or look properly at her bustling surroundings (rainbow confetti raining down from the ceiling, balloons floating up from the bubbly ground, the whole area filled with soft pastel lights, tables full of snacks and drinks, a crowd of boys dancing wildly), Seongwoo and Nyel had grabbed her by the wrists. They pulled her at a run towards the farthest table.

On top of the table was a flowery tea set made of porcelain. A pale lavender colored liquid was inside the cups. When they drank from it and set it horizontal it filled up with the same liquid to the brim. They drank a few cups of the warm, sweet, fragrant liquid. Mina reached for one of the square tea cakes but hesitated to bite it when she saw that the men were observing her with playful smiles.

“These aren’t normal cakes, are they?” she questioned with a raised brow. “I’ve seen a movie like this before. I bet something will happen to me.”

Seongwoo appeared impressed, pointing as he explained their individual properties. “That one makes you small. That one makes you big. That one makes you slow. That one makes you fast. And that one allows you to fly.”

Mina set down the cake she was holding and stepped back with a wary expression. “I’d rather stay normal, thank you very much. What does the tea do?”

“It makes you tipsy and feeling good without the hangover and inability to make proper decisions that alcohol does.”

“Oh. Nice. Wish this actually existed.”

“It does exist. Inside of Laundry Land.”

“Hmm. Can I come back?”

“If you realize later that it wasn’t a dream, then yes it’s possible. But most people think that they are merely dreaming so they can’t come back. I also only allow one make-over per person so if you come back then, I doubt you’d be this beautiful.”

Mina pouted. “Can’t I bring something as a bribe?”

“Oh, those drinks! The sweet ones with the chewy bubbles! I like those but we can’t have them here.”

It was strange to see the charismatic man lit up like a child at the idea of something as mundane as a sweet drink. It was somehow rather adorable, which approved her impression of him. Though not nearly as much as Nyel was.

“You mean bubble tea?”

“Yes, that one! If you bring me bubble tea next time, I’ll allow a bonus make-over. Though if you just take our products and practice applying them, you’ll be light years better than when I first saw you. Before you were such an eye-sore I wanted to poke my own eyes out.”

She stuttered, feeling offended. “Light years? An eye-sore? Now, see here. Just because you look like a god doesn’t mean that you get to go around insulting and looking down on us normal people. It’s not like I’m unattractive. Hardly to the point you’d want to poke your eyes out! That’s just…super mean!”

The blonde-haired puppy gave her a sympathetic, calming smile. “Aw, she’s angry. You said too much, hyung. Let’s cheer her up. This means dance time!”

Seongwoo crossed his arms and tipped up his chin, looking down his perfectly sculpted nose at her. “I was not saying too much. What I said was perfectly true and not the least bit rude.”

“It was so! You’re the rudest, most pompous, full of himself person I’ve ever met!”

The blonde fake laughed, tugging on the fighting pair’s wrists towards the dance floor.

“Hyung, I told you that you’re much more pleasant to be around when you don’t speak. Noona, just forgive him and forget it. He has a prickly way of speaking but Seongie hyung is not a bad person, I promise. He just wants to help people be beautiful and have fun because he knows how hard it is. He feels sad to see that people aren’t blessed with beauty like he is.”

“Hmm…”

“Hmm…”

They both eyed each other with doubtful, hesitant looks. Neither looked like they believed that or were ready to bury the hatchet. Then the blonde cutely whined, wiggling up and down, white tail and ears swiveling.

“It’s a party. We shouldn’t fight but have fun together. It only lasts thirty minutes after all. Neh? Make up already and let’s all be friends again, neh? Hyung~ Miss~ Please~”

Seongwoo was the epitome of a melted chocolate bar by the end. He sighed, giving the blonde a helpless, terribly whipped look before grudgingly muttering to Mina.

“Alright. I’m sorry that I spoke insensitively. Please enjoy our party and come back whenever you wish.”

“I’m sorry as well for being overly sensitive. I understand that you have a special way of speaking without a bad intention. I know I’m not ugly without make-up. I just lack in confidence a bit. Let’s just forget that quarrel happened and have fun. I’m thankful to you both for making me pretty and I love parties. I just want to have fun. It’s the weekend after all.”

The puppy in blue’s smile radiated so brightly the sun couldn’t begin to compare. “Great! Let’s go dance!”

“Your laundry is done, Miss. It’s unfortunately time for you to go back to your dreadfully dull world full of responsibilities.”

Mina sighed, looking over the crowd wistfully. Their attention was ensnared by the life of the party, which hadn’t been Seongwoo but someone else more mesmerizing and beautiful that put him to shame. His name was Hwihanna, the ‘queen of diamonds’. He wore an outfit made of loose teal silk with a cane designed with an otter head on the top and a tiara sparkling, colorful diamonds.

He was a fabulous dancer that ensnared all the attention of the other boys. He didn’t necessarily need to climb on the table which caused the group to go wild. She had felt put off at first because she sort of wanted to be the best dancer in the room, but she couldn’t compare with his sass, grace, and fierceness. She was unfortunately leaving this time without any perspective boyfriends or becoming the center of attention. She nodded towards where Nyel was.

“Shouldn’t we get him? I don’t think you’d much like to push the chair by yourself.”

Seongwoo scrunched up his shapely button nose, looking absolutely appalled. “Me? Push something? Heavens no, you silly bumpkin. I only use magic. I can’t stand to sweat. Physical labor is against my very nature. I’d probably melt if I pushed your heavy ass.”

Mina scoffed, glaring at him with her hands at her waist. It was amazing how quickly this man could get on her nerves. His way of speaking didn’t match his pretty face at all.

“Heavy? Excuse me! That was very rude of you! You better take it back!”

He gracefully bowed like a prince would. When he came back up, he was fighting back a bratty smile. “Oh, my apologies. But your bottom doesn’t seem like it would be as light as feather exactly.”

“Even so! How can you say that to a girl?”

He shrugged, smile softening as his eyes went to the crowd. “I guess I can because I’m not interested in them. Let’s leave Nyel be. Once he starts to break dance, he has so much fun with it that he’ll go for the whole hour straight through.”

“Goodbye, everyone! I’m leaving now! Don’t have too much fun without me!” Mina called, waving her hand.

The suited blonde froze in the middle of a complex pose that she wondered how was humanly possible (she swore his legs were stretching more than was physically possible as if he had some sort of elastic ability). He smiled brightly and waved at her, looking quite adorable. His eyes went to Seongwoo and softened. He mouthed something that she didn’t catch. Seongwoo merely smiled sweetly, shook his head and gestured for him to continue on.

“Does he usually take care of you? Is he really just your assistant?” she teased, poking his curvy waist with her elbow.

His dreamy features turned cold and tight, telling her that wasn’t a question that was open for discussion. She fell back, wrapping her arms around herself as a chill coursed through her.

“It was an innocent question…”

“I’m not at liberty to answer that sort of nosy thing. Anymore of that and you won’t be invited here again. I’ll cancel my make-over bonus.”

Mina brightened. “So, I did a decent enough job? I was pretty sure you won our battle.”

“Of course, I did. I’m merely giving you a gift for your efforts out of the depths of my kind heart. The only one who can dance better than me is the queen. Well, I actually let him because he turns impossible when he gets sulky otherwise. You can take the number three spot. Well, number four if you fail to beat Daniel in a dance off next time.”

Mina’s thoughts at that moment:

So, his name is not Nyel but Daniel and Nyel is Seongwoo’s special nickname. They’re obviously close but it’s touchy to ask about what they are. Hmm, it’s suspicious. They must be private people or it’s against their culture to be open about who they are seeing here. Hopefully not all those group of guys are into guys and taken though.

No-one was attractive as these two from what she’d seen, but there’d been a couple that were beyond passable at least. She already couldn’t wait to come back as the party was better than most she’d been to in her world. Oh, wait, this was a dream. So, it was more accurate to say reality.

“By the way, how will we get out of here—”

Seongwoo smirked, raised up his elegant, creamy hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, they spun through the clouds and the cotton-candy colored sky which turned pitch black and there was a squeezing sensation. They reappeared in front of the laundry machines which were still glowing.

“That’s how. Now we’re back in your dreary world. Come, dear. I’ve gifts for you. No one leaves our parties without a gift or two at least. Though if you still think this a dream, then they will disappear the instant you walk out the door and return to their spot. Only those that believe in the possibility of another reality can see and use them.”

Mina balked, staring at the both of them up and down as she stopped spinning. They were now dressed in pink silk and black. The outfits were absolutely breathtaking and made of the finest material, light and smooth. She could sleep in this dress it felt so wonderful and fit her like a glove, showing off her figure and best features as if it were designed especially for her. Seongwoo walked to the table while swaying, his hands held out confidently. He looked over his pink shoulder, smirking sexily as he spun on the heels of his black dress shoes.

“No, I’m sorry to say you cannot keep the dresses. They are magically designed to only be worn one time and only in my fabulous presence. You merely must keep them in your memories. You don’t need to tell me. I already know that they are better than any dresses that exist in your world. Since they are designed by my impeccable senses. They are created from my mind. I’m intuitive like that, able to guess exactly what you’d like and what suits you. I just need a moment to observe. And a little bit of extra….sight.”

The monocle that the hybrid Daniel had worn and how they seemed able to read each other’s minds came to her mind. She nodded, stepping over to the table. She was curious about a lot of things but unable to express them in words. Her mind was a jumbled mess after all that had happened the past hour, unable to determine of this was an expensive prank or a dream or indeed a very warped, random reality.

“These are for you. Use them like they’re your religion and your life will surely change for the better.”

She gingerly took the pink box of products with ‘Miss Snow White’ written in gold, cursive lettering. Seongwoo snapped and suddenly her laundry basket appeared, all of her clothes cleaned and folded, smelling heavenly and professionally pressed. She simply stared and blinked for a moment, gathering her scattered thoughts. Every time that magic happened before, it was a struggle to figure out how to react.
“Um…Thanks. Wow. I can hardly believe this.”

“Well, it’s up to you. What to believe or not. Remember what I said. Hopefully I will see you again, Miss. Good day to you.”

“Yeah…good day to you as well. Enjoy the rest of your parties.”

“Always.”

“Tell Nyel thank you for me.”

The man bristled, pretty smile fading slightly. She realized she’d said the wrong thing and quickly bowed her head, not wanting to anger him once more.

“Oh, that must be only something you’re allowed to call him. Send my thinks to Daniel. Next time, I wish to have a dance off with him as well.”

His smile returned, still gorgeous but not half as sweet and relaxed as it was towards his assistant. This bratty, arrogant man clearly played favorites and was full of unstable emotions, not to mention didn’t have much of a poker face.

Mina then left the laundry store, looking back just once. The handsome brunette in light pink and black was waving and smiling at her, standing next to the glowing laundry machine where he had come from. That amazing place that was like something out of a Disney movie she was already eager to return to.

How nice it would be if it were real and she could return there someday…

She tentatively opened the door after she closed it, peeking inside. The place looked as it always had--an ordinary, dully painted store with nothing in it but white laundry machines and a couple tables. There was no objects that sparkled or glowed. There was no pink walls or large neon sign. There were no handsome, impeccably dressed gentleman or table full of presents.

However, she knew that there once had been. She remembered what had happened to her and she knew perfectly well she hadn’t been dreaming. She looked down and smiled widely, somehow proud of herself for not being one of those non-believers that would miss out on another magical experience.

In her hands was the pink box full of make-up. Inside the lid was a picture of the man that she’d seen lying amongst the bubbles. He was wearing white and holding up lipstick. Her eyes widened as the picture moved. Seongwoo waved the lipstick and winked at her (she’d give him points for attempting but far from full marks). Gold letters spun across the top of the lid, disappearing magically once they hit the edge in a burst like bubbles did.

‘If you can see this, you aren’t such a silly girl as I thought. Do visit us again soon. I’d like to see you try to beat Nyel with that heavy ass of yours. Until then, Miss Country Bumpkin.’

She snorted and closed the lid, smiling softly. “What a brat he is. At least he’s handsome and stylish. But that’s about all that’s decent about him. Everything else I could hardly stand if I went on a date with him.”

“I’ll come back soon. Stay right there and be healthy, all of you!” Mina called towards the laundry rooms, not realizing that there were a couple girls passing by her from behind lugging their laundry baskets.

She flushed with shame, figuring they must think she was crazy to talk to an empty room. She put the box on top of her folded clothes and hurried away from the store towards her dorm.