...Jin sobbed on the cold marble floor. When his tears ceased to fall, he slowly got up and threw out the tarnished suit, proceeding to clean up the mess his step-family had left behind....
...He sadly made his way up to the attic, his heavy heart wearing him down as he climbed up the long flight of stairs....
...Upon opening the door tiredly, the mice excitedly brought forward his mask, only to be puzzled at his exhausted demeanor. Jacqueline let out a squeak, as if to ask, “What’s wrong?”...
...“I’m fine, I’m just… not going to the ball,” Jin answered tiredly, crawling into the particular section of the floor he called his ‘bed’ and pulling up the meager blanket....
...Gloss gently nudged him with his nose, nuzzling him when there was no reaction....
...“Thank you,” Jin said in reply to the comforting gesture. He closed his eyes, prepared to drift into sleep, ready to forget this day ever happened. Just as he was about to fall into a deep slumber, Gloss began to nudge him once more. Jin furrowed his eyebrows, but otherwise made no action to move. Gloss’s nudges seemed to grow insistent, so Jin blearily opened his eyes to see why....
...He saw a flash of blinding white, making him yell in shock and close his eyes again. After a few moments, he warily opened his eyes, slowly this time....
...After squinting into the unusually bright room until his eyes focused, he noticed all light was coming from… an unusually shiny person dressed in all white. Jin realized with mild embarrassment that it hadn’t been a bright flash of light that blinded him, but the person’s all-white attire....
...He sat up and looked at the person’s face, only to find them smiling brightly back at him. The person seemed very familiar, but Jin couldn’t quite place where he’d seen him....
...He turned to the cat and said, “Thanks, Yoongles.” Gloss simply meowed in reply and sauntered away....
...“Uh, hi? What are you doing in my… room? And his name is Gloss, by the way,” Jin greeted....
...At the last bit of information, the strange man’s eyes seemed to twinkle with a mysterious knowing glint. “Hi, my name’s J-Hope!” the man, “J-Hope” said back enthusiastically. Jin was confused. I mean, he seemed like a really nice guy, but… was that really his name?...
...“Is that really your name?” Jin asked, curious. It sounded more like a rapper name, to him....
...“Well, it’s my fairy god-helper name, and my rapper name. My real name’s Hoseok, but I’m really hoping that it catches on. You can find me on Youtube as “Hope on the Street,” he said with a wink....
...“So… Hoseok,” Jin started....
...“Call me Hobi. S’ what my friends call me,” He interjected genially....
...“Hobi, you said you were a fairy… god-helper?”...
...“Yeah, cuz “godfather” just sounds way too mafia-like, in my opinion,”...
...“Okay… Are you… my fairy god-helper?”...
...“Yup, I chose to help you! I saw how kind and helpful you always are, and I thought to myself, ‘It just isn’t right that you’ve been giving your all without a single night of fun,’ and so, I’ve decided to help you get ready for the ball!” He said, beaming....
...Jin couldn’t believe it. “Please tell me you’re not joking… I-I don’t think I could take it if you were,” Jin said, cautious....
...“I’m not joking! I promise! I swear on my wings!”...
...“... Okay,” Jin said, taking a deep, steadying breath. He had been on a rollercoaster of emotions today, so he didn’t exactly spring up and start vigorously preparing for the ball like he would’ve earlier....
...“Do you have a tux or something you would like me to transform? Or would you just like to use the clothes you’re wearing now?” Hobi asked politely....
...“Umm… Well, I had a tux… My stepfamily… They ruined it,” Jin said sadly....
...“Ughhhh! When I get through to them, I swear…” Hobi said angrily, his now visible wings fluttering in irritation....
...Jin simply shrugged, a small smile on his face in appreciation. He knew his step-family would eventually get what’s coming to them. It was nice to see someone being angry for his sake. It showed that they cared about him....
...“So,” Jin continued, “these are the only clothes I really have now.” Jin motioned to his current garments. Old tattered rags his step-family had said were ‘’fit for a servant.’’...
...Hoseok looked sadly at him in pity. Before he could think of ways to transform Jin’s clothing, Jin remembered something....
...“Oh!” Jin exclaimed. “Well, I have this one set of ‘okay’ clothes that my step-family prefers me to wear whenever I go out on errands, to keep up their ‘prestigious image.’ I often forget about them, though. Uhh… Besides that, there isn’t really anything else. My parents’ clothes were sold to keep us afloat. You want me to get it out?”...
...“Uhhh, nah. Let’s just go with the clothes you have on now,” Hoseok said, grimacing at the thought that his step-family was so obsessed with status and money....
...He made Jin stand up and turn this way and that, thinking of the best outfit he could make to blow everyone at the ball away....
...“Could you put on your mask? I think it would help me get a better idea of how to style you,” Hoseok requested. At this, the mice came forward, bringing the mask. Jin bent down and picked it up carefully. “Thank you, my friends,” Jin said, and tied the mask around his face....
...“It was my mom’s,” he told Hoseok....
...“Well it’s very lovely,” he said. “Oh, Joon’s gonna love this,” he thought, as inspiration struck him. “Do you think she’d mind if I changed it a little bit?”...
...“No, not at all,” Jin said, giving him a tiny smile....
...And with that, Hoseok waved his wand, sparkles surrounding Jin’s figure....
...Moments later, Jin’s simple servant clothes were transformed into an elegant black suit. It was a sleek, unbuttoned cashmere jacket decorated with paths of white gypsophila flowers and accentuated with small crystals. The trim fit of the suit and underlying shirt were exactly to his measurements, beautifully highlighting the contrast between his thin waist and broad shoulders. The underneath dress shirt was also black, with the same crystals as buttons encased in a golden outline. A black bow tie completed the fashionable two-piece suit, its tiny flowers and crystals complementing the jacket nicely. As for his shoes, they were black oxfords, the same embroidered flower and crystal pattern adorning the vamp and leading a winding path around the outward-facing side and ending at the heels....
...The mask transformed from lace into one of a stunning Venetian masquerade style. It was now a deep black to match the suit, with tiny flowers and crystals around the eyes, heightening the beautiful dark brown hue of Jin’s irises....
...The whole outfit put together gave him a mysterious, stunning look, like an enigmatic faerie among the humans. Jin looked at his outfit, a swell of thankfulness inflating his heart. “Oh my gosh, thank you, Hobi so much! It’s gorgeous! How can I ever repay you?”...
...“Why thank you! I thought of the design myself! And it’s no problem, really. Don’t worry about it. Just get Joons a mans,” Hoseok replied happily, practically bounding towards the gardens....
...“Now, let’s get you a ride,” he said, surveying the various vegetables in the garden thoughtfully. His eyes zoomed in on the pumpkin, staring intensely at its orange colour. “Stupid hairdresser, freakin pumpkin orange. Gave me stupid carrot orange instead. Nothing against carrots, but I specifically asked for pumpkin orange! Gosh, I’m so glad I have fairy powers,” Hobi ranted under his breath. Jin looked at him confusedly, as Hobi just continued to look for a “ride.” Jin didn’t really know why he’d be looking for one in a garden, but he figured it had something to do with magic anyway....
...“M’kay, let’s not use the pumpkin. It’s… unreliable. Stupid hairdresser. Anyway, let’s use those tomatoes over there instead!” Hobi said, prancing towards the tomato stalk....
...“Uhh… Okay?” Jin said, following after him....
...Hoseok grabbed the ripest tomato from the stalk and walked to the dirt road near the garden. After tossing it a few times, he seemed to deem it an adequate “ride,” whatever that means....
...Hoseok pulled out his wand with a flourish, about to cast a spell. “Hmmm, what spell do I use? It’s kinda been a long time since I’ve done this,” he mused....
...“How about… Hmmm… ABCDEFGH Hakuna Matata uh!” He rapped, swirling his wand around the tomato. He then threw it to the floor and yelled, “Smoke bomb!”...
...Surprisingly, it didn’t splatter all over the floor, instead beginning to glow and shake....
...“Why did you need a spell for the tomato but not the outfit change, Hobi?” Jin asked....
...Hoseok made a noise indicating he didn’t know. “Dem’s just the rules, I guess,” he supplied, shrugging....
...The tomato on the ground began to rapidly enlarge....
...“Aw shit! Run!” Hobi yelled, frantically sprinting away from the tomato. With wide eyes, Jin followed after him, looking behind to see that the tomato was so big it was almost in his face....
...“Is that supposed to be happening?!” Jin yelled, panicked....
...“I think so! I just didn’t expect it to grow so fast! It beats a pumpkin, that’s for sure!” Hobi replied coming to a stop a few feet away from the humongous tomato....
...“I think it’s done growing,” he said. Jin came to a stop next to him and turned to look at the tomato, glad he wasn’t wearing a dress. It probably would’ve made him trip over. “I guess I kind of understand why Madeleine and Valentina are so clumsy. I don’t really understand why they always yell, ‘Bend, and snap!’ whenever they pick something up though,” Jin thought to himself....
...By the time he was done with his musings, he looked up to see that the large tomato had turned into a magnificent white carriage, with golden wheels that looked vaguely reminiscent of vines....
...“Did… Did it just rot?” Jin said....
...“Nah, it’s just magic. It’s fine,” Hobi answered assuredly. “Now… Do you know where those mice from before are?”...
...“Uhhhh... “ Jin said, looking around. He spotted them watching on the ground beside him. It seemed they had come out to watch what was going on. “They’re right here,” Jin said....
...Hobi paused from his wild running around the garden. “Oh! Perfect!” he said, flicking his wand towards them. He then looked down and kept running around the garden....
...Jin watched as the sparkles turned the mice into four magnificent horses. In the distance, he could hear Hobi yell, “Oh! Lizards! Perfect!” and another sparkly spell sound went off. Hobi herded the humanoid lizards in the direction of the carriage saying, “These’ll be your coachmen!” Meanwhile, some golden roots began to extend from the carriage, gently harnessing the horses into place....
...“Uhhh…” Jin said, not really knowing what coachmen were for....
...“Hmmm… What am I forgetting?” Hobi said. He spotted Gloss slinking around the wheels, trying to watch the magic happening while being unnoticed, but it was obviously unsuccessful. “I guess he was just too lazy to try to hide well.” Jin smiled a little at that thought....
...Hobi flicked the wand at Gloss before he could get away and the cat let out a startled meow that morphed into a curse word....
...It sounded something like, “Meow! The ****?!”...
...“Language, Yoongles,” Hobi chided....
...“Fuck you,” Human Gloss said, floating in the air amongst a flurry of sparkles. He waited for his paws to morph into hands, giving Hobi the finger....
...“Now that’s just rude,” Hobi said....
...Jin sat there in shock, not knowing that Gloss was such an aggressive cat. “Every time he meowed, was he just cursing at me?” he pondered....
...He then noticed that Gloss made a pretty attractive human. If he went to the market with him in this form, he’s sure he would be swarmed by all the girls in the town. “Hmmm, maybe I might even get discounts,” Jin mused. “I just gotta keep his mouth shut before he yells any expletives,” Jin continued, already fantasizing about the money saving possibilities....
...Gloss plopped down in the front of the carriage, assuming the position of the driver. I mean, if you wanna be fancy, you can think I called him a coachman instead, but that’s up to you....
...He blew his black fringe out of his eyes and said, “I can’t fucking drive. I’m a cat, dipshit.”...
...Hoseok simply shrugged and said, “It’s magic. If you screw up I’m pretty sure the mice are better than you anyway.”...
...“I’ll stick that magic up your fucking ***,” Gloss commented back snarkily....
...With another swish of his wand, Hobi seemed to have silenced Gloss. “Watch your fucking language,” Hobi chided once more....
...The angry cat let out an indignant murmur....
...Jin laughed at their bantering. Hobi turned to Jin and said, “Okay, ready to go?”...
...“Yup,” Jin said. One of the lizard coachmen opened the door for him and he stepped inside. As he sat down, waiting for the carriage to start moving, Hobi came towards the window. “M’kay, so, the magic expires at midnight, so be careful of the time. I’m sorry it couldn’t be longer,” Hobi said to Jin apologetically....
...“Oh no! It’s fine. You’ve given me so much already, Hobi-ah. Just being able to go to this ball makes me happy. Thank you,” Jin said warmly....
...Hobi smiled back at him, glad he was able to help him, before giving him another goofy, slightly mischievous smile. “By the way, Yoongi will be able to talk in a few minutes, and I know he’s listening in, being an asshole and all, so I’m just gonna tell you right now. Yeah, he’s gonna stay a human for now, until I decide when I wanna turn him back, so he doesn’t apply to the midnight rule.” Jin let out a silent cheer, “Yes! Market discounts!” whilst Yoongi let out another indignant muffled sound....
...“Yeah! That’s what you fucking get for raining on my fucking sunshine!” Hobi yelled at him from the window....
...“I mean, at least now we all know that you’re the real *****,’’ Yoongi commented from the front, silencing spell having worn off....
...“Fuck you,” Hobi said back. He turned back to Jin with a sunny smile on his face. “Kay so, it’s like…” he looked at his wristwatch, “9:38, so you have like, a little less than three hours.”...
...“Thanks, Hobi!” Jin said, as the carriage started moving away....
...“Okay, go have fun!” he said, waving at him in the distance....
...“I will! Thank you so much!” Jin said....
...“I am a great fucking driver!” Yoongi said proudly from the front, a tinge of snark in his tone....
...“Indeed you are Yoongles, indeed you are,” Jin said....
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