mercury

14;

"My dear, you're going to put on quite the show for us today," the man chuckled, tracing his gloved finger against Seulgi's jaw. She was too weak to react.

"But first, we must fix you up a little. Sejeong! Chungha!" Seulgi flinched at his loud calls. "Come here and make her look somewhat presentable. I'll give you two hours."

She watched through half closed eyes as the man walked out of the room, two small girls taking his place. They gave her a pitiful smile. She wasn't strong enough to do anything.

"Hello, I'm Sejeong. That's Chungha. We're gonna help you get all dressed up for the ball tonight," a girl with light brown hair said, offering her a smile as she gently played with Seulgi's ratty hair.

"B-ball?" Seulgi croaked out, her voice far gone after days with little water.

"The boss is holding a masquerade ball tonight. It's something to help bring the Seoul gangs together in harmony," the other girl with the blonde hair had explained.

Seulgi just gave a small nod of understanding and didn't say anything else.

"Alright, let's start with a shower, huh? Do you think you can handle yourself?" Sejeong asked, helping Seulgi stand up slowly. Seulgi managed a weak nod. Sejeong brought her to a bathroom and left her to attend to her own business.

"I'll be right by the door, so just let me know if you need anything, alright?" She offered, but Seulgi just gave another nod and went back to slowly cleaning herself up.

When she stepped under the shower, she couldn't help but bask in the feeling for a moment. It seemed like weeks had passed since she had been brought into this unknown world of gangs and rivalry. All she could piece together so far is that she had been kidnapped by a gang and her soulmate had seriously angered this gang and she is being used as a pawn in their game. She just wanted to go home.

She took her time and slowly cleaned herself up. The dried blood on her body slowly faded away, the water becoming red as it took the blood off her body. The bruises stayed, but there was nothing she could do about that. She wanted to feel like herself again, and she guessed that the first step to that was taking this shower. But once she turned the water off and wrapped herself in a towel, she already knew it would take a long time before she could go back to how it was. If she could ever go back to her old self.

Her fingertips grasped the cold, metal door handle, and slowly pulled open the door. The two girls from earlier were conversing quietly between themselves just a few feet away from the door, and Seulgi shifted her weight from foot to the other as she waited for them to notice her. After a moment, Seejeong noticed the bathroom door open and immediately walked over to Seulgi, presenting her with a white dress.

"This is what the boss has picked out for you to wear tonight."

Seulgi grabbed the soft materiel in her hands and almost laughed. White-the color of innocence, purity. She took the dress and headed back into the bathroom to dress herself. Chungha handed her undergarments before she had gone back into the bathroom.

Seulgi quickly dressed and stared at herself in the mirror, wiping away the condensation on the glass that had formed from the heated water. The Seulgi she saw in the mirror seemed so different from Seulgi she had been just a month ago. She looked like a ghost in the white dress. It was a beautiful dress, with floral lace spread across the dress in a gorgeous pattern. But she felt like a shell of a person. She didn't feel real wearing that dress.

A knock on the door made her jump, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, are you finished dressing? I don't wanna rush you, but we don't have that much time and we still need to do your hair and makeup."