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The tiny tinkle of the bell on the door brought Jisung out of his thoughts as it swung open, and another demanding customer stepped inside to have their clothes altered. Jisung sighed shortly, shaking his head. He couldn't have expected to be alone and the shop peacefully quiet for long.

"Welcome, miss," Turning away from the window to glimpse the new customer, the dark-haired tailor politely greeted her with an eyebrow raised. Obviously different and a curious sight, Jisung paused to look her over, also eyeing the solitary maidservant who had followed her in and took a place by the door.

Not only was the customer extremely modest with a long, opulent and vintage patterned dress, the monotone silks barely brushing the floor and a long train trailing behind her, but a lacy veil covered her lower face, tied behind her head under the hood of her dark cloak. Only her eyes, which quickly made confident contact with Jisung's, were visible. 

Her entire being was shrouded in mystery, which intrigued Jisung, as well as her questionable choice in outdated clothing. He had to immediately withhold himself from outright snickering. 

Watching those bright but mysterious eyes for another moment as they shined in the sunlight, Jisung disregarded his inner critique of her apparel and approached her, reaching out a hand to help her onto the platform. "How can I help you today?" Taking the male's hand and lifting her unusually long dress to step up, she thanked him quietly, and her warm touch and soft but firm voice made Jisung smile slightly.

Turning on the raised platform to face the tailor, the veiled girl threw a look at him, her eyebrows raising slightly in question. "Sir, do you... not have a female employee to assist me?" The discomfort in her voice was disguised well, but although Jisung picked up on it, he shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't, my lady. But please don't worry, if you're uncomfortable with me, there's also a tailor's shop on the other side of—"

"No, no." Waving her hands dismissively, the veiled one cut him off as her voice stiffened with determination. "I'll have it done here." Immediately unfastening her cloak and handing it to her servant, who had stepped up to take it, she shrugged out of her outer attire to reveal a more form-fitting and fashionable dress underneath. 

This one contrasted her other clothes with a soft green floral pattern and pink ribbons to tie up the corset, the bodice more flattering and the skirt length less inconvenient, a low square neckline showcasing the thin silver locket resting over her collarbone. 

Jisung smirked at her apparent need to hide her sense of trending fashion as she tossed away another piece of clothing that covered her true outfit. 

He could at least say he was shocked when she entered with such curiously obsolete attire, but he chuckled at her content and satisfaction when she shed the last despised piece of outdated clothing. 

It seemed like she had as much against that abomination of a presentable outfit as he did. He wondered why she had chosen to cover her normal dress until safely inside his shop, but he decided not to pry and just be thankful that she wasn't going to ask him to waste time and stitches trying to fix that monstrosity.

He turned to gather the chalk, measuring tape and pins that would inevitably be needed.

But as she tried to dispose of the final covering, it caught and snagged on her veil, and her eyes went wide as the delicate fabric was ripped away from her face and fell to the floor, settling into a pile with the covering that she had tossed away. 

The woman's heart dropped along with the veil, and her hands shot up to cover her lower face.

Upon hearing the faint ripping sound as the veil tore, Jisung, confused at her sudden and panicked yelp, looked up from the box of pins in his hands to find out what had happened.

But he wasn't confused for long as he caught a glimpse of full and rosy lips, midnight dark hair that framed her small face, longer and silkier than he had seen before as it cascaded over her shoulders and past her back, no longer restrained or hidden by the veil. Although her sparkling eyes were wide with surprise and fear, they were beautifully accentuated by the stars under them, carefully sprinkled across her cheeks and nose. 

Every angle of her face was so purposefully chiseled, her sharp jawline adding a masculine aspect of beauty to a profile that was already similar to the reputed gods of Greece.

But although Jisung had never heard of a Greek god with freckles, he felt as if he was witnessing it before him now. The constellations on her face that matched the night sky glittering in her eyes were beautiful, why did she hide them? 

The maidservant who had been idly standing by the door rushed forward to retrieve the white lacy fabric from the floor as the younger girl bowed her head to hide her face until she had secured the veil again. Although still bewildered about how frantic she was to hide her features, Jisung, out of courtesy, quickly turned away from the formerly and now again veiled one.

"I saw nothing!" The young tailor quickly lied to reassure his self-concious customer, fiddling uncomfortably with the measuring tape in his hands. But his attempt to comfort her was in vain, and Jisung heard a dissatisfied sigh from behind him.

"It's fine," She said, her tone even, her voice firmer than before. Jisung took the hint that she was annoyed now, and for some reason, maybe due to a gut feeling, he assumed that angering her further would spark a hot temper that he did not want to be a part of.

Being one to shy from confrontation anyways, he gingerly turned to face her again and gently suggested that they start the alteration now.

The reveiled girl pointed to her back, then her arms, listing her requests without losing a second. "I want the lace around the neckline gone, it's scratchy. And I want the sleeves shortened to the forearm, the lace from the neckline can be moved to the cuff, and the skirt taken up about two inches." She nodded down towards the hem of her dress, lifting her foot a little to raise the fabric from barely brushing the floor.

Jisung stored all of the requests in the back of his mind, nodding silently and stepping up to join her on the platform, rounding her frame to first take a look at the laced neckline. The stitching that held the lace to the cloth was easy to undo; it was a basic seam and could be done quickly. 

But Jisung couldn't examine the stitching for long before he had to glance away with blushed cheeks and his ears ablaze, feeling a bit guilty for staring at such a low neckline and admiring the porcelain skin underneath the fabric, the way the thin silver locket draped over the angles of her collarbone.

"And the sleeves as well...?" He cleared his throat and moved to her left side without waiting for a response. Out of habit, he took her hand in his and gently tugged to extend her arm, but only after he had marked the sleeve with chalk and stepped away did he realize his absent-minded move. 

But the young woman didn't seem bothered at all; after Jisung had marked the skirt as well and pinned it up to where she wanted it, she stepped down, changed clothes in the designated back room of the tailor's shop and thanked him after handing him the dress.

Jisung had assumed that she was a noble upon seeing her attire and the maid that came with her, but even without the veil, in the second of accidental reveal of her face, he didn't recognize her. But he missed the chance to ask her name before she left the shop, not looking back once as her maid scurried to keep up with her rushed footsteps.

The little tailor's shop was again quiet — empty, lonely, but peaceful.

Jisung stored away the dress to work on later, and his mind was preoccupied with the owner of the flowery fabric. Her veil had piqued his curiosity, especially after seeing her face, on which there was nothing obvious that one would want to hide. The pale skin, the dark hair, the shining eyes, the scattering of freckles — it all seemed enough, but there must be a reason she preferred to hide. 

An all-too-familiar tinkle from the bell on the door once again drew Jisung from his ponderings. He could swear, it was like a curse on this shop: not two moments of peace before another customer, and the routine began again.

With what had to be the 20th sigh that day, Jisung turned to greet the new customer, putting on a welcoming smile that was exhausted but nevertheless genuine.

But the group of men, tall and intimidating, that met eyes with Jisung as they stepped in were definitely not customers. 

Wearing dark robes and serious frowns on their faces, set in stone like their intentions towards him, the men advanced, taking steady, purposeful steps. Jisung stumbled back.

The leader of the group of at least 10 stood in front, glancing around as if observing the small shop even though he had entered many a time before. His eyes finally rested on Jisung with a shaded stare as a smirk quirked up the edges of his lips.

Jisung gulped as his name was spoken, dripping with venom, and the leader of the group signaled for one of his men to lock the door.