Yeosang avoids the towering stacks of textiles that are about to collapse, his hands shooting out to stop the items from toppling over. He has to cross over and go around multiple obstructions on the floor before reaching the person he was looking for, hidden among the sketches and scraps pinned against the wall. There are no more empty space on the wall until they overlap with each other, and it gives him no wonder how the seamstress could have lost the right measurements.

Anna is buried under different types of fabrics, her hands expertly pushing the material under the needle, her foot pressing down to mobilize the needle. The sound of the machine drowns out the arrival of Yeosang, that even as he stands near her, she keeps on working, completely oblivious to his presence.

Yeosang reaches out a hand to tap her shoulder, and her immediate reaction is to scream before cowering, bringing her work to a stop and the room to a sudden quiet.

"Anna, it's me," Yeosang announces, "Kang Yeosang."

She lifts up her head like a tortoise out of its shell, before peeking over her shoulder. She puts a hand over her chest and turns around too quick she almost falls forward, but Yeosang helps her to steady herself.

She fixes her glasses and fists her hands, touching the wrists together, with a smile that could blind anyone. "Baby, you're here!"

"I'm not-" he glares, "your baby."

His eyes soften gradually when he sees the plasters littered across her arms and face. The plasters are all cartoon-themed, perfectly demonstrating how her personality is. The length of her hair is uneven, a result of her deciding to cut it on her own. The low light does not hide the bruises she has all over her body, the battle scars of her clumsiness.

"You could have made some noise, because first," she tilts her head to the side, "I thought you were a ghost. Second," her body sways, "I thought you might be some bad person wanting to do something to me."

Yeosang throws a look to the condition of her shop and gestures, "I don't think that even ghosts would want to live here, and anyone coming in would die first after being crushed by all these textiles."

He doesn't realize it but his voice changes, lacing with worry as he observes her hands and face. He does it automatically that Anna doesn't do anything to brush it away. She knows that once Yeosang snaps back to reality, he would pull away as quick as lightning. So she lets him be, letting herself enjoy the short moment his skin touches hers, even though he's only doing it without much thinking. Her guess proves to be correct as he lets go of her hand almost roughly before clearing his throat.

"If you know that you're the clumsiest person around, at least consider to tidy up your workspace," he tuts, "I took ten years to arrive to where you are."

"I did tidy them up," she huffs before sinking back, "but I end up knocking more stuff until it becomes haywire again, so I just let them be. Makes it feel more homey."

"Uh-uh," he says absent-mindedly, still looking around the shop. "It definitely gives off your vibes." He lifts up some scraps and inspects them before uttering, "Did you manage to find a suitable dress according to the measurements I gave you?"

"I did, thankfully! Since you said you needed it in less than an hour, I found this black floral A-line dress and I managed to alter the chest area so it will fit her. It's a her, isn't it? Oooh she must be really pretty. I've always wanted to know how it feels to be able to pull off these kinds of dresses. How do you think I would look with the dress?" she snatches the dress from the side table and puts it against her, waiting for his answer.

"A nightmare," he manages. "How much is the rental? I promise you'll get it back in one piece. And no, a date with me is not a price."

She frowns at his reply, offended, but knows that's how he usually is with her. He's always so direct and cold, even as she made it obvious that she treats him a little bit differently than the other boys. She pulls herself together, knowing that she's only being full of herself. She finds a bag and carefully folds the dress inside before stretching out her arm and giving it to him.

"It's free, and you don't have to return it. It's not like I could wear it, or anyone else for that matter. No one ever does go to my shop besides you. Plus, it was my stupid fault for getting the wrong measurements," she replies, her eyes downcast. When he doesn't take the paper bag she grabs his hand and shoves it to him, then returns to her sewing machine. "You better get going, Yeosang. Must be really busy with your mission or whatever stuff you're doing."

His eyes drop to her back, with her hunching over the sewing machine and filling the area with the sound of the machine. He realizes the change in her tone and the fact that she's calling him only by his name. He doesn't do anything, merely turning around to leave the shop.

"What kind of mission are you guys doing?" She stops pressing the pedal, talking over her shoulder. "Looks like all of you are involved with this, and even a girl that I've never heard about. Must be really big."

"It's nothing much, just our usual job," he replies simply.

"Take care. Please don't get hurt," she cheeps.

"Anna, you should worry about yourself, not us."

She presses on the pedal again, not wanting to see him leave. There's a slight movement at the corner of her eyes and she flinches, but loosens up when she realizes Yeosang is stretching his arm over her shoulder, dropping something onto the table in front of her.

He doesn't say anything but leaves her alone, bringing the bag with the dress. There's a distant chime from the bell at the entrance of her shop, indicating that he had finally stepped out of the premise.

She looks down to the object he dropped off, a smile making its way to her face despite feeling offended by him just a few minutes ago. She picks up the unopened box of cartoon-themed plasters, turning it around and seeing a note dashed across the box with marker in, undoubtedly, Yeosang's handwriting.

Don't get hurt you klutz, or I'll waste my time worrying about you.

---

Yeosang returns to the headquarters with the bag in his hand, greeted by a much less chaotic scene but nonetheless still holding on. The only people who have yet to completely dress themselves up are the couple; Yunho and Byul. It takes him a few minutes to realize that the new older man with them is Jongho, because Hongjoong and Seonghwa both put their work on his face to make it look believable that Jongho is Min Gunhoo.

Byul is holding Yunho's face in place, her brows furrowing in concentration as her free hand swipes up the contact lens, already looking to pop the lens into the latter's eyes. Yunho squirms in his seat, whimpering lowly as her finger gets near his eyes.

"Can you stop closing your eyes before I manage to put this in? I didn't even go near your eye yet," she says with composure, but it sounds like she's starting to get impatient. Yeosang guesses that it's not the first time she's doing it, because there are drops of contact lens solution, with pulls of crumpled tissues scattered on the table. He confirms it immediately as she says, "We have been through this five times; we're going to be really late to the party if you can't keep your eyes open."

"You're going to poke my eye," he complains, trying to cover up his embarrassment for not being able to do it on his own.

"Well surprise, surprise. How do you think I'm going to put the contact lens in your eye? It's not like I'm going to stab your eyes with my fingers, although I really feel like doing that right now."

San takes the bag from Yeosang as he utters, "All of us have tried popping the lens into his eyes but he just won't cooperate. It's so weird how suddenly it's so hard for him to put in the lens even with our help, when Byul is here. It usually takes less than 5 seconds when someone else helps to put it in." He adds in a smaller voice, "It looks like he's trying to get Byul to put it on for him on purpose."

"Are you jealous, San-ie?" Yeosang mocks in a high-pitched voice, only to receive a smack on his shoulder and a Shut up baby! in a voice as equally mocking as his.

Giving up, Byul puts away the contact lens, cupping Yunho's face with both of her hands and locking his face in place. She squishes his cheeks until his lips are pushed to form a pout, training her eyes so that he will look at her. He does, but involuntary they flit towards her lips before he looks away, hoping that she won't notice the increment of his heartbeat or the colour change on the tips of his ears, like it always does when he's shy or embarrassed.

She squishes his face harder and rocks it softly, saying, "I. won't. poke. your. eyes. Okay? Do you trust me enough?"

"I tr-ust- y-ou," he utters through the pout. "I w-on't move or- bl-ink."

"Oh my god, just kiss already," Seonghwa exclaims as he watches from the side, munching on the watermelon Jongho smashed with his fist for absolutely no reason at all. The oldest is all suited up, his sunglasses tucked at his collar and his hair gelled back. "You guys are making this love story drag for too long. If this was a book the readers will be thirsting for some moves and complaining to the author on why Byul and Yunho still have not gotten together."

"This love story feels like it's going nowhere," Mingi joins in. "Some time back I read this one fanfic where the main characters finally kissed after 34 chapters. For both of you, this story feels like 40 chapters, the tension is there but you're not even doing anything."

"Shu-t u-p," Yunho grumbles through his pout. He feels the slight brush of her thumb on his lips before she releases his face.

"In case you don't realize, 40 chapters or what not," Byul says, "I've only known all of you for a week. That's kind of a short time to fall in love with someone. And," she creases her forehead, "how do you remember exactly that the kiss took 34 chapters?"

"The boy in the story didn't want to admit he liked the girl only after a day he had known her, so it's possible for you to fall in love with someone even only after a day. I remembered the chapter because I was rooting so much for the couple," Mingi replies, in both hands two slices of watermelon each. "I cried tears of joy when they did, because they were quite hostile with each other before but ended up falling in love anyway. But it turned into a tragic love story, because there were a lot of deaths after," he sniffs, "including the girl's."

They stare at him like he's an alien before Hongjoong drags them out of the distraction. "We don't have time guys, well, if you still remember that we have a mission and what it is all about. I guess Byul and Yunho are getting into their characters to become a married couple. Just uh, don't start making out so suddenly during the mission, because that's getting too deep into the characters."

"Don't," San reminds them.

"If Yunho ever tries to take advantage of you, shout out a Code 2 followed by his codename and I'll gladly beat him up again like I did last time," Mingi says proudly, gobbling up on the slices of watermelon. The juices drip to his chin and he wipes it off with a tissue. He throws them away in the trash after he's finished, standing up. "Since most of us are done setting up, I think those who are not involved can start preparing the vehicles. Byul, Yunho and Seonghwa will go in one car, Hongjoong and Jongho in one and the rest of us tucked in one. I'll wait for all of you at the garage."

They leave only Byul, Yunho and Yeosang in the room, lugging the equipment they will work with during the mission in multiple suitcases. Byul puts her task to pop in the lens for Yunho on hold and she shimmies into the dress behind the curtain of the dressing room. The sleeveless dress exposes her burn marks and the tattoos on her shoulder blades, causing Yunho and Yeosang's mouths to drop open from the exposure.

"Why are you staring like you're seeing me for the first time?" Byul asks, already settling in the reclining chair.

"Just how many tattoos did you ask Akira to do on you? That is a lot," he mentions, barely getting over his shock of seeing her tattoos.

"I already had them before," she mumbles, barely audible. She leans against the chair. "Come on, Hongjoong's going to be naggy if we're not there in 10."

Yeosang picks up a makeup blender, pushing one pump of liquid primer onto the back of his hand. "Alright, it might seem that your disguise as Madam Tang might be really believable after all. She's also known to be linked with a high-profile international criminal gang, who appreciates tattoos as their work of art." He stops to think, the sponge in the midst of absorbing the primer. "Yunho, I think I might need to place more tattoos on you so that both of you'd be a more gorgeous couple."

She waits for Yeosang to work his magic. By the time he's done, he steps back and clasps his hands, admiring his own work on her face. He finally allows her to look in the mirror, to which she does a grunt at the back of her throat and Yunho tries to stop himself from laughing.

"I look like a freaking clown with this makeup. Did you finish the whole tube of lipstick trying to colour my lips?" She inspects her eyelids. "No wonder my eyelids felt so heavy, this is like 2 tonnes worth of eyeshadow on them. You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"

He makes a clicking sound with his tongue. "You look amazing and exactly like how Madam Tang would. She likes to make her deals with a store-worth of makeup on her face. Nothing wrong with that," he shrugs, "express yourself however you like, honey."

He sprays to set the makeup on her face, and hands her the necessary jewellery. Madam Tang is one to put extra accessories lightly, so she only settles with a necklace that has a small pendant and a pair of dangling earrings with skulls as their decoration. He hides her hair with a black-coloured shoulder-length wig. As she's done with her makeup, although unsatisfied with how she turns out, she moves over to Yunho to help him with his lens... again.

"Jeong Yunho, I swear if you laugh at me because of how I look right now, I will not hesitate to poke your eyes."

A snort comes from Yunho before he nonchalantly widen his eyes to let her put in the lens. She decides to let it go, with Yunho looking as if he's on a surgery table with two people working on him as Yeosang is sealing the fake tattoos onto his limbs while she is desperately trying to pop in the lens into his eyes.

Yunho looks up before shifting his gaze to her, who is concentrating in trying to balance the tiny modified lens on the tip of her finger. He unknowingly smiles as he looks at her being too focused in trying to make sure the lens will be ready to be put in.

She catches him smiling and narrows her eyes, "You're making fun of me because of this makeup, aren't you? Why did I even agree to this?" She goes over to him before taking a sharp breath. "Okay, let's finish this in one time, okay? Don't let Hwayoung down because she's going to be sad when she knows her dad doesn't even know how to wear lenses on his own."

"That doesn't even make sense-"

She puts a thumb under his eye and pulls it down, before popping it into his eye while he's distracted. As he finish blinking to get used to the new sensation of having something foreign in his eye, she does the same to his other eye and soon enough, he's equipped with the screen projecting from the lens.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? You were almost screaming like a goat when you thought I was going to poke your eyes."

"Let's get rolling, time to bring the house down." Yeosang packs and tidies up the makeup bag, then urges Byul and Yunho to stand side by side as he observes them. He puts a finger to his chin and nods. "Although the height difference is adorable, besides from that both of you look like a badass couple, I stan." He does two short claps with his hands near his cheek.

She fits into the black lace-up high heels, taking time to adjust to the height. She's unable to compete with Yunho's height, as she still looks like a midget next to him.

"Are you sure you can walk in those? You look like you could fall flat on the floor and then get trampled on."

Even though Yunho is saying something that sounds horrifying, he actually looks genuinely concerned as he keeps pace beside her. He tries to maintain walking beside her, unsure of when they could start the act as a married couple; would it be more appropriate to start it now so they won't be awkward later on, or would it be more suitable if they just jump into the act only when they are presenting themselves at the party?

As soon as they emerge into the large open space of the garage, Jongho and Wooyoung cannot keep their faces straight when they catch sight of Byul, and even the leader loses his composure as soon as the light baths Byul's face that are laden with makeup. The rest who notice her tattoos don't offer a question about it, as they might have thought it's fake or they might have figured that it's not such a big deal to ask about it.

She knows that this is the essential purpose of a disguise, where she's not being herself, but she's not exaggerating when she says that she definitely isn't feeling like herself. It doesn't even feel like she's in her own body, and that she's merely an audience to this fake Madam Tang. The makeup feels like a slab of dried plaster on her face and the wig feels like a large bristle brush on her head. The only thing she's thankful for is the dress that she finds comfortable, and she makes a mental note to send a million thank yous to this Anna Yoo.

She steps over to the sleek white car they rented specifically for the fake couple tonight, as Seonghwa holds open the door for her while he bows, eyes directed to the floor.

"Madam Tang," Seonghwa manages, already in character.

Under his jacket is a fully loaded glock, with him knowing how to use it perfectly, and ready if there's ever a need to. Seonghwa might be a long-range shooter by training, but as cocky as he is, no one could deny the fact that he can take down one gang on his own with only the use of a single complete set of bullets. He closes the door as soon as Yunho steps into the car after Byul. After doing their final checks, they embark to Athena Hotel in separate cars, with an estimated time of arrival in 20 minutes.

Their cars stop at a safe distance from the main entrance of the hotel, and San takes out the binoculars to observe the guests coming in and being served by the ushers. A fleet of expensive cars line up to drop off their passengers, leaving them for a night of lavish partying and dirty dealing.

At the back of the van, Mingi is ready as he fits in his own earpiece and checks the connection with everyone. He gets the confirmation that they can hear him, so he starts to direct the mission. He lets go of Wooyoung and San first, allowing them to adjust to the situation inside the party and at the area around the hotel compound. Jongho and Hongjoong are let go next, as they need to prepare themselves to meet the real couple at 7:30 p.m. to get the substance first.

Seonghwa, Byul and Yunho wait nervously in the car, waiting for Mingi and Yeosang's signal saying that they may leave. Seonghwa steps out, preparing himself as a lookout as he observes the scene around the hotel. He observes any high points, looking for any threats or anything out of the ordinary. From his initial scan, the coast is clear.

In the car, Yunho's hands are slightly sweaty and he rubs them against his pants, with his knees bouncing up and down.

"Nervous?" Byul asks.

"Uh, yeah. I hope you're not too uncomfortable," Yunho utters.

As soon as he says that, they receive a signal from Mingi saying that they may move to their hotel room where the meeting with the real Min Gunhoo will take place.

"I'm not," she says simply, then grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers, making Yunho flustered from her sudden move. Something shifts in her eyes as she drops her own personality, morphing into Madam Tang. "Are you ready for some action tonight, honey?"

---

[A/N: I had a dream about Hongjoong yesterday and it was so embarrassing but kinda... sweet??? Idk but I think that's making him creep up my bias list--- sorry Seonghwa >.> I know I tend to be heavily affected by my dreams lol random fact: I started learning all of Stray Kids' names because I had a dream about Felix, who was back then the only member I could recognize.

Anyway, sorry for this late chapter, and I hope that all of you have/had/are having a nice day <3 I love all of you!]