To Yeon Hayan, the worst had already occurred.

They had been invited by Mr. & Mrs. Kim over for dinner, and that was not the news she wanted to hear first thing in the morning. Before she had even opened her eyes properly, Mrs. Yeon was pulling the covers off her, yapping excitedly. Well, there it was, her day was already ruined.

"What an unpleasant morning." She muttered under her breath as Mrs. Yeon urged her to get out of bed and come down for breakfast. It was 8 am. Hayan grimaced when her eyes landed on the clock. Heaven knows she hated waking up early on a weekend. As the fog in her mind slowly cleared, she could finally comprehend her mother's words. While Hayan sat rubbing her tired eyes (she had slept late last night), Mrs. Yeon was going off about how glad she was to have the get-together with her dearest best friend aka Mrs. Kim. It was delightful news, to her mother, a death trap to her. Having dinner together would be a joyous time for all of them to enjoy, except Hayan won't be enjoying, not with Taehyung around.

"We should go shopping after breakfast. Let me get you a beautiful dress for the evening," Mrs. Yeon suggested, now folding the light-purple blanket she had snatched off of Hayan.

"I don't need a new dress for the dinner party, Mom, I already have clothes," Hayan responded, covering a yawn with the back of her hand as she sat up, her hair resembling a bird's nest.

"What are you talking about? The only formal clothes you have are your work clothes. Don't tell me you were planning on wearing those to the dinner," Mrs. Yeon paused, giving Hayan a skeptical look.

"Why not?" Hayan shot back. Her voice cracked a little because of her dry throat. She had barely woken up and already had to converse with her mother, the last person she ever wanted to talk to.

"Hon! You need to start dressing better, you're a proper lady now. Do you want to look average between all of the well-dressed people? My daughter will always look the best in the room, got it? We're going shopping after breakfast and that is final." Mrs. Yeon stated sternly, dropping the half-folded blanket onto the bed carelessly.

"I do have a few dresses I could wear though," Hayan argued. There were two reasons she was so adamant about changing her mother's mind. She didn't want to go shopping with her mother because, one, she was too lazy and tired. Two, she was afraid her mother would overdo it and she would have to wear something embarrassingly extra to the dinner. On a side note, her mother's fashion sense was very different from hers.

"Those are old, you are not repeating outfits." Mrs. Yeon told Hayan, looking so horrified at the thought of wearing the same clothes twice that it made Hayan mentally roll her eyes.

"But I haven't worn them to Mrs. Kim's before,"

"Doesn't matter, and Hayan, I told you before too, no arguing with me." Mrs. Yeon deadpanned. Hayan stared at the overdressed woman with a bored expression. She stood at the edge of her bed, arms crossed, wearing a black midi dress, face covered in her usual makeup, and her hair rolled in a low bun. Hayan wondered how she had the energy to doll up so early in the morning. After their brief stare-down contest, Hayan gave up, like she always had to.

"Fine." She agreed, reluctantly.

"Good," Mrs. Yeon gave her a tight-lipped smile. "now, wash up and come eat. Don't take too long."

Hayan nodded and watched her mother exit the room with her nose up in the air as if she had won an award. Her high heels clacked against the floor and the sound of her feet could be heard from rooms away because of the way she always stomped. As soon as her mother was out of the room and the door shut with a thud, Hayan let out an annoyed groan, kicking the blanket off the bed in frustration.

"I should seriously just move out."

~~~

The rest of the day had been a nervous wreck for Hayan. Right after breakfast, she'd received a text from Taehyung that stated 'So excited to see you at the dinner tonight, Hayan'. The message ended with a heart emoji and that was when Hayan knew she was screwed. She had totally forgotten about the way she ditched work the day prior. Taehyung was going to make her evening terrible for sure.

He wouldn't tell anyone, Hayan tried to convince herself, he wouldn't. She felt anxious about it the entire afternoon as she shopped with her mother at malls that were too luxurious for the childhood her.

Her eyes had become tired of the exaggerated gowns her mother was telling her to try on again and again. She didn't like any of them. Just when she was about to give up and buy whatever her mother wanted her to, a dress caught her eye.

"Can I try that on?" She pointed it out to her mother immediately. Mrs. Yeon gave it a look, then smiled.

The only good thing that happened to Hayan in a long time was probably being able to buy the dress of her own choice. Mrs. Yeon was very choosy in clothing, not just with her own, but with Hayan's too. As all mothers think, Mrs. Yeon also claimed that she knew what was best for Hayan and she was merely doing that for her by teaching her how to dress better. That was why Hayan often had to wear clothes that she did not like. Where her dressing style was comfy and casual clothing, her mother was a fancy freak who only ever wore long dresses or skirts that were too tight to be worn.

Hayan always felt awkward in gowns so she was glad that her mother had let her buy a short dress instead. The skin-fit peach-colored dress with a sweetheart neckline and peasant sleeves was something her mother did not seem to admire much, but she had still let Hayan buy it, which was odd because she seldom cared about what Hayan wanted. Hayan assumed her mother must have seen something in the dress indeed to let her have it. Perhaps, it was the glitter that made the dress look eye-catching. Mrs. Yeon did always liked glittering things.

"You have brilliant taste indeed." Mr. Yeon complimented as Hayan showed him the dress later that noon. He was in a dress shirt and slacks in his room, rummaging with some files on his table. Something related to work. Although he seemed busy, he still took a proper look at the dress but sent Hayan a half glance before rushing his gaze back to the files.

"Of course, she does. She is my daughter after all." Mrs. Yeon chimed in rather proudly, sitting in front of her dressing table where she was applying a facemask.

"Thanks, Dad." Hayan smiled. Despite her complicated relationship with her parents, she liked mundane moments like these when she could talk to her parents without hating the interaction. She was glad to have a moment of relief like this, knowing that things could go downhill real soon.

She just hoped Taehyung would keep his mouth shut.

~~~

Hayan felt more beautiful than usual since she was in a dress of her choice. She even felt satisfied with the peachy makeup look she had tonight. Mrs. Yeon's stylist had gotten her ready and one could tell the difference between makeup done by a professional and a rookie. Hayan was sure she wouldn't look this nice if she had done her makeup herself.

As their car pulled up to Mr. & Mrs. Kim's penthouse, she took in the familiar view. The most expensive apartment complex in the whole country. She'd been to this spot countless times ever since she was a child, but she never grew to like it. To her, it was just another sumptuous house belonging to certain wealthy people who got lucky in life. Hayan had a hard time admiring things which was why people always thought she was a bitter person. Perhaps, she really was just bitter.

"Be on your best behavior." She heard Mrs. Yeon's curt voice speak from the passenger seat.

"Will do." Hayan felt like she was six years old all over again, being told to behave, but she didn't blame her mother. She had always been a troublemaker. She could remember times and times when she had broken expensive ornaments as a kid and blamed it on Taehyung, but Mrs. Yeon knew that it was her daughter. A mother always knows her child, like a child always knows her mother.

As they all stepped out of the car, Hayan felt her hair with her hand, making sure the brown curls fell down her shoulders perfectly. Then she touched the small butterfly clip in the back of her head to make sure that it stayed in place. She glanced down at her high heels, the silver bracelet around her wrist, and the intricate rings on her slim fingers. Hayan felt lovely, it was a rare occurrence.

She could hear her parents discuss something related to work again as she stood behind them in the elevator. Mr. Yeon pressed the floor they needed to be on and they were making their way up to the top of the building, to the penthouse. Hayan wasn't enthusiastic. Though she had many memories of that place, she didn't miss it. She didn't cherish the memories either. All of it just reminded her of the way her parents really were. It was funny to Hayan how Mrs. Yeon was so delighted to see Mrs. Kim again when she used to badmouth her behind her back all the time. She still did it but pretended to care. She was a refined woman in people's eyes but was different behind the scenes. She was two-faced and a pure hypocrite. That's why Hayan despised her.

Looking at her reflection in the elevator, Hayan practiced a perfect smile and imagined the possible conversations they could have over dinner. Then all of a sudden Hayan felt ugly. She hated her smile because she knew the joy in her face or words would not be felt in her heart. She felt like her mother. Two-faced. She was going to pretend to be someone she wasn't, like an actor on the stage, and she was a very good actor. In fact, she'd been one for her whole life, sweet upfront but secretly bitter.

Hayan liked to think it was all part of an essential act. She was not like her mother for pretending to be nice. She was just following the basic social norms and etiquettes by showing herself to be a decent person. One needed to behave in certain ways in front of other people. She was not being fake. That was just how everyone was.

The elevator doors opened, revealing the short hallway that led towards the entrance of the penthouse. Hayan followed after her parents quietly. She felt like a six-year-old child yet once again, always standing behind her parents with words lingering at the tip of her tongue, but never saying anything. She was a grown-up now but had she grown up really? She still felt like she lived her life under her mother's forced influence, like a kid with no autonomy.

When the door finally opened, Hayan expected to be met with the face of a servant that would lead them inside, but to her surprise, Kim Taehyung stood in front of them, looking dashing and enchanting in an emerald green suit and his dyed blonde hair pushed back, exposing his forehead and perfect eyebrows.

"Welcome!" Taehyung greeted them with the brightest smile Hayan had ever seen on him. She could see that he was trying his best too, but his smile was only fake towards Hayan. He genuinely liked Mr. & Mrs. Yeon. Hayan thought it was a pity because he didn't know what they were actually like.

"We've been waiting for you! Come inside!"

After they all went in and Mrs. Yeon exchanged some sweet greetings with Taehyung and walked further on, Hayan saw him glare in her direction. She avoided his eyes as she walked past him and heard him scoff.

She already wanted to go back home.

____________________

A/N: I hate attending get-togethers.