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Jisung flopped down onto his bed and glanced over at his friend sitting in the armchair that was pushed against the wall. “Hey Jinnie? Hypothetically, if I proposed a stupid idea, would you enable me or would you stop me?” Hyunjin looked up from his sketchbook and raised an eyebrow. “I would probably enable you but it depends on your idea. You know just as well as I do that I can be as stupid as you are.”
“Are you calling me stupid? Anyway, you know how my parents are holding a ball so I can find a wife or husband or whatever? I mean, you know that they know that I’m gayer than a rainbow but they’re still inviting princesses, which is total bullshit, but it is what it is, I guess. Anyway, I was thinking, what if I wore a ballgown instead of a doublet and stuff like I’m supposed to? We both know that ballgowns are considered for royal women and doublets, suits, etcetera are for royal men, but I’m honestly fucking sick of my dad getting on my ass about not acting masculine enough and I want to piss him off by wearing a ballgown.”
“Wait Sung, before I enable this because I think it’s a genius idea, do you even have a gown ready? Are you going to steal one of your mom’s dresses or something? I think we both know that she would never willingly give you a dress and you don’t have a sister that could lend you a dress.” Hyunjin said. Jisung smiled. “But Yeji could give me one, couldn’t she? We’re the same height and we’ve known each other since we were babies. I think she would enable this idea and help me out by letting me borrow a gown.”
Hyunjin grinned and clapped his hands excitedly. “You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you? It’s a fantastic idea, and I’m going to enable it. My first reason is to see the chaos that this will ensue—specifically, your parents’ reaction—and my second reason is that I think you’d look gorgeous in a gown and that it’s time for a change. I want the future to be filled to the brim with men wearing dresses and women wearing suits. I want the future to be full of genderless clothing.”
Hyunjin points at Jisung. “And you, my best friend since birth, will be the catalyst to it all!” Jisung clapped. “Nice speech. Now, will you send your sister a letter or something telling her to bring an extra gown for me or do I have to do it myself? Tell her to bring a blue one if she can. Any shade is fine, I don’t mind. If she can’t though, anything will do. I just really want to wear a gown and piss my parents off. I also want to feel fabulous, but that’s just a nice addition.”
Hyunjin giggles. “Calm down, calm down, don’t explode from excitement. I’ll write the letter tonight and send it off tomorrow morning. Ugh, this would be so much easier with better methods of communication but this is all we have at the moment, so it’ll have to do, I guess.”
♕
Yeji had gotten permission from her parents to come to the Han’s palace earlier than planned. You see, even though the ball was taking place in a little over a week, it was planned for Hyunjin to come a little earlier than all of the invited guests because he was Jisung’s best friend and had the privilege of being able to come early to all of their events to spend extra time with Jisung. However, after Yeji had gotten the letter from her brother, she begged their parents to let her go earlier than expected. She didn’t state why, but she managed to win them over and they let her come.
Hyunjin and Jisung were both by the front gates waiting for her carriage to arrive. It wasn’t long before they heard the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves and the sound of wheels on gravel. The guards at the gates bowed down when Yeji stepped out of the carriage and she smiled and greeted them. She had brought two of her maids with her and ordered them to take her luggage up to her usual room.
She and Hyunjin had come over so much when they were younger that they had their own rooms in the palace and the rooms were decorated as if they were rooms that they slept in everyday. Just perks of being an old family friend that visited often, you know?
Yeji bounded over to them and crushed Jisung in a hug. “Sungieeee~ You’re as short as ever!” Jisung fake-gasped. “Hey! We’re the same height, just because you’re in heels doesn’t mean you can call me short!” The trio began heading up to Jisung’s room. “Yeah yeah, what ever .” She playfully rolled her eyes. Hyunjin reached over and jabbed her on the shoulder. “You’re not going to even say hi to your brother? Your twin brother? The one who exited the womb with you?”
“Ugh since you insist. Hi, dear twin brother who exited the womb 6 minutes earlier than I did.” Hyunjin grinned. “That’s better, Jiji. Thank you for acknowledging the fact that I’m older than you.” Yeji scoffed. “I bring it up once and you think you have the right to rub it in my face? How dare you. Jisung, defend me from my cruel brother.” Jisung laughed. “No thank you, I’ll take his side this time. This is the price you pay for calling me short”
Yeji dramatically gasped and put a hand to her forehead and pretended to faint. “I can’t believe this! I brought extra gowns for you so you could create chaos at your ball and you won’t even defend me against my evil twin brother? This is ridiculous! I shall have you shunned from the Hwang palace and the Hwang Kingdom for your deeds!”
“Hyunjinnie, you’ll undo the shunning right? You have just as much power as your sister does after all. I’m taking your side in this, please save me, I can’t bear the thought of not being able to step onto Hwang grou— Wait Yeji, you said gowns as in plural? You brought more than one? I get to try on more than one?” Jisung’s eyes lit up and Yeji laughed. “You look like a puppy who just saw a treat. Yes, I brought more than one. I know you think that you’ve seen my entire collection but you really haven’t. I have a ton of them and I brought a few that I think you’d look good in.”
Jisung’s jaw fell open. “Oh my god, thank you thank you thank you!! You’re the best, I love you so much.” It was Hyunjin’s turn to dramatically gasp. “Well just for that, I’m not going to undo your shunning from the Hwang Kingdom. I can’t believe you just betrayed me like this, how could you?” He pretended to sniff and wipe tears from his eyes. “HA! Well jokes on you, I’m taking back my shunning and letting Jisung back on Hwang grounds.” Yeji smiled smugly at her brother.
Hyunjin huffs and rolls his eyes. “You’re insufferable.” Yeji smiles innocently. “I don’t know what you mean, I’m not insufferable at all!” The twins continue to argue with each other, occasionally dragging Jisung into it and they eventually make it to Jisung’s room. Once they get inside, Jisung immediately flops onto the bed and pulls the two of them down with him. They both grunt at the impact from falling against the bed and there’s a moment of silence before Jisung remembers the reason why Yeji’s here in the first place.
“So, Yeji, which gowns did you bring?” Jisung asks, eyes bright with excitement. Yeji grins. “I brought the best ones I have. I don’t think you’ve seen some of them either. Hell, I don’t think that my parents even remember some of the ones I brought. Which is good, because if you get in trouble for this, the gown won’t be recognized as mine and I won’t get in trouble with you. Your parents are downright terrifying when they’re mad.”
The trio shudders at the memory of the king and queen of the Han Kingdom getting angry at them one time when they were younger and causing a ruckus in the library, nearly destroying the entire room. “As much as I want to be mad that you won’t get in trouble with me if it comes to it, I think that you have a very valid reason.” Jisung says. “Holy hell, I might actually get in trouble for this.”
Hyunjin winces. “Hopefully you won’t. I don’t want you to have to get yelled at by your parents just for wearing a dress. Not gonna lie, I don’t feel like stepping into the direct path of your parents and their anger, but if push comes to shove and I feel like I have to, I’ll do it and try to defend you.” Hyunjin says. “Same here. I already said I don’t want to step in, but if I think it’s necessary, I’m going to do it with Hyunjin. The three of us can take it together.” Yeji said. “Thank you, you guys, really. I know that they can be really scary. Thank you for wanting to step in for me.”
“Aw, it’s nothing. We’re a trio, we stick together. We’ve always helped each other in the past, why stop now?” Hyunjin said. He ruffled Jisung’s hair. “We’ll always help you out. You’ve saved our asses many times as well, I think it’s our turn to save yours if we have to.” Yeji smiled fondly at Jisung. “Yeah, we will, no matter what it is. Now, as soon as my maids bring up my suitcases, we’re turning you into a dress-up doll and seeing what looks best on you!” Jisung claps excitedly and the trio continue to talk about random things until they hear a knock on the door.
“Come in!” Yeji calls toward the general direction of the door. The trio sits up as the door opens and Yeji’s maids carry her stuff in. “Hello, Your Highnesses.” The maids bow to each of them and set the stuff down. “You guys don’t need to address us formally, we don’t mind!” Yeji says. Hyunjin and Jisung nod. “Yeah, we don’t mind informal speech. Just not in front of the king and queen though. Stay formal in front of them.” Hyunjin says.
“Oh, my apologies. We’ll be heading off to the servant quarters now.” The maids bowed again and gently shut the door behind them. The trio stayed quiet for a second before Yeji stood up and dashed over to her suitcases.
“I had to bring an extra suitcase for all of the stuff for your gowns, Jisung, but I think seeing you all dolled up in them will be worth the extra effort. Yes, you’re going to wear the corset and everything. No, I won’t let you complain about it. I’m making you wear heels too.” Yeji said. She stood up and pulled Jisung over to her and Hyunjin followed and clapped excitedly. “I know how to do makeup! I’ll do some light makeup for you after you decide on the gown and I’ll do the actual makeup on the day of the ball too.”
“Wait, why did you never tell me you could do makeup? I’ve always wanted to have my makeup done but I was too scared to ask my maids or servants because I didn’t want them to tell my dad. You’re telling me that I could’ve asked you to do it all along?” Jisung frowned. “Man, I could’ve glammed up ages ago and I never even knew.” Hyunjin gaped at him. “I thought you knew! Have you seriously never seen the makeup on my face these past few years? I started off by stealing my mom’s makeup products but I eventually got interested in the science of it and created my own. The colors are vibrant as hell, how did you never notice?”
“I thought that your maids or servants did the makeup for you! Plus, you always keep it subtle, even if the colors are vibrant!” Jisung exclaimed. Hyunjin smiled and patted his head. “I’ll do your makeup now and for the ball, I’ll make it so amazing that it’ll make up for all of the times that you missed out on my makeup skills. Now, undress, because we’re gonna try on all of these dresses. Please keep on your underwear though, we don’t want a repeat of what happened when we were twelve.”
“Hey! We were twelve, how was I supposed to know what you meant by “undress”?!” Jisung protested. He took off his clothes anyway and Yeji handed him a thin, fitted undershirt. “Put this on and do some stretches for your torso. It’ll help with the discomfort from the corset.” Jisung put the shirt on and Yeji guided him through stretches and then she handed him a cream colored corset and told him how to put it on.
“I’m giving you one of the corsets that I use somewhat often because it’s already broken in. If I gave you a brand new one, you’d have to wear it often and break it in yourself and it’s absolute hell wearing a brand new corset. I didn’t want you to have to go through that, so I figured it’d be easier to just give you one of the corsets that I’ve already broken in. It might fit a bit weirdly at first since it’s kind of molded to me, but it should mold itself to you over time.” Yeji said.
Jisung struggled to put it on correctly at first, but he managed to get it on properly with a bit of help from Yeji and Hyunjin. “Okay, brace yourself against the edge of your desk or on the wall. Jinnie’s tightened my corset for me before, so he’ll do it for you too. I’m pretty sure he has more experience in that department than I do, anyway, so he’s the best person here.” Yeji said. Jisung nodded at her instructions and went to the wall and put his hands against it and gave the twins a thumbs up to signal that he was ready.
Hyunjin walked over and adjusted it a bit so that the gap was as parallel as it could be. “This might be a bit uncomfortable,” he warned. He then grabbed the laces and started to tighten the corset. Jisung automatically stiffened up but reminded himself to relax a little bit. He felt Hyunjin pull again and told himself to breathe. He heard the laces being tied and Hyunjin stepping back. “I didn’t tighten it all the way since this is your first time and I don’t want to accidentally hurt you by making it too tight. You’ll probably be wearing the corset under your regular clothing for about 4-6 hours a day, depending on how your body is handling it. It’ll be like this everyday until the night of the ball and then after that you don’t have to wear it anymore unless you want to wear gowns to other formal functions. If you do, then you’ll have to get your body used to a corset again.” Hyunjin said.
“Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I’ll pull it a little tighter everyday as well, until it gets as tight as it can be. Anyway, how do you feel?” Hyunjin asked. Jisung took a few deep breaths. “It’s a little constricting but it’s not too bad. I’ll get used to it quickly enough. Jeez, my waist is even smaller now. I’ve always had a small waist but this exaggerates it so much.” Jisung said in awe. Yeji smiled. “Yeah, your waist always looked amazing. God, you might look better in my dresses than I do.” Jisung blushes at the comment and waves a hand at her dismissively. “No way, you look stunning in your dresses, there’s no way I can top that!”
Yeji shakes her head in disagreement and hands him a purple mass of fabric. “Lies. Anyway put this on, I think this would look really good on you.” Jisung gaped at the amount of fabric he was holding but he tried to figure out where the top and the bottom was anyway. “I— Yeji, how am I supposed to put this on?” She sighs and shakes her head. “I’ll help you. Give it to me?” He gives her the dress and she sets it the right way up and unzips the back. “Step into the dress. Be careful not to step on the hem and trip.”
Once Jisung was fully zipped into the dress, Yeji stepped back and her jaw dropped in awe. The dark purple gown was an off-the-shoulder one with a heart-shaped bodice and a large puffy skirt made from shimmery purple tulle. There were white gems adorning the bodice and the whole gown glimmered with every move Jisung made. “Holy shit, I knew that this was a stunning dress, you make it look even better!” Yeji exclaimed. “Go look in the mirror!”
Jisung carefully made his way over to the large full body mirror in his room and his jaw dropped in shock. He knew that the gown was stunning from looking down after he wore it, but seeing it completely maximized the beauty of it. “Holy shit, I look gorgeous.” He looked at Yeji and Hyunjin, eyes sparkling with joy. “Can I try on the other ones too? I want to see which one looks the best on me and wear that one to the ball.”
Yeji quickly nods. “Yeah, I have, like, four more in here. The one you’re wearing right now is actually my least favorite one out of all of them. The tulle is just too much for me, y’know?” Jisung nods in agreement. “Yeah, it’s stunning, but it’s honestly kind of hard to move in and it’s heavy as hell. If I wear heels with this, I feel like I might slip or something and fall.”
Yeji went to get another gown out of her suitcase and Hyunjin helped him get out of the dress. This time, he was handed a pink gown. It seemed a lot less puffy than the purple one and seemed very elegant. Hyunjin helped him into it and stepped back once he was fully zipped up. “Oh wow, you look fantastic in pink. It’s gorgeous on you! Go look!” Jisung stepped back to the mirror and his jaw dropped once more.
The skirt was a lot less puffy this time and it had a short tail. The bodice was a baby pink with darker swirls toward the waist. It was sleeveless with two straps holding it up. If he looked closely, he could see that the skirt had a pattern on it, resembling flowers. It was gorgeous, although it was a little too feminine for his taste. “Oh my god, Yeji, this is beautiful! It’s a little too feminine for my taste though. Too many flowers and too much pink., not that I’m against it. It’s just too feminine for me, y’know?”
“Valid. It’s not one of my favorites either, but it’s gorgeous either way. Here, try on this yellow one. I think it suits your style and your taste a little better.” He undressed once again and put on the yellow dress this time. This one had a little puffy sleeve and yellow gems on it’s bodice, creating a sunflower pattern. The skirt puffed out, but it wasn’t made of tulle and was easier to move around in. There were more gems at the bottom of the skirt also resembling sunflowers and it was a very bright and sunny dress, fitting for his personality. He walked over to the mirror after it was zipped up and smiled.
“This one’s pretty cute, I like it! Yeji, you said that you brought five, right? I really like this one, I might want to wear it for the ball. I want to try the other two first, though.” He walked back over to Hyunjin to get the gown unzipped. “Yeah, there are two more in here. The one you’re wearing right now suits you and your sunny personality very well, though. Anyway, here's the next one!” She handed him another gown.
This one was a pale green gown, with a smaller skirt than the purple and yellow one, but a bit puffier than the pink one. It had long, flowy sleeves and an even paler green bodice. There were silver accents along the hems of the sleeves and skirt and where the bodice met the skirt. It was simpler than the others, but just as extravagant and beautiful. It was pretty comfortable to walk in and he felt nice while wearing it.
Yeji and Hyunjin clapped as he did a little twirl for them. “You look so pretty in green, Sungie! You look so elegant in it! I like this one a bit more than the yellow one actually. This one suits you pretty well, too!” Hyunjin exclaimed. “Yeah, I like this one a lot too. I think this is gonna be a decision between the yellow one and this one. And possibly the last gown that Yeji has. Let’s try it now and make a decision now! Then maybe you can get the basic idea for the makeup thought out, Jinnie.”
Jisung got undressed once again and this time Yeji handed him a blue gown. He didn’t really look at it as he stepped into it and got his first impression when he saw himself in the mirror. His jaw dropped straight to the floor and he heard the twins gasp behind him. To put it simply, it was the best dress out of the five. The gown was an ombre with the palest blue at the top and navy blue at the bottom with gems matching the color of the fabric all over the bodice.
It was off-the-shoulder like the first one and the skirt puffed out just right. The gems decorating the bodice were scattered along the skirt as well and overall, the gown was just so comfortable. “Sungie, oh my god! Blue is your color, it is definitely your color, 100%. You look beautiful in it!” Yeji was nearly shouting in delight. Hyunjin nods vigorously. “God, you look so good in blue, I envy you. I’m already imagining all of the makeup looks I could do to compliment this gown. Your natural beauty just makes it easier for me. Please tell me you’re going to choose this dress as the one you’re wearing to the ball, please, please, please .”
Jisung grins. “I’m definitely going to wear this one to the ball, I love this one so much, oh my god—” The twins cut him off with their ecstatic claps and cheers. “Yeji, thank you thank you thank you for coming here with your gorgeous ballgowns for me to try.” He makes his way over to her and hugs her with all of his strength. “Stop, stop I get it, you’re gonna crush me!” She hugs him back just as hard anyway and Hyunjin throws himself into the hug and they stand there excitedly talking about the ball while in a group hug.
“Man, I never thought that I’d get to see Jisung in a dress in all my years of living, but I’m so glad I get to watch him piss his parents off and create chaos and see him in a dress!” Yeji squeals. Hyunjin and Jisung laugh and Jisung asks a question that had been on his mind the moment he saw himself in the gown. “Can I keep the blue one? Even if I never wear it again, I want to keep it as a little memory thing.” Yeji nods vigorously. “Keep it, please. You look way better in it than I do.
♕
The week had breezed by, and Jisung suddenly felt a wave of nervousness overtake him the morning of the ball. One week wasn’t that much time to get used to wearing a corset full-tightness, but they had to make do with it and Jisung was now able to handle wearing a corset for several hours at its maximum tightness, although it was with a bit of discomfort. He, Yeji, and Hyunjin had already agreed to meet in his room a few hours before the ball to get ready together, and they told their maids and servants that they were going to get ready together and do each others’ makeup. The maids and servants agreed, so all there was left to do was actually get ready.
The morning passed by quickly, as he got swept up with the last minute preparations like the rest of the palace did. Most of the guests had arrived the day before and had their own chambers in the palace. Jisung had to greet them all, of course, but he didn’t remember much of it since he zoned out and did everything on autopilot. He tried to avoid everyone to the best of his abilities because he didn’t do too good with crowds. Not the best thing ever, being a prince, but oh well. At least he wasn’t the crown prince. Imagine the crowds he’d have to deal with then.
Once it began nearing the evening, he was sent to his room to get ready for the ball. He sat on his bed freaking out for a few minutes before Yeji knocked on the door and he let her and Hyunjin in. He’d kept the corset and gown in his closet, so all Yeji and Hyunjin had to bring was the makeup and his heels (along with their own stuff, of course). Apparently, the nerves were all over his face and Yeji decided to take control immediately.
“Okay, let’s get dressed. Getting three people ready is going to take a longer time than getting one person ready after all.” Yeji is the first one to start stripping and gives a fitted undershirt to Jisung and puts one on herself. The one that Jisung gets is different from the one he usually uses because this one had no straps. It was more of a fitted tube top, probably to accommodate the fact that his gown was off-the-shoulder and straps would easily be seen.
He got his corset out after doing some stretches and Hyunjin tightened the laces for both him and Yeji. He carefully takes the gown out of his closet and unzips it, carefully stepping into it and it gets zipped with some assistance from Yeji. In return, he ties her halter dress for her. Yeji pulls out a pair of heels and hands them to him.
“I’ve let you borrow these for the past week to practice walking and made you give them back at the end of the day everyday, but these are now yours. Take care of them for me.” she said, faking a serious tone. He mimics the tone and takes the heels. “Thank you, Yeji. I will take great care of them, I promise.” He sets them to one side for now and looks in the mirror again. “Also, thank you again for the dress, Yeji.” She smiles. “It was nothing. I’m glad you’re so happy about it. I can’t wait to see your dad’s reaction to this.”
Hyunjin grins. “Man, this is gonna be the best night of my life. Now, who’s ready for makeup?” They did a three-way Rock, Paper, Scissors game to decide the order of who was going to get their makeup done. Yeji won and Jisung lost, so the order was Yeji, Hyunjin, then Jisung. Since Yeji was also pretty good with makeup, she was going to be doing Hyunjin’s while Hyunjin did hers and Jisung’s.
Hyunjin carefully applied different shades of pink eyeshadow on Yeji with the lightest shade in the inner corner, slowly working its way out and getting darker towards the ends. He took out eyeliner and began outlining a sharp wing. Once he was happy with it, he repeated the process on the other side and filled in the wing. He put some lip stain on her and he declared her makeup finished.
The pink complimented her gown beautifully and the eyeliner was flawless. The colors complimented her skin and the pink streak in her hair as well. Jisung gave a small round of applause. “Holy hell, Jinnie, I didn’t realize you were this good with makeup. That eyeliner looks amazing!” Hyunjin flushed under the praise. “It’s nothing. All it takes is practice. Now, it’s time for my makeup!”
Yeji got out the eyeshadow with subtle reds and oranges and began filling in the area near the lashline, blending it out evenly. She placed a slightly darker red on the outer edges but mostly kept the same tone throughout. Then, she highlighted the middle of the lid with a shimmery white eyeshadow. When that was done, she took out red eyeliner and carefully did a tiny wing, She outlined the bottom lashline as well. She put a subtle, nearly colorless lip stain on him and stood up once she was done.
Overall, the makeup was very subtle and was only noticeable if you looked closely. The red eyeliner brought everything together and both he and Yeji clapped at her masterpiece. “Huh, this turned out better than I thought it would. I grabbed the red eyeliner on a whim, but it pulls everything together.” She gave herself a little pat on the back and Hyunjin laughed. “Red eyeliner goes very well with a lot of makeup looks. I can’t wait to see what it looks like. Now, it’s time to work my magic on Sungie over here!” He claps excitedly and beckons Jisung over to sit on the bed, facing him.
Hyunjin pulls out a palette of blue eyeshadows. Similarly to how he did Yeji’s, he put the lightest blue in the inner corner and it went out to a darker blue towards the end. On the middle of the lid near the crease, he highlighted it with a shimmery silver shadow and finished everything off with a dark blue eyeliner. He also took out a pack of eye gems and glued them along the bottom of Jisung’s eyes. Finally, Hyunjin chose a light pink lip stain for him and leaned back to survey everything once he was done. Out of everyone, Jisung took the most time because of how slowly and carefully the makeup was being put on. His was also the most elaborate out of all of them.
“Wow, I’ve outdone myself. Yej, look.” Hyunjin said. Jisung turned around to face Yeji and she squealed. “Oh my god, Sung, you look drop dead gorgeous! You are definitely going to sweep everyone off of their feet tonight!” They drift off into brief chatter for a moment before Jisung suddenly remembers something. “Guys, we haven’t done our hair yet!” The room quickly evolves into chaos with the three of them realizing they don’t have much time left to do hair.
“Okay okay, let’s do Jisung’s first, he’s going to take the shortest because he has the shortest. hair. We’ll do mine next since my hair isn’t too long and I’m not expected to have a complicated updo. We’ll do Yeji’s last because she has long hair that needs to be elegantly styled.” Hyunjin says. Yeji had already remembered to bring over hair supplies so she got the stuff out and turned to Jisung. “Okay, how do you want your hair styled?”
“Uh, a side part with the hair swooping over my forehead slightly? With two strands of hair hanging down more, one on each side. I think I’ve had that hairstyle before.” Jisung said. Yeji nods. “Okay, that’s simple enough, I can do that. Hyunjin pass me the hair gel.” She called out. Hyunjin handed her the hair gel and she began getting to work.
The hairstyle was simple enough and she was finished with it fairly quickly. “Alright, I’m done. Okay, Jinnie’s next, right? Sung, do you want to take over?” Jisung nods. “Sure. I’ve done his hair before, you can go wash your hands and take a break.” Jisung scoots over to Hyunjin. “What hairstyle do you want to do? I think I’m the best at doing hair here so you can tell me to do whatever. Just don’t make it take up so much time because we need to do Yeji’s after yours.” Hyunjin mulls it over for a minute. “Hmm, how about a half bun? Y’know how I usually do my hair in a half ponytail with two little wisps of hair hanging out? What if you do that, but instead of a ponytail, it’s a little bun? That’s pretty simple, but it’s elegant and different from what I usually do.”
“Okay, I can do that! Get ready for my magnificent styling skills!” Hyunjin snorts and Jisung swats at him before taking out the hair ties and hairspray and starting to gather the hair up. He does a small French braid at the top leading into the bun and secures it with a clear hair tie and hairspray before taking a bejeweled clip and securing it over the elastic to cover it up. The two wisps of hair have already been separated and are delicately framing his face. “Okay, I’m done. It looks better than I thought it would! You can rock any hairstyle, what the fuck? Now, it’s Yeji’s turn.” She walks over to them and sits down in front of Jisung.
This wasn’t the first time that he’d done her hair for formal events and he was used to handling her long hair. “Okay, Yeji. What do you want me to do with your hair?” Yeji’s reply was instant. “Well, it’s pretty expected for me to have a fancy hairstyle, so maybe an updo? I just want the pink streak to be front and center.” she said. “Hmm. Oh! I think I know what I can do.” He’d actually done this hairstyle for his younger cousin before, many times, actually.
His mind went to autopilot as he started braiding and tying the hair. It took him a while to finish, even with Hyunjin helping but finally, he was finished. He placed two crystal flower clips on the edge of the updo and smiled. “I’m finished. You look gorgeous in this hairstyle, holy shit. I made sure to keep the streak visible by the way. Now do you guys want to take the sheet off of the mirror and see what you look like?” The twins nodded and the three of them pulled the sheet away from the mirror.
Jisung gasped and took in how he looked with the gown and makeup on. If he thought that he looked nice in the gown last week, it was amplified by a hundred times now. The makeup complimented the gown perfectly and was absolutely flawless. The gown fitted perfectly against him and the skirt puffing out made his already small waist look even smaller. His hair was in a softer hairstyle than he usually had it in and it paired well with the aura he gave off while wearing the gown. “Oh my god. Jinnie, the makeup looks amazing! It fits so well with the gown..” He trailed off in awe and continued to gape at his reflection.
Beside him, Yeji had her own jaw on the ground as she looked at her makeup and hair. “Ji, you did such a good job with the hair! Hyunjinnie, you did so good with the makeup, too!” She was wearing a pink and white gown with a keyhole opening in the front that was tied like a halter in the back. The skirt was made of a smooth, flowy fabric and billowed just right around her. The bodice was made from a shimmery white material and glistened under the light. The makeup that Hyunjin did accompanied the dress and the pink streak in her hair perfectly. She simply looked stunning.
“Oh wow, Yej, you did a good job with my makeup too! And Sung, the hairstyle you did looks so cute, I should do it more often.” Hyunjin was wearing a white suit with gold and red accents along the collar and the hems of the sleeves. It was subtle, yet somehow flashy at the same time and it radiated purity and beauty. The subtle red makeup complimented the accents well and the hairdo made him look even more princely. He looked so good, it was ridiculous.
“Well, we all look stunning, as we should, and we have, like, 15 minutes until the ball starts. Let’s discuss what’s going to happen, I guess?” Hyunjin said. “Okay, so I know that I’m expected to be down there first, but I’m scared that my dad will somehow force me to change right before the whole thing starts and I don’t want that to happen. The only way to prevent that is by coming down slightly late when everyone’s already there. He wouldn’t dare cause a scene then. We just need to figure out an excuse.” Jisung said.
“Hmm, Jin and I could say that you had a last minute wardrobe malfunction and are heading down right then? You could just be a few minutes late and that should be enough. Most of the guests are from far away and they’re already at the castle. The closer ones are arriving by carriage by the beginning of the ball so it won’t be too long before nearly everyone is there.” Yeji said.
“Okay, that should work then. Come on, it's almost time to head down. You guys should put your heels or shoes or whatever on.” As if on cue, there were a series of knocks on the door and a servant shouted “Your Highness, it is time to head to the ballroom! The guests are starting to gather in it!” Yeji and Hyunjin nod at Jisung who goes to hide behind the door to not make his gown visible. Once the door opened, the twins went out and he heard Yeji say that he was “having a small wardrobe malfunction and was going to head out in a moment.” The servant said something along the lines of “Oh alright.” and walked away from the door.
He counted to exactly five minutes in his head, partially to time his entrance to the ball and partially to distract himself from his nerves. Once he knew that the hallway was somewhat clear, he put on the heels that Yeji gave him and walked out. He walked with (slightly fake) confidence and prayed that he wouldn’t trip on the hem of the gown or break his ankles wearing the heels. Since he was shorter than average, he usually wore shoes with thick platforms to fake an extra inch or two and heels weren’t much different, he didn’t struggle too much with them. However, his nerves were making him think about the worst possibilities. Oh, and it didn’t really help that his anxiety with crowds would definitely be triggered with all of the attention on him more than ever because he was in a gown and not a suit.
Maybe he shouldn’t have done this. The attention was already going to be on him the whole night and him wearing a gown when he shouldn’t be would just amplify it. He felt himself begin to spiral into anxious thoughts and shook his head, picturing his parents’ outraged-but-desperately-trying-to-look-neutral expression once he entered the ballroom. It grounded him and he reminded himself that this would all be worth it.
He reached the ballroom sooner than he liked and took a deep breath before facing the guards. They were gaping at him and he felt nervous under their gaze. “Your Highness, you look great in that gown! I’ve never seen a man wear a feminine piece of clothing before, but you look surprisingly good.” one of the guards said. The compliment gave him a sudden burst of confidence. “Thank you. That actually soothed some of my nerves. Maybe I won’t be judged too hard tonight. I think it’s time I go in.” The guards nod and open the door.
Jisung had heard chatter even from outside of the door but the moment it opened and he stepped through, it was pin drop silent. He quickly looked over at his parents and held in a laugh at their stunned faces. It was planned that he was going to come in slightly after the first few guests, then say a little speech, but he delayed his entrance a bit with the wardrobe malfunction excuse. He walked to the little podium as planned and took a deep breath. Every single pair of eyes was on him. Yeji and Hyunjin caught his eye and they gave him a thumbs up.
He took a deep breath before beginning his little speech. “Hello. I’m Prince Han Jisung. Today, this ball is being held so that I can find a person to marry. I am to become king soon and according to tradition, I shall find a spouse before my coronation. I will have a dance with all of the princes and princesses in this room, and when I make my decision, a letter will be sent to your palace. Please do not take it personally if I don’t choose you, thank you. Also, the decision will not be immediate, so please be patient with me.” He bows towards the audience and Yeji and Hyunjin start clapping. Slowly, most of the room got over their shock and started clapping as well. He could see faces with scowls but he paid no attention to them and went to greet his parents.
“Hello, Mother, Father.” He stood with his head held high and tried not to shrink in on himself when his father looked at him incredulously. “Han Jisung. What is the meaning of this? Why are you wearing a ballgown and makeup? You are a man, you should be dressing like a woman. Who told you this was acceptable and that you should do it?” His father tried to keep a calm face but the anger seeped into his voice. “Father, with all due respect, it was my own choice. I wanted to do this. I don’t think that clothing should have a gender. Men should be able to wear gowns without ridicule and women should be able to wear suits without any strange looks. I’m tired of the gendered clothing boundaries so I decided to take the first step.”
“You could’ve done this whenever you wanted, yet you chose today? What if no one wants to marry you now? What will you do then?” His mother asked. “Would you rather I do it at my coronation ball when even more people are going to be here? Mother, I don’t think that every single person in this room can be that judgemental. If I don’t find a person to marry, so be it. I can try and find one myself. There is nothing to worry about.”
His father scoffed. “You are speaking nonsense. I don’t understand what’s gotten into you, Jisung. Surely you’re smarter than this. Get out of my sight. I don't want to speak to you right now. You’ll be lucky if someone thinks that you’re worthy of marrying them.” Both of his parents turned away. It definitely hurt, of course it did. His own parents were being judgemental about the gown and makeup. Why wouldn’t it hurt? The little jabs implying that no one will see him worthy enough to marry hurt. He felt tears starting to prickle at his eyes and blinked them back. He thought about their shocked faces and instantly smiled. He stepped away from his parents and into the crowd.
He was instantly whisked away by princes and princesses left and right. There was the occasional king or queen who would scoff at him and look down at him, but he shrugged it off. The princes and princesses all said that he looked stunning and that they loved how brave he was to wear it. One princess even said that this made her want to start not caring about what other people thought and wear suits like she’d always wanted to. He felt a rush of pride and happiness because he was making an impact! It was all worth it.
After dancing with nearly all of the princes and princesses and having nice conversations with them, he finally got the chance to escape to the corner for a little breather. “Ji!! You were amazing with that speech! You looked so confident and radiant, oh I’m so proud of you!” Yeji wrapped him in a nice warm hug. “I saw you go over to your parents, what happened?” Hyunjin asked. Jisung shrugged. “They’re pissed and tried to get it in my head that I’m being ridiculous and that no one will think I’m worthy of marrying them but all of the people I’ve talked to are saying otherwise. I don’t want to marry anyone though, and I don’t think they want to marry me either. Not because of the gown, but more because we just had friendly conversations and nothing really had that romantic click, y’know?”
“Ah, okay. Take your time! There are still a few left aren’t there? Maybe it’ll be one of them! And if it isn’t, you can stay single with us for a little longer. There’s nothing to lose.” Yeji said. Hyunjin scoffed. “Single with us? You literally have a girlfriend.” he said. “You’re just salty that I’m in a loving relationship and you aren’t. You’ve literally been pining for Changbin for ages. Just go confess already! Maybe you won’t be so salty then.” Yeji said. “I’ll go talk to Ryujin now, I hope you get a boyfriend by the end of this Sungie!. As for Hyunjinnie here, I hope you embarrass yourself while confessing to Changbin.” She shot them a smile and headed off to find her girlfriend.
“I can’t believe her! Ugh I’m going to go find her and try to embarrass her. I hope you get a boyfriend by the time I’m back!” He waved and disappeared into the crowd. Jisung stayed in the corner to try and regain some energy and managed to get a little bit of peace and quiet (well, as much as you could get in a crowded ballroom full of loud royals) before he heard someone approach him. “Hello Prince Jisung, may I have a dance? You look beautiful tonight.” He looked up to see the most handsome man he’d ever seen.
He sort of resembled a puppy and had a sparkle in his eyes. Jisung felt his heart stop. Maybe I will get a boyfriend tonight. “Yes you may. May I know your name?” he asked as he stood up. The man began leading, which Jisung quickly complied to (thanks to many dance practices with Hyunjin where he was being led) and they danced to the rhythm of the orchestra playing. “I’m Prince Kim Seungmin, it’s nice to meet you.” the man said. His name is so pretty.
“Uh, I guess you already know, but I’m Prince Han Jisung, it’s nice to meet you too. How come this is the first time I’ve seen you? You would’ve surely caught my eye if I’ve seen you before.” Jisung said. Seungmin laughed and Jisung felt his heart stop once more. Seungmin’s laugh was the most melodic thing he’d ever heard, somehow elegant and graceful. “I was a sickly child. I wasn’t able to go to many royal events. Perhaps you’ve met my brother, Wonpil?”
Jisung did recall meeting a man named Wonpil a few years back. “I think I have. Well, I’m glad you’re not as sickly and were able to come to this ball. I might’ve never met you otherwise. What a shame that would be.” Seungmin laughed again. “My, my, you’re laying it on thick, aren’t you. Not that I mind. You’re so handsome, I would gladly accept any advances you make.” Jisung felt his cheeks turn warm. “Oh really? I didn’t think that I was handsome enough to have you accept my advances so quickly. Maybe I should push it some more and get to know you better? I think you’d make a wonderful husband and be a great king by my side.”
Seungmin spun and dipped him before pulling him upright. “Oh, that does sound appealing. Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer. There are so many benefits after all. I get to be by your side. That would be an honor. After all, you were brave enough to wear makeup and a gown. I admire that bravery. I’ve wanted to take away gendered clothing boundaries for a while now. Maybe together, we can destroy them and let people wear what they want, no matter who they are.”
“Oh, that sounds like a great plan. Do you want to go out to the gardens and get some fresh air?” Jisung asked. “We could get to know each other better. Maybe this could lead to something more.” Jisung said.
“I think that that is a great idea, my prince.”