The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

27 | Fitting Room Fervour

The following fortnight seemed to have passed in a second. The Water City, which was nothing more than a wreckage now, needed immediate intervention. The overnight massacre had left everyone in shock and with rumours flying around wildly, Taeyong had to step in and clean up the mess.

Dal-ae on the other hand, remained quite busy herself with her days spent in lessons with Doyoung and her evenings in the library by herself. On the days when Taeyong was in the Mansion, which were rare, she was required to only lay out his clothes as he hurried through his routine.

But even in this hustle, it was not lost on him that she had remained quite distant, maintaining the same reserved indifference since the morning after their visit to the Water City. He had tried to break the ice but had remained unsuccessful partly due to the lack of time on his part too.

Today, he had shifted his meetings to the Mansion itself in the hope that he could spend the evening with Dal-ae afterwards. He stayed in the meeting room through morning till the afternoon, zooming through the agenda. He did not even stop for a break in the hopes of finishing before nightfall. And by evening, he was done. He escorted the officials out with nothing more than a courtesy bow and found Dal-ae in the fitting room. Today she was getting measured for her gown for the Vampire Ball.

Inside the dark walls of the fitting room, Dal-ae was stood upon a pedestal in the centre while a team of dressmakers surrounded her. Doyoung was standing in the middle with his glasses pushed back in his hair and a tape measure hanging around his own neck. He was busy talking to the head tailor when Taeyong entered.

'I didn't know you had changed professions, Doyoung,' Taeyong said.

'My Lord,' Doyoung replied despite the cheeky remark. The rest in the room bowed too and waited for Taeyong's greeting. But his eyes were fixed on Dal-ae, who spared him nothing more than a curt nod.

'How much longer?' he asked Doyoung.

'We have only just started,' Doyoung replied. 'Is there something you want... my Lord?'

'Mhm. I want Dal-ae alone,' Taeyong said knowing full well what his words can mean to imply.

The dressmakers, who were still standing in a bow, looked at each other anxiously, unsure whether this was their cue to leave or not.

'But I understand that she needs a dress, so I will wait right here,' he said, settling himself comfortably on the sofa positioned right in front of Dal-ae. 'Please continue,' he told the dressmakers and leaned back on the headrest, folding one of his legs on the other.

Dal-ae, confused at first, figured it out soon – it was Taeyong's turn to put on a show. Leaning back, he sighed, a little too heavily and loosened the tie around his neck before unbuttoning his shirt halfway. He tilted his neck at an angle he knew would make the light from the sunset glint off his sharp jaw.

Dal-ae's eyes reflected all his antics – the accidental spill of water on his white shirt; the ruffling of his hair to let them fall over his eyes; the sleeves rolled up; his manspread, cocky and inviting, and his arms which he shameless put on display for her.

'Madam, your measurements now,' one of the dressmakers said, after they were finished matching the colours and deciding on the style of the gown.

Slowly, she took off her jacket revealing her sweaty blouse underneath clinging to her body. Each line was clearly visible through the white silk and did not help when the tape measure wrapped tightly around her every curve.

Taeyong gulped, despite himself. It was not just her smell that was driving him crazy now.

Innocently, Dal-ae tilted her head to the side with a smirk on her face, mocking him, knowing that she had won so easily. Taeyong watched the rest of her measurements in a daze. He had touched those parts before, he knew how they felt and god he hated how it wasn't his fingers which were gliding over her fabric right now.