Word Count: 1,768

Note: I've finally managed to get the first chapter up, and I hope everyone is excited since I have a lot planned for this fic!

~~

Oh Hwayoung.

Just a slight mention of the name would conjure images of dark, steely eyes and long, pristine hair. Immaculate uniform skirts and an unfaltering stance. Sharp words and a headstrong personality.

For all eighteen years of her life, Hwayoung has never once faltered at the harsh insults of others, especially with her tenacious personality. Perhaps it’s simply intrinsic, something she was born with. Or perhaps it’s the influence of her father, the owner of a large, nationwide corporation built from nothing but a small institution running on loans from unwilling banks and the persistence of a young man with a knack for business.

All her life, the only family Hwayoung has known is her father.

He hasn’t once mentioned anything about her mother, leaving Hwayoung’s imagination to evoke images with only the dim, faded pictures from his high school days in his drawer. The large manor where she resides is filled with only the presence of her father and the few butlers and maids her father keeps around.

And though Hwayoung’s affection is limited to the few friends and whatever acquaintances she may have, she’s definitely not heartless. It’s not unusual for others to mistake her desire to be independent as an attempt to isolate others from her life.

Hwayoung does not need the aid of others to be successful and carry on with her daily life.

And she intends to keep it that way.

~~

Being a second-year university student is tiring, especially when you’re only into the second month and sleep is already considered a delicacy.

When Hwayoung wakes up to the dull beeping of her alarm clock, she suspects it’s going to be another typical day.

It’s after washing briefly and brushing her straight locks that she slips into a dark skirt, a spotless button-down, and a gray blazer. She greets the maid in the kitchen with a low murmur, before grabbing a piece of toast and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

It’s only as she’s passing by the long dining table, where her father is seated, that she stops.

“Hwayoung,” her father calls, a rustle of paper heard as he sets the newspaper in his hands down. “You need to eat more than that to survive college.”

“I eat this every day, dad,” Hwayoung sighs, “and I’m fine.”

Her father lets out a low yet concerned chuckle, “Hwayoung, princess, we are related by blood, and the one thing that defines our family is our persistence. That means we are going to have this same conversation until you give in.”

Hwayoung lets out a terse sigh, and something that seems to be somewhat of a playful grin plays on her lips as she states, “Dad, another thing that defines our family is being stubborn. That means neither of us are going to give up.”

Her father rolls her eyes while exhaling sharply, and she realizes once more how similar they are when she’s reminded of how often she does that.

“If you say so,” he chuckles. “Need a ride after school?”

“I’ll walk,” Hwayoung responds, “or catch a bus.”

“Princess, the butler can drive you,” her father insists. Her campus is more than a few streets away, but it isn’t something that her legs can’t handle.

“I got it, dad,” she says, before stepping towards the door.

“Princess,” her father calls for what seems to be the tenth time.

“Yes, father,” Hwayoung says, attempting but failing to hide the groan in her voice.

“Please try to smile a bit,” her father insists. “You’re not heartless, Hwayoung, and you and I both know that.”

“It's hard to smile when you only get four hours of sleep at night,” she smiles impishly. “See you, dad.”

She turns the doorknob and swings the door open into the cool, autumn air, but she briefly turns around to say, “And dad, you don’t have to call me princess anymore, I’m an adult.”

“You’ll always be my little princess,” her father calls back.

Hwayoung rolls her eyes and steps onto the rough concrete sidewalks roping around the manor.

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