When I was sixteen, I thought that the world revolved around me. Maybe Baekhyun is karma for everything wrong I’ve did as a teenager, a spoiled one that is.

Seoul High was, as cliché as it sounds, the nest of heirs and heiresses of the richest and strongest families in Korea. I was one of them, and I stood proud on the top of the social pyramid like the snobby I was.

I knew I was smart and talented, and I used it to get what I wanted. Being the only heiress to the Yoon Financial Group has its perks, with students from all kinds of grades wanting to be friends with you for the connections. I sent kids running around in circles just to entertain myself.

Yet my parents used my strengths as an advantage to destroy my life altogether. They promised me a future of pursuing my love for arts and dancing if I’d struck gold with my high school diploma.

I should’ve known that it was too good to be true. I guess being an overconfident little was my downfall, because I played right into their trap and worked my off to be on the top of the school with my grades.

My circle was small, being the elitist I am. If a trio counts as a circle, that is.

Even when I only had a number of friends that you can count on one hand and bossed people around for my personal entertainment, I had a blast of a high school for as much as I can’t remember.

The catch though was, I didn’t have time for anything remotely close to love.

Sometimes, I still think I deserve what I’ve gotten myself into.

I’d been friends with Jaehyung for as long as I can remember because his parents were close friends of mine, and they’d thought that they would be making wise financial decisions for the future of our companies if we’d learn to trust each other from a very young age.

Somi, on the other hand, was a new addition to the powerful duo both Jaehyung and I was always known as. She had been a transfer student, fresh from Daegu, the result of her parents’ successful advances in the pharmaceutical world.

The three of us clicked like old time friends. Somi was smart, sweet—everything I valued in a person packaged into a small human being. She’d learned a lot about me in the short period of time we spent together, and to my delight, picked up the same interests as me.

Somi grew to love dancing as much as I did. Although she was new to it unlike myself who had the proper training ever since I was a child, I took it upon myself to teach her everything and anything because I had never been more excited to have a friend share the same interest with me.

Jaehyung struggles with just singing a simple happy birthday song, so I was ecstatic at the idea of Somi.

Somi and Jaehyung were the two pillars who supported me breaking my back trying to get that valedictorian title and pursuing my dancing career at the same time.

Even though my pride had taken a toll on my social life, both Somi and Jaehyung in a way had always kept me grounded. I was highly arrogant of my achievements as a student, but I would always remember where I came from and who helped me along the way.

I was a complicated little girl.

Jaehyung would always take notes during classes I had a hard time keeping up with, and Somi would always join in on any dance related activities I take on so I wouldn’t be as lonely. My extreme case of loneliness obviously had something to do with my horrid personality of not wanting to make any friends, but my two only friends didn’t mind.

Maybe that’s why I can’t bring myself to completely hate Somi because I loved her too much.

The thing is, everything was okay, up until the final month of my high school year.

My parents had allowed me to enroll in Juilliard, and all my dance coaches had told me that the chances of being accepted were very high, and that only fueled my arrogance.

I didn’t apply to any other universities because I was just so sure.

Somi helped me piece the choreography for Juilliard’s audition for months. She’d accompany me day and night to perfect my routine, and I never thought much about it. All I knew was that I never wanted anything more than that.

The reality check I should’ve gotten came crashing down on me a few days after graduation, when Juilliard e-mailed me to inform that there had been a mix-up and I no longer had the chance to audition for the enrollment spot I’d dreamed of my whole life. For the time being, there was no possible way that I could re-apply for my spot.

I remember lots of crying and losing one-fourth of my weight, having no one to turn to with Jaehyung’s parents forcing him to study his off for SATs and Somi out of the country on a holiday her parents had forced her family to enjoy together.

My parents had expressed fake sympathy and promised me a spot in their company, which I blatantly declined. I didn’t have the passion for business and numbers.

When Jaehyung finished his SATs, he immediately visited me and came up with the suggestion to audition for entertainment companies for another take at being able to pursue dancing for the rest of my life. His return had made my life ing great.

I talked to Somi about it back and forth through the phone and whatsoever, filling her in with all the details of how I’m going to get my life back together. I passed all the preliminary rounds with ease, and I was happy. I knew I was going to get accepted because most of them had tried to scout me sometime through my high school year and the auditioning were just mere formalities to respect the other trainees.

I was ecstatic. The thought of performing in front of crowds that would grow to love me, having people that would grow to love my dancing as time goes by fueled my days.

But days turned into weeks and soon it turned into months, and I realized that none of them had contacted back and I was lost.

Somi and Jaehyung had told me to calm down the night I had my first actual nervous breakdown, but I couldn’t—how could I when my future was threateningly close to being an unemployed failure?

I remember pacing around back and forth in my room trying to come up with a way to calm my anxious mind.

I ended up walking to my father’s study for the advice of what to do, only to overhear my own parents talking about how they’ve jeopardized everything I’ve worked so hard for in my life.

“I didn’t think she’d be this deep into dancing,” my mother had said, voice worried.

“I didn’t think so too. But we made her think that it’s her fault and that’s all that matters for now,” my father replied smoothly.

Their voices were hushed and their shoulders were hunched together like they’re exchanging top secret information. A sinking feeling bloomed inside of me, my heart thundering inside my chest.

“Minhwa is a bright girl, she’s going to get over all of those failed auditions soon. Some of the companies had e-mailed her though, it’s a relief that I’ve gotten secretary Kim to wipe it all out before it gets to her,” there was no trace of guilt in my father’s voice.

I remember clutching my mother’s most treasured china, daring them to say anything else about me, and the look of horror on her face when I smash it to the ground as my father struggles to phrase their awful deeds towards me while trying to justify himself saying that it was for the better.