The matron had noticed a lot of changes happening in her sixteen-year-old girl. For one, Suzy was obsessed with what she ate. She would be writing down her calories, and then matron heard her puking in the toilet at times. It worried her, and she wanted to confront Suzy about this habit but she was also afraid with how sharp her daughter’s tongue was.

    One by one, her makeup began vanishing from her dressing mirror, and in her purse. Sometimes, she saw her daughter wear a shade of lipstick that she thought was too mature for her. Then there was this obsession with using a blush. The blush was either too dark for her complexion, or too bright. It was never the right consistency.

    Suzy had beautiful clear skin, but she still lathered it with makeup. She would dress for nights out in clothes that the matron deemed too exposing for a sixteen-year-old girl. Over all, the matron was not happy. She decided to gather courage one night, and speak to her daughter.

    Knocking on Suzy’s door, she entered. The room was much smaller compared to the room Suzy had in her childhood years. The bed was still lined with her favourite teddies -- Thousand-Suns still took up the most space on her bed, that large, fluffy white teddy bear. Suzy was busy applying her eyeliner. She wore a black dress with a sweetheart neckline. It fitted her body, exposing ample cleavage and her shoulders.

    The matron crossed her arms over her chest. “Who’re you going with?”

The girl flinched. “Umh...Jongin and his friends.”

    “What about Myungsoo and Hongbin?”

“Hongbin’s in final year, he’s too busy.” She did not mention Myungsoo. Of course, Myungsoo had decided to pursue a medical college inside Seoul, which was far from their little town. After he left, Suzy hardly mentioned him over the dinner table anymore. Instead, her time was occupied either talking about Jongin -- who matron believed was becoming a bad influence, or about the next makeup brand that she wanted to purchase.

    “I see.” The matron leaned against the door. A coiling heaviness wrapped around . “Suzy, could I tell you something?”

    The girl let out a frustrated moan. She slammed her eyeliner on the dressing table. “This better not be another lecture, mother. I’m not a baby. I get it. You hate the way I dress. You think I’m stupid? That I haven’t seen the way you stare at me when I go out to have fun?”

    The matron blinked, unable to express the sorrow that filled her to the brim. It rocked inside her, water with no escape, threatening to burst through the cracks of her soul. “No. I cannot say that to a girl who is almost a young woman.” She swept through the room, placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders.

    “But let me say this to you as your friend, my child.” She caressed her daughter’s jaw. “You do not need all this fancy makeup, and this clothing to be attractive. You are beautiful as you are.” The matron forced her lips into a smile. “You do not know it.”

    Her daughter stared at her hands. “I just…”

“I know. You’re at an age where it’s tough to fit in, if you’re not attractive, but listen to me, my darling. Do not change yourself just to fit in.”

    “I’m sorry, mother. I shouldn’t have said all those things.” The daughter threw her arms around her mother’s shoulders, and cried.

After that day, the matron noticed her daughter stopped wearing cakey makeup. She also returned to styling herself in jeans and loose shirts. She began to smile again. The matron believed that she gave her daughter the best advice a mother could give.

***

Naeun had tried many ways to grab Jongin’s attention. She never understood him in the past, but as he grew up, he enticed her. Perhaps it was his belligerent personality, or his ability to make the group laugh without seeming overtly fake. He was amazing inside and out. She knew that he had a crush on Soojung. It was too obvious. Even Soojung knew that he liked her. However, it was clear that Soojung’s heart belonged to someone else -- unknowingly.

    That clueless person had moved to Seoul for his studies.

In any case, Naeun made it her mission to win Jongin’s heart. He was currently single. There was no other girl that he sought. She started with baking, because she was an excellent baker. Myungsoo particularly enjoyed her chocolate chip cookies.

    Hence, she started with chocolate chip cookies. She gave it to Jongin the next time he waited for them at the school gates. He enjoyed them very much. Naeun handed the cookies covertly. It was no use bringing up her mission to the attention of others, especially Suzy, w