Chapter 1

"You are looking as beautiful as ever Taeyeon unnie!"


"You were in top 3 again for the tests last week!"


"Will you take a photo with me for my profile picture?"
 

Taeyeon sighed.

Another boring, unchanging day at school as usual. She smiled politely at the students who greeted her as she walked through the halls towards her locker and classroom. It was their routine everyday and they never failed to wave, coo and squeal when they saw her.

There were the same usual girls waiting by her locker to give her gifts and snacks in hopes that today might be the day they might get more than just a smile and a 'thankyou.'

There were notes from boys giving her their numbers and asking her to 'call them for a date.'

But none of that wasn't going to happen.

Yes, Kim Taeyeon was the most popular student at school.

She had amazing grades in all her subjects, was the main singer in the music club, was most teachers’ favourite student, and she was a natural beauty.

To top it all off, she was born into the Kim Family.

Everybody knew the Kims. The were the biggest shareholders of all the hotels in Korea and they had their very own water company. Having close connections with the Kims promised an enriching life for you and your family.

And that’s why everybody wanted to befriend her.

For most of her life, Taeyeon went to very prestigious, selective schools where the other kids' parents all had a similar level of power in the business hierarchy. She wasn't fond of how the other kids talked to each other, always glossing over how much their parents own and that they can get anything they want.

So when highschool rolled around, she begged her parents to let her attend a much less prestigious school so that she could surround herself around people who weren't so snobby and stuck up.

After much consideration, they obliged, and she got her wish.

Now, 'Kim' was a very common surname. Nobody knew which Kim family she belonged to at first. When school started, she was already mildly popular but at a very tolerable level. Her butler made arrangements so that she would commute via public transport and her personal driver was forbidden from driving her and picking her up from school to avoid attention from the other students.

And for Taeyeon, it was a liberating experience, getting to talk to students who didn't show off how many luxury brands they were wearing on their body. They all had interesting personalities, had different hobbies, worked part time and were actually motivated about their studies and career paths. It was great. Taeyeon had clicked well with a few girls from her class who all knew each other from Junior High. She was right on the precipice of becoming a part of their group too.

Until one day during P.E class.

Her class was playing dodgeball and she had been accidentally hit right in the face, causing her to faint.

Naturally, her parents were called so that she could be picked up and taken home for the day. Though It might've still been okay If her personal driver came to pick her up, it was just her luck that her mother decided to come as well.

And that's when her efforts to fit in went to waste.

Everybody recognised her mother immediately.

And the next day was when her life at school completely changed.

“Taeyeon Taeyeon! You were great at the rehearsal yesterday!” Seohyun, one of the girls who was in the music club came to her desk.


“Thankyou. I think you did a great job aswell.” Taeyeon replied with a forced smile.

The other girl covered her cheeks with her hands and squealed.

“Oh gosh you have no idea how much that means to me! Doesn’t your family always have events that need singers? We could totally do a duet together!”

“Unfortunately I don’t get to decide those things.” Taeyeon shifted her eyes towards her phone.


“Oh…well I’ll see you again next rehearsal!” The girl clapped her hands together and went to her desk.

Seohyun was one of the girls she almost became friends with before everybody found out about her family. She was a bright, hardworking girl who Taeyeon honestly really liked but after that P.E class, all Seohyun would talk about is how much she had in common with her and that they should hang out at each other’s houses and wear friendship bracelets to show everyone how ‘close’ they were.

And there were many more just like her.

 

Taeyeon always had to resist the urge to roll her eyes because she didn’t want to seem like a snob, which she wasn’t. She appreciated that people admired her for her grades and talents. She did not appreciate the fact that they didn’t care for her beyond that however, and the only reason they really did gloss over how gifted she was was because they wanted her fortune for themselves.

Truly, shallow people. 

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“I swear to god, why is there nobody like you at school?”
 

“Well I mean, I am pretty handsome Tae. Think about it.”
 

“Chan, you know what I mean.”


“I was just kidding you grumpy kid. Stop frowning already! You say this all the time, of course I know what you mean.”


Taeyeon was up at her alone spot on the school roof, face-timing her one and only true friend. Park Chanyeol used to attend her school but transferred after the first year because he moved houses.

“Look, maybe you ought to give some people the benefit of the doubt. There could be more like me, you never know.”


“I’ve tried Chan, I really have.” Taeyeon sighed. “Remember Minho who I went out with for 2 months only to find out he just wanted my father to give his parents better jobs? Eunhyuk who I went out with for 1 month who kept starting all his job interviews saying he’s dating the Kim’s daughter?”

“The girls who told you they didn’t care about your social status but then used your name to skip lines in 5-star restaurants and clubs?” Chanyeol piled on. “Although one of the worst I’d have to say is that Senior Jiyong from last year. The guy who used you to get attention for his music career.”

“See, you said it yourself.” Taeyeon chuckled bitterly. “It’s more than halfway through second year now and there’s still no end to this. It doesn’t help that my parents say they will arrange a marriage for me If I don’t find my own boyfriend by the end of this year. Ridiculous right?”

“Well, does the boyfriend you pick have to be rich too?”

“Funny thing is no, so I guess that part is okay…but there’s no way I’m getting one from this school.”

“You could date me you know.” Chanyeol raised his eyebrows and grinned.

“Pshh. Yeah, like you need a girlfriend right now, Mr. player.” Taeyeon giggled. “How’s the chase for Rose going, hm?”

“Pretty good actually. I invited her to come see my band play this weekend.” Chanyeol cheered and proudly put his thumbs up.

Taeyeon laughed again, sighing happily. Chanyeol always knew how to make her feel better. Talking to him always reminded her that there were still good people in the world who wouldn’t label her because of her background. She didn’t meet too many of them since she didn’t really go out much and school took up 80% of her life.

When news broke out that Taeyeon was a daughter of the Kims, Chanyeol, (who was her funny desk mate at the time) talked to her like he did every other day, but he never asked about her family and behaved the same way he did when they first met. He was literally the only person who didn’t care where she was from and didn’t think about any opportunities he could get out of her.

That’s why when he told her he was transferring schools, Taeyeon decided to get a job at the same diner as him so she could still see him often enough. She didn’t need the money of course, but she’d get to be away from both school and home. Home was not as bad as school, but the mansion she lived in always reminded her that she couldn’t really live a normal life. And though she didn’t refuse the money her parents gave her, it was nice spending her own income to buy the things she wanted. Plus, the diner was a decent distance away from school so she didn’t have to deal with customers who were from her classes, which she was grateful for.
 

Suddenly the school bell rang, signalling that lunch break was over.

“Listen, I’ll see you tonight at the diner.” Taeyeon started to pack her lunch away with her free hand.

“Oh I won’t be in tonight, I have a dentist check-up so I got Baekhyun to cover me.”

“Baekhyun?” Taeyeon frowned.

“You know, the new guy Junmyeon hyung hired to work in the kitchen on weekends. He’s my buddy so treat him nicely.”

“I don’t like a lot of people so I can’t promise that.” Taeyeon shook her head before she waved into her camera and ended the call.



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Taeyeon walked through the back entrance of the diner and hastily made her way to the back room since her shift was about to begin.

Before she could even touch the door knob, someone had just opened it from the other side, harshly pushing the door open and knocking her to the ground in the process.

“Oh , I’m sorry! I kicked the door open because I didn’t have any hands but I didn’t know you were standing there.”

Taeyeon looked up to see an unfamiliar face as she rubbed her backside. She was pretty angry but she knew she wasn’t allowed to lash out so suddenly at a stranger who hit her by accident.

“I’m fine, thankyou.” She watched the boy as he put down the box he was holding to help her get up.

“You lost or something? This is a staff only area you know.” He stared at her weirdly, thinking she was a customer. Taeyeon also looked down to see that she was still wearing the expensive, fancy clothes that her parents made her put on to attend a gala they were invited to earlier that day.

“I didn’t have time to change before I got here but my uniform’s here.” She gestured to the bag she was carrying.

The boy blinked twice.

“You’re Yeollie’s friend? Taeyo?”

“Taeyeon.” She corrected. “And you are Baekhyun right?”

“The one and only!” He saluted and smiled. “You look different to what Yeollie described you as.”

“And you look…a lot shorter than him.” Taeyeon shrugged, not knowing what to say. “What did Chan describe me as?”

“I don’t know, not a daffodil?” He smirked, staring at her attire. “Like, you don’t know how to have fun.”

“We’ve known each other for 30 seconds, how do you know I’m a daffodil?”

“Your perfect hair and makeup? Your clothes?” He laughed. “You need to mess that up.”

Before Taeyeon could say anything, Baekhyun reached forward, pulling off the ribbons and hair ties that held her braids up.

And then he ruffled her hair very messily, standing back to admire his work. “That’s a little better.”

“What the hell was that for?!” She gasped, trying to pat her hair down.

“I couldn’t help it. You just looked so….put together. And that bothered me.” Baekhyun shrugged, placing the accessories into her hand before picking up the box again. “Well, I’ll see you at the front. You better go get changed, daffodil!”

Taeyeon stood speechless at what just happened, staring after Baekhyun’s back before he kicked open another door that led to the kitchen. She frowned and scratched her head, confused at his statement.

“What a rude brat.” She muttered under her breath, entering the backroom to put her things down. After she got changed, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and observed her modified hair.

“I am not a daffodil, Baekhyun.”

But then she laughed, for the way Baekhyun messed up her hair was exactly the way she always did it herself after she got home from those fancy events.

How ironic.

A/N: HIIIII please let me know what you think about this first chapter! I always am very indecisive about much info to give on my introductory chapters so I find them one of the hardest to write. Hope you enjoyed and If this gets decent response, I will update quicker <3

-Kisekinaru