My name is Joy. I'm 21 years old and I live in the family mansion at my father's business.

I had a dream. I wanted to go to college and get a degree in teaching. Being a primary school teacher was always my biggest aspiration, I love spreading knowledge and I love children too. But I have to be realistic. Wishing... there's no point in wishing. Wishing is useless. Wishing is for dreamers, for idealists who have no common sense. People who wish have their heads stuck in the clouds. People who wish are fooling themselves. I have all the money in the world. I can do anything I want. I walk down the street and people step out of the way for me. I get things for free. I have the kind of bedroom every little girl dreams of having. I am the daughter of the richest man in the country.

At least, that's what everyone tells me.

I woke up at 11am. The smell of steaming coffee filled my senses, and I opened my eyes to a tray full of breakfast at the end of my king size bed, as always. I sat up and sipped the coffee on my ornate bedside chest, the bitter taste waking me up. I relaxed back into fluffy cushions, thinking about the day ahead.

I'm not a lazy person. While my days consist of no assigned schedules I keep myself busy. I work out. I help keep the place tidy. We have cleaners but I end up doing at least half their work. I cook my own meals. The tray of steaming food at the end of my bed, that is there for me every morning? I wrap it up in bags and give it to the homeless on the streets, the underpaid and underfed staff. I handle my own problems, my own issues. I do things other spoiled rich kids would never do.

People have some twisted image of me and what I'm like. 'Oh, Mr. Park Brand's daughter? God, she must be such a snob.' 'She's an only child, you know. I hear a quarter of the company's funds go to her. She's nearly as rich as her father.' 'I would kill to be her. Beauty and money, what else would you need? Not to mention that body.' 'Her life must be so perfect.'

I've heard it. Whispered outside the car windows. Hidden in the newspapers. The looks. The looks of longing, of judgement. People assume what I'm like before I open my eyes in the morning. 

I'm not what I seem. My cold exterior is only the outside. Yes, I have looks, but insecurity's under there just like you. And yes, I have a lot of money, but I rarely spend it on my own leisure. Nobody sees me for my passions, my mind, my kindness. They see me for my image. The daughter of the richest man in the country. The rich snob. The 'cold beauty, but hot body'. Park Sooyoung.

That's why I call myself Joy, and not Sooyoung. I introduce myself to the skinny homeless kids on the streets as Joy. The nice old couple in the Deli know me as Joy. I talk to myself as Joy. It's a way to put light into my life. To escape the harsh reality of being Park Sooyoung. Space to be myself. Joy is my secret identity, my relief.

I pulled myself out of bed and stretched. Slipped out of my satin pyjamas and into my workout gear. Pulled back my short hair into a ponytail. I can be Joy for a little while longer.

I was harrassed once I got back.

'For God's sake, Seulgi! What in the heavens took you so long hm?'

I lingered in the doorway, unsure of what to say. I couldn't exactly tell her I was just about to run away and never come back.

The others were watching me with raised eyebrows, waiting to see if I would say anything. I could feel their eyes piercing through my skin. I felt so hot and uncomfortable being watched like this.

'There's no use, Miss Jung. She can't speak,' an intern laughed loudly. She had the long unnaturally blonde braids; I remembered seeing her earlier on the bike doing schedule.

'Seems to me she only talks when it's relevant to her,' Dahyun sighed, rolling her eyes. She looked back at me with pinched eyebrows. 'Well, don't just stand there! Get to work!'

I nodded, flustered, and rushed over to my computer desk, interns giggling at each other as I did so. I ignored them as usual but today it was harder to pretend.

My typical job is to wait on phone calls and answer emails. I'm also the one who has to do favours for Jung Dahyun, get her coffee or pass her something on the other side of the room. I have some idea why.

Today was boring. Phone calls were sparse and emails were too. I wondered if this was a sign our company was beginning to disintegrate. Without thinking much about it, I clicked on Chrome and typed in 'Park Brands Institute.' The news articles were the same as always. 'Park Brands soaring financially due to an increase in business promises', 'Mr. Park: The man with all the money in the world.' 'You SHOULD be going to Park Brands with your business plans and here's why....'

I opened a new tab and typed Kang Distributor's and scrolled. The last article was from a month ago.

'How the first brand distributing company was quickly outshined by this booming business.....'

I sighed and closed the tabs. As much as I'd love the company to close down, I'd have nowhere to go. I can't go back and live with my mother and I certainly do not what to live with my father. I earn money here, but it's hardly enough to keep a roof over my head and food to eat. I could find a cheap rented flat on the outskirts of town and live on a diet of pot noodles, but I don't know how long I'd last. 

'I think she's actually deaf as well.'

Something papery hit the back of my head and I turned around with a frown.

'Are you stupid? Answer the damn phone.'

I blinked, and realised the phone was in fact ringing, and had been quite a while. Embarrassed, I quickly picked it up, ignoring the laughter from behind.

'Hello, this is Kang Distributor's. This is an intern speaking, how can I help you?'

-*-*-

Finally, it was 6pm. The city was calming down and the sun was nearing the horizon. When most interns' shifts ends they are allowed to go home, but not me. My only living relative is the CEO (and doesn't own his own place for whatever reason) and because this building used to be a boarding school for a high school that closed down donkey's years ago, the dormitories are still standing just outside the main building. So, besides working in the stuffy office all day in and out, I also have the lovely pleasure of basically living here. There's one other girl who lives in the dorm for some unspoken reason who to this day I still don't know the name of. She's nearly as quiet as me but is popular with the interns because of her flawless beauty and the fact she's more confident than me to actually talk to them. She never speaks a word to me, but at least she doesn't partake in the 'bullying'. We give each other a quiet nod and that's basically the extent of our interaction.

I would be friends with her, if she wasn't impossible to approach.

But everyone is.

After dinner, I returned to my dorm for the night. The evening is my favourite part of the day because I finally get to settle down in peace and quiet and privacy for a few precious hours. With my small wage, I buy food for myself in the nearby shop as I'm required to take care of my own meals.

I finally relaxed in bed with a heated wrap and a bottle of apple juice on my bedside. Phone in hand and headphones plugged in. I can't complain anymore.

I scrolled through my phone aimlessly, bored. One photo on a news article on my timeline caught my attention.

It was Park Sooyoung.

I looked closer at the picture, not bothered about the article covering the same boring thing. Something about her breaking records as the youngest woman in the country with over 1 million dollars.

I looked at the picture. She was walking, with so much authority from one snap of a picture. Her body said it all. Long legs, one stretched out in front in a stride. Holding her coat under one arm, her other hand pinching her cap to cover herself from the cameras.

Constant paparazzi must be annoying... I thought to myself.

But I still felt envious.