“Let’s go there and talk!” Hoya said as he pulled her along. Reaching a place which belonged to only the two of them, Hoya spoke.

“Yah! Where did you go that time? How could you disappear without a word just like that! Did you know how worried I was?” Hoya said in a slightly upset tone.

“I know.  I saw you but I didn’t dare to come out.” Hye In replied in her mind.

“I… I am sorry.” Hye In replied apologetically.

“Heh, I will forgive you since you are back now! How did you end up here?” He said as a smile flashed across his face again.

“I applied to join the camp online.” She said.

“ooohh..” Hoya nodded and smiled.

“So… Let’s go have fun !” Hoya said as he pulled Hye In to the activities venue.

The two of them had a great time trying out the facilities such as mountain climbing, abseiling, flying fox, rope challenge and water facilities. They had fun together. Time flew and it was night time already. Hoya and Hye In sat together eating the packet rice distributed. They sat away from the large crowd. After finishing the food, Hoya closed the packet and looked at Hye In who was still eating.

“Hye In-ah, you have rice left on your face.” He said and laughed, staring at the rice grain on her left cheek.

Hye In wiped off the right side of and looked at her hands. There was nothing.

“It is here.” Hoya said as he stood up a little and removed the grain from her left cheek. Hye In looked at the close up view of Hoya and felt her heart pumping like crazy again. She felt herself blushing crazily but thankfully it was dark and he couldn’t see. Sitting back onto his seat, he smiled at her again.

Hye In looked down and continued gobbling her food.  After which, it was time to go back to their dorms. As they were packing up, rain started to fell from above them. It was pouring heavily out of a sudden. Everyone ran to the nearby shelter, including Hoya and Hye In. They were all wet by then. The students had to have their lights out soon. Their teachers were nagging and warning them already. They then returned to their dorms disappointedly. Hoya walked Hye In to her bunk.

“You wouldn’t disappear suddenly again, right?” He asked with a serious expression on his face.

Hye In shook her head. Hoya smiled in relief and said, “Okay. Go on in. Remember to get changed or you will catch a cold. I will be leaving too. Bye! See you tomorrow~” Hye In nodded and returned to her bunk. Sitting on her bed, she stared blankly into the darkness.

“Two more days to go.” She counted down. Two more days and everything will be back to normal again.

The second day arrived but Hye In was still in bed. She was caught with a cold last night because she changed out too late. She was shivering and sweating profusely under the blanket. Then, she heard someone knocking and a familiar voice.

“Hye In? Are you alright? Why are you still not out?” Hoya asked from behind the door.

“I… I…am fine.” Hye In said weakly from her bed.

Hoya opened the door slowly and saw the frail Hye In lying on the bed. He came in and sat beside her with a worried look across his face.

“You call this fine?” He said as he placed his hand on her forehead.

She felt her cheeks turn hot. She didn’t know if it was from the fever or his touch. “Oh no, you are burning! I will go get you some medicine. Wait for me here.” He said frantically before leaving the room. Minutes later, he returned with a cup of water and some pills. “Eat them.” He said as  he helped her up. Swallowing the pills, he laid her down and covered her in the blanket carefully. Hye In started to feel drowsy with the pills taking effect. She fell asleep soon. Hoya just sat beside her and took care of her.

The sun set and darkness crept in. It was night time. Hye In opened her bleary eyes. She felt slightly better and more energized than before. Noticing Hoya dozing off cutely on the chair, she smiled to herself. She imagined the scene of him taking care of her the whole day and felt touched.

“Hoya?” She called out to him.

“hmm…Oh. You are awake? Are you feeling better?” He sat up and asked Hye In.

Hye In nodded her head and spoke, “Hoya oppa, you can go and sleep first. I will be alright. I am feeling a lot better already.”

Hoya shook his head. After Hye In’s insistent, Hoya finally gave in. He said to her gently, “Take care of yourself well. I will come back tomorrow morning and check on you. Get well soon.” Hye In gave him a weak smile and gestured for him to go and have some sleep. After he left, Hye In closed her eyes again and drifted off to dreamland.

Then, Hye In was disturbed by some noise. She opened her eyes a little as she saw a black figure entered her room.

“Hoya, is that you?” Hye In asked with her muffled voice. She was still sleepy.

“Hi babe. We meet again. Remember I told you the last time that I will be back? Let’s finish off what we were left with last time.” Hye In heard the man say. It was him. The voice. Nam Woo Hyun!

Hye In’s eyes shot wide open as she pushed him away. He was forcing himself on her, trying to kiss her again. “Hoya… save me! HO-YA~!!!” Hye In screamed as she struggled to push him away. She was sick and too weak to resist him. He was kissing her already. Then, the door flung open. Hye In felt Woo Hyun being pulled away from her and punched. He was on the ground, cursing and swearing.

Hye In looked at Hoya who had a scary look on his face.. It was her first time seeing this side of Hoya. He punched Woo Hyun really hard. The more Woo Hyun smirked, the harder he threw his fist at his pretty face. “Hoya, hoya… Stop. You will kill him!” Hye In stepped in and pulled Hoya away. Woo hyun took the chance and ran away. With tears streaming down her face, Hye In held onto him.

“Thank you…” Hye In said to him.

Hoya placed Hye In back onto her bed and covered her with her blanket. It was timely that he returned to check on Hye In because he was worried. Or else, he couldn’t imagine what the bastard would have done to his beloved Hye In. Hye In closed her eyes as she fell asleep again. Hoya placed his head beside her bed and slept too. The sunlight shone in from the tinted window and onto Hye In’s face.

Hye In opened her eyes and looked at Hoya who was still sleeping. He looked like a peaceful angel, just that he didn’t have wings. “ What should I do Hoya? I think I have really fallen for you…” Hye In said her thoughts out. She covered in shock as she was surprised that she said it out loud. Then, Hoya lifted his head. He was awake!

“Ho-hoya… ?” Hye In questioned in surprise.

Hoya looked at Hye In and flashed his charismatic smile.

“Me too.” He said simply and the next moment, he kissed her. Hye In froze on the spot until he broke the kiss.

“I think you look better already. My sleeping beauty, you should get changed. I will be outside.” He said before leaving the room. Everything felt so unreal as if it was still a dream. Hye In pinched herself and shrieked in pain. Indeed, he just kissed her!  Hye In smiled like an idiot to herself as she changed out.

Washing up, she hopped out and saw Hoya leaning on the railing, looking far away. “Hoya oppa. Where are we going today?” Hye In asked as she looked down and blushed a little. “Today is the last day of camp. We are told to gather back here by 12pm. We will have 3 hours or so. Let’s go to the pond over there!” He pointed to a pond located some distance away.

Hoya gripped onto Hye In as they went there hand in hand. When they reached there, Hoya let go of Hye In and teased, “Hye In-ah, you have sweaty palms.”  “Ah. This is so…embarrassing… I… was just too… too… nervous.” Hye In stammered a bit and looked onto the ground as she wriggled her toes. “ Aish, why are you so cute.” Hoya smiled and winked. Hye In felt her heart skip a beat when he did that.

“Today is the last day of camp.” Hoya said sadly as he sat down on the grass slope. Hye In sat down beside him and thought to herself, “Today is the third day. I will be reverting back to my old self any time already. What should I do?”. Hye In felt a light knock on her head as she turned and looked at Hoya. “I don’t like your expression. I don’t know what you are thinking about… It is scary.” Hoya said. Hye In managed a weak smile and pulled it off.

The couple went forward to the pond and looked at the living organisms in it. “Look, there is a blue fish!” Hoya said as he pointed to some part of the pond. Hye In looked and was frightened. She saw her reflection in the waters. It was changing again. It became her fat reflection for a second just now. The magic was fading. She would be busted.

“Hoya… Will you accept me however I am?” Hye In asked as he turned and looked into Hoya’s eyes worriedly.

“Yes.” He said with a genuine smile.

“What if… I am not the Park Hye In you see me as now. Like I… I am fat, ugly and unwanted?” She said with her gaze still fixed on hoya.

Hoya was speechless for a moment. Then suddenly, Hoya stepped back and away from Hye In. “What…what is happening?! Why… why are you… Hye In?” Hoya asked in disbelief as he looked at the Hye In he liked turn into the chubby Hye In he befriended.

“Hoya, hear me out. I… I… was changed by a magic jewel into the me you knew temporarily. I…” Hye In tried to explain as she stepped closer towards Hoya who was moving away.

“Go away! Go away! You are lying… Return me the Hye In I know. This is crazy!” He shouted at Hye In.

“Oppa…” Hye In felt tears falling out of her eyes as she looked at Hoya. Hoya turned around and ran off, leaving Hye In behind. Hye In felt her legs buckle as she collapsed onto the grassy ground. Everything was over. After all, looks still mattered. When the ‘swan’ was reverted back into ‘ugly duckling’ , it was left all alone there. ‘Happily ever after’ only belonged to those pretty princesses. That was the harsh reality.

Sitting alone on the ground, Hye In cried harder than before. It hurt more than before. It was worse to lose what you have than to never be in possession of it. It was like she was lifted to the clouds and thrown cruelly back onto the ground. She felt her heart shatter into pieces as the image of Hoya backing away from her replayed in her mind.

Hoya ran as thoughts were flashing across his mind. He couldn’t differentiate or understand. The Hye In he loved and the Hye in he befriended was the same person. He couldn’t accept it. They were poles apart, so different. He couldn’t face it and he didn’t know how to either. He decided to run away from it.

Back to school, Hye In suppressed her sadness and pretended that everything was normal. As she walked along the corridor, she saw Hoya. She lifted her hand slightly, preparing to return his usual warm greeting. However, he merely looked away and passed by her… like strangers. Hye In felt her heart drop again. He ignored her.

After some days, Hye In finally decided to confront Hoya. She walked up to him and said, “Hoya… Oppa. Can we be… friends again?” Hoya was shocked that Hye In came up to him. He didn’t know how to face her so he merely nodded coldly. Hye in faked a happy smile before waving him goodbye. She walked away as she felt her eyes turn watery. “I don’t want to be your… friend.” She mumbled to herself.

Things went back to normal although it was still kind of awkward between the two. It was close to impossible to forget the times they shared in camp, the fun they had and the kiss… They just managed a quick wave and greeting each time. Hoya felt a confused of feelings while Hye In felt the longing for him. She decided. Things had to change.

She knew the only way was to change her looks. She started a diet. Obviously, it wasn’t easy. The controlling of diet, restraining from succumbing to food temptations and vigorous exercise was like hell to Hye In. However, she held it in and continued. Before, she never found the motivation to do so. She accepted herself as she was after failing several times in her diet plan. Her perseverance never lasted past 3 days.

Even when she had a crush on Woo Hyun, she did not try so hard. That was how much Hoya meant to her. He was no longer just a crush. He became her love. Before, she thought that she was destined to stay that way, like an ugly duckling. However, now, she wanted badly to change her destiny. She wanted to create her own miracle. For once, she wanted and believed that she could change herself.

After months of determination, everything paid off. All the sweat, pain and tears paid off. Park Hye In transformed from the chubby and unwanted Hye In to the pretty and slim Hye In. She no longer needed miracle because she was one already. She did it! She really did. Taking out the XS uniform from her wardrobe, she slipped into it. Initially, it was kept there as a memory of the day. However, never in her life did she expect herself to wear it again. This time, without the help of the gems.

Tying her hair neatly into a pony tail, Hye In looked into the mirror. She smiled as a tear escaped her eye. “This is me.” She touched the mirror. Leaving her house, she reached school. She was attracting a lot of attention as before. Then, a guy walked up to her. It was one of her classmates. He stood before her and flashed an awkward smile. Hye In returned the smile and asked politely, “Yes?”.

“That is… I think… I like you. Will you go out with me?” He said shyly, awaiting an answer.

Hye In stood there dumbfounded. It was her first time being confessed to. She just stood there and stared blankly, not knowing how to respond. The guy then walked forward and gave her a hug. He whispered into her ears, “I will take silence for ‘yes’ !” Before Hye In could open and reject, someone pulled them apart.

“I am sorry but she is taken.” He said as he pulled Hye In away.

After walking for some distance, Hye in finally asked. “ Hoya oppa. Where… where are we going?”

He stopped and turned around.

It was a long time since they were left alone and so close to each other. Since the last incident, they were awkward and funny around each other.

“Were you thinking of accepting the guy just now?!” He said fiercely.

“I…” Hye In tried to explain but was cut off.

“Why didn’t you reject him right away? Did you know I was so scared looking from the side? I thought you would agree… I thought I was going to lose you, again. I don’t like how you smile and wave to other guys like you do to me. I want you to only do that to me. I want you to stay away from the other guys. It makes me jealous. I don’t like it. I want you to… be mine.” Hoya continued.

Hye In was surprised by the sudden confession. Before she could say another word, she was cut off. She felt his lips landed magically on hers. It was real. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. It was the first time, he kissed the real Park Hye In.

Author’s Note:
In case the ending wasn't clear... The real Park Hye In meaning she is not the chubby Hye In who is in the skin of the skinny Hye In with the help of the jewels. This time, it was the real her. :)
Thanks for subscribing/commenting/reading :D
Sorry that it is kinda too long for a one shot :X Hope you enjoyed reading and that the sequel is not too disappointing. ^^
I am really happy with the great response. If you are free, leave a comment below/ check out my other fics? :D

I am shamelessly advertising here... Will you please check out my new one shot? It is my first time joining a writing contest so i really need your support!
You are different.