kim yongsun has always been an overachiever ever since she could remember. she is always on top of her class— never had been there a time where she ranked lower than first. not to brag but she is consistently top 1. she may be on the shorter side among her peers but she is great too when it comes to sports. with her athletic ability, her classmates would always flock to her just to have her on their team for a sure win. even with her looks, kim yongsun has always been favored by the gods. her big round eyes were adored; her cheeks too were soft to the touch!

 

kim yongsun always had everything under control until moon byulyi showed up in third grade. with her arrival, she had caused chaos over the order that yongsun had always maintained with hard work. she heard that byulyi skipped a grade because she was too advanced among her peers.

 

when byulyi arrived, everyone flocked to her because the kids were drawn to her cool and mysterious aura. yongsun has to give her a nod of acknowledgment though because moon byulyi is indeed in possession of a handsomely beautiful face. but she is still arrogant and rude in yongsun's opinion. she even talked to her so casually when it was only their first meeting! rude! moon byulyi is just so rude! yongsun knew from the get-go that moon byulyi is bad news and so she avoided her.

 

she successfully avoided her for weeks. not talking to her nor acknowledging her presence was easy. when everyone flocks to byulyi's table in their free time, yongsun will always be far away from them because she does not want to listen nor overhear what they are talking about. she can say that she did a very good job (though it also helped a lot that byulyi did not show any ounce of interest in her). yongsun does not know if she should be thankful or be bothered at the fact that not even once byulyi looked at her with a spark of interest.

 

"whoa! another goal from byulyi!"

 

2-1

 

it is their p.e class and they are currently playing soccer.

 

byulyi scores two consecutive goals, widening the gap between her team and yongsun's.

 

she grits her teeth in annoyance at the sudden development of the game. it is because her team members could not keep up with her! how can they be so slow? does she even have to do this all by herself just to win the game?

 

"pass it to me!" she shouts at the boy instead of letting him try to take a chance on scoring. yongsun knows he would not be able to make it anyway, so why bother? having her try to score instead will make the chances even higher.

 

she dribbles the ball and when no one is blocking her way, she kicks it, earning their team a goal.

 

it is a tie now.

 

she looks at the remaining time and it is only enough for a goal to make it through if she plays it right.

 

her team huddles together to strategize.

 

"what should we do?"

 

"just pass it to me, no matter what. i'll do all the work so that we could win," she speaks up.

 

unbeknownst to her, yongsun's words rubbed her team the wrong way.

 

their teacher whistles, a cue for their game to start.

 

byulyi's team has the ball.

 

yongsun runs hard to steal it. she intercepts the ball and passes it to her team. from the corner of her eye, she sees byulyi tailing him.

 

"pass it to me!" she yells when byulyi was close to him, enough for her to manage a steal.

 

she furrows her brows in confusion her teammate just passed by her and instead, the boy dribbles the ball all the way toward the goal.

 

byulyi is dangerously close to him.

 

"i said pass it to me!" she yells as she got carried away by her emotions.

 

and at that moment, byulyi indeed managed to steal the ball when it was only a kick away from their win.

 

a few seconds left.

 

yongsun stomps her foot in annoyance and chases after byulyi but she was too late. byulyi kicks the ball all the way across the field, passing it to her teammate who is waiting for her, and then as their teacher whistles to signal the end of the game, byulyi's team managed to score another goal making it their win.

 

everyone cheered, except for yongsun's team.

 

"this is so frustrating," she grumbles under her breath. she grabs the boy's wrist when he passed by her. 

 

"why did you not listen to me?! i said pass the ball!"

 

instead of answering, the boy only brushed her off.

 

"shut up."

 

"what the-

 

and then she finally notices it. her team is looking at her as if... as if she is a sore to their eyes.

 

yongsun is rooted in her place. it's the first time she experienced that. 

 

"w-what do you think you're doing?" she crosses her arms on her chest, her voice rising an octave higher.

 

she hears a scoff.

 

"next time, you can play on your own, yongsun."

 

"oh, is that it?! you all are angry because i am too good?! i only did that so we could win!"

 

a boy sighs helplessly at her, "it is not always about winning all the time, yongsun. what you did earlier was awful. you took the fun away from the game."

 

yongsun could not comprehend their words at all. what do they mean that it is not always about winning? she scoffs internally. all her life, winning is the main objective and her end goal. winning means that she has done everything perfectly. winning means success. it means that she is on top. to yongsun, winning is everything. and that is why she is so confused by their words. what is there not to like about winning?

 

"i can see why byulyi is better than her. at least, byulyi knows what teamwork is."

 

and all of them turn their backs away from her.

 

byulyi.

 

it is all about moon byulyi again.

 

byulyi this, byulyi that.

 

her hate for byulyi is increasingly rising.

 

"i swear i'll win over you, moon byulyi," she promises as she clenches her fist before stomping her way to their room.

 

:::

 

"now, it is time to announce your grades!" their teacher greets them as soon as he opens the door happily, ignoring the groans coming from his students.

 

"and i am proud to announce that our class got the overall highest average!”

 

everyone then starts whispering at each other. yongsun can pick up her name from their conversation. probably talking about her taking the first place again.

 

"as expected, the one who got the highest mark is from this class!"

 

her heart starts to beat erratically. is she nervous? why? it has to be her! there is just no way that someone else can take her throne away from her. because of her competitiveness and rumors floating around byulyi being an intelligent student, yongsun asked her parents to admit her to more cram school and to hire the best tutors in their city to gain a bigger advantage over byulyi. there is no way that someone else can surpass her. yongsun dedicated all of her time to studying for this exam. not even once she did go out to enjoy or play. all she did was study and attend more classes and study some more when time permitted.

 

"the one who ranked first in the exam is no other than..."

 

she clenches her fists in anticipation.

 

kim yongsun.

 

say it. say it.

 

"moon byulyi!"

 

what.

 

"that's amazing byulyi!" everyone cheers for her except yongsun who is still in shock.

 

no way.

 

it cannot be.

 

there is no way this is happening.

 

"and we have kim yongsun who ranked second in the exam! as expected, you're always doing your best in your studies, yongsun-ah! congratulations!"

 

her teacher's words seem to mock her.

 

she did her best? what a joke.  if she did then she would have topped the exam. the results just meant that she was lacking.

 

she clenches her fist and glares at byulyi who seems unbothered by all the praises sung on her way.

 

yongsun needs to straighten things up. but first, she has to talk to moon byulyi.

 

after their classes, yongsun finally confronted her nemesis.

 

"what did you do? did you cheat on the exam?" she asks byulyi when they were left alone in the room.

 

"cheat? why would i cheat when the exam is too easy?"

 

yongsun scoffs, the nerve of this girl.

 

she is too arrogant for her taste.

 

"listen here. i get that you love hearing praises from everyone but i have to let you know that i'm the best at everything."

 

"okay?" byulyi replies, confused as to where this is going. byulyi does not have a lot of time though. she has to go home now. she looks at yongsun, trying to read her face. she already made a mistake against her when they first met and she does not want to do it again knowing that the girl does not have any good opinion of her (not that byulyi has a good opinion of her too). she had observed that yongsun loves to be in the limelight a little too much in her opinion. yongsun loves the attention that she gets from everyone but it does not concern byulyi. it is not her business after all. she brushes her thoughts away and looks at yongsun once again.

 

"is that all you have to say? i really need to get going now."

 

"what the—wait!" yongsun manages to grab her wrist to stop her.

 

"what is it?"

 

"i— i!"

 

byulyi waits patiently for her to finish.

 

"i hate cheaters like you!"

 

byulyi breaks away from her grasp, taking yongsun aback from the force. she hears byulyi sigh.

 

"listen here, i did not cheat and will never do that. just like you, i did my part. i studied. if your problem with me is that i scored higher than you then sorry, i just did what i could do. i earned my score with integrity."

 

"what the hec-

 

byulyi sighs as she sees yongsun getting infuriated.

 

"just do better next time, i guess?"

 

byulyi is about to go out of the room when she hears giggles from the hallway.

 

"have you seen yongsun's face earlier?"

 

"i sure did! that was so funny! she really expected to rank first!"

 

"serves her right! she has always been arrogant just because she is always at the top."

 

"always? nah! when byulyi arrived, yongsun has become a has-been. byulyi is way better than her!"

 

yongsun scoffs at the words that she is hearing. they are only good at talking behind her back but when they talk to her in person, they are always smiling and praising her. she rolls her eyes, shaking her head. nothing new.

 

byulyi must also be thinking the same way. she is probably laughing at her in her head!

 

all of a sudden, the door slams open, taking the people outside aback by the loud sound and impact.

 

"i suggest you say those things in front of her instead of talking behind her back. you attack her when she can't even defend herself from all the things you have said."

 

"b-byulyi..." and then gasps follow.

 

yongsun has to laugh at their faces upon realizing that she is also inside the room.

 

"she may come off as arrogant to you but that is only because she is confident in herself. she knows what she can and can not do." byulyi takes a glance at yongsun before talking to the girls  who were badmouthing her, “and at least she isn’t pretentious.”

 

this... this is the longest that yongsun has heard byulyi talk. she usually hears her answer in a brief and concise manner. three sentences from her are even rare!

 

b-but wait. did moon byulyi just defend her against those people talking behind her back?

 

she hears byulyi sigh.

 

"and i would appreciate it if you don't use my name to drag her. bye."

 

yongsun sees byulyi's back getting smaller and smaller as she goes further away until she can no longer see her.

 

"s-she really did not have to do that,” yongsun mumbles under her breath.

 

:::

 

yongsun is back to ignoring byulyi again. the two of them never interacted again after what happened back then. and it is not like yongsun wanted to be friends or anything like that. byulyi, as always, does not seem to be interested in getting chummy with her.

 

yongsun is on her way to one of the most prestigious academies in their city for after-school lessons. she wonders where byulyi is getting her lessons because as she observed, byulyi is always a step ahead of her. if yongsun has already studied two chapters in advance, byulyi already has five chapters at her disposal. it just seems endless. this is why she is curious as to which academy byulyi goes to.

 

"unnie, can we buy candies?" she hears a child speak.

 

"no, we can't." the sister's back faces yongsun which is why she can not see her face... but that back, she is sure that it belongs to that person.

 

"please? i promise i'll do my chores without complaining!"

 

she acts as if she is thinking of the child's offer, "hmm, i don't know. maybe if you also promise that you'll also listen to your teacher next time then i think i'll change my mind."

 

is that her sister?

 

"ugh... fine! i promise to also do that!" yongsun chuckles when the child seems like she has been forced to agree.

 

"then you got yourself a deal. i'll give you one after."

 

the child beams at her sister and starts to bounce excitedly.

 

"byulyi," she calls her.

 

"hm? oh... yongsun-unnie?" byulyi looks at her in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

 

"i'm on my way to the academy."

 

"i see."

 

"is that your sister?"

 

"yeah, she is. seul, why don't you introduce yourself? remember what i taught you?" it's the first time yongsun hears byulyi speaking gently. usually, she talks indifferently as if nothing could sway her emotions. it's almost like she is an artificial intelligence.

 

"hello, i'm moon seulgi! i'm 5 years old!"

 

"hi, seulgi. i'm kim yongsun, your sister's classmate."

 

"hi, yongsun-unnie!"

 

yongsun can see that they really are sisters. as she observes closely, both have the same cheekbones and triangle-shaped lips. though both seem to be polar opposites personality-wise. seulgi is more outgoing and a bright child while byulyi... well, byulyi just likes to keep to herself and she does not talk much unless others talk to her first. if yongsun has to describe her in one word then it will probably gloomy. it fits her perfectly.

 

"won't you be late to your cram school?" byulyi asks as she glances down at her old-looking watch.

 

"i—

 

this is it! if yongsun follows byulyi now then she will know which academy she goes to! this is perfect!

 

"i think i'll skip for today. i've been studying hard the past few days so i guess i could call this my rest day?"

 

"i suppose so."

 

"since i'm skipping anyway, can i tag along with you?" she might have asked that too enthusiastically that byulyi has to take a step back.

 

"why?"

 

"just because!" why does she have to ask everything? can't she just say yes without asking? "can i?"

 

"uh..." byulyi looks at her sister who seems to be on board with yongsun's idea. nice one, seulgi!

 

"i have to warn you though, we will go to a boring place. if you expect something fun then i suggest that you turn back now."

 

yongsun's interest has been piqued even further. does byulyi's cram school train them like spartans? is that why she is always on top of their class?

 

"i'll behave! i promise!"

 

byulyi sighs, "okay. let's go?" and yongsun nods, excited to find out byulyi's secret.

after a few flights of stairs, they finally arrive at byulyi's home where they are going to drop seulgi off. their apartment is less than what yongsun expected it to look like. it is a bit cramped for a four-person family size. yongsun sits when byulyi gestures for her to do so.

 

"seul, can you get me a glass?"

 

then seulgi finds her way to the kitchen to get one and obediently brings it back to byulyi before going back to where she has left her bag.

 

"we don't have much but here's a juice. i don't know if you like orange but that is all i can offer." byulyi places the glass on the table and yongsun timidly takes it, "or do you want water instead?"

 

"the juice is fine, thanks."

 

she looks around and finds the apartment small and relatively empty aside from the necessary items like utensils, old functioning television, tables, etc.

 

byulyi's parents are not home yet. she said that they get home late at night which is why she is the one who picks up seulgi at the daycare center every after school.

 

yongsun waits and waits but byulyi seems to have no plans to go to cram school either as she finally finds herself comfortable on the floor and started studying.

 

"w-wait! won't you get late to your cram school?"

 

"huh? what are you talking about?"

 

"you said we're going to a boring place," she replies, borrowing byulyi's words.

 

"i did," byulyi pointedly replies , "well, do you find my place fun instead?"

 

"what the h-

 

"language," byulyi scolds her, covering seulgi’s ears, reminding yongsun that there is a child around them.

 

"hotdog, i said hotdog." yongsun almost smacks herself for the lack of words.

 

byulyi glares at her one last time before she goes back to studying.

 

then it dawned on yongsun.

 

"so, you're saying that you don't go to cram school?"

 

byulyi nods, finding her question weird.

 

"are you serious?!"

 

yongsun is beyond dumbfounded.

 

how could she not go to any cram school and get such high grades?

 

"i'm serious. have you ever taken a look around my place? we barely get through the day. i just can't let my parents be burdened by the fees by admitting myself to cram school." byulyi explains as if she has already said it countless times already, "i'll just have to study all by myself."

 

yongsun was rooted on the floor.

 

so that means that byulyi has been topping the exams without any help while yongsun has been going to cram school and has tutors going at her house every weekend.

 

she grips the glass a bit too hard that byulyi even notices it.

 

"hey, be careful. we don't have a lot of glasses."

 

"uh... s-sorry."

 

instead of doing nothing, yongsun joins byulyi in studying their lessons. i thought you're going to take a break from studying? byulyi asks her when she started getting her notes and books. i changed my mind, she replies.

 

it was getting late that byulyi has to invite her over for dinner after hearing yongsun's stomach grumble.

 

byulyi cooks for the three of them.

 

"i hope you don't mind kimchi fried rice because that is the only decent dish i can cook at the moment." byulyi says.

 

yongsun takes a bite.

 

"it's delicious."

 

she has become quiet for a while.

 

the food was nothing special yet it strangely warmed her heart.

 

she smiled when byulyi finally gives seulgi her candy after helping them wash the dishes. seulgi jumps around, excited to receive the candy. byulyi did remind her though to brush her teeth but seulgi was already gone before she can even finish.

 

"thank you for the food. it was delicious."

 

"it's nothing."

 

yongsun's car finally arrived and is now waiting for her below.

 

"byulyi,"

 

"hm?"

 

"can i come here again?"

 

byulyi looks at her, seemingly baffled at her sudden request. sensing her confusion, yongsun adds, "only if you don't mind."

 

"don't you have cram school to go to?"

 

"as of today, i decided not to go anymore."

 

"why?"

 

"w-why?" this girl really has to question everything! can't she just accept her answer as it is? "just because!"

 

"okay."

 

yongsun beams at her.

 

"just you know, i'll definitely beat you next time!" she says one last time before she ran to go to her car where their driver is waiting, leaving byulyi confused once again.

 

"what's with her and beating me up?" byulyi asks to no one, shaking her head before she went inside.

 

:::

 

years have passed and yongsun is now in her third year in middle school. nothing much has changed. everyone still flocks wherever she goes. she could say the same thing to byulyi. byulyi still has been topping the exams. she is still great at sports and other extracurricular activities. still the same old byulyi.

 

and as always, yongsun still aims to beat her from anything, however, years have passed and her goal has nowhere been fruitful.

 

yongsun did stop going to cram schools and instead did all the studying by herself. this, of course, confused her parents as yongsun has always been determined to admit herself to every prestigious academy in their city no matter what. they were even worried that yongsun is putting so much burden on her shoulders and wished that she could take it easy instead.

 

"what changed your mind, yongsun-ah?" her mother once asked her.

 

"just because," she replied.

she just wants to beat byulyi with her own power.

 

yongsun and byulyi are nowhere close to being called friends except that yongsun asks byulyi if she could come over to study and sometimes eat dinner with them if she is thick-skinned enough. if ever, it is actually seulgi who has grown fond of yongsun and would always look forward to playing with her. it still baffles yongsun how can byulyi still not look at her with any interest when the whole school population wants to be close to her. byulyi just wastes every opportunity she has when yongsun gives her countless chances. sad to say but it did hurt yongsun's ego.

 

"i don't understand your sister," she tells seulgi after taking a bite of byulyi's kimchi fried rice. she puts in too much kimchi, yongsun shakes her head. byulyi really loves her kimchi and pairs everything she eats with it. over time, yongsun may have also acquired byulyi's tastebuds and obsessive love for korean cuisine.

 

"what is so hard to understand with byulie-unnie?"

 

yongsun scrapes her bowl clean before answering seulgi and looking at her in the eye, "years have passed yet she still has not asked me to be friends with her."

 

seulgi laughs, "what do you mean? then what do you call this... this whole thing?" she gestures, making big actions as of to point out everything that has been going on for the past few years.

 

"my point exactly! you really understand me, seul-ah."

 

seulgi just shakes her head, dumbfounded at the two of them. her sister, byulyi, is washing the dishes while yongsun follows to dry the dishes before putting them on the rack.

 

"yah, byulyi! can i eat this?" yongsun asks after checking the cupboard.

 

"you just ate dinner and you're eating again?"

 

"you're so stingy," yongsun pouts, glaring at byulyi.

 

"you better leave half of it. that's mine." and yongsun beams, happy that she could eat it.

 

seeing the scene unfolding in front of her leaves seulgi speechless.

 

"i just don't understand the both of you." she chuckles.

 

:::

 

today has been hectic for yongsun. it is the deadline to pass all forms for the entrance exams in their city. she is set to enter a particular private all-girls high school. it is widely known that it is the top-performing school in their city and aside from that, it is the closest school to where yongsun lives. she almost missed the deadline because she has been too focused on studying for the entrance exams. thankfully, her classmates reminded her the other day.

 

"oh, byulyi!" she calls when she sees the other girl exiting the faculty room.

 

"yongsun-unnie." look at her, even when she is greeting her, she still sounds emotionless. it does not hurt to be cheerful, you know?

 

"did you just send in your application form?"

 

"yeah, today's the deadline. are you submitting one too?"

 

"yep," she replies, popping the p intentionally. she opens the door slightly before she looks at byulyi, "we will see each other at wonmi all-girls high school, right?" knowing byulyi, she can easily pass the exam. she will probably ace it just to spite her.

 

"huh?"

 

"what?"

 

"i did not pass any application forms for wonmi, though."

 

"wait, what?"

 

"what, what?"

 

she abruptly closes the door and grabs both byulyi's shoulder, cornering her at the side.

 

"what do you mean you are not passing any form for wonmi?"

 

"it implies that i have no plans to admit myself there."

 

"why?" she whines, looking at byulyi like she is making a stupid move.

 

"unnie, you're intelligent but you can be dumb at times."

 

yongsun gasps. seriously, byulyi has no filter on !

 

"this is not the time to nitpick me, you know! now, explain!"

 

"there isn't much to explain though."

 

"you know, you're unnecessarily chatty today." yongsun tells her which made byulyi sigh.

 

"i'm not taking their exam simply because i could not afford to enroll myself there. why bother?"

 

yongsun remained rooted in her place.

 

"bye, unnie! i think this will be our last year together so let's just enjoy the moment." and that damn kid even dared to flash a small smile at her! is she that happy not to see her anymore?

"well, not on my watch." she whispers under her breath.

 

:::

 

"are you following me?"

 

spring has come and it is yongsun's first day at her high school.

 

she scoffs, looking at her.

 

"are you serious?" she replies.

 

spring wind breezes through them. byulyi places her same-old bangs in their place neatly and looks at yongsun in the eyes, confusion all over her face.

 

"you said you are going to wonmi." she asks pointedly.

 

"i did but i also passed my application form for sangwon high." yongsun purposely left out the struggling details of her just to pass the application form on time that day. she does not want byulyi to think that she is following her because she is not! she is just giving the school a chance! after all, she can freely transfer schools if she wants.

 

"so why did you admit yourself here? it's not the best school. "

 

"and so?" yongsun asks back, "stop looking at me like you are constipated."

 

yongsun sighed when byulyi still stayed rooted at her side.

 

"let's go!" she grabs her wrist, "or else we're going to get late on our first day. you don't want that, do you?" knowing that byulyi does not like getting a tardy record, yongsun already knew that she won this one.

 

"byulyi, i won't let go of you."

 

"huh?"

 

"not until i win over you."

 

byulyi looks at her exasperatedly now that she is doing her daily "i'll win over you" talk.

 

"then that means you'll be sticking to me forever?"

 

yongsun groans at byulyi's implication.

 

"whatever." and the two of them ran as they still have a long way to go with so little time.