Hardly anyone knows who my parents are.

Hell, I barely know who they are, myself. I mean, I know my mother, of course, but I'm not exactly sure if you could call it the "know-know" type. You see, I know trivial facts about my mother. She's 35 years old and she's a masseuse ----- she massages for a living. She has a dream-like vibe going on around her and she once told me that she was a happy hippy back in the day. I remember her telling me that she met my father at Gangnam District and never saw him again.

Okay, I'm lying. She had a drunken, one night-stand with some douche bag named Dongmin without even using a .

I have lived with my mother for over seventeen years, and yet it feels as if she's still a complete stranger to me. I guess that I'm complete stranger to her as well. She doesn't know anything about me. She never bothers to. She doesn't know that I'm a gifted compulsive liar, she doesn't know that I eat mac and cheese with barbecue sauce, and she definitely doesn't know that I've already lost my ity.

Yeah, I gave my V card away. But let's get to that part later.

Anyway, to me, she's nothing but the stranger woman who gave birth to me. Nothing else. As guilty as I feel for saying this, I probably wouldn't even cry at her funeral.

That's a lie by the way. Of course I would cry. Being a liar doesn't make you heartless.

So right now, I was very glad that we were just merely complete strangers living under the same roof. We were currently cramped in her small yellow Honda, suffocating in the silence that seemed to fill the car like oxygen. She had received a call from Mr. Jeon ---- my school principal ----- earlier and she arrived as soon as she could. After a group of teachers finally pulled me and Luna apart, Luna was sent to the hospital via ambulance while I was sent to my lockers to pack my belongings and leave school ground immediately. I only figured out then that I was suspended for a week.

"So....why exactly did you break that poor girl's nose?" she asked, finally breaking the tension. My mother didn't yell nor did she shout. She just stared straight ahead, her eyes never wavering from the road she was looking at.

"She was trying to kill me. I had to do something." I said to my defense, curling my sore fist as I recalled the way it connected with Luna's nose and the satisfying crack it made as blood spurted all over her face. I could remember the stares, gasps and whispers I got when I was leaving the school premises and how anybody who would get in my path would immediately step away, hastily. I know. Breaking her nose didn't really help with the murderer rumor, but hey. What was I supposed to do?

"Yes. You had to do something and that 'something' wasn't to break her face, Krystal. What had gotten into you? You have never been a violent person!" her voice rose an octave higher the more she talked. I didn't really get why, but her pale hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly

"And how would you know that I'm not a violent person? I could be a e for all you knew." I muttered under my breath. I have never told my mother that she felt like a stranger to me, and she never talked about it either. It was somewhat an unspoken rule between us. She said nothing though, but I could somehow tell that my words hurt her. We may have never been close, but she has always tried her best to become a good mother.

We drove the rest of the way home in silence and by the time we reached the house, my mother harshly turned around to face me, practically trembling with anger. "In your room. Now!"

A lie. That never happened. She never yelled or lectured me like any other parent whose child had just been suspended would have. In fact, she didn't even turn around to face me. She just left me standing in the middle of the small, cold corridor, slamming her bedroom door shut. She didn't come out for the rest of the night after that.

My mother was a fragile woman.

I remember the day I first met Lee Taemin

After the whole albino incident, I couldn't walk down the corridors without hearing a muttered 'liar' or 'freak', even if I had already immediately dyed my hair brown, knowing perfectly well that the whole act wasn't going to work anymore. The dirty looks kept on increasing and increasing and even the teachers started to join in. I couldn't hand in an assignment in biology wihout getting an eye-roll from Mrs. Im. My non-existent repudiating plummeted and I soon started spending most of my free time at the school library. The one person who seemed completely oblivious about the albino fiasco was the librarian, Miss Seo Joohyun.

From the moment I first saw her surfing through the countless books and titles on one of the library's shelves along with her beautiful and gentle facial expression, I already knew I would like her. Her long black hair seemed to balance out her tiny shoulders. She was struggling to hold a pile of books stacked under one of her arms. I quietly walked up behind her.

"Do you need some help with that?" I asked tentatively. Although I had already given up the blonde act by going back to brown, I still hadn't given up on my American accent at that time.

She jumped, and I caught all of the books before they hit the floor. "Oh my goodness, you startled me!' she cried. Her dark eyes seemed to sparkle behind those huge pair of glasses as they looked at me with open curiosity.

"S-Sorry...." I simply said

She just smiled. "It's okay. I appreciate extra help." she said in a sweet and sincere tone "....are you new at this school? I have never seen you around here before."

"Yeah. I'm Jessica." I lied. Jessica was a pretty name and I thought of maybe using it. Also, she didn't have to know what my real name was.

"Jessica? That's pretty." she complimented "I'm Miss Joohyun. Help me put these books on that desk will you?" she asked in a polite manner

I nodded and followed her to the front desk, which was piled with countless amounts of books, arranged in some sort of order. High-tech computers and gadgets were situated behind the counter. Huh. I guess this school really is made of so much money.

"Thanks for the help, Jessica. Do you need help with locating a book?" she asked

"No." I said, shaking my head "I was just looking around." I lied, again. I just didn't want to spend the rest of the lunch outside, looking like a loner, even if I am one.

"Okay." she smiled again, this time showing her small white teeth. "Not many students come to the library very often. I'm glad that you take an interest in books."

I smiled back and walked over to the back of the library, where all the manga and Japanese books were shelved. I absentmindedly ran a hand along the spine of books, inhaling the musky smell of my surroundings. I guess I could kill time off by hanging around in here.

Then I suddenly heard someone clear their throat. I spun around, startled.

Seated on one of the long mahogany tables lined up across the back of the library was a tall, light-brown haired guy. His hair was a big brown mess on top of his head, as if he had never heard of a hairbrush in his life. Bright brown eyes were hiding behind the pair of black-rimmed glasses, looking at me expectantly. For some reason, I could admit that he was pretty gorgeous. In an A/V dweeb kind of way.

"Hi." was all he sad

I nervously looked around before meeting back his gaze. "Um. Hi."

"Are you the albino girl?" he suddenly blurted out. After realizing what he just said, he had the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean---"

"It's fine. Go ahead." I said, rolling my eyes before sighing afterwards "I guess I sort of put that onto myself." I admitted. For some reason, I spoke in the fluent Korean accent instead of the American one. I studied him afterwards before deciding that he looked sort of familiar. "Hey, are you in one of my classes or something?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We have english together. I gotta admit though, I kinda feel for the whole albino story, even when you said that African hunters were after you. That was pretty cool, you know." he admitted, a bit sheepishly

I couldn't help but laugh. A grin slowly crept onto his face as he motioned me to sit down opposite him. We spent the entire lunch time talking ---- me about how I came up with the lie, and him about the manga he was reading. I smiled and laughed more than I had in months. I realized that this was the first real conversation I've had with anybody from this school and it felt pretty good to socialize. I didn't get to do it very often.

When he asked me what school I came from before Kyunggi, I lied of course. I told him that I took a break from school to go backpacking in Australia with my mother and stepdad. Mother had had a hard time coping with the heat and soon enough, we went to Korea to live in the house my mother had inherited from her billionaire uncle who had just died. The lie was pretty unbelievable itself, but I was good enough to pull it off. He ate all of it up. He even asked me what Australia was like and I described all of the photos and postcards I had seen in travel books and guides.

Too soon for my liking, the bell rang, signaling that lunch time was over. We sighed and got up, walking out of the library together. I saw Miss Joohyun smile secretively as we made our way out.

Okay. Punching Park Luna in the face was probably a really bad idea after all.

The very next morning after I got suspended, my facebook page was suddenly flooded with death threats and "I will kill you." messages from anonymous people. There was even a photo of Luna's bandaged-up face spreading around the internet. I know I've always loved attention, but this was pretty extreme, freaky in fact, even for a person like me.

Mother had gotten a rather terrifying phone call for Luna's father, Mr. Park, who had spent over an hour yelling and screaming threats and lawsuits into my mother's ears. However, everybody around knew that the Park family was only all talk. They tried to fit in so hard with the rich community, even when they were pretty average themselves.

Let me tell you a little bit about what goes around this place. Here in this small part of Seoul is a place with a lot of rich, wealthy and beautiful people who want to either retire or raise their children in a quiet, loving place.

Unfortunately though, things don’t exactly work out the way they do in brochures.

On the outside, Kyunggi High School was every Ken and Barbie's dream school. Luscious, green grass and tall, grand multi-storied buildings surrounded it. Fancy cars, and smiling faces. Sprouts of color and shimmering sunlight everywhere you look.

On the inside, however, it wasn't so perfect.

Kyunggi High School is perfectly divided by a big, fat, hypocritical line. On one side of the line lived the rich and wealthy people who believed that they could have anything they wanted in any way they wanted to have it. On the other side of the line, though, live the normal and averagely wealthy people, who talked and acted like normal beings.

Now onto another unknown fact --- that does not only go for the students. That goes for their parents as well. In fact, it's even worse.

When first coming into this part of Seoul, there is only one thing that people want to know: how much money you are making. If you're some sort of arrogant, well-feared millionaire, then the rich and wealthy side will definitely invite you into their circle with open arms. However, if you make anything less than that, they'll kick you out to the 'savages' ----- which is were my mother and I supposedly belong --- the normal, non-egotistical people.

What I said to Taemin was only partially a lie; my mother's uncle didn't really die and hand his house to her. My mother's uncle retired and handed his house to her. Now, he lives in an old and wide farm ranch where he spends his remaining days writing novels about western damsels in distress.

Okay, I'm lying. There is in fact, no uncle. My mother knows none of her relatives, except her twin brother. She had been saving up since she was only eighteen years old, just after giving birth to me, so she could afford to buy a house up here. This place has always been her dream home. Like Ken and Barbie.

The 'rich people' made themselves the leaders of this place, running every social event and every tourist sight like they were ing gods with platinum credit cars. They viciously talked about everyone who wasn't in their circle of friends behind their backs because hey, what else do you expect rich people to do?

Many of the 'savages' have desperately tried to climb the social ranks, like the Parks for example, and only very few of them have succeeded; otherwise, it was all one vicious cycle. We envied them and they loathed us. That was just the way this place was. There was no 'in-between'. You were either rich and fabulous or you weren't.

A loud, shrill sound suddenly rang throughout the house, interrupting my thoughts. "Coming!" I shouted as I ran to the phone. Mother was in her bedroom. "Hello?" I said as soon as I picked up the phone

"Good morning, this is officer Kang. I'm from the Seoul Police Department. I was hoping to speak to Miss Jung."

"Um...yeah...that's me." I muttered lamely. I kept my eyes on the bright green tiles on the kitchen walls, willing my voice to stay calm. The police have already questioned me. Twice. I've already told them everything, I know, so what more could they possibly want?

"Miss Jung, we have received a number of phone calls this morning concerning your behavior at Kyunggi High yesterday. Is it true that you were suspended for assaulting your fellow female peer?"

I nodded, but then I realized how stupid I was since they couldn't see me through the phone. "Uh, yes. That's true." I said quietly. I was pretty sure that they already found out about it, so I wasn't sure why they were asking me to confirm it.

"We thought so. It seems as though a lot of people are leading conclusions that you were involved with Choi Sulli and Lee Taemin's deaths. We don't have any evidence leading to this, but we would like to question you once more Miss Jung." the officer continued

"But I didn't kill them!" I cried, frustrated once more with what was happening

He went on like he didn't hear me. "Could I speak to one of your parents Miss Jung?"

I heard the door open behind me. "No, you can't, because my father is dead and my mother is dying!" I lied, without even thinking of what I was saying. I immediately tried to stop after realizing what I had done, sensing that lying to a police officer probably wasn't the greatest idea, but it just kept on coming "...my father died in Iraq nine months ago and my mother has a critical condition of----"

"Okay now, stop it! Give me the phone!" my mother snapped as she ripped the phone out of my hands. Her brown eyes were glaring at me, horrified but at the same time, annoyed. "Who is this?"

There was a pause before my mother was able to speak again. "I'm sorry, Officer. My daughter has a habit of spitting out lies when she's nervous." she said, shooting another glare at me. Then came a longer pause. "Yes, we can do that......no, I understand." she continued, stiffly. I strained to hear the other side of the conversation, but all I could hear was mumbling.

The rest of the phone call was answered in silence, except for the occasional 'mmm' and 'ahh' that came from my mother. I could see her expression grow darker as the conversation was nearing to its end.

"Yes, we can do that." she said and there was another pause "Okay, sure. Goodbye, Officer Kang." she said, slamming the phone on the receiver. She then turned to me, her pale face mix of emotions. Okay, I wasn't used to this. My mother hardly showed emotion with me so I began to grow really uncomfortable.

Finally, she spoke. "Krystal, I'm driving you up to the police station tomorrow morning. Looks like they want to speak to the both of us."

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