"Soyeon-sunbae I really don't see the point in this." Gyuri said with a raised brow. She sat down her glass of water and stared across the table to said female. Soyeon playfully pouted, "For my birthday I want you to drop the honorific in my name. High school was years ago so why keep it." She repeated and took a bite of their shared strawberry patbingsu. Gyuri sighed and waved off the idea, asking Soyeon to choose something else for her birthday. "Fine, get me a pair of shades then. I lost my old ones and the other girl's shades look awkward on me." Soyeon said, upset that her first wish didn't go through.

But who was she to expect otherwise? She wished for the same thing for the last four years. Since it was awkward when others say them together. How weird it must have been for the hoobae in the idoling world is called the sunbae by someone who has been in the game for three years more. She tried to explain this to Gyuri the the female stood firm. 'Maybe next year.' She sighed, deciding in taking a larger spoonful of patbingsu. Her spoon clanked with Gyuri who simple smiled. Soyeon moved her spoon to another area of the desert but again it clanked with Gyuri's spoon. "Moya?" Soyeon asked, holding her smile to try to make Gyuri think she was upset. "Do you really want to know why I will always refuse your wish?" She asked Soyeon. Soyeon nodded, "Because it would be wrong to fix something so fitting." Gyuri said and gave a cheeky smile. "Yah! Who raised you into this? I surely didn't." Soyeon complained, stubbornly shoving Gyuri's spoon aside with her own and taking a large amount of patbingsu.

- - - -

Gyuri was shoved roughly against the wall of the school. She glared at the group of females. Three of her classmates called her out during lunch to talk to her. "You think just because you are a bit pretty you can flirt with other's boyfriends?" The main girl yelled, Gyuri looked around her to the girl who claimed her boyfriend was stolen by Gyuri. "I didn't take your boyfriend. But if he has fallen for me it isn't my fault I was born with this face." She said in a bored tone. The main female yelled at her before sharply slapping Gyuri. "Who do you think you are ? I bet you are going to work in a palor if anything in the future." One of the side females added, smirking at the angry look on Gyuri's face. "Why don't we take her 'bright future' from her, I mean it is only fair since she stole Hwamin's boyfriend." The main one said, taking a packing knife from her uniform pocket. She lifted the knife to Gyuri's face ready to scar her.

"And here I thought our school got rid of its trash when Juni transferred to Busan." A female voice said, walking towards the group with her arms cross. "Let her go." She said to the main female who was glancing to and from Gyuri and the senior. "Lets go. She isn't worst our time." The main female said, pushing Gyuri roughly before leaving the two alone. "I could have handled them." Gyuri said as she fixed her apperance. The senior smiled and shook her head. "You could not. But I can see why they are angry, it is annoying to see self denial." She said, leaning against the wall next to her. Gyuri glared at the senior. "My name is Park InJung. Hm, looks like you are my junior." InJung said, pointing at the notebook that Gyuri was earlier holding.

Gyuri looked at the book than groaned, "Listen I am sorry but I have to go." She said polietly to her senior. "Wait, you owe me." InJung said, and smirked at Gyuri's confused face. "You are going to join my group of friends." She said, when Gyuri tried to walk away InJung grabbed her arm. "Wait by the main gate after school." She continued then surprised Gyuri by petting her head. "You need to have fun and enjoy all that you have. Be proud." She said than left Gyuri behind.

"Seungho see. I told you she would come." InJung said pointing at Gyuri. Seungho sighed and apologized to Gyuri about InJung's bluntness. The two started to argue over what was wrong with bluntness when Gyuri coughed loudly. "InJun-- InJung-Sunbae." Gyuri corrected herself when she remembered the name, "I don't think I can join you today." She said. "Why is that?" InJung asked, hands on her hips as if she was ready to scold the younger female if she gave the wrong answer. Gyuri stammered a excuse, that she knew sounded stupid by the looks her two sunbaes had. "Yah, this guy can make a better excuse than you. Watch." InJung said then looked up to Seungho. The male thought for a minute before snapping his fingers, "InJung, I don't want to hang out with you because my mom wants me to cook dinner for our visiting relatives." He said proudly.

InJung nodded, "That is an excuse that is beleivable. He wouldn't get out of hanging out but it was better than your washing hair one." She explained as if this was a life lesson. "InJung, our booking time is coming up." Seungho said after looking at his watch. The older female nodded and smiled at Gyuri. "Coming?" She asked. Gyuri didn't know why but something in her told her that she needed to go with the two seniors or she would regret it later. "Sure." She answered, returning the smile.

She later found out that it was InJung's birthday and she was celebrating it by booking a karoke room. "We do this every year." Seungho explained to Gyuri. The two were sitting on the couch watching InJung sing along to S.E.S's In The Name of Love. "She has an amazing voice." Gyuri told him, Seungho agreed adding that she was actually planning to audtion to be an idol. Gyuri's eyes grew at the thought then she remembered the confedence InJung had eariler that day and the talent she was hearing now. "She will make it. She seems so sure of it." Gyuri whispered. "That is because I won't allow anyone to tell me otherwise." InJung said, talking into the microphone. "I won't allow anyone to get in the way of what I want to do. Or allow them to put down my greatest strength." She said in a firm voice then sat on the other side of Seungho.

"We know we know." Seungho said, pinching InJung's cheek and teasingly asked if she was upset at being ignored. "Lets get some dinner. You are paying Pabo-ho." InJung said, pulling Gyuri along with as she left the room. "Pizza sounds nice." Gyuri said, following along with the flow of things. "Pabo-ho-sunbae." She added. Seungho sighed while InJung laughed at how although Gyuri used honorifics she still used his nickname. "She is my official hoobae." InJung said, affectionatly pinching Gyuri's cheek. "What are you a crab? You're going to pull her cheeks off." Seungho said as they left the building. Looking for a place to find dinner. "She is too pretty, I am trying to bring her to our level of looks." InJung said, adding that she was kidding when Gyuri backed away from her and Seungho looked 'shocked' by her.

"I like my looks sunbae. Hollow cheeks though, won't be a good look for me." Gyuri joked, laughing along with Seungho at InJung's threat of 'returning her to the orphanage'. They found a restraunt a few blocks away, it wasn't pizza but Korean BBQ. The three joked for an hour, happily grilling and eating as they were surprised over how much their hoobae had in common with them. "I have to go to the restroom for a moment " Gyuri said, excusing herself from her sunbaes. She smiled into the mirror, liking mood the two gave off. "They are so weird though." She told herself, thinking about the motherly InJung and kind Seungho. "But they are nice." She whispered then decided to touch up her make-up. 'Pride.' She told herself and smiled at her refelction, starting to see what Soyeon meant. Gyuri groaned when a stall door opened to reveal one of the girls from earlier.

"If you are going to star--" Gyuri started, not willing to let go of her good mood for a stupid purpose. "I am not. I just want to know do you get off on seeing other's boyfriends get taken by you? My friend worked really hard for him and now he is in love with you." She said, cutting Gyuri off. "I bet you get a sick joy out of that. And you wonder why no girl would dare bring her boyfriend around you." She finished, washed her hands then left a frozen Gyuri in place. 'Why couldn't I stand up for my looks. I don't hate myself so why can't I prop--- I can't face them. They would be upset to know I am still weak.'

- -  

"You ditched us." InJung said as Gyuri sat down across from her. She called her during class, asking to join her at the local cafe. Gyuri shurgged at the female's words and placed an order for water. "I would like a strawberry patbingsu. One big enough for two." InJung told the waiter. When he left she brought her attention back to Gyuri. "Why would you just leave your friends like that?" She asked, scowling at Gyuri's silence. She was about to asked again when the waiter brought their orders. InJung handed Gyuri a spoon, shoving it into her face when Gyuri tried to argue. "I always share a patbingsu with Seungho when we argue." She said once Gyuri started to eat. "It is like we forget our anger faster that way. I would restrain myself on the duk and he would the fruit. It was like a code to forgive and forget." She continued and took a bite of the desert.

"I am sorry for leaving you behind sunbae. I just didn't feel well." Gyuri said in a low voice. "Lying spoils food you know." InJung said, not looking up from the desert. Gyuri sighed, then told InJung about what happened in the restroom. "You can't change easily. But the fact that you are angry you didn't means you have the will to stand up for your strength. Which is something I am happy to hear. I can't have a spineless hoobae who allows herself to be stepped on." Soyeon said. "Also I just didn't want to ruin your date with Seungho. You heard my reputation, I like both of you so I didn't want to make problems." Gyuri added, InJung choked on the ice cream once she heard that. Gyuri handed her some water and watched her chug the water. "What date? That guy is like a kid. If you weren't there it still would have been a friendly outing. Why would think we were a thing?" She asked quickly, then dived back into the desert. "And why do you allow yourself to listen to rumors? If they are angry at you for being yourself that what can you do? Nothing, embrace their anger and turn it into something positive. Like point out their make up flaw and how to properly fix it. You are pretty so it would be annoying to keep hearing you claim you weren't.." She said once she cooled her mood.

"But I look too pretty, not just regular pretty." Gyuri mumbled. InJung smirked, "If you are pretty then I am a beauty." InJung countered. Gyuri laughed, "Sorry but the dutchess of beauty is here to prove otherwise." She said, flipping her hair. "Stand down for your queen." InJung said then did agyeo. "I am the goddess of beauty. My looks can surpass anyone." Gyuri said and took an extra large spoonful of patbingsu. InJung clapped at her declariation, jokingly saying she bought the patbingsu as 'offerings' to the goddess. "Happy to hear the admit it." A female voice said loudly. InJung was ready to stick up for Gyuri when she told her she can handle this. "I didn't think I would have female stalkers too. But with these looks I should have expected it." Gyuri said, loud enough for the voice to hear

InJung smiled proudly at Gyuri's boldness. "I think I created a monster." InJung laughed. "No, you taught a goddess that it was time she stood proud. How else would the world enjoy my beauty?" Gyuri said, leaving InJung to wonder what the new bold Gyuri would be like.

- - - -

"The party is later at the karoke place." Soyeon said, bringing Gyuri back to the present. "You know Soyeon-sunbae, just because you feed me doesn't mean I will tell my secrets easily." Gyuri said, causing Soyeon roll her eyes and mumble next year. "Whatever you say Soyeon-ssi." Gyuri said, smiling at the squeal that left Soyeon's mouth.

Gyuri smiled at her sunbae. The female who unlocked her inner self. InJung taught her how to stand her ground and not let others put down her gift. Even if it was looks, she wouldn't let others dare to speak down on her just because she was confident. So she figured it should be ok to break her honorific rule. Just this once.

'I still have so much to learn from her to feel it being ok to say her name causally.' Gyuri told herself.