prologue

  the heiress

"It's like you don't know me." Kyunghee mocked, flipping her perfect caramel hair. The expression in her eyes was degrading, but it fit her. The female was exactly 5'3 but people were scared to death of her.

"Excuse me, miss?" Her butler, Chae Daewon, scurried to her side. Kyunghee glanced over her shoulder as she notice the incoming worker. Her eyes flickered back towards the woman she had previously addressed.

"What?" She asked in a snap-like tone. If there was one thing she hated, it was being interupted as she was. Daewon bowed several times to her, knowing he was going to be the new subject of her anger.

"Mrs. Kang did her best to assist you." He spoke shyly. Kyunghee rolled her eyes and set her hand on her hip. The situation was merely a case of mistaken clothing. Mrs. Kang - Kang Jiwon - was Kyunghee's father's girlfriend, but no way was Kyunghee about to call her 'mom' or anything of the sort. Heck, she mistook her clothes and brought back hideous clothing from the laundry mat.

"You're so useless." Kyunghee snarled at Jiwon. Jiwon looked towards the ground as the younger female bashed her. Jiwon was always the meek and timid type, whereas Kyunghee was always on attack mode. "Gimme that." She huffed and snatched the clothing away from the older female. "I'm headed back before someone steals my real clothing." Kyunghee started off as she inspected the clothes in her hand. It was a short white dress with silver trim, but... Kyunghee never wore white. That alone should be a dead giveaway, but somehow others were oblivious towards it.

"Miss! Please allow me to go with you." Daewon spoke, turning to go get his coat and car keys. Kyunghee shook her head and flung the protected dress over her shoulder. The Yeo house was large in size and the time it would take for her butler to get to his room and grab his belongings and return would be a waste.

"There's no need. I can do this by myself." She rejected and started off towards the door.

"At least let me go too." Jiwon tried, trailing after the heiress with a puppy dog face. Jiwon was so airheaded, Kyunghee even wondered why her father was attracted to such a female. Speaking of her father, he should be back from work, shouldn't he? No. He hardly ever comes home. At least, not after his business made it big.

"You'll only mess things up again." Kyunghee shot, spinning around and shooting daggers towards the clueless female. Jiwon sqeaked as she backed down. Feeling content with warding every off, Kyunghee went off towards their front door. She slipped on her black flats before she gave one last look towards the staff about to see her off.

For such a small girl, she held a huge presence. It wasn't quite an ideal presence either. Kyunghee could care less about any of that. She didn't care if she was loved or feared, just as long as people obeyed her.

"Miss, please don't forget you have a dinner party to attend tonight." Daewon came rushing around the corner and held up a pocket watch, showing her the time. "It's a big deal because you'll be meeting a lot of your father's customers. He's displaying himself as a family man, so idealy his family must be present." Jiwon peeked her head over the butler's shoulders as she nodded along.

Kyunghee scoffed and nodded once. Display himself as a family man? But he wasn't, not in the least. The dinner party was the reason Kyunghee sent her dress off to the cleaners in the first place anyways. Even though she had a distaste for such public things, she somewhat felt excited to attend this dinner party, it was strange.

"You should just go in the white dress." Jiwon chirped up, still hiding behind the butler. "You'd look like an angel. Perhaps it was fate why I brought back the white one." She gave a timid smile, which Kyunghee quickly shook off.

"There's no such thing as fate, Jiwon." Kyunghee sighed. Kyunghee has always been a hard shell who hardly believed in anything. In fact, hearing it could have been fate made Kyunghee want to return the dress even more. "That's just stupid." She finished off and opened the door. Jiwon opened to speak once more, but Kyungee slammed the door before she could utter another word.

It was strange how the white dress had "Yeo Kyunghee" written on the tag. It was like it was specifically designed for her. It was even the right size, but no, it wasn't her dress and she was certain there was some type of mix up. Fate. Psh. Who needs it.

As Kyunghee started walking down the street of the neighborhood, she stared off into the distance. She was only seventeen, but everyone viewed her as older. Kyunghee always liked the power and attention she had received. Being the daughter of the CEO of a well-off jewelry company sure had it's perks. Even if she was dislikeable, people still up to her.

The white covered dress bounced up and down with every step she took. It looked expensive, and that was just an understatement. Kyunghee might be spoiled, bratty, and selfish, but she wasn't a thief. One of her redeeming qualities was she was honest. Brutally honest.

The life of Kyunghee might sound all fun and games, but she wasn't as happy as she appears. Her unsatisfaction with life is covered by her stubborn and cruel nature. But hey, to each their own. A soft growl left her lips as she sighed and checked her montblac princess grace watch. The time of day wasn't even noon. It was only 9:00 am but everyone had been rushing around the house as if the dinner party was in full swing. The party didn't even start until 8:00pm, but all the workers were putting all their efforts into it. At least the Yeo family held faithful employees.

Passing the mansions filling the neigborhood they lived in, Kyunghee hadn't bothered to see the many kids playing soccer in the middle of the street. The young children ranged from ages 9-13 and they immediately scattered when they saw Kyunghee near them. Seeing children avoid you was always a reflection of your own personality and it was no different in this case.

"Why'd you run?" Kyunghee stopped and stomped her right foot onto the concrete. She rose a curious brow as she called after the retreating children. "Come back." She ordered, her eyes narrowing as she waited impatiently for them to listen. The four children peeked over at the 'scary girl' with scared eyes. 

"S-Sorry!" A boy squeaked. Kyunghee lifted her head as she looked down upon them. Last time they were playing around Kyunghee, she ranted on them for playing out in the street and being so cheery.

"You better be." She huffed. The children didn't even do anything but run away from her, but in Kyunghee's mind, that was worst of all. They should be rushing towards her. She scoffed once more before she continued walking down the street. Just from that, you can see how Kyunghee will mercilessly call you out - no matter your age. If only someone put their foot down towards this teen. 

Her perfectly curled hair and made-up face screamed elegance. No doubt, she was easy on the eyes. Just... when she opens , you'll see why she's often gossiped about. Kyunghee hardly ever smiled, no, her lips curving upwards always resulted in a grin. She had nothing to ever smile about - though her smile would most definitely be killer. 

Even though she lived in a community closed off from Seoul, Kyunghee had no problem walking anywhere. The same case applies to how. After thirty minutes of walking, she had reached the regular basis of town. Commoners were scurrying around cluelessly and all smiles as they met up with their friends. The iced interior Kyunghee had clearly showed how she felt about being surrounded by such joyous times. Her fingers tightened on the hanger the dress was connected to as she dodged people right and left. 

A vibration radiated in her jean pocket. She paused in the middle of the crowded street as she checked her phone. There was one new message from an unknown number. Confused, Kyunghee opened the message with an unhappy expression. Who on earth gave her number to a stranger?

From: xxx-xxx-xxxx
    You better come back home.

Kyunghee tilted her head before locking her phone and continuing towards the cleanered with a small shrug. All the staff had her number, so did Jiwon, so why would an unknown number text her? It must be some sort of prank to try and scare her. Psh. As if Yeo Kyunghee was foolish enough to fall for a prank. She brushed past a few more people before she stood in front of the cleaners.

Her eyes widened once she saw the note on the door. Her grip on the hanger tightened as she flipped the dress over and down onto the ground. If the white dress hadn't been inside a plastic wrap, it would have been dirty.

There, on the front door was a sign that read "closed due to family emergency." 

Kyunghee was fuming as she kicked the immaculate dress. People were starting to stare at her, but she could care less. She was int he middle of her full-out brat moment.

"Seriously?! A family emergency?" She hissed, shaking her head before bending down to pick up the dress. Even though she had clearly abused it, there were no wrinkles, no stains, no creases. It looked absolutely perfect. "This is so dumb." She muttered, holding the dress in front of her and weighing her head back and forth. The idea of actually wearing this dress passed through her mind, but she quickly pushed it out. No way would she go to her father's dinner party looking like a little princess. It only made her father look good and no way would she do anything to benefit that man.

Kyunghee twirled around on her heel. She walked back out into the crowded streets with the dress sloppily tossed over her shoulder. The crowds on the street seemed to have thickened as she made her way through, stomping back towards her house. She didn't even make it five minutes before Kyunghee spotted a trash can by the street. 

As she pushed everyone aside, Kyunghee took the dress and angrily tossed it into the trash. The beautiful dress tossed in along with garbage. The heiress had a terrible temper, which added to her sharp personality. She cursed under her breath before she turned to go back home, not giving another look towards the dress. She was silent as she made her way through the thick crowds. Stuffing her hands into her pockets, Kyunghee looked down at her feet. She had no dress to wear, but that didn't matter. Maybe she could come up with an excuse to avoid going to the party.

Her cellphone vibrated once more. She walked towards the outside of the crowd, stopping right by the road. An irritated scowl appeared on her face as she dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone once more. Another message.

From: xxx-xxx-xxxx
I tried to warn you.

It was the same person. If they were trying to prank her, no one will be able to save them from Kyunghee's wrath. She deleted the texts without a second thought. 

"Could this day get any worse?" She groaned, her eyes still focusing on her phone. As the ironic questioned lingered around the teen, screams were heard from around her.

Everything happened so fast.

High pitched screams and people rushing away towards Kyunghee. In the panic around her, she was knocked down, landing on her bottom. Her phone flew out of her hands as she tried to protect herself from the stampede. Her legs sprawled out as her arms instinctively covered her face.

The crowd cleared, leaving only the sitting Kyunghee.

She looked up, but it was too late. 

A car horn. A bright light. All headed towards her.

Then,

a black out.

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  author's note

the prologue is now complete. i tried to make it short and simple so you understood the gist of it. yeah, this isn't as totally angsty as it sounds OTL next chapter we'll get right into it ;D oho, anyways, thanks for reading and... tell me what you think?

☂