“And... done!” Sulli twists the mascara wand back into its container.

“Ok, Sojin, we’re totally done. Are you ready to take a look?” Luna asks, eyebrows wiggling.

I grin in anticipation. “You know it!”

“3... 2... 1... voila!” Amber pulls away the blanket covering the full-length mirror in Krystal’s room. I nearly pass out.

My reflection is not looking back at me. It can’t be. For the girl looking back at me has creamy skin, large, bright eyes with long eyelashes accentuated by gold eyeliner. Her lips are soft and red, her perfectly straight hair reaching the ends of her ribcage. Her figure is perfectly captured in a red lace sheath dress. She is breathtaking. Stunning. Me.

“Holy ,” I breathe.

“Makeovers are so fun,” Luna giggles. “You look beautiful, Sojin. Go have fun at that banquet!”

“You’ll blow their socks away,” Amber howls, and I slap her arm in embarrassment.

The taxi pulls up to the Kim estate after 10 minutes of maneuvering around cars and waiting in traffic. My eyes widen as I see the lights decorating the mansion and the trees surrounding it, the mass of wealthy partygoers gathered around the estate, and the outright ostentation of the entire place. As I’m walking into the house, a burly bouncer at the door asks my name.

“Park Sojin,” I say. He finds my name on a packet of stapled papers and checks me off.

“You’re on Dr. Zhang’s research team, correct?” he asks. When I nod, he flashes me a small smile. “Congratulations, young lady. You must be very talented to be working with that team.”

“Thank you,” I grin.

The inside of the mansion is designed in a French-style fashion: classic multi-paned windows, arched doorways, spiraled staircases. The place looks more like a museum than a house, to be honest.

“Sojin!” Someone wraps their arms around me in a hug.

“Hi Dr. Ahn!” I stand on my tiptoes and pat her on the head (it's a little joke we have going on which originated after she teased me about never being able to grow as tall as her). “You look really pretty!”

“I should be saying that to you!” she laughs. “Look at you! You’re gorgeous, Sojin. You know, maybe you should just quit biotechnology and go into modeling.”

“Oh, stop,” I flick my hand. “Is the rest of our team here?”

“Yeah, we’re actually all sitting at a table over there.” Dr. Ahn takes my hand and leads me to a large glass table located near the front of the grandiose dining room. I can see Dr. Zhang, Dr. Byun, Dr. Hwang, and a few other scientists sitting there, all looking refined in their formal wear.

“Ah, there you are, Sojin,” Dr. Byun raises a hand in greeting. “You look very nice. Dr. Zhang, doesn’t she look spectacular?”

“What? Uh, um, yeah.” Dr. Zhang turns red. “Hi, Sojin.”

“You look great, Dr. Zhang,” I tell him, my eyes dancing with amusement.

“So do you,” he chuckles nervously.

“We’re all going to make our speeches in another half an hour, so you can take this time to talk to people.” Dr. Hwang says.

“I’ll take her around!” Dr. Ahn offers.

“Take Dr. Zhang with you,” Dr. Byun tells us, throwing Dr. Zhang a meaningful glance.

“Stop messing with the poor boy,” Dr. Hwang clucks, but she can’t conceal her laughter either.

“Sorry for the awkwardness,” Dr. Zhang coughs as we’re following Dr. Ahn around the room, socializing with various party attendees.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” I giggle. “They’re joking.”

“Yeah.”

A tall man in his mid-50s approaches us. “Well, if it isn’t the stars of this party!” he remarks, patting Dr. Ahn and Dr. Zhang on the back. “Congratulations for all the good work.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kim,” Dr. Zhang replies, bowing his head.

“And who’s this?” Mr. Kim holds out his hand to me. “You’re the intern I’ve heard so much about, right?”

“Yes, this is Park Sojin,” Dr. Ahn informs him.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I say.

“I’m Kim Jae Sun, CEO of Kim Biotechnology,” the man says. “I’m very pleased with your hard work.”

Whoa. This is the CEO? I bow my head in respect. “Hello, sir. I’m honored to be working as an intern in your company.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, it is time for the speeches to begin. I take a seat and applaud loudly as Dr. Zhang makes a speech with the rest of the team, and then CEO Kim congratulates the scientists and the future of the company. As the waiters are beginning to set up the massive French buffet near the back of the room, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom.

“Do you know where it is?” Dr. Sun, a member of another science team, asks.

“I’ll figure it out,” I shrug, and make my way out of the dining hall.

This place is like a maze. I swear I passed that statue 5 minutes ago! I attempt to circumvent the halls of the beautiful mansion but the task proves to be more difficult than I initially believed; I only succeed in getting myself more lost. Soon, the resounding chatter of the banquet fades to a distant hum. Great. That must mean I’m getting farther away from where I started.

I turn around and attempt to backtrack my steps, but I bump smack into someone’s chest.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I begin to apologize, before I look up at the person’s face.

After a long, tense silence, Kai finally murmurs, “Sojin. Why... why are you here? And why’re you dressed so nicely?”

“I should be saying that to you.” I snap. Kai’s eyes are taking in my body from top to bottom, from my long, straight hair to my black peeky-toe high heels. “This is a private party. I know you’re supposed to be some badass gangster but you could get into a lot of trouble if you’re reported trespassing on a CEO’s land.”

His eyes snap back to mine. “This is my house,” Kai utters coldly. “Who are you to wander off from the main banquet hall, anyway? Stop acting like you’re all that just because you look pretty for the first time in your life, you worthless girl.”

I stiffen. Something deep inside my stomach sinks. So he’s started again. Calling me names and taunting me and stomping my self esteem to the ground.

My icy facade clicks into place.