WARNING: Contains some swearing.

You descended the stairs, into the foyer where your stepsisters were. Ellin and Jiwon stood in front of a large mirror, putting on their makeup, admiring themselves…

Their faces soured in unison, after catching sight of you. “Take that bag off,” Ellin sneered. “It’s too trendy.”

“But my old one broke—“

“No ‘but’s,” Jiwon cut you off haughtily. Her tone hinted at no compromise whatsoever, though you weren’t surprised – your stepsisters were never nice to you unless they could benefit from it.

You sighed. There was no point in arguing anymore, so you headed upstairs to find a substitute for your backpack. You were going to have to buy a new one after school; one that Jiwon and Ellin approved of.

What you didn’t know was that your stepsisters were extremely jealous of you. They knew how you looked like without glasses – they had seen you sleeping without them before – and you were, indeed, a very pretty girl. With a little makeover and some hair-styling, you could look absolutely gorgeous.

This scared Ellin and Jiwon a lot; your stepsisters were highly afraid that you looked better than them. And so, they went to great lengths just to hide your beauty from the world.

When you bought anything remotely fashionable, they would proceed to throw it away. There wouldn’t even be a warning – one minute your new item would be in your room, and the next, you would find it in the trashcan.

In addition to that, your stepmother had banned you from wearing contacts. This meant that every day, you were forced to put on your thick-lensed, round-framed, dodgy-looking glasses. Your eyesight was so terrible that the only time you could have them off was when you slept.

In school, you stepsisters wanted you to be perceived as a nerdy, unattractive girl. And it happened; their wish came true –Your classmates, being undeniably shallow, perceived you as just that. They judged you based on the stuff you owned and the way you looked – well, except your best friend, Eunyoung; she was the only one who liked you for yourself.

Unfortunately, Ellin and Jiwon thought of you as nothing but a housemaid; they treated you like a servant; you were always made to do the housework by yourself and every day, your stepsisters, along with your stepmother, would have a list of chores for you to do, along with a bunch of errands for you to run. If ever you missed one out, they would punish you severely.

You weren’t a part of their family. You never were and you never will be. To them, you were just a nuisance; one which they were forced to live with because both of your birth parents were dead.

Your mother had passed away while giving birth to you, and your father, after marrying your stepmother for a couple of years, had tragically died in a plane crash when you were seven.

Your stepmother started to resent you when year by year, your talents surpassed those of her own children – In school, your rank was heaps better than Ellin’s (you were both in the same year, whereas Jiwon was 2 years older), and by the time you turned twelve, a couple of talent scouts had already asked you to audition for their respective entertainment companies -- You didn't; you had no interest in becoming an idol.

Since your previous schoolbag had broken, you had to settle for a giant plastic bag today. Some books you carried in your one free arm – You would store them in school later; thank goodness for lockers.

As the three of you were filing out the door, Ellin shot you a fake smile. “Hey, Minjoo, be a dear and carry my laptop for me~” Before you could protest, she had already placed it on top of the heavy pile in your hand. “Oh, help me carry this too!” Jiwon snarkily dumped her pencil case onto the pile as well.

You watched, speechless, as they walked out first. They didn’t bother holding the door open for you.

“What are you doing standing around for? You’re going to be late!”

Your stepmother appeared. At her words, you tried your very best not to roll your eyes. Deep breaths, you chanted internally, before opening your mouth to speak. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” – you had been told to address her as so – “but since my hands are full, could you please, um… help me with the door?”

Your stepmother raised a judging eyebrow, though she turned the knob to let you out. “Next time, open it with your feet,” she snapped. “Now run along. I don’t want your teachers thinking that I raised you to be tardy.”

You bowed, remembering to say “thank you”. Then, you picked up your pace, running all the way to the bus stop. Jiwon and Ellin were already entering the bus when you arrived. You got on just as the doors were closing shut.

You huffed tiredly, having to stand because your stepsisters hadn’t saved you a seat – again, not surprising.

“Slow much,” Ellin taunted. You wanted to curse at her so badly, and yet, you refrained from doing so. You wanted to do much worst to her, actually.

About five minutes into the ride, loud shouting could be heard from outside the vehicle.

“Wait!” a male voice yelled. “Wait for me!” a voice that sounded out of breath.

Curious, the passengers looked out the back window. What they saw was a tanned boy, running, chasing after the bus with all his might, yelling out for the bus driver to stop. The bus driver eventually did, taking pity on the poor boy.

“Thank you!” the boy rasped out, getting onto the bus. He panted, thoroughly exhausted.  “Ajusshi, thank you… so much—

I am so sorry!” the boy had managed to bump into you amidst his fumbling. The collision had caused Jiwon’s pencil case to drop onto the floor.

“It’s alright,” you said, bending down to pick it up immediately – you didn’t want Jiwon to notice. She would use it as an excuse to tell you off, probably scolding you for breaking her pencils or something. You didn’t need that.

The tanned boy picked it up before you could though. He grabbed the pencil case from the ground and handed it to you. “Here,” he said. You took the thing from his hands. Looking at the boy, you noticed that he wore your school’s uniform.

He must’ve noticed too, because the next thing you knew, the boy was introducing himself. “Hey, I’m Hackyeon. I’ll be a new student at your school.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” you tried to sound friendly. “I’m—”

“Minjoo!”

At the sound of Ellin’s voice, you turned around. She was looking at you with a smile on her face, but her eyes – they were sending you death threats; you were talking to a cute guy, and she did not approve. “Sorry to interupt, but I really need help with my homework…” She patted the suddenly empty seat beside her; Jiwon now stood, a similar threatening glint in her eyes when she looked at you.

You sighed. You had to stop talking to the boy or there would be hell to pay later.

“I’m really sorry, but I have to go now,” you said, looking at Hackyeon once more. “Good luck for your first day!”

You waved, then you went towards your stepsisters.

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“Nice …” Eunyoung let out a low purr as she sat in the canteen, ogling Lee Jaehwan from afar. The class-clown was carrying a tray, back facing the both of you as he walked over to his usual group of friends.

You gave Eunyoung a look. She continued gaping at the boy as he sat down.  “He is so hot… and so funny…” she said dreamily. Then suddenly, she turned towards you, pointing her index finger in your face. “I call dibs!” she proclaimed. “He’s mine!”

You sighed, emphasizing your obvious disinterest in Ken (‘Ken’ was Jaehwan’s nickname). “Yeah, yeah – I know,” you said, “You remind me every. Single. Day.”

The girl beside you had the decency to blush. “Sorry,” she giggled. “I just like him… a lot.”

“I know that too,” you teased. However, your teasing was cut short when you caught sight of the boy from the bus; the one who had accidentally bumped into you.

Hackyeon joined Jaehwan and his friends at their table, greeting all of them with high-fives and a huge smile before taking his seat.

“Looks like the new kid is fitting in well,” Eunyoung said, munching on a piece of kimbap.

You nodded. “Yeah, looks like.”

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Weeks passed, and soon enough, it was clear the type of person Hackyeon was.

He was actually a kind hearted guy. You weren’t in any classes together but from what you saw (and heard from Eunyoung), he seemed really nice and caring; Hackyeon always went out of his way to help someone in need – like the time Leo had twisted his ankle playing soccer; Hackyeon had helped the boy to the nurse’s office, even though that meant he had to forfeit the game.

Hackyeon was also very humble despite coming from a wealthy family.

Hackyeon’s kindness and manners, along with his family’s wealth, made him really popular with the student body. Girls wanted to date him, and boys… well, they wanted to be him.

Every day, Hackyeon would get at least one love confession from someone – be it publicly announced or stuffed anonymously into his locker.

You had to admit, his charms had pretty much gotten to you as well. Sometimes, you caught yourself starring at the boy when he was close. Your heart pounded every time he sent a look your way, and his smile – it turned your knees to jelly. You cursed yourself for succumbing and being weak like all your female classmates.

Each and every one of Hackyeon’s admirers were turned down though. Hackyeon rejected them as nicely as he could, trying hard not to hurt their feelings. He didn’t seem interested in anyone, frankly… which was exactly why you chose to keep your feelings hidden – even from your best friend.

You did not want anyone to find out; your classmates would throw a fit if they did – who were you, the socially-awkward nerd, to have any feelings for Cha Hackyeon? Also, your sisters would kill you – you knew that they liked him too; they even fought over Hackyeon during dinnertime now, words like “He’s mine!” and “No, he’s mine!” disrupting the peace.

Not that your household was ever in a peaceful state – not with your stepsisters screaming every few seconds, over the littlest of things. Be it a bug, a demand, or news of a new SHINee album – their shrieking did not care to cease—

“OH MY GOD!!!”

You winced, Jiwon’s ear-splitting voice attacking your eardrums.

“OH MY GOD ELLIN.”

From the kitchen downstairs, you could hear loud footsteps running excitedly towards Ellin’s room on the floor above.

“Omigodomigodomigod…”

“What?” you heard Ellin’s cranky-sounding whine.

“CHA HACKYEON IS HAVING A PARTY.”

“WHAT.”

“Cha Hackyeon is having a birthday party. And our whole year is invited. MEANING WE. ARE. INVITED. ”

Now cue more excited screeching, this time, from both stepsisters.

“Minjoo!!!”

Ellin’s abrupt call caused the knife in your hands to slip. Thank goodness you had quick reflexes – if you didn’t, your finger would’ve been sliced off, along with the onions on the chopping board.

“Minjoo!” Ellin called again.

 “What is it?” you sang distractedly.

“We need you to hold our bags while we shop!”

“Okay…” you exhaled. Guess you were going to the mall.

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At the mall, your eyes roamed around for pretty party attire.

“I won’t wear that,” Jiwon said, snobbish, when you pulled out a simple black dress from a rack in the store. “I don’t think Ellin will either.”

 “Oh, no,” you started, unsure. “I was thinking that… I… could wear it to Hackyeon’s party…”

Jiwon turned to you, feigning innocence. “What do you mean?” You could hear the prominent threat in her voice, but you decided to take your chances this time.

“Well, you know, since the whole year is invited, I might as well go—”

“But you can’t go – mum might need your help at home,” Ellin popped out of nowhere, sending you a dirty look. The two sisters were ganging up on you and you couldn’t help but feel a tad bit intimidated.

“It’s the night of her company’s Dinner Party though. She won’t be at home anyway.”

Hearing that, your sisters were stupefied. They looked at each other, stunned, unsure of what to say anymore.

“Well… Y-you still can’t go!” Jiwon spluttered after a few seconds of silence. Her face was tinting red, and so was Ellin’s. “We forbid you!”

“But—”

“No ‘but’s,” Ellin inched towards you menacingly. “If you set foot into that party… we will make your life a living hell.”

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“Those bitc—”

“Eunyoung, don’t,” you bit your lip, suppressing an amused grin. “The walls have ears.”

“Like I care; this is crossing the line!” your best friend threw her hands up in the air, her blood boiling and bubbling with rage – even though you were the one being punished, Eunyoung seemed a lot angrier than you did.

Eunyoung reached into her backpack and with an evil grin, she dug out her makeup set. “We could take revenge…” she said, looking suggestively in the direction of your stepsisters’ rooms.

“Stop talking nonsense,” you laughed bitterly. “Just go to the party without me. I’ll be fine.”

“No way,” Eunyoung set her lip stubbornly. “We are going together, and that’s final!”

You groaned. “But we can’t.”

“Yes, we can; you are going to march up to your stepsisters’ rooms, and tell them that you are done with this !”

You stopped unloading groceries, only to look at your best friend pointedly. “Jaehwan’s going to be there…” you bargained, voice almost eerie. You were hoping that Eunyoung would be tempted at the mention of her crush.

For a moment, you thought you had succeeded; Eunyoung’s expression wavered from determined to enticed, but to your disappointment, back to determined again. “Minjoo, please don’t pull the Jaehwan card on me. It won’t work, I tell you!”

You scowled.

“Come on! When will you ever stand up to them?” Eunyoung exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna let them push you around forever. You can’t be their slave until you die – I won’t let you.” She placed both hands on her hips.

“I’ll get out of here,” you sighed, then added meekly, “Someday…”

Eunyoung rolled her eyes. “Okay, that’s it!” she grabbed the plastic bag out of your hands and started shoving groceries into random cabinets. “Time for me to take action.”

You quirked an eyebrow, eyes meeting with your best friend’s suddenly mischievous face.

“I am going to sneak you into Hackyeon’s party.”

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“You look awesome,” Eunyoung beamed, adding more makeup onto your face. Her car was parked outside the venue of the party, and at the moment, you were both sitting in it with the engine off, adding the finishing touches to your disguise.

Eunyoung had changed your look completely, not wanting Ellin and Jiwon to recognize you when you stepped into Hackyeon’s party.

“Now look,” she said, moving the rearview mirror so that it focused on your face. Catching sight of your own reflection, your lips parted in disbelief. “Is that really me?” you asked, staring at the girl with pretty lashes and dark, wavy hair. You weren’t used to seeing yourself without glasses; Eunyoung had bought you contacts for this very night – hazel ones that matched the glittery makeup you had on. She had lent you a simple black dress to wear as well.

“Of course it’s you, you dummy,” Eunyoung nudged you. “Now, tell me – how do I look?” She gestured towards herself and seeing her shocking-pink dress, you smiled; Eunyoung always went for daring colours.

“Hot,” you said.

“Great.” Unlocking the car door, Eunyoung winked. “Now let’s go enjoy this party.”

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You did not feel like yourself when you walked into the venue.

People were staring – something that happened a lot to you in school, but this time, it felt different. Instead of the usual disgust, the students were looking at you in admiration.

Your schoolmates weren’t whispering about how ugly you were, but about how beautiful you looked. It seemed like they couldn’t recognize you though – among these whispers, you heard some questioning your identity.

The whole situation felt really weird. You weren’t used to this positive sort of attention.

All of a sudden, Eunyoung , who was walking beside you, tugged urgently at your hand. Following her gaze, you spotted both Ellin and Jiwon in a corner. They, too, looked confused as to who you were.

Good.

You decided that you would steer clear of them for the duration of the party; you didn’t want to risk anything.

Hearing the sound of girlish giggles, your eyes flitted towards the source. You spotted four girls talking to Cha Hackyeon and his posse – his group of friends which included Jaehwan and five other guys. Everyone seemed to be laughing at something the youngest, Sanghyuk, had said. Hackyeon looked up while laughing. His eyes locked with yours and immediately, he fell silent.

For a few seconds, Hackyeon kept his eyes on you, staring intently, and within those few seconds, it felt like time had frozen. You stopped breathing. Your eyes stayed glued to his flawless face.

Hackyeon couldn’t look away from yours either.

It was only when Ravi handed him a drink that Hackyeon broke his gaze.

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An hour in, and you could confirm that parties weren’t your cup of tea at all.

Somehow, you were feeling bored – very, very bored – despite having mingled with quite a number of people. You weren’t finding any of the conversations interesting, and Eunyoung had left you on your own devices after being asked to dance by “love of her life” Jaehwan.

You actually contemplated going home, now that you’d gotten a taste of how your peers partied.  But then, you remembered that you hadn’t properly wished the birthday boy yet.

Hackyeon was extremely busy entertaining his numerous guests. He was hoping to say at least one word to each and every one of them, not wanting to be rude, and so far, he hadn’t reached you yet.

Your feet were already sore, despite only dancing a couple of times – you blamed the killer-heels that Eunyoung had forced you to wear. And so, you decided to sit down and watch your fellow schoolmates dance.

Absorbed in Ravi’s fluid movements, you hadn’t noticed someone shuffling towards you. “Hey,” you looked up, and you were met with Hackyeon’s blinding smile.

“Hi,” you replied. “Great party.”

Hackyeon raised an eyebrow. “Which is why you’re sitting here… all by yourself…”

“Uh huh,” you grinned. “It’s so good that I partied too hard, and now I need a break.”

Hackyeon chuckled. “It’s okay if you tell the truth, you know.” he said. “I’m not really a party person either... This was my parents’ idea.”

You nodded. “Well, Happy Birthday,” you said, holding out a hand for Hackyeon to shake. He surprised you by pulling it and leading you to the dance floor.

“Want to dance?” he asked, suddenly bashful. Hackyeon looked at you with expectant eyes and your smile grew wider.

“Sure, why not?”

Soon, the both of you were dancing together, bodies moving in-synch to the electrifying beat. Letting loose, you noticed that Hackyeon was a very good dancer. His movements were mesmerizing. They were some of the cleanest, most natural movements you had ever seen. You voiced your thoughts and Hackyeon flushed in modesty. “Thanks,” he said, suddenly placing his hands on your hips. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

As the next song started, you wound your arms around Hackyeon’s neck. It was a slow song this time. Hackyeon pulled you closer towards his chest and you blushed when he leaned your foreheads together, the both of you swaying to the beat.

“This party really is great,” you said, closing your eyes in contentment. Hackyeon’s laugh vibrated through your body. “Glad you think so.”

All of a sudden, you felt a warm pressure on your lips. Your eyes flew open and you were in so much shock because holy moly, Cha Hackyeon was kissing you!

Hackyeon bumped noses with you when he was done, chuckling again at your dumbfounded expression. When you didn’t respond quickly enough, he started to doubt his actions. “I’m sorry,” he started to apologize. “We just met… I shouldn’t have… ”

“No, wait,” you finally got a hold of yourself. “It’s okay. I don’t mind—”

“Um, hey,” Eunyoung tapped your shoulder, appearing out of the blue. “Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I think we may have a slight problem.”

She said the last part quietly, motioning for you to look at your stepsisters. You saw that they were leaving and immediately, you panicked. You had to get home before they did or you would be in heaps of trouble.

“I have to go now,” you apologized, turning towards Hackyeon. “I’m sorry.”

You didn’t give him the chance to respond, before you were pulling Eunyoung out the door, and sprinting towards her car.

Thankfully, you got home five minutes before Ellin and Jiwon. You praised Eunyoung for knowing her way around the city and for being familiar with all the shortcuts to your home.

The next day was back to school as usual.

Your makeup had long since been wiped off, and you had washed your hair the previous night, getting rid of the waves in your hair. You sighed, reaching for your glasses as you got up from your bed.

However, your hand came up empty. Your glasses were missing from their usual spot on your bedside table.

“Hello,” you called Eunyoung, remembering that she had taken them from you, while in her car before the party.

“Hey, I think I left my glasses in your car. Could you pass them to me in school?”

“Okay.”

You hung up. Then, you got hold of your brand new contact lenses. Oh well, you thought while putting them on. Your stepsisters and stepmother would definitely be furious when they saw you wearing these, but they couldn’t expect you to go to school blind, could they?

And you were right. They did give you trouble. You had to make up some excuse on how your glasses had been swapped for Eunyoung’s contacts.

They were not pleased. You spent the whole bus ride to school being glared at by Ellin.

And yet again, you managed to garner the unwanted attention of your schoolmates. Currently, it was because of your new contacts.

Eunyoung ran up to you while you were stuffing books into your locker. She looked worried. “Minjoo, I couldn’t find your glasses! They weren’t in my car!” she said.

“They weren’t?” you were starting to freak out as well. Who knows what your stepsisters would do if you didn’t find them soon.

Eunyoung nodded, when suddenly, Cha Hackyeon came walking towards the both of you. Beside him were Jaehwan and another one of their friends, Lee Hongbin.

Jaehwan waved excitedly when he spotted your best friend. Blushing, she waved back.

“So, it’s true what they’re saying,” Hongbin said, looking in your direction.

You looked back in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You were at the party last night.”

“What? No…” you flushed, avoiding all their gazes – especially Hackyeon’s. “I wasn’t.”

Eunyoung came to your defense. “Yeah, she wasn’t. What makes you say that, guys?”

Jaehwan lightly poked your best friend in the ribs. “Yah, Eunyoungie! Don’t play dumb!” he pouted, showing her his puppy dog eyes.

Eunyoung made a tortured sound.

“Then, this isn’t yours?” Hackyeon spoke for the first time since the boys cornered you. He held out his palm, and surprise, surprise! In it, were your missing pair of glasses.

“Where did you get that?” you asked, heart drumming in your chest.

“Some girl dropped it after kissing me on the dance floor last night,” Hackyeon smirked. You wanted to crawl under a hole. “Guess she was in such a hurry that this fell out of her bag.”

Eunyoung’s jaw dropped, along with Hongbin’s and Jaehwan’s. “You guys kissed?” Eunyoung asked.

You ignored her.

“Can I have my glasses back please?” you looked at Hackyeon helplessly. He gave them back to you without protest.

“Thanks,” you said.

“Can I know your name now?”

You looked up and saw Hackyeon smiling down at you. It was the very same smile that sent butterflies into your stomach last night.

Screw your stepsisters, your brain screamed at the sight of it. You could deal with them later. For now, all you could see was Cha Hackyeon.

“Minjoo,” you said, grinning at the boy in front of you. “My name is Kim Minjoo.”

-THE END-

A/N: *Bows a million times* Sorry this took so long – I’ve been super busy these days. I hope this was what you wanted :)