It was a warm, sunny day when the two friends met up again. It was at a park near both of their houses, and convenient to get to and home. The park had hold a very special memory for the two friends, for it was the place where they first met.

It wasn't as sunny and bright as it is now, Hyorin could recall. In fact, it was pouring. Hyorin was rushing to get home, having bought a few loaves of bread for breakfast the next morning. Without an umbrella, the young girl could only hold the plastic bag close to her and run as fast as she could. 

She suddenly knocked pretty hard against another person, causing the both of them to land first onto the ground. Hyorin groaned. A completely drenched posterior didn't feel good at all. But the sight in front of her startled her. A girl, around the same age as her, and without an unbrella, first on the ground as well. Both children looked each other in the eye and laughed.

"Sorry," Hyorin apologised, trying to see through the massive number of raindrops that fall in front of her face.

"It's okay, not like this rain's making it any better to see anyway." The girl replied. She stood up slowly, pushing her damp strands of hair away from her face. Hyorin finally notice how thin she was, far too thin for a kid. Feeling the warm loaves against her chest, she took out one of them and gave it to her.

"Here. Have some."

"Really? I can have it?" Hyorin could hear the happy anticipation in her voice. It's hard to believe how hungry she could have been. Passing the loaf to her trembling hands, Hyorin watched the girl mouthed it down in only a few bites.

"Wow."

"Sorry, it's been a while since I had so much to eat."

"I would eat if I was hungry too. Don't you have food at home?"

"You can't really call it home..." Hyorin finally noticed the sadness reflected in her eyes. She had a story. So did she.

"You know what, let's meet here tomorrow around this time. It'll be a Sunday. There's no school. We can chat, and I'll bring bread."

"Really? I don't mind. Let's!" The girl gave a big smile, a long time since she did. "See you tomorrow!"

Before the girl could leave, Hyorin quickly asked, "Wait! Can I get your name?"

"Ailee! My name's Ailee!" She said while walking further away. Hyorin walked home as well. Even though she's soaked and her clothes were sticking to her skin and her bread was wet and couldn't last the night and her father would be mad and may probably beat her again, she didn't care then.

After all, she made a friend.

Ailee arrived a few minutes after Hyorin did. She found the young girl sitted on one of the benches beside the lake. In her hands were two loaves of warm delicious bread.

"Can't believe we met here 2 years ago with these." Hyorin commented, tossing one to Ailee. She dig into it the moment it landed in her hands.

"No breakfast again?!"

"No lunch later either." Ailee spoke between mouthfuls. "Dinner's the only time when the caretaker's around. They can't take my food then."

"That . Here have the other one too."

"Then what about you?"

"I can always have what my father leaves behind later. He hardly finishes his lunch, wanting to grab a bottle or two before dinner." Hyorin shivered. A drunk father was worse than a sane one.

"Are they any better?" Ailee asked. She pointed to a spot hidden beneath the young girl's sleeve.

"Not really." Lifting the thin fabric, Hyorin reveal the purplish-red swell on her right arm. "The ones on my back are healing a lot better though."

"You really shouldn't stay with him anymore. What if he kills you?!"

"You shouldn't stay in that orphanage any longer either. It's not like I have a choice."

"You do! You have a better choice than I do. You can always call the cops, find relations, run away with cash in your pocket. What do I have? I came only with a jacket wrapped around me, my name in its front left pocket. Not like I kept it anyway." Ailee grunted. "I don't have a place to start."

"It's not like I can leave my father alone as well. My relation with him is fixed. Besides, it's not like I can go by myself either. What would the police do with me? Leave me with my mom? She may already have her own life. I can't destroy hers as well." Hyorin sighed. "At least you still can get adopted."

"No one wants a sixteen year old girl. Maybe if I had put in the effort earlier I may have. Couples only want cute babies and kids that they can raise early, if people are still adopting nowadays. More kids are coming in. It's crazy." Admitting defeat, both of them lean back on the bench, letting time tick slowly away. After this, they have to go back to their normal, horrendous lives again, Hyorin in pain, and Ailee in hunger.

Then came the music.

The soft, homey notes from a guitar was what attracted the attention of the two friends first. The sweet singing came second. Hyorin and Ailee turned and saw the bench situated at their right occupied by a girl. They couldn't see her face because it was covered by a heavy shadow casted from her black cap. Her hair was bun up too, though little black strands managed to break out of the tight formation and fall beside her face. Even though she was dresser simply in a gray sweater and blue jeans, her baby pink acoustic guitar really stood out.

A small crowd begins to form as the girl continue to sing. Her voice was light and clear, like ray of sun against a still lake. It mesmerised the two girls. True, Hyorin didn't think neither of them are bad, but none could compare to how she did. It sounded a lot more pretty rather than strong, and she guess that was what made the difference. As the girl ended her last note, and plucked the last guitar string, everyone around her broke into applause. From her startled reaction, it was obvious that she didn't notice of their existence until now.

"Oh dear. Thank you." She spoke meekly.

As the crowd dispersed, the girl noticed that two others around her age were still watching her, their mouths agape in awe. She blushed.

"Um... you don't have to look anymore." Caution was reflected in her voice.

"Oh sorry. You just sing so well," Ailee spoked while smiling. "I wish we could sing just like you."

"You don't have to sing like me..." Hyorin realised just how shy the girl was. For someone with such an amazing talent, she thought she will at least have a bigger self esteem. "... but you guys sing too?"

"You can't really call it singing," Ailee replied. "We just sing how we feel like it, any song that we know. Yours sounded really professional."

"But everyone in my school sounds like that... why don't you girls sing now?" She asked, tapping her fingers against the wooden frame of her guitar. "I'll play."

"Should we?" Hyorin asked her best friend.

"Why not? Sounds like fun!" Ailee's eyes glistened with joy. Singing was something that both she and Hyorin loved to do, which they found out on the second day they met. Ever since then, they always make time to sing together. "Do you happened to know the song 'Fate'? Um..."

"IU. You can call me IU." IU smiled. "And yes, I do."

"Great! C'mon Hyo. Let's have a blast." As IU started strumming her guitar, the two friends listened attentively to the guitar, coming in at the right time and starting their song. They had already memorise the song by heart, so they freely let their emotions flow, harmonising perfectly with each other at different parts. They even took turns to do ad libs, betting out high notes whenever they feel like it. The girls were swept away in the enchantment of music, and only when the song finish did they here the thunderous applause as well.

Hyorin and Ailee managed to gather a even greater crowd than IU did, and boy were they cheering enthusiastically. IU clapped along, a grin upon her face, though it was still hard to see with her cap. The girls were shocked at the massive number of people, and awkwardly bowed. Despite feeling rather shy, they had a sense of acheivement, which made them feel elated as well.

 "You guys were amazing!" IU exclaimed in delight, once this crowd dispersed. "That was way out of my league."

"No it isn't." Hyorin replied. "We didn't even take lessons."

"Even more impressive! Oh my gosh! Not many people are able to sing like that without lessons! That's pure talent." Smiling,  IU proceeded to rummage through her brown haversack and pull out two golden feathers. "These should be yours."

"What are these?" Ailee asked, taking one of the feathers. They were long, as long as her hand, and shimmered brightly in gold.

"They're angel feathers, as we like to call them. They like to say that when your angel's near, they'll drop you a feather. I want to be your guardian angel."

Hyorin was puzzled. "Guardian angel?"

"Yup! I want to invite you to join the Angel's Blessings Scholarship at Vox Angelicus!"

At the mention of such a prestigious school, Hyorin and Ailee gasped in surprise. Everyone knows that the top singers of all time came from that high school.

"But, what scholarship?"

"The Angel's Blessings Scholarship is a programme that helps financially unable students who have a massive amount of potential to attend Vox Angelicus for free, for you know the fees are crazy expensive. Of course there is the Haven scholarship and the Young Mozart one, which are a lot more well known, but there is a need to audition for those. For this particular scholarship, selected students get to pick the person they want to fund for, as it is their families who fund this programme."

"So why pick us? There are many other people out there who are just as capable as we are."

"You both surpassed my expectations from the first song, and you won't taking it seriously. There is massive potential in the both of you and it is a waste if you don't enroll. Just take the feathers and come straight to Vox Angelicus next Mon. I guarantee you won't regret this."

Staring at the shining feather in front of her, Hyorin almost burst into tears. The change that she wanted for her whole life, right in front of her eyes. But the thought of the scholarship got her thinking a little deeper.

"I'll have to go now." IU said, storing her guitar into its case and slinging it on her left shoulder. "Hope to see you at the school."

"But wait!" Hyorin quickly shouted, catching the girl's attention again. "Who are you to be able to fund not only one but two people?" IU smirked, lifting her cap of her head and waving it at the two.

"You'll know."

As IU continued walking off, Ailee suddenly gasped again.

"Hyo! Don't you know who she is?!"

"Who?!"

"She's the daughter of the Ceo of Legacy Entertainment."

"She's Lee Ji Eun!"