I could tell by now that my half-eaten ice-cream already came close to becoming a white gooey mess dripping down the length of my arm.

 

My mind was a blank. Maybe I was still in awe over her complete transformation. She was absolutely...I couldn’t even find the right words to describe the beauty that was several feet away from where I was shamelessly gawking without a care in the world.

 

Wait, I do have some vocabulary left in me to describe her.

 

She. Was. Gorgeous.

 

Gorgeous with a capital ‘G’.

 

I ain’t kidding you. This girl was like the epitome of beauty and iness in one complete package of toned abs and legs and – I’m getting way too out of hand here.

 

Hyomin squint her eyes amidst the glare of the bright sun shining down behind me and tried to decipher who I was; a look of bewilderment and cautiousness mixed on her complexion. Thank goodness my identity was still safe behind Tiffany’s rather large binoculars or I could have given myself away. Things might get a little awkward if she recognised me in these circumstances. I didn’t want her to think that I’m some kind of creep secretly stalking and taking pictures of her. That title could easily be awarded to my dear friend beside me, who was trying to get rid of a stain on her pink tank top caused by my ice-cream after the struggle for possession of the binoculars.

 

I desperately needed to get out of this place.

 

I have no intentions of stooping down low to Tiffany’s level of stalker-ism.

 

And that there were other reasons that we needed to flee.

 

“Hey Fany, I think this is the best time to pack up your stuff and leave.”

 

“What?” she blurted out while busily rubbing a wet tissue paper on the stained area. “But we just got here. And I haven’t even taken any pictures of Jessi yet.”

 

“So that’s what you’re calling her now?”

 

Tiffany snapped shut and blushed slightly at her mistake.

 

“Never mind, I don’t care what you call your model heartthrob. Let’s just get outta here!” Dropping the cone of the now-gone ice cream, I turned around abruptly and forcefully tugged my friend’s hand towards our car parked at the main road by the side of the beach.

 

“But why the rush!?”

 

“Because a bunch of ripped gentlemen in black and wearing Ray Bans coming after us isn’t exactly what I call a welcoming party.”

 

She curiously looked back towards the beach, and truthfully enough, there really was a gang of bodyguards or security officers hot on our tail.

 

“Okay, I second your notion,” the ebony-haired girl beside me quickened her pace, ultimately taking over my place as the one leading her.

 

After this day, I will never again tag along with Tiffany on one of her creeper escapades.

 

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

“Another one of those groupie fans of yours stalking you again?” a feminine voice as slick as ice entered her ears. She turned her face slightly to the left, being careful as not to interfere with the intricate work of her personal make-up artist, who was busy adding a few finishing touches to her face.

 

“I guess so,” the brunette replied to her blonde colleague with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “But who knows? It could have been one of yours,” she teased, regaining back some confidence.

 

“Highly unlikely,” the blonde in the white two-piece folded her arms. “After that embarrassing slip-up of mine while I was auditioning for the judges was leaked on the net, it’s safe to say that I might have lost eighty percent of my followers.” She released a scoff filled with bitterness.

 

“Oh, come on. A lot of models trip down the runway and not just you, Jessica.”

 

“You missed out on the fact that I fell off the damn runway face-first on top of the judges’ table because I was too focused on impressing them so much until I miscalculated the amount of steps I need to take.” The model named Jessica looked at her dead-panned.

 

The brunette winced at the mental image of that, while her make-up artist discreetly stifled a chuckle. “Well...there’s always a first time for everything, right?” she sheepishly replied.

 

“You’re a really nice person, H.” The blonde curved her crimson red lips into a genuine smile. “We need more of your type in this industry. And coming back to our original topic, I think those were yours just now. The one with the binoculars was obviously aiming at you.”

 

With a wink and a comforting pat on the brunette’s shoulder, she concluded their conversation to hurry over to where the photographer was calling for her.

 

Hyomin’s mind then wandered off to those two strangers. Something in her guts nagged within that she just saw someone very familiar.

 

The girl with the binoculars...Watching her.

 

At least, she thought that the person was a female, judging by the hair. And there was also the person’s figure just as she turned around and about to escape when the guards chased after them.

 

Was it...?

 

No, it couldn’t have been her.

 

She hoped it wasn’t her.

 

As much as Hyomin wanted to meet her so much right now, she was not willing to let her newly-found friend see her like this.

 

Her working life was something she kept separate from her personal bubble.

 

This was just a necessity.

 

A job.

 

A need.

 

Better to keep it this way instead of exposing it all to the world.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

After a pretty hectic day, I was glad to finally be in the comfort of my dorm and having a nice dinner with my two roommates. If you call a nice dinner to be a bunch of microwave food packages bought from the convenience store. TV dinners, to be exact. And where were we eating, you asked? In front of the TV of course. Yup, what an incredibly nice life we have. Sooyoung and Yoona were busy munching away on their spicy rice cakes and watching the sappy soap opera on the screen. I, on the other hand, couldn’t even focus on what the characters were saying as they stared into each other’s eyes under the pouring rain. The scene Tiffany and I made at the beach a few hours ago was more much entertaining, as it kept replaying in my mind’s eye. And not forgetting the image of Hyomin in that alluring getup, looking straight in my direction.

 

What am I supposed to say to her the next time we meet?

 

Do I just keep mum about it and pretend it didn’t happen?

 

Or do I spill the beans to her?

 

There was still the possibility of the model not being her –

 

No, it really WAS her.

 

I’m hundred percent positive that it was her.

 

But if that’s the case, then why was she hiding her beauty when she’s not working?

 

“Unnie, why are you frowning like that?”

 

“Yeah, you’re gonna pop a vein if you keep that up.”

 

Apparently, whenever I’m in a deep thought about something, I have a tendency to look constipated in front of others.

 

“It’s nothing, you two. Just thinking about stuff,” I said, waving off their concern.

 

“Is it because of this drama? I know the characters can get really annoying but –“

 

“No, no, it not’s about that, Soo.”

 

“Then what’s wrong?”

 

“Um, nothing important really.”

 

“You’re a horrible liar.”

 

Yoona snickered at Sooyoung’s snarky remark.

 

Rolling my eyes, I let out a disgruntled sigh and said, “Fine. If both of you want to know so much.” Turning towards them and placing my unfinished food on the coffee table in front of me, which inevitably got snatched up by the two gluttons, I told them about the whole scene at the beach and also about the resemblance between the model H.M and Hyomin. They listened non-judgementally whilst eating.

 

“So why are you so stressed out about your friend possibly being a closet model?” Yoona asked.

 

“Technically, I’m more pressed about whether or not to spill it out to her. Not sure if she even knows that it was me on that beach.”

 

“If I were you, I would just say it to her straight up.”

 

“But you’re not me, Sooyoung. So that is out of the question.”

 

“Geez, I’m trying to help you by giving some advice. Be grateful for once.” Sooyoung crossed her arms and pouted disapprovingly at me. It took a lot of willpower for me to not rip that awful expression off from her face. Yoona decided to give her own take at my problem.

 

“If it was me, unnie, then I’ll directly ask her if she ever thought about modelling and see what her reaction is.”

 

“Good idea, Yoong,” I smiled whilst patting the crown of her head. “But FYI, the person you’re asking to is someone who dresses up like a hobo or a nerd most of the time and has a quiet nature.”

 

“So?”

 

“The question is totally out of the blue. If I do that, then she’ll suspect that I’m on to her or something!”

 

At that moment, Sooyoung took a turn to speak up. “Why don’t you randomly take off her specs, look her in the eye and say something like, ‘Your face is so pretty. You should really consider being a model sometimes.’ And BOOM! See what her reaction is like.” The lanky woman announced proudly.

 

That plan was so utterly terrible, that it was brilliant at the same time.

 

“But wait a minute, Soonkyu,” Sooyoung continued. “I’ve never seen you so worried about talking to a person before. Normally, you can handle stuff like this without much trouble. But this Hyomin is oddly an exception. Is this friend of yours really that hot until you become such a helpless mess?”

 

“H-hey, what the heck are you talking about?”

 

That was a mistake on my part.

 

“Oh my god...Yoona, did you just saw her stutter?” Sooyoung gaped.

 

“I sure did.” The other shikshin mimicked her reaction, equally shocked.

 

“Well, thanks for the advice guys, but I think it’s time for me to get some sleep.” I ejected off from my seat on the couch and hurriedly went off to the safety of my room, making sure to lock it just before the sounds of my roommates coming after me and demanding some much needed answers rang into my ears.

 

What Sooyoung said was true though.

 

Hyomin really was hot.

 

I just didn’t want to admit it to the whole world.

 

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Yet another school week began, and I still had not seen Hyomin since the start of the first period. Time continuously ticked by as I kept glancing back and forth from the lecturer and the clock hung above the whiteboard at the front of the room. Damn it. I couldn’t focus on the lecture like this. She always arrived ahead of me when it came to class.

 

Am I worried about her?

 

Yes, I definitely am.

 

After an endless amount of pen clicking and not a fraction of information being absorbed, I finally succumbed to the nagging urge to call up my friend. Whipping out my phone from my bag-pack, I quickly swiped to the contacts tab and searched for Hyomin’s number. Just as I was about to hit the dial button, the sound of the entrance doors at the back of the lecture hall being slammed wide open echoed throughout the whole room. Everyone, even Mr Kim, turned around to look at the culprit who disturbed the peace.

 

It was none other than Park Hyomin; panting heavily, with her brown locks of hair now unkempt and out from the security of the beanie she usually wore. She looked like a total mess. 

 

“Ah, Miss Park. I see that you had a particularly hard time getting to class today,” Mr Kim tugged an understanding smile on his face. “Please take a seat.”

 

Hyomin nodded gratefully and proceeded to climb down the aisle. All eyes were on her; something that was pretty rare when it came to the normally aloof girl. She kept her face down all throughout the short yet anxiously long walk towards her seat, very much aware of the amount of unwanted attention that she was getting. Thankfully for her, class resumed as per usual once she sat down next to me.

 

I reached out for her hand and whispered to her in concern, “What happened to you?”

 

Hyomin sheepishly let out a small laugh and re-adjusted her trademark specs properly on her nose. “My stupid alarm bugged out so by the time I woke up, I was already a couple hours late. You can imagine the chaos that I put myself into when I saw how horribly late it was.”

 

Relief flooded through my inner being after hearing the reason for her tardiness.

 

“I do hope that you at least showered amidst all the morning rush,” I while scrunching my nose. “Can’t focus in class if my seatmate stinks, right?”

 

A playful slap across my arm was what I’d gotten after that, followed by a handful of hair being pushed up against my face. A sweet fragrant enveloped my sense of smell when I breathed in.

 

“See? I did take one if you’re not entirely convinced.”

 

My mind was so enticed by the aroma of Hyomin’s shampoo product, until words that should have been kept inside casually slipped out from my tongue.

 

“You smell good.”

 

Hyomin slowly pulled her hair away from me and returned it to its original position, it so that it won’t turn into a mess again. “Thanks Soonkyu,” she shyly uttered out whilst having a demure expression on her lovely complexion.

 

I almost melted at the sight of that, but thought better of it. Reluctantly turning my attention back towards Mr Kim’s lecture, I could now easily focus more after knowing that my friend was alright. What was I so worried about? I must be caring way too much about this girl if a few hours of her not here could make me become into such a worry-wart. Before I could even get back to where the lesson was, the girl in question spoke up again.

 

“What was Mr Kim lecturing about while I wasn’t here?” Hyomin asked in a hushed tone.

 

Ah crap. I totally have no idea what the heck he was talking about the whole time. And this could possibly be tested in the upcoming exams.

 

“Well...about that...” I sheepishly scratched my cheek. “I didn’t quite manage to hear what he was saying.”

 

“How come?” she quirked a brow, puzzled.

 

Oh great. I didn’t even have a back-up lie to say in order to cover up my faults.

 

“Cause I was...thinking too much about when you will get here, that I kinda lost track of what he talked about until you finally came along.”

 

There was a slight pause. A pause way too long for my liking. Daring to turn my head to face her, what I expected to be a frown of discontent was actually a stirred moment of being touched by my honest words. I quickly faced the front of the hall again, trying to act cool and ignore the blatant emotional stare boring through me but with varying amount of success.

 

“I can ask someone else in the class later to let me copy their notes from earlier, and then you can take a look at them if you want.” I suggested the somewhat lame idea, not without clearing my throat to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between us.

 

“I’m so glad that I have such a great tutor with me,” Hyomin affectionately my arm. “Stealing other people’s notes for my sake.”

 

“Yah, you’re making me sound like a thief.”

 

“A nice and honest thief in fact.”

 

“What? Like Robin Hood?”

 

“More like Soonkyu Hood,” she said so with an idiotic grin. 

 

Ugh, her jokes were lame sometimes but you’ll get used to it.

 

One of her quality quirks, if I do say so myself.

 

Now, if only I could get past my own quirks and gather up the courage to confront her about that whole modelling issue.

 

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Pleading to one of my reliable classmate/acquaintance for notes wasn’t such a difficult feat if you have the right aegyo technique. People can get whisked away just by a pouting of the lips and a puppy-eyed look if you do it correctly enough. After thanking my kind classmate for staying back in the lecture hall and letting me copy the stuff which Mr Kim talked about earlier, I went back over to where Hyomin was busy trying to decipher her messy handwriting she done during her struggle to keep up with the class. Our lecturer could be a bit too fast for our own good. Shoving my notebook back into my bag, I called out to Hyomin that it was time for us to leave.

 

“You look like you were having a hard time back there,” I informed her as we left the campus together. “I’ll explain the notes as clearly possible once we get to the park later.”

 

“Actually, can we have a change of scenery for a while?”

 

“You wanna go someplace else?”

 

“Yes, if that’s okay with you.”

 

“Sure, I don’t mind.” I gave her a reassuring smile. The park was starting to get boring anyways.

 

“Do you want to study at my apartment?” Hyomin suggested so eagerly.

 

I was kind of taken aback by that. “Can I? Really?”

 

“Why not? Of course you can come over to my house, silly.”

 

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Hyomin lived in a thirty storey apartment building which stood grandly in one of the more upper middle-class districts of Seoul. The ones with all the fancy built-in security system scattered around the place. Surveillance cameras placed at conspicuous positions; silently watching out for any intruders and security keypads were placed outside every single door of a resident living there.

 

I've seen these kind of houses on and off throughout my daily life but had never ever stepped foot in one before. Awed by the outer appearance of the towering building before us, I didn't get a chance to admire it more before my friend giggled at my apparent amazement and pulled me along from where I stood rooted to the ground. After we rode the elevator up to the 20th floor, Hyomin led me to where her unit was, with me taking in the sights of the new environment like a wide-eyed kid at a toy store. Once we finally reached her front door, Hyomin pushed in the correct buttons on the keypad outside her house while I gave her some privacy to do that by turning my head the other way. Once that was done, she fished out a bunch of keys from her pocket and inserted the correct one into the lock. The bespectacled girl opened the front door and politely ushered me in first.

 

The building itself left me in awe but the interior of Hyomin's house made me gawk.

 

"This place is HUGE!" I exclaimed as I stared at the spacious living room painted in a nice shade of caramel brown and works of art decorating the walls. It housed a home theatre with furniture such as a grey medium-sized couch, two leather chairs, and a rectangular coffee table surrounding the plasma television. Beyond that was a glass wall which gave a bird eye's view of the city, with people and traffic milling about on the ground. To the right of the room was where the kitchen was while the left held two doors which I assumed led to the bedrooms. 

 

The things I would do to live in a place like this...

 

"Oh c'mon Soonkyu," Hyomin said, embarrassed at my antics. "It's just my house."

 

"Just a house?! Girl, you're freakin' loaded!"

 

"I think you're over-exaggerating. There are other houses that are twice as big, or maybe even more than mine."

 

"I don't even have a TV as big as the one you have here! So don't blame me if I think you're better off than I do."

 

A quiet muttering was what I got after that remark.

 

"What's that?" I asked, not hearing what she said.

 

"O-oh, it's nothing,"Hyomin spoke up. "Let's study in my room, shall we?" She hurriedly walked past me towards her bedroom. There was a lack of a bounce in her steps as she did that. I frowned at her sudden change in mood. Was it something I said?

 

I followed her into the room, ready to apologise to her about whatever it was that made her dejected, but I was yet again easily impressed by her residential abode. This time being her bedroom. The single bed placed at one side of the room was made neatly; with a teddy bear wearing a shirt with a heart on it and a cute cat plushie waiting for its owner on the bed. On the other side, a desk filled with books which looked like the ones used in our school adorned it, accompanied by a laptop and a nightlight. There was a shelf on top of the desk with another set of pictures frames sitting on it. Other than that, there was also the closet which I assumed was where she kept her clothes.

 

"Make yourself comfortable while I go and fetch us something to drink." Hyomin placed her bag down on the chair at the desk and then excused herself out to the kitchen before I could even politely decline the offer.

 

Seeing that I had no choice but to wait for her to come back, I sat on the comfy bed and let my hands feel the softness of the sheets and mattress. I then took the time to analyse the bedroom before me. I liked it. It was nice and cozy. The colourful picture frames on the shelf were the most eye-catching. And before I knew it, I was drawn towards them like a fly gravitating towards a dazzling bright light. The photos ranged from selcas to pictures of Hyomin with her family and friends. All of them had a jovial and happy atmosphere as they posed in front of the camera without a care in the world.

 

Hyomin looked so happy in each and every one of these photos. And yet whenever I stared into the eyes of the real person herself, there was a certain hint of sadness clouded behind those caramel-brown orbs. It was very noticeable a moment ago just before we entered her bedroom.

 

A sudden realisation struck me.

 

I didn't see any other bedrooms or any signs of anyone else living here except for her. Was she living in this apartment alone then? Well, I guess it wasn't unusual for a college student to live by themselves, but that was normally when they're staying in the campus dormitory. Maybe her parents were living somewhere else then?

 

Just as I was about to ponder about it even more, the door opened yet again and revealed my friend with two cans of soda and straws in her hands. She blinked when she caught me staring at the photos.

 

"Sorry, I was just curious." I quickly apologised and sat back on the bed.

 

"No, no, it's okay. I don't mind," Hyomin dismissed it and handed me one of the chilled can plus the straw. "The point of putting those on display is for people to see, right?"

 

"Yeah, I guess." Opening up the drink with a satisfying crack from the tab, I gratefully took a sip. "I assume those people with you are your family and friends."

 

"They are." The brunette took a seat at the desk and opened her drink too. "But it's been a while since I've seen them. I wonder how they're all doing right now. I can always call or text them but it's just not the same as talking to them person to person."

 

"I noticed that we're the only ones in your house. You live here alone?"

 

"Yes, my parents live on the opposite side of Seoul. And you know how far our campus is if you live there right? So to make things easier for me, I decided to rent this apartment which is a little bit closer to the school."

 

"That's pretty independent of you. Your parents approved it?"

 

"They did, but insisted on paying the rent for me," Hyomin pursed her lips. "But of course, I didn't let them cause' I wanted to pay it since I'm the one living here. I know they care for me but I want to do this on my own, you know? I’m an adult now. I have to be independent."

 

"I understand," I gave her a reassuring smile. "So are you working part-time to make ends meet?" I studied her face as I casually asked that particular question to see if it struck something in her.

 

And it did.

 

The change was so lightning-quick that if I had blinked, I was sure I could have missed it.

 

“...Something like that.” The way she darted her eyes away from me was undeniable. She was hiding her occupation. Reluctant to reveal anything about it. But why though? Was she ashamed of working as a model? I did not have any kind of disapproval about it. It wasn’t like she was selling her body or anything. In this case, she was just showing it off. But was it just that though? Somehow, I’m a little worried if she did anything else besides modelling. In the risqué side of the career world. I needed to be sure.

 

“What do you work as?”

 

“Photographer.” It was a lie, and I knew it. But I didn’t want to force it out of her so I just let it be. Maybe she had an entirely good reason for hiding it.

 

“Oh, so that explains the book that you were reading the other day. It’s more than just a hobby, huh?”

 

“Yeah, it is.” Hyomin answered so suddenly. “Aren’t we supposed to go over those notes you copied down?”

 

I cracked a smile at her. “Thought you’d never ask.”

 

We eventually managed to catch up with all the materials our lecturer was explaining about in the morning. The thesis that we needed to hand over very soon was coming out nicely at a comfortable pace, and I was glad to know that Hyomin understood way better now than before. She seemed more confident in her studies. And more comfortable with me. But something kept holding her back from opening up. My patience was running thin. I really need to know if she was that model who caught my attention for so long. I didn’t want to admit this but Sooyoung’s plan was one of an absolute genius to say the least.

 

“Hyomin.”

 

“Yes?” she looked up at me whilst scribbling down on her notepad. Oh god, those clueless eyes were going to be the death of me.

 

“Could you remove your glasses for a while?” I asked casually, even though I was fighting hard to overcome my nervousness.

 

The woman in front of me tilted her head, confused at my request. “Eh?”

 

‘Damn you, Sooyoung. Thanks for planting this crazy plan of yours into my head’, I silently cursed. Returning back to reality, I repeated my previous question to her although I was sure she heard it the first time. Perplexed over that out-of-the-blue request, she wilfully placed her pen to one side and then slowly went to take off those huge frames.

 

Alright. To be perfectly honest, the hairstyle was a little different from what I saw then. Of course, she had applied make-up during the photo-shoot but the resemblance was dead-on.

 

Yes.

 

No doubt about it.

 

This was the woman I saw on that beach the other day. Definitely.

 

And before I knew it, my mouth decided to ramble off without my brain’s permission.

 

“You’re really pretty.”

 

This was really one of those ‘putting your foot in your mouth’ kinds of moments. Blame my giant roommate for this.

 

Hyomin was silent for a while before uttering a bashful “Thank you” for the unexpected compliment. However, she seemed a tad suspicious of where I was leading towards. I bravely took another step forward with this plan.

 

“Have you ever...” I trailed, “...thought of being a model?”  

 

Well, that did it. I wasn’t sure what her reaction was going to be like, but I expected something along the negative side of things. It took me by surprise that she seemed very calm, and a small smile curved its way onto her face.

 

“It was you at the beach the other day, weren’t you?” she quietly said.

 

I nodded. “If you want me to keep it a secret, then my lips are sealed. But don’t get me wrong! I wasn’t there to stalk you or anything! I didn’t even know you were there in the first place and I was dragged by my friend who wanted to see that Jessica Jung lady and then security caught us so we-“

 

Hyomin interrupted my hasty explanation with a hearty laugh; clearly amused at the way I was trying to not make myself look sound like a stalker after knowing that it was me at the beach with Tiffany. “Yes, I know. I saw the whole thing. Sorry for making you go through all that. If I had known it was you, you wouldn’t have to run off and it would have saved a lot of trouble.” The brunette in front of me placed a gentle hand on mine and gave an apologetic look.

 

“I should have just blown my cover back there if that’s how it was going to be,” I let out a sheepish chuckle. “So...you’re really a model, huh?”

 

“Y-yeah, correct,” she said while glancing to the side, trying not to look at me in the eyes.

 

“Why hide it, though?” I inquired, even though I could see how uneasy she was with the topic. I was determined to find out why. “You’re really gorgeous, you know.”

 

Another smile managed to cover a frown. “I’ve lost count of how many times you said something sweet to me today.”

 

“Well, I’m being honest so,” I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the slight blush making its way onto my cheeks. “Seriously, why are you hiding it?”

 

The model took a moment to gather the words she wanted to say.

 

“I just don’t want people to treat me differently if I ever revealed my identity.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

She heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t want people to talk to me just because of my appearances. When I was in middle school and high school, many guys talked to me just to get my number or to get close enough so that they could date me. Girls, on the other hand, talked to me because they were envious of my looks or being part of my social circle meant being cool. I didn’t consider myself cool at all. There were also others who were jealous of the way I look. Of course, I tried to stay away from those kinds of people as best as I could. When I finally graduated from high school, I was so fed up with all that unwanted attention I’d gotten, so I...downgraded my looks. Stupid idea, right?” Hyomin ended it off with a shrug.

 

“No, it’s not stupid. I kinda understand why you went through with it.”

 

“Well, it worked like a charm. After entering university, I was relieved that nobody bothered to approach me. I finally could breathe easier.”

 

“That’s good.”

 

I noticed her knitting her brows together back into a frown again, and her hand clenching mine with a bit of force. I found myself concerned with the change of mood.

 

“But at the same time, I was sad that nobody wanted to approach and talk to me. Nobody.” Then her brown orbs found mine. “Until you came along.”

 

I widened my eyes. She took this chance to continue again.

 

“You’re the first person to talk to me like how I’d imagine a real friend would. I feel so comfortable whenever I’m with you, and I’m glad that I met you through this tutoring thing. So...I hope you don’t change your behaviour around me now that you know that I’m a model. Please?”

 

How could I ever say no to those pleading eyes?

 

“Of course I won’t change my perspective of you,” I placed my other hand on top of hers. “I don’t care if you’re good-looking or ugly or whatever. You’re still the same Sunyoung and Hyomin, right? As long as you don’t change who you are on the inside and just be yourself, I will still be your friend.”

 

That statement apparently worked wonders for her. I’ve never seen her so lighted up before.

 

“Thank you. Really.”

 

Tears were nearing the corner of her eyes.

 

“Aww, don’t cry. I don’t like seeing people cry.” I said as I tried to wipe them away from her beautiful face with my thumb.

 

“Sorry.”

 

I watched her as she got up and took a piece of tissue from a tissue box nearby.

 

“So this modelling thing you got is your part-time job right? To pay the rent for your apartment?”

 

Hyomin nodded as she dabbed her face with the tissue and went back to her seat again. “Yes. It pays good money too so I signed up for it as long as I go by my alias. It’s also to help me in getting money for becoming a professional photographer. I want to take a course for it but the fees are a bit expensive. I plan to enter it once I finish my current university major.”

 

“I know you can do it.”

 

“But without your help, I don’t think I can manage it.”

 

“You might want to thank Mr Kim for all this. He’s the one who set me up to tutor you.”

 

We both enjoyed a good laugh.

 

And I had feeling that maybe...

 

Just maybe...

 

This friendship we had will go far.

 

I’m sure of it.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~