▬「:CHAPTER ⊹ O N E ▫ ▪
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        sugar and spice . day and night . white and black . sweet and sour . present and absent . hot and cold . shy and bold . love and hate 
              ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯BITTER && SWEET⋯⋯

It was a gloomy rainy morning as Yun Hee walked to school with her pink Hello Kitty umbrella. Today would be her first day at this new school she transferred to, Pledis High. She was new, and by new, she came all the way from Busan to Seoul this past weekend. A sudden job offering to her father resulted to their move to Seoul in so little time, Yun Hee just wasn’t fully prepared. Regardless, they wanted her to start attending Pledis High as quickly as possible to avoid complications with starting later on in the semester. With that, she came to Seoul with her father while her mother and older brother stayed behind to finish up packing the rest of their belongings to bring over to their new house in a few days.

“Finally, I’m here. I thought I was lost for a second back there…” Yun Hee sighed with relief as she entered the school gate. Already other students were looking at her strangely while she passed by. Why are they looking at me like that? She thought to herself feeling a little worried. Something wrong with my face? My hair? My uniform?

She continued to get those weird looks as she started to look for her first class of the day, she was about to ask for some help, but chickened out last second. She was feeling pretty bad with all these stares she was getting. Sooner or later, she managed to find the class she was looking for with only a few minutes to spare before the bell rings. Fingers crossed I don’t get stared at again…

Entering the classroom, immediately all eyes were on her… again. What is with this school? Trying to ignore it, she stepped into the room and remained near the teachers desk. Suddenly, a black-haired student seated next to another male student with short-long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, spoke up.

“You’re not late for once, Em.” He clapped quietly with a grin.

“Excuse me?” Yun Hee seemed confused as the guy suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes.

“Wait, you’re not Em.”

“What are you talking about, are you blind?” The blonde next to him scoffed.

“Last I checked, I have 20/20 vision!”

“Maybe you should get that checked again, because that is Em standing right there…” The blonde’s words were laced with annoyance as he rolled his eyes before glancing at Yun Hee once and then looking back down to the book he was reading beforehand.

“Uh...” As if Yun Hee couldn’t be anymore confused than she already was, the other student motioned for her to come over to their desks.

“Sorry, seeing you without your glasses or hair tied back confused me. It’s so unlike you, Em.” He apologized. That’s really unlike her. This can’t be Em.

“Actually…” Yun Hee was saying before their teacher entered the classroom.

The teacher placed his papers on his desk and regarded the only standing student with a frown. “... On time for once, Ms. Seoh?” Yun Hee frowned… Did he just address her as a Seoh? “Are you turning over a new leaf? Either way, get to your seat and please refrain from making a disruption so early in the morning.”

“But sir-” Yun Hee was about to hold up her transfer papers when…

“He told you to take a seat.” The blonde repeated, irritation laced on his tone. Yun Hee noted how the rest of the class was also somewhat annoyed at the scene she was making. I did nothing wrong, so why are they all angry with me? She thought innocently as the guy from earlier gestured to an empty seat by the window.

He saw the confusion on her face, and while he did want to say something about this… stranger, the longer their teacher waited, the more strict he became. “The weather is probably fogging up your memory as well, since it wasn’t that great to begin with anyway!” he joked... The lack of glare and punch only made it more evident that she wasn’t Eun Mi. Just who is this impersonator? He thought to himself as class started.

Once the bell rang, alerting class was over, Yun Hee let out a sigh of relief. Gathering her stuff, she took her leave to find her next class. First day of school isn’t going as well as I thought it would… Successfully finding her second class, she entered to see a new set of stares. Aish, when will it stop! Seeing the only empty seat next to yet another handsome looking student, That must be Em’s seat… seriously, who is Em? she walked over to sit before anyone could scold her again.

“Wow, Em’s on time.” The student to her right spoke with that same grin as the other student in her first class. Yun Hee rested the palm of her hand to her forehead, now getting frustrated. “What? No glare? No punch to the arm? Are you feeling okay?” He asked, noticing the different behavior in the girl. “Even your appearance is different… trying to catch Ren’s eye again?” He nudged her a little while raising his eyebrows nonchalantly.

“Ren?” She looked at him confused. He just laughed before shaking his head. Just as he was about to say something, their teacher entered the classroom. This time I’m going to show my papers…

“Ah, I see Ms. Seoh came to class on time today.”

“Excuse me.” Yun Hee stood up. “I’m actually a transfer student… My name isn’t Seoh, it’s Jung Yun Hee.” The room fell silent for a couple of seconds before everyone broke out into laughter. She looked at them surprised before their teacher began to speak again.

“Transfer student? Jung Yun Hee? Is this some kind of prank you’re pulling? Sit down. Class is starting.” The teacher shook her head.

Yun Hee took her seat, dejected. Where was the actual ‘prankster’ anyway? ‘Ms. Seoh’ didn’t even come during the first lesson. This misunderstanding would be cleared up easily if that student just came! She supposed her classmates could easily make the mistake of identifying her as someone else, but a teacher too? Weren’t they informed of a new student?

“Almost had me fooled there,” her seatmate said with a laugh. “Even your manner of speaking was different - like a different person, even.”

Because she was a different person! She turned to look at him, about to correct that she wasn’t who he thought she was. “Listen, I’m not Seo-” before she could finish her sentence, she locked eyes with the handsome student. Wow, he’s pretty handsome… She could feel a blush coming on as she looked away quickly.

“What’s this? Are you blushing? Em never blushes!” The student laughed with amusement. Because I’m not Em! She screamed inside her head while hiding her embarrassed face behind her hair. “Okay, now you’re freaking me out.” The guy’s laughter stopped almost instantly. Yun Hee just let her head fall onto her desk. Can this day be over already?

After surviving the next class that treated her just the same as the first two, it was now lunch time. She thought she would be spared all the stares, but thought wrong. What was worse though, was that she noted a particular group of girls were not staring, but glaring.

Quickly ignoring it, she looked around the cafeteria area for an empty seat, her fingers clenching tightly onto her tray of food. Wasn’t this the moment where a kind classmate would invite her to eat? She had done so herself on numerous occasions to new students back in her old school - that should be good karma, right? A girl suddenly approached her and her eyes brightened up.

Instead of being met with a kind invite to a table though, her food was met with an invite to the ground. The taller girl had knocked her tray out of her hands, spilling its contents all over the floor.

“Why did you do that?” Yun Hee asked innocently, still in a state of shock.

The girl glared at her. “What? Isn’t this scene familiar to you? I recall when I tried changing my appearance for Ren, you oh so rudely did the same thing.” She bent down slightly, her face now on level with Yun Hee’s. “Now look at who’s ‘so desperate for attention’, Em!”

“That name again…” Yun Hee mumbled…

She scoffed. “What…? Your name? Yeah, it’s pretty disgusting, isn’t it? Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

Yun Hee frowned. The insult wasn’t directed at her, and that name was the reason she was having such a hard time now, but… that was pretty mean. Was ‘Em’ that bad of a person?

The girl looked down at the food. “Anyway… sorry about your lunch.” Her voice was unapologetic. “You could eat it off the floor like the barbarian you are though.”

Now that insult was uncalled for as well. Yun Hee bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She felt a sting in the back of her eyes. Don’t cry, don’t cry. This was all just a misunderstanding, they weren’t really insulting her… but that thought didn’t stop her eyes from tearing up..

The taller student’s eyes widened. “Are you…?”

“Don’t you think that’s enough, Nana?”

The voice was from behind her, but Yun Hee saw the effect it had on the girl in front of her. Nana panicked for a moment before crossing her arms. “... Are you defending her, Ren? Don’t tell me this brat has grown on you?”

Yun Hee felt a hand rest atop her head. It instantly comforted her. “Leave,” he merely said, not answering her question.

Nana huffed and shot another glare at Yun Hee. “You think this innocent act of yours will work forever? We all know you’ll get tired of lying soon.” She her heel and quickly joined her group of friends. A few patted her on the back… as if congratulating her for talking bad about someone.

She didn’t make a move to turn around, still trying to hold back her tears. Her savior instead went in front of her. Nana had mentioned his name. So this was Ren… the same guy her seatmate earlier had told her about, as well as the same blonde in her first class.

She saw the scolding tone in his eyes, and wondered why he was always annoyed at her. But when he caught sight of her watery eyes, he faltered. “... Why didn’t you defend yourself?” he asked instead. “You counter with worse insults than those given to you… so why…”

He ran a hand through his hair, unable to ask why she was crying. Because this was Em, she doesn’t cry. Even when he had bluntly rejected her before, she just kept on coming.

Yun Hee couldn’t help a few tears from falling. She didn’t notice Ren take a step forward when he saw her tears. “I-I’m not Em!” she said, her voice cracking.

“What are you talking-?”

“Okay! That’s enough theatrics!” a voice suddenly chimed in, placing an arm over Yun Hee’s shoulders. The guy glanced at the students that were watching the spectacle. “Get back to eating… okay?” he was smiling, but his tone of voice was serious. Surprisingly, they obeyed him.

“Aron-”

“Jeez, Ren. The girl’s crying. You do not allow her to stay in a public place when that happens,” Aron chided lightly.

Ren was about to retort, but then sighed. “I… was just surprised.”

“Though I gotta thank you for helping her out. I thought only I did that around here,” he added, leading Yun Hee towards the exit. He glanced briefly at Ren. “You coming?”

Ren shook his head. “I probably shouldn’t… The reason for that fight was… well, me.” He sighed. “Sorry.”

Yun Hee wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. Why was he apologizing? Having two girls fall for you wasn’t his fault… okay, well it was somewhat his fault, but Nana and this ‘Em’s' behavior were not his doing.

“You think you’re so popular, huh?” Aron deadpanned, slight amusement in his eyes.

“I thought you shouldn’t keep a crying girl in a public place,” Ren retaliated.

Aron only shook his head in mock disappointment and finally left with Yun Hee. They passed by a few students in the hall until they finally arrived where their lockers were. Aron looked around, and seeing no one around, turned to Yun Hee.

“Are you alright?... Okay. Dumb question. Do you need anything? Water? A hug?” he offered.

Yun Hee no longer had tears in her eyes, but they were still slightly red. She stifled a giggle. “A hug would help.”

Aron’s eyes widened in shock. He gasped in horror. “Okay! Now I’m sure you’re not Em! While I do really want to hug you right now… We gotta start clearing up some things.”

Yun Hee smiled, finally glad that someone had stated who she really was - which was not Em. “My name is Jung Yun Hee, I’m a transfer student from Busan… Everyone thinks I’m this… Em person though.”

“But you clearly aren’t…” He reached into his backpocket. “Well, not clearly. Your personality and mannerism is way off, but your faces are identical.” He took a small picture from his wallet and showed her a picture of him and Em back during the first day of class… and the graffiti they had done on the welcome sign.

“You shouldn’t have done that…” Yun Hee muttered, eyes focused on the “Welcome” that had an extra ‘l’ after ‘wel’, had no ‘e’ and the upperline of the ‘o’ was erased.

“... Notice what needs to be noticed,” Aron said with a laugh.

Yun Hee then focused on the duo in it. “Why do you have a picture of me, I don’t remember taking this picture.”

Aron slapped a hand to his face. “I swear… now I actually think you are Em.”

“I thought you believed me when I said I wasn’t Em?!” She frowned instantly.

“I… You two are probably related. We can all have a same face somewhere in the world… but that slowness has got to be genetic,” he said. “This is not you… it’s the girl everyone thinks is you. You with me?”

Yun Hee nodded in realization. “Em… Is she here? Things would’ve been a lot easier if she was.”

“Skipped class today… woke up at around early afternoon, didn’t bother to come,” Aron said with a sigh as he recalled the text he got earlier.

“That’s not very responsible…” she chided softly. “Now I understand why everyone was making such a big deal about ‘Em’ coming to class on time…”

“She’s a celebrity,” Aron said with a laugh. “... Just not a very good one. Of all the girls you had to look like, it just had to be her… Have you already spoken to a teacher?”

“All of them seem to think it’s still a prank, they didn’t even bother looking at my transfer papers, claiming I made it up…”

He opened his mouth, about to admonish those old people, but then hesitated. “... I think she did something like this last year.”

“Why?” Yun Hee couldn’t help but ask. Who would want to create a fake identity?

“... She just wanted to mess with everyone,” Aron said with a laugh. “Ah, memories.” His laughter stopped when he saw how she was unamused at the story. “The principal was the one you spoke with about transferring, right?” She nodded. “I’m sure he could vouch for your honesty then… if he was here. I think he’s away on a trip, won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”

“Then what do you suppose I do now? No one believes me but you!”

“Get plastic surgery.” He was completely serious.

“You’re not being helpful anymore…”

Aron laughed at her reply. “I’m kidding!... I’ll force Em to come to school tomorrow. That’ll fix up things!”

“Great, what do I do for the rest of today!?”

“I have the last two periods with you. You can hang out with me during them!” he said with a grin. “As for the first two… I think you’re with Ren during those times. He’s the blonde guy from earlier.”

“Really? Though judging by earlier, it seems him and ‘Em’ don’t really get along, correct?”

“Ren’s a nice guy, really! It’s just that Em has this innate ability to get on his nerves and make life harder for him. You be nice, and he’ll be nice to you,” he advised.

She nodded. “Okay then…”

“Good luck!” Aron suddenly put on a straight face. “Still want that hug?”

Yun Hee laughed softly. “Sure, who doesn’t like hugs?”

She was met with a bone crushing embrace. He let go and smiled brightly at her. “Em doesn't like my hugs for some reason...”

“I-I can… see why.” She coughed, trying to catch the wind that was knocked out of her suddenly.

He pouted, his expression sad.

She smiled. “But it was very comforting in the end.”

“... You say such nice things with Em’s face… Can I hug you again?” He was making the most of this chance.

“Sure, just don’t break my spine while doing so… please…”

Aron beamed again, “Just who are you?! I love this!” He enveloped her again in a tight hug.

Yun Hee laughed. “I’m guessing you really wanted to do this with Em?”

He suddenly let go, averting his eyes. “... We should buy you lunch again before the break ends.”

Yun Hee just nodded, deciding not to comment on his odd behavior.

Minhyun sat down, a single seat away from his blonde friend. “Ah, Rennie~ You look as lovely as usual today.” He was providing fanservice to the girls around them - and they were not complaining.

Ren glanced warily at his companion. “Don’t talk to me or people will think we’re friends.”

“You wound me!”

“... Do you want me to?”

“Not in public, Ren!”

These students are crazy, Yun Hee thought as she overheard the conversation when she entered the room.

She had arrived just as the bell rang, since her actual meal time was held only a few minutes before. When she looked around the classroom, she only saw one vacant seat. It was in between Ren and the handsome boy she had blushed for earlier.

… This day had a bad habit of getting worse.

“It’s the blushing Em from earlier~!” Minhyun said with an amused smile as Yun Hee took her seat between the two boys.

Ren glanced at the two with a raised brow. “... Blushing Em? Really, Minhyun?” She had cried earlier, but now she was even blushing?

“She was totally blushing earlier! It was quite the sight to see,” Minhyun said with a laugh.

Despite how they were making fun of her flush, her body decided to betray her and allow the blood to rush to her face yet again. Knowing she was turning red and aware of their stares, she quickly covered her face and rested her head on her desk, hiding herself even more. My life is over! she wailed in her mind.

They made no sound. Wondering about the silence, she lifted her head slightly to take a peek at Minhyun… His eyes were wide in shock, but when she caught his eye, he quickly brightened up.

“... I want to cuddle this new you,” he said.

First Aron, now Minhyun too? She sat up a bit more properly. “...This isn’t the place for that,” Yun Hee said with a frown. Classes were going to start.

She heard Ren suddenly cough. Was what she said that shocking?

Minhyun smiled, not at all caring about his other friend’s reaction. A cute girl was going to let him hug her! “What? You’d really let me?!”

Yun Hee tilted her head in confusion at his bewilderment. “Um… yes? Hugs are common between friends, right?... And we are friends, right?” She was rather affectionate with her friends and brother so this kind of skinship was perfectly normal.

And since Em was friends with Aron and, she supposed, with Ren. Didn’t that mean she was also close with Minhyun? He did make fun of her a lot when she first met him. Strangers don’t do that.

“I’m your friend now!?” Minhyun said with a huge smile.

For someone so tall, seeing him so happy at such a small thing made her laugh at how adorable he looked. “Um… yeah!”

“What is this sorcery?” Ren suddenly said. Yun Hee giggled at his comment and didn’t notice the stare he directed at her when she did.

Minhyun smirked at him. “You’re just jealous that this new Em likes me more than you.”

Yun Hee turned to face the blonde. “...? Do you want a hug too?” she asked with an innocent smile.

Ren froze. He would usually call her out on having an ulterior motive, but she seemed genuinely… honest.

“Why would I want a hug from you…?” He cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact now.

“Because… my hugs are great?” Yun Hee tried to ignore the slight harshness in his voice. You be nice, and he’ll be nice to you… Aron’s words played back in her head. Just gotta be nice to him and I’ll be alright… I hope…

He stared at her, eyes narrowed. She fidgeted under his scrutiny. There was a pregnant silence before he suddenly smiled. “I’ll have to find out then,” he said.

Yun Hee’s eyes widened at his response, the blood rushing to her face again.

“Blushing Em strikes again!” Minhyun teased, pointing at the tint of red in her cheeks.

There was a second of silence before a chorus of “Hey that rhymed!” was heard. Yun Hee and Minhyun had said it in sync. The latter stared at the smaller girl for a moment. “Whoever you are, just marry me already?”

Yun Hee’s eyes widened… more so at the notebook that had slammed into Minhyun’s face. She turned to Ren who was glaring at Minhyun.

“Jealous again!” Minhyun merely said, unaffected by the harm that was brought to his face.

Yun Hee glanced in worry at Minhyun. “Didn’t that hurt?”

Minhyun smiled at her. “That was nothing!The lightning I felt in my heart when I fell for you hurt even more!”

He was met with a textbook to the face this time.

Yun Hee creased her brows in worry when Minhyun fell from his chair at the heavy object. “Are you alright?”

She was about to stand and help him, but Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. “... He’s invincible, like a cockroach.”

“He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

“Don’t associate me with someone like that.”

“Okay class. Sorry for being late… Why are you on the floor, Mr. Hwang?”

“Betrayal,” he moaned, hand on the side of his forehead that was no doubt going to sport a lump later.

“... It’s a tough world, best you learn that now,” the old man merely said. “Anyway, time to begin the lesson…”

Yun Hee took a step out of the school gates, more tired than she thought she would be. In her one class with Aron, he had told her about his other group of friends - some Nu’escargo or something of the sort.

She had met with three of them at the start of her day. It was only during her last period that she met the last two: JR and Baekho. She noted that she had some earlier periods with them, but didn’t really speak to them.

In general, she had learned that the only friend her look-a-like had was Aron. The members of the Nu’estrogen group were always shocked when she acted nice to them - obviously meaning, she only acted nice towards Aron… But then again, Aron was kind taking advantage of her niceness with Em’s face… So he was friends with her despite the bullying?

Disregarding the possible masochist she befriended, she again focused on the path before her. Before she was even a few steps away from the gate, a voice suddenly called out “Em~!”

“Eh?” She turned around briefly - as she had gotten used to being addressed as Em - and saw Minhyun waving and running towards her looking like an excited little boy. “You said I could hug you earlier!” he exclaimed before scooping her up into a hug, what with him being so tall, and her so small, a very familiar feeling when her older brother would give her a hug just like this. Being so sudden, a small shriek escaped her lips as he spun her around twice.

She let out another yelp when a flying textbook headed towards them, slamming Minhyun in the face again, causing him to let go of her and stagger back.

“What the-?! Ren!” Aron said to the guy walking beside him. “You could have hit Em!”

“Shouldn’t there be something you’d be more worried about?” Minhyun wailed to the fellow dark-haired boy.

Ren bent down and picked up the book, dusting it off before putting it back in the bag. “Oh? Yeah. The book’s fine though.”

Aron glanced at it briefly and nodded. “The spine’s a bit crooked. Your face ruined it Minhyun.”

“That thing ruined my face!”

“You guys are terrible!” Yun Hee said, bending down to help Minhyun. “Are you alright… again?”

Minhyun suddenly took hold of her hand and smiled. “If it means having you worried about me, I could get hit with a million textbooks.”

“That could be arranged,” Ren said.

“You’re so violent!”

“... Hearing that from you isn’t very convincing.”

“What are you talking about? I’d never harm a fly, let alone throw a textbook at someone’s face… How did that thing not break your jaw?” Yun Hee looked back to Minhyun, gently touching his jawline.

The two standing boys stared at her. Ren blinked. “... Did I just hear that?” he said, turning to Aron.

“Um… no…”

“Then what am I seeing?” he said, as he saw Yun Hee caring for Minhyun.

“Um… you’re just dreaming, man. Mr. Choi’s class was hella boring, huh?”

“... Em throws a textbook at your face almost daily.”

“So you’re copying her?” Aron said, fighting the grin that was forming.

Ren glared at him and focused on the two in front of him. He bent down and took hold of Yun Hee’s hand, pulling it away from Minhyun’s face. “He’s fine. I told you he was invincible, didn’t I?”

Yun Hee frowned. “But… how could that not have broken something? He’s still human!”

“No, he’s right. My love for women is all encompassing and godlike,” Minhyun replied, completely serious.

“Wow, you guys are both terrible and hilarious!” Yun Hee laughed amused by the feuding two.

“Ah, what a lovely laugh and kind person~” Minhyun said. “This new you is certainly something.”

Aron was laughing too, but then suddenly sobered up at the taller boy’s words.

… This wasn’t a new Em.

“Anyway, best we start heading home!” Aron suddenly said, helping Minhyun back to his feet.

Yun Hee nodded and smiled at them. “Yeah, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow then!”

Minhyun suddenly had a mischievous grin on his face. “Wait just a minute there! You forgot to give Ren a hug!”

Ren’s eyes widened, but he didn’t reply.

Taking this as a decline, Aron and Minhyun said at the same time, “I can hug her for you if you need?”

He directed a glare at them. “I have more than one textbook in reach…”

Minhyun sighed. “My face has gotten three strikes today. I’m out.”

Aron grinned. “I didn’t- No! Put that book down. I only allow Em to hit me.”

“You masochist.”

“Put the book down and just let it happen!” Minhyun said in exasperation at his socially constipated friend.

“Let what happen?” Ren asked.

“This!” Yun Hee said with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around Ren.

The other two boys laughed, but then it died down when they saw Ren’s face.

His blushing face.

“Oooohhh!” the two guys chorused.

Ren softly pushed Yun Hee away from him, looking away, well aware how hot his face was. “S-Shut up, you two!” he said, glaring at them.

“Ren’s finally returning your feelings-” Minhyun’s words were suddenly cut off when Aron placed a hand over his mouth. The taller boy looked down at him in question.

“Uh… let’s head home now,” Aron said with a strained laugh. “We all good here? Good! Let’s go!” He was glad to see Ren so flustered… he just didn’t want to see him blushing because of a girl other than the one that adored him.

“Alright then, get home safely. Bye!” Yun Hee ignored Aron’s weird behavior before skipping off around the corner. What an interesting bunch! I wonder if we’ll still be friends when that ‘Em’ finally comes back to school?

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◞* ✄ — END CHAPTER ⋮O N E 

 Preview:  Chapter 2 

“Come to school today."
"Has too many fights and hits to the head turned her bipolar?"
“And it’s lovely to hear your smart mouth again. Did yesterday’s plan of winning over Ren with that innocent girl act fail?”

"You mean I’m going to miss my second day of school to help Mom and Leo move?... Okay, then!"
“Everyone mistook me for someone else when I got there! No one believed me!"

"What's going on? There's two Ems?"