Chapter Five
M Y  M U S E

Homeroom, first, and the second hour flew by so fast that Eun Seo had a hard time catching up with the class lessons and found herself wondering more about the boy she had just met this morning. She still remembered his cold eyes and deep voice but friendly manners. There was something strange about that boy but she couldn't quite put her finger on it but she knew that he was the complete opposite of Hanbin, who she met yesterday and this morning.

As she walked through the hallway, Eun Seo could feel the hateful glares of the students around on her. By now, all the girls who love Kim Hanbin probably knew that it was her and wanted to beat the hell out of her. Keeping her gaze on the ground, the quiet girl quickly made her way to her third hour only to be suddenly tripped by the leg of a boy which caused the whole hallway to burst out in loud laughter.

"Why would Hanbin even get close to a kind of ugly girl like you?" One of the girls snickered loudly. "You're so ugly that no one would even want to come near you!"

The students' waves of laughter became louder and all Eun Seo could do was pick herself off the ground and continue walking to her next class. She didn't have the power to voice her own words and she was just as scared of being bullied by the girls even more - her life was just as bad and she didn't want it anymore worst!

"It's all because of you, Kim Hanbin!" She angrily thought. "Why did you have to mess with me in the first place?!"

If he had never met her, none of this would've happened at all! Out of all the girls in the school, why did he lay eyes on her out of all the girls in the school? In Eun Seo's mind, she wasn't pretty like the other nor was she rich. None of the students even know her name but by her nickname "The Quiet Girl" since she never talks to anyone she doesn't know and only gives head gestures. 

Turning into her classroom, Eun Seo chose the seat in the back by the windows. She felt that sitting in the front of the classroom would result in her in having paper balls thrown at her back. As she quietly made her way to her seat in the back of the classroom, she heard the endless snickerings and whisperings about her but like always, she just ignored it. 

"What am I gonna do?" She thought and sighed.

Eun Seo pulled the chair out and slipped her backpack off, setting it on the ground next to her. She fished out her notebook and pencil out of her backpack only to be startled by a landing paper ball. The girl grabbed the crumpled paper ball in her hand and opened it up. The words "STAY AWAY FROM KIM HANBIN, YOU UGLY " was written in red ink in all capitalized letters on the notebook paper.

Sighing, Eun Seo crumpled the paper and set it aside, not bothering to look over at the group of girls who were sending death glares at her. The best thing for her to do at a time like this was to ignore those students who were making fun of her, it was sure to pass by fast if she didn't give them any reaction. Glancing up at the clock, there were only two minutes left until the bell will ring for the third hour to start.

☂️

It was around this time of the year when the school's beauty pageant is looking for contestants, almost all the girls in the school were talking about it with their friends. The beauty pageant was something that all girls of all grades looked forward to since the prize was getting a kiss from the Prince or the most popular boy in grade 12. Even though it was a big event, only a total of eight girls would be able to participate — two girls from each grade are allowed to enter through voting done by the grade they are in.

"Eun Seo, are you going to join the pageant?" Ha Ri asked. "I think you'll place first with that beautiful face of yours!"

It was lunchtime and the hallways and classrooms were bustling with talks about the event coming up in a couple of days. The two friends sat on their usual bench outside under the tall oak tree chatting away while drinking down their strawberry milk. Eun Seo shook her head at Ha Ri and received a frown from her curly hair friend. 

"Why would a girl like me win first place?" She frowned. "I'm not fit for these kinds of events and besides, who would even vote for me?"

"What are you talking about?!" Her friend exclaimed with wide eyes. "You're the prettiest girls in the whole school! Even prettier than Soo Min! That chick is nothing compared to you!"

Eun Seo chuckled at her friend's words and thought about joining the pageant for a second but was reminded about the kiss from the prince, making her cheeks turn into a shade of red.  Just thinking about it gave her mix feelings as she doesn't know if Hanbin was playing at her heart or if he genuinely wants her but the bad thoughts ruled out the good ones and her heart sank. She is no match for the girls in her grade and since it was her last year in high school, she didn't want to do anything rash but to graduate quietly. 

"Ha Ri–"

"I hope you don't get mad at me, Eun Seo..." Ha Ri suddenly said with a mischievous smile. "I entered you into the voting contest for being a contestant!"

Eun Seo's eyes grew wide at those sudden words. 

"What?!" She exclaimed. "Why would you?! Are you crazy?! Ha Ri!"

"Hahaha!" Her friend laughed at her reaction.  "It's your senior year and I want you to have all the fun you can before going off to college! I think you'll take first place! Trust me on this one!"

At first, Eun Seo was skeptical about the whole pageant thing but since it was her senior year in high school, maybe it was time to have a little fun and take a break from all the school work. She did want this year to be different from the others. She looked over at Ha Ri and nodded at her words with a smile. 

"Alright, fine," Eun Seo finally accepted her friend's proposal. "If I don't win then you're buying me all the strawberry yogurt in the world."  

"Deal!" Ha Ri exclaimed and the two friends high-fived each other. 

From afar, a familiar tall boy watched the tw