"Yah, why can't you even do this properly? 89%? Are you stupid? I didn't send you to all those cram school lessons just for you to give back such half-assed results!"

To Baram's parents, their only daughter could never ever live up to the impossibly high expectations that they had placed on her shoulders since the very day she was born. Her parents were determined to work her to the bone, getting the results they could never get in hopes of being able to brag and seem all high and mighty in front of their friends and family members.

Her life was never hers in the first place - it was only for her parents.

Though her parents herself weren't people of high power by any means nor were they people who held high working positions, their dissatisfaction in their own lives were the reason why they pressured Baram to be the best so that they could live their dreams through her. Their expectations seemed to reach the stars with how everything that Baram gave them, they would never congratulate or be proud of her accomplishments despite the tears and hours she's put herself through.

Her life revolved around making her parents proud, seeking attention and validation from them as she had nowhere else to turn to but her parents. But the echoes of her parents yelling on the top of their lungs in the middle of the night during just one of their many arguments nearly drives Baram mad since she already has trouble sleeping as it is - her minds filled with fear for the next day, fearing how the students at school would come and push her around, fearing if her results would be given tomorrow, fearing if tomorrow would be another day where all she could feel was her heart aching as the sound of her heartbeat rang loudly in her head.

With her parents fighting night and day, the girl could never remember a day where she felt safe to be in her hourse. They would scream and yell and through their muffled arguments, Baram was certain she could hear her own name being thrown around and convinced herself that her parents hated her. They fact that they barely showed any warmth, effection or care for her well-being was proof that Baram was being neglected. The sound of their yells continue to haunt her nights and falling asleep would prove to be a war she would rarely win.

Her school life wasn't any different either. All that pressure her parents put her through turned her into an awkward child who could barely utter out a word without stuttering or stopping midway. She didn't have a social life since all she did after school was attend cram school and she was allowed nothing else but to study. Her quite image and seeing how she was dubbed 'invisible' by the rest of the school if it wasn't for her stunning grades made her an easy target for the other students to bully. She had no one to report to anyway and her cowardice to bring up to any teachers was the reason why she was an 'easy prey' as she was called by her tormentors.

All the bullying, peer pressure and emotional abuse was enough to push her to her tipping point. Everything hurt but nothing mattered at the same time, there was nothing else she could feel but pain and loneliness in her life. While her parents were at each other's throats, Baram would turn to her paper cutter and drag it along the pale skin of her arm. After she was finished, the girl would swallow down the sleeping pills that she had stolen from her mother's stash and greet a dreamless sleep. It even came to the point that Baram couldn't sleep without help from a sleeping pill.

Her life soon became an endless routine of waking up feeling more tired and restless than she did when she fell asleep, going off to school without a warm goodbye from her parents, attend school and endure the bullying she had put up with, head straight to cram school after school ended and came back home to a cold house with an empty stomach and heat herself something before she would stay up late to study and do homework. There was no spark in her life anymore, there was no meaning to fight and slowly, Baram became a shell - only living for the sake of existing.

At the age of 14, Baram's parents filed for divorce and decided that neither of them wanted to keep their daughter. For the first time, Baram realizes how painful being abandoned feels like and she had wished that if she had known sooner that her parents were going to throw her away like this, she wouldn't have wasted all her energy on living for them. So, the girl is sent off to live with her grandmother that she had never met and live in a different environment.

Despite how warm, caring her grandmother was, Baram found it difficult to trust herself to someone when she had grown up being used and abused her entire life. Her sweet grandmother tried her best to welcome and make Baram feel at home and even the students at her new school were nice but Baram couldn't open herself up anymore.

With all the kindness and love she was being given, she had wondered if she was worthy of any of it. She had deemed herself to be a mess that was unworthy of any form of love, a mess that shouldn't be alive anymore.

2 months after moving to Tongyeong, Baram had came to a decision that it was finally time for her to just give up. To finally be free of all the pain that she had endured up until that point.
 
The process was supposed to be easy. She had climbed on top of the school building where no one could see her until it was too late so all that's was left was to take that next step. She had left her shoes behind along with a note if anyone was to find and read it. She can still remember how the wind was warm and soothing as she stood at the edge, her eyes looking down to the ground. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and outstretched her leg.

"It's a nice weather today, don't you think so?"

A voice interrupts Baram and she turns her head around to see an unknown face staring at her. She's clearly confused as how this girl managed to get up so quietly - she made sure no one saw her when she went up before.

"I was going to get some ice cream and there's this sweet deal of a buy 1 free 1 just for today. I like ice cream but not that much, you know? It would be a total waste."

"You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you but look at us now," she answered, a smile still evident on her face, "So, why don't you come down, hm? You can do the talking and I'll listen."

She offers her hand out, her eyes pleading for Baram to come down. Baram hadn't noticed then how Junghee's legs were shaking at the sight of Baram so close to the edge.

"I don't even know you... You don't know me," tears started to flow down on Baram's cheeks, "There's no point in this. Life. There's no point in this for me."

As Baram turns away from Junghee's offer and is more determined to follow through with her original plan, she doesn't realize it as two pairs of hands yank her down from the wall which causes all of them to fall quite painfully on the ground. All of them are winching in pain but Junghee is the first one to get up and squishes Baram's face in between her hands.

"You... You really should value yourself more, Ong Baram!" It's the sincerity in her voice and in her eyes and the fact Junghee hugs her right after saying that does Baram break down, crying as she realizes how much bottled up pain she's been hiding for so long. Junghee's friend, which Baram would later on learn to be Raon, joins in on the hug and the warmth that Baram feels is something that she had been longing but had forgotten all about it.

As Baram's crying subsides, Raon hands her a tissue while Junghee stands up, offering her hand once again. "I think ice cream is the best answer for now," she says and this time, Baram takes her hand tightly. Raon loops her arm around Baram as the three girls walk out of school and head over to get ice cream at the nearest convinience store and for the rest of the day, Baram spent her time with these new girls who would soon become a big part of her life. As they sat down outside with their own favorite flavors, Baram finds peace for the first time in her life.

It didn't take long before Junghee introduced Baram to the rest of the friend group and eventhough Baram felt a little awkward considering she was one of the later ones (or the final person) to join the group, it didn't take long for them to accept Baram as their own. High school came to pass by like a wonderful breeze filled with only sweet memories which deepend their bond into a tight-knight family. Although they would argue, fight and get into trouble, they would still find their way back to each other at the end of the day. Baram had always wished that she could stay in this moment forever, never wanting to let go of these precious times that she should have expected would come to an end.

her high school life surrounded by such wonderful friends was filled with new experiences, bonding and growth. though she wasn't exceptionally close with everyone, she still cared for each of them deeply. from spending time skipping classes, having little adventures, celebrating birthdays, sleepovers and study sessions, all of these memories of her friends were so very precious to her. if it weren't for them, baram wouldn't even think how her life would have ended up.

however, No matter how much Baram had wished, those peaceful and beautiful moments of her life came to an end. Her grandmother had passed a few weeks after graduation due to a long time illness and without any nearby relatives, Baram was forced to move back to Seoul with her mother. With promises of keeping in touch and never forgetting everyone, Baram is tearfully taken away from the only place that she's ever called home.

currently, baram lives in a modern apartment that's a bus stop away from her university. her parents have surprise monthly visitations, they're always up to date on baram's grades in each class she takes and they're constantly messaging her to see what she's up to even though they know she does nothing but study anymore.

Their first meeting would be the following week from junghee and raon's introduction to junghee. As woojin was always eager to meet up with new friends, he came off rather strong and bold towards baram which scared the girl at first due to her not being used to such crazy hyper energy. though junghee and muyeol would repeatedly advise him to tone it down, it took him awhile before he understood why baram was so jumpy at everything and timid. he learned to be softer with his approach and to be more careful with his jokes, sometimes even double checking with junghee or baram herself before he were to proceed with his teases. he began to watch out for baram's small signals that indicated times when she was having a panic attack, when she was uncomfortable with the situation or even times when she was scared. it became second nature for him to watch her, sticking close to her even when they were in their group of friends.

Having tendency to skip school and wonder around prohibited or restricted areas, his drive for adventure and to know the unknown was what caught her interest after a while of getting to know and observe him. Since baram was -most likely- the least fit among them, woojin would stay behind her, guiding her or holding her hand as they walked over unstable grounds or paths filled with rocks and pebbles. he looked out for her a lot that baram came to expect him to be there for her.

He starts talking about his childhood and how he used to travel to different places, his eyes shining as baram can see the light of how much life there is to him. she listens to his dreams and stories as he finds it easy to talk to her, knowing that she'll listen carefully despite how long he talked.

he became somewhat of a protector and pillar for baram, someone that she knew she could depend on and for a moment, it felt nice to depend on someone else - knowing that he'll be there for her. he defended her from some students teasing her and has more than once spoke back to the teacher for yelling at them when the group had been caught skipping lessons, sensing how baram would shake and have a hard time breathing around loud voices. to woojin, he wished he could protect baram from everything that once hurt her so badly and wanted nothing more than to fill her future days with smiles and good thoughts. he doesn't know how deep her wounds are but all he can hope is that he can be there as she takes the time to heal.

When he turns 17 does he finally ask Baram out and to his delight, she accepts him. their relationship doesn't change much besides that they went out for late night dates more frequently. being with baram in tongyeong doesn't seem so bad but his desire to leave this small place and go out to the bigger world is still inside him.

He continues to stay at tongyeong even when he graduates, spending time with baram whenever she could. His parents had contacted him about visiting them for a while since he wasn't in school anymore but his plans are put on hold since he's still with baram. It's not until Baram expresses her wishes to breakup when she told him the news that she had to move back to seoul with her family. He comes off with the truth as well, telling her about his plans to join his parents. They compromise and decide to put their relationship on hold until they can figure out things for both of them.

So, he continues to keep in touch with baram. sending her pictures of him on his adventures and never failing to tell her how much he wished she was there with him. 

Reuniting back in tongyeong, the spark between them is still as strong as the day they parted. Woojin's done a whole lot of soul searching and for now, what he's certain of is that he doesn't want to make the same mistake of letting baram go again.