For someone who loathed change, you were seeing a lot of it lately. Breaking up with your girlfriend, for example, was definitely something you didn’t see coming. You thought that your parents would be more accepting of your relationship with her, after all they loved her when she was just simply — a “friend,” but throw in the word girl before friend, and that’s when everything went to .

Your parents didn’t approve of her, after all you were second in line to succeed as the head of AHY Group, one of the largest and most powerful conglomerates in China. Although chances of you inheriting the company were low, you were always under the public’s watchful eye.

It was a burden to have this crown placed on your head when you didn’t even ask for it. The thought of running a business was something that didn’t appeal to you, it was something you wanted no part of. So you went to Canada to study. It was the perfect excuse for your family, one that needed no further explanation to the public.

One would call it running away, but I called it strategically evading responsibility.

“DAUGHTER OF AHY GROUP TO STUDY IN CANADA” was plastered to headlines for a week before the media got bored with it. After all, it was a common decision for parents to send their children overseas to learn English. You, however, did it to escape the burden your name carried.

in Canada, you would find happiness for a while, but even then you would end up running away from it.

//

It was a cold October day, a thin layer of snow covered the sidewalks. You had to waddle slowly like a penguin in order to avoid slipping by accident on the wet concrete.

Damn this city and its early winters.

You didn’t appreciate being called out of your house at 9 in the morning on a Saturday, when you could be studying for midterms, but since it was Julie, you couldn’t help but give in to your girlfriend.

You walked into a café that was relatively small, but cozy. The smell of coffee wafted through the café, along with the smell of freshly baked bread.  

Your eyes scanned the café for her, before you spotted her sitting at a table in the back, with her face in her hands.

“Hey,” you grinned before taking a seat. A waitress approached the table, “Hi, I’ll take a medium latte with lactose-free milk please.” The waitress quickly jotted down the order before leaving.

She looked exhausted, you could see the deep creases in the bags under her eyes.

“So… you wanna tell me why you dragged me out of the house on a Saturday, when we have a Physical Chemistry test on Monday?” You huffed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna fail this.”

Julie avoided looking at you, and picked at the muffin in front of her.

“I guess I just wanted to see you,” she smiled longingly.

“Babe, it’s literally been two days.”

“I know, but still… I just wanted to see you.”

Okay, you knew there was definitely something wrong. But just when you were about to ask, the waitress interrupted you, and placed your order on the table.

“Here you are, medium latte with lactose-free milk, enjoy!” The waitress smiled after placing some napkins on the table.

“Thanks!”

You slouched into your seat, trying to collect your thoughts. You sipped at the latte while pondering about what you’ve could’ve done wrong in the past week.

“Okay… so did I do something wrong? What’s with that sad look on your face?”

She picked at the half eaten muffin again before mustering her words.

“Babe...” She snuck a glance towards you before lowering her eyes. We should…”

You had a bad feeling about this, she was acting way too weird. Your heart started pounding. You thought to yourself, “no way… is she going to…”

“Let’s break up.”

“What?” You looked at her in disbelief. “I don’t…”

The words were caught in your throat. The world fell slightly out of focus, everything seemed to slow down and fade away, as if your senses were being dulled.

She shifted her weight and turned to look at you.

“We should break up.” Her voice was unsteady.

You felt your heart physically shatter in your chest. All of a sudden you felt lightheaded, and you reached for the edge of the table to steady yourself. This isn’t… I can’t believe this.

“Is this because of my parents? What did they say to you?” You reached for her hands.

She pulled them away.

“That, and because this is my own decision.”

“I can’t accept this.”

You searched into her eyes, but they gave away nothing else.  You were only painfully aware of the tears threatening to spill from your eyes, and the sharp throbbing of your heart.

“Just because they can’t accept it now, doesn’t mean they won’t accept it later. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t. Don’t give up on us. Please, I love you Julie.” You were practically begging her to not let you go.

“I love you too, but… we’re worlds apart, aren’t we?” She closed her eyes. “We can’t be together, even if your parents accept us. How could I ever be with someone like you? You’re practically the heir to one of the biggest business empires in Asia. How can I, someone from the working class be with you?” She frowned. “Others would look down at you for even being seen with me. I don’t want that for you.”

“I don’t care about them.”

“But I care about you.” She fired back.

“Don’t you care what I think? What I feel? Why would you decide those things without me? Don’t you want us to be happy?”

“We’re happy right now, but in the future—“

“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, we can only control what happens now!”

“It’s a predetermined ending, you and I both know that.”

“I don’t believe in fate, or any predetermined crap like that. I believe in free will, and in my own will.”

She looked at you, and smiled sadly.

“Is this what my parents said to you? That we’re predetermined to fail?”

“They didn’t have to. I knew it myself… I was just in denial. Like I said, you and I both come from different worlds. I’m in Pre-Med now, I have to focus on school. My parents… I don’t know how much longer they can work themselves to death to try and pay for my tuition. I have to study, and work hard so I can support them. But to do that, I have to focus.”

“So I guess I’m the distraction huh?” You smiled bitterly.

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

“I told you, I can pay for everything. You know that money isn’t an issue with me.”

“I know, but I don’t want to spend my whole life feeling indebted to someone. Even if it’s someone to I love.”

You understood perfectly what she meant. All too well.

“From the shadows.”

“What?”

“From the shadows… I’ll love you. As long as you’re happy. No matter how painful it is for me… I just want you to be happy. I’ll be cheering you on Julie Kim.”

“I… I’m sorry. Call me selfish. You can hate me if you want. Love is a double-edged sword, and I’m doing this for the both of us. You won’t see that now, but you will later. I know you will.”

She moved to take off the ring off her ring finger. You reached out to stop her.

“Don’t. Don’t take it off. They were our friendship rings before they were our couple rings. I guess, just because we’re breaking up… it doesn’t mean we’re still not friends right?”

She blinked, then moved to touch the ring on your middle finger. She it gently, running her finger through the engraving.

You froze at the sudden contact, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move your hand away.

“Julie… Let’s not see each other for a little while, okay? I… need time. To process everything.” You managed to choke out. “Just for a while.”

“Okay. Take as much time as you need.”

//

Time heals all wounds, or at least that’s what people say. In the end, you decided to take part in a school exchange program. You were running away, but this time not it wasn’t from your family. But rather, from the girl you loved.

Korea. You fell in love with the country even more after meeting Julie. You would occasionally visit Seoul with Julie to see her family with her. You loved Seoul. It was different from Canada, it was busier, full of life and it was rich in history.

You loved Seoul. But it reminded you of Julie, and you did your best to push those feelings away. You were determined to enjoy your last year of high school.

//

You didn’t expect your father’s personal secretary to be waiting for you at the airport. You didn’t think your father would care enough to send someone to you in Korea. You scoffed at the idea, your father wasn’t the kind of man to do that.

“Ajhusshi! What are you doing here?”

 He reached out to carry your luggage. He smiled sarcastically.

“That’s Mr. Ajhusshi to you.” He patted your head affectionately. “I apologize. I haven’t been able to visit you in the past few months while you were preparing to move to Korea. We ran into some problems at the company.”

“It’s alright, you visit more than my actual family does. They seemed to forget I existed, before my “scandalous” relationship with Julie was brought to their attention. I’m just glad that I have someone who at least cares for me.”

“I do apologize again for that incident. I—“

“It’s fine, don’t worry about Secretary Lee. You did the best you could.” You smiled brightly.

“Are you sure wouldn’t like to live in one of AHY’s hotels? Naturally you would be given a penthouse suite to live in. Everything would be taken care of for you there.”

“I appreciate the concern Secretary Lee. But after everything with Julie, the last thing I want is to take a freebee that comes from having my last name. Also, I want to stay away from anything my father has a hand in. As much as I can anyways.”

//

Secretary Lee had already arranged everything for you. You would be living a dorm along with many of the students that attended your school. Your school was loaded so the dorms were more like luxury condos. Which was a perk, at least it was expensive.

“He rented the whole apartment under my name, so that I don’t even have a roommate.” “That’s a bummer,” you muttered before falling asleep on the couch. “He even furnished everything…”

You woke up to the sounds of birds chirping, and the smell of muffins. You approached the kitchen groggily. There was a note on the counter:

‘Thought you might still be jet-lagged from travelling, I baked some muffins. Blueberry, your favorite. I also stocked the fridge and pantry with anything you might need. If you need anything, just call. I will drive you on your first day to school, so be ready by 8.’

//

“Yah! Prez! Did you hear that there’s a new exchange student from Canada transferring here today?!” Doyeon practically stormed into the room, almost knocking over a couple of desks.

Sejeong raised an eyebrow before responding, “I just got an email yesterday night, why?”

“Well she just got here, and she rolled up in a fancy car and everything! She’s probably the daughter of a billionaire or something.” Rolling her eyes, she popped a lollipop in . “Some people just have it all, I’m telling ya.”

“Well would that surprise you? There’s only two ways you can get into this school, it’s either through scholarships, or through money and connections.” Sejeong moved to get up. “If she’s here that means I should get going. I’ll see you later Doyeon-ah.”

//

A handsome man in his 40s walked out the office wearing an expensive looking suit, and smiled at her. “You must be Sejeong, the class president. Please look after Hyoseol for me.” He bowed, and turned to leave.

Sejeong bowed back and smiled, “I will do my best!”

The Principal’s secretary motioned for Sejeong to enter the Principal’s office. Sejeong thanked her and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Sejeong opened the door, and bowed deeply.

“Hello, my name is Kim Sejeong. I am the class president, and I will be showing you around the school today.”

“Hello, you can call me Hyoseol. Ah, I mean… my name is Won Hyoseol. If you translate my Chinese name to Korean that is…”

“You do not wish to use your English name?” The principal inquired.

“No, that’s how I got caught last time. If I use Hyoseol, it will be easier for me.”

Sejeong’s curiosity was piqued, what exactly did she get caught for?

//

Kim Sejeong was one of the pillars of SKYY High School. Known for her beauty, brains as well as her natural charisma, people flocked to her no matter where she went. The only flaw, some would say, was the fact that she wasn’t one of those in the “Elite” class. Meaning, she got into SKYY through scholarships, and thus on the social hierarchy, she was at the bottom. However, she was one of the few exempt from the traditional ranking, due to her popularity and title as class president.

In a way it was a blessing, because she wouldn’t have to suffer from the bullying that comes from the elitism some students expressed. Though, she did her best to crack down on the bullying, the law was always on the side power and money. Truthfully, she had little power over those in the Elite class, but to some extent, they would listen to her.

At first glance, Hyoseol seemed that she might fall into the Elite class. She came in a Porsche (as she later found out through Somi), and on top of it she even had a secretary her in the school. Sejeong was positive that Hyoseol was also the one who had rented a whole apartment unit on the upper floors where the Elite class stayed. She had seen the moving trucks load up furniture and boxes to the 17^th floor.

Some people really do have it all.

//

“This class 7A, Hyoseol-ssi. Since it’s lunch, most of the students are probably in the cafeteria now.”

A scream pierced the hallways. “YA JEON SOMI. I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

You and Sejeong walked in the room, only to find one girl desperately trying to strangle the other one. The shorter one was on her tiptoes trying to reach for the taller girl’s neck, while the taller one was desperately trying to escape. Her attempts were futile though, the shorter girl was just too determined to kill her.

“Jeon Somi. Choi Yoojung,” sighed Sejeong, “what exactly are you two doing?”

“Ah Somi ate Yoojung’s pudding again,” yelled a girl with adorably huge cheeks. She sat with two other girls.

“I think stole is the proper word,” hissed Yoojung, while glaring at Somi.

You couldn’t help by smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. Cute.

One of the girls at the table noticed you.

“Oh? Is that the new kid?”

“Ah, yes. Ahem. Hello, my name is Won Hyoseol, I’m on exchange from Canada. It’s nice to meet you.” You bowed.

One by one they introduced themselves.

“Hi! My name’s Somi! My dad’s from Canada! I can speak English too. It’s nice to meet you!”

Ah, the pudding stealer speaks English too. “Cool, it’s nice to meet you.” You responded in English.

“Daebak, now we have someone else who can speak English, Dani’s gonna be happy.”

“Hello, I’m Kang Mina, it’s a pleasure to meet you Hyoseol-ssi.” Her eyes curved into half-moons, while beaming brightly at you.

Ugh, that eye smile. I’m a softie for eye smiles. You smiled and waved to her.

“Hey, sorry about what you saw earlier… I hope that didn’t give you a bad impression of us. My name is Choi Yoojung.”

Oh my god. Her eye smile. Ah, she’s really cute.

“Hello, I’m Chaeyeon.”

Whoa, her skin is so white. She looks like a doll. She’s really pretty.

“Hey, my name’s Doyeon! Sorry about the two beagles over there, Somi’s always stealing Yoojung’s pudding. You’ll get used to it eventually though.” She chuckled.

“So are you all in this class?” you inquired.

Mina spoke up, “no, some of us are in 7B, and in 6A! There are some who aren’t here because they’re doing their club activities or something.”

“So you’re from Canada huh? What’s it like there?” asked Doyeon.

“Hm… well it’s pretty cold in the winter, but the summers are pretty hot and humid.”

“Ah Sejeong-ssi, I forgot to ask you this. But do you know where Kim Chungha is?”

“Chungha-ssi? How do you know that name?”

“Ah… she’s someone I knew before I came to Korea.”

“Hyoseol-ssi, she’s probably in the dance room. I wouldn’t go in there right now though. She’s practicing with her crew for a dance competition in a few weeks. She gets a little… intense.” Somi whispered.

“Speaking of which, Mina, Yoojung, why aren’t you practicing with her?” Sejeong glanced at the two.

“Ah, we told her we had a test tomorrow so she let us skip practice.” Mina smiled with an evil glint her eye.

“I’m not saving you two if she catches you two lounging around.”

The rest of the day passed by quickly. You were disappointed that you couldn’t see Chungha, but you hoped you would have more luck tomorrow. Sejeong walked you to your apartment to make sure you got home safely.

“Sejeong-ssi, why don’t you come in? It’s a little past dinner, why don’t I cook dinner for you? As a thank you.”

Sejeong was about to say no, when she realized that they were out of food. Kang Mina, Kim Nayoung, why don’t you two ever stock up on groceries? The two of them were out, Mina was studying with Sohye at the library, and Nayoung was god knows where.

“I feel really bad accepting, but yes, that would be really kind of you…”

“It’s no problem,” you chuckled, “I hate eating alone anyways.”

“Did you used to eat alone a lot? You didn’t eat with your family?”

You froze as soon as she said family. Family, I wish I really had one. We only seem related by our names.

Sejeong realized she must’ve touched a sensitive topic. “I’m sor—“

“It’s okay, I couldn’t eat with them. They were all the way in China, while I was in Canada. They never really visited me. Don’t feel bad Sejeong-ssi.”

You started taking various ingredients out of your fridge, “Is kimchi jjigae okay with you? Or would you prefer something else?”

“That’s perfect, really you don’t have to go all out…”

“I’d feel bad if I didn’t at least try to make an impression on a pretty girl like you,” you drawled.

“Hyoseol-ssi, you’re so greasy!” Sejeong laughed.

“Woops, my bad, but it’s true though.” Grinning, you turned back to making the kimchi jjigae.

The sound of the door unlocking startled you both. You walked over to the door with a knife in hand. “Who the hell—“

“Chungha?” You dropped your knife, and ran to hug her. “You could have called me or texted me! I can’t believe I couldn’t find you all day!”

“Hey hey in my defense I was practicing for my competition! It’s really nice to see you though” she grinned. Then Chungha noticed that there was someone standing in the doorway.

“Ah Chungha, this is—“

“What are you doing here Sejeong?”

“Chungha… believe me, if I knew you’d be coming, I wouldn’t be here either.”

You looked confused, you could sense the tension between the two. There were literally sparks flying between the two of them.

“Chungha? What’s—“

“She’s my ex-girlfriend.”

Holy . I just played myself. I stepped on a line mine. You were mentally figuring out ways to diffuse the situation. Why do I have horrible luck? Hell, I couldn’t even handle my own ex.

“It’s okay, we broke up a year ago. It just feels weird to be meeting like this. Don’t worry Hyoseol-ssi.” Sejeong smiled.

“By the way, how do you know Chungha?”

“She’s the cousin of my ex-girlfriend.”