"Who's that?"

"Is that Chuggi?"

"That fat girl who always lag behind in PE?"

"No way."

"Wow! she's hot now."

Loud whispers can be heard around the banquet hall of Sheraton Hotel as Kang Seulgi strolls in confidently in a white Armani suit for her high school reunion. After ten years, these people haven't grown up at all. They still like to talk and gossip behind people's back.

She gives off a small and welcoming smile, a smile reserved for business meetings and networking when a group of girls walks toward her with small waves as if they were long lost friends. Such friendly smiles that Seulgi doesn't remember ever being the receiving end of it back in high school at all.

"Hi! Are you really Kang Seulgi?" the leader of the pack asks. Park Junhi was her name if Seulgi remembered correctly.

"Yup. The one and only!" she smiles charmingly at the group.

"Wow. You have really changed a lot! You were so f-" the leader elbows the girl before she can continue and glares pointedly at her.

But the message of the sentence didn't go unnoticed though.

"Years of working kind of forces you to shed off those extra weights." Seulgi replies the unfinished statement with a small and unhidden laugh, not at all awkward at the unstated fact that she was chubby back in high school.

"Oh? What do you do?" Junhi tries to change the topic.

"I own a small business doing interior design." Seulgi answers humbly but the girl in the back had already searched her up and is whispering the information to the leader.

"She's the founder and lead designer of Kang Design. It said here that she's a fast-rising young designer in the U.S and is slowly becoming one of the most sought-after interior designers for homes and apartments in Hollywood and Brooklynn. She was also on Forbes 30 under 30s not only as a young and promising entrepreneur but as an artist too!"

Junhi can’t help but swoon a little at the eligible bachelorette in front of her. So not only has Kang Seulgi transformed into a hot, y, confident woman but she has also made a name for herself in this competitive world at such a young age. I guess a lot of things can happen in 10 years.

The once shy, stumbling, stuttering, loner Kang Chuggi has now become a charming, charismatic, and oozing with confident Kang Seulgi. Who would have thought?

Seulgi indulges them in small talks until she saw another woman strolling in the banquet hall with her bright red dress and Louis Vuitton bag, waving at the crowd as if she was just crowned Miss Universe. Seulgi excuses herself from the group and struts toward the woman. Her only friend in high school. Someone who defies all the social hierarchy in high school and didn't care what everyone thinks. The one who befriends whoever that catches her interest, be it the jocks or the band geeks, or the loner Kang Seulgi.

"What the hell, Park Sooyoung! You told me were here already!"

"What. The main star always arrives late, only when there's already a crowd to admire her presence." Sooyoung continues waving at her crowd, a scattered few, not even batting an eyelid at the young designer.

Seulgi pulls her off to the side to avoid her embarrassing them any further with her silly waves.

"I still can't believe I let you convince me into coming to this reunion." Seulgi groans in the corner, glad to finally be able to drop the façade of an amicable schoolmate.

Well, that accusation finally caught Sooyoung's attention and she gives the girl next to her an incredulous look. "I made you come here?" She raises her tone questionably. "All I did was bring this reunion to your attention and perhaps suggest that you might be able to see a certain Bae again." She wiggles her eyes at the mention of the name. Leave it up to her friend to expose the young charismatic designer like that.

Seulgi blushes shyly at the mention of her longtime high school crush.

 Bae Joohyun, the school flower, the most popular and well-rounded student in school. She was not only beautiful and smart but also very kind and considerate. Everyone in school was in love with her, guys, girls, and Seulgi was no exception. The girl was a walking saint. Even though she was soft-spoken, she always stood up for the bullied, and of course, no one wanted to make an enemy out of the school beloved.

--

Seulgi still remembers when her heart first beat for the girl. It was the summer of her second year when they had to run two miles as a final test for P.E. The chubby Seulgi then was in no condition to run two miles much less two miles under the blazing sun.

One mile in and she was already huffing and puffing with each step. People were lapping her and sneering at the noticeably drenching her shirt. Sigh. Why did I wear a grey shirt today!

"Ew.. Chuggi. I can see your fat bouncing up and down 300 meters away!"

"Watch it, Chuggi. I'm gonna slip on your sweats."

The boys running pass her were cackling and the throwing mean remarks each time they lap her.

Seulgi was already struggling to finish her test. She did not need this extra baggage to slow her down. She was used to people teasing her for her weight but that didn't mean it doesn't hurt.

Her legs were already losing strength when her full-time bully decided to bump against her shoulder as he ran by causing her knees to buckle and fall against the rough track.

"Ugh. I touched her sweat! Someone decontaminate me!" the boy ran away yelling after his friends while cackling. 

"That's not nice!" a soft, angelic voice yelled after them but they were too far to care. "Are you okay?" the voice turned toward Seulgi and she saw slender arms reaching for her elbow for help when she glanced up. She flinched away from the touch, self-conscious of the sweats layering her arm.

The person noticed but reached for it regardless. Bae Joohyun is not the school angel for no reason. She gave Seulgi a soft and dazzling smile before grabbing her elbow to help her up. "Don't listen to them Seulgi. You can do it! I'll run with you."

Bae Joohyun knows her name? Of course, she does. She's the class president. It's her job to know every student's name. Don't over think this Kang Seulgi.

"B-but...I-I'm slow...” Seulgi stuttered in response as she continued her run with slow steps. "It's okay. I was getting tired anyway." Joohyun followed her at the same pace.

She knew that Joohyun was probably doing this to keep those bullies away and she was grateful because every time those jerks passed by, they just pass by without bothering her and calling her names. Joohyun would give her reassuring smiles every few hundred meters or so as if to say keep going, you're doing a good job! And Seulgi's heart would be fluttered as they made eye contacts. She knew she was crushing on the school angel when the subtle skipping of her heart every time Joohyun smiled overshadowed the pounding of her breath from the strenuous run.

---

"By the way. Where is she?" Sooyoung's voice brings Seulgi back to reality as the girl looks around the banquet hall for anyone that even resemble the school beauty. I mean how hard can it be to locate someone as beautiful as Bae Joohyun in a hall of only 80 plus people. But try as she might, she can't find her.

"Hm...I don't see her. Is she not coming?" Sooyoung walks around with Seulgi in tow. It would be a lie to say that the young designer doesn't want to meet her crush again. Sure, she wants to thank Joohyun for her kindness back then but a big part of her also wants to show Joohyun the person she has become. She's confident enough to stand next to the popular Bae Joohyun now without feeling like an extra baggage that needed protection. Maybe they can even have a proper conservation and be friends. Or More. Seulgi grins at the possibility.

"Do you guys know if Bae Joohyun is coming?" Sooyoung approaches a group of girls who were laughing among themselves, a different group from those that were talking to Seulgi earlier, people who were considered Joohyun's inner circle in high school.

"Ooh!? Park Sooyoung! Is that you?" One girl greets enthusiastically. "We actually haven't been in touch with her for years. She kind of disappeared off the grid years ago. The last time I heard from her was when she was still a student at UC Berkeley." The girl turns to another female in the circle and asks "Do you know anything, Wendy? I know you guys were closer."

The said girl jerks a little at the mention of her name. "N-not sure. We haven't been in contact either." She answers tersely but the stutters did not go unnoticed by Sooyoung’s sharp eyes. But who is she to expose the girl's lie.

"Well if you get in touch with her, let her know that Kang Seulgi wants to see her again." She addresses the whole group but winks at Wendy before pulling her friend away from the group.

"What the hell was that?" Seulgi reprimands the girl in a loud hiss once they're away from the group and away from the crowd, back to the corner where they were at.

"You'll thank me later." was all Sooyoung said while keeping a close eye on Wendy in their corner. She was trailing Wendy to see if the girl would make any move to contact her friend.  The way the girl stuttered and hesitated at the earlier question made Sooyoung suspects that the girl has been in touch with Bae Joohyun and might call her to let her know of the events happening at the reunion. Her eyes never left Wendy until she follows Wendy's gaze toward the commotion near the drinks table.

When she looks over, she notices that Seulgi was already there helping the waitress cleaning up the mess with fallen wine glasses and spilled drinks on the refreshment table.

"What the hell!? What kind of service is this!? Who's your boss?!" One of the guys was making a big fuss over the spilled drinks on his suit.

"I-I'm s-sorry, sir." the waitress stutters out an apology with a ninety-degree bow, clearly shaken by the event and his overreacting anger.

"Goddammit! Do you know how much this suit cost!? Probably more than a month worth of your salary!" he continues to yell boastingly at the bowing waitress, just wanting everyone in the room to know what a fancy suit he's donning.

"I'm sure your $800 Calvin Klein is expensive, but you probably got that at a rental for $200 just for this event seeing how the blazer is not fitted to your waist and the pants are an inch too short for your limps." Seulgi lifts the bowing girl out of her posture as she gives a detailed analysis of the guy's outfit.

"It's more than needed but here's $200 for the dry cleaner, you can use the rest to buy yourself a new attitude." She pulls out two bills from her wallet and stuffs it in his wet blazer pocket. "Though that might cost you your whole fortune." she adds before pulling the waitress away from the mess. She shots the jerk a smug smirk when she saw how beef red he's turning at the exposed facts.

"Are you okay?" her attention is finally back to waitress and Seulgi now has time to study the girl when she lifted her head to thank her savior.

She looks like your average waitress with her black and white uniform and her hair tied in a bun. She could be considered pretty with her dainty face and high cheekbones if she put in some effort to make herself presentable. But instead, her pale lips made her already milky skin even paler and the dark circles under her eyes added at least 10 years to her age. More importantly, there is an aura of insecurity and unconfidence surrounding her that masks any attraction that she can potentially exude.

"Y-yes. Thank you for your help. Miss" the girl gives another 90-degree bow, out of habit.

Her voice. Seulgi is a little surprised at how familiar her voice is but snaps out of it quickly. She almost sounds like Bae Joohyun if not for the nervous stutters laced within the tone and the name tag that reads Irene. "You're welcoming, Irene-shi." She pats the girl on the shoulder and gives her a charming smile, one reserved for important clients only.

Years of business dinners and meeting potential partners and clients had taught Seulgi to discern different types of people and no way is this person in front of her is the popular and confident Bae Joohyun that Seulgi has been crushing on for years. There’s just no way!   

The waitress blushes at the charming girl in front of her but her eyes widen in shock, or maybe in recognition when she gets a clearer picture of who the person in front of her is. She shies away quickly and retreats back into the kitchen, almost afraid that the girl will recognize her. But who is she kidding? No one is going to recognize her. No one will believe that the class president and valedictorian of their year would have ended up as a waitress for a catering company. Much less, a disheveled mess of a minimum wage earner.  

Irene didn’t come out of the kitchen for the remainder of the reunion and no one at the reunion knew where Bae Joohyun is or had been. Seulgi can’t help but left the reunion disappointed. 

---

“By the way, Kang Seulgi was looking for you at the reunion.”

“Oh? Why? We didn’t really talk much in high school. I don’t see why she would be looking for me”

“Don’t know. That’s what Sooyoung said.” Wendy sips on her coffee as she retells the events at the reunion to her best friend. “But my gosh, you saw her right? Total 180 from the chubby loner in high school! Tall and y! Heard she’s quite a successful business woman too.” Her eyebrows almost reaching the top of her head to express her shock.

“Yea. She helped me out when that jerk gave me a hard time for knocking the drink on his suit.” Joohyun shrugs nonchalantly at her friend’s shock, trying to mask her own admiration for the young designer.

“Anyway Joohyun, here.” Joohyun knows where this is going when her friend slips her a stack of paper with jobs from different news company. “Promise me you’ll apply to these jobs! I have some connections with them, I’m sure they can get you an interview if you just apply!” Wendy nags at her friend and shoves the paper in her purse when the girl made no attempt to take the stack of paper.

It’s not that she’s not thankful for Wendy for trying but it is just…she has lost the motivation to even try. Let’s just say that life has not been smooth sailing for Joohyun.

She was a highly motivated and confident sophomore majoring in journalism when her father passed away. As the oldest in the family, she decided to drop out of college to help her now-single mother supports her two siblings. Without the credential, she was forced to pick up various dead-end jobs. Even so, she didn’t want to give up on being a journalist. She applied for internships and entry positions in the industry but after hundreds of rejections or so, she just lost the confidence and the motivation to try.

Eventually thoughts like why bother? Not like they’ll hire someone with only a high school degree plaque her mind and she started to settle for loose ends jobs to make ends meet. She became complacent with it over the years and never bother to try to get back into the industry despite her friend’s constant nagging. She just completely let herself go over the years making up excuses that she has no extra money for make-up and fashion and it’s not like she needed to dress up when she has to wear uniforms for work anyway.       

“You can’t live in the shadow forever Joohyun! Look at Kang Seulgi! Just think what will she says if she ever sees you in this state.”

Joohyun tries to ignore her friend’s nagging voice but she can’t help but hear the reasons in it. Kang Seulgi…sigh. Maybe I should start trying again. She grips the paper in her purse and makes a promise to herself that she will apply to the jobs that Wendy gave her.

---

A month passed since Wendy handed her the list of jobs and the paper still sits in Joohyun’s purse, untouched. Her excuses are that she has been picking up more shifts at her catering job and hasn’t had the time.

It was a typical Saturday for Joohyun as she is walking around the ballroom of the Marriott carrying a tray filled with finger snacks at some year-end party for a company, walking around absentmindedly as these business people mingle and network. Occasionally, one would beckon her to come by as he or she places an empty glass on her tray.

Two more hours until her shift ends and she can rest her tired feet at the comfort of her own home.

She is called over by to a table nearby and is asked to clear the table of wine glasses and bring them more drinks when she feels a sleazy hand on the back of her thigh inching its way up. Bae Joohyun can tolerate drunk, rude and obnoxious customers but the things she will never tolerate are sleazy erts!

"What the hell do you think you are doing!?" She grabs his hand from her thigh and gives him a slap across the face. "I swear guys like you who think they can just take advantage of others like this are the worse. Have you no shame!?" She raises her voice and lectures him right in the middle of the ballroom, in front of all his colleagues.

Though soft-spoken, her voice caught a lot of people's attention, especially a certain company founder who has been anxiously searching for that voice once again.

Bae Joohyun!? Kang Seulgi looks around for the source of the voice until her eyes landed on the waitress at a table in the corner of the room. That's definitely her voice. She wouldn't have mistaken that righteous and justified tone Joohyun used every time she lectured those bullies and jerks in school.

She gets up and walks toward the commotion to get a better look at the girl when the manager of the catering company rushes over to apologize.

"I'm sorry, sir, for her rude behavior." He bows deeply as he apologizes for his employee’s outburst while trying to get Joohyun to bend at the apology too.

When she doesn't relent, he looks up from the bow and gives her a glare. "Bae Joohyun! Apologize to our customer right now or else!" He hisses at her in a threatening manner. As subtlety as he tried to be, his hiss didn't go unnoticed by Seulgi.

She is Bae Joohyun! The young designer eyes her crush excitedly. They said people are often blinded by love. It is unclear whether the young designer is blinded or unblinded by love, but all of a sudden, the waitress's light pink lips are no longer too pale for her milky skin. Instead, her light make-up painted a layer of the innocence and purity of the girl and her messy buns made her look awfully cute in Seulgi's eyes.

How dare he lays his hand on Bae Joohyun. Her Bae Joohyun. Anger boils up the usually calm and collected founder as the sleazeball continues to cause a commotion for the girl, seeing how she's not apologizing at all for slapping him.

Joohyun is about to call it quit and storms out of the ballroom, forgoing her salary for the day, when a commanding voice demands, "What's going on here?"

Seulgi walks up to the commotion in her black business suit with the CEO of Kang Design, Park Sooyoung, and the CFO, Kim Yerim, flanking her. She tries to sound calm and neutral on the surface but the way she faces the guy and stares him down when she asked that said otherwise.

"K-Kang-nim." the guy addresses Kang Seulgi first even though the CEO is only inches away because even though Miss Kang forgo the executive right's to Miss Park to focus on designing, everyone in the company knows that she's the founder and the ultimate decision maker of the company. "N-nothing. Just a little accident here." He tries to diffuse the problem now that the executives are involved.

"Oh really?" She takes one step closer to Joohyun as if to announce whose side she's on when she faces the manager and asked that.

One look and the manager knows exactly which is the losing side, but instead of explaining, he just bows and apologizes to the woman in front before scurrying away with the excuse of finding someone to clean up the table.

Seulgi ignores the manager and turns her attention to Joohyun. Her eyes soften at the girl in front of her. "Are you okay?" She grabs the hand that she had used to slap the guy and tries to rub away the redness at the hard impact.

"Uh-" Before Joohyun can say anything a storm of apologies interrupted her and she glances over to see the sleazeball bowing and apologizing to the young designer.

"I'm sorry Kang-nim! I didn't know she was your friend!"

"Don't apologize to me. It wasn't me who you offended." Seulgi voices her opinion coldly without even glancing at the guy.

"I'm so sorry, Miss! I didn't know you were such an important guest. I promised to never do it again!!" He turns towards Joohyun and keeps bowing and apologizing to the waitress.

Joohyung hasn't expected things to have taken this turn. She was ready to quit just a minute ago and now the guy is apologizing to her profusely and all eyes are on her. She wasn't going to forgive him but then what. She already slapped him.

Seulgi steps in when she senses Joohyun's discomfort. "Yerim, can you please make sure that Mr. Park here is held accountable for his action? Notify HR to deal with the situation accordingly." She turns to Yerim and instructs her to handle the case. Trusting the young CFO to know what she has in mind.
 

Yerim gives a small nod before calling security over to Mr. Park away from the party. They probably won't see him again on Monday.
 

"Um-" Joohyun clears to get their attention. "I should probably get back to work too." She tries to get away from the attention that the big shots in the company are attracting.

"W-wait." Seulgi calls her back. She doesn't want to let her high school crush slips away again. "Bae Joohyun. D-do you remember me? Kang Seulgi? Fat Chuggi in high school?" She looks at her eagerly, hoping that the nickname might strike some recognition.

Joohyun giggles at her earnest revelation. “Of course I remember you, Kang Seulgi.” She didn’t think Seulgi would bring up her past nickname in front of the people in her company just like that. “I really have to get back to work though, before my manager scolds me.” She makes another attempt to leave. 

“Wait!” Seulgi pulls on her black uniform vest while trying to find an excuse to converse with the girl. They were not particularly close in high school so she can’t really use the excuse of old friends catching up. But what the heck.

“It’s been awhile…hic...Can I...hic…” Gosh really? You choose now to be nervous? She tries her best to stop the hiccups but the harder she tries the more she hiccups. It’s some annoying nervous mechanism that her body goes through every time she gets too worked up. It mainly kicks in only when Bae Joohyun is involved though. 

“have your..hic..number? she tries her best to finish her question. “Since…it’s been…hic..awhile?” She didn’t even realize that she’s repeated herself. ”Catch up..?” hiccup. She doesn’t even bother speaking in complete sentences anymore.

Joohyun smiles at the hiccupping girl in front of her and cups her cheeks with her palms, a ritual she did every time the taller girl hiccups. “You still have that habit of hiccupping when you talk huh?” Only when you’re around. Seulgi thought inwardly. Seulgi slowly reclaims her voice once her nerves calmed down as she gets lost in the dark brown pools of Bae Joohyun’s eyes.

“So, can I have your number?” She asks shyly.

Joohyun lets go of her cheeks once the young designer stopped hiccupping. “Uh-, maybe next time?” She didn’t think there would be a next time anyway. Why bother reconnecting with old friends and having to explain her uneventful life just to have them drop out of it once they get tired. And just like that she left, leaving the disappointed Seulgi to watch as her back disappears into the crowd of people.   

---

 Joohyun didn’t expect next time to come this quickly when her catering company picked up a last-minute request to serve at the opening of an art museum in downtown Los Angeles.

“Hi, Bae Joohyun!” Seulgi sneaks up next to her with a cheeky grin while she was walking around the museum with a tray of drinks in hand, almost causing her to drop the whole thing in shock.

“Kang Seulgi! What are you doing here?”

 “The curator of the museum is an acquaintance and I was invited as a guest. What a coincident, right?” And I might have requested that she changes the catering company to yours. She explains with a rehearsed script and ends with a cheeky grin to hide what was unsaid.

“Y-yea…” Joohyun is unsure what to think. She had not seen Kang Seulgi in ten years and all of a sudden she’s seeing her twice in two weeks?

“So, how have you been?”

 “I’ve been good. Just working and living. How about you? I heard from Wendy that you were looking for me?” She answers tersely and changs the topic while looking straight ahead and keeping a steady pace around the museum.   

“I’ve been good too. Uh- yea. I’ve always wanted to thank you. For what you did in high school.”

Seulgi's statement catches Joohyun’s attention and she finally faces the girl for the first time just to notice that the taller girl has been staring at her this whole time.  

"For what?" She is racking her brain trying to remember what she had done for the young designer to want to thank her ten years later.

"For helping me out."  For being there. For being my inspiration and role model. You were the reasons that I was able to build Kang Design to the company it is today. Seulgi wants to say more but she is too shy to say what is on her mind. She might just hiccups again if she tries.

Before Joohyun can ask any further, a group of well-dressed business people is walking toward them and greeting the girl next to her. A series of "Kang-nim" "Seulgi-shi” and "Miss Kang" are thrown their way.

Seulgi gives them a curt nod in acknowledgment before turning her attention back to Joohyun.

"Shouldn’t you be mingling and talking to more important people here?" The waitress is genuinely curious as to why Seulgi is sticking to her.

"But I am! To me, you are the most important person here."

Johyun stares at her quizzingly as if to decipher whether she is being polite or just joking but all she sees is sincerity in Seulgi’s eyes. So sincere that she can't help but averts her gaze when she feels the slight flutters of her heart.

"Anyway. I was serious when I said I wanted to catch up last time." Seulgi continues with a cheeky grin. And this time Joohyun allows herself to trust the young designer a little as they pace the museum in even steps.

Their conversation revolves mainly around Seulgi asking questions and Joohyun answering.

It has been awhile since she last shared so much of her life with someone other than Wendy. It would be a lie if she said she doesn’t feel special at how the young designer focuses all her attention on her and her only. As if she is genuinely curious about Joohyun's life, as boring as it is.

One round around the building and Seulgi already figure out Joohyun’s favorite detergent brand.

Second round around the building and Seulgi hears all about the various jobs Joohyun has had.

Third round around the building and Seulgi is head over heel all over again at how self-sacrificing the girl is.

Even though Joohyun is doing most of the talking, she finds the taller girl quite a charming and funny character. Very different from how she remembered high school Kang Seulgi to be. And her adorable reactions would make Joohyun giggles and laughs out loud repeatedly, despite trying to be professional.

Seulgi, on the other hand, pretty much ignores all her colleagues at the party and gives Bae Joohyun all the attention she deserves. If it was up to her, she would rather take the girl away from the crowd and sits her down at a nice restaurant where they could talk freely without people interrupting them with greetings once in a while. But, unfortunately, it is not up to her.

---

"Oh ho. So is she the reason why you asked me for the last minute changes?" The two was so lost in their conversation that they didn't even notice a person is approaching them with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Taeyeon unnie!" Seulgi jumps at the presence of the curator and her long-time friend.

The older girl ignores her donsaeng and goes straight to the girl next to her. "Hi! I'm Kim Taeyeon. The curator of this museum. And you are?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bae Joohyun."

"Oh-ho. So YOU are Bae Joohyun. Seul-" before she can continue, the young designer is already pulling her away to prevent her from saying more.

"Bye Bae Joohyun! I'll see you soon." Seulgi says matter of factly before waving bye to the waitress.