17 years old; 8 years ago.

Life was so unfair.

I had to share my name with so many other Lee Seoyeon across the country. That alone was already infuriating. I blamed my parents for giving me such a common name that I must share with thousand others.

That wasn’t the worst part of being Lee Seoyeon, though.

I should be thankful I was Lee Seoyeon; the name had a very good meaning behind it. I was glad it didn’t to be called that, but because so many Lee Seoyeon I came to know lived up to their name: Seo (‘favorable’) and Yeon (‘beautiful’), I felt so inferior to them.

There was Lee Seoyeon who won the 1998 Miss Korea pageant. The Lee Seoyeon from Busan who was now a popular actress on tv. A Lee Seoyeon who got married to the son of the largest department store in Seoul. Lee Seoyeon who was a gold medallist swimmer in the 2001 Olympics. Lee Seoyeon who was a well-known Judge in the Seoul District Court back in 2004.

And there was also Lee Seoyeon who was a student at the same school as mine, who was really pretty and smart that all the boys swoon whenever she passed by.

Then there was me. ‘Just’ Lee Seoyeon who had nothing to be proud of. The latest version of Lee Seoyeon who was the most average of them all. The Lee Seoyeon who would put all Lee Seoyeons to shame.

Mom said I was lucky because I looked like her in her twenties. Twenty years old was the prime age for young adults and I couldn’t agree any more that she was really pretty as a teen when I saw one of her old pictures and that I was seconds to being that beauty.

I was sure that whenever I looked at the mirror, I could compliment myself for having fair skin and doe-like eyes that were bright against the sunlight. Though my hair wasn’t that straight or voluminous, it was smooth after being treated well every single day and after being combed properly. I was fairly tall at 5’5 and was slender. I could say that I looked fine. Not stunning, but yes I looked okay as a teen. I didn’t wear makeup, but I looked presentable.

In terms of academics, I was doing fine too. I wasn’t that smart smart kind of student who could pass a test with flying colors even if they didn’t study the day of, but I knew that I was hard working at school. I studied and stayed up late when I had to, to do point I’d get a nosebleed. I participated in some school events to boost my grades and did my best not to do any kind of trouble.

However, in comparison to the other Lee Seoyeon, I was reduced to nothing since she transferred in freshman year of high school.

The pretty and smart Lee Seoyeon was my complete opposite. She grew up from a well-off family of doctors while my parents were only fairly living by because of the family restaurant they were running. She was an only child, so she was easily spoiled with many things that fascinated many kids at school—she often had the latest gadgets. You name it and she had it! Plus, she was so pretty she received many love letters in her locker which was just five lockers from mine. Boys fall at her feet without her even trying. And she was so smart that she was always on top. The teachers favoured her most because of her pleasing personality too.

She didn’t have any single bad bone in her that it was hard to hate her.

That even if I often unintentionally got in trouble because we had the same name—yes, I got annoyed whenever I was constantly compared to her—I couldn’t find it in myself to wal