At five o’clock, my alarm clock woke me up, and as I turned off the alarm I sat up on my super comfy king size-bed with memory foam mattress. As I walked around the bed, I took the remote and the sound system to start off my morning. Singing along to No Tears Left to Cry by Ariana Grande, I heads for the bathroom.

Looking at the mirror, I noticed the dark circles under my eyes, evidence of the sleepless night. With all those tossing and turning for hours, all night with Mr. Yoo’s niece problem running through my head. I just have this strong feeling that she is going to be an unsolvable problem. By taking this tutoring job somehow feels like it’s going to break me and put the fate of my reputation at the mercy of a stranger I have never meet. Okay, so I sound like a whiny girl, but I am a girl and a girl have the right worry about everything and definitely whining.

I stare at myself in the mirror. My toothbrush is hanging out of my mouth a steady stream of toothpaste drool falling to the sink. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I gave him my answer. My decision was clouded with emotion which totally unlike me. It must have been the way that he look, the sadness in his eyes, the cracking sound of his voice. He caught me in a moment of weakness. I couldn’t think about what was right and what was wrong. What can I say, I am a girl with a soft heart. But I have made up my mind.

“That’s it, Yongsun. You are going to see Mr. Yoo today and tell him that you can’t do it,” I say to myself in the mirror.

This case is too unpredictable. It could help me but is more likely to destroy me. I am in no position to be destroyed, beside it’s my final year. I need to focus on myself. I worked too hard for what I have. Determined not to get bully through high school, I watch what I ate, started going to the gym on the summer before ninth grade, and got a pair of contacts. Maybe I wasn’t one of the jocks or popular, but at least I stopped getting picked on. I am not attending any parties, but I am still getting respect for my good grades.

After a quick shower, I slipped into a robe and dry up my hair before walks into my bedroom. Walking into my dressing room and grabs on one from dozen of my uniform hanging neatly on the rack. Not forgetting to turn off the song before I left the room, I heads downstairs into the kitchen.

As I enters the kitchen’s room I was greeted by my mom and dad already seated at the table. My father was reading the newspaper, a cup of coffee in his hand. He noticed me as he looked over the paper and said, “Morning, sweetie” he smiles.

“Morning dad” I heads over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

I heads over to my mom to do the same, she put down her phone immediately waiting for me to walks over her, “Morning mom”.

She kiss me back and chuckles “Morning to you too, love”.

My dad has the reputation for being one of the best surgeons at Seoul Medical Centre. Plus he is the head surgeon. The hospital said to be the largest medical institution in South Korea. When he is not at hospital, he plays tennis with our neighbour who also works at the same place with him. When he is not doing both, he is the greatest dad in the world to me. As for my sweet and loving mom, she owned my dad’s work place. That’s right she is my dad boss. Before her, my granddad is my dad boss. My dad was the youngest surgeon and was already one of the best. He immediately caught my granddad attention with his passion and love for his job. My granddad who is already retired and now with his wife travelling around the world, adored my dad so much that he always invited him for dinner. Hence he fall in love with his boss one and only daughter. As for my mom, she falls in love with my dad’s charm at first sight.

As I sat down on the chair, the cooking maid set a plate with two fried eggs, two pieces of bacon and two pieces of toast is place in front of me. I wished her thanks. We started eating and we had a great conversation just like every other morning.  After breakfast I grabbed on my bag and my parents gave me a huge hugs and told me that they love me a lot and reminded me not to skip my meal at school. I only skips it once and they been nagging at me since then. We went on separate ways, my parents to the hospital while I heads to school with Mr. Lee, my driver.

***

After a few minutes of driving, I finally arrived in front of my school gates. I reminded Mr. Lee that I will text him ten minutes earlier when I’m ready to go home. He nods and wished me a good luck. I chuckles at him and shakes my heads.

Well I told him. I told him about tutoring Mr. Yoo’s niece. I need some opinions. I need some advices and he is a man with good advices. It’s not like my parents are not good at giving one, it’s just that Mr. Lee treat me more like a friend than a high school girl or a daughter. So his thought won’t be bias as he try to see from my point of view. And I’m happy he’s on my side. He think that this is not the time for me to worry about someone else problem. So we think alike. I was like I know right. He gave me a few suggestions and one of them gave me an idea.   

I waves him goodbye and got off the car.

Looking at my school, I can say that my school has the most beautiful school building in Seoul, if not in all South Korea. With its turreted tower, triple ogre arch, and clerestory of five arched windows two stories high across the front façade, it rose like a castle from land that within living memory had been an empty large open area of grassland. And at the back of the buildings, the area are huge. Complete with two tennis court and a race track which is next to a big two storey building for the basketball team and the swimming club for each level. There’s also a football field and a big baseball diamond on the other side of the football field, further away from the school ground.

Walking into my class, I checked my watch and I’m still early. The class still half empty. Most probably still on their way and some mostly still hanging out at other classroom.

“Yongsun-ah” my classmate calls me as soon as I put my bag on my table.

Without looking at her I s my bag and casually pulls out my notebook and hands it over to her, “Here take it” I chuckles. 

Soo Jung who prefers to be called Krystal. Like her name, she is a girl with a pretty face and of course, pretty face always attract boys. She is daddy little girl who her dad owned a modeling company. Her big sister was a top supermodel. And her dream is as soon as she graduate, to be just like her sister. I likes her, she’s friendly and bubbly. Sometimes she can be cold and a bit mean but only to someone overstepped her bounds. What I don’t likes about her, is that I know Eric also likes her. I know I’m being petty for no reason. But what can I say I’m just a girl who likes a boy who doesn’t seem to notice me. Just like right now.

I pouts as how Eric was smiling as he approaches Krystal’s table. He leans down to whispers something in her ear which makes her giggles and hits him lightly on his shoulder. Ugh, I hates this. I had to witness their lovey-dovey scene every damn morning. His class are next room but he would always stop by to meet her before he went to his classroom.

“Stop killing her with your stares”

“Shut up! Leave me alone” I hissed at the only person who would pissed me off when I already am. Yes the one and only Ahn Hyejin.

She laughs as she sat down on her seat which is next to me. She wasn’t supposes to sit next to me in the beginning, hell we wasn’t even supposed to be in the same class this year. I don’t know what happen or what she did when the next day I came in and there she was, sitting at the table next to mine. I confusedly asked her why she’s here and not in her class and she just gave me a shrugged and told me she switched. I don’t how she did it because all I know no one had ever thought about changing classes not only it was not allowed but also Miss Bae Yoon Jung is one scary person. But clearly nothing scares Hyejin.

“You should by now know that you should give up already” she said as she leans closer and pokes my cheek repeatedly.

I swats her hand away and glares at her. That’s only makes her laughs harder. Making every pairs of eyes in the class turning our way, except for Eric’s because he’s busy smiling brightly and waving at Krystal as he’s walking away. For a brief seconds everyone were staring before turning away acting like nothing happen. Even if her laughter were so loud to the extended it would cause a bleeding ears. No one would dares say a word. Because she is Ahn Hyejin. If Krystal is the Princess then she is the Queen. And no one dares to mess with the Queen. Why? Because she said so. Not because her father making billions every years with a shipping company. And not any shipping company. It’s the biggest and most successful around Asia. It’s just because she is what she is.   

“So what’s up with Mr. Yoo?” she asked.

I glanced at her. I am debating whether I should tell her or not since I was going to see Mr. Yoo during lunch to tell him I’m stepping down and I will looks for a replacement. Bae Joo-hyun. I thinks she would agree. She should be. She owned me a favour. She said she would repay anytime. We exchange tutoring once. She was having a trouble communicating with a student who turns out to be the creepy stalker she’s been telling me. I remember her face turned white the moment she saw the guy’s face on the day he walks in with his parents into the meeting room.

Before I could say a word to Hyejin, the teacher walks in, “follows me during lunch” I whispers to her.

***

“So he asked you to tutor his niece?” she asked me as we walks along side by side to the library. We were told that she already heads to the library by one of her classmates when we try to looks for her.

“Yeap”

“And you gonna turn him down after you said yes to him?”

My steps stopped abruptly, and I turned myself facing her. She stares at me. I stares at her. We were staring at each other. Okay I don’t the way her questioning me. She makes it sounds like I gave Mr. Yoo a false hope in attempt to keep my reputation and so I could makes myself looks good in his eyes. So I don’t feel bad at myself for turning him down on the spot.

“What, did I just makes you sound like a loser who gave false hope to her beloved principal?” she smirks as she crossed her arms around her.

Her eyes piercing into my eyes like a laser beam. It’s giving me chills all over my body when we plays this staring contest. Her stares are just too strong and intimidating. If she was not born as a human, she would definitely be born as a lion. That’s how terrifying her stares is. She’s gave me this I’m-challenging-you-to-prove-me-wrong attitude. She knows she hits a bullseye because my face probably as red as tomato and she was smirking. And she smirks when she’s right.

My teeth are clenched, my jaw is tight, and my pulse is pounding in my head. She did not just call me loser. I am Kim Yongsun and I am anything but a loser. I look down on the floor and inhale a breath. Then another. And one more before I looks up and face her stupid smirking face again.

I’m ready to counters her when my name was called, “Yongsun?”

Joo-hyun was standing there looking confused at me and Hyejin. “What are you two doing here?” she asked.

Suddenly I noticed that we were blocking the library entrance. Not only that we were making a fool with ourselves as we draws some audience. More and more people stopped to looks. Whispering voices can be heard and judging eyes can be seen everywhere. Great just great.    

“Go on tell her” she dares me.

I turned and glares at her.

“Tell me what?” Joo-hyun cuts in.

I turns again to looks at Joo-hyun, “Nothing, I’m hungry. Bye” I turns around and walks away without waiting for a reply. I need to get out from these nosy people. Passing through the curious by stander one by one, I announce loudly so everyone, possibly and hopefully everyone along the hallway hears me, “I AM NOT A LOSER”.

One.

Two.

Three.

There she goes. The Queen laughs fills the hallway. Probably lauder than my public declaration a moment ago, because I am already twenty steps away and I can still hear her annoying laughs clearly in my ears.