At the age of five, or the moment she started going to school, Seulgi was already warned about evil people. The witches of the world. The villains. The bad guys that would hurt her and abduct her when she became vulnerable like those princesses who were kidnapped and hidden in a faraway castle.

Her mother, who never failed to remind her, made it clear that she should steer away from these people. The naivety of little Seulgi made her nod her head fiercly while imagining the ugly people she saw on TV; big noses, zits all over their face, and balding.

Yes, the bad guys are the ugly ones. That's what she believed for many years and heeded to her mother's warning diligently.

But all her idea of the bad guy changed that one fateful afternoon while she was on the swing, gently pushing herself back and forth with a faraway look. She was then taken aback with the sight of the prettiest girl she saw.

Like snow white, her skin was fair and smooth. The sun made her look like she was shining, with its rays casting a soft golden halo while she blocked Seulgi's sight. Her brows were thick and dark, but scrunched up, creating lines between her brows. Her eyes was like what she read in that one science book- a black swirling mass of nothing, dark and deep and so... so... magnetic, as if pulling her to come closer and watch as the darkness consume her and swallow her whole.

Her lips, like the roses in her mother's garden was full and pink, but at that moment, it didn't look good on her face- being it contorted in a sneer.

With Seulgi's back aching, hands and knees scraped, and watching the retreating figure of the girl who kicked her, she realized that she has been shallow and stupid.

She believed she knew how bad guys looked. With that in mind, she thought she could avoid them at all cost, but life made her see that life is very much different from the movies and fairytales she loved so much.

Mrs. Kang, despite her warnings and lectures; has forgotten to remind her little girl one thing.

And that was to not judge a book by its cover.

Seulgi realized that she was never warned about the likes of her, who looked nothing like the evil witches in the movies.

In fact, Irene Bae could even fit the role of the princess stuck in the castle, the damsel in distress who's waiting for her knight in shining armor, or Belle or any Disney princess for that matter.

But regardless of her insane beauty, she wasn't like any of them. Princesses in movies weren't vile, selfish, conceited and utterly spoiled to the core.

Irene wasn't Belle or Jasmine, and definitely not Snow White.

She was the epitome of an evil queen, beautiful but filled with hate and all the bitterness in the world.

And Seulgi knew that that was worse than the bad guys she saw on TV.

Irene was much more terrifying than those. She's worse than those in boxed electronics- because Irene was tangible and so very real and Seulgi knew she had to avoid her at all cost.

//

"Why are you here?"

"I- Uh..." she stammered, looking at her polished black shoes and white socks. opened and closed, like a fish out of the water but no words came. Her heart was beating fast, making shut tight and her hands shake.

"I asked you," A sharp jab. An inaudible hiss. "Why are you here?" Then another one but this time, it stayed, digging her pointer finger on Seulgi's shoulder. 

Seulgi bit her lips, eyeing the offending digit and looking up at Irene who was an inch or two taller than her. Her eyes started to glaze, tears threatening to fall but it did not faze her. Not one bit.

Not even when the first tear fell, then the other. And another. Until Seulgi could taste the salt on her lips.

"I-" she backed away, trying to remove the sharp nail that was digging on her skin. "School. I- I transferred here." she uttered, her voice was barely a whisper, with a tint of fear. Fear that she could say the wrong thing.

She looked at Seulgi through her thick lashes, examining the small girl cowering in infront of her. The latter held her sore shoulders, still aching from the blows it received.

She scoffed and wiped her finger on Seulgi's shirt. "Then know your place, ugly."

Standing rigid and utterly humiliated, she nodded while looking at the other kids who saw everything but did nothing to help her.

Ever since then, Seulgi kept to herself, avoiding Irene Bae at all costs. It was easy, knowing that Irene was a year ahead of her, which means that she was in a different building than Seulgi's.

She also tried to make friends but knowing that Irene had confronted her that one time was enough for them to back away from her.

As a transferee, she kinda expected that she'll have a hard time coping and inserting herself in the established groups of their class. 

She was fine with being alone but sometimes it was unbearable not to be able to talk to someone and play with them. With all the books she has read, she didn't feel like her age. There were times that the loneliness she felt was too much, but she couldn't do anything to change that.

Using the thickest book she could find, she used to cover her face with it, pretending to be engrossed in reading. But the truth was, she was crying behind it, biting back sobs while imagining herself playing and having fun and having friends.

Humans learn to adapt to their surroundings, and eventually, she also did.

She got used to the knot in her stomach while looking at her classmates playing and giggling, while she, on the other hand, was alone in a corner with books laid infront of her, reading just to pass time.

Her life revolved around books and staying inside the library during recess, breaks and lunch, and sitting in the corner, and ducking her head when Irene was in the same area as she was.

One thing that she didnt expect was the bullying wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Yes, there were times where Irene would pick on her and laugh at whatever she's doing, but that didnt happen as often as she imagined.

Which made her think, maybe Irene wasn't bad as she thought.

//

It was a relief for Seulgi to be in the last two years of senior high school. She plans to move out to a different city and attend a different college once she graduates. That's what she wanted- no, that's what she dreams of but knowing their state in life, her future was still murky and unclear.

Alas, she need to take it slow. A step at a time and see where it leads so here she was, the first day of school, and Jisoo was bouncing on her feet with Seulgi beside her, telling her to calm down and keep still.

But it was futile to tame down a beast who had consumed two cups of iced americano, just to keep her eyes open because she spent last night playing games instead of sleeping. As a result she's hyper as ever but Seulgi could only shake her head and sigh while listening to the teacher.

Her mind was wandering somewhere else when a knock on the door pulled her out from her daydream.

Their teacher, Ms. Tiffany smiled warmly at the person who disturbed her class. Jisoo craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the stranger while Seulgi only groaned, annoyed at the disruption of her favorite topic: black holes and celestial bodies.

"Ah yes, you're the transferee, right?" Ms. Hwang said while walking towards the door.

"Transferee?" Jisoo beamed. As a social butterfly of their school, it was evident that she was excited to meet someone new and make friends. Seulgi never understood the reason of being friends with everyone so she just shrugged and slumped on her seat.

Her classmates gasped all at once, and Jisoo suddenly stopped bouncing on her seat. Seulgi wanted to know what's the ruckus all about but she didnt bother to lift up her head. What's the point when she wouldn't even try to make friends with whoever that is?

"Holy ."

Her ears rang and she snapped her head towards her friend, eyes widening at the first time she heard her curse. Her lips formed into a smirk, ready to clap at the offending word her friend muttered.

Kim Jisoo was also capable of cursing. Wow.

When she was about to clap, her ears perked at the familiar voice and her body turned rigid, hands hovering over one another- her clap frozen midway.

"Jesus, what's she doing here?"

It can't be, right?

Her family moved to a different city, right?

She cant-

"Ms. Bae?" Ms. Tifffany hummed and clapped, "I welcome you to our class, Ms. Bae. Please take the seat beside-."

No no no no no.

Seulgi's lips quivered as glanced towards the fresh meat. Her nightmare was confirmed when her eyes trailed the more mature version of her enemy.

Of course.

Despite the years that has passed, nothing has changed.

"She still looks the same."

Still pretty. Still ing breathtaking.

Unfair. How can time be so nice to her? How can-

Irene briefly looked at her side, her eyes lighting up at the recognition but it quickly returned to its usual glint, her lips tugging at the corner while giving Seulgi a small nod.

She's really back.

And by the look she gave her, Seulgi knew she was ed.

//

"Why is she here?" Jisoo hissed under her breath while looking at the table flocked with students from each year.

Seulgi has learned over the years that Irene was like gravity. She pulls people tow