The chiming of the school bell signified the time when students were supposed to be assembled for the morning parade. By the second bell, the stream of students towards the school hall decrease with a few entering last minute here and there. Among them was Bae Joohyun. The nerdy girl lugged her heavy school bag up the stairs as fast as she could while trying to keep her annoying glasses from sliding down. She was about to enter the school hall when a prefect stopped her.

“You are already too late. Detention.”

Joohyun winced and stood outside the hall for the rest of the morning parade.

Mid-anthem, a girl stumbled up the stairs, also in a hurry as well.

“No! Late again-“

“Shh!” Hushed the prefect. The girl, Kang Seulgi, apologized and stood in attention.

Once the school song was over, the late students were handed their late-coming slips and sent back to their class. Seulgi seemd to have disappered just as fast as she appeared. 

.

Joohyun formally met Seulgi once they were in detention. Joohyun chose to seat somewhere else but Seulgi was the one who came to sit beside her.

“Hi I’m-“

“Kang Seulgi. I know.” Joohyun interrupts. Who wouldn’t know Seulgi? She’s was the school’s most talked about girl because of that one time when she decided to whip out her dance moves during a school performance. What amazed everyone was that all of them only knew Seulgi as an average student and this new side of her caught them off guard. They definately liked it because the very next day, Kang Seulgi was the hot topic in school.

Joohyun had been observing her. It was not because the latter liked Seulgi but because Joohyun was an outcast in her school. All she could do during free periods or recess was just sit alone and watch her surroundings. One thing she took note of was that Seulgi became a brighter and more out-going girl with her newfound fame. Not that Joohyun despises it, she was uncomfortable with boisterous individuals.

“Oh.” Seulgi was caught off guard. But the latter shrugged it off and put on a smile again. “And you are…”

“J-Joohyun, Bae Joohyun.” Irene uttered.

“Wow! That’s a pretty name!” Seulgi hummed.

"What does you name mean?" Seulgi asked enthusiastically again.

“I’m not very comfortable with you being so close.” Irene said while she shrank away. Seulgi apologized. She didn’t notice that she was leaning too much towards the soft-spoken girl.

Both of them did not converse after that. Seulgi did try a few times but the guarded Joohyun never responded to her. In the end, Seulgi just gave up and used her phone.

Joohyun glanced at Seulgi and then to her phone. She was contemplating on whether to tell on her for breaking the rules. She was about to until she took note of the latter’s wallpaper. It was clearly an edited picture with a celebrity model Joohyun recognized in the middle, surrounded by rabbit and bear emoticons.

Joohyun decided not to focus on her work anymore and continued stealing glances at the chatroom that was moving rapidly.

Joohyun was so distracted that she didn’t even realize that detention was coming to an end. When the bell rang, she was the first to rush out of the classroom. Irene mentally cursed at herself for not being able to wake up in the morning and now she was late. By the time she got to the school foyer and switched her phone on, she already had 20 missed calls from Moonbyul.

Joohyun was about to call back when a van pulled up in front of her. She quickly hopped in.

“Ya, Bae joohyun! What the hell happened?!” Moonbyul asked in a frustrated tone.

“Come on… I’m sorry… Yesterday was too tiring~” Irene defended, adding a bit of aegyo in her voice. Moonbyul sighed in defeat.

“God, 15 minutes late and my ears are almost bleeding from the yapping of the photographer.” Moonbyul complained.

Joohyun chuckled as she rushed to do her makeup. Seeing her manager complain like an old man was so entertaining.

.

Irene Bae was the most sought-after celebrity. She was not only an all-rounder in photography shoots but also a great actress as well. The downside is, she had to complete at least a high school degree amidst her busy schedule. It was the company’s orders for the 21-year-old.

Irene Bae used her lesser known name “Joohyun” because she did not want to standout too much in school. The natural beauty was ecstatic when she learnt that light makeup, a different hairstyle and glasses would make her easily unrecognizable.

Wouldn;' you be offended instead? Moonbyul would always ask. Irene did at first but realised that living a quiet lif was all she should do. It was also company's orders to keep her celebrity status hidden. However, she did not expect her quiet nature to cause her to be outcasted in school. Irene heaved a sigh but shook it off quick when the photographer called her over for the shoot.

“How’s school?” Moonbyul, Irene’s manager, asked as she drove the latter home.

“Nothing exciting.” Irene deadpans.

“No friends still?”

“Let’s not talk about it.”

Moonbyul pursed her lips and nodded.

“Then… do you want to get anything before you get home?” Moonbyul asked.

“Sure, I’m craving for some ramen.” Irene answered.

Moonbyul dropped her off at the nearest convenience store that was still open late.

“You can go back first. My house is just across the road. You don’t have to worry.” Irene told Moonbyul.

Her manager was a little reluctant at first but seeing that Irene was having a bad day, she thought it would be better to give the latter some space.

“Wait.” Irene blurted.

Moonbyul turned around and raised her brow.

“I think I left my purse in school.” Irene sighed.

“Now aren’t you grateful that I told you to bring a separate wallet to school?” Moonbyul chuckled at the careless woman and passed her a 10.

“You don’t have to return me. Just take it as a treat and cheer up, okay?” The greasy manager said with a wink that make Irene cringe and chuckle.

“You’re so cool. No wonder Yongsun loves you.”

“Text me when you get home.” Moonbyul said. Irene replied with a nod.

The dedicated manager was expecting a text 5 minutes after they parted. She parked somewhere obscure to check on Irene just to make sure that she was okay. Seeing that Irene had safety gotten into her apartment complex, she drove off.

.

Irene had just come out of the shower and put the television on. 'Love in the Sky' was her new hit drama series where she and co-star Park Bogum were pilots in the South Korean Airlines. Irene always felt the need to monitor herself after every new episode so she could better her acting for the next one. At the same time, she was writing a to-do list – one of the pointers was to get her lost ID replaced.

Mid-show, there was a commercial break. Usually these breaks last a good 10-15 minutes, giving Irene time to go to the toilet and stretch a bit. Irene looked around at what she had. She bought a big apartment after making it big in Seoul. It was for her and her family but her mother insisted that she wanted to remain in Daegu to manage her restaurant. Irene understood from her parent's standpoint. They too worked up from nothing to something like her. If they were the one who forced her to move back to Daegu, she'd lose her whole career. However, being at home in the 140m² apartment made Irene feel a little empty.

Irene was in the kitchen getting herself a cold drink and some strawberries. These were freshly picked and given to her by Joy, who decided to go berry picking on a whim. Irene hummed when the juices burst into . Like Joy had promised, it was sweet and juciy - 'like an ' was how she phrased it. 

It was 9:30pm when Irene heard her doorbell ring. She kept the berries and walked over to her door, looking at the monitor only to get the shock of her life.

“K-Kang Seulgi?!”