School bell rings, walk me home. Sidewalk chalk covered in snow. Lost my gloves, you give me one "Wanna hang out?" Yeah, sounds like fun [...] Church bells ring, carry me home, rice on the ground looks like snow. Call my bluff, call you "babe", have my back, yeah, everyday. Feels like home [...] It's nice to have a friend.

Taylor Swift - It’s nice to have a friend.

A/N: The instrumental of this song reminds me of innocence and childhood... a song to describe the feelings of friendship turning into something else: It's nice to have a friend by Taylor Swift

...

The Bae’s were known for their looks and showbusiness talent. Her father and mother were the country’s favorite couple, having met when they were co-stars in a tv drama. The whole country watched in awe the tv romance become real when the two famous actors started a relationship and got married.

People kind of adopted them, following every step of their relationship like they were watching a sequel of that tv drama. The fairytale became even more perfect when the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, that news became the front page of many magazines and newspapers and the same happened when they welcomed the birth of their second child. 

Irene and her older sister Tiffany, those were the names the media usually used to address them. Tiffany, because she was bright, precious and beautiful like the famous brand with the same name, and Irene because she was calm, elegant and collected; They had been on the spotlight of the cameras and news ever since they were in the womb. 

Their parents' fame and influence followed them everywhere they went, turning them into celebrities even though they were just kids. It came to the point where everyone was just expecting them to follow their parent’s path, since they were already famous anyway. 

So it wasn’t something unexpected when later, her older sister Tiffany decided to become a singer; they just accepted her with open arms, ready to consume whatever she was going to deliver. 

Her everyday life was surrounded by celebrities. 

Her cousin Ju hyun was a famous musical singer and actress. Irene had an aunt who was a newspaper anchor, one of her uncles was also an famous senior actor, a few were producers some were journalists and she could go on and on counting how many of her relatives were some kind of celebrities in their country. Everyone was, somehow, involved in the entertainment business in her family… everyone, except her.

Different from the rest of her family, the memories and experiences she had with the public and media were not very pleasant in her point of view. She was a shy girl, had always been, so being approached by reporters and paparazzis, having people following her around inside her school or public places just because her parents were famous or worse, seeing her whole life in pictures ever since she was a ignorant child was not something that she wanted to experience more than she already had.

So, instead of following her family’s path, Bae Joohyun decided to do something else, something very far from the spotlight.  She went to medical school and was about to become a neurosurgeon... if she passes her damn exams she will be one. 

God please, help her.   

Such a pity, they said. So, so beautiful, they kept saying, because apparently she was too pretty to be just a doctor. Her father’s agency had begged her countless times to sign a contract with them… they were sure that just her face would make her famous, and she refused every single time.

Everything that she ever wanted was to be normal.

She didn’t want to be a celebrity, she just wanted a normal life away from that world. She wanted a job, a normal one, real friends and not those fake and snobby people that seemed to always be around her parents, and perhaps she also wanted… someone to love? Just that, and by being her parent’s daughter it was already so hard to achieve those simple things, imagine actually becoming a celebrity?

Her parents and sister totally supported her decision, having always been protective of her and her privacy, never mentioning her whereabouts or occupation, but even though they tried so hard to keep that world away from her it was still difficult, since she had practically grown up in front of the cameras people recognized her very often.

…

Teenager Joohyun

Her legs shook in realisation. 

It was the beginning of a new highschool year, in a new school, which meant new people around her.

Everyone in her previous school knew her name, Bae Irene, and everyone seemed to consider themselves her friend. She was greeted cheerfully by everyone in her class, people wanted to sit by her side and do assignments with her or accompany her between classes, some people even fought for her attention or for an opportunity to sit with her during lunch. There was also the “disturbing fact” that, daily, she would have to listen to countless love confessions from strangers who claimed to be infatuated by her.

That happened a lot.

But the truth was that she didn’t know any of them for real and they didn’t know her either.

They were deluded by an illusion, a possibility of being famous, yes, she was treated like some kind of fame opportunity, like a talent show. If you’re seen around her it’s your free ticket to be popular, but she never asked to be in that position in the first place. She just wanted to have real friends and do what friends normally do, hold real conversations, go to places… whatever. She didn’t want to be regarded like that.

But apparently that wasn’t something for her, because every year things were the same.

That year, though, she had a new goal in mind. She wanted to ignore all these irritating situations that happened to her daily and just focus on her studies, yes, since she couldn’t have friends and a normal school life, she should at least try doing better on her studies. She had decided that she wanted to go to medical school, so she asked her parents to change schools and to be put in an advanced class with only the top students, so with a few adjustments she managed to be put in said school by her parents.

Her legs were shaking so bad not just because of the new people that she was about to meet, but also because of all the pressure she had put in herself to succeed. 

Excuse me, can I help you? - a girl asked, touching her arm carefully. 

Her face was full of worry staring at Joohyun.

As soon as Joohyun noticed the warm touch on her arm she jerked away immediately, a little startled. 

That action made the girl in front of her stare at her with even more worry. 

Are you ok? Are you feeling sick or something? - she anxiously asked.

Joohyun then realized that she had been standing in front of the class’ door for god knows how long, just staring blankly at nothing. That’s why the girl in front of her was looking so worried at her and asked those questions. Such a great way to start her day and leave a good impression, huh?

I-I am ok. - she managed to mumble and it sounded more like a child speaking.

Argh. 

I am sorry for early, I didn’t mean to touch you without your consent, it’s just… you were standing there for a while now. - the girl rambled and then let out an awkward laugh. - Anyway, I am Son Wendy and you are? - the cheerful girl introduced herself, giving her hand for Joohyun to shake.

That was when Joohyun actually stared at the girl in front of her. 

Long, wavy, dark hair but the hair tips were blue...odd.

Bright, too bright actually, expressive brown eyes, together with very expressive eyebrows. 

Pink lips and fair complexion… 

Slightly shorter than her… 

...pretty.

She spaced out for a few seconds, analysing. 

But then it came to her, she really had just asked her name? Like, she really didn’t know her name? 

W-what. - she said, not actually thinking. 

It had been so long since she introduced herself to someone. 

Every year it was the same, she sat on her chair in her new class and everyone already knew her name and who she was: Bae Irene, the most popular girl in school and the daughter of those famous actors. Did you know that her sister is Tiffany, that Idol singer? Can you believe it?! Isn’t she gorgeous? 

She could already hear all the usual gossip…. 

But that was a new school and the girl in front of her clearly didn’t have any idea of who she was. That was, somehow… amazing. But as she kept analyzing what had just happened, the girl in front of her interpreted her silence as something else.

Wendy’s smile faded and she retracted her hand. She was sure that she had just acted inappropriately to the girl to receive such a cold reaction. She started to nervously analyse every word she had said and realised that she had been speaking informally with her that whole time.

I-I am so sorry for speaking informally to you. I-I don’t know what has got into me a-and this idea that I can talk with anyone informally, like I know them personally! I am so sorry, I am still adjusting to this country… even though it has already been two years since I came back. I am this dumb. - she started to ramble again, at some point even speaking some sentences in english, making it impossible for Joohyun to follow up.

Joohyun started to fold and unfold her fingers, nervously, while thinking of a way to talk to the girl in front of her without embarrassing herself again. That was really a great opportunity to finally interact with someone like a normal person.

That school was her fresh start… her new start! 

 Meanwhile Wendy just kept rambling in english.

N-no. - Joohyun tried to speak.

She didn’t mind the informal way the girl talked to her… it was refreshing, new.

But Wendy had already convinced herself that she did wrong, so she just sighed deeply and resigned and then stared at Joohyun with a small, apologetic, smile.

I am sorry, ok? Since I am the class president I came to talk to you because you seemed troubled. 

Joohyun gasped.

She was the class president??

Damn, she really needed to leave a good impression at all cost! 

J-Joohyun! - she kind of yelled, kind of shuttered.  

Then mentally facepalmed herself.

What? - Wendy asked, curiously.

My name is Joohyun. - she said again, trying to be calm and collected this time. -  It’s nice to meet you, Wendy. - she complemented and then bowed a little.  

This time she also managed to display a small smile toward the girl while introducing herself.

Wendy gaped. 

Whoa, she is really pretty. - Wendy muttered to herself.

Joohyun couldn’t help but to let out a giggle, finding her bluntness and unexpected compliment amusing. Only then Wendy realised that she had spoken out loud and Joohyun had heard her... So she facepalmed herself, for real, and this time Joohyun let out a laugh. 

Wendy's reactions were very extra and deeply funny to her somehow. 

After a few more seconds of the show that was Son Wendy rumbling once again three thousand apologies, while bowing and blushing, Joohyun was finally able to enter her new class and meet her other classmates.

Perhaps that year in that new school things would be different and she finally would be able to be normal?

…

People would still stare at her more than could be considered normal and some had asked if she was the Bae Irene everyone seemed to be talking about so much. Yes, somehow the news of who she was had followed her there from her previous school, but to her amusement, most of them weren’t really interested in her.

She had learned that most of the kids in that school were sons and daughters of important people… not celebrities like her, but politicians, heirs of big companies and so on. Those kids had a lot to prove and too much pressure over their shoulders already and were too busy to care about the daughter of a celebrity. 

Joohyun had no words to describe how much she was loving everything, for the first time in her life she was blending in. That feeling of not having people staring at her, not expecting grandiose things from her was the best that she had ever experienced in her life and that made her even more adamant in pursuing a non celebrity life.

Also that new school had Wendy Son…

She couldn’t help but to be a little intrigued by the girl.

Joohyun hadn’t expected such a cheerful and funny girl to be the class president, but turns out that Wendy Son was a lot more than that. The girl was the class president for a reason... She was the top student of the class and perhaps even from the whole school? Math, physics, chemistry, you name it and Wendy Son was the best in it. She was also an ace in foreign languages, and people often talked about her singing skills, but Joohyun hadn’t had the chance to listen to it yet.  

But more than anything, something that called Joohyun’s attention the most was that everyone liked her, and was friends with her. In that school, apparently, you became popular because of your grades and that was the strangest thing Joohyun had ever come across with...Wendy was popular because she was smart and had good grades!? Not because she was pretty, which she was, or had famous parents, which she probably also had… she was really famous because she was smart.

Amusing.

And that Wendy, who everyone claimed to be perfect, one day decided to sit by her side, calling the attention of their classmates to her.

The thing was, those kids already knew each other for years, having been studying there since they were little kids, and were already paired according to it, sitting together during classes and lunch, but since Joohyun was the new girl she had no one to sit with her… it was kind of sad to watch the other kids interacting, meanwhile she was all alone, but she was used to it.

Joohyun expected Wendy to ignore her and just go on, considering that their first encounter was kind of weird, and she clearly had enough friends to brag about, but that morning, when Joohyun got to her seat she found Wendy already there, sitting on the chair by her side.

Hi! - Wendy cheerfully greeted her, smiling brightly.

She nodded toward her, not really knowing how to interpret that change.

hello. - she mumbl