Life had never been easy for Bae Irene. Her parents got separated when she was fourteen. She stayed with her father since her mother ran away to America to start her "new life."   Irene could still pinpoint the time where everything went downhill.    Her father worked as a regular employee in a multi-national company while her mother worked as a teacher in a nearby kindergarten school. Irene had been an overachiever ever since she was young. Due to their family's limited income, Irene had pursued scholarships in their school and tutored some students on the side line.    During one school night, Irene came home to see her parents shouting at each other in the living room. She had just finished tutoring her neighbor. Irene was young but she was smart and sensible enough to know that her parents were fighting over their financial problems. Her parents didn't even notice her coming by the doorway.   She could still remember how her mother berate her father about the money they saved which went to her father's colleague who borrowed it for immediate medical surgery. Irene realized that her mother was already past her breaking point when she suddenly turned around, went to her room, and came out after five minutes with a single luggage on her hand. Her mother gave one last look to her father who was seating by the couch with face on his hands, crying. When her mother looked up, that was the only time she saw Irene by the doorway. Irene saw the tight lipped smile her mother gave as she walked over and kissed her temple. Irene remembered the last words she received from her mother.    "Take care of yourself, Rene. I'll come back for you."    But 10 years later, she still had not seen her.   Irene was wistful for years. Weeks after her mother left, her father's colleague was so grateful that he even repaid the money almost twice of its amount. Months later, her father got promoted to supervisory level and years later, he became a department head in the company. Irene had so many regretful thoughts at those times.   If only her mother hadn't left, they would still be together and became stable with money. If only her mother had a little bit more of patience. But at one point, Irene got tired of caring enough.   Money was not an issue anymore with her father. She could say that they were living quite comfortable enough. However, she stayed strong and tried to live and earn independently. She did not want to come at a point where money would be the reason for her life to crumble. She continued to get scholarships, tutor other students, and work part-time in the local library.    Irene remembered how the head librarian jokingly said, "You have a pretty face. I hope we get a lot of comers here in the library," during her interview. Over the years, although Irene knew that her facial features helped her in some ways, she did not let it define who she was and persevered with everything she did. The long queue for check-out in the library during her shift was a testament but Irene righteously rejected any romantic offer and continued with her job.    She promised to herself that her studies would come first.   Irene's perseverance was rewared when she got in to one of the most prestigious universities in Korea with a full scholarship grant majoring in Business studies. Irene continued to work part-time in the university library and studied hard. She was already in her senior year and was appointed as the Business Head of their department because of her great record.   "Sunbae! Aren't you going home? I'm sure we already got everything ready for tomorrow," Mijoo, one of Irene's junior, asked.   It was the night before the freshman orientation and Irene was with her team making sure that everything was already organized for their booth tomorrow.    "Just checking on some other things here, Mijoo. You guys should head home. It's already late," Irene replied with a smile at the younger.    "We'll wait for you, sunbae!" Mijoo exclaimed and pointed to the three other members. "We have nothing else to do after this so might as well."   "Are you sure?"    "Of course, sunbae! We're here and ready to help you!"   Irene smiled at their thoughtfulness. She truly was able to form close bonds in the Business Department. The senior was not oblivious to the rumor going around where people dubbed her as snob, self-centered, and even the "b" word was tossed around. However, Irene did not mind them as she knew that those people were mere strangers to her.   "Do you guys want any food delivery? My treat," the senior offered. She appreciated how her juniors were really helping and assisting in the booth after their classes.   "Sunbae! We will not say no for free food!" Yeji exlaimed in delight.   "We will miss you, sunbae once you