Eight year old- Park Jieun wipes her feet on the floor mat right outside the front door of the estate. Eomma and Appa did not like it when the tiles get dirty. She was about to enter inside but stops as she hears footsteps coming up from behind her,

"Good afternoon, Jieun-nim." one of the resident maids greets her with a bow

Jieun's mouth forms a beaming smile, "Joohyun-unnie!" she jumps right on the older girl who grunts catching the young miss but chuckles.

"How was school today?" Joohyun asks as she pats the child's back

Jieun smiles brightly before answering her question with one herself

“It went nice! We had a group project and all the other kids didn't know how to do it. They're dumb!" Jieun cheers

Joohyun only looks with a perplexed expression, "Are they, now?" she asks with an amused tone on her voice

"Yeaah." Jieun nods emphatically as she continues, "They were all like 'What do you mean?' she giggles, "'I don't understand.' I was so mad!"

"Well good job then," Joohyun says with a smile as Jieun turns around to face her again

Jieun tilts her head curiously as she points at Joohyun's hand, "What's in that bag?"

Joohyun sets Jieun down slowly and opens up the white plastic bag which revealed its contents: paintbrushes, pencils, erasers, and drawing books

"Darn, I was trying to distract you," Joohyun chortles, "This is for you."

Jieun's eyes widened, "Really?"

Joohyun smiles, but there was something off about it, before it brightens back up

"Happy Birthday, Jieun." she says softly

Jieun stares at Joohyun for a moment as she realizes the message in the maid's eyes,

"Are Eomma and Appa coming back for dinner?" she asks with false hope

Joohyun feels her heart shatter at the little girl's voice but tries to keep her attitude up, "Tell you what, I'll accompany you for dinner tonight, how about that?"

"Yah!" Jieun exclaims excitedly

 

 

 

"That's not how you do patty cake, Miss Yongsun." Yuki guffaws as she struggles to teach the detention room teacher how to play

The other students watch on with amusement and smiles while Goeun sits next to them with an amused expression, "Well it's her first time playing, so it's hardly fair to Miss Yongsun." she argues

"Yah, Yuki, stop going so fast!" Miss Yongsun whines and turns her head to the ringing bell

"And that's your first week of detention done, folks!" she claps as everyone stands up from their seats

"Have a good weekend and try to stay outta trouble!"

 

 

 

"I swear you don't have to bring anything." Jieun waves them off, but Goeun stays firm with her stance

"Nonsense, we're only getting some street food." Goeun crosses her arms, "Besides it's our first time going there, so we should at least be polite."

Eunseong spoke up, "I'll go with you, unnie." earning a smile from Goeun

"Where's Sujin by the way?" Seoyeong asks as they walk through the busy streets, passing people who look like tourists or locals alike

"She'll be there later," Yuki answers,

"Ah, damn it." Chaeyoung suddenly mutters looking at her messages

Seoyoung looks at her phone curiously, "What's up?"

Chaeyoung huffs and puts away her phone, "Eomma's freaking out about a grocery sale on pickled radishes, she's at work so she asked us to pick some up."

Goeun listening amidst felt a light bulb spark on.

"How about all of us just go to the market together?"

Eunseong simply nods in agreement while the other two look at her curiously before they turn to Goeun and nod as well.

 

The group walked into the bustling street and were immediately surrounded by vendors selling their wares: pickled radish, seaweed salad, fish cakes, rice balls. Jieun looks fondly at a particular booth selling steaming rice cakes and tugs on Chaeyoung's arm.

"Chaeyoung-ah?" she asks with an excited tone

"What are those?" Jieun asks as Chaeyoung turns around to see what it was Jieun is looking at.

Chaeyoung chuckles, "That's tteokbokki, unnie."

Jieun tilts her head curiously as she looks back up to the stall selling the spicy rice cakes.

"What do they taste like?" she asks

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, "Order some and try for yourself."

"Alright!" Jieun exclaims happily as she walks over towards the vendor and the group chuckles seeing Jieun look totally lost when scanning the menu,

"Umm, excuse me. I'd like three orders of tteokbokki" Jieun says hesitantly

"THREE?!" she hears Goeun speak behind her

Jieun turns with a worried expression, "Is that too much?"

Goeun feels several glares coming towards her direction, most notably Yuki where the star athlete was giving her a look sharp enough to cut steel.

"Of course not!" Goeun answers with an embarrassed smile and Jieun looks back up with an uncertain smile before she places her money on the table. She takes three rice cakes off the tray, two plain ones with kimchi inside while the last one had spicy radish paste mixed into it as well.

Jieun carefully examines the piece of tteokbokki and the spicy paste surrounding it. The group watches with amusement from nearby tables seeing Jieun taking a big bite of the snack and watching her eyes widen

She swallows down the food quickly followed by a loud "Yah!" after tasting the flavor of the tteokbokki that tasted like a chewy sweet potato combined with salty soy sauce along with a hint of spice. Her face lights up happily as she continues eating more of the dish until she finishes all of them in less than ten minutes time. After wiping away some sauce around , Jieun smiles at Goeun who gives a small nod in return before

"Good?" Goeun asks in amusement

Jieun quickly looks away and gives a shy nod, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment while trying to hide it behind an awkward laugh. The rest of their group chuckles at Jieun's reaction and Chaeyoung laughs aloud

"Now we know what to bring to your house later," she cackles as Jieun glares back at her with a playful scowl

The group walks through the busy streets passing by people who look like tourists or locals alike, their eyes on their phones trying to keep on track with their routes.

"Be right back." Yuki announces as she goes to buy a drink

Yuki heads to another stall selling iced coffee and takes out her phone as her group makes their way into a shop selling Eomuk (battered fish and rice flour) where they see Jieun looking around with an uncertain expression.

"What's wrong?" Goeun asks curiously while Seoyoung looks up from her own shopping bag with interest as well.

"I'm not used to this," Jieun mumbles lowly, "I've never spent time outside school for things like these." Jieun glances back down at the shopping bags filled with several more order of tteokbokki after discovering her absolute infatuation of the street food.

Chaeyoung looks at her with an unreadable expression before breaking into a big smile. She walks over towards Jieun and starts petting the taller girl's hair who looks back at the younger girl completely perplexed.

"Chaeyoung?"

"There, there unnie, you're plenty of fun to hang out with." Chaeyoung giggles

Jieun looks up with a shy look on her face as she tries not to blush from Chaeyoung's touch which causes Goeun to laugh aloud while Seoyoung just stares in confusion.

"YAH! I just wanted a student discount!" they hear an irked Yuki yelling at the shop vendor

"Our policy doesn't apply on Friday's brat, now scram!" the shop owner spat back

Yuki continues to glare at the burly shop owner but her lips turn upward to a smirk, "That's fine, then~. I already got what I wanted anyway." she sticks her tongue out while opening her hands full of coins from the tip jar.

The shop owner stares in disbelief as Yuki skips away with an amused grin, and Yuki only cackles hearing the shop owner swearing up a storm behind her.

"Yah, Yuki-ah, you shouldn't steal even if they're being rude." Goeun sighs but Yuki only shrugs

"I didn't take much anyways~," she giggles before taking a sip of her iced coffee, "Ah, refreshing." she lets out a satisfied sigh

"Shall we head to your place, Jieun-unnie?" Eunseong asks who was eating mochi she bought from a nearby stall along with some other snacks while looking at her phone.

"Yes, I have already informed my driver."

Seoyoung tilts her head in confusion, "Driver?"

Jieun realizes what she entailed and frantically waves both her hands, her face beet red,

"Umm, I mean a...taxi driver! Yes, I've called a taxi for us!" she explains in several stutters

Goeun furrows her brows, "But unnie, there's six of us, can we all fit?"

Yuki smiles and shakes her head, "We'll just squeeze into one car, don't worry."

"Eh? The most you can fit in there are three, not including the driver." Chaeyoung whines

Jieun sighs inwardly in relief that they bought her reasoning, "Don't worry, the SUV will fit all of us!"

Goeun tilts her head, "SUV? How did you know the driver is using an SUV, unnie?"

Jieun simply waves her off, "I asked for a specific number of riders, please don't worry Goeun-ah." she smiles at her friend reassuringly.

"Alright, alright~" Goeun mutters e under her breath still confused but decided to follow along

The group chatted waiting for their ride to arrive,

"Eunseong." Goeun suddenly calls out

Dosie looks up from her phone seeing Goeun hold out a Pocky stick at her with an expectant look on her face, "What is it?"

"Do you want one?" She asks holding the chocolate flavored treat in front of Dosie's nose who only sniffs and shakes her head

"Thank you though..." she whispers

'Cute.' the entire group thought

Goeun laughs and chomps on the chocolate treat herself

Their ride pulls over at the waiting area, but was caught in a big surprise

"Is that" Seoyoung points at the car

"A." Chaeyoung follows her sentence

Yuki was the one to blurt it out, "ING LIMO?!"

They all turn their heads to Jieun who was looking at them with a sheepish smile,

"There was a discount?" she shrugs bashfully

 

"Yuki-ah, stop playing with all the buttons." Goeun lightly slaps the younger girl's thigh

Yuki whines, "But look how many there are!"

She's referring to the rows and row of buttons on the control panel of the limousine that has been ordered by Jieun, not that they know that this is how Jieun usually rides. It's just that most taxis have only one button on their dashboard which controls everything from air conditioning to music, but Jieun insisted that a limo had more features than a taxi so she asked for a specific number of passengers to fit into one vehicle

"Jieun-unnie, can I have another soda?" Seoyoung shakes her empty soda can that was in one of the compartments housing plenty of drinks inside

"Sure." Jieun hands it over before returning to staring out at the scenery passing them by while Eunseong immerses herself in a book she brought

"You like reading Eunseong-ah?" Jieun asks the younger girl

Dosie hums noncommittally, "It's a hobby...I guess." she shrugs.

"I see you reading too during class..." Jieun smiles. She's seen Dosie with books and magazines all the time but never really thought about how much the other girl loved to read until now.

"Wow, I've never been in this side of town," Ireh looks in awe at all the upscale houses passing their way, "You must be loaded Jieun-unnie."

Jieun freezes in place at Seoyoung comment

"Uh, well, I'm not that rich actually." she laughs nervously, but the looks she was receiving told her they weren't having any of it

"We have arrived, Jieun-nim." the driver calls out into the car speakers.

"Jieun-unnie's house~" Chaeyoung sings cheerily as she quickly opens the car door before the driver could for them. The rest of their group follows suit, but Jieun is still sitting inside the limo, awaiting their reaction.

"Holy ."

Yuki's eyes widen when she saw how big the mansion was from outside, "It looks like a resort!" she chuckles while waving off the driver who left to park the limo

Seoyoung nods beside her in agreement with her words. It looked very posh and expensive just by looking at it from the outside, and there were also what seemed to be maids watering plants and cleaning the windows of the building.

"So now you all know."

The group all turn their heads at Jieun who slowly comes out of the car looking like she was about to burst into tears

"I-I came up with all those awful excuses because, well, I didn't want you to think less of me."

She shuffles in place trying not to make eye contact

"In these past weeks in detention, for some strange reason you all approached me, and talked to me."

"I wanted that to last forever, because of those weeks in detention, I haven't been that happy in a very long time. "She says while wiping away her teary eyes with a handkerchief she had brought along for herself

Her grip on her handkerchief tightens, wrinkling the fabric, "But now you all know, you all know that I'm just some snobby rich girl that can get anything she wants on a whim."

Silence engulfs the scene. That is until Yuki starts walking towards her,

and flicks her forehead.

Jieun yelps and covers the mark Yuki made with her finger flick, "Y-Yuki-ah?" but Yuki suddenly breaks into giggles

"Dumb unnie." She grins. Her tone was light and cheerful, devoid of judgment. Jieun only looks at her in confused awe.

"Do you really think we're that shallow?" Goeun interjects from behind them, "We're friends with you because we like you! Not because you have money or a fancy car!"

The rest of the group nods along with agreement, their eyes full of sincerity and kindness.

Dosie walks up to the taller girl and takes her hands, "You're a kind person unnie, money or not. I just want us all to be friends, so please, stop being embarrassed about it, okay?" she asks softly.The other girls watch with smiles on their faces while Jieun wipes away her tears again before nodding at Eunseong's words

 

"So is this like the ballroom, unnie?" Seoyoung tilts her head curiously, looking at the large open master wing with a dangling chandelier atop them that lights up the whole room with its soft glow.

Jieun nods, "Yes, occasionally we host gala's here." she replies. She looks over to see how the others were reacting to her house. They seem to be having a good time, especially with Goeun who was laughing at something

"Unnie, is this you?!" Goeun cackles at a large painting of what seems to be Jieun's family with a tiny looking Park Jieun seated on her mother's lap.

Yuki thumps the older girl’s forehead who whines, "You're mom's really beautiful." She smiles gently at Jieun before turning back to look at the picture again with a smile on her face. Jieun blushes at the comment but smiles regardless

"Anyway, how about a quick tour, then I'll show you to my room?" Jieun suggests with a gentle voice while leading them into the mansion. The other six follow behind her obediently without any complaints or grumbles, venturing out to each room.

Ranging from billiard rooms, to the indoor swimming pool and state of the art kitchen, the group looked on in awe in their little tour.

As they walk through the hallway, Chaeyoung spoke up,

"Unnie, are your parents at work?" she asks curiously since there was no sign of them anywhere from outside. She looks over to see that Jieun stopped walking.

"Umm, yes, they'll be here in a few days for a short while, "Jieun sighs to herself, "My parents both go on business trips quite often so it's just me here most of the time." she explains. It's obvious she doesn't like talking about this topic much more than what is necessary,

"It gets lonely sometimes but I'm used to it by now," she says softly before continuing down the hall towards another door, opening it and leading the group to her room.

 

"And this is my room." Jieun smiles at them all with an air of pride at how big and beautiful the bedroom was. The bed was huge enough for an entire family comfortably and there were several large wardrobes and cabinets filled with clothes and other personal belongings.

"Nice." Seoyoung gives a thumbs up to Jieun who beams at them, "You mind if we eat here?"

Chaeyoung harshly glares at her, "Oi! Don't get so comfortable!"

Jieun simply chuckles, "As long as you don't make a mess I won't mind." she replies

"Oh!" she realizes, "I'll go get us some chairs." she declares and quickly shuffles out the door

"I'll help her." Yuki offers and follows the older girl out the door.

Dosie looks at Jieun's library full of different textbooks, 'No fiction?' she murmurs to herself.

"Hey Eunseong-ah." Goeun nudges the younger girl from behind

Dosie tilts her head, "Yes, unnie?"

Goeun sighs, "You know I feel bad for making Jieun-unnie cry earlier."

Dosie shakes her head, "It's no one's fault, we just have to make sure to make unnie feel appreciated."

The older girl nods in agreement, "Right." she says softly and watches as Jieun and Yuki walk back to the room carrying stacked chairs

Chaeyoung gasps, "Unnie, you shouldn't strain your muscles like that!" she scolds at the four stacked wooden chairs Jieun was carrying

Jieun only looks confused, "Hmm? This isn't heavy though."

Seoyoung interjects from behind them, "I bet I can carry that much too! Be right back!" she shouts before sprinting out the room to get more chairs

"SEOYOUNG-AH GET BACK HERE BEFORE YOU GET HURT! AND WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US" Goeun shouts and leaves Dosie's side to follow the younger girl

The entire room bursts out into laughter and the silliness of it all. Jieun admits she hasn't enjoyed just being around other's presence in a very long time, and as she looks around her at the smiling faces, she knows she struck gold.