I sprang up, pushing myself from the comfort of my soft bed and clutched my head in my hands, feeling dizzy from sitting up so quickly. As always , the alarm clock rang a minute after I woke up. I groggily pushed the button down and let the music die down as I make my way towards the bathroom. I the tap and let the warm liquid fill the bathtub.  

I scoffed as I looked at my reflection through the mirror. I frowned to my ugly self. Swollen face, unkempt hair, pale face and the list would go on and on. I strip from my clothes and dip my feet in the bathtub checking if it's the correct temperature before letting myself relax in the lukewarm water. 

I heard a knock in the door and I pull myself out of my comfort zone. It was one of the maid and she didn’t look too happy to see me still not dressed in my uniform. "You're going to be late, Miss." She bowed and I snorted. "It's not like they could put me in detention anyway." 

I kick her out of my room as I dress up for school. I tie my hair in a neat ponytail and wore a coat over my blazer. I check myself once more time and left my room.  

My own personal maid took my bag and me downstairs to the kitchen. I sat silently at the table and consumed my breakfast.  

"Have you think about the offer?" My mother spoke up and I turned my gaze from the toast towards her. "No, I'm not going to the States." I took a sip from my milk and stood up.  

"I'll be going first, Father, Mother." I bowed to them once and walked away with the maid trailing behind me. I rudely snatched the bag from her as I made myself comfortable in the car. 

"You have to be home before 5, Miss." She started and I rolled my eyes. "You have--." 

"I don’t want to hear this stuff so early in the morning. Tell me that when I get back home." I slammed the door before she could even utter a word. "Go, mister." 

As I reached school, cars-- expensive foreign-branded cars lined up in front of the school, students wearing heels, expensive coats and styled hair pass by, going in and out of the school.  

"We're here, Miss." The chauffer said and I put a forced smile on my face before steeping out of the car-- away from my comfort zone and into my little act. 

"Hello Aerin." Students chimed as I pass by and I tried to smile as polite as possible. "Hey guys."  

No, I don’t have split personality. This is me being nice and taking care of my parent's clean name.  

"Don't act like yourself." They said to me the moment I revealed myself to public. "Don't do this, Aerin. Don't do that, Aerin." 

I felt someone grabbing my arms and looping it with theirs. "You're late, today." A happy voice said and I laughed. Fake. "I slept in, Minkyung." I scrunched up my face in annoyance.  

Both of us decided to walk around the school while we wait for the first bell to ring. Minkyung could blabber all day if she could. I would just nod from time to time as she does so. 

"Yea--" My breath almost hitched in my throat and time seems to stop and my surroundings were blurred as I focused on him and him only.  

He was walking around in his own clique, laughing and joking around. They seemed so care-free that I wonder how does that feel. To be free.  

I felt warmth run through my body as he smiled. Oh that smile. It could light up the whole world, I'm not joking.  

I lowered my head as he pass by but I cant help but to pray that he would turn to me, just 1 second. 1 second would mean the whole to me but it didn’t happen. 

"Oh, it's your crush." Minkyung said excitedly and nudged me. "You should talk to him before somebody else does." She sang.  

I scoffed at her absurd question and walked ahead, "Ridiculous." 

Where is she, dammit. Minkyung out of all people should know that I hate waiting and I don’t wait. But I am, waiting for her. I leaned against the wall as I tapped my phone, waiting for her text or anything but it never came. 

" you then, you could just eat lunch by yourself, for all I care." I cursed under my breath. Waiting makes my anger boil and irritates me more than ever. I need fresh air. 

Just when I pushed myself off the wall and after I put my phone in my coat's pocket, I heard familiar laughter. I turned my head and had to squint to figure out the two figures that were coming my way. 

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and Minkyung and Baekhyun came to sight laughing with each other. It was the sight that I feared the most. 

"Hey, Aerin." That dragged me out of my little trance and I tore my gaze from him to her. She flashed her infamous smile and I forced mine. "Hey, where were you guys from?" 

"From the lab, we're lab partners!" She excitedly sang as she linked arms with him and the thing that hurt the most was that he blushed at the little contact. 

"Lab partners." I whispered and then chuckled, "Of course."  

"Oh right, how rude I'm being. Baekhyun, this is Aerin. Aerin, this is Baekhyun." I knew that. She knows that I knew that. I looked at her as I wonder what she was trying to pull here. 

Baekhyun smiled at me in greeting but I cant bring myself to do the same. I was too nervous.  

"I gotta go. See you later, yea? You too, Aerin-sshi." He said but his eyes were on her the whole time. He left and Minkyung non-chalantly placed her arms around mine.  

"Aren't lab partners usually decided by us?" I asked in whisper. Minkyung nodded, "Yeah, Baekhyun asked me to be his so I was like 'why not' I have no one anyway."  

She seemed to notice my mood minutes after we didn’t talk and she stopped me. "You're not mad, right?" She asked cautiously. 

"I'm not." I coldly shrugged her hand off mine and walked away. My inner self was showing and I knew that I can't do that, not to her. 

I sighed and waited for her. This time, I was the one who hugged her and smiled. Fake. "I'm hungry. Let's go and eat." Minkyung felt relieved that I wasn’t mad and happily skipped towards the cafeteria.