What was so wrong about being chubby? Was she completely unlovable because of that?
“Any guy forcing me to lose weight is not worth the trouble,” she muttered to herself anf put her towel back in its place after her usual morning shower. She got dressed and walked out of the bathroom to Key who seemed a bit depressed.

“What's with that gloomy face?” Junghee asked and took out a candy bar from har bag. Key followed it with his eyes on its way to .

“Is that your breakfast?” he asked with a slightly disgusted.

“Yes, Key. It is,” Junghee said sharply and walked towards the door.

“You'll get fat... on the inside from eating that!” Key called after her.

“I don't give a !” she called back.

“It's not HEALTHY!” he shouted angrily but the only answer he got was the door slamming shut as Junghee left the dorm. Key growled. “Does she have to be so rude? I'm just trying to help!” He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. If she kept acting like this he was sure to be expelled by the end of this month...

Junghee noticed how a group of girls stared at her as she entered the main building of the school. They were quiet but their looks were dark, a bit different from the whispering she had gotten used to. Joon spotted her and walked up to her.

“Morning lollipop,” he said. “You're not looking too happy.” Junghee glanced at him.

“Morning... Key offered me som 'help',” she said. Joon looked confused.

“Help? With what?”

“Nothing.” He would be better off not knowing, it time to put on a happy face. Junghee struggled to plaster on a smile.

“What could he possibly help you with?” Joon narrowed his eyebrows as he struggled hard to think of something that the loser Key could help Junghee with. Junghee threw a glance at the girls again. Their looks seemed even darker than before.

“Let's get away from here.” Junghee grabbed Joon by the arm and pulled him with her. Woohyun caught up with them further down the hall. He looked weary as he walked towards them.

“Junghee...” he said cautiously.

“What?” Junghee heard involuntary worry her voice. What was going on? Woohyun avoided her gaze.

“There are some rumours...”

“About me?” Junghee asked surprised and Joon made big eyes. Woohyun awkwardly looked at the ceiling and seemed to think really hard about what he was about to say. He glanced at Junghee and his gaze told her that she wasn't going to receive any good news.

“Well...” Woohyun started slowly. “Seems like people are against you sharing a room with Key.” Junghee sighed and felt her body relax after unconsciously tensing up. She rubbed her eyes in frustration. This was just bound to happen. She looked at Woohyun who observed her intensively.

“By people you mean girls?” Junghee asked bluntly. Woohyun chewed his lip.

“I guess...” He chewed his lip some more and exchanged a glance with Joon who looked very worried. Junghee shrugged.

“Well, I guess there was nothing else to expect, was there?” she said acting strong while all she really wanted was to disappear from the face of the earth. Joon took a stepp forward, raising his fist in the air.

“We'll protect you from the rumours,” he exclaimed heroically. Junghee puta hand on his shoulder.

“I'm sure you will,” she said with a smile, but she knew that her close friendship with these guys and the rest of the gang probably only would add more fuel to the fire. This was a great opportunity to give someone the reputation of a ... Junghee tried to shrug it off, it was going to be a new experience. She put an arm around Joon's shoulders. “Let's go to class.”

The guys had other appointments during lunch so Junghee sat down by herself by one of the smaller tables in the cafeteria. It wasn't until she had been sitting there for a while when she felt eyes on her. She turned herhead to the left and caught a groupof girls looking at her. The girls averted their gazes right away and pretended they hadn't been staring. Junghee rolled her eyes and got back to her food. A few minutes later a whiff of perfume made Junghee look up and found herself being eye to eyewith barbie, with her crew right behind her. Junghee calmly stared back into the girl's eyes before losing interest.

“Did you want something?” she asked and the girl huffed.

“It can talk,” she said and her tail laughed fake laughs and flipping their hair. Junghee sighed.

“Sure, it can talk. Can that answer?” Junghee made a weak motion towards the girl towering over her. The girl scoffed.

“Ew, I don't talk to s.” She emphazised the last word and made sure everyone around her could hear. Silence was starting to spread in the cafeteria and other students turned their heads to look at the ruckus.

“Then what are you doing here?” Junghee asked. Still in a calm voice but wished it would all be over soon. Flasbacks from old times were coming back to her and it was not something she would gladly think about. The girl beside her flipped her hair and huffed.

“You don't even deserve the title.”

“I would gladly give it to you,” Junghe replied composedly. The girl snorted and bent over, her face getting closer to Junghee's.

“Don't you dare touch Key, he's mine,” she hissed at Junghee.

“I wouldn't touch him even if my life depended on it,” she hissed back but contemplated her answer for a second and then added: “Unless it was for punching him of course.” The other female quickly withdrew her face from Junghee's personal space.

“God, you're such an animal,” she said in a shrill voice. “Yeri, Seulgi, let's go!” Junghee watched the rest of the cafeteria follow the girlswith their eyes as they left and then turning to look at Junghee and whispering excitedly. Junghee sighed nad got up from her chair, taking her tray with her. She wasn't made to have an audience...

Key was laying on his bed, avoiding homework, when Junghee entered the room. He gave her one look and could immediately tell that she had been introduced to the rumours.

“I didn't spread them,” he said quickly. Junghee didn't even look at him as she walked up to her desk.
“Of course you didn't, it would ruin your image,” Junghee said quietly while sitting down on her chair and opening a book. Key made round eyes.

“You're not mad at me?” he asked. Junghee glanced at him with a frown.

“Of course I am, I'm always mad at you. Right now I'm just angrier with someone else...”

“Oh...” Key leaned back on his pillows and let the silence spread. Surprisingly, Junghee was the first one to break it.

“How do you deserve to be a ?”

“What?” Key looked at her.

“My point exactly. If I not actually am a , what do I do to deserve to be called one?” Junghee looked back at Key who felt very confused. He shrugged his shoulders.

“How would I know,” he said. “That's something you girls work out among yourselves.” Junghee turned her chair to face Key.

“What kind of bull is that? I think you know these things way better than I do.” The two of them stared into each others' eyes for a while before Key avertedhis gaze and cleared his throat.

“Well... you've got to look like one,” he said hesitantly. He didn't even dare to glance at Junghee.

“Look like one?” Key held his breath as Junghee fell silent again. “These are all just some crappy stereotypes. I don't deserve to be called a because I don't look like the girls who are calling me one? I don't even know if I'm supposed to consider this an insult!” Key turned towards Junghee again, thinking really hard. Could he turn this into his favour?

“It's what most girls in this age strive for, because... it is what most guys look for in a girl.” Junghee looked skeptically at him.

“Seriously? Aren't you generalizing a bit too much right now? We're in university, we're supposed to be educated people.”

“Consisder the situation, which one of us are closer to reality?”Key and Junghee had another moment of intense eye contact.

“I'll do it,” Junghee said, once again breaking the silence. Key let her statement sink in for a bit.

“What?”

“I'll let you be my beauty manager,” Junghee clarified herself.

“Mwoh!?” Key gaped at her as she shrugged.

“If I'm going to be called a I might as well look like one,” she pointed out. “That would give them something to talk about,” she muttered in addition. Key bit his lip. This was too good to be true but still the tiny piece of conscience he had told that this was bad.

“I'm not sure you're doing this for the right reason...”Junghee chuckled.

“What could possible be the right reason to change yourself for someone else? Are you going to help me or not?” Key bit his lip even harder while looking into Junghee's eyes. “Before I change my mind please.” And that was for how long Key could think about a person other than himself. It was clear to him that if he didn't agree now to help her now he wouldn't have another chance, and he had absolutely nothing else to offer this girl that would help him survive this year. Key smiled brightly.

“Your new life starts tomorrow.”