"I've liked you...Since eight grade."

"I...HATE UGLY GIRLS."

That happened two years ago...But it seems like it just happened yesterday...

♦   ♦   ♦

   In a glorius mansion, there were five handsome boys, sitting in an elegant rose garden. One of them was just reading a letter which said: "...So anyway, please take care of my niece..."

The young man who read the letter looked up to his friends and said : "If we can turn the landlady's niece into a 'lady' who fits a mansion like this..." Then all of his friends joined him in finishing the end of a sentence in unison.

"We get to stay at this boarding house for free for three years!! yes! The landlady is soo cool!!"

"When she left the boarding house, I was ready to kill her, but..." said a young man whose name is Lee Chang Sun or as they call him--Lee Joon.

"She came from Austria huh?" said a young man whose name is Jung Byung Hee. " There's supposed to be tons of chics there! This should be fun..."

"You're not allowed to hit on your housemate, Byung Hee..." said the others.

"Her parents work in Africa." the youngest looking guy said. " Cool! they'll send us some african sweets! Like 'African Ho-Hos' and 'African Twinkies' !

"Ummm...Chul Yong, we don't think they have those in africa."

"Yun Soo Min..." a young man named Yang Park Sang Hyun said. "She's just one letter away from this famous poet's lover..."

"So what...?"

"She's not here yet?" asked a young man named Yang Seung Ho. "What's up with her taking so long?"

"Yeah! What's up with her?"

"But, she's at our age..." said Lee joon, thoughtfully."I wonder if she can really cook and clean..."

"Lee Joon! Don't burst our bubble man!"

"Hey, didn't your report card from elementary say : 'Doesn't play well with others' ? " asked Sang Hyun to Lee Joon.

"Oh, Shut up!"

Suddenly, a loud rustle came from the bushes on the back of them. The five young men turned around and to their big suprise it was---

"AAAAAHHH! A GHOST!!!"

They all stopped shouting. They looked at it and...

"Oh my gosh...It's a person..."

This 'person' that they are saying is hard to tell if it's a person at all. With her long, jet-black hair that looks like it's never been combed, with long bangs that extends down to her eyes (yes, it's a girl), a sweater that looks like she bought at a local store years ago with filthy, big, black stains, a cheesy, tattered bag that grocery stores give away, shoes that are canvas and, a skirt that looks like she made in her freshmen year with a very weird pattern, and the hems are coming off.

"Don't...Don't tell me..."said the shivering Sang Hyun to the girl. " You're Yun Soo Min..."

The girl nodded.

"WHAT?!" They all asked in unison. Then they all thought the very same thing : "She's the key to our free rent?"

♦   ♦   ♦

"These...are my housemates..." thought Soo Min as she saw the five of them. Unfortunately, because of her long bangs, she can't see them all very clearly.

"How mean of you auntie...I knew my housemates were gonna be boys, but...I can't stand around with these creatures of light! If I'm around with them for no longer than three seconds, I'll melt..." wondered Soo Min, trembling and shaking.

"I-I'll show you to your room..." said the scared Byung Hee.

"We're using the second floor..." said Seung Ho, trying hard to smile like everybody else (except for Soo Min and Lee Joon)." So you'll be on the first floor."

"Hey." said Lee Joon. "Your bangs are too long. You'd better cut them."

"You idiot! that's rude!"

"NO FREAKING WAY." replied Soo Min. "It's one of your business. I like it this way, so don't tell me what to do. " then she slammed the door shut of her room.

"What's her deal?" asked Lee Joon angrily, as he steps in to open the door of Soo Min's room.

"Calm down Lee Joon!" said Sang Hyun, stopping Lee Joon.

"She's just soo scary!" cried Chul Yong.

"I thought...fifteen year old girls...were into fashion..." said the trembling Byung Hee, as he scrtaches his face. Seung Ho was just there, with his hands covering his face. Everyone could tell he was scared as everyone else. After a few minutes, they were back and they returned to their own rooms.

♦   ♦   ♦ 

The next day at a nearby cafe...

All the girl costumers and waitresses were looking over at one table--the table were Lee Joon, Byung Hee, Sang Hyun, Chul Yong, and Seug Ho is sitting.

"I ran away because..." Seung Ho started "I was afraid to see her face, the first thing in the morning..." The others nodded in agreemant.

"I-I break out in a rash in my face every time I see an ugly girl..." said Byung Hee nervously.

"I really hate horror movies..."said Chul Yog, trembling.  "And soo Min is like a horror movie that came to life!"

"Soo Min doesn't look bad!..." said Sang Hyun, trying to break the negativity out of them. "But, she is kinda weird."

"Kinda weird? Kinda weird?" asked Seung Ho to Sang Hyun. "She is weird! No doubt about that!"

"I hate putting on a fake smile and trying to pretend that I like someone!" said Lee Joon angrily. Then he broke out, trembling. " And when I think I have to do that around her...Oh God, it's just so horrible..."

"Try doing it at least one, before you complain about it!"

While they were talking how terrible Soo Min is, all the waitresses were blushing and trying hard to ask them: "May I take your order?"

"Umm...what's your order?"

When the boys heard that question, they didn't even think about what they want. They automatically said: " All I want is a regular girl."

  Could you imagine the commotion that simple sentence started! All the blushing waitresses broke out in nosebleeds, some fainted,  and all the girl costomers went out flooding  to the boy's table saying : "pick me!", "I'm a regular girl!", "No! he was talking to me!", " No, me!" 

"Let's just go to a beef-bowl place." said sang Hyun.

"Yeah, it's too noisy here." agreed Seung Ho.

And the boys all went out, leaving the girls fighting for who spoke with who.

 ♦   ♦   ♦

"Hey Hershel...what should I do?"  murmured Soo Min, while she was holding her anatomical model whose name is Hershel. "I guess it's time for me to make dinner since it's evening but..." Then Soo Min shuddered. "Asking me to live with those creatures of light is like asking a vampire to stay out in the sun..."

Then suddenly, someone knocked the door of her dark room.

"Oh...They're here..." Soo Min opened the door slightly open, just enough for her to peek who's outside.

It was Byung Hee, Chul Yong, and Sang Hyun, carrying some food and drinks.

"You must be hungry!" They said, smiling to her. "We got a take-out."The boys were expecting that she will say thank you and take the food but, Soo Min said nothing. Except, she ran away, back to her dark room.

"Umm...So we'll just leave it out here..." said Byung Hee nervously.

After she was really gone, Chul Yong broke out in tears. "She's soo scary!"

"Hey! Chul Yong! Don't cry!" said Sang Hyun. " Hey, Seung Ho! go ask her to make dinner!"

"Huh? Why me?"

"Where's Joon anyway?"

"Oh, he's taking a shower."

_________

Back in Soo Min's room.

Soo Min was panting very hard. " They're soo bright... I'll melt...I'll surely melt...I guess I should really make dinner now...Oh no, I don't really wanna go out there..." So she went out her door and took the the food that they left for her, and went back to her room to watch her horror movie.As she was eating her food and watching her horror movie she though: "Ahhh....This is room, my lovely room, is my only sanctuary in this light- saturated world." Then suddenly someone opened the door of her bathroom. Light was coming in the dark room of Soo Min's that's why she got up fast while thinking: "My sanctuary's being invaded by light!" 

"Oh, you want dinner right? I'll come out, don't open it..."

Then suddenly the wind brushed through her long bangs, and she saw perfectly who opened the door: It was Lee Joon, half- from the shower. Then the whole mansion can hear the incredible scream--

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Sang Hyun, Chul Yong, Seung Ho and, Byung Hee, who was eating, dropped their spoons, including their mouths.

"What happened?!"

"So Joon finally hit her!"

They all charged on Soo Min's room only to find Soo Min, kneeling and trembling, and saying : "Go away!.... Don't come near me!" While Lee Joon was just there, standing and not doing anything at all.

"What did you do to her?"

"Joon! Did you make a move on her?"

"There's no way you'd do that right?"

"Did you hit her?"

Lee Joon was trembling in anger. " Who the hell do you think you are...screaming and shouting : 'Go away'....Right in my face? I'M TRYING TO BE NICE TO YOU SO I CAN GET FREE RENT!"

"Ah, you idiot! you told her!

Lee Joon continued "OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO TALK TO YOU? WHY WOULD ANYONE EVEN WANT TO GO TO YOUR CREEPY ROOM?" 

All that Soo Min (still trembling) replied was : "...My creepy room?"

Now that she said it, they looked at her room. It was really dark, with a pile full of newspapers and articles about sorceries and murders, two anatomical models (Hershel and Akira) , and a Skeleton model (Josephine), and a big television with a very loud horror-movie on it.         

The boys all screamed. Except Lee Joon who said : "She's as scary as she looks..."

When they stopped screaming, Sang Hyun asked Soo Min : " Do you....Hate guys? Did something bad happened to you or something? Lee Joon was half . That's because he just got out of the shower."

"Oh yeah!" agreed the others. "If that's the case, we'll be more careful."

"NO." said Soo Min, still trembling and kneeling down. "No. Nothing happened. Now leave! Hurry!" Now at this time, all of them are annoyed. 

"Fine... do you really hate us that much?" Then they slammed the door shut.

"But.....But...." Thought Soo Min, with her bleeding nose. "They're gorgeus. How can I live with people who are so gorgeus?" Then she looked up at her television only to find the 'Friday The 13th' playing. Then she thought: "Hey Jason...What if they took your chainsaw and hockey mask away and forced you to live with Cleopatra and the chinese princess Yooki in the palace of Versailles or in Hideyoshi's golden tea room??...What would you do, Jason?" Then she stood up, picked her bag up, then said: I'll leave.And I'll go somewhere that suits me better...Like an underground tunnel or a sewer. So she bid goodbye to all her 'friends' (Josephine, Hershel, and Akira) and went down the window. 

♦   ♦   ♦

At a playground, Soo Min was there, swinging in the swings gloomily.

"Maybe I'll camp out here tonight." She thought. "The underground tunnels were more crowded and brighter than I thought they'd be....And I couldn't open the manhole to get into the sewer. I don't have any money and I have nowhere to go..."

Suddenly, two (ugly) boys showed up. " Hey... There's a girl here!"

"I know! We haven't been able to pick up any chics."

"Hey, Miss! Will you talk to us?" they asked Soo Min, maliciously.

"I've never been hit on in my life...Why tonight?" She thought.

"Hey Cutie!" The boys approached her. But as Soo Min turned around to face them, cries went out.

"AAAAAHHH! IT'S A GHOST! IT'S THE GIRL FROM 'The Ring'!!"

When she heard that, Soo Min, ran away. Sooner, A lot of people gathered around the two boys. 

"A ghost?"

"No way! Where?"

"Whoa! She's gone!"

"No way!"

"She's the real thing?"

As Soo Min ran, this thoughts came to her mind : "There's nowhere...There's nowhere left for me to go..."Then she tripped and fell to the ground. And the crowd earlier, found her and surrounded her. But no one helped her to get up from the ground. All they did was laugh.

"Aww, poor thing..."

"Go help her out!"

"No way! I would! If she was cute!"

"But...she's not."

Tears rolled in Soo Min's face as she sighed and thought : "I wish I could just melt into the darkness." 

Then something--someone hit her head real hard. Soo Min looked up to see who it was. And it was Lee Joon, panting hard as if he ran all the way to her.

"Don't run away....over some stupid thing that I just said." He said panting.

"Oh...If you mean the rent..."

"No. Seriously..." He said, while he took her hand. " A girl shouldn't be walking alone at this time of the night."

"..."

As they walked home, (holding hands) people were murmering and talking about them.

"Look at that!"

"What a crazy couple!"

"They must be filming a tv show."

"Maybe he's a talent scout for a haunted house."

"Maybe, there's a hidden camera here somewhere..."

All Lee Joon can do is ask Soo Min to walk faster and ask the others that what they're looking at.

"When they arrived home, Lee Joon said to her: " Don't tell them that I went looking for you...Who knows what they'd say." After a few minutes he left to go with the others but Soo Min kept touching and holding her hand that  Lee Joon held, and she kept thinking and thanking God that she didn't melt.Then she heard a crash in the kitchen. She peeked to see what happened and he saw Lee Joon his finger, and saying 'ouch' all over.

"Can you really cook, Joon?" Sang Hyun asked.

"I bet you'll cut your finger before you even finish." said Chul Yong agreeing with Sang Hyun.

"Let's just go out and eat..." Added SeungHo.

"No. We're already broke. Let's just call some girls over." Byung Hee said.

"OUCH!" screamed Lee Joon.

"Maybe we should just help him..."

"we don't even know if she can cook...So it might've been like this anyway..."

"Don't remind me of her, Seung Ho!" said Sang Hyun angrily. We never should've counted on that girl! All she ever say is, " go away", "Don't come near me", or " Don't tell me what to do...."

When Soo Min heard this, she recalled what does the boys say to her.... like: "You must be hungry", "Did something bad happened to you or something?", "If that's the case, we'll be more carefull..." and, " a girl shouldn't be walking alone at this time of the night."                

At this point, she went to the kitchen and suprised all the boys. And she picked up a kitchen knife and said : "Sit down. " 

The boys sat down but they were whispering to each other. 

"The knife..."

"Is it her weapon...?"

"Who..."

"Who's she gonna kill first?"

"It's okay. She'll kill Lee Joon first..."

But it was there suprise because Soo Min didn't kill anyone at all. Except, she chopped a fish's head off.  And blood was splattering all over. The boy's went to peak what was she doing, then they smelled the sweet aroma of cooking.

"She's...She's cooking?"

"Seems like it but..."

Then they went to peek at it. They saw Soo Min cooking, while wearing the landlady's (girly) apron, and she tied her hair up. And all the boys could do is watch her cook. When she finished cooking, the boys immediately went back to the table and waited for Soo Min to serve the food. When the food was served they took a bite at it. And when they took a bite at it, it felt as if they were in a beach, watching the sunset.

"THIS IS REALLY GOOD!" they all said, taking fast, big, bites in their food. 

"Umm..."Soo Min said. "I apologize for what happened earlier...Bye"

"Wa-Wait!" It was Byung Hee. He smiled " I think she excites me. She's a good cook and besides... The nape of her neck is kinda cute. She might not be too bad..." Then he turned to Soo Min. "Okay show me your face sweetie!"

"Please don't make me--"

Before Soo Min could even finish her sentence, Lee Joon tackled her, and pinned her to the ground. While Soo Min was struggling to move free from him, Lee Joon showed her a hairband and smirked

 "You screamed when you saw my face!" he said. " So you should at least show me yours! Show me your face! I'll decide wether your ugly or not!"

"Stop, stop, please!"

"Shut up, stop struggling."

"Nooooo! I haven't seen my face for two years! So...so--" Then she struggled too much, p pack of flour went into her face. Now that was the time Lee Joon tied her bangs up and said sorry. When she rose up, all of them were suprised. They catched a glimpse of her face--her beautiful face. But then she got a towel and wiped her face with the flour in it. And she kept saying : " They saw it...They saw it...How awful"

"But she looks normal!"

"Yeah!"

"She looks nice!"

"Don't say anything!" interrupted Soo Min. "I don't want to hear it..." Then she looked up and got an even better vision of what they all look like.

"So this is what they look like..." She thought

But the boys got a closer look at Soo Min to their suprise, the beautiful face was gone--and it was replaced by a face with a lot of pimples, a unibrow, a light mustache, puffy eyes, and eyebags. It just took a second for them all to scream at each other. After that Soo Min ran away to her room.

"She's real, really, really scary..." cried Chul Yong.

"Wow...The magic of flour..." said Sang Hyun nervously

"Just when I got all excited..." Byung Hee said, blushing.

"I thought she'd be way uglier.." said Lee Joon in a normal way.

Back at Soo Min's room...Soo Min was kneeling down and she was trembling.

"Oh, no...This is really serious...I'm losing blood" she thought as blood came out right in her nose.

Then came a knock at the door.  Seung Ho called, "Soo Min...We made you some tea!" The door opened, and to all of their suprise, Soo Min was wearing a big black cloak , and sunglasses. As she went out of her room she said, " If I'm in a bright place for no more than three seconds, I'll melt..."

Then the telephone rang. Byung Hee answered it.

"Hello...the landlady?!" Then all of the boys turned and watched Byung Hee, handling the conversation.

"Don't worry..." Byung Hee answered cooly. " She's already turning into a 'beautiful lady' ! And it's only been in one day...yes...yes...Just leave it to us!"Then Byung Hee hanged up the phone. They all looked at Soo Min and said : She's even weirder than she was before...She's not just unladylike, she's unhuman. There's no wasy we can make her inta a 'lady'...the rent....We've gotta do this, even if it is scary...LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!"