"Oh god, here we go again." Chae Min mutters under her breath. Another day at Jeguk High. She doubts she will survive the day. What if those girls seek revenge? They definitely are less innocent than they look. She tries to convince herself that the incident in the cafeteria is probably long forgotten after the weekend. Hopefully. 

"Hey!"

Chae Min looks up to see several familiar faces waving at her. She immediately turns to walk in another direction. Damn it, she is so close to the entrance of the building but that bunch of wild boys are in the way. They were the reason she caused a scene last Friday. She is not avoiding them because of the fact that she has been warned by Seo Yeon but Chae Min just really need to stay out of trouble right now. 

She quickens her pace as she can hear the steady footsteps behind her. She realizes she is heading towards the wrong way and into the school garden. She steals a quick glance and sees three boys tailing her. Chae Min curses quietly when she makes eye contact with one of them. He winks cutely at her and she frowns to cover her blush. Bad boys and good looks are every girl's weak spot.

"Yah. You don't have to hurry. We're quite enjoying this little detour you're leading us." he calls out.

Chae Min sighs. She stops abruptly. Swirling around, the boys are less than a feet away from her. She scans their faces, trying to recall their names. She is certain there's one more guy. The ringleader. 

"What do you want?"

"Let's be friends okay, sweetie?" One of them leans forward and reaches out. He flips the wild hair that are covering Chae Min's face out of the way. She wills herself not to budge to show that she is not bothered. 

"Sweetie? How can we be friends if you don't even know my name?"

"Of course we know you're Chae Min. Not just us. In fact the whole school does."

"What? Why?" Chae Min asks dumbly even though she knows the exact answer to that question.

"You're all over everyone's SNS! They are declaring you the new Queen B." The first guy laughs, almost in disbelief. He gestures to themselves and adds, "But of course, Your Majesty is going to need knights by your side."

"I am judging you pretty damn hard right now even though I don't know your names." Chae Min crosses her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow.

"Aww c'mon, you can't be serious. We already told you the other day!" the quieter one who is holding books finally speaks up. Chae Min remembers him. He was the only one out of the bunch who paid attention in Bio class the other day. Chae Min gives a little shrug. 

"Anyway, I'm Ahn Dong Wook." the winker interrupts. "Heir to Ching Gu Financial Company."

The middle boy with a pair of headphones hanging around his neck offers a handshake and introduces himself as Lee Chan Woo. 

"Chan Wookie is from a family of doctors, his parents are directors in the Han Private Hospital and his hyung is famous surgeon Lee Chan Bin." Dong Wook adds, as if that is the whole point. Chan Woo however, fixes his gaze at the floor and looks away as if he's not the least proud of his family background. Chae Min is already impressed at this point but she tries hard to hide it from showing on her face.

"Didn't think I'll ever have to introduce myself to a girl twice because none has ever forgotten my name before but hi, I'm Choi Seung Jun." the last one smirks, apparently he really is pretty amused that she does not remember their names. She is pretty sure everybody they have met must be dying to be closer to them. Should she take pride in the fact that they are all paying attention to her?

Chae Min stares at Seung Jun, waiting for the second half of his introduction about his also rich family. He notices and gives a nervous laugh.

"Nothing much to brag about my family, sorry."

"Don't try to act like a humble ." Chan Wook pushes him playfully. The look in his eyes screams 'I'm not going down on this on my own, you're coming with me'. Are these two possibly ashamed of their household? But how could anyone be tired of being rich and famous? 

"Seung Jun's dad is the health minister and his grandfather was also a member of the National Assembly." Dong Wook steps in and finishes. The other two flashes him a quick glare, as if this is usually what happens. 

Chae Min does not know how to react to all of these. She knows they must be some big shot because they are practically the kings of the school. Has to be a legit reason for the other kids to worship them. Or fear them. She shivers, recalling how Seo Yeon and her friends treated the others, as if they were worth nothing. 

And now they supposedly made her queen.

But she is a nobody compared to them. Chae Min has never been to a school in Korea before. Back in the States, she never really stood out. Just an Asian girl. She started off pretty rough when she first got there, the language barrier, new environment and new people around her. She managed to scrape past that, left a wound but she was okay. She learnt that the only chance of survival is lay low and blend in. She used to think that if she can get through that, schools in Korea will be a breeze. Her family is never short of money, maybe nowadays they are but Chae Min always thought they were better off than most people. 

'Well, not here you're not.' she thinks. She learnt that the everyone is either an inheritor or belongs to a influential family background. Her father is just basically a humble business man. 

"Thanks for your very detailed introductions." Chae Min does not even try to hide her sarcasm. "Think it'll take a while to get used to people telling me what their parents' jobs are right after we just met." 

Chan Woo tilts his head in disapproval.

"Or second time meeting." Chae Min corrects. "Whatever. Important thing now is, we have class so how about we get going?" 

"Jong Tae isn't here yet." Dong Wook points out as a matter of fact. "He's the handsome guy who rescued you the other day."

Chae Min remembers him alright. She is quite sure he was the one who got her into trouble the first place. She scrunches her nose in disgust.

"Is that a compliment I hear?" A voice calls out. Everybody turns to see Jong Tae casually walking towards them. Chae Min subconsciously holds her breath as she takes in the view. This boy is definitely model material. Jong Tae bro fists and high fives the dudes naturally. 

"Hi." He greets awkwardly. Studying Chae Min's face for a moment, he throws in a short "let's go." and continues walking.

She sighs. Awkward boys and their charms. What a cutie but he is not her cutie. An image of Seo Yeon holding a bloody machete pops up in her mind. And if that does not scare Chae Min enough, a laughing Young Do replaces Seo Yeon. Surprised and shocked but not being able to understand why he showed up, she shakes her head, getting rid of both images. 

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Chae Min decides that she cannot deal with it anymore. She raises her hand to excuses herself and runs for the door. Once outside the classroom, she slumps to the floor and lets out a deep long breath. She was in class for barely half an hour but it was tormenting enough. She wants to stay out of sight so she picked the corner seat at the end of the classroom. That was the stupidest idea ever because the four boys are sitting around her, forming a perfect trap. As if that is not enough, her classmates keep glancing at her every 5 seconds, whispering to each other. The teacher is pretty annoyed, Chae Min can tell, but he seems to know he will not be able to do anything about it.

Chae Min picks herself up and walks towards the washroom. She is too absorbed in her own thoughts to realize that someone is running behind her and then walks side by side next to her. She stops and turns suddenly. Chae Min jerks back reflexively when her eyes meet Jong Tae's.

"Oh my god." She squeals, in a very uncute way."How long have you been -"

"Hahahahaha!" Jong Tae laughs loudly, he shakes his head, absolutely amused. He clears his throat after chortling for a good whole minute. "Wow, I don't think I've laughed this much for a very long time. Nobody has made me laugh out loud like this for a long time and you didn't even have to try."

"Really? That's surprising since you have so many friends." Chae Min scoffs. "Everybody wants to be your buddy."

"True." He runs his hand through his hair. Her heart freezes. "But you don't."

"Well, to be fair, we got off a wrong start. So I guess I'm still a little hostile towards you guys." Chae Min shrugs. She stares at the floor, avoiding eye contact. "Though I really don't think we should be friends if I want to survive the rest of the year."

"Is this because of Seo Yeon and her friends?" He stops walking and holds on to her elbow. She unwillingly notices how warm his large hands are. "You don't have to fear them."

"Why?" Chae Min asks in a tone of sarcasm. "Because my new freaky schoolmates decide to put me on her throne?"

Jong Tae releases her elbow. Without any explanation, he gently pants her head, caressing her hair, the look on his face as if he can't help himself.  The way he touches her so lovingly is killing her inside. She wants to push him away. But how could she? Even though she knows something is really wrong with this picture. Jong Tae is ridiculously sweet and handsome. He definitely is not after her because of her new found 'fame', he has got plenty of his own, that's for sure. Maybe he is just toying with her. The way popular guys always do with the quiet girl in movies, well, in her case, the lost little new girl.

Is that really the reason Chae Min should stay away from this boy? For her own sake as to not get her feelings hurt in the end? Or is it something else? A someone maybe?

'You're mine.' 

Young Do's voice rings over and over again in her mind. Why does that little scumbag shows up every time she is with Jong Tae?!

"No." Jong Tae's voice brings her back to reality. He tucks one side of her hair behind her ear. "Because you have me now. I'll protect you."

The school bell rings around the school at this exact moment. Chae Min's mouth drops open. Not knowing what to say, she shuts it again. She feels a giggle building up but is afraid to let it out. Are boys in Korea all so ridiculously romantic at random timings???

A voice booms through the speakers: "Attention to Miss Lee Chae Min. Please report to the principal's office. I repeat. Miss Lee Chae Min, the principal's office, please."

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"I'll be here waiting." 

Jong Tae stands next to Chae Min outside the school office. Even though they both know what is about to go down in the principal's room, they do not say anything. He gives her a reassuring pat on the back. Chae Min sighs. She knocks twice on the door before entering. 

For a moment, she almost forgets she is in a high school. The interior design of the office is as grand as a five star hotel. A chandelier hangs, lighting up the entire place. A woman all dressed up in a fitting blazer, pencil skirt and heels approaches her. She leads Chae Min to the waiting area, which looks like the lobby of a hotel. She sits anxiously on the Victorian leather couch.

She has not seen the principal yet, though she has heard some rumors about her. Apparently she took over the post half a year ago and is pretty well known for taking bribery. Her pocket must be filled with cash, considering the parents of students here are all filthy rich.  

Finally, she is allowed into the principal's room. Expecting a middle aged woman, Chae Min is surprised to see such a young lady to be the principal. Her hair looks like Lana Del Rey's, wearing a pair of stylish spectacles. Chae Min reads the glass name plate on the table - Kang Ye-Sol. 

"Erm, good morning, m-miss?" Chae Min stammers, not because of she is scared of the principal but she is just somewhat surprised. 

"You're the new girl, aren't you?" the principal does not even bother to offer Chae Min a seat. She flips through a file before tossing it aside like trash on the table, like she is done reading it. Chae Min realizes that it is her student profile. 

'Hmm, maybe that explains the cold treatment.' She thinks, the cold harsh reality hitting her once again that money and family background is all that matters here.

"Yes." she replies shortly. Chae Min is not one to put up with being looked down upon, especially when her family is not something that she is not proud of. Miss Kang narrows her eyes at her response. 

"I heard you caused a lot of trouble on your first day." she crosses her arms across her chest. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Chae Min maintains eye contact in the minutes of honest storytelling. She tries hard to tell it as it is and not to sound too disgusted at Seo Yeon. Miss Kang does not seem like she is on Chae Min's side though. Raising her eyebrows every time Seo Yeon is said to be a . By the time she is done, the principal has a look on her face like fangirls when their fandom is being attacked. Like a threatened mother bear.

"Well, it was self defense." Chae Min finishes, unshaken. "I mean, I admit, I was also at fault but ask anyone, that girl started it first."

"That girl," Miss Kang echos. She stands up abruptly, losing her composure and shouts, "That girl is Kim Seo Yeon! Do you even know who her father is, you little peasant?!"

"So, parents' identities still matter in this school, I see."

The door flings open, a man's voice calmly continues. "I sure hope you have not forgotten your mother's then, Kang Ye-Sol.

Chae Min recognizes the voice without seeing the person, she turns around immediately. "Ch-Choi Young Do."

Miss Kang gasps. Her face fades to white, shock written all over her face.

Young Do's appearance is clearly unexpected. Anyone would be surprised to see such a handsome man, looking so dashingly charming standing at the door, looking like a model in that perfectly tailored suit and tie. 

'Wait, what.' Pause. A voice shouts inside of Chae Min's head. 'THAT'S JUST YOU, OKAY!'

The principal is probably shocked because Young Do is an influential man. Or maybe the fact that a teenager who is a nobody knows him. But there is more, Chae Min is sure. The way Young Do speaks to her, he obviously knows her, and her mother?

Could they be exes?

'Oh eww.' Chae Min pukes in her mind. 'Gurl, you gotta focus on the current situation and stop over thinking!'

"Choi Young Do." Miss Kang seems confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you remember me." Young Do approaches the table. He pulls out the chair next to Chae Min. He gives her a wink before sitting down. "Of course you do, who can forget me right?"

Chae Min resists the urge to roll her eyes. That narcissistic bastard. 

When Miss Kang does not reply, he continues. "How is your life? None of us saw you since high school. We all thought you went to help your mother in her b-" Young Do does not finish his sentence, he smiles, as if on purpose, to tease the lady. She is not sure why, but Chae Min finds this scene so hauntingly familiar.

"Chae Min-ah," he holds her hand, "I got this, alright? Go outside."

Miss Kang's eyes pop open wide at this. Chae Min quickly removes her hand from his grip. How inappropriate. She hesitates, not wanting someone else to clean up her mess. But something in Young Do's voice is so assuring, wanting her to depend on him. She finally nods, bows lightly to Miss Kang and leaves the room.

She finds herself sitting at the leather couch once more. She wishes she can hear what is happening inside the room. They definitely knows each other but it does not seem to have been romantically involved. Chae Min shifts uncomfortably in her seat knowing that the secretary keeps stealing glances at her. Young Do must have had caused a scene, barging in like that. But deep down, really deep down, she is actually glad. Pleased that Young Do came to her rescue. Or she would have been chewed up by that darn Miss Kang. It is comforting to know somebody has got  her back.

Young Do comes out shortly. He grins at Chae Min cheekily. 

"Dude." Chae Min runs to him. 

"Don't dude me, how unromantic." 

"Oh."

"You're welcomed?"

"Right, thanks, I suppose." Chae Min half frowns. She has so many questions. How did he know she will get into trouble? How did he know the principal? She does not know where to begin asking. 

"You didn't think you'd get off the hook easily after going against Kim Seo yeon, did you?" Young Do seems to be a mind reader. "She is after all the daughter of Damsung's. Hmm, they have good quality spare parts."

"What?"

"Anyway, I'm pretty cool right?" Young Do wraps his arm around her. "After you told me your story, I knew I'll have to come save your ."

"My don't need no saving." she grunts, pushing him away. Which only resulted him pulling her closer. "But how did you know the principal?"

"She was my ex.." Young Do drags, Chae Min finds herself holding her breath. "..schoolmate."

He laughs out loud at her obvious relief. He releases his arm and faces Chae Min. She turns sideway to face him too. Young Do holds one of her hands with both of his.

"I'm sorry I came too late and that lowly yelled at you." 

Chae Min suddenly sees why the scene back there in the principal's room seemed so familiar. The way Young Do talks to her and Miss Kang's face changes into fear. Its exactly the way the students in this room look when Kim Seo Yeon taunts them. Was Choi Young Do the bully back in his high school days? His family background would put him in a high position. And he does have that bad boy vibe.

'No.' Chae Min thinks, she refuses to believe this man is capable of bullying and tormenting others the way Seo Yeon does. He is by far the nicest person she knows. At least, he's nice to her. 

"Its okay." she replies, not really knowing what to say. Her eye level is at his tie. His luxurious looking tie. It is probably just his normal everyday working tie. Work?

"Don't you have to go to work?" she asks, trying to change the topic, at the same time trying to rid her thoughts. 

"You come first." he shrugs. Chae Min her head to one side and rolls her eyes automatically. He wraps his arm around her again, and this time Chae Min does not resist. They make it to the door.

"Thanks." she  says, sincerely. He leans down and kisses the crown of her hair. He breathes in the smell of her hair and makes a sound of approval.

"Anything for you, baby."

Chae Min opens the door to see Jong Tae staring right at them. She quickly steps away from Young Do. Rumors are going to break out if anyone found out about their relationship. She barely notices that little stare down between Jong Tae and Young Do. She can almost hear epic background music playing. Why is her life turning into a drama?

"Hey, how did it go?" Jong Tae turns his attention to her. "I was worried about you."

Again, Chae Min never gets her chance to say anything because Young Do always interrupts her. The coldness in his voice this time was icy.

"Why would you be?" 

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Young Do does not like the look of this boy. Staring at him as if he was caught having an affair. He reads the name tag on his shirt.

'Park Jong Tae.'

Of course, this has to be the guy that Kim Seo Yeon is eyeing on. Park Jong Tae. This name, could it be? Young Do wants to slap himself for not realizing earlier. The boy that the queen is after has to be king material. This boy is no joke, he is pretty much the Harry Potter of their world. The Chosen One.

Park Jong Tae, sole heir to KHM Bank. The largest and richest bank in all of Korea, also one of the top 10 banks internationally. Everybody wants to be on their good side. This young boy is going to grow up into the bigest big shot in the big shot world.

"I was worried about you." 

Young Do does not care about his god damn family, this teenager is not making a move on his girl.

"Why would you be?" he asks, like an animal claiming territory.

"Young Do, please." Chae Min tugs at his sleeve. 

"Who is this fellow?" the boy asks, Young Do feels a switch flip inside him. This young boy just spoke informally to him!

"Her boyfriend." he states as a matter of fact.

"No, he is not." Chae Min says in bored tone, as if this was expected, shaking her head. Young Do ruffles her hair and smiles lightly. He loves that she is already so used to him, it almost feels like they are very close to each other. Which kind of serves in his favor at this moment, with Jong Tae so closely observing them.

She looks up and laughs. Not really a laugh. More like a short exhale of amusement. And that smile which Young Do find so extraordinarily charming. 

"And, who may you be?" Young Do asks, half heartedly.

"Her soon-to-be boyfriend."

Chae Min gasps. Young Do smirks in annoyance. 

'This little bastard.' he curses in his head. How dare he has the guts to openly make a move on his girl? Choi Young Do's girl. Nobody has dared to even try this kind of with him, ever. He was born a king and has been treated like one ever since! But he knows Park Jong Tae is on a different level. He too, was raised to be a king someday. 

"No, he is not!" Chae Min exclaims. She throws her hands up in the air, indicating that she has had enough. She glares at Jong Tae, then at Young Do before storming off down the hallways. Jong Tae is about to turn to follow her but Young Do grabs the younger male. He is slightly shorter than Young Do. He may be joking but Young Do is not one to take chances. 

"Look, kiddo, you so far as even think of making a move on Chae Min.." Young Do does not finish his sentence, leaving a threat hanging is more effective than actually saying one. Something he has learnt through a dirty thing called business.  

Park Jong Tae does not seem the slightest threatened though, in fact he does a low chuckle, the way villains do in movies.

"You're Choi Young Do, right?" He guesses, but it is obvious that he already knows. Young Do is, after all, a powerful businessman. However, that may not be the reason Jong Tae recognizes him. "You're legendary. Thank you so much, yes, sarcasm implied, in case you don't get it, thank you for coming up with this brilliant idea of a hierarchy in school. You've made life so much easier!"

"I was childish back then but it seems to me you should not be the one to complain." Young Do scoffs.

"Just because I'm the richest heir, does not mean I should be put in the spotlight all the god damn time!!" 

"That's just the way its going to be for the rest of your life." Young Do releases him. He sort of understands the pressure Jong Tae is getting but he surely did not feel it when he was his age. His father gave him a fair amount of stress even when he was just a teenager, it must be so much more worse for this spoilt brat. And they are both the only child, which nobody to guide them and provide moral support. But he needs to know what is coming for him later on in life. His statement must have hit the boy like a brick, putting his fears into thoughts, Jong Tae is speechless so he continues.

"Because you were born to be under the spotlight, envious people will watch over your every move, waiting for you to make a mistake, so instead, why not put them in their place first? Rule them, make them tremble before you. You and I are the same - we are kings."

"You and I are different." Jong Tae basically growls. He straightens himself, plastering a crooked smile. "Some king you are, worrying about a girl you fancy from being stolen by a mere teenager?"

"Poor boy," Young Do mocks, he places a hand on Jong Tae's shoulder, as if comforting. "He doesn't realize he'll never be associated with the word 'mere', remember your lil spotlight?"

"You would know, you're the one who never fails to be on the covers of tabloids, think my maids are all crushing on you!" he retorts. "Wait, don't tell me you treat Chae Min just like those women you are always seen partying with? She is definitely way more than that."

"She definitely is," Young Do is quite done with this rude little . He wants to make this clear. "And she's mine. Off limits."

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Chae Min feels like throwing up. She tries to push away all her thoughts and concentrates on her Maths teacher. The gossiping got worse, much louder and it just will not stop. Being summoned to the principal's office is embarrassing enough without the constant whispers  of her classmates, wondering why and what happened. 

'Are these people for real? Do they not know or are they pretending?' she blinks back tears. She rests her the temple of her head on her fist and stares down on her empty notebook. 'Maybe they are taking in the pleasure of knowing that it wasn't them who got into trouble.'

She is pretty sure it is the latter.

Chae Min stares at the board with disinterest. She has already learnt all these in the States. They were not in the syllabus, Koreans have harder mathematics, they are Asians after all. She learnt them from her brother. Or more accurately, her brother forces her to learn them.

"They will prove to be useful one day."

Her brother's voice rings in her head. She has always doubted him because how could vectors and matrices ever help her in life? Now she sees what he meant, she may not need that knowledge in life but she sure need them now in her Korean high school. All those extra tuition classes does not seem to be in vain, she is certain that she is more advance than she is required to be. 

The classroom backdoor flings open and Chae Min snaps out of her daze. For the hundredth time, Young Do's appearance never fails to surprise her. You'd think she will be used to it by now. Everyone including the teacher seem equally, if not more, surprised as well.

"Oh hello." Young Do clears his throat. He probably did not expect so many pairs of eyes all turning their stares at him.

Quickly scanning the room, he finally spots Chae Min in the corner. Its as if he is in a trance, suddenly forgetting about the rest of the people in the room, he walks over to her. Grabbing her bag, he shoves everything on her table into it and slings it over his shoulder. Grabbing things and people seems to be what he does best because the next thing he does is grab Chae Min and in less than a minute, they are out of the room.

"My god, let go!" Chae Min practically shouts, her arm hurts under his grip. Maybe she shouldn't have struggled. She finds herself asking the most frequently asked question whenever Young Do is around. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Lets go get breakfast." Young Do says casually and smiles charmingly, Chae Min's butterflies does two back flips in her tummy. 

"I already had breakfast. And you can't just ing drag me out of school to what, get breakfast?"

"But I can, we have a deal."

"Erm, as far as I remember, the damn deal is that I hang out with you after school hours!"

"Hey, you said 'hang out', aww, I'm touched that you are finally putting it in such a nice way." He pets her head while never breaking eye contact. 

"Whatever." she sighs and turns to go back, forgetting that Young Do's hand is still gripping hers. He gives it a tug and Chae Min graciously twirls into his arms. He hugs her tight, completely enveloping her and she breathes in his cologne. She never thought that having your face squashed against a man's chest will feel this good and romantic. 

"Breakfast." he whispers huskily into her ears. She knows he is half mocking with that tone, but she still thought it is pretty y. She also likes imagining that he meant Chae Min is the breakfast. Not in a ual way but more like breakfast gives you energy throughout the day and she is important like the first meal of the day.

She hopes what she is thinking is true. Because Chae Min is sure she will not be able to get through a day without seeing Choi Young Do.

Hello all, once again, thank you for reading! Sorry for the late update, I have everything in my head but its just hard to find time to sit down and put them in words. Your lovely comments are really encouraging and motivating, so thank you very much. I'll make sure the next update is sooner than this one lol. Love y'all :)

ps. Kang Ye Sol aka the principal is also one of the characters in Heirs, in case you don't remember haha, she was the daughter of the lady who owned many bars in Gangnam. (the y one lol)