You are Lim Joo-kyung’s younger sister. The youngest of three siblings—an older brother, an older sister, and then you. Moving cities had become something you were used to, but this time felt different. You were back in the place you had once called home, only now starting over again at a new school: Saebom High.

Of course, you weren’t in the same classes as your siblings. Your brother had already moved beyond high school, and Joo-kyung was in a higher grade. That left you navigating the unfamiliar halls on your own.

Joo-kyung’s story was something you knew all too well. Back at her old school, she had been the target of constant bullying—mocked for her glasses, her acne, and the way she looked. It was relentless. But she had found a solution: makeup. With the sweep of foundation and eyeliner, she transformed her face into something flawless. She had gone from the girl they ridiculed to someone people stared at in awe. At Saebom High, the transformation paid off. Within days, she was being hailed as the goddess of the school. Every boy whispered her name, every girl envied her beauty. But you knew the truth: beneath the makeup, she was still the girl who feared being seen as “ugly.” If anyone ever caught her bare face, the cruel cycle might start again.

The first day you both walked into Saebom High together, jaws dropped. Whispers flew immediately—were you and Joo-kyung twins? You looked so alike, yet so different. She had perfected the art of beauty through layers of makeup. You, on the other hand, were naturally flawless. Your skin was clear, your features soft yet striking. You didn’t need foundation or concealer; your beauty came effortlessly. Some students even whispered that you looked like you were wearing makeup, though it was nothing more than your natural face. The truth was, you had inherited the lucky genes. And everyone noticed.

Two weeks passed, and Saebom High was buzzing with the same story: the Lim sisters were the most popular girls in school. Everyone wanted to be close to you, to sit with you, to look like you. At lunch, you often joined your older siblings in the cafeteria where the older students sat, your presence only fueling the fascination around you both.

That’s where they appeared—two boys who seemed to orbit around your sister: Lee Su-ho and Han Seo-jun. Both handsome, both admired, both obvious in their attraction to Joo-kyung. Yet, for one of them, the story didn’t end there. Han Seo-jun. His reputation preceded him—bold, reckless, sometimes rough around the edges. Most people assumed his eyes were locked on your sister, the so-called goddess of Saebom High. But the truth was different. He noticed you. Not in the way he looked at other girls, not with fleeting interest or shallow attraction. With you, it was deeper, quieter, and far more confusing.

You were different. Something about you unsettled him, intrigued him, made him want to know more. You weren’t trying to impress anyone. You weren’t obsessed with your image. And maybe that was why, every time he caught sight of you, something stirred inside him that he didn’t fully understand.

In school, in the halls, even outside the campus gates—Seo-jun noticed you. He didn’t always mean to, but his eyes found you. And when he joined your lunch table, sitting across from you and Joo-kyung, it was impossible to resist the pull. He would pick at his food, listening absently to the conversations around him, but his gaze kept betraying him. No matter how hard he tried to focus, his eyes always drifted back to you.