Ju-kyoung laid on her bed happily.
"Come on, world! Just wait for it — your next pretty girl is coming tomorrow!" she laughed excitedly, glancing at her phone.
Next morning...
---
Chapter 8: A New Life
Ju-kyoung climbed the staircase, feeling unusually confident. Today, every gaze seemed to follow her. People couldn't believe their eyes.
"Did she use lipstick on her eyebrows?" someone whispered as they stared.
Ju-kyoung smiled as she walked down the hallway, feeling their eyes fixed on her.
"What the...?" others murmured, shocked and surprised, unable to look away.
"Why are they all staring?" Ju-kyoung wondered as she continued walking.
A few students, drinking water, caught sight of her and immediately spit it out in shock.
"Oh my goodness," someone gasped as she passed by.
Ju-kyoung kept her face forward, refusing to make eye contact. I must look gorgeous today... or maybe I actually look pretty now? she thought as she reached her classroom door.
She took a deep breath and walked inside.
Immediately, the noisy classroom fell silent. Sam-mi walked toward her and suddenly burst out laughing. The entire class stared in disbelief, then exploded into laughter.
Ju-kyoung was momentarily confused—but then, seeing their reactions, she smiled. They're laughing… that means it worked, right?
"Hurry, take a picture!" someone yelled, still laughing hard.
Sam-mi approached, her laughter intensifying as she examined Ju-kyoung's face.
"So, since when did you turn into a clown? Seriously, Ju-kyoung—did you use paint as foundation? When did foundation turn white?"
Everyone laughed harder. Ju-kyoung stood silently, unsure what to do.
Sam-mi continued, "No, really—did you use lipstick for blush?"
The students couldn't stop laughing. "This is insane! Take a picture!" someone shouted, as more phones pointed toward Ju-kyoung's face.
Sam-mi looked closely at her eyebrows and burst out laughing again.
"Please don't tell me you used a marker as eyeliner?"
Ju-kyoung's eyebrows were deep red, her lipstick crooked above her lips, and her eyes, dark and hollow, didn't match the overdone red and unpleasant pink on her cheeks.
"This is unbelievable," someone whispered.
Sam-mi stepped closer. "Come on, take a picture of me with our new celebrity! Honestly, it's rare to see a free clown these days."
They searched for the best angle, but unfortunately for Ju-kyoung, none of her side profiles looked any better.
Her hands tightened around her skirt as they laughed, insulted her, and took pictures.
Someone pushed her hair behind her ears to better reveal the full disaster of her makeup—white and glowing, but not in a good way.
"And they let you leave the house like this? She's... something else," Sam-mi said, still adjusting Ju-kyoung's hair.
Ju-kyoung tried to turn away, but Sam-mi kept holding her in place.
Ju-kyoung inhaled deeply. I won't cry. Not today.
She stood speechless as they touched her face and kept snapping photos.
---
At home, Ju-kyoung's mother was on the phone. She sat by the glass door overlooking the garden, watching as heavy rain began to fall.
"Yes, I need to sell it fast," she said into the phone, her voice cracking.
"We need this money quickly. As soon as possible, please." She forced a smile. "Thank you."
She sighed and stood up—only to see a shadow standing in front of her.
She nearly fainted.
The figure's hair was messy and stiff, as if drenched in honey. Her face looked like a clown—a very scary one.
"Aah!" Ju-kyoung's mum screamed, collapsing to the floor and clutching her chest. Her eyes widened in horror as she screamed again.
The figure stepped closer. Ju-kyoung's mum tried to push her away, her hands trembling.
"It's me, Mum. Ju-kyoung."
Her mother slowly calmed, breathing deeply. The room was dim from the power outage that came with the rain.
"What on earth did you do to your face?" she asked, still trying to steady herself.
Ju-kyoung's mum stood up and stepped closer. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Ju-kyoung murmured, "Heart attack?"
Her brows furrowed. "I just put on some makeup..."
Her mother stared at her, shocked. "Is it that bad?" Ju-kyoung whispered.
She had even let her hair down today.
Her mum scoffed. "Is it that bad?" she echoed.
"It's costume makeup, for crying out loud!"
She shouted, "Did you just get back from filming a horror movie?!"
Ju-kyoung stood quietly.
Her mother grew more frustrated. "Wash it off—immediately!"
Ju-kyoung looked at her desperately. "I'm too embarrassed to go back to school."
She rushed forward and clung to her mother. "Mom, I want to transfer schools. Please, will you let me?"
She held her mother's hand tightly. Her mum sighed and pulled her hands free.
"You don't need to beg," she said as she sat back down, exhausted. "We're moving back to our old place anyway. So you'll have to transfer schools."
Ju-kyoung's eyes widened. "Really? You mean it?"
She started laughing, then jumped with excitement.
"Yes!" she squealed. "Yes!"
Her mum looked at her in disbelief. "You really can't read the room, can you?"
Ju-kyoung kept laughing, dancing around. "I feel like celebrating! I'm transferring schools—yay!"
Her mother got up and gently tapped her back. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"
Ju-kyoung collapsed onto the chair, still giggling and rubbing her back.
Just then, her brother walked into the living room. "I'm home!"
The lights flickered on as the power returned, lighting up the room—unfortunately for poor Lim Ju-young.
He smiled at his mum, who smiled back. Then he turned to see his sister.
He froze. Then he screamed.
"Oh my goodness—my eyes!" he shouted, shielding his face.
"I almost peed myself!"
Ju-kyoung threw a pillow at him in frustration. "Lim Ju-young, I'll kill you!"
Their mum scolded, "Why would you kill my precious son?"
"Why?!" She tapped Ju-kyoung's forehead. Ju-kyoung winced, glaring at Lim Ju-young, who laughed in amusement.
Ju-kyoung walked in to her bedroom then placed her bag on the bed then sat in front of her mirror. " what's rong with my make up ".? Ju-kyoung murmured.
Before her eyes landed on the mirror her reflection showed very graceful.
Ju-kyoung screamed. " I look like a clowns".
She inhaled deeply. " if not worst ". She thought before lying on the bed tired.
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