The hallways feel different now.

You used to blend in - head down, books clutched, voice soft. You weren't invisible, but you weren't seen. At least, not like this. Over the summer, something changed. A new wardrobe, clearer skin, sharper eyeliner, confidence - or at least the look of it. Now eyes follow you when you walk. Whispers trail behind you like perfume. But none of it feels real. Not when the voice in your head still says, they're staring for the wrong reasons.

Until Hana Sooyoung stops you in the middle of the hallway like it's a movie scene and you're the main character. She's leaning against your locker - perfect posture, glossy lips, phone in one hand like a crown she doesn't need to wear. She tilts her head, eyes scanning you from head to toe. Not in a mean way. In a calculating, curious, interested way.

"You know," she says, voice like sugar with a blade hidden underneath, "If you keep walking around like that without knowing what you're doing, you're going to start a riot."

You blink. "What?"

She smirks, stepping closer. "I'm saying, you got hot. Like... dangerously hot. And people are noticing. I'm noticing."

That's how it starts.

She begins sitting next to you in class, inviting you to lunch with the "It Girls," dragging you into bathrooms during break to reapply lip gloss and fix your posture. She critiques gently but honestly - "Don't slouch, babe. Confidence is your best accessory." She teaches you how to flirt with your eyes, how to walk like you own the floor, how to shut down a hater with one eyebrow raise.

But it's not just about looks. Hana teaches you how to take up space. And maybe she starts giving you looks - the kind she tells you to give boys. At lunch, her hand lingers on yours a little too long. In the hallway, she tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear and whispers: "You don't need anyone to tell you you're pretty. But... if you want someone to say it, I will. Every damn day."

You feel like you're drowning in a life you're not used to - but she's the one pulling you to the surface. And maybe, just maybe, Hana Sooyoung isn't turning you into her. She's helping you become someone even she could fall for.