Outsmarted [Hwang Hyunjin]

Chapter 1

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I woke up groggy and tired because I never slept enough. It was a bad habit I picked up on last year and now I find it so difficult to sleep before midnight. I yawned, dreading the thought of having to leave my comfy bed. 

I got up and stretched. This is my first day at my new school. I actually would've attended this school before, but I decided to go to another one after facing some bullying in my elementary years. Most of the bullying was because of the way I looked, and I was shy too, so I guess I was an easy target for the mean kids at my school. The insults were usually aimed towards my weight; they would call me fatty and all the other lovely insults you can think of. 

I brushed off the memories of my old life, kind of sad to have remembered them at all. If anything though, I should thank my bullies. After begging my parents to let me move schools and them finally letting me, so much happened. I worked hard all summer to lose the weight and even had my skin clear up a little from eating less junk food. Once I moved to my new school I had become a whole new person. I was confident, and I promised myself I wouldn't let anyone push me around anymore. I suppose my new peers liked the new me, and I quickly ended up becoming quite popular. I wasn't one of the mean, cliché, popular girls you see on TV though, so don't misunderstand my personality. I remained humble and kind to everyone, but I definitely still had a few haters who didn't like the attention I got for my new image.

I stayed in that school up until the end of grade 10, but my parents insisted I move to this school because the education was better here. They said the most important grades are 11 and 12 when talking about getting into a good university. They also said that the admission officers would even take your application more seriously if you attended this school. I agreed with my parents to attend this school because I want what's best for my future. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit scared to go to this school because this is where most of my elementary classmates would've went. Seeing all the faces of the people who hated me so much wasn't exactly on my bucket list.

I shook off my worries and decided to get ready. I don't think my old classmates would even recognize me anyways, I look so different from the old me. They also wouldn't recognize me with my new personality either, because I am no longer the pushover I used to be. 

I took a shower and put on my uniform. I dried and brushed my long, dark hair, and put on a little bit of makeup. I used warm, natural colors to accentuate my brown, honey eyes and finished up my routine with a touch of mascara. I ran down the stairs of my empty house to get ready to walk to school. My parents were practically never home, because they were always on business trips and I never had any siblings. It's okay though, I learned to take care of myself a long time ago. 

I put on my shoes, grabbed my backpack and started walking to school. The refreshing breeze ran through my hair, cooling me down from the summer heat. The sky was a bright blue and the clouds looked fluffy. The weather was great and I was in a good mood. I'm honestly excited to meet some new people, and maybe even make some friends. I want to move on from the past, and hopefully even if someone does recognize me, they will forget about the old me and decide to move on too. 

I approached the school and was shocked to see how big it was. I had only ever seen it in photos before, and it looked much bigger in person. I was so shocked I forgot to look ahead of me as I was walking. I bumped into someone and my face hit their shoulder. 

"Owwwwwww," I mumbled under my breath, rubbing my nose. 

"Watch where you're going," the man I bumped into said.

I looked up to see who it was and my expression dropped, as I immediately recognized who it was...

Hwang Hyunjin.