Chapter 03
“Ugly Duckling Disguise”
Lee Yeon slowly removed the thick black-rimmed glasses that sat squarely on her face.
She soaked a cotton pad with cleansing water and began wiping from her forehead down.
The freckles sprinkled across her cheekbones and the dark mole nestled near the corner of her lips both vanished completely under her repeated strokes, as if they had never been there at all.
Her lips, which had been dulled with a sheer layer of concealer, now bloomed back into their natural rosy fullness.
Finally, she peeled off the short, curly wig that hung past her brows, tousling the flattened hair underneath with her fingers.
The reflection that stared back at her from the mirror was too beautiful for even the word beautiful to do justice.
She lifted her eyes no longer half-lidded and drowsy, but wide and alert.
Her once-muted gaze revealed large, clear eyes that seemed like they belonged to someone else.
Her eyelids, deep-set with natural double folds and thick, long lashes, made her eyes gleam with an arresting clarity.
Porcelain skin, a petite and perfectly sculpted nose, and moist, crimson lips
Anyone could see at a glance that she was a rare beauty.
The woman now seated there looked like a completely different person from the one who had left for work that morning.
Lee Yeon wore her beauty like a burden.
Every morning, she painted herself into anonymity layer after layer, hiding the face that drew too much attention.
Because for Yeon, being beautiful had always been a kind of misfortune.
Even as a child, her striking looks made her a local celebrity.
If you didn’t know the name “Lee Yeon,” you might as well have been mute at school; there’d be nothing to talk about with your friends.
As a student, her youthful innocence only added to her natural charm. Back then, she shone brighter than an emerald, radiating an unforgettable aura.
She had long, flowing hair and stood tall at 170 centimetres.
Her school uniform only emphasised her long, shapely legs.
So many scouts had tried to cast her that the business cards stacked up like junk mail at home.
Wherever she went, she drew eyes.
But Yeon had something more of a twist that no one expected.
“Impressive, Lee Yeon. Back in the library again today?”
“Yeah! I heard she’s in the top rankings again… Life just isn’t fair.”
“She studies hard despite how she looks.
It’s honestly unfair that she’s so smart, too.”
“Her parents must be so proud.
Unlike my mom, they get to brag about their daughter all the time.”
Yeon was the girl who shattered the stereotype that beautiful friends couldn’t be good at school.
Despite her appearance, her academic performance was at the top of her class.
She had both self-respect and ambition; dropping grades was unacceptable to her.
She hated seeing her grades drop.
She and her best friend, Hayul, shared a friendly rivalry, pushing each other to higher levels like iron sharpening iron.
While she noted down notes, a single strand of hair slipped loose.
Yeon tucked it behind her ear in one fluid motion, revealing a soft pink cheek that looked like it belonged on a perfectly ripened peach, just waiting for a bite.
Her red lips, slightly puckered as if she were memorising something, sparked desire in the hearts of many boys.
Across from her, two girls with identical chin-length bobs watched her with narrowed eyes and whispered between themselves.
Being admired and envied was an everyday part of her life.
She jammed her earphones back in, as if to block out not just their voices but the world itself.
Wherever she went, she attracted attention, and with that attention came no shortage of events.
It was common for strange boys to follow her or for random men to grab her wrist out of nowhere.
But until then, Yeon hadn’t hated people.
She believed most people around her were good, and that the strange ones were just a small minority.
That is, until she realised how terrifying it could be to know someone.
Yeon’s parents ran a Chinese restaurant called “Golden Dragon Fried Rice” that had been around since before she was born.
With over 20 years in business, it was a popular spot, well-known thanks to word of mouth, and they even had a chain now.
Since the restaurant had been established in one place for so long, there were a few regulars who had become so close they were like family.
From a young age, Yeon had always been fond of her father’s youngest regular customer, Uncle Jang Ho-yeop.
Despite their significant age difference, Ho-yeop was always able to understand her well, and they always had good conversations.
That day, Yeon, now 22 and on her way home from a gathering with college friends, found herself walking alone on the quiet streets at a late hour.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to see a familiar silhouette staggering toward her.
It was Uncle Ho-yeop.
He was walking unsteadily, clearly drunk.
“Uncle!”
“My beautiful Yeon, you’re here?”
“Seriously! You should drink more moderately!”
Yeon felt a strange chill as she saw her uncle in a state she had never witnessed before.
She had often seen him drink with her father, Jaechul, but never like this, so utterly intoxicated.
“Come here, I’ll take you home.”
His words were slurred, and his usual tone of voice seemed completely different.
For a moment, Yeon hesitated, the cold feeling creeping up her spine, but as Ho-yeop swayed, she stepped forward and placed his arm over her shoulder, helping him walk.
“Men, you know…”
“What?”
“They can drive you mad.”
Yeon turned to face him, not understanding, but when their eyes met, her body froze.
His gaze, once familiar and kind, was now clouded, dark, and unsettling. This wasn’t the Ho-yeop she knew.
Slowly, his arm slid down from her shoulder, his hand tracing its way down her back, stopping near her waist.
Every spot his hand touched sent a cold shiver through her, making her body tremble.
“Uncle, you’re drunk, aren’t you?”
“No, all my senses are working just fine.
You’re especially beautiful tonight, Yeon.”
Yeon snapped back to herself and slapped away Ho-yeop’s hand, which was creeping along her waist.
“Well, since you’re sober, I’ll be going now.”
“Going?
You’ve no idea how many times I’ve imagined this moment.
Do you think any of those guys around you are sticking around out of pure intentions?
When you’re this beautiful, how could any man resist?”
He was insane. Truly and completely out of his mind.
Yeon didn’t even bother to respond.
She ran.
Ho-yeop didn’t seem to follow, but once she was away from him, her knees buckled, and her limbs began to tremble.
She couldn’t tell anyone.
The scariest people are always the ones closest to you.
Yeon had just learned how easily the version of someone you knew for years could unravel into a lie.
And worst of all, it was he, the uncle she had liked and trusted the most out of all her parents’ acquaintances.
She had known him for nearly a decade, believed he was a good person. The betrayal crushed her like a wave.
The next day, when they crossed paths at the restaurant, Ho-yeop acted like he didn’t remember anything.
But Yeon saw it.
That flicker in his eyes, he remembered everything.
Still, he never apologised.
Never made excuses.
And after that, he stopped coming to the restaurant entirely.
The shock lingered longer than she expected.
Yeon flinched whenever someone brushed past her.
She avoided speaking to men who approached her.
Even at the class get-together she finally attended, she left early.
It had been weeks now.
Ever since locking eyes with Ho-yeop and seeing that clouded, predatory stare, she’d grown afraid of facing men.
How could someone like family do that to me?
The thought wouldn’t leave her.
His last words haunted her, echoing in her ears again and again:
“Do you think any of those guys around you are sticking around out of pure intentions?
When you’re this beautiful—how could any man resist?”
“Hey! Lee Yeon!
What are you doing?
I’ve been calling you, why aren’t you answering?”
Someone’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she gave her head a small shake to clear it.
It was Um Ji-hoo, the first male friend she’d made in college.
He’d offered to walk her home.
Ji-hoo was the life of their department, funny, quick-witted, and always volunteering as MC at events.
Tall, charming, and effortlessly good-looking, he was also quite popular with the girls.
Today, he’d been laughing and drinking with classmates, and the flush on his cheeks suggested he was tipsy.
“Hey, you’re drunk.
Go home.”
“I’m fine, thanks.
I can get home alone.”
But Ji-hoo ignored her and kept walking by her side, like a personal bodyguard.
“You’re too ugly to walk alone.
You’ll get arrested.
Can’t let that happen.”
Yeon’s heart was already uneasy, and part of her was afraid Ho-yeop might be lurking near her house.
So Ji-hoo’s presence was protective and steady, and felt unexpectedly comforting.
He had always respected boundaries, always treated her like a true friend.
That’s what made three years of friendship possible.
This was the first time she’d been able to be “just friends” with a guy.
With Ji-hoo, she had the hope of building a bond as deep as the one she had with Ha-yul, who had been her closest friend since their teens.
For a moment, she even wondered if she should talk to Ji-hoo about what Ho-yeop had said that night.
As the thought lingered in her mind, the two of them arrived in front of her house.
“Lee Yeon, are you going inside now?”
Just as Yeon turned to say thank you and head in, Ji-hoo grabbed her gently by the shoulder, stopping her.
“Of course I am.
Where else would I go?”
“I have something to say.
Stay with me a bit longer.”
The moment his hand touched her shoulder, unease crept into her chest.
“Can’t it wait?
I need to get inside.”
Her heart pounded with a sense of foreboding.
“Lee Yeon, I like you.”
“I like you too as a friend.”
“No… I like you as a woman.”
Her uncle’s voice echoed again in her head.
Ji-hoo continued, unaware of the colour draining from her face.
“I think it was from the very beginning.
You were just so beautiful, I fell for you at first sight.
I was scared to tell you because I didn’t want to ruin what we had.
But we’re graduating soon, and if I never say this, I know I’ll regret it.
So… I’m saying it now, with a little help from the alcohol.”
So that’s how it was…
And here she had been, feeling safe just because he was her first male friend.
“To me, Lee Yeon was never just a friend.
You were a woman from the start.
Every time you looked at me with those eyes, it drove me crazy.”
Yeon felt a deep regret.
Maybe she’d been too naive, too simple.
She’d clung to the belief that men and women could be just friends.
And she still believed that honest, vulnerable feelings deserved respect.
But this?
She couldn’t accept them, and she couldn’t laugh it off either.
Instead, she felt a quiet grief, like something inside her had cracked.
Instead of warmth, his confession filled her with a strange sense of sadness as if something inside her had crumbled.
Ji-hoo’s hand, resting on her shoulder, now felt unbearably heavy.
“I’m sorry.”
That was all she could say.
She hurried into the house as if running away.
After that night, Yeon avoided Ji-hoo for the rest of winter break.
Right when vacation started, she even changed her phone number.
Maybe it was Ho-yeop’s words that were still stuck in her memory.
But at some point, Yeon found herself obsessed with hiding.
Her wardrobe is filled only with long, loose-fitting clothes.
She didn’t know if she was trying to hide the scars on her heart, her face, or both.
And the longer she searched for ways to make herself look less attractive, the more elaborate her disguise became.
Half-hearted disguises didn’t help.
But when she truly concealed h
erself, she could finally slip out from under everyone’s gaze.
The constant misunderstandings with men and the awkward incidents all disappeared.
Strangely enough, it was only after she started hiding that she finally felt like she was living as her true self.
Now, the girl in disguise felt more like her than the beautiful one she was hiding.
