At thirteen, Hong Haein's transformation from a quiet, unnoticed girl to the 'Ice Queen' began to take shape in earnest. She was no longer just the brilliant student; she was now an enigmatic figure—intimidating in her coldness, untouchable in her perfection. Middle school was still a battlefield, but it was one she had learned to dominate by keeping herself entirely out of reach.
This year, her relationship with her family grew more distant, even as her reputation for excellence continued to grow. But with that distance came a new level of emotional complexity, as her younger brother, Soo-cheol, became more openly resentful of her success, sparking an unspoken competition between them.
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The Beginning of the Rift
Haein sat at the dining table, flipping through the pages of a new textbook. It was a Saturday afternoon, one of the rare days when her family was all home at once. Her mother, as always, was on the phone discussing business matters. Her father, silent and removed, sat at the head of the table, reading through a stack of papers.
Soo-cheol, now eleven, sat across from her, glaring in silence. It had been a few months since he had failed to qualify for the second round of a prestigious academic competition, one that Haein had, unsurprisingly, excelled in. The atmosphere in the house had become charged ever since, with Soo-cheol's feelings of inferiority simmering just beneath the surface.
"Are you really studying again?" Soo-cheol finally asked, his voice laced with irritation. "Don't you ever do anything else?"
Haein didn't look up from her book. "This is what I'm supposed to do. You should try it sometime."
Her words were calm, but Soo-cheol took them as a challenge. "You're such a know-it-all," he muttered. "Everyone acts like you're perfect just because you get good grades."
Haein turned the page of her textbook, ignoring his growing frustration. "It’s not my fault you can't keep up."
That was the final straw. Soo-cheol pushed his chair back with a loud scrape, storming out of the room. Their mother barely glanced up from her phone call, and their father didn’t react at all. Haein was used to this by now—family disputes were never acknowledged, never dealt with. They festered in silence, just like everything else.
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The Math Olympiad
As the school year continued, Haein was selected to represent her country in the International Math Olympiad, a prestigious competition that most students could only dream of qualifying for. Haein, as usual, took the news with quiet dignity, while her classmates and teachers celebrated her success. It was another accolade to add to her growing list of accomplishments, but it brought little joy.
Soo-cheol, who had entered a lower-tier math contest around the same time, didn’t come close to winning, but their parents threw him a congratulatory dinner anyway. Haein was forced to attend, sitting quietly while her brother was praised for "putting in the effort."
As the evening progressed, Soo-cheol shot her a glance, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. It was then that Haein noticed something strange. He had slipped a note under her dessert plate.
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The Note
Later that night, Haein sat alone in her room, the note clutched in her hand. She had read it three times already, but the words still stung.
"They don’t care about you. You’re just a tool to them. No one cares how smart you are, you’ll always be invisible. Maybe you should try being a real person for once. Just a thought."
She stared at the paper, feeling the weight of the words. In the past, something like this might have crushed her. But now, it was different. She had learned long ago that her family didn’t care about her achievements—nothing she did was ever going to be enough for them. And Soo-cheol? His jealousy was nothing new.
Still, there was a sharpness to the note that pierced her defenses. As cold as she had become, she couldn’t entirely block out the reality that no matter how hard she worked, her family would never see her for who she was.
Suddenly, the door to her room burst open, and there stood Soo-cheol, his face lighting up with cruel amusement.
"You actually believed that?" he laughed, doubling over as he saw her still holding the note. "Wow, you really are pathetic."
Haein’s expression didn’t change, but inside, something shifted. Her brother’s cruelty wasn’t surprising, but it hurt nonetheless. Not because of what he said, but because it reminded her that no matter how hard she tried, she would always be alone.
She crumpled the note in her hand, her eyes meeting Soo-cheol's with a chilling stare. "Get out."
For a moment, he seemed taken aback by the coldness in her voice. But then he laughed again and shrugged, walking away with a dismissive wave. "Whatever, Ice Queen."
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The Turning Point
After the incident with Soo-cheol, Haein's resolve only hardened. She threw herself deeper into her studies, shutting out any lingering doubts or emotional attachments. Her success at the Math Olympiad was inevitable—she came in first place, standing at the top of the podium while other students clapped and cheered.
But even in that moment of triumph, Haein felt nothing. No sense of accomplishment, no joy. She had become a master at hiding her emotions, and now, it seemed, she had forgotten how to feel them altogether.
Her return home after the competition was met with the usual indifference. There was no mention of her win, no celebration. Soo-cheol, as usual, received more praise for merely participating in his own contest, and Haein was left to sit in silence at the dinner table, her achievements ignored once again.
But this time, it didn’t hurt as much. She had expected nothing, and that’s exactly what she got. Haein had learned that in her family, love and approval were never given freely. If she wanted to survive, she had to stop wanting them at all.
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The Ice Grows Stronger
As the year came to a close, Haein’s icy demeanor became even more pronounced. At school, she was admired for her brilliance but feared for her coldness. She had no friends, but she didn’t care. Her reputation as the ‘Ice Queen’ was solidified, and it suited her just fine.
Even Soo-cheol, who had once tried to break her with his jealousy, now kept his distance. He had realized that no matter what he did, Haein was untouchable.
But beneath the surface, Haein knew that her walls were not impenetrable. She was still that girl who longed for her parents’ approval, still the sister who wished her brother would care. But those parts of her were buried deep, locked away where no one could reach them—not even herself.
As Haein looked toward the future, she made a silent vow: she would succeed on her own terms, with or without her family’s approval. And no one—no parent, no sibling—would ever see her vulnerability again.
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Solstice in Grandeur
אקראי"Solstice in Grandeur" follows Hong Haein, the daughter of Asia's richest family, whose life of opulence is marred by isolation and emotional distance. Despite living in luxury, she is emotionally neglected by her constantly absent parents and strug...
