THE LEGENDARY HOT GIRL | ATEEZ 18+

1 | SKID ROW

I strongly believe in the fact that no human was ever born evil. But due to certain circumstances, one was forced to take evil actions in order to survive in this cruel world. Today marked the one-year anniversary of my step-mother's death and my innocence that had died along with her. Had it not been for her presence in my life, I was certain that a different road could've taken me to a much brighter path. But now here I stand, miraculously proven not guilty in the court of law. I wasn't sure whether to thank my cleverness in covering my tracks or my father's bank account for paying off every witness.

The second I stepped out of the courthouse, a flock of reporters and their bulky ass cameras were shoved in my personal space. I wasn't sure whether or not I was about to pass out due to the lack of oxygen or personal hygiene.

I wasn't sure of many things nowadays. But when was I ever?

If there was one thing that I was sure of, it was that: I did indeed kill my stepmother.

"Please give her some space," demanded Jongho.

Thankful for his undying support, I flashed him a grin as I took his arm and carefully stepped down the lengthy flight of stairs. In a nasty world like ours, I lucked out on having a friend like Jongho. He was the true definition of ride or die. He stuck by me through the past year that I've been on house arrest with an ankle monitor equivalent to a dog's shock collar strapped to my leg. It was safe to say that my social life was also in shambles- but thanks to Jongho for keeping me updated every time a D-List bitch spoke my name in vain, I've managed to eradicate their already nonexistent social statuses leaving them with no place to stand in society.

He leaned into me, whispering into my ear. "We're so partying tonight."

I nodded, flashing him a knowing smile. There wasn't a person in the world who understood me as much as he did. I wasn't a person that most people wanted to befriend. I'm fucked up in every aspect and I do fucked up things. I'm not sure why Jongho stuck around, but he did. I'm quite positive that his moral compass was broken, hell, I'm not sure if his even existed. The guy probably downs five liters of holy water every day to wipe away the sin that made him guilty by association.

"What's the occasion?"

"The simple fact that you made it out of skid row alive," he says as we get into the limousine.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. I knew him better than anyone and he the same. "You just want an excuse to fuck and duck some random chick at The Towers."

The Towers was an exclusive hangout for the wealthy young adults of Seoul. If you weren't someone, you surely wouldn't be able to step even a single centimeter inside. The Towers was basically known to be the headquarters for rich private international school kids to mingle- set aside old perverts who have a rather expensive taste. Of course, if Choi Jongho was going to have sex, it wouldn't be with any ordinary girl. At this point, he was certain that a female with less than six digits in her bank account was sure to have some sort of sexually transmitted disease. And people say my mentality is fucked?

"You know me too well," says Jongho. "But first things first, I was informed that you are no longer the talk of the school. Apparently there's a new kid, Kang Karoo."

I chuckled. "What kind of shit name is that?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I think it's pretty cool. Way better than Shiba or Shiber." Jongho lights up a cuban cigar, offering me one in the process.

I shake my head.

"What's the importance of this Karoo guy? Other than the fact that his name automatically renders him lower ranked in our social ladder."

He flashed his phone before me, revealing a perfectly angled candid of what seems to be the most gorgeous male species I've ever laid my eyes on. With a jawline as sharp as glass and eyes that were so killer. His hair looked as if it were spun by Rumplestiltskin himself, such beautiful golden locks.

Who was his hair stylist?

I gripped the cellular device faster than I could swipe my credit card in Rodeo Drive. "Holy shit, he's perfect!" I gasped, practically drooling. "Chan, step on it!" I yell at my butler.

"Easy there, Grace. Half of the entire student body, boys included, are already claiming him. You'd be mobbed before you could even step one inch near him," he informed me, taking back his phone and wiping the screen against his uniform slacks. "Not that anyone would want to be near you after what happened," he teased.

I shrugged my shoulders, tilting my head. "No big deal. I go through that everyday being your friend. You know better than anyone how wild your fan club can be, but yet they still fear me."

As they should.

"Yeah, I think most of that fear is because of the fact that your father could literally end their entire family tree from existence within a matter of minutes. Or because of the fact that you were accused of attempted murder."

"My father's a entrepreneur, not God. And I was proven innocent, okay?"

"Well whatever he is, I do know that he won't be happy if you date Karoo."

I furrowed my brows in confusion and leaned in. "What do you mean?"

"One word," he says.

"Scholarship."

My heart practically jumped out of my ribcage at the sound of those words. And as pretty as his lips were, that couldn't hide the shame that escaped his mouth. "How is that possible?!"

"One word," he replied. He blew smoke in my face.

"What?" I questioned him, fanning the smoke away. "Jongho, this isn't the time to be playing Scrabble! Just fucking tell me already."

"Bankrupt," he says.

I gasped. My heart dropped faster than Lisa Manoban at last year's winter formal. That girl can dance.

"How?!"

"His father's business suffered a bad lawsuit. Things went downhill from there and they lost everything. The Kangs were like the shit in California until they lost their place in society. So they packed their shit and ran from the hills, literally, and then found themselves in South Korea."

I rubbed my chin in confusion but quickly removing my hand as I remembered that I'm literally smearing my face with bacteria.

"How'd he get into Yeurin Academy?" I asked. Well, aside from the obvious fact that he had a scholarship.

"His family had connections to the Yeurins, obviously. Either that or Nadi has a new man candy that she's been obsessing over once again."

Nadi Yeurin was the last of my problems. Many feared her because she practically owns Yeurin Acadmy, but honey, I practically own half of South Korea. So if Karoo was her new boy toy, stealing him from her playground wouldn't be difficult at all.

The car suddenly comes to a halt.

"Why'd we stop?" I look at Jongho who seems just as confused and then lunge forward towards the divider. It slides down automatically as I peer to the front where my driver had just unpressed his Bluetooth. "What are you doing?"

"Your father requires your presence."

Fuck.