υкιуσ | Pen15 x Fem! Oc

υкιуσ | ηєω вєgιηηιηgѕ ƒσя ηєω ѕтυ∂єηтѕ.

When 13-year-old Ha-eun Kim arrives at a suburban American middle school as a foreign exchange student from South Korea, no one is quite sure what to expect - least of all Ha-eun herself. But from the moment she steps into the seventh-grade hallway with her perfectly layered outfit, effortlessly dewy skin, and calm, self-possessed vibe, the social order shifts.

Instead of getting ignored or teased like Maya and Anna feared for her, Ha-eun is instantly noticed - by the popular girls. The glossy-lipped, low-rise-jean-wearing, locker-decorating apex predators of the middle school ecosystem. Something about her makes her feel cool without trying - maybe it's her accent, her mysteriousness, or the way she doesn't seem desperate to fit in. Within days, she's sitting at the cool lunch table, getting invited to sleepovers with real nail polish (not the peel-off kind), and being followed in the halls by a trail of curious admirers.

To Maya and Anna, who were excited to "take Ha-eun under their wing," this is both confusing and totally devastating. Their plan to show her the ropes turns into them watching her ascend a social ladder they didn't even know had extra rungs. And worse - Ha-eun is nice. She doesn't turn into a mean girl. She doesn't forget their names. She still waves at them in the hallway. Which makes it so much worse.

As Ha-eun navigates her strange new popularity, she's pulled between the perks of social power and the real connection she feels with the awkward girls who saw her first. What unfolds is a hilariously painful look at identity, belonging, and the fragile nature of middle school friendships - with butterfly clips, boy band posters, and passive-aggressive AIM statuses along the way.