Chapter 1
The morning city bus was packed, and I stood jammed between commuters in my plain school uniform. No one would ever guess that I was actually the sole heiress to the Cha Corporation—the second most powerful family in South Korea. I hid my identity under my real name, Cha Eun-ji, because I wanted real friends, not gold-diggers.Walking through the school gates, a sleek black sports car roared past. Out stepped Han Seo-jun, the untouchable, devastatingly handsome heir to the #1 wealthiest family. He ignored the screaming crowd of girls, but as he walked by, his eyes locked onto mine. He gave me a subtle, private nod before disappearing inside.The peace shattered during homeroom. The teacher introduced a new transfer girl dripping in flashy, fake designer clothes. She put on a sweet, giggling "pick-me" act, looked at the wealthy classroom, and announced, "Hi everyone, I'm Kang Min-ah. But my real family is private... I'm actually the secret sole heiress of the Cha Corporation." I froze in my back-row seat. I had never seen this girl in my life.The moment the bell rang, the entire class swarmed Min-ah's desk, treating her like royalty. Min-ah soaked up the attention, loudly bragging about her "casual" diamonds. I watched silently from the corner, refusing to expose her because it would mean revealing my own secret identity and destroying my normal life. Eager to claim the school king, Min-ah strutted over to Seo-jun’s desk. Flirting heavily, she said, "Hey Seo-jun, since our families run the top two conglomerates, we should naturally hang out." Seo-jun didn't even look up from his phone. In a flat, icy tone, he said, "I don't care who you claim to be. You're loud, your perfume gives me a headache, and you're in my space. Get lost." The room gasped as Min-ah’s face turned bright red with humiliation. As she stomped away, Seo-jun’s eyes shifted across the room and landed directly on me. Seeing the amused smirk on my face, he gave me a slow, deliberate wink. I froze, realizing the dangerous Han Family heir might already know my secret.
