"Aera!"

"Yes? What do you want?" A little black haired girl ran down to the stairs to the skinny teenager that called out to her.

​​

"Is that anyway to speak to your older brother?" A beautiful woman walked in on the two kids standing at the foot of the stairs.

"But mum, he's bullying me!" Aera cried.

"I was not! I was just trying to stop her from playing with that despicable dog again." The boy frowned. "Look at how she's dragged mud everywhere again mother."

The woman looked around the room, just noticing the trail of mud up the stairs. "Aera! Look what you've done." She yelled.

"What kind of child did I give birth to? Look at your elder brothers and sister never giving me any trouble but you..." her mother said ruefully.

Aera pouted and took a step back incase her mother decided to hit her. She had no idea why her mother was so mad, she wasn't the one that was going to clean up the mess. It was the servants and the her nanny who was also a servant encouraged her to take a break for her tutorials and have some fun. What more appealing is playing with a puppy in the mud on a rainy day!

"Are you going to apologise to mother?" Her brother asked.

Aera rolled her eyes and frowned, what was his business in all this? A mama's boy was all he was that's just it, always acting like the eldest child when he was her immediate elder brother just to make mother happy.

As Aera opened her mouth to apologise, realising that things would be faster that way if she just apologised, she heard a bark. They all turned to watch a wet, large aussie running towards them.

Her coward brother screamed and ran behind her, well the dog wasn't very friendly with her brother so he had every right to be wary of it.

"Aera!" Her mother screamed mortified, "when did the dog get so big?"

"He is an aussie mother that all they do, grow!" Her son yelled from behind his sister.

"Get that thing out of my house!" She yelled as it jumped on little Aera knocking both brother and sister to the ground. The dog was only interested in it's owner licking her face earning giggles from the little girl.

"Aera!" Her mother called more forcefully, forcing the girl to frown and push the dog back, standing she arranged her clothing. She was still in her raincoat and boots, her nanny wouldn't let her go out without them, she couldn't catch a cold.

The dog saddened by the shove, whined and moved back to it owner. Her mother wasn't happy about the entire scene, she grabbed the girl arm and pulled her away from the dog screaming that she should get rid of it.

"But mother I can't" Aera cried.

"You will get rid of this monstrosity this instant."

"If I get rid of it where is manny supposed to go?" She asked.

"I don't care, get rid of it."

"No!" She said stomping her feet on the ground.

"You Insolent child!" Her mother yelled raising her hand to smack the stubborn child in her grip when a firm voice stopped her.

"No, don't hit her."

Aera smiled when she saw her saviour, escaping her mother from grip she ran to her father, the dog running after it owner also escaped the hateful glares passed it's way by mother and son.

"Dad!" She yelled running into his arms.

"Causing trouble for you mother again?"

"No! It's not my fault." She insisted with a determined pout.

"Harish, you cannot keep babying that child, she's never going to learn. Look at the mess she's made." Her mother scolded him.

"It all harmless, Aera why are you out here? Has your tutor left?" Her father asked.

"No... but nanny said I could take a break. I promise I didn't go outside without permission." She said.

"Okay it's fine if you had permission, just don't bring your dog into the house, you know Deok soo doesn't like dogs." Her father said.

Aera shot a rueful glance at her brother, and nodded. "Good girl, now off you go." Her father said and she ran away with her dog right behind her.

**************************************************

"How is she going to get into a good college with this result?" Her mother yelled.

The entire family of seven were sitted in the living room, but one of them wasn't. Kneeling in the beside the edge of the door, was a beautiful black haired girl. In short plaid skirt and a black blazer she placed her hands on her laps and stared down at them.

"Mirae, she's thirteen. She doesn't get into college till she's twenty she still has time." Her father said with a sigh.

Her mother glared at him, clutching the report card firmly in her hands. "Why do you do this? I've told you, you're spoiling this girl."

"Mother please don't yell too much, it's not good for your health." The eldest child walked over to sit on the armrest to pat her mother's back.

"Aera will do better next time won't you? Aera?" Her sister asked her.

"Yes mother, I will do better next term I promise." She said.

"I don't know why you guys won't just give up, she'll never be good in school." Deok soo said with a satisfied smirk.

"Shut up, do you not know when to speak?" His elder brother scolded him.

"Don't waste your time with him, Dong hyun." His twin brother shook his head. "And you, Aera. What are you even doing in school? Getting that kind of result?" Dong sun said to her.

"I promise I read and studied hard. Yet..." Aera frowned. "I can't believe I still failed. Mother please forgive me." She said bowing so her head was touching the floor.

"Aera." Her father called out and she rose her head to look at him. "Stand up, come here." She did as she was told.

"Did you really study? Be honest with me." Her father asked.

"I did father." She nodded.

"Well then there's nothing we can do now can we?" Her father said.

"Nothing we can do?!" His wife yelled. "Harish!"

"Mother please, calm down. Shouting will not do you any good right now." Deok mi her eldest cooed their mother.

"Look at your siblings, Deok mi has gotten into the most prestigious college in the country. Dong hyun and Dong sun are top of their classes and Deok soo? He was the top in the national math competition. Just where did you come from? Who gave birth to you? You're not my child they switched you in the hospital!" She yelled.

"Mirae! Stop! Aera don't think anything of what she said." Her father soothed her.

Aera nodded her head, this was not the first time her mother was saying something like this, but she would not get hurt. She knew she was different, but at least her father was on her side. Her siblings were all hypocrites, only acting nice because father was around, they all hated the fact that father showed leniency towards only her. If anyone else had come with this result they would have probably been out on the street by now. But at least they were kind enough to ignore her most of the time all except that bitter Deok soo.

"Don't worry father, I know mother is only saying this because she loves me and is concerned for me. And mother if I'm not your child why do I look so much like you?" Aera asked.

Her mother shot her a deadly glare, any other child would have shrunk back at the stare but not her youngest daughter, she was too pigheaded and stubborn to be scared.

"I'm even more like you than any of your other children." She added pushing her mothers buttons.

And she was indeed her mother's copycat.

"Aera don't provoke your mother further." Her father warned her. "Go to your room now."

"Harish" her mother cried, he nodded at her and sent Aera to her room.

**************************************************

"I hate to say this but I told you so" Mirae told her husband. Harish was outraged.

"What do you mean your going to become a trainee?" He yelled at Aera.

"Father please, I'm not good at school or sports even music. For the first time there's something I'm good at and they want me please father." Aera pleaded.

"No child of mine will do such a thing. My business is big enough to accommodate all five of you. Even if you don't want to work, you will live a life of luxury all your life I'll make sure of it." Harish Yoo declared.

"I don't want to live off my siblings, at the most you'll marry me off to make some business deal when I'm older like Deok Mi." Aera cried.

"Shut up you, can't you sense the situation?" Dong hyun yelled at her.

"Yes... I can sense a situation, and I know this what I want to do with my life. Is it too difficult to just support me?"

"I told you she was good for nothing, no one listened to me then." Deok soo sneered.

"Shut up Deok soo, you're no better." Dong sun reprimanded his brother.

"I don't care what anyone says, I will not mooch off anyone and I refuse to continue to punish myself by going to school anymore. I'm no good at it. I promise I'll finish high school but that's it." Aera said firmly.

"So your decision is made then." Harish said.

"Are you really letting her go? Harish!" Mirae yelled at her husband.

"It's not like we can stop her." Dong hyun said.

"If you leave this house to go to any agency I assure you I will forget that you're my daughter." Harish said and they all gasped.

"Father." Aera cried.

"Don't come back, you no longer have a family." He added.

"Harish!" Mirae yelled, "you can't do that. She's our precious child, you don't mean that. Say you don't mean that!" She cried shaking him. But his mind was made up and his decision was final.

"Think carefully about that, before you make your decisions tomorrow." He said walking out of the room.