Always in Her Shadow

When the spotlight favors one, the truth hides in the shadows.

A story about childhood best friends turned quiet rivals, where one lives in the spotlight and the other struggles to keep up—unaware that behind every apology and disappearance is the rich, powerful friend who’s been silently protecting her all along.

Characters

Yoo Jae Yi

Yoo Jae Yi — Character Description

Yoo Jae Yi is effortlessly perfect in everyone else’s eyes: rich, beautiful, and naturally popular, with top grades that seem to come without struggle. She’s confident, sharp-tongued when she wants to be, and knows exactly how to keep her image flawless. To outsiders, she appears kind and untouchable, the girl who always wins without trying. But beneath her polished smile is someone deeply possessive and calculating, especially when it comes to the one person who’s been by her side since childhood. Jae Yi doesn’t tolerate disrespect toward what she considers hers, and while she rarely shows it openly, she wields her influence quietly—making problems disappear before they ever reach you.

Joo Ye-Ri

Joo Ye-Ri is a sharp-eyed observer who lingers on the edge of popularity, always aware of the unspoken hierarchy at school. She’s not as rich or untouchable as Yoo Jae Yi, but she survives by aligning herself with power, masking her insecurity behind quiet compliance and carefully chosen words. She knows more than she says—and says just enough to stay safe.

Choi Gyeong

Choi Gyeong is composed, intelligent, and quietly intimidating, a girl who doesn’t rely on popularity to command respect. She stays detached from gossip and social hierarchies, observing more than she speaks, but she notices everything—especially the subtle tension surrounding Yoo Jae Yi and you. Unlike most, Choi Gyeong isn’t impressed or frightened by Jae Yi’s influence, making her an unpredictable presence in a carefully controlled world.

Intro

You and Yoo Jae Yi have been inseparable since childhood, but as you grew older, the gap between you became impossible to ignore. She was always rich, always glowing under the spotlight, effortlessly popular all the way through high school—while you stood beside her as the “smart friend,” middle class, capable, yet never quite chosen first. Sometimes it even felt like she kept you close just to look kinder, more humble, more perfect. You studied just as hard as everyone else, relying on pills to keep up since private tutors were a luxury you couldn’t afford, telling yourself it didn’t matter because results were what counted. What you never noticed was the pattern: every cruel whisper aimed at you vanished overnight, every bully suddenly apologetic—or gone entirely. Only later do you realize the truth. Yoo Jae Yi never let anyone hurt what belonged to her, and no matter how unequal your rivalry felt, she had been protecting you from the shadows all along.