My Friend is a Plastic Surgery Monster

Disclaimer: if you are scared or disturbed easily I suggest not reading this. Story by: Bluemulgyeol

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If you are from South Korea or familiar with the country at all you've heard about their impossible beauty standards, a V-shaped face, double eyelids and big eyes, perfectly white and aligned teeth, a high nose bridge and a slim nose, scarily pale skin, skinny legs... Some people spend thousands trying to achieve this look, others die for it on extensive surgeries. Looking good isn't just a matter of self-esteem, but social etiquette, as you're seen as lazy and even dirty because you "can't take care of yourself". I was lucky, you see, I already had most of the package naturally; I've heard more than once from other people they'd kill for my looks.

But beauty always comes at a price. If you're too pretty, kids bully you throughout your childhood. They cut and pull your hair, bruise your skin, cut off and stain your clothes... Then later do plastic surgery to achieve a face similar to yours (and get made fun of by other people who've done the same because they've obviously undergone plastic surgery). Go figure, right? Be born beautiful and get bullied, be born ugly and do things to achieve beauty and get made fun of regardless. It's a system you simply can't beat.

Oh no, you're wondering, but what if you decide to remain "ugly" or just can't afford plastic surgery? Well, worse for you. My friend Hyerin was part of the group that was too poor to afford it. She's the only friend I ever made (I was bullied, and changing schools did nothing when I'm an absolute ray of sunshine), because of bullying; misery loves company, I guess. Though in her case, lack of beauty is the matter: she had a wide square face, crooked teeth, uneven eyes, a darker skin tone, everything people in this country seem to think it's unattractive; she was an easy target for students and teachers to bully, no matter how many times I defended her. It didn't help that, compared to me, she looked even worse to their eyes. It saddens me to see how wrong they are, Hyerin is beautiful, both inside and outside. She's the kindest, most caring, most radiant person you'll ever meet, and I'll never forgive myself for letting the bitterness of others' hate turn her into a monster just because she doesn't look like a carbon copy of everyone else.

Yes, I think at this point it's safe to say she is a monster; whatever she became isn't human anymore, but I'll get to it. Since we're both high school seniors, we're close to the age most people get plastic surgery (as graduation gifts), and the insecurity has been eating her away more than ever since the school year started. She had been saving up some money to get at least her eyelids done, but turns out the money wasn't nearly enough, and her parents really couldn't blow their money into it. She then turned into illegality: surgeons that would operate minors without parental consent, or that would accept workforce as a payment, or even largelly discounted unknown clinics. I tried to discourage her, I really did: she was already beautiful, and would be risking her health and life. However, what was trivial to me meant the world to her and I did everything I could to help her, from skincare products I bought to a dentist appoiment for braces. By the time the beginning of summer was nearing its end, she was hiding behind thick bangs and foundation that was way too light for her face and the bullying never stopped.

Until one day, after our last half of summer vacation, Hyerin came back... Beautiful. She even had the thin legs I lacked, and I couldn't recognize her at first, as she was a completely different person. People were at awe, not only because of her new appearance but also for the miraculous recovery: she'd had a blepharoplasty, a few different subtypes of rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast implants, dental surgery and a drastic jaw shaving, not mentioning cheek, lip and aegyo sal fillers, and skin whitening treatments. That's a lot for a person to go through, especially all at once. And the worst part was being left out even by her: one day she decided to and made all arrangements to have plastic surgery and never once told me, never once called me to say she was fine and recovering, never once thought of telling me about her new looks. All of a sudden, I was just part of her past. Nonetheless, no questions were asked, beauty was all that mattered, at least to them, and she finally had the confidence to be herself unapologetically, going as far as to ask a boy she liked out on a date.