"I was quiet. I’d turn on the TV and watch Mara Clara all by myself," she recalls. "I used to cry over my parents’ separation until I realized it won’t bring me anywhere."
Some relatives mistook this for subservience and weakness. They looked down at her and said she won’t make it big someday.
How she longed for her mom, whom she hasn't seen for the past seven years. Her dad, a pure Chinese, on the other hand, has remarried in Mindoro and has another family. Kim grew up under the care of her paternal grandmother.
Since her mom was not around, Kim turned to her older sister, now aged 25, for comfort and guidance. And she vowed to herself: someday, I will prove my detractors dead wrong.
Big Brother saw the drive and the talent in the 16-year-old chinita and pushed her to maximize her potential. When she faltered, Big Brother urged her to go on.
"I learned not to doubt myself in Big Brother’s house," Kim reveals.
Her newfound self-confidence worked wonders. Kim came out of her cocoon. As followers of the top-rated reality show know by now, Kim composed a Chinese song, sang it herself, and stood out in the radio drama her housemates did as one of the house tasks.
She also derived strength and inspiration from housemate "Mommy Jam" (Jamilla Obispo), a single mom who entered the house so she could fund her little son’s cleft palate operation.
Now, the same people who used to taunt her are singing a different tune. They are patting Kim’s back and singing her praises. They are telling the former underdog that she can make it big, after all.
Today, Kim’s schedule of daily TV guestings and interviews is nothing short of punishing. But Kim is enjoying herself.
"I’ve always wanted to be an actress," she relates. "I’d act before the mirror at home."
Now, Kim need not hide her acting ambitions anymore. ABS-CBN has scheduled an acting workshop for her. Her love team with PBB Big Four Gerald Anderson is also getting all the push it can get.
Kim’s delicate Chinese features (mom is half-Filipino, half-Chinese) is being compared to Sandara Park and Meteor Garden’s San Cai.
"I’m flattered," Kim admits.
She will fly to her native Cebu for a much-awaited homecoming on June 18. And when she does, Kim will bring a lot more than just a toy robot for her 11-year-old youngest sibling, a boy. She will assure her siblings that they need not worry about their education anymore. As she promised Big Brother after she passed the grueling auditions, Kim will allot her P1-M prize money for their education.
When she returns to Manila, Kim will resume her fourth year high school studies at the ABS-CBN Distance Learning Center.
Meanwhile, PBB director Lauren Dyogi is giving her a crash course on handling success. Enjoy it while it’s there, he tells her. "Fame is so unpredictable," he explains.
Kim may be having the time of her life. But she also knows keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground is just as important.