Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Three seconds after Woojin put his hands into his pockets he took them out, bleeding from a tiny wound on his middle finger. Immediately after everybody (everybody but him) starts freaking out: mom sends a girl called Chaeyeon to look for a Band-Aid, dad tries to wipe out the blood with a napkin, and his little sister Seon, who doesn't understand what's going on, cries. Rather than tending to his wound, he prefers to sing a little lullaby for the toddler, and she eventually stops crying. It always works, he might be better than the girl's babysitter. Five minutes later Woojin has an adhesive bandage around his finger. The issue, which Chaeyeon found after checking out his clothes, was an open safety pin that his tailor must've forgotten to take out after sewing everything. And everything returns to normal.

The first day of school is always a big thing, and it’s even more important if a boy is going to Mnet School for boys. Mnet Schools are the best of the best in Korea, and only the élite can afford to enrol their children in them. Politicians, famous people, businessmen like Woojin's father, and so on. Mnet is a gender segregated boarding school: there's Mnet School for boys and Mnet School for girls, which Seon will attend in some years. Everything must be perfect. Woojin used to go to a day school until last year when his parents decided to move from Busan to Seoul. He's somewhat scared, what if something goes wrong? What if the other guys don't like him? He'll miss his family so much! Notwithstanding, the boy wants to bite the bullet and make some friends. One is fine.

Tears well up in his eyes when he says goodbye to those who work for his family. Chaeyeon and Sejeong are the best maids ever, and their housekeeper, Insun, has been with them since he was a child along with Sungwoo, her husband, their butler. No one cooks better than Nayoung and Taewoong, the gardener, knows everything about biology. He cries while hugging his parents and sister. God, he will miss them.
Ten minutes later Woojin lies down on the back seat of the car, headphones on. It’s perfect time for a nap.

“Mister Woojin, we're here. It's time to get up, sleeping beauty.” His chauffeur had been softly caressing his red-dyed hair for about half a minute when Woojin woke up, laughing like he always did when someone addressed him as "Mister" or similar titles. Lazily he crawled outside the car, taking his backpack while the driver carried his suitcases all the way to the main entrance. The parking lot is enormous, full of luxurious cars and security cameras. No wonder, only rich kids study in Mnet. Three steps lead into the main building and a big sun clock facing it tells him it’s almost noon. Maybe that's why one of the two security guards asks for their ID card before letting him in. He can't help but feel sad when the man who drives him everywhere leaves.

The entrance hall is a big, stunning room.
Woojin doesn't even need to squint to see his face reflected on the polished marble floors. He can't tell if it's a recent construction or just an antique renovated one. High, vaulted ceilings and the hugest chandelier Woojin has seen in his life (Sia would be jealous). And who needs chairs when you can have a few sofas? He paces to a large counter full of brightly coloured pamphlets, where a heavily pregnant lady in her thirties asks for his name. Park Kahi, as he reads on her name tag, doesn't let him go until she checks a list. His suitcases lay down on a small area delimited by barrier stanchions. "Leave your luggage here and someone will take it to your room," a sheet of paper commands. Will his new bedroom be as immense as his one at home? Probably not, but Woojin is happy to have a roommate.

At least he's not the only one there. One, two. Four. Five. Seven. Eight. He's the ninth one. All of them are wearing their uniforms, and Woojin thinks it looks cute. He loves it. For his first day, he chose to wear a single breasted suit jacket, white button down, and a simple necktie. It's not the only option. He notices two young boys that eat some snacks together; one of them wears a bowtie, the other one, a mandarin collar jacket. They look friendly. Near them, a familiar face: a boy named Jung Sewoon, who won an international science fair in Germany last year. His face resembles a toad. Another guy, whose name ends in Woong, goes around introducing himself. Should he do the same?

“Hey, are you new here too? My name is Park Woojin.” Woojin decides to approach the snack eaters. One of them, the one with a bow tie, keeps chewing on his cereal bar. The black haired one looks at him, grinning from ear to ear.

"We are! My name is Yoo Seonho, and this is Lai Guanlin. Guanlinie, say hi." Seonho mutters something. Then Guanlin mutters back and stares at Woojin, bowing. He doesn't seem interested in him. Maybe he doesn’t like him at all? “Guanlin can't understand what you're talking about; he's from Hong Kong and doesn't speak Korean. But if you want to talk to him, I can translate”.

“You're not a freshman, aren't you? You look older than us,” Seonho asked tilting his head to the left. Woojin is fifteen years old, almost sixteen. That means Seonho and Guanlin must be around fourteen. For a second, Woojin felt like his aunt: a forty-something years old woman who almost cried every single time someone pointed at a wrinkle in her once perfect skin. She was a kind person, though.

“No, I'm a soph...”
“Are you a sophomore? Hyung, that guy is a sophomore too!”

Almost out of nowhere, a tall lad starts screaming. Two seconds later he's right in front of him, rambling about how lonely he used to feel until his fellow sophomore arrived, how he thought he was going to die alone with a bunch of freshmen and two juniors. After that another man, slightly shorter, joined them. He was not amused, not amused at all.
“For god’s sake, Gunhee, behave! We’ve been here for like fifteen minutes and you already are bombarding this poor child,” The newcomer sighed as he scolded Gunhee, who pouted like a young puppy. “I’m so sorry; he gets excited way too soon. I’m Lee Gunmin, this is my brother. I guess he’s happy to meet a new classmate, you know .”

By the time Lee Gunmin (who looks like a freshmen but is actually a junior) stops talking, the rest of the newcomers are there too. Most of them are freshmen: Woojin properly introduces himself to who arrived right before him, Lee Euiwoong (what a weird name), who looks just like the owner of an important retail store chain that’s always on TV. Another boy, Kim Dongbin, barely talks and definitely doesn’t look interested at all in them. Bae Jinyoung, an inch or two taller than him, looks like he might as well cut a bitch… until he introduces himself and everything becomes sugar, spice, and everything nice. He’s just a little kid who wants to play around. And then there’s Sewoon who still looks like a toad. He wonders if there are more boys who haven’t arrived yet. And they are, indeed. Three freshmen and a third sophomore arrive in the next quarter. The freshmen are a tall, lanky blonde boy named Huang Minghao but goes by his American name “Justin”, son of one of the richest couples in China; and Kim Samuel and Lee Daehwi, friends since Elementary School and whose parents are politicians: Samuel’s father is the ambassador of Mexico to Korea, and Daehwi’s parents are senators. Lee Gwanghyun seems to be another genius, as he has won some international spelling bee three years in a row.

As the new students get to know each other, they hear some claps. “Hey, boys, can I get your attention please? Come here, please.” Woojin turns around and an unknown male is trying to call them. He wears a uniform too, but he notices a shiny golden crown in his jacket. It’s cute. They all form a circle, so this new person starts talking.

“My name is Kim Jonghyun, president of the Mnet School for boys School Council. I am delighted to welcome you to our school, one of the best high schools in South Korea,” he introduced himself. “Let me teach you about us. Mnet was founded in 1982 by Professor Kwon Boa and her husband, Lee Seokhoon. Co-Ed schools weren’t that common back then, so they made one for boys and one for girls. For thirty-five years, Mnet School has guided our pupils to walk on a flowery path, and our students have achieved outstanding results. Here at Mnet, we believe that every single student is a gem, so we offer a wide range of activities for you. Yes, it’s a rather strict school and discipline is always required, and yes, it’s true that you will have to study more than you used to do last year, but that’s because we expect a lot of you, because you can do and you will do. Nothing more to say but to hope you have a great time during your time here.”

After Jonghyun stops giving his welcome speech, he leads them inside, where another student with the same crown thing waits for them. He’s bigger than the president, taller, and his back looks huge.

“Welcome! My name is Kang Daniel, vice president of the school council. It is a great honour for me to take you on a tour around the school that my grandparents founded almost forty years ago,” he salutes. Woojin assumes that every school council member has that crown.

The school is simply gigantic. As they walk, Daniel informs about some facilities they have: multi-propose halls, science laboratories, computer labs, cafeterias, pools, art rooms, music rooms, several hectares of green areas, and more. He also comments about how they arrange some activities with Mnet School for girls at least twice a year.

“Hyung, do you know something about our classrooms and roommates?” Sewoon asks, raising his hand.
“I do! Our school strongly believes that you will learn more if the classes are more… private. So there are around 15 students per group and two groups per grade. In your senior year, both groups will converge,” Daniel, who then tells them he’s a junior, replies. “And about your roommates, you will have only one, and he will be a classmate of yours. No exceptions”

That broad, two-storey building features most of the labs and their music and art rooms. The tall one is where their “normal” classrooms are, and that’s the gymnasium. That entrance building is their administrative building and it’s full of offices, a first-aid centre where a nurse named Haein always gives them candy, and so on.

“Hyung, what’s that?” Euiwoong makes them stop almost at the end of the tour. He’s pointing at a slender but very high tower, with a dusty bronze bell on its top.

Daniel doesn’t say a word. He just keeps marching towards a bush full of roses, and he takes one. It’s a big specimen, milky white in the middle but scarlet edges. Woojin doesn’t really like roses; he prefers smaller flowers like hydrangeas and daffodils. They remind him of his mother, who always puts daffodils everywhere. He misses her, and can’t wait to call her that night.

“That’s the tower. Follow me, you have to see it”

Soon they’re at the foot of the tower. Big, enormous, beautiful, but no one truly cares about the building itself. In front of it, there’s a memorial. A simple candle stand like those you can find in any catholic church, huge amounts of flowers, and, finally, a perfectly common grey milestone with a brass near its top. As Daniel leaves the rose behind a tulip bouquet, Daehwi reads the plaque:

“Daniel hyung, do you know who Ahn Hyeongseob is?”
“I do. But we have no time and I have to lead you to your dorms, so I can’t tell you now. Can you wait until next week?”

Woojin knocks on the door of his new bedroom. Daniel already finished with the freshmen and his fellow sophomores; he just took Gunmin and Sewoon with the juniors. Will his new roomie be nice? He doesn’t even open, he just yells.
“OH MY GOD HE’S HERE HE’S HERE MY NEW ROOMMATE IS HERE GUYS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IMMA MET MY NEW ROOMMATE I HOPE HE’S NICE,” that boy inside screams without even breathing and a muffed laugh replies. Someone nags, telling him to open the door right now, which happens right after Woojin knocks again.

Woojin glances at his new bedroom for some seconds and god, he loves it. Two loft beds, a chest of drawers under each one, two desks, and a big window surrounded by shelves. A door leads to the bathroom. Both beds are already made, and a half of the room is already full: stuffed animals, posters, some photos, LED lights, books, and notebooks. His suitcases are over his bed and… Lord, wasn’t that boy that child actor who starred every single movie some years ago?

“Hi!” Onesie guy bows down, smiling so bright that he could’ve been a candle. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, but I was so excited to meet you! Since our headmaster told me that my new roomie would be a new student, I decided that I wanted everything to be perfect. I’m Park Jihoon; I hope we can be friends.” While Jihoon talks, he takes Woojin’s hand and takes him to his desk. His laptop is on, and, on the screen, two boys are laughing their asses off.

“Guys, he’s my new roommate… what’s your name?”

“Park Woojin”

“This is my new roommate, Park Woojin! I’ll call you Woojinie. Woojinie, those are my friends, Kwon Hyeob and Han Jongyeon. Hyeobie, Jongyeonie and I have been friends since kindergarten and… wait, guys, your room is a mess! Go away, goodbye, you got to unpack.” And he closes his laptop.

After both Jihoon and Woojin have unpacked, they lay down on their beds, now Woojin wears his pyjamas. And they eat, after a member of the school council named Kim Taedong brought cake, cookies and milk for them. After their settling down day, they’re going to have supper at the dining room.

Woojin now knows many things about Jihoon: He’s indeed a child actor who’s taking a break until he graduates from high school, his parents and his older brother are actors too; he wants to be in the school council once Jonghyun and Yoon Yongbin (Woojin hopes to meet him soon) graduate, and went to Australia last summer. Woojin tells him that he has a little sister, he’s allergic to peanuts and mould, and that his family and he just moved from the south.

As he chews on a cookie, something clicks in Woojin’s mind: from his window, he can see Hyeongseob’s tower. Maybe Jihoon can tell him about it.

“Hey, Jihoonie…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know who Ahn Hyeongseob is?”

Jihoon blinks. He looks quite surprised, to be honest. Why does a newbie know about Hyeongseob? Maybe someone told him something about it, or maybe a school council member took them to the tower. He shrugs, eating two cookies. That’s a long story, and Woojin must hear about it.

“Ahn Hyeongseob was a sophomore, just like us. He was handsome, smart, kind, a nice man overall. He was… perfect. He had literally no flaws. He was a sure candidate for the next school council, everyone loved him… everyone but some guys. You know, there are bad people. Mean envious assholes. And they started bullying Hyeongseob. They insulted him, hit him, pushed him down the stairs, stole his notebooks, incriminated him of stuff he never did, nor would he do.” Jihoon, with a blank stare, took a pause to drink some milk.

“Poor child… what happened?”

“In October of 1996, said guys took him to the tower, yes, Hyeongseob’s tower. You can enter and go upstairs, you know? The scenic view up there is marvellous. Coming back to the point, a night those guys took him to the tower. They beat the fuck outta him, and well, we will never know what truly happened that night, but at one time… he fell down. Or they pushed him out of the tower lookout. A watchman was walking around there and could get help, but by the time the ambulance arrived, he was already dead. Now, listen to me. He’s there. Hyeongseob’s ghost is there. We all know his spirit is there, but something is bothering him. For some odd reason, he can’t leave and he won’t leave. I have never seen him, but some students have even talked to him. By the way, he’s completely harmless; we have a classmate named Seunghyuk who says he’s even nice and loves visits. But still, we have to be careful”

He nods, without answering. Even if they keep talking about their lives after that story, Woojin can’t focus. He doesn’t even look at Jihoon when he talks but to the window, and to the tower.

It’s past midnight when Jihoon is sleeping, but Woojin can’t sleep. He’s tired and sleepy, but just can’t sleep. 1 am and nothing, he won’t fall sleep. And he makes a decision. He gets up and puts on his robe and slippers, silently heading out of the room.
He’s going to meet Ahn Hyeongseob.