Chapter Text
Hyunjin's heart pounded in her chest as she stood across the street of her new school. She felt her palms become sweaty as she gripped the straps of her backpack tighter, eyes darting at each student that passed through the gates of the huge building before her. She realizes that she must look like an idiot just standing there, staring, but she couldn't really bring herself to cross the street.
Maybe it’s the fact that she’s going to be introduced to so many new faces at once that gets her. At her old school, she was so used to the familiar faces she sees everyday, so one new face wasn’t bad at all. But now she has to encounter many new people in one day, and that hasn’t happened to her since her very first day of school when she was a child.
It can’t be that bad. She’s just overreacting. Yes, that’s it.
Hyunjin fixated a confident smile on her face and took a step out in the road.
BEEEEEEP!
Almost immediately, Hyunjin jumped back onto the sidewalk as a car slammed on breaks for a few second before accelerating. The driver was angrily yelling at her through his window as he passed, and all she could do was look down.
“You should probably look where you’re going next time.”
Hyunjin looked up to see a guy standing beside her, smiling down at her. According to the blazer he was wearing, he attended the same school Hyunjin was now going to. One new face down...
She let out a nervous chuckle. “I probably should.”
“I’m guessing you’re new,” he said without missing a beat.
“Is it obvious?” Hyunjin blurted, eyes widening up at him.
He chuckled with a shrug. “Well, you were kinda just standing there, staring at the school. I thought you were lost or something until I saw the uniform.”
Absentmindedly, Hyunjin began to thumb at one of the buttons on her blazer. She let out a chuckle before responding with a lame, “Yeah.”
“What’s your name?”
“Hyunjin. Kim Hyunjin.”
“Hey, there’s a Hyunjin here too! Common name, I guess. I’m Na Jaemin.”
“Cool, I guess?”
Jaemin shrugged. “Not really. We should actually head inside, though. So we aren’t late for classes. Do you know your room number?”
When Hyunjin shook her head, he sighed. “First, you don’t know how to cross a street. Now, you don’t even know your room number? Do you know anything?”
Frowning, Hyunjin opened her mouth to defend herself, but Jaemin continued anyways.
“I’m just messing with you. Come on, we can cross the street together.”
The taller held his elbow out to Hyunjin expectantly. She stared at it, contemplating if she should actually hold on or if he was joking. She slowly looped one of her arms through it, and was mildly surprised when he didn’t unloop it and proclaim himself messing around again.
“Geez, are you okay?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did the car beep too loud and mess with your brain?”
Hyunjin huffed, wondering if she would actually like the guy or not. The line he was walking became thinner and thinner the more he talked.
“You’re too easy, Hyunjin...ah?”
“I was born in November.”
Jaemin gave a triumphant smile. “Hyunjin-ah it is!”
With that, he pulled her across the street when no cars were passing by, and safely got her to the other side. The other side with all the students that she’s never seen before.
The two broke contact, but Hyunjin was surprised when Jaemin stuck by her, talking to her about the class he was in. She was only halfway listening, eyes taking in the inside of the building and the complete strangers she’s never seen before. She expected them to stare at her and whisper to one another, making it blatantly obvious that they were questioning who she was. Instead, only a couple of people stared at her, and she heard them say something about her looks and how pretty she was. Which was a good sign, right?
“...And here’s the office,” Jaemin informed, stopping by a door that was labeled ‘Office’.
“Thank you, but you didn’t need to walk me,” Hyunjin said.
“Oh no, I was bored. I’m waiting for my friends to arrive and I had nothing better to do!”
Ouch.
Hyunjin resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her so-called ‘senior’ and went inside the office. It was pretty packed with all the teachers getting ready for the day, but she managed to get her assigned room from one of the women sitting behind a desktop computer. She quickly left, not wanting to be in anyone’s way, and wasn’t expecting the guy smiling down at her.
“I thought you were going to leave?” Hyunjin asked, fixing her strap on her shoulder.
“Last time I checked, I never said that,” Jaemin replied, matter-of-factly. “Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself back there—?”
“No! I mean, yes! I’m sure!”
Jaemin grinned down at her, eyes sparkling with amusement. Hyunjin was slightly annoyed at how he was enjoying messing with her, but she didn’t say anything about it. At least he was helping her poor, clueless self.
“So, what room?”
“Room 1-D.”
“Oh, 1-D? Congrats, we share a class!”
Oh no.
The only good thing to come out of the situation is that Hyunjin already knows one person’s name already. So she may not feel completely alone and alienated. But if Jaemin’s friends were in the same class, she might as well be all alone.
“You’ll also meet Heejin,” he added as the two began walking again.
“Heejin?” She questioned.
Jaemin looked at her as if she was supposed to know whoever the person was.
“Yeah, Heejin. She’s top of our class, crazy smart! She came from France, and I heard she met the Prime Minister,” he added in a low voice.
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him. Was she supposed to be impressed or something? Because of a foreigner? No offense, but Hyunjin had other things to worry about besides a smart French girl.
“Do you not get a lot of foreigners?” At Hyunjin’s old school, they had at least seven foreign students attend classes for a year or two. She never befriended them due to the language barrier and they didn’t have the same interests as her.
“We do, it’s just...she’s Heejin!”
Still, Hyunjin didn’t know what she was supposed to be psyched about. Shaking her head, she looked up at the room numbers, walking inside once she found her correct one.
The classroom was half full when the two walked in. Some people stared at her and whispered like those in the hallway, others casted her a glance before continuing whatever they were doing. Hyunjin was grateful for people who did the latter.
She plopped down in a seat in the front row, looking up when she heard a gasp from Jaemin.
“Don’t sit there! Heejin sits in that se—“
“Excuse me.”
A new voice interrupted Jaemin, causing him to move out from in front of the classroom door. Standing there was a girl who looked pretty much like every other student, except...more prim. There wasn’t a hair out of place, not a clothing wrinkle in sight, and her face was blemish-free. The bag she carried looked like it was worth more than everything Hyunjin owned combined. Her eyes pierced through Hyunjin intimidatingly, an air of control about her.
Hyunjin immediately rose out her seat, bowing apologetically. “I’m really sorry. I just sat down—“
“I don’t care,” the girl waved off. Behind her were two girls, one with light brown hair and another with jet black hair. They both looked as neat as the girl in front of them, sporting intimidating expressions.
“You two can go. I’ll meet you at lunch,” the girl said to the other two. They turned and left the classroom without looking back.
Jaemin tugged on Hyunjin’s arm, giving an apologetic smile to the unknown girl. He dragged her towards the back of the classroom and pushed her down in a seat. Just as she was about to question his actions, the older said,
“That’s Heejin!”
"...So?"
"So?! She's probably going to hate you forever from now on!" Jaemin exclaimed, taking the seat to the left of her.
Hyunjin scoffed. "Accidentally sitting in her seat is hardly grounds for hating someone forever."
"You obviously don't know Heejin."
Hyunjin shook her head and focused on unpacking her belongings. As she was doing so, a guy sat in the seat in front of Jaemin and began talking animatedly with him. She decided not to say anything else until she caught Jaemin saying her name.
"...and I rescued Hyunjin here from getting hit by a car."
"You did not," Hyunjin defended.
"I walked you across the street afterwards. So, basically, I did."
The newcomer chuckled at Jaemin, shaking his head. "Of course you did," he said, then turned his attention to Hyunjin. "Hyunjin, is it?"
"Yes," Hyunjin replied, sending a smile towards the guy.
"I'm Lee Jeno. Nice to meet you."
"Same for you."
"I also," Jaemin continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted, "saved Hyunjin from the wrath of Jeon Heejin. She sat in her seat."
"So? It's just a seat," Jeno said.
"Exactly!" Hyunjin decided that she liked Jeno loads better than Jaemin.
"You're supposed to me on my side," Jaemin groaned.
"I wasn't aware there were sides," Jeno chuckled, smiling at his friend. "I'm just saying it's kind of ridiculous to be upset over a seat, even for Heejin."
Jaemin frowned. "I heard in France, they valued their seats."
"Literally nobody has ever said that, Jaemin. You're just making up stuff now."
Jeno turned around in his seat, leaving Jaemin to turn to Hyunjin. "Seriously, don't cross her path. She can get really dirty if you upset her."
"I hardly doubt so."
"Yeah? Well say that when you're forced to eat lunch in the toilet because you've wronged her." The older began to finally unpack his own belongings after saying that, leaving Hyunjin confused.
Just as she opened her mouth to ask what did he mean, she was interrupted by the teacher coming in and greeting the class.