Chapter Text
“Why do we tend to hurt one another? Dividing up all the books by the covers, Like it ain't hard enough simply being me. Like it ain't hard enough simply being me, Or could I sum you up just by what I see? Or could I sum you up by what I see? In reality, Everyone's a lot more complicated.”
— DEGENERATES, A Day To Remember
SM
If you had told a seventeen year old Kim Seungmin that he’d be sitting amongst fat walleted, upper class, upperclassmen — he would’ve laughed in your face. Yet there he sat, clad in a uniform too ostentatious for his liking. As distasteful as Seungmin found it, it would have been a lie to say he didn’t find some kind of joy in the attention sitting here brought him.
A throne disguised as a lunch table. Burgundy and beautiful and practically forged from gold. Five boys sat around it, Lee Minho, Bang Chan, Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, and Kim Seungmin himself. Sometimes other high ranking students would stop by as if to remind the student body — Hey! Look at me, I’m so cool! God, you wish you could be me! You never will! Suck on that!
Like now, a pretty girl sat next to Chan, taking an earnest bite from her apple. Seungmin recognized her from one of his tech classes — Minatozaki Sana, 4.0. She spoke while she chewed, her signature pink hair bouncing as she nodded along with the flow of conversation. Hyunjin was animatedly responding, practically laying across the table, hands going this way and that. It started off about costume funding and somehow ended up on carpooling and a weekend rager. Dance majors. Rich dance majors. Rich egotistical dance majors. Seungmin tried to tune it out – he really did.
As much as Seungmin liked the benefits of sitting beside the best of the best, something about it still churned his stomach. He didn’t belong here, he never would. He was an imposter, a swindler, a fraud. These people could use ₩100,000 as Kleenex, meanwhile Seungmin was barely scraping by.
They were all everything Seungmin wasn’t — born or brought into riches. Their lives were carefully crafted for elegance, successes handed over to each one of them on a silver platter. Seungmin fought tooth and nail to get into SIT, but he wasn’t sure if the other people sitting at this table with him could say the same.
“Are you serious?” Changbin asked, knocking Seungmin out of his self pity and into an entirely different conversation, “That’s ridiculous. Professor Lee doesn’t know what he’s talking about half of the time. How was I supposed to know?”
“No,” Minho said, a catlike grin on his face, “You don’t know what you’re talking about half of the time. Maybe if you didn't sleep through your classes, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“What are you talking about?” Seungmin asked, decidingly tuning into the side chatter.
“You’ll love this one.” Minho said, unwrapping the cellophane from his sandwich — aristocracy aside, his new group of acquaintances weren’t too mighty for a convenience store lunch, “Changbin is flunking biology. Can you believe that?”
Seungmin didn’t get the chance to answer before Changbin groaned, head coming down onto the grated table in front of him, “It’s not fair! I’m the vice president, can’t he cut me some slack? I have a school to keep running.”
Chan turned to the conversation then, “Exactly Einstein, you’re the vice president. That means you have to set an example to these people.”
“You doze off all the time,” Changbin countered, “Where is your compassion?”
“Oh no, I understand what you’re saying. The difference is that I’m still passing.” Chan said, a warm smile igniting his dimples, “The key is to record the lectures or ask for notes. Come on, get it together, Bin.”
“Chan has a point,” Minho said around his sandwich, “If you flunk, your rank will go down. Then we’ll have absolutely no choice but to replace you. Would you really break us up like that?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Changbin said indignantly, sticking his nose up, “You love me too much. You couldn’t replace me if you tried.”
The three boys in front of him bickering must be inseparable because as far as Seungmin could tell, there were no hard feelings in the conversation; only a level of playful understanding. Changbin sighs, opening his biology textbook, “I hate this class.”
“If you want help,” Seungmin said, finally finding his way into the conversation, “I could help you study. It’s the least I could do for you after all you’ve done for me.”
It was true. Changbin had extended his hand to Seungmin. He was a little awkward but he was sweet, kind, and incredibly helpful. Even if Changbin were a little brash, a little snobby, he was easier to get along with than some of the other students infesting SIT’s campus. Unlike some, Changbin didn’t seem to mind Seungmin’s background. The two of them had spent a few late nights talking about their home lives – Changbin had it rough but he had it all.
“Wow,” teased Minho, eyes sparkling, “Look at you, Seo. You went and got your own boy wonder.”
Hyunjin giggled then and Seungmin purposefully ignored the faint blush dusting Changbin’s cheeks, the bag of chips in front of him becoming far too interesting. Something told Seungmin this would be a long – very long – but interesting year.
He had no idea what was waiting for him.