First day. Xiumin shot opened his eyes, appearing as a boy going into shock. The day finally arrived for him to attend that school. Ibbangche Chronicle, combining grades from primary all the way up to high-school, it was one of the most unique and prestigious schools adapted into South Korea.  The day had finally came.
“You’re up?”
Xiumin slightly turned his head toward his mother’s soft voice. She stood in his doorway as quietly as she spoke. He smiled at her.
“Yeah. I’m up.”

He slipped into his uniform quickly. It was a simple faded grey blazer and slacks. His black tie was of choice and he went with a clean white t-shirt underneath. He didn’t have the time to go shoe shopping so he wore his best name brand sneakers that were the least worn out from the others.

“I’m going now.” He announced to his parents, the only other two people living in the household. They already started to open the noodle shop when Xiumin grabbed his bike. The convenient thing about Ibbangche was that it was close. Other than that Xiumin was still extremely reluctant about the school. The biggest problem: it was for rich kids. Xiumin’s family was barely middle class. Why was he attending a school that had a tuition more costly than his parent’s yearly income combined? By chance. Ibbangche always admitted a new transfer student from the public school systems for free. Every child was offered an application. Xiumin didn’t think anything of it when he filled it out with the rest of his peers. He just never imagined in a million years that his would be picked over the hundreds and thousands of applications. The odds were astronomical. Nevertheless he was admitted to complete his final year as a Ibbangche student. Other than feeling like a charity case, the rumors about the school were unsettling as well. The students were quite…eccentric based on the school photos. Even though they wore the same uniform, everyone seemed to have their own individual style. Fashion was supposedly a big deal and here Xiumin was wearing his best running shoes on his first day.

“This is going to be a long year.” He pulled up to the entrance. The façade was a lot bigger than he remembered during admission in summer vacation. The school was now occupied with scattering students in three four story buildings and long terminal halls connecting each building like a web. It was something he could only imagine out of a webtoon. He looked around for racks to park his bike. None. He didn’t bother asking any of the students, none of them rode bikes apparently. He parked his by a small store nearby that almost made him miss the closing gate by a few seconds. Lucky. Xiumin wasn’t too keen on trying to impress anyone, but he damn sure didn’t want to be “the poor boy that can’t even afford to get to school on time”.

“This .” He made his way into the teacher’s lounge. There he met his homeroom teacher, a scrawny looking man who still had some style about himself. He was swamped with paperwork sprawled across his desk. He tended to that well before he properly spoke to Xiumin and first period had already began. Xiumin could only wait and look around. The school was just way too big, it was almost overwhelming. However, he knew it was necessary since there were all ages attending. He couldn’t imagine going to the same school since primary. He would probably get tired of looking at the same kids.

“Kim Minseok.”

“Yes.” He quickly responded to his teacher who still didn’t meet his eyes. They stayed glued to ungraded papers.

“I’m going to be behind, I usually take the first period to catch up on work. My students know that. Go and head over to the class. Introduce yourself if you want, I’m sure the kids will want to hear all about the transfer student.”

Xiumin rolled his eyes. “Do they?” He didn’t attempt to hide his sarcasm. The teacher told him the homeroom number and Xiumin left unenthused. He took the time to venture around the school while he had the time. He felt like he was walking in a castle at one point when he walked into the courtyard and saw that the school had the design of a cathedral. His brows furrowed as he titled his head, glancing upward to the peak of the buildings.

“The school is no joke.” And that only worried him more. Would he really be ok here, he thought. And suddenly he felt the presence of another. Across the courtyard sat a girl on a bench. Her feet were flat on the ground, knees together, and head leaning on one shoulder with eyes closed. She was fast asleep. Xiumin crouched down, trying to get a good look at her face. She was dressed exuberantly, her skirt was longer than the standard uniform and underneath were layers of lace. Her sand blond hair was long and flat, half covering her lower face. Xiumin couldn’t get a good look at her from his distance. He slowly approached her and she sat unmoved. Xiumin wondered how she could sleep so easily outdoors when it was starting to get cold. He knew he shouldn’t have touched her, but curiosity got the best of him. His fingers gently caught the strands of hair in her face and pulled it to her shoulder. She was wearing a mask. A pink mask, a type of mask one would wear to protect themselves from dust or spreading germs. Xiumin also found that odd. Was she sick? If so it made less sense of her to be outdoors sleeping. He wanted to wake her, but no more than he wanted to still see her face. He didn’t know why. It felt like a mystery that needed to be solved. The same hand that tucked the hair away went for her mask. He only touched the tip when,

“What are you doing?” He turned around to the faint voice. It was a girl who could have been mistaken for a doll. She was small and pretty and looking at Xiumin with big perplexed eyes. She repeated herself. “What are you doing?”

Xiumin realized he must have looked like a creep and he stammered on his own excuse. The girl suddenly laughed and brought her index finger up to her lips. “You sound stupid.” She walked up to the sleeping girl and grabbed her hands, slowly pulling her up to her feet to wake the girl up. “You idiot, why are you sleeping outside?”

The girl wearing the mask looked around tiredly and blinked. She then looked over at Xiumin and stared. All Xiumin could see were her eyes. The other girl waved her hand.

“What? Do you want to eat him already?” She scoffed, “Compose yourself, you monster. Let’s get to class.” The smaller one dragged the other girl away. Xiumin was more confused at the verbal exchange than his own act.

Monster?