Three months earlier:

“Jongie! Wake up, it’s breakfast time!”

“Mmmph,” moaned Sungjong. Bright sunlight shone through his curtains, forcing him to open his eyes. It was morning, which meant it was time for his first day of school.

“Good morning, world,” he said, smiling as he scratched his head and yawned. Woken up fully by the happy trill of birds outside his window, he stretched his arms to the ceiling and rolled out of bed to get dressed.

Upon entering his family’s kitchen, Sungjong spied his father happily making pancakes. While he cooked, he was doing some sort of ridiculous dance. It looked like he was skipping in place. 

“What are you doing, dad?” Sungjong laughed. He loved how his dad was always so excited in the morning. It gave him energy.

Sungjong’s father blushed bright red in embarrassment. “Oh! You’re here, Jongie. I made pancakes for you,” he said, laughing and handing a plate full of food to his son. Surprisingly, Mr. Lee was a fantastic cook. Despite being a successful businessman, he still made time to teach himself how to be a first-class chef.

Sungjong immediately dove into his food. his lips, he flashed a wide grin at his expectantly waiting father. “They’re delicious, dad. As always.”

He clapped his hands in excitement. “Oh, good. Now. It’s time for you to go to school! Hop in the car when you’re finished, I’ll be right there,” he chirped, and skipped off to get his keys.

---

The closer Sungjong got to his new school, the more nervous he became. Seoul Academy was housed on a gorgeous campus on the outskirts of Seoul, and it was the most prestigious school in the area. On top of that, Sungjong was going to be the new student. Having just moved to Seoul from Japan so his dad could take on a new job, he was going to know no one. The entire situation was intimidating.

“Are you scared?” his dad asked, as if he was reading his thoughts.

“Well, a little,” Sungjong laughed nervously. “But I’m going to do my very best.”

“That’s my boy. You’re going to do great. Now go, have fun!”

Sungjong gave his dad an energetic thumbs-up before dashing up the steps to the front of his new school.

Once inside, he stopped and let his mouth fall open in awe. The place was amazing. The halls were filled with large windows, everything was perfectly clean, and the floor even had a slight sparkle to it. Sungjong was dumbstruck as he stood rooted in place, observing his surroundings. He was so wrapped up in looking around that he barely noticed someone tapping on his shoulder.

“Are you Lee Sungjong?”

Sungjong jumped in surprise when he heard a voice right by his ear. He spun around to see a taller boy with blonde hair waving and flashing him a huge, friendly smile.

“Yeah, I am,” he grinned, happy to be recognized by another student.

“Awesome! Jang Dongwoo, at your service. Welcome to Seoul Academy!” He winked and saluted to Sungjong. “I have been instructed to lead you to your first class. Shall we go?” Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Sungjong’s arm and dragged him down the hall.

As he awkwardly stumbled down the hall after Dongwoo, he recieved stares from all the students around him. He avoided their eyes, not comfortable with the silent attention he was recieving. Even then, he could still feel their eyes burning holes in the back of his head as he passed by. 

“Aaaaaand…here we are!" Dongwoo announced when they finally reached his classroom. "Art class, room 201. Have fun! Sit with me at lunch, okay? I have some people I want to introduce you to.” With that, he turned around and sprinted off in the other direction.

“O-okay,” answered a flustered Sungjong, even though Dongwoo was already halfway down the hall. So many things were happening at once that he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. Still, he was happy to have found a potential friend.

“Ah, you’re the new student, right?” A middle-aged, plump woman with frizzy brown hair greeted him as he walked through the door. “I’m Ms. Jung. Why don’t you find yourself an empty space at a table so we can begin class?”

Sungjong nodded obediently and looked around the room for a free seat. Almost immediately, he saw an open table at the back of the room. Only one other person was sitting at it, so he walked over and quietly sat down across from the other student.

He took a moment to observe his new tablemate. He had jet-black, messy hair that hung in his eyes and was wearing a loose blue plaid shirt. He looked dorky, but at the same time…he was kind of cute.

Sungjong cleared his throat. “Uhm…hi! I’m Sungjong. I’m, uh, new. What’s your name?” he asked awkwardly, mentally facepalming as soon as the words left his mouth. For some reason, he was insanely nervous, and it was hindering his ability to speak.

The boy, who had been busy doodling stars all over his paper, raised his head to stare at Sungjong. He blinked his dark brown eyes a few times and tilted his head slightly to the side. Then he opened his mouth to speak. “Myungsoo,” he answered simply, without changing his blank expression. Then he turned his attention back to his paper.

“Oh…cool! Nice to meet you.” Sungjong shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Well, that was awkward, he thought. The boy didn’t seem to like him too much. Luckily, class started soon after, so he shifted his attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately, the class was incredibly boring. As nice as Ms. Jung was, she tended to get off track when she was talking. Half an hour into the lesson, she was still introducing herself. Sungjong felt like he was going to fall asleep. Just as he was about to put his head down on the table and take a nap, he felt a piece of paper slide under his hand. Confused, he looked down to see a folded post-it note on the table in front of him. Without making eye contact with Myungsoo, he opened it cautiously and read what was written inside.

“I like your hair” was all the note said. Sungjong blushed and ran his hand through his light brown hair. He had taken extra time styling it that morning, but he hadn’t expected anyone to compliment it. He looked up at Myungsoo expectantly, hoping for an explanation, but the other boy had already gone back to doodling on his paper.

“Uh…thanks…Myungsoo.”

Myungsoo nodded in response, without lifting his head. His face still showed no traces of emotion, and he seemed completely uninterested in striking up a conversation.

He’s so weird…

Though Sungjong snuck glances at Myungsoo every few minutes, the two of them didn’t interact for the rest of the period. By the time class was over, Sungjong was ready to get out of there. The awkwardness of the past hour had begun to get to him. "Bye, Myungsoo!" he squeaked, tripping as he got up out of his seat. Myungsoo didn't respond, so he stumbled out of class without another word. 

His next few classes passed by in what seemed like a heartbeat. He looked for Myungsoo in each class, but didn’t see him again. For some reason, this disappointed him. As odd as Myungsoo was, he seemed nice enough, and Sungjong had been hoping for another chance to talk to him.

---

“SUNGJONGGGGG!” Dongwoo yelled as soon as Sungjong emerged from his last class before lunch. “Come here and meet my friends!”

He obeyed, and quickly shuffled over to where Dongwoo was standing with a group of guys. They were all about the same height, with the exception of one boy with pin-straight black hair who towered over the rest. 

“Sungjong, this is Sunggyu and Woohyun," he said, pointing to the two guys farthest from him. Sunggyu had a serious look to him, but he smiled at Sungjong. Woohyun was more hyper, waving happily in his direction. "This is Sungyeol,” Dongwoo continued, pointing to the tallest boy in the group. He had been munching on a cookie, and only looked up when his name was mentioned. "Guys, say hi!"

The three boys all greeted Sungjong in unison, each one flashing him a genuine and welcoming smile.

“Oh, and this is Hoya,” Dongwoo said, pointing to the guy next to him. He motioned for Sungjong to come closer. “I like him,” he whispered giddily in his ear. Hoya’s cheeks turned red. He must have heard what Dongwoo said, because he started shifting his feet and looking around uncomfortably.

Sungjong didn’t know how to react to Dongwoo’s sudden confession. Not wanting to make things any more awkward, he gave Dongwoo a quick thumbs-up sign and turned back to the rest of the group. “Nice to meet you guys,” he said shyly.

Immediately, Sungyeol put his hands to his face and let out a squeal. “Aww, he’s so cute! Can I cuddle him? Come to Sungyeol hyung,” he cooed, making grabby hands towards the younger boy.

Sungjong instantly scrunched up his face. “I’m not cute. I’m sixteen!” he shot back, desperately holding back a giggle.

“You’re younger than all of us then,” remarked Sunggyu. “Especially me. I’m the oldest, so make sure you respect me, okay?”

Sungjong nodded. “Okay, hyung.”

Sunggyu clapped his hands together in approval. “Oh, good. I like this kid!” he laughed and patted Sungjong’s shoulder.

“Hey, guys?” Hoya suddenly interrupted. His stomach made a loud grumbling sound and he grimaced. “I hate to break up the love-fest, but I’m starving. Can we go to lunch now?”

“Sure,” said Dongwoo. “Are you guys ready to go?”

“Yep!” answered Sunggyu. He linked arms with Woohyun and started walking in the direction of the cafeteria. The rest of them, including Sungjong, were quick to follow. 

a/n: Thanks for reading the first chapter, you guys! I hope you enjoyed it and I'll do my best to make the rest of this story fun to read~ enjoy!

Edit (2/5/2012): Oh, geez. Looking back on this first chapter...I don't really like it anymore. I'm sorry if it seemed terrible T.T and the same thing can be said about the second one. Sob. I hope you find the later chapters much more interesting.