“I call shotgun!” Eunbyeol said as she threw the left side of Eunseol's sneakers down the hallway and rushed out of the gate after that. “You cheater!” Eunseol hopped back into the house, fetching the left shoe that her sister had mischievously flung away.

“Why do you even want to ride in the passenger seat?” Eunseol asked, unable to fathom why her sister resorts to dirty tricks just to avoid sitting at the back.

“Try sitting at the back with Kim Mingyu for a week. That guy doesn't shut up in the morning.” She grumbled, “I had to suffer with three idiots in the car, you'll meet Wonwoo later, but he's alright, except for some occasional sugar high if he sculls down Monster for breakfast.”

Though her sister may be dramatic sometimes, there is always truth behind her words, so Eunseol was a tad bit nervous for what she will face being squeeze in between two boys.

As they sped down the streets to Mingyu's house, Eunseol could already see a silhouette jumping up and down on the roadside, catching everyone's attention. The giant figure was unmistakeably Mingyu's.

Oh gosh, Byeol was right. He is frickin' high, in height and in mood. How is he gonna fold himself in here?

“Hello!” He flashed a wide smile, showing off his sparkling teeth. Eunseol scooted all the way to the left, leaving ample space between her and Mingyu.

“Good morning! I made breakfast. Want some?” He held out a waffle with one side burnt and the other looking yet defrosted. How he managed to do that was beyond Eunseol.

“If I were you, I wouldn't take a bite out of it. I don't want you gone when you've just returned.” Eunbyeol warned from the front, having heard the exchange between them. Mingyu puffed his cheeks, miffed about the fact that Eunbyeol just dissed his 'grilled' waffle.

He was about to take a huge bite of that inedible microwave food, Eunseol took out her lunch bag and held out a grilled cheese sandwich. “Here, eat this instead, you'll probably get a stomachache if you eat that.” She detached his vice grip on his breakfast waffle and proceed to throw it inside the empty paper bag.

Mingyu had scarfed down the melty goodness before they reached Wonwoo's house which was a few minutes away from his. Unfortunately for Eunseol, Wonwoo entered from the side where she was sitting which led to the situation now.

She was sandwiched between the two 180cm and above giants, with each of their thighs pressing against hers. Eunseol felt really awkward in between, not used to the male contact. Seungcheol, however, did not seem to mind that his friends were currently suffocating his baby sister at the back seat of his car while he drives.

Weren't older brothers supposed to be protective of their baby sister and prevent any touches between her and boys? Eunseol wondered. But then again, if Eunbyeol had to put up with this for one whole year, Seungcheol must have a lot of trust in his friends.

It was another five minutes of noisy ride with Mingyu going off like a bullet train about his experiment with the waffles this morning and his near-fire incident when he tried deep frying them. That got him a high-five from Seungcheol who was driving with only one hand on the steering wheel as it reminded him of yesterday's incident.

Eunseol could put herself in her sister's shoe and remembered to fight to death the next morning to avoid sitting beside the boy that gave her a migraine this morning.

She clambered out of the car, stretching her sore legs, “I'm never gonna sit at the back again. I feel like a pancake, after only 5 minutes with them.” She turned to Seungcheol, “Why aren't you worried that they will do something to me back there?”

Eunseol tried to play the make him play the overprotective brother card to escape the jail cell, better known as the back of his car. It's worse than a jail cell. At least in a jail cell, you would have your own private bubble and one less of an energetic cellmate.

“I trust them.” Seungcheol replied after hesitating for a while. “Besides, you aren't Mingyu's style. He likes tall girls but look at you.” Seungcheol scans her from top to toe, not even taking a millisecond before his eyes met her black Nikes.

“I think you can see why you ain't his type.” Weirdly, there was a pinch in her heart. Eunseol did not understand why her heart reacted that way and dismissed as a mere disappointment that the first guy she met after ten years of isolation had no interest in her at all.

“As for Wonwoo, he's... not interested.” he continued to clarify but Eunbyeol cut in, “In girls?” Seungcheol must have actually considered it because he paused in his tracks, actually taking into consider Eunbyeol's joke. “No, of course not. Or at least I don't think so. He's just not ready for a relationship yet.”

“Let's go, even though I want to skip the principal's talk, I have to be there to introduce myself.” Seungcheol lamented and dragged the twins towards the hall.

Though Eunbyeol was not considered a queenka or popular figure in school, she was quite well-liked by her peers and teachers. So when they stepped into the hall, people began to notice the presence of another Choi Eunbyeol standing beside the original one.

The sisters ignored the hushed whispers about them and remained neutral as they walked down the sides of the hall and settled into their seats. “Hi!” A girl with wavy black hair greeted them. “My name is Oh Hyunmin, nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for them to shake. Not wanting to be rude, Eunseol took her hand and bowed.

“I'm Choi Eunseol, she's my twin sister, Eunbyeol.” Hyunmin seemed fascinated by the twins in front of her and squealed, “I've always want to befriend twins. Can you be my friend? It's my first year here. I transferred from Hanlim Arts High. I'm in Vocal Management. What about you? What's your major?”

The first thing that fleeted across Eunseol's mind was that Hyunmin would get along with Ha Eun very well. “I'm in Music Composition and yes, I think we can be friends.” She gave Hyunmin a shy smile. Eunseol noticed that her sister was not paying attention to her but was talking to a guy who have exotic features.

“The guy talking to your sister, he's Choi Hansol. I heard he's rap skills are real good though his results are right at the bottom of his class. And it's rumored that he's in the Elite Committee despite his failing grades.” Ah, that must be the Hansol that Seungcheol oppa mentioned. Eunseol turned her head to get a better look but the sound of the microphone being switch on screeched throughout the confined hall.

“Good morning students.” The principal boomed. The year ones who were previously chatting away shifted their body and faced the front, giving the principal their fullest attention. The year twos quieten down but there were still murmurs among the block. The year threes and fours however completely ignored the address and remained absorbed in their conversations.

“Good morning students.” The big burly guy reassert his greeting in a louder voice. That effectively shut the mouths of the juniors and seniors, giving the hall a complete silence. He began his welcome speech which bores most of them to death. The baton was passed down to the female principal who also started on one of those usual cliche speeches.

After the Seventeen Elite Committee’s presidents were inducted in front of the whole school, Seulgi allowed the teachers to take their leave before dismissing the rest of the school class by class. They were supposed to engage in ice breaker activities in their own classrooms to build closer bonds between the two schools.

Like excited preschool kids, the sophomores filed into their class in a less than orderly manner. Eunseol was more than grateful for the fact that her sister was placed in the same homeroom as her for she needed a close friend beside her. Ha Eun was sadly assigned to 2-3 while they were in 2-6. Being home-schooled deprived her of the chance to interact with girls and boys both.

Apparently, Hansol wasn't in their class but had came to annoy Eunbyeol because he did not want to interact with his new classmates. They kicked off the orientation with a quick introduction of their names and majors while sitting on the floor in a circle. The facilitator from the Orientation Board had asked them to elect a class monitor to aid in the games so that they can be left alone to bond without him around.

It was followed by a game of Double Wacko where they had to pair up and use a rolled up newspaper to hit the head of the person whose name was called. As the partner changes up every time when someone is caught, they will be able to familiarise themselves with the 30 over names if they want to protect their partner.

The game was paused when Mingyu entered the room in a majestic way. He strolled in without a care in the world, looking suave as he approached the enclosed circle. The cool image was totally ruined when he tripped over flat ground and toppled into the empty space in the center of the class.

Thankfully, he didn't land flat on his gorgeous face but caught himself and broke his fall by landing with his hands first and doing a roll on the floor. He stood up on his two feet and brushed imaginary dust from his hands and shoulders, stalking towards the opposite end of the room where Eunseol was as she had sat out on the game.

The class was stunned judging by the lack of noise or applause for the stunt he pulled. “Yes?” He flashed a broad smile at the class, as though the near accident did not happen. Mingyu pulled Eunseol into the circle and he began squeezing in between two other pairs.

“My name is Mingyu. Sorry if I was a bit late, I had to run by every class to manage the situation. We'll be classmates all so nice to meet you all. Shall we start? I can try to pick up names throughout the class.” The class unfreezed from their jpg state and continue screaming the other classmates name to protect their partners.

In many occasions when Mingyu's name was called, Eunseol blanked out which Mingyu had to slap her calf, while sitting down, to urge her to call someone's name. Many of these were Eunbyeol or Hyunmin's name. When they switched positions, Eunseol also had to tap his shoes desperately when her name was called since she wasn't allowed to speak. It seems to her that it was revenge as Mingyu did not call out another classmates' name until she was about to get whacked.

This was one of the moments when she appreciated the fact that she was a twin as their classmates often confused their looks.

The game came to an end when three people was caught three times, earning them a forfeit. Mingyu and Eunseol watched the punished three dancing to embarrassing choreographs like the Macarena and the chicken dance. Eunseol unconsciously buried her face into Mingyu's shoulder as she burst out laughing at the shenanigans her classmates were doing.

Eunbyeol, who was watching her sister just a few seats away, smirked at the pair who was sitting together too close for comfort. She had never seen her sister this happy yet ever since her last visit to Japan. She whipped out her phone and captured the moment. Eunbyeol mentally thanked Mingyu for bringing her sister into the social circle, quite literally, and forcing her to open up her heart to strangers.

It was time for lunch before the students disperse to the various locations to get familiar with the activities of their selected majors. Eunseol learned that the levels don't matter in your major. As long as you do well, you will be place in the advanced class.

Hyunmin had invited Eunseol to sit with her for lunch as she was her first friend she made. Together, they made their way to the cafeteria and sat on one of those corners tables. Eunseol pulled out her lunch bag and remembered that her lunch was gone because of her generosity this morning. She informed Hyunmin that she's going to buy lunch from one of the stalls and stood up to make her way and join the long queue.

Eunseol was blocked by a guy she supposed, judging by the familiar sneakers that she had repeatedly slapped earlier on. She lifted her head and saw Mingyu beaming right down at her. He wordlessly took her hand and tugged her back to her table, then forcefully plop her down in her seat. He pulled out a black plastic lunch box and opened the lid.

The cheese on top was all melted and gooey. There were hint of Japanese curry in it too. Hyunmin looked starved as watered just by the tantalizing smell of the lunch opposite her.

Mingyu handed Eunseol a transparent plastic spoon and nodded his head towards the food, eyes filled with eagerness. “Eat. I made it. It's heavenly good I swear.”

“But I don't like Japanese curry.” Eunseol protested, partly because she really didn't like eating Japanese curry despite living in Japan for years and partly because she was traumatised by his ability to burn un-defrosted waffle.

Mingyu obviously did not like no as an answer so he scooped a big mouth with the melted cheese, curry and rice and made an airplane sound moving the spoon towards Eunseol's lips. This is so embarrassing. Hyunmin, save me please. Eunseol sent eye contact with her friend sitting across but Hyunmin just stuck her tongue out at her and let Mingyu try babying her.

“Alright, I'll eat. But I'll feed myself.” Eunseol tried taking the spoon from him but he did not budge. He only moved the spoon further away and avoided her movements, balancing the food on top of it like an expert. When she opened to protest, Mingyu shoved the whole thing in and let go of the spoon, still stuck between her lips.

Leaving her with no choice, Eunseol slowly chewed and process the taste. It wasn't as bad as what she had expected. The curry flavour was mild as the cheese slightly overpowered it. Eunseol thanked Mingyu for buying her lunch as she she took another bite of the food. While the two of them were busy exchanging thank you's and you're welcome's, Hyunmin scrolled through her gallery, looking at the photos she sneakily took when Mingyu was trying to feed Eunseol. She virtually gave herself a pat for being such a good paparazzi and noted to ask for Eunseol's contact number.

“There you are! We've been looking for you. Kim Mingyu, what are you doing here?” Eunbyeol shouted from a few metres away. Behind her was Ha Eun, Hansol and two unfamiliar faces, one boy and one girl.

“What's up bro?” Hansol greeted Mingyu in the typical bro tone and the guy came to high-fived him. The four newcomers sat down, with Eunbyeol beside her and the rest sharing the bench with Hyunmin.

“This is Kang Yebin, she's in Music Composition too.” Ha Eun pointed to the girl sitting beside her. Her eyes turned to face the other guy who showed Eunseol a gummy smile. “This is Seokmin, he's a vocalist.”

Hyunmin began to introduce herself to the rest of them as they tucked into their lunches. Eunbyeol was about to share with her sister half of the salad she packed but then she saw her eating Mingyu's deliciously prepared lunch and blurted out. “Is that Mingyu's lasagna? Omo, I'm so jealous! That's the only thing that he makes which is actually nice.”

Eunseol politely offered her sister a bite of the goodness (as much as she hates to admit her taste buds are getting used to it), but Mingyu blocked it away from her claiming that she was not allowed to eat his food if Eunbyeol did not give up hers to him. Both the sisters shrugged and joined into the conversation with the rest of the group who were discussing about random matters.

Soon, the lunch bell rang which signified the start of their period at their chosen major. Eunseol, Yebin and Hansol made their way towards the music room to start on their course. Eunseol learned that Hansol had not selected a major yet and was still debating between Music Composition and Vocal Management.

As they made their way towards the music room, Eunseol can only hope that this time, the workload would not kill her.

 

---

 

New Characters:

Jeon Wonwoo: Mingyu's best friend

Choi Hansol: mutual friend

Oh Hyunmin: classmate / vocal major

Lee Seokmin: mutual friend / vocal major

Kang Yebin: mutual friend / music composition

 

Word Count: 2842