Prepare yourself for some loooooong reading.....

The Path of First Impressions

Yesung tucked his head further within the groove of his arms as he stared blindly out the window of the moving vehicle. His father sat beside him in the driver seat, blabbering about all the fun they were going to have not noticing the earphones within his son’s ears, pumping dreadful gothic music into his brain.

Idle thoughts swept through his mind, it wasn’t that he was hateful of staying with his father in Bum nowhere, no, that wasn’t the problem, neither was the problem the fact that his mother had practically abandoned him to his father so that she could travel the world with freckle-face Peter, world class Mom-stealer.

But no, that wasn’t what had in the glooms of trepidation; it was the clichéd feeling of starting anew in a mildly strange place. Getting used to his surroundings again, being around the constant presence of a father he hasn’t seen physically since he was six.

He had practically grown up in Oakville, but after the divorce his mother had took him with her, beginning a stable and comfortable life in California, a presence of a familiar society that Yesung was clearly missing as they passed endless lands of forest and hardly any signs of civilization.

A random minivan passed them, going in the opposite direction and Yesung would not deny that he followed it with his eyes; craning his head back a little to continue to watch it before it finally disappeared.

In between songs he heard a little portion of what his father was rambling on about.

                “…follow you to get your school books?”

Making a show of slowly removing his earphones, he turns to address his father for the third time since they began this long journey.

                “Pardon me?”

Jung-soo snorted a chuckle, reaching over to playfully tap his son on the shoulder, as if what Yesung had said was some sort of code for father-son bonding.

                “I asked if you wanted me to go with you to the school, you know; help get your books and whatnot”

His father was speaking Korean which was yet another change from English society Yesung had grown up in. However, he had been home schooled Korean by his mother even after they moved to California. She did not want him losing that part of his heritage and always said that if it’s one thing she would want to know it would be his native tongue.

Yesung gave his father an incredulous look, one that the older man obviously did not see because his eyes were once more focused on the road.

                “Dad, I’m not 10, I think I can manage to get my own stuff organized at school” the word ‘school’, even though he spoke it in Korean, seemed to leave a bad taste in a mouth as of recently. He was anxious to see how things would unfold in that area of his new life in Oakville.  However, when his father glanced at him briefly, Yesung managed to give the man a tight yet reassuring smile, hoping to look sincere and not the nervous wreck he was inside.

                “Wow, it’s, it’s hard to believe sometimes…you’re sixteen already and…” Yesung heard the telltale signs of a sniffle and before he knew it they were pulled over at the side of the road and his father was hugging him just as tightly as he had when he had picked Yesung up at the airport.

                “Dad…” the young man sighed, awkwardly patting the quietly sobbing man on his back. Jung-soo pulled back just as quickly as he had latched on, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hands. In a matter of seconds, a manly façade was slipped back on, the older man clearing his throat inelegantly.

                “Sorry about that….it’s just sometimes I wish…”

Following a comfortable silence where the two sat lost in thought for a few seconds, Yesung sat back patiently in his seat, fiddling with his fingers as he said, “I know dad”

He was right, I had recently turned sixteen and it hurts to know that just three days ago I was having a fun time with my mother and now I’m with a dad I’ve never been around for so long and it just feels awkward even though I know it shouldn’t. No matter what I think, Jung soo is still my biological father and Korea/Oakville is my birthplace, I should probably deem this change a much needy one that would reconnect with me with my roots but that doesn’t stop me from hating it.

******))))

The drive seemed to go a lot more smoothly after that, which could’ve been because Yesung managed to fall asleep for the rest of the journey. He was awoken as his body seemed to become aware of the vehicle coming to a slow halt.

                “Wake up sleepy head, we’re here”

Here? He thought briefly, casting a sleepy look toward the direction the voice came from, before recognition set in. Unconsciously, he slumped back into his seat with a somewhat agonized groan.

                “You always were cranky whenever you woke up. Some things never change. Come on kiddo, I’ll need some help taking your stuff inside”

His father was already outside the vehicle before Yesung could answer. Thumping a fist against the door, he opened it and got out quickly, putting on a small smile for good measure.  No wonder he had fallen asleep on his way here. Oakville was like 10 % of light, the atmosphere gloomy and depressing causing Yesung’s small smile to slip off his face, only to be replaced by a doubtful scowl. It was 10:45 in the morning, where was the bloody sun?

 In Cali, he’d always been considered pale in comparison to the tanned flesh of everyone else, but that was because his skin didn’t take tanning quite as easily but he had managed to gain a little color through the years, however, judging by the lack of sun here, he figures it’d be 3 days at most before he’s ghostly pale again. Yet another unwelcomed change he had to adapt to.

                “Sungie, get a move on, I told Hankyung that we’d be by as soon as we finished unloading your things” Jung-soo calls out to him. His father is already lugging off Yesung’s belongings into the fairly large two story house, which was the same house that he had once lived in as a child, it was strangely familiar from certain angles but other than that he did not feel compelled to call it his ‘home’ just yet.

Not one to disobey an adult stubbornly, Yesung proceeded to gather the last two items of his luggage only to turn around and be cut off by another person. Stumbling back with a gasp, he lets the baggage fall unceremoniously to the ground while he is saved from falling on by a strong grip on his wrist.

                “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you” a soothingly coy voice said, the person seeming more startled than Yesung.

Ignoring the trumpeting beat of his heart, Yesung replies haughtily,

                “I wasn’t scared. You just surprised me” he gives the newcomer a brief once over, noting that the person was definitely taller than him before inspecting the other man’s clothes. He was wearing a faded yellow t-shirt, acid wash jeans and appeared to have very tanned, almost bronze skin from what exposed areas of flesh Yesung could see. The man is lean but muscled in the right places and after his inspection of man’s below-the-neck regions Yesung finds himself staring into smiling brown eyes that glitter with happiness. This happiness, however, is dampened when Yesung shows no sign of recognition.

                “YeYe, it’s me” the boy points to himself, “Horse…well Siwon, but you used to call me Horse all the time”

At the use of the nickname ‘YeYe’, Yesung is vaguely reminded of the fact he once again has to get accustom to people calling him by his Korean name. He sighs, after being Jerome Kim for so long it’s going to take some getting used to. His mother had always called him Yesung when they were at home or together. It had been a cute pet name from birth that had stuck with them. It used to be such a private name between mother and son but now he fears it’s probably best if he can get others to call him Yesung, at least until he’s comfortable answering to Jong Woon.

He remembers being a role model of sorts at the young age of 5 for a younger 3 year old, who attached himself to following closely in Yesung’s footsteps. This man in front of him could not be that little kid he once knew. That kid had been scrawny and oh so polite and always had a runny nose and tried to feed Yesung mud pies in between games.

Although the title of ‘Horse’ did sound very familiar and tad bit accurate considering the build of the man, he once again took a look at the fine hunk in front of him and shook his head in denial. This was definitely not…

                “Runny nose, mud pie eating Horse-face-wonnie?” Yesung decided to ask anyway.

                “Well I was christened Siwon but whatever jogs your memory faster” Siwon shrugs.

Yesung can’t help the way his eyes trail over Siwon’s body again,

                “But then you’d only be-“

                “Fifteen, well almost fifteen, my birthday is a couple of months” Siwon coughs, adding, “February”

Yesung notes that as being next year and that this man is actually just a 14 year old kid.

Nodding slightly in appreciation, Yesung stops gawking at the in front of him and goes to pick up his bags. Siwon grabs the other before Yesung can get to it and they share a somewhat silent agreement that he would be allowed to carry it.

                “Siwon! What are you doing here?” Jung-soo calls out cheerfully as Siwon and Yesung stroll up the short walkway. Siwon enters the porch first while Yesung takes a while to contemplate on the house now that he was within its personal space.

 It can’t be helped that his eyes wander over to Siwon’s flexing arm muscles as the other boy carries the heavy luggage inside or the way he studied the boy’s swaying, girly, dark locks of hair as the strands brushed against the middle of his back.

Setting the bag down, Siwon turns to Yesung’s father,   “Sorry about that Mr. Kim, I just wanted to stop by and see YeYe. He’s changed so much”

They both glance at Yesung who shifts uncomfortably under their watchful gaze.

                “That’s what happens when you hit puberty” Yesung deadpans mockingly, he aims a suggestive glance at Siwon and is surprised to see the other boy flush noticeable under his tan before looking away. Interesting…

Jung-soo claps his hands loudly in anticipation. When Yesung looks at him, his father is grinning like a manic.

                “Let me show you your room and give you the grand tour of Casa de Kim!”

))(()()()()(())((

Yesung is currently seated on the firm mattress of his new room. Well it was not exactly ‘new’, as it was the same room he had occupied as a child living in Oakville but that didn’t make the matter anymore comforting. He dearly missed the arrangement of his room back home, back in California, where the sun rose too brightly in the morning through his curtains, his laptop would be placed on the left side of his bed, patiently awaiting his arrival from school or otherwise, the scent of dirty socks mixed with air freshener, spying on his next door neighbor Anthony who’s bedroom window faced Yesung’s perfectly, almost as if it was meant to be.

He was willing to give Oakville a chance but for now, in this moment by himself, he would allow his emotions to run their course. A quiet knock at the door broke him out of his troubling thoughts and he quickly got off the bed to busy himself before calling for the person to enter.

“Hey” is all the greeting Siwon gives when he pushes the door open. The tall man stays in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, just glancing around the room with a strange look on his face. Yesung decides to stay quiet, continuing his pretend searching. He reaches into the only suitcase he had managed to open so far and digs into it aimlessly, making himself look as busy as possible, maybe Siwon would take a hint and leave him alone.

“I know that face Yeye. Are you going to sulk up here all day?”

Barely managing to hold in the urge to stick his tongue out at Siwon, Yesung turns away from his task, looking at Siwon as if the man had just interrupted an important discovery. Siwon returned a mocking facial expression of his own.

                “Just call me Yesung.  I haven’t been called Yeye in years, so you must know it makes me uneasy to be referred to as such”

Siwon scoffs, “Wow, New York made you grow right into your diva ego didn’t it?”

Turning back to his luggage, Yesung replies, “For your information we moved to California. If you were a true childhood friend you would at least know that”

The older boy is only slightly startled when Siwon stoops beside him, his extra height even while in this position made him appear that he was looming over Yesung.

                “Do you mind?” Yesung balks, trying to scoot away from Siwon’s shadow.

                “Why are you so y?”

                “Why’s your hair so long?” the shorter boy retorts instantly.

Siwon smirks, “Its sort a traditional thing” he answers smugly, “Your turn”

Before Yesung can fling another half assed reply at him, Siwon bumps his shoulder playfully but it catches Yesung off guard and the boy ends up sprawled on his .

                “Sorry” Siwon is quick to help but Yesung bats his aiding hands away.

                “You’ve got like….baby hands” the younger boy coos as he studies Yesung closely.

Offended, if not downright insulted, Yesung punches Siwon’s arm, offended again when it hurts his fist more than it probably hurt Siwon.

                “I like them”

Yesung suddenly finds his palms being cradled by larger, slightly calloused hands whose fingers massage gently into his flesh. Pulling his hands away, Yesung glares at the other man. No matter how good that felt he wasn’t about to fall all over Siwon like a in heat. Never-mind how good looking, sweet, challenging, infuriating, adorable….

                “Look who’s talking, do you sand-paper those hands of yours or something” Yesung says nastily, just to be a jerk. Siwon looks a tad bit hurt and briefly Yesung shinks into himself, already apologetic for his statement. Siwon catches sight of the telltale sign of immediate guilt and grins proudly, figuring the other man was just being frisky.

                “Besides, you know what they say about a man with small hands”  the flirtatious vibe Siwon’s raised eyebrow sets should not be as funny as it is.

Rolling his eyes, Yesung replies  “Bigger the brain?’, crawling on all fours toward his suitcase.

                “Sharper the wit” he continues.

Siwon never tells him though, and Yesung will deny it to his grave that he was ever, EVER, curious to find out what the answer might be.

The younger boy offers to help Yesung unpack and they find themselves unloading Yesung’s belongings. Siwon helps him spread his plush Winnie the Pooh comforter over the mattress, making the room almost feel hazily like his bedroom back in Cali.

                “Where’s my dad?”

Siwon quietly places the books he’s carrying on the small library stand opposite the bed.

                “He’s cooking your favorite” Siwon grins happily at the thought.

Yesung perks up a little, “California sushi roll?”

Siwon lifts a teasing brow, “Uh no. But I’ll put it on the menu your highness” he bows mockingly.

                “Why are you in my house anyway?” Yesung places his laptop messenger bag on the bed, moving immediately to close the smaller suitcase since all it contained now was his underwear and personally he really did not want Siwon messing around in that pile.

                “I practically live here, but I came extra early today because your dad invited e over to welcome you back”

Muttering under his breath Yesung said, “How nice of him”

                “Does he know you’re using the opportunity to flirt with me?”

This actually causes Siwon to stutter adorably in denial. He’s so cute it’s sickeningly. Yesung looks away, he admits freely to himself that Siwon makes good eye candy.

                “We-we seemed to have started out on the wrong foot. Uh, how, how have you been?” Siwon asks, taking a seat on the floor while Yesung occupies the bed. Yesung can tell he’s trying to be civil, so instead of answering with a catty attitude he decides to be polite also.

                “Good”

See, that wasn’t so hard.

Siwon gives him a look that clearly asked, ‘That’s it?’

When Yesung gave no reply, Siwon sighed.

                “Hm, okay?  So? Ah it, I know you don’t like it here…”

                “Hey, I never said…”

                “You don’t have to, your attitude stinks enough to make that clear”

Before Yesung can answer his bedroom slams open, his father grinning proudly behind it,

                “You two can gossip later. I made Mac and cheese” he looks pointedly at Yesung, “Your favorite!”

Mumbling under his breath, Yesung says, “Yeah, when I was like five”

Siwon, who is already on his feet and standing near him, hears this and thus sees it fit to punch Yesung on the arm. The younger man probably meant for the hit to be soft, just a simple tap, but Yesung felt as if Siwon had beaten his arm with a metal bat. The ing hit stung like a son of a . He stands quickly, rubbing at his arm.

Instead of lashing out at Siwon, Yesung takes in his father’s excited look and says,

                “That’s great dad” he smiles for a better delivery and it seems to have worked because before he could make a step his father had pitched himself into the room and engulfed him in a hug.

                “It’s so fantastic to have you back home, son” Jung soo ruffles his son’s hair, making the young man feel even more like a five year old.

Over his dad’s shoulder, Yesung can see Siwon looking at them fondly, and when he catches Yesung’s gaze he indicates to the other boy to hug back.

Sighing, Yesung wraps hesitant arms around his father, patting him on the back awkwardly. The moment is sealed and his father pulls back happily, beaming a smile at Yesung while looking expectedly at him.

                “I’m glad to be home too, dad”, Yesung manages, smiling uneasily.

Jung soo is b with joy, and then he starts to sniffle.

Yesung groans, feeling helpless as his father dissolved into tears of joy, beginning to make promises of adventure in Oakville.

                “…fishing, and, well there’s not much to do in terms of activity here but…”

Yesung tunes the other man out, focusing on his spot on the wall but continuing to smile nonetheless. He meets Siwon’s gaze, the other boy rolls his eyes at Yesung, nodding his head toward the door. Happy to leave, Yesung breaks away from his talkative father, the other man making no protest as he watches Yesung and Siwon exit the room.

                “…then we’ll go hiking!” Jung soo shouts after them, touching his heart. Oh how he has missed his son. And now that he has him back in his life he’s going to make Yesung’s time here memorable for the both of them anyway he can. Sure he is not blind. He knows Yesung is not at all settled in yet and Oakville might not be the most interesting place but eventually Yesung will come around and make the best of things. Smiling joyously, Jung soo eyes the room loving. After being empty for all these years, it’s finally going to have some life.

Siwon ends up spending the day with them and although Yesung hates to admit defeat so early into their meeting, he comes to terms that Siwon is not as useless as he appears. He is attractive, yes, but also very intelligent and makes a magnificent casserole. Siwon also proves to be an official Oakville tour guide, giving Yesung the basic run down of Oakville’s layout and highlights.

Siwon apparently lives on a stretch of land just outside of Oakville called ‘Baliene Gates’. It’s not exactly a town or anything but actually would’ve been considered a part of Oakville if not for Siwon’s ancestors claiming the land, creating a boundary for their people that separated that area from Oakville. Yesung cracks a joke about Siwon’s ancestor’s being rich s and is rebutted by Siwon, who answers,

                “More like rich s who knew exactly what they were doing. Baliene is officially our land and is large enough for us to accommodate our people and live in a peaceful habitat”

                “So basically you guys have your own town?”

Siwon nods after looking thoughtful for a while.

                “You could say that. Plus it’s near the coast so we get a beach too”

Due to Baliene’s location it is sometimes overlooked by outsiders because to access it you would have to know the road through Oakville’s dense forest.

                “Lah-who-vah-gatta woods?” Yesung reads, pointing to the name on the map that his father had hanging in his study room. His father seemed to have a lot stuff just lying about in the room, things that looked rather interesting to the wandering eyes of strangers, being Oakville’s deputy sheriff had its perks apparently.

                “Ranger woods” Siwon corrects, looking at where Yesung is reading from. He places a hand over Yesung’s, moving it toward the right name.

Ignoring the warm hand that is still clasped over his Yesung’s eyes go back to the previous name he had been looking at.

                “Then what is that other name doing there?”

Seeming to realize that he is still holding Yesung’s hand captive Siwon releases it.

                “Ladev LenGata woods is, well, from what the elders in my village say, it’s just a part of Ranger woods that was claimed by some ancient family. Apparently their ancestors use the land for recreational stuff, like parties and blah. Just a bunch of rich folks who chucked off a piece of the woods, cleaned it up a bit and started popping out kids” Siwon shrugs.

                “You people like dissecting property for your own selfish needs don’t you? Have you ever been to La-dev?”

                “Nope. It’s like forbidden” he uses air quotes to highlight how ridiculous he thinks it is. “I mean, it was like some treaty signed by our ancestors back in the day that still applies now. They can’t cross over into our land and we won’t go on theirs”

Yesung raises an eyebrow at him,

                “So how would you know if they cross that boundary?”

Siwon shrugs again, looking rather bored,

                “It’s all history mumbo jumbo. My people are crazy superstitious”

The older boy pats him on the head,

                “You poor horsey. Hopefully the craziness isn’t passed on through the generations”

                “You’ll meet all the generations when you start school in the Gates”

Yesung pauses, confused for a moment,

                “The gates? I thought I was going to school in Oakville? Uh”  he wracks his brain for the name needed, “SM High”

Siwon seems shocked by this, but recovers quickly.

Scratching the back of his head he says,

                “Oh, uh, your dad had said…” unable to find anything else to say that would not make him sound completely pathetic, Siwon adds, “Maybe he just changed his mind”

                “Yeah, maybe”

They delve into silence for a bit before Siwon speaks again,

                “That though. We would’ve been best buds and rule the school yard” Siwon begins walking around the fairly large study room, idly touching items whenever he passes them.

                “Dude, you’re like 14. Don’t you think I would want to hang out with kids my own age?” Yesung picks up a sticky-note pad from off of the messy table, peeling off a page in order to stick it directly over La-Dev’s name before placing another on Baliene’s location.

                “Just because I’m 14 doesn’t mean I’m immature…oh my god! Play doh! Your dad is awesome!”

Yesung rolls his eyes, turning away from the map.

Siwon is making a gun out of the pieces of play doh he’s found and Yesung cannot resist the urge to outdo him. He picks up a few pieces of his own to make a better gun…and maybe a cake too…

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

After a fitful sleep despite his best efforts, Yesung wakes up groggy and in a prissy mood. His father is once again the cheerful hippy he was yesterday and even as Yesung grunts out answers to him the man just would not take a hint.

                “How did you sleep?”
A grunt is his answer.

                “Me too. I have this uncomfortable lump in my bed that just bugs the beegeebies out of me. I’ll buy us new mattresses? How does that sound?”
An even more disgruntled grunt replies.

                “Good, good. So I made you waffles and muffins. Got up extra early to do those” his dad laughs heartily, “And I’ll toot my own horn and say they taste awesome” he looks rather smug. “Want me to pack some for your school day?”

Yesung makes a sound like a mummy that had just emerged from its tomb.

                “Excellent!” Jung soo cheers, going about the task of packing a few muffins into a brown bag for Yesung to take with him.

                “I’ll just take some to work as well. You know how Mr. Santiago is when I don’t bring him any treats” he chuckles, lost in thought for a moment. “Oh I almost forgot you haven’t met him yet. Don’t worry kiddo, papa’s going to introduce you to all his friends and between you and me, I’ll say that they are way cool”

Yesung clenches a fist around a nearby spatula, ready to butcher the man.

Jung soo smiles hopefully at him and then his expression turns even more affectionate,

                “Chop chop, YeYe. I’ve got to get you to school before the morning bell.  Don’t want you to be late on your first day.” He pauses, “Then again maybe you should be late. You know give everyone that fashionably late concept that you kids are so crazy about”

He holds Yesung by the shoulders, leading the young man toward the table. Pulling out a chair he pushes slightly on Yesung’s tense shoulders until the boy sits.

                “Come on, eat up. I have to go finish up some last minute organizing” Jung soo goes to leave but Yesung is still not moving to grab any of the delicious treats.

                “Unless you want company?” he asks happily.

                “NO” Yesung is quick to say, reaching for a muffin before sighing, “Sorry, but, uh, no thanks dad. I’ll be done in a minute” flashing a forced smile he adds, “You go get ready”

Jung soo turns back anyway, standing over Yesung to ruffle his hair.

                “If you say so champ. If you need anything just yell okay? There’s orange juice in the fridge”

Reluctantly, Yesung grabs his dad’s hand before the other man could leave,

                “Uh, yeah…do-do you have any coffee?” he asks shyly, looking up at his father with sleepy doe eyes.

Jung soo would burst into tears if he didn’t think it would ruin the moment. With a watery smile on his face, he nods, holding back the urge to sniff.

                “You know my father was addicted to this stuff” he informs Yesung as he walks over to the empty coffee maker. “I don’t like the taste, but I drink it in small portions when I work late. I prefer hot chocolate any day of the week. Do, do you like hot chocolate”

A more genuine small smile forms on his lips and Yesung nods.

                “Yeah, actually I was addicted to hot chocolate myself….”

Jung soo chuckles, “I’m still addicted…sadly. But at least it won’t harden my brain” he states, eyeing the coffee beans before giving Yesung a meaningful look.

Yesung snorts, “At least coffee won’t harden my arteries”

                “I’ll have you know chocolate is good for you”

It was a much more pleasant breakfast after that.

*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*((*(*(*((*(*(

Now that the initial settings have been sort of introduced I’m switching to First person POV’s.

The ride to SM High is quiet and for once Jung soo doesn’t seem to want to speak, still basking in the glow of their lovely breakfast banter and chat. And I was sure that there was no way I was getting out of this car without getting hugged.

I am content to watch the passing scenery, my window down and the cool September air brushing my face. It’s definitely a lot cooler in Oakville than the weather would be in California and I actually prefer it this way.

My stomach is in butterflies. How can I not be nervous? Starting a new school in late September during one’s junior year wasn’t something I was used to. It felt like my heart was trying to pound its way of my chest. I despised the feeling of nervousness. It just made me feel overly vulnerable and that was not the feeling I wanted when I start school here.

Who knows what they’re system was like?

Back in the California the jocks would smell you out on the first day and like the movie cliché are you’d just end up being fresh meat for them. I remembered the slight acts of bullying; I was tormented for not being/acting a certain way. Of course I had friends who had come with me from elementary grade to High school so the torment was not faced by just me but others who I knew. Eventually they left us alone and we were free to be our normal selves.

Well that is until my mother decided to abandon me to my Korean father in some half dead town.

Why didn’t he just move in Seoul like I had hoped?

I was involved with a clique made of what some people would refer to as freaks, unwanted socialites who appeared uncool but had their own individual personalities that made them shine rather than being plastic like most of the others. I made 3 really good friends, who I am missing severely right about now and I unconsciously touch the cellphone in my pocket, unable to wait for an opportunity to call them.

I had phoned Jensen and Nia last night after I tried and failed to pick up Wi-Fi.  They were as happy to hear from me as I was to simply chat with them. We hung up all too soon, Nia teasing me to flirt more with Siwon the and I regretted ever mentioning the taller boy to her.

My father pulls into a gap that makes me take back what I had previously said about Oakville being half dead and bum . All the houses apparently have gardens and recreational pools and look like Mansions straight out of a Beverly Hills magazine and every eye capturing one that we drive pass do their part in making me eat my words.

This place may sound dull but a part from that it’s a ing gold mine of wealth. There is not a plain house in sight. After all the other houses we had passed previously this place did not even seem like Oakville anymore.

                “We’re on Winchester lane” my dad supplies, seeming to take in how astounded I look. “All the rich folks settle here and from here on out its all large houses, trees and hotels”

At the end of the first street, we round a corner and pull up near a sidewalk. The building directly above us can only be described as epic. It’s almost as broad as its foundation!

                “This is SM High and SM College”

I look at him, “What? You mean the High School and the College are one place?”

                “Basically, but both institutes are huge and SM makes no joke about giving the best education to its students. If did could keep you for 13 years I think they would”

My eyes are stuck outside the window. The campuses are definitely huge and from what he can see there is a large concrete wall that divides one from the other. He shakes his head, finding it ironic that Oakville has set up yet another boundary.

These people just love to divide land

I had to give them props; both places were like palaces, magnificent and generously structured. I couldn’t wait to get inside.  My dad pulled into a large parking spot, because with a school of this size they needed a big parking area.

                “Only seniors with licenses are allowed to drive though”  Jung soo informs me. I shrug. It was the same sort of rule in California so I was used to it.

                “Okay kiddo, time to…” he breaks off, going for a hug that I knew was inevitable. I patted his back, and after squirming a bit he finally released me.

                “Bye dad” I grab my bag from the backseat.

                “I’ll pick you up at 3, okay?”

He had better pick me up because unfortunately I still didn’t bother to mesmerize the way home.

                “Thanks. See you later”

Stepping out, I slip the bag strap over my shoulder.

                “Love you”

                “Me too” I throw over my shoulder.

                “Do you have money for lunch?”

I nod, I had taken up enough won this morning before leaving.

                “Do you want me to come…” Jung soo starts but I turn around and stop him from finishing with a look.

God please don’t embarrass me.

                “It’s okay Jung…Dad, I’ll manage” I say it so cuttingly that he frowns a little and it’s the saddest he’s looked since I arrived. I feel bad but it’s not like he can continue to treat me like a baby while I’m here. He needs to learn for himself that yes I am his son but I’m also a teen who enjoys being independent every once in a while.

He honks his horn before pulling out of the parking lot.

I trek across the huge lot, eyeing the front of the building which is painted a solid aqua blue patterned with bricks of red. The rest of the building seems to be painted with the blue alone. There’s a large digital announcement advertiser billboard to the dead left of the campus. It’s flashy with digital letters that broadcast little reminders that mean absolutely nothing to me. The fact that they have an actual digital billboard to highlight school activities rather than the ordinary lettered chart thing is quite amazing.

I give a low wolf whistles in appreciation.  These guys must be loaded.

Students are still scattered about the paved area of the campus, talking or from the looks of it…just lazing around. Looking around I see a rounded patch of luscious green lawn encased by a small wall of painted blue and red concrete. To the end of it is a long pole with what looks like the school’s flag and the American flag flying high above it. The school colors appear to be a combination of the aqua blue and a smooth crimson red.

There is a broad, short flight of stairs leading to the building and I jog up them on a whim. I am met with two bulky brown doors that have the logo of what looks like an Octopus imprinted into the carpentry.

The is that?

Are you telling me that the school’s mascot is an Octopus?

*face-palm moment*

With a deep inhale and exhale I push the double doors, breaking the octopus in half down the middle as I do so. The hallway that meets me is littered with buzzing students. I am immediately overwhelmed at the sudden squeeze and attempt to force my way through.  Everyone just looks so…

Asian…

It’s quite the change from a 60 percent American student body.

All I need to do now is get to the office and I’m good.

Suddenly an arm is thrown over my shoulder,

                “Oh my God Sunny, I missed you last week-“ I stare at the clearly confused boy who has latched onto me.

                “Um, I’m not Sunny” I supply helpfully, hoping he’d get the hint, admit his mistake and buzz off.

I’m met with piercing blue eyes that remind me a bit of California dream boys. He looks awfully American. Except now that I look closer I can tell he has some Asian in him. His hair is a rich dark black, cut short barely above his ears. He has a long black tattoo of sorts that runs from above his right end to below it. It stops before it meets his cheekbone, and if I do say so myself, looks really cool. All he needed now was an addition of piercings and he’d look like the stereotypical bad boy.

                “Oh man, sorry. You look just like her”

Streaming a little at being compared to looking like a girl I simply say,

                “So she’s rather man-ish looking I guess”

The guy scratches his head and I catch a glimpse of bright nail person. He’s wearing red and black nail polish?

I look at his outfit.

He’s rocking a red t-shirt and black skinny jeans that are a little baggy still. His shoes are an amazing white that don’t look like they had a smidgen of dirt on it. However, my thoughts stray back to the fact that he has ultimately painted his nails to match his attire.

So much for being hardcore, the dude is obviously metroual or full on gay. For all I know this Sunny person really was a man, or at least a shemale.

                “Come to think of it, she’s got way bigger s than you” he answers, staring boldly at my chest.

I finally just shrug him off and begin to move forward. A hand wraps around my upper bicep and halts my movements.

                “I’m Hyukjae by the way”

I didn’t ask…so yeah…I don’t care

I just nod at him and he removes his hand. I turn away to continue my hunt. The crowd seems to have gotten thicker.

Damn Asians and their lack of appreciation for someone’s personal space.

I’m shoving at one of them when Hyukjae makes his presence known at my side. I almost choke a little while thinking his name.

Damn him and his funny name.

Adapting to memorizing Korean names is going to prove difficult.

                “It is common courtesy to give your name in return?” he huffs, looking at the side of my face. I ignore him, hoping he would go away.

                “So uh-what’s your name?” he asks, obviously not taking a hint.

                “Muffasa” I answer swiftly, my eyes scanning the door labels for the familiar scribbles of the office.

Hyukjae perks up,

                “Hi Muffasa, it’s nice to meet you. You must be new cause I’ve never seen you around here and I know like everybody here”

                “Would you leave me alone?!” I don’t realize I’ve said this in English until I spot how confused Hyukjae looks. Then his face brightens,

                “Oh American!” he must have noticed me looking from left to right because he asks, “What are you looking for?”

                “The office?” I cave and say. I might as well use him while he’s here.

The arm over my shoulder is back and then he’s leading me forward,

                “Ah, come with me, Muffasa, I shall show you to your destination”

I’m crossing my fingers that he doesn’t mislead me into a dark alley to me. Cause you know…

…that would be bad….

*((**(*(*(*(**(*(*(*(*(*(*((*(*(*

I sigh happily. I have my schedule in hand and it’s all coming together slowly. However, I am still unable to shake the little leech that had grown some sort of attachment to me since I arrived here.

Speaking of which…

                “Hey, it says here your name is Kim Jong Woon, you big liar”

I move my schedule from his line of vision.

                “Ah but how can I stay mad at you”

He latches can arm over my shoulder again, shaking me from side to side. For such a skinny build he has really good muscle control, his grips are ing secure. It’s like when he locks himself onto me I can’t escape until he surrenders his hold on me. As he laughs, I feel him whisk the schedule from my grasp.

                “Cool, cool, we have Chem, Lit and three other classes together!” he grins.

Oh how he annoys me.

                “Isn’t there somewhere you have to be?”

                “Oh ” he cusses, visibly remembering something important. I smile inwardly pleased to be rid of him.

Unfortunately he latches on to me again, pulling my arm as he moves.

                “We’re late for first period Chem. And that’s all the way in hall four. Run, Woonie, run!”

I have no choice but to run along with him as he breaks into a speed-walk half-run sort of thing, tugging me along.

The bell had long since rung some minutes ago. It’s a wonder this ing place doesn’t have elevators.

I cuss after we take another flight of stairs. My legs feeling rather warm from the excess jogging I had to do to keep up with Hyukjae.

Curse you skinny jeans!

How dare you restrict my movements at a time like this you tight er.

I’ll burn yo…

Wait? Am I seriously talking to my jeans? Have you sunk so low Yesung?

*Sweatdrop

We arrive in front of a classroom door and Hyukjae doesn’t even give me a breathing moment before he’s pushing it open. I hear the teacher pause in her speaking.

                “Lee Hyukjae, you are” I peep in just in time to see her check her watch, “ten minutes late, not your usual record but still late as usual”

As if on cue the class makes a giggly sound.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Hyukjae so flustered since we met. He had stuck me as an overly confident person.

                “My apologies Miss, but I have the best excuse this time. Look, I was helping the new kid” he pushes me forward, right into the lion’s mouth.

At least give me a warning next time!

                “Hi” I wave stupidly.

The teacher at least gives me a break and smiles briefly.

                “Welcome, I’m Miss Park” she stretches out her hand and it only takes me a second to realize what she wants. I hand her my papers.

                “Okay, okay” She nods at me, before addressing the class, “Class, I will like for you to give Kim Jong Woon a pleasant welcome”

The class gives a healthy applause that surprises me but does nothing to comfort my beating heart.

Can they stop staring?

                “Would you like to briefly introduce yourself?”

Not much of a chance she’d let me off if I say no, so I swallow, blocking out the class as I fix my gaze on one point at the back of the room.

                “Hi everyone. My name is as mentioned”

Wow, way to sound like a robot, Yesung.

                “But-but I preferred to be called Yesung. It’s just a childhood nickname I’ve grown used to hearing. I spent most of my life in California so my Korean might be a little rusty. I hope we can all be friends”

And I was going so good… Then I had to end it off with that cheesy line. I’ll be lucky if I manage to get one friend in this class.

The loudest applause is ultimately from Hyukjae.

Well there’s my one friend.

The teacher requests that I take an available seat at a work station. Hyukjae sits alongside a female student and he points to an empty spot in front of him. Obviously we have to be in pairs, but I just want to sit so I pay no mind to the person next to me as I occupy the seat.

The chair next to mine can be heard being shifted even more away as if the person next to me thinks I have SARS or something. I glance at the person, catching a glimpse of pale, milky skin and golden strands of neatly arrayed hair. It is obviously a boy.

I don’t want to be caught staring full on so I decide to pay attention to the teacher.

Miss Park begins talking again, informing them to work with their partners on some project that I have no clue about.

“Oh, uh, Yesung?” I nod and she continues, “Yes, Yesung you can partner with Kyuhyun for the moment since I see that Seohyun is absent, he will explain the project to you”

I turn to look at my ‘partner’. He is already staring at me, his expression disgusted and I can tell from the way he has his nose scrunched up and his startling eyes blaze with wrath. He looks as if he’s been cornered by a vagrant and would like to be any place else.

Oh my God!

I probably stink something harsh! ing hell!

Self-conscious and dying on the inside I sink into myself, hoping to catch a sniff of my clothes to test just how much I stink while shying away from his gaze.

I don’t smell any different than usual, so I shift to catch his attention again. He is now jammed up against the wall, a good 7 feet of space between us.

It is insulting the way he looks at me like I’m road kill on his tires. If I wasn’t so focused on the disgust in them I would complement him on having the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. They were this rather peculiar shade of golden hazel, with flecks of apparent silver in them. Sighing, I try to make a peace offering at least for the sake of our grade on this project.

                “Are-are you going to explain this to me or what?” I ask, completely ignoring his obvious dislike of me. I just want to get a bloody education so screw him.

                “God you reek” is the first thing he says in a low whisper. Once again if I wasn’t so offended I would say his voice was mysterious and y but at this moment I was afraid I was going to have to punch him in his face.

I’m a reader not a fighter…

                “Excuse me” I hiss back, checking out of the corner of my eye as Miss Park continues talking.

He covers his nose with his hand,

                “Never mind. Just…oh my God” this Kyuhyun person then shoves past me and rushes out the class like he owns the place.

Now I am even more insulted!

                “What did you do to Prince Charming?” Hyukjae asks from behind me. I don’t answer him; too busy being stunned at what had just happened.

I fume all the way through class. When Miss Park reminds us that we need to turn in our projects by the end of the week I want to smack her for pairing me up with that .

The gods must hate me because I manage to be the last person left in the class when Kyuhyun returns for his books. I desperately wished Hyukjae hadn’t gone to buy a snack from the vending machine because at this point I was ready to defend myself if things got ugly, expulsion be damned.

Kyuhyun ignored me, entering the room with an air of pride but still covering his nose.

                “What is your problem?” I ask, not afraid to be loud now that class is over.

The boy stiffens as if he did not expect me to actual speak to him. It’s another crime against my wellbeing that he is taller than me.

                “If you don’t know then I’m not telling you” he says haughtily, giving me a venomous look. “You’ll find out soon enough”

He grabs his books and rushes out of the room so fast I wonder if he had to take a piss urgently.

That er is crazy.

I check my schedule and see that I have 2 periods of Lit next. Yet another class with Hyukjae…

                “ing great”

______________________

Chapter One originally ended there but I didn't get to post it on time and as New Years came about and boxed me in I had spare time to add more....like a lot more....so the next part is like a continuation of Chapter one