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A/N: Dedicating this chapter to Eleri, who's a birthday girl today! She's thatweirdo on here, and @celerydragon on Twitter! Go say happy birthday! Sorry for such a crappy gift, but I hope you like it!

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Morning comes too quickly. With heavy eyelids and resistant limbs, Kyungsoo eventually manages to pull his body upright, grimacing at the sweat breaking out down his back. Surely, it couldn't have gotten that hot overnight. The air was cool, just shy of chilly, when he went to bed.

His eyes finally manage to pry themselves open and settle on a bright yellow orb floating in the center of the room.

A tiny sun.

“Ugh,” groans a body in the bed next to his. They scramble, uncovering their body but pulling the sheets up to cover their head.

“Rise and shine,” rasps another person, and Kyungsoo looks at the other bed to see a boy scowling at his own feet. He finally glances over at Kyungsoo and raises a hand in reluctant greeting. “You're the new guy, huh?”

Well, that should be obvious, really. They're all Second Years. No one had seen him before. “Yeah,” he croaks out, throat too dry. “I’m Do Kyungsoo.”

“Im Hyunsik,” the boy offers, rolling sluggishly out of bed and retargeting his scowl to squint at the floating ball of heat in the room. “Why they couldn't just get a siren alarm instead of this wicked thing is beyond me.”

“A siren alarm?”

“Like where sirens sing?” Hyunsik asks. “It's nice, it just pulls you out of bed and bam, you're up. This setup is just cruel. It gets bright, and then it gets so hot until you can't take it anymore.”

He did notice the temperature creep even higher in the last minute.

“You doing breakfast?”

“Uhh… sure?”

Hyunsik kicks the foot of the other bed, evoking a grunt from its resident. “C’mon, princess, rise and shine!”

“I can last another five minutes,” grunts the sleeper.

“Whatever, man, me and new dude are gonna go eat,” Hyunsik says, nodding at Kyungsoo.

“Do I need to bring my stuff?” Kyungsoo asks nervously, half-heartedly pulling the sheets back up his bed.

Hyunsik motions for him to set it back down. The sheets rise on their own, tucking themselves neatly into place, before the mattress cantilevers back into the wall with a crisp click sound, and the bedframe rearranges itself into a small desk and stool. “Next year, they’ll let us charm the bed ourselves! What's your schedule?” he asks, bumping shoulders with Kyungsoo so he can skim down the list of classes. “Just grab your tablet for P.S.T. and you should be good.”

“Tablet?” Kyungsoo asks. Hyunsik gives him a nod. “I… I don't have a tablet.”

Hyunsik gives him an annoyed look as he wipes sweat from his brow. The room is positively balmy right now. “This, pabo,” he says, tugging on the corner of the white cutting board sticking out of his suitcase. They had required it for school supplies, which Kyungsoo had assumed was for some cooking thing. “C'mon, I'm starving.”

All meals, as Hyunsik explains, are held in the Dining Hall. Optionally, students can get lunch in the front entrance where local vendors bring food trucks of every variety, but Kyungsoo has pretty much kissed that option goodbye, as his tuition only covers school meals. Breakfast is seolleongtang, or ox bone soup, and while it is hot and flavorful, it is seasoned differently from how his mom makes it. The thought makes him miss home and his family.

He doesn't really get a chance to wallow though, as mere seconds after his first bite, he's attacked by Byun Baekhyun, who practically climbs onto his back to greet him. “Kyungsooooo ,” he wails, his voice echoing down the room as he shakes Kyungsoo's shoulders. “You live!”

“I live,” he confirms weakly, confused and overwhelmed over the enthusiasm.

Baekhyun shoves Hyunsik over and crams into the small space between them, clapping Kyungsoo on the shoulder. “Is Hyunsik your roommate?” he asks. “I'm still your best friend though, right?”

“My best friend?” Kyungsoo echoes, eyes widening at the thought. He literally just met Baekhyun last night, and even then, he was the quiet kid lurking on the group of best friends, hardly the one stealing the show.

“Good,” Baekhyun says, apparently taking the question as agreement. He doesn't even last a minute in the silence. “C'mon, hurry! Let's go to P.S.T., I'm so excited!” He actually claps, bouncing happily in his seat.

He's not sure what protocol is for talking to the other Houses. Jongdae and Chanyeol are eating in their respective groups. Was he supposed to pretend they don't know each other? Or is it just early Monday morning, and they're tired? Kyungsoo tries to make a mental note to ask Baekhyun later, in private.

It's not until he's finally finished eating, with Baekhyun snatching his cutting board and dragging him out of the Hall, that he sees Jongin stumbling in, eyes barely cracked open. The boy gives them a bewildered look before Baekhyun waves at him and drags Kyungsoo off. “Don't be late for class!” Baekhyun offers before rounding the corner.

—

Kyungsoo stares at the little jars before him in equal parts confusion and disgust as the professor explains what they're about to do. He still can't quite comprehend it. Potions, Salves, and Tinctures II sounded like it might've been his favorite class, but right now, the professor is literally explaining how to plant seeds and tubers. His parents skimped and saved and slaved extra hours on their farm so he could pay for top private tuition on Jeju Island, for him to… plant a garden.

“Some of these gardens are a hundred years old,” Professor Kim Hyuna continues to explain, oblivious to Kyungsoo's internal distress, “Some of the seeds you are planting today will be used by future students, up to a century from now as well. It is a cycle, and it shows appreciation for your tools, your ingredients, and your school.” She goes on to elaborate on how raw, fresh ingredients contain much more potency than the dried, powdered stuff that First Years used, so this is where the real magic starts to happen. Next year, their Third Year, they will use these same gardens and introduce fermentation magic, which is a Korean specialty, and goes back centuries. “You will notice that this class period is rather short, only one hour,” she explains. “This will be the last time I lecture you on Monday mornings. From now on, you will come here, tend to your gardens, and prepare whatever ingredients are needed for Friday, where you will spend the entire afternoon to complete your assignments. Please sign and submit your waivers on your tablets and get started. Textbook work is done outside of class, just like last year… Speaking of, I believe we have a new student?”

All Pueullang eyes turn to him, while several Yanguellang students try to ferret out who it might be. Kyungsoo gulps and fidgets with the cutting board, digging his nails into its side. Reluctantly, he raises his hand.

“Oh, that won't do,” Professor Kim says, hastily walking toward him. She produces her wand and taps his board. It flexes, arching up from the counter, and then deflates until it's the thickness of a sheet of paper. “You should have announced this before class,” she scolds, clicking her tongue. “Someone give him a briefing on how to submit assignments— ah yes, thank you Baekhyun-ssi.” She leans in, dropping her voice to a stage whisper. “I believe they have informed you that you will have to pick up last year's basics on your own time as well, is that correct?”

Kyungsoo clears his throat nervously. “Um, yes,” he mumbles.

“Did you get a tutor?”

Like he could afford a tutor. “I'll be fine