Warning(s): strongly implied physical bullying

Jane Beck was a Good girl. However, for the first nine years of her life, the term held little real meaning to her, since everyone around her was Good. Her mother, father, and two older brothers were very proud to claim the title ‘Good.’ It meant honor, respect, money, and potential for social mobility upwards. From a young age, Jane was made very aware that her family was not rich, and that she had her own role to fulfill – her brothers were to study hard, work hard, get good jobs, and make money to care for the family, and she was to grow up well and marry a wealthy gentleman for the sake of raising the family name.

It should have made life simple, knowing her destiny very early on. After all, getting good grades did not make her a promising wife, her skills at home did, so school should have been a matter of passing and making friends. However, when her parents and other brother, James, were not listening, her oldest brother, John, encouraged her to study hard. “If I were a smart husband,” he told her one evening as he made sure she was tucked snuggly in bed, “I would want my wife to be able to figure things out if she were in trouble and I could not be there to take care of her, you know?”

“But why would you not be there?” little Jane, who had been no more than six at the time, had asked. “Mama said that my husband would always be there to take care of me.”

“Well, a good husband has to go to work so that he can provide for his family, right?” John had asked. “If there were a famine, I would want my wife to be able to count so that she could figure out how much food we could eat at once, and if she lost something, I would want my wife to be able to use her brain to find it.”

Jane trusted her big brother John with all her heart. When her mama was busy cooking and taking care of the house and her papa was out working, which was a lot of the time, John made sure that she and James were clothed, fed, and doing what they were supposed to be doing. So, Jane took John’s words to heart and studied hard. Her work paid off, and she was ranked at the top of her class.

When Kim Namjoon joined her school at the beginning of fourth grade, Jane finally understood what being Good was, and how it was so different from being Bad. Kim Namjoon was Bad. His name was different, his clothes were different, and even his hair was different. He said his last name first, he wore grimy and boldly colored things (the Good prided themselves in their clean, light-colored clothing), and his hair was the strangest shade of warm purple-brown that Jane had ever seen. In fact, it was the only shade of warm purple-brown that Jane had ever seen, since all Good had hair that ranged from medium brown to black. When he spoke, he sounded funny, and Jane could hardly understand what he said at all.

“I cannot believe they let a Bad into our school!” James, now twelve, ranted angrily at the dinner table that evening. “I heard that they let him in on scholarship because of his brains, but I have no care for what is inside his skull. Everyone knows that the Bad are horrible and should never be allowed to mix with us Good. He is probably a thief and a dirty fighter and a criminal!”

“This is insanity,” their father agreed. “I will have a word with the principal first thing tomorrow. What do you say, love?”

Upon being addressed, their mother looked up. “I support you completely,” she began. “I just do not know if the school would listen to people with so little influence as us.”

“Well, we cannot be the only family that has concerns about a Bad being in school alongside our children,” their father said.

John, who had been quiet for most of the meal, spoke up. “Say, Jane, what do you think of the boy? He is in your class, after all.”

“That monster-child is in class with our daughter?!” their father exclaimed, appalled.

“It is true,” James piped up. “I saw him in line with them!”

“Well, Jane?” John asked, paying attention only to his little sister.

“He looks strange,” Jane said. “He is quiet, but when he speaks, I cannot understand him.”

“That is extremely objective,” John commented, nodding.

“I apologize,” Jane said quietly.

John grinned at her. “You need not worry, Jane,” he said. “I simply thought that you might be too scared to even look at him.”

After that meal, Jane got a full lecture on why she should avoid contact with the Bad child at all costs. “Listen to me, Jane,” her father said, sitting her down in their little living area. “Even as children, the Bad are dangerous! Tell me, what did your brother say about them just now?”

“The Bad are thieves, dirty fighters, and criminals,” Jane recited.

“That is correct,” her father said. “There are some other things you should know as well. You must not allow that Bad to get anywhere near you. Their men are known for- for- how do I say this? For- for taking the honor of a woman. For doing the things of marriage with them without marriage.”

“What does that mean, Papa?” Jane asked.

Her father grimaced and was silent for a short while. “It is not for polite company to think about,” he finally answered. “Just know that it is despicable, and that you should not allow that Bad to even touch you. You do not know what he might attempt.”

“Will he hit me?” Jane asked softly.

“Yes,” said her father. “The Bad are lawless. They are not above hitting, not even above hitting a gentlewoman or a child. Catherine, can you think of anything to add?”

Her mother shook her head. “Any more and poor Jane will have nightmares,” she said. “She is an intelligent child. Even if she does not understand the exact reasons, she will obey. Tell me you will, Jane.”

“I will,” Jane said obediently.

“Mom, Dad, please do not fret,” John said. “I will make sure that our Janie is safe. Here, I shall put her to bed for you. Come on, Janie.”

Jane followed her brother to her room, and he helped her get ready to sleep. “You do not need to worry,” he told her as he braided her hair to keep her thick locks from tangling. “Mom and Dad are just worried about you. They forget that I am fifteen and can protect you well.”

“I know,” Jane said sleepily.

“Good,” he said. “You just keep working hard. Everything will be alright.”

And they were. Jane kept to herself, studying as much as she could, just as she always did. No one bothered her, as they knew that she was the angel of the fourth-grade class, the top student and the best behaved. The days passed uneventfully for Jane, and for some months, she managed to pretend that nothing was different in the school.

Things changed one late autumn afternoon. It started as per usual. Classes ended, and Jane went back to her classroom from the art room to organize her things before settling down to study. Because James and John both went to different schools with different hours, her father worked, and her mother rarely left home except to buy things for the family, Jane stayed late at her elementary school, working in her homeroom until John came with James to pick her up and bring her home. Her teacher had no issues with the arrangement since Jane was such an exemplary student, so he felt comfortable enough to leave her unattended and go back home soon after the day ended.

That day, while Jane was studying, she heard a clatter outside the classroom and a thump at the closed door. Being an attentive child, she set her things aside and went to open the door for whichever student had forgotten something. However, instead of seeing the relieved smile of another girl or boy from her class, she was faced with Kim Namjoon’s back and the glares of a group of boys, many of whom she did not recognize. They looked menacing, and Jane would have slammed the door shut if she had not been so surprised.

Upon seeing her, the group’s aggression level dropped a bit. “Come on, fellows,” said one of them. “We are gentleman, so we must not disturb the young lady.”

“Yeah,” said another. “We should take the trash outside where it belongs.”

“Please pardon us, Miss,” said a boy who stepped forward to grab Namjoon’s arm. “We did not mean to disturb you.” There was a brief scuffling, and then they were gone. All that remained from the encounter were a small scattering of Namjoon’s things on the floor, left where they had been dropped when he had been dragged off.

Jane stood silently, unsure of what had just happened. The upcoming Good housewife in her urged her to tidy up the things on the floor, even though she knew they were the Bad boy’s. Taking a deep breath, like John always advised her to do when she was nervous, she reminded herself that they were just notebooks and homework. The boy to whom they belonged was not there and could not hurt her. So, she knelt down and began to fix things neatly, putting the homework from different subjects with their notebooks, and the like. As she did, she noticed his neat and easy-to-read handwriting and, in a moment of curiosity, skimmed over what he had written and could immediately tell that he put a lot of work into his studies. But then again, she supposed, if Namjoon was in a Good school on scholarship, even if it was not a very high-ranking Good school, he ought to be that way.

When Jane had finished cleaning up, she was not sure what to do. She did not know where the boys had gone or when they would be back. So, she simply left Namjoon’s things in a neat stack on the floor beside the door for him to retrieve. A short while later, John and James knocked on the door, and she went home, not thinking much of it.

The event would have faded from her mind if, a few days later, John had not been stuck tutoring his peers and James had not had a soccer match. That day, Jane had to walk home all alone for the first time. It would be just like walking home with John and James, she told herself. She knew the way. She would just be… alone. It was strange, she thought, to not hear her brothers’ chattering and bickering. She could imagine James complaining about his classmates’ antics, and could practically hear John’s footsteps at her side. Then she stopped. She did hear footsteps. But they probably had nothing to do with her, so she continued.

The footsteps got closer, and Jane realized that they probably did have something to do with her. She paused and turned to see who it was, and saw Kim Namjoon hurrying toward her, glancing anxiously around him. “Eh, excuse me, sister,” he said nervously as he easily caught up with her. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Jane was immediately wary, and backed away. “What do you want?” the nine-year-old asked, all her parents’ warnings flashing through her mind.

“I- I just wanna thank you,” Namjoon said, not meeting her eyes. Jane noticed that she could understand him much better than she had been able to at the beginning of the year. “You’re the one who fixed up my books the other day, yeah?”

Jane did not know how to lie. “Yes,” she said, taking another small step away from him. He had bruises on his face, scratched hands, and torn clothes. He looked like he had been in a fight.

“Thank you,” Namjoon said, and Jane could hear sincerity in his voice. He looked up at her cautiously, and said, “I don’t think we know each other, sister. I’m Kim Namjoon.”

Jane chewed her lip worriedly. “I am Jane Beck, and I should be going,” she said as she turned.

“Ah.” Jane stole a glance behind her and saw that Namjoon looked a bit sad and resigned. “I won’t keep you then.”

She hurried off, and he did not follow her. Nothing bad had happened, and so Jane pushed it from her mind. That evening, she mentioned nothing to her family, but when John was getting her ready for bed, he noticed that she was perturbed, so he inquired. “It is nothing,” she told him. “Kim Namjoon just talked to me today, nothing more.”

“Really?” John asked, stilling.

“Yes,” Jane said. “He called me sister. Why would he do that? I am not his sister.”

“Perhaps,” John said slowly, as if he was thinking hard, “it is a figure of speech from his part of town. I think he meant ‘Miss’.” Jane nodded. That was the acceptable way to address a young lady that one did not know well. John set a small glass of water on her nightstand. “And this was just out of the blue?” he asked.

“He was thanking me,” Jane said. “He dropped some of his belongings a few days ago and I fixed them.”

“Hm,” John said as he tucked her in. “Should I be worried?”

“No,” Jane said quickly. “No harm was done.”

John nodded. “Very well. No harm. Sleep well, Janie.”

The rest of the year passed without incident. Jane came out at the top of the fourth-grade class, as she had hoped and as most other people expected. What most people did not expected was that Namjoon came in a close second. Jane could hear the teachers and administrators muttering between themselves, wondering how the Bad boy could have done so well. She even overheard a conversation about grading the boy harder and even fabricating grades so that the more deserving Good students could shine, as was proper. Jane did not know why, but something about it did not sit right with her.

Summer was peaceful and enjoyable. Jane turned ten and was allowed to help her mother in the kitchen. Every weekend, while James was out practicing soccer, John took his favorite sister for long walks and ice cream, pretending not to hear their mother’s worried fretting over how her little girl would get both fat and tan. Then fifth grade started, and Jane went back to studying. Namjoon returned to her school despite many parents’ protests. According to her infuriated father, it was an experiment by the administration.

It was one of the rare days when both John and James were busy until late in the evening that Jane next crossed paths with the Bad boy. It was in the middle of spring, and one of the ice cream shops had just reopened, so John had slipped both her and James a little money to go treat themselves. Once she had finished all the homework that required big books, Jane packed up and left the school, excited for her first ice cream of the season. It was a cheap little convenience store near the edge of town that sold ice cream on sticks, and soon Jane was happily on her way home, nibbling on the frozen dessert. She stopped at the curb and looked both ways before crossing the street.

Jane hardly heard the screeching of tires as a car came screaming around the corner and barely registered the person barreling into her. She tried to lift her head to see what had happened, and she was met with a warm body. “Thank God you’re alright, I was afraid I wouldn’t make it!” the person gasped breathlessly. Jane knew that voice’s strange accent.

“Kim Namjoon,” she said aloud, scrambling to her feet and out of his tight embrace. It dawned on her that he had shoved her just enough so that she was at the sidewalk, out of the deviant car’s path. “You- you saved my life,” Jane slowly realized. She bowed her head slightly. “Thank you.”

Namjoon picked himself up off the ground. “It’s what anyone should do,” the boy said, looking a little uneasy. Jane noted that he perpetually looked as if he had been fighting, and that day was no different – he was sporting bruises, scratched palms, and dirty clothes as usual. Not sure of what to say, she brushed herself off and began to gather the little bit of change that had flown from her bag when she had been pushed aside. Namjoon realized that he too had lost some of his things, and crouched beside her.

“Er, you live around here, sister?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Jane frowned. “Why do you call me sister?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he quickly apologized. “It’s habit, Miss.”

“And you mash some of your words together,” Jane realized.

“It’s- it is a bad habit from my home speech,” he explained.

Then Jane realized that she had not answered his question. “I do live near here,” she said. She became wary. “Why?”

“It’s- it is nothing,” Namjoon said. “I just always imagined that a smart girl like you lived in the middle of the city. Though, if you did, I guess we wouldn’t- would not be attending the same school. Sorry, it was silly of me to ask.”

Jane said nothing. Even though he had just saved her life, Namjoon still scared her. He was a Bad, after all. Trying to be polite while at the same time not revealing how intimidated she was (James always told her that the adventure books he read said that enemies preyed on the weak), she finally managed to blurt out, “I- I cannot thank you enough for saving me, but I am expected at home.” She looked at him, feeling both confused and anxious, and then, realizing that she could not think of anything else to say, she hurried off.

Jane did not say anything to her parents, for she knew that if they knew that their little girl had nearly been hit by a car and that a Bad had saved her, they would be upset and worried even though everything had turned out alright. But she knew that John would be able to tell that something was wrong in an instant, and so as soon as he brought her to get ready for bed (he still did it even though she was ten and had been very able to take care of herself for a long time), she closed the door and told him what had happened.

John’s first reaction was to check her over to make sure she had no serious bumps. To both of their relief, she had only a few minor bruises from hitting the pavement. Then he said, “It was Namjoon who saved you?”

“Yes,” Jane said.

“Thank goodness that boy was there,” John breathed. “I do not even want to consider what might have happened had he not.” He hugged her close. “My precious little sister. I came so close to losing you today, and I was not even aware.”

As Jane got settled in to sleep, she asked, “Johnny? Why did he save me?”

John looked at her. “He probably saw that you were in trouble and did not want you to die,” he answered.

“But I am Good and he is Bad,” Jane said. “Everyone says that the Bad hate us and want us dead.”

After a moment’s thought, John answered, “There are things bigger than Good and Bad, Janie. It is an unpopular opinion that should stay between the two of us, but I believe that there are things come before matters like who was born to a Good family and who was not. We all are human, we all feel, and we all live and die. You are beginning to grow up now, and perhaps, one day, you will understand. But, for now, good night, Janie.”

Hello, everyone! I shouldn’t start projects without finishing old ones, but I can’t really control my muse. Anyway, the story will start slow so that I can build a strong relationship between Jane and the boys. Also, I’m a college student studying in Taiwan right now, so my updates will be few and far between, but I’ll work hard to write some decent stuff for you all, okay?

Side note: I’m ashamed to say that it’s the first chapter and I already need everyone’s help – who should end up with who? I know we won’t meet all of the boys for another couple of chapters, but who do you want Jane/Jaehyun end up with? Age-wise, Jane falls between Namjoon and Jimin, which puts three years between her and Jin and two between her and Jungkook, so I don’t feel weird pairing her with any of them. I know the story starts with her very close to Namjoon, but should their relationship develop platonically or romantically? Should she have multiple interests? Also, should some of the boys pair off with each other (or be interested in both her and another boy)? Tell me what you want – I’ll try to deliver!