(Byul POV)

As soon as I stepped out of the charter car, the smell of death hit me. Which is funny, because the place that I was at was my new school, Star Empire Academy. A thick mass of gray fog hung low in the air and made it hard to see more than 3 feet. The chauffeur for the car fetched my bags out of the trunk and passed them to me. His face was hidden under his black hat, but he was unusually short for a man.

He tipped his hat. "Have a great school year, miss." I nodded and started off towards the gates of the castle.

"Wait!" A voice called out. I turned around to see my driver again.

He spoke in a small voice, "I may not be here a lot, but I just want to tell you to be careful when you're in there. You may have heard stories, so always be on your guard. You seem like a nice one, for a change." With that, he turned away, got in the car, and sped away into the darkness.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but I shook it off and turned my sights on the gates again.

*The start of a new beginning, and possible my new life. There's no turning back now.* I thought as the 10 foot tall rusty gates creaked open slowly.

- - -

(No One POV)

The nine girls were lined up in the small office of the headmaster. He, with his strong presence and his mysterious black mask, regarded them with cold eyes. With a surprisingly clear and deep voice, he spoke to them.

"Well, welcome to Star Empire. We have been waiting for you for a while." He smiled widely, but his eyes were deep and unreadable.

All nine girls remained silent. Some were more relaxed than others, but nobody dared to speak without permission. As they say, first impressions matter most. And the headmaster's aura was enough to drive away the bravest of people.

He chuckled slightly and muttered to himself, "Exactly what I expected." He scanned his eyes over each girl, mentally organizing the information he would use later.

"You can call me Mr G. Now, I do not know you ladies by your names. Care to introduce yourselves?" His eyes flicked to the first girl in line.

She was a slim girl with pretty, soft features, and spoke in a light tone. "Bae Cherie imnida. Please take care of me well."

"My name is Moon Eun Byul." A petite girl with her hair covering her face muttered. Mr G leaned forward and with a frown said, "I did not catch that."

She said it louder, and he leaned back into his plush seat. "In this school, you have to learn to speak up or you will not have the most pleasant of times here." He said, his eyes never leaving her frightened ones. His eyes left hers and he turned to the next girl.

"Yuet. Lee Yuet. Nice to meet you." She had large doe eyes and a round face. Mr G chuckled for the second time. "Looks are deceiving..."

A girl wearing a flowing white dress spoke. "I'm Nae Areum. I'm very excited to be here."

He nodded. "As are we."

The next girl was gave off a dark aura with her leather ensemble and high ponytail. "The name's Jade." He slowly regarded her and, after what seemed like forever, turned away.

"Yukiko imnida." The next girl, who was a blonde, spoke. 

Next to her, a girl with almost the same haircut as her turned to Mr G. "Hello, my name is Cristal. I hope you treat me well!"

As all eyes turned to the next girl, Mr G's face contorted into a frown. Before she had any room to speak, he cut her off. "Excuse me, but are you discontent with being here?"

The girl slowly shook her head. He continued nevertheless. "Your stare tells me otherwise. The teachers here will not take disrespect. What is your name, young lady?"

"Kim Kira." She answered, looking to the floor now.

"Well, Miss Kira, please keep my words in mind." He replied in a harsh tone.

The last girl sported a curly haircut and looked frightened. "H-han Nae Ya imnida."

Mr G nodded at her and clapped his hands once. "Now that the formalities are over with, I am sure that you want to start with your Star Empire experience, am I right?"

Without waiting for an answer, he stood up and stepped out of the office for a second. He returned a couple of seconds later with a group of 9 boys in tow. The small, dim office was filled to its limits and was turning warm from the 19 bodies crammed into the small space.

"These boys will be your mentors for your first year here. I trust them to guide you well and have a strictly platonic relationship with you also. They know the names of their mentees, so you can sort yourselves out outside. Dismissed."

The 18 boys and girls filed out, and once again he was left in darkness, except for the single candle lit in the corner.

a/n Well hello there guys! I literally have no other excuse for my ridiculously long break except for... school. Now that I'm in finals week and summer is just around the corner, I promise somewhat frequent updates. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, it's just a precursor to what's going to happen later. You eight lucky girls have people to meet, hate, and possibly fall in love with (; Till next time,

-s e i z e t h e d a y