II.   Baekhyun doesn’t believe in fate, destiny, or coincidence. He believes that one is responsible for his own decision in life, and those decisions determine that path.    Or, as Baekhyun has been contemplating for the past week, according to the book he had just finished the night before on the many-world interpretation of quantum mechanics, there could well be another Byun family in a parallel universe who did not suddenly move across the city, into a Seoul neighborhood way more wealthy than their old one.   “We have the money,” Baekhyun’s mom had said, shrugging. “Why not? This new place is so much nicer.”   Baekhyun had wanted to retort that he was losing all of his friends by starting at a new school halfway through his senior year, but instead he’d decided to be the good son and keep quiet. Besides, there is only a semester left; he can definitely handle being the freakishly smart new kid for a few months before college.     As he sits in the principal’s office of his new high school, a display case full of trophies catches his eye. “What are those for?” he asks, curiously.   “We have a very strong swimming and volleyball program here,” the principal replies fondly. “We also used to be a strong force in boys’ soccer, but we are currently in the middle of remodeling and rebuilding that program. It has been a few years since soccer has brought us a championship trophy.”   “Bummer,” Baekhyun replies, not really interested. Sports have never been his thing.   “I think this year is the year though,” the principal adds happily. “Our starting line is great, and the captain is doing a great job of keeping the team on track. His father used to coach soccer, you know? A really promising athlete.”     “Great,” Baekhyun mutters, already half listening.   Principal Kang makes a few clicks on his computer, and the printer behind him comes to life, lighting up and splitting out three sheets of paper. “Your schedule,” he says, handing them over to Baekhyun. “I have, of course, enrolled you in our most challenging classes, picking up from where you left off at your old school. I am afraid, however, that you are required to take an elective senior year, and the only one available at this present time is theater arts.”   “Theater - no, I can’t,” Baekhyun immediately protests. The only thing he hates more than sports is public speaking and performing.   “Just keep your head down and you’ll be fine,” Principal Kang replies, waving his worries away. “It’s a class for spillover students; they probably won’t even notice you.”   Baekhyun doesn’t know whether or not to be offended.   When he walks into the auditorium that day after lunch, he kind of understands. The class size is massive, and kids are chatting, singing, tossing paper balls at each other, and being generally disruptive. Baekhyun settles into a seat in the back, pushing past some soccer players gathered in the first few rows. Neanderthals, he thinks. Too much brawn and not enough brains.   He carefully props his feet up on the empty seat in front of him and pulls out his book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He is halfway through the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, and wants nothing more than to find out how the precious gem had ended up in the stomach of a goose. He is distracted, however, by the loud pair of overdramatic students sitting in the row in front of him.   Baekhyun peeks over his book, and sees two guys, dressed in tight skinny jeans. One is dressed all in white, and the other has on a sparkly purple jacket.   “Bora Bora was great, of course,” the blond guy with the sparkles says, running a hand casually through his styled hair. His skin is impossibly clear, and Baekhyun thinks he sees lip gloss coating the guy’s lips. “But definitely glad to be back. The spring musical is going to be spectacular this year, and I can’t wait.”   “I wonder what show we’ll be putting on,” his dark haired friend replies. He smiles, and a dimple appears on his right cheek.   “I’m hoping that Legally Blonde made the cut. I’d make a fabulous Elle Woods and you can be Emmett.”   Baekhyun wonders for a moment what hell Elle Woods is, but sinks lower in his seat. All he wants is to fit into this school, unnoticed, for a semester. Friends would be nice, yes, but certainly not these two high-strung divas. At this point, he'd rather be friends with the Christmas goose that has just been cooked by Mrs. Hudson.                Jongin has been frozen for so long that his best friend and starting goalie, Minseok, bounces a soccer ball not so gently off the back of his head.   “Ouch!” he winces, reaching out to smack the shorter boy.   Minseok dances out of his reach, and takes a seat in the cushioned seats of the auditorium. “Well, if you’d paid attention instead of spacing out, I wouldn’t have had to hurt you,” he replies.   “Everything okay, man?” Minho, the starting center asks, pulling an earbud out of his ear. “We have a game this Friday; don’t go getting sick or anything.”   Jongin scoffs. “Glad to see how much you care,” he says, yanking the other earbud out of Minho’s ear as well. Still, even as he sits down, he leans around the other team members, trying to get a look at the new kid who had pushed past. From the look he had gotten of the side of his face and the back of his head, the new kid looks a lot like the townie he had met in Jeju over break. But did that even make sense? Why would Baekhyun, who he had only met for one amazing night, be here in Seoul?   He strains to see past the blond crimped head of the school diva, Lu Han, but his line of sight is blocked by a book in front of the new kid’s face.