Kris has been the new kid more times than he can count, even the whole lost in translation thing isn’t anything new, but Gidae was a whole new story. His first day of school leaves him dazed and slightly confused. No one’s gossiping about the new kid because everyone seems to be paying attention to the siren that went off in the middle of class.

The boy, Minseok, or Xiumin as he allowed Kris to call him, had showed him around willingly up until lunch. Minseok had called his friend but when the other didn’t answer the first two times, Kris had noticed the apparent signs of panic.

At first Kris believed that maybe the sirens was for the kid Minseok was trying to reach, but when Minseok tried one more time, the guy picked up and Minseok was rushing out of school with hurried apologizes and goodbyes.

The rest of his day, he spent alone with curious glances thrown in his direction but no one willing to approach him. He had been curious of course, wondering what exactly happened that had nearly every adult and teenager on edge but no one seemed willing to fill the new kid in and even if he tried overhearing conversations; his Korean was so bad he doubted he’d understand.

In his Korean class there’s only four other kids around, it’s an after school class that’s a requirement for him and when he gets there he’s more surprised by the lack of grade separation. There’s no Korean I or II or even advanced Korean. They’re all together in one room, learning the same things despite having different starting points and Kris can’t help but wonder just how productive that can be.

He sits in the back and listens as the teacher takes attendance. Three students are missing, but he can’t help but notice how the teacher gets flustered and the tension increases when she says one particular kid’s name. Zhang Yixing. Kris’s mind is filled with different drama scenarios as he wonders who this Zhang Yixing was. Maybe he’s the delinquent son of a diplomat, or someone connected financially to the school.

Kris doesn’t know and to be honest he really doesn’t care either way.

“How was your first day,” his mother asks him, as gets in her car.

“Unusual,” Kris admits. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I took a break so I could take you home,” his mother tells him. “I wouldn’t want you getting lost after your fi