“So, are you going to tell us?”

“Tell you what?” you say, rubbing the back of your neck as you glance up from your book.

“About last night’s meeting!  Every detail,” Yoon Hee yelps.  “You said he was handsome right?”

“I never said that,” you respond with disdain.  “And no, he was not handsome.”

She huffs disapprovingly. 

“Oh.  Well that’s too bad,” Eun Ah jumps in.  “Yoon Hee, tell her about the club last night.”

“So what happened?” Yoon Hee continues to you, completely ignoring her other friend.  “Tell me.”

You sigh as you turn the page of dancing notes.  “Just like any other meeting.  It lasted a few hours too long and I really don’t know what grandfather saw in that boy.”  Your voice suddenly rises.  “He wasn’t rich, his manners deserved a nice scolding, and he definitely was not good looking.”

“Was it boring?”

You nod with a pout.  “It was horrible.”

“Ahem.  I think that’s enough about boring dates,” Eun Ah says quickly.  “Do you want to hear about the party?”

Yoon Hee immediately props her chin in her hands and gazes at Eun Ah, forgetting about your desperate problem.  The three of you lean in toward each other to elude the voices of the noisy classroom.

“You mean with the transfer students?” you say.

Yoon Hee and Eun Ah bob their heads at you.

“If only you were there!” Eun Ah exclaims.  “The guys, they were all so…attractive!”

“And they danced really well.”

You shake your head at their shrill voices.

“We met this gorgeous boy.  He was…what was his name, again?”

“Kris,” Yoon Hee answers.  “He told me he can speak four languages.”  She tugs at your arm.  “And his voice was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”

You close the book that you had been reading all morning, giving up in order to listen to your friends.

“What was he like?” you ask.

“I also met this other guy,” Eun Ah interrupts, “but he was completely weird.  I asked if he wanted something to drink, and he looked at me for a long time, without saying anything.” 

“You mean the one that nearly got hit by a car?” Yoon Hee adds.

Your eyes widen.  “What?”

“He just kept walking.  The car stopped a second before it hit him but he didn’t even seem to care.  It was uncanny.”

You raise your eyebrow and massage your neck again, remembering how the driver last night had stepped on the brake so sharply that you sprained your cervix, and it’s still sore.

“Yah, yah, yah!”

Everyone in the classroom jumps and turns to see the professor setting his suitcase on his desk as he claps his hands together expectantly.

When he finally gets everyone quiet, he begins, “As you may have already heard, our academy is accepting a rush of new transfer students.  Today, our class has the opportunity to welcome one of these students.”

Eun Ah nudges your arm with a smirk.

The door to the classroom opens feebly and a tall, dark-haired figure steps in. 

The room is silent save for the nervous footsteps of the cautious stranger.  He stops at the edge of the professor’s desk.

You’re taken aback when Eun Ah clasps her fingers tightly around your arm.  “It’s him,” she whispers.  “The one that almost got run over by a car.  He’s the one.”

A bit wary, you blink inquiringly and lift your head over the row of desks to take a better look at him.  You notice his shadowy eyes staring at the ground.  He seems timid but his hands are clasped behind his back and he stands straight.  His shoulders are broad and strong.

“Go ahead and introduce yourself,” the professor says. 

The black locks of the quiet male fall into his eyes when he bows his head slightly and opens his mouth. 

“Hello.  My name is Huang Zitao.”