The first class of the day was at nine, and the trio headed out with just enough time to make it to their respective classes. For Jinri, the class was studio art. She loved the subject, as it allowed her to find a calm frame of mind.

“Partner up!” were the first words from her Professor Kwon’s mouth as the woman entered the classroom. There was a momentary scramble to make a pair, but Jinri wasn’t quick enough, and was left by herself.

“Ah, Jinri-ssi, looks like you’ll have to-” Professor Kwon was cut off by the door to the studio sliding open. “Kim Jongin. Nice of you to join us. You’ll be Miss Yeon’s partner today.” She pointed to the easel to Jinri’s left, and Jongin sat down, flinching only at the use of his real name, instead of his preferred nickname, Kai.

“Today, you’ll be drawing your partner, but with a twist,” the professor announced, clapping her hands together excitedly. “I want you to draw what your partner would look like if they were an animal. Be as creative as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I want you to pick something that is a good representation.”

Jinri peeked around her easel at Kai. The only thing she knew about him was that he was part of the notorious group of popular boys on campus, and had a reputation for being, like the rest of them, mysterious. She looked away quickly as he turned towards her.

“You can draw whatever,” he said. His voice was a lot less harsh than she imagined it to be, but his eyes were cold and seemed to see right through her. Usually not one to be shy, she was surprised when she found herself stuttering.

“O-okay. Uh, I guess you can ddraw whatever, too.” She averted her gaze once again and began her drawing. Compared to the rest of the class, there was very little interaction between them. Jinri would occasionally glance his way, but he never seemed to look at her, and she was curious as to what he was drawing.

“Okay time’s up!” Pencils were begrudgingly placed down as the professor walked around the class, examining the art. She paused several times, sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling, and encouraging the students to trade with their partners.

“Well, this is interesting,” Professor Kwon said, examining both Kai’s and Jinri’s drawings. “You drew matching depictions of each other.” Kai and Jinri locked gazes, curiosity on both of their faces.

“Let’s trade, then,” Jinri suggested after a moment of uncomfortable staring. She unclipped the paper from the easel and handed it to Kai, who did the same. Several emotions washed through her as she looked at the sketch.

Kai had drawn her as a human girl, crouched into a ready-to-spring position, with her shadow in the shape of some sort of animal… a dog, maybe? Technically, she wasn’t depicted as an animal, but the subtle beauty of the piece far outweighed the fact that he didn’t follow the directions. Professor Kwon didn’t seem to mind either.

“This is great,” she said in awe, looking up at him. He seemed to not be paying attention, but was scrutinizing her drawing of him.

“A wolf…?” Kai muttered, his expression a mix of confusion and fear. “This… why did you draw it this way?” He shoved the paper back at her and stood, not waiting for her answer.

“Sorry, what?” Jinri startled by his sudden aggressiveness, also stood. “If you don’t like it, you can just say so.”

“I don’t like it.” Kai said, his voice cold. Before Jinri or the professor could respond, he swept out of the classroom, leaving everyone confused, and Jinri hurt.

“Jerk,” she hissed, plopping down in her seat. She was of half a mind to tear her picture to shreds, as well as his, but at the insistence of Professor Kwon, kept them both.

Kai’s outburst had put her in a bad mood, and so she skipped the next class to calm down in the student center. She knew that she would probably have some things to make up from the class she was missing, but she knew it would be no problem to catch up if she just asked a classmate for their notes.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Jaeseok asked as he took the seat across from her. “You’re lucky I didn’t have anything to do now.”

“I didn’t feel like going to class,” Jinri said, taking a sip of the coffee she’d bought a few minutes before. “That stupid guy Kai put me in a bad mood.”

“Kai? As in the 12th Prince? Kai “Deadly Seductive” Kai?” Jaeseok asked. Jinri raised her eyebrow at the stupid nicknames for her classmate. Frankly, she could care less about Kai’s status as one of the ‘12 Princes’ of Seoul Central University.

““Deadly Seductive” Kai? Where the heck did that come from? Never mind; I don’t really want to know,” she waved the thought away. “And yes, that Kai. We got partnered up for art class, and he insulted my sketch of him. We were supposed to draw each other as an animal. Apparently, the boy has a thing against wolves. He ju