~Hyukjae~

I slept like a baby, quietly and serene. I slept so well that I almost wished there was no such thing as time. If only it stopped when I told it to, I could rewind the hours I rested and relive my glorious sleep, which I was in no mood to be disturbed from. But like every other teenage student, one is not allowed to doze off when school was about to start, especially when it was the first day. I could only hope for so much peace before it would be disrupted by my alarm that made a sound equivalent to birds being tortured. As I expected, the sound of my alarm clock went off and I made little effort to hit the snooze button. It was hard enough opening my eyes, but forcing me to actually move my limbs because of some possessed machine built to annoy every living thing awake was asking for too much. I simply turned the other way around and continued my slumber.

There was a soft knock on my door. It was locked since I strongly disliked people coming in while I was asleep. “I’m awake.” I groaned, pulling my comforter higher.

A second knock was made which I chose to ignore – bad decision that was. I heard a click. It was the sound of my door unlocking and my room being invaded by unwanted company. Even through the sounds of the miserable bird cries, I heard the footsteps making their way towards my bed. Suddenly, a loud sound of something colliding with the wall caused me to jerk up, startled. I looked around and found my alarm clock smashed into pieces and the culprit was yours truly, Kim Heechul, my uncle who didn’t just bare the rage of hell but the pleasure of causing it with his ruthless demeanor. He was wearing his usual silk black pajamas with his hair slightly disheveled all the way to his neck. There were faint hints of bags under his eyes from late night work and the y smell of men’s cologne.

“It’s time to wake up, Hyukjae.” He said in the most dangerously calm tone. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised, dismissing the sound of death in his voice.

“I think you owe me a new alarm clock.”

“How about I cut your eyelids off so you can never close your eyes again?” He suggested with a glowering look, dry of all the happiness of life.

“Really?” I said with a feeling of terror and amusement. “I guess that’s better than the time you offered to break each of my fingers for every minute I left the alarm ringing.”

“I can always resort to something much more private and painful.” His arms crossed and eyes intense. He always had this quaint glare that people found unsettling, yet it was alluring at the same time. A few people had commented on them and he’d reply with a smirk that was just as charming. Some say we shared the same charms, but neither Heechul nor I would ever agree we were alike in that sense. I preferred to believe that I was one of a kind.

“No thanks.” I quickly turned down.

“Whatever,” He sighed, combing his hair back with his fingers. “Get up and get dressed I’m driving you to school.”

“Yes, Hyung.” I sang sluggishly. I threw my comforter aside and picked up the remaining pieces of my broken clock. Heechul had the fickleness of a cat that twisted his moods very quickly. The slightest itch of anger could make him hazardous. Of course no one has been a victim to it more than I have. I’m even convinced that half the time he does it out of pure enjoyment. But all in all, when it came down to help and advice he was surprisingly mature.

People’s initial reaction to his personality was that he had a strict rule of discipline and order and it was true. When you had parents that were as lenient and easy going as mine, there was a need of some type of control around. He’s my mother’s younger brother, but instead of addressing him as ‘Uncle’ I called him ‘Hyung’ since calling him uncle made him feel old.

My parents are the proud owners of a company in Seoul. It’s mainly an entertainment company that holds annual auditions for people all around South Korea who dreamed of becoming a dancer, singer, musician, actor, entertainer, or comedian. Since I’m their only child, they constantly showered me with their endless love limiting my reasons for not taking up the position as heir. They always pinched my cheeks, kissed my forehead, and gave me hugs anywhere and everywhere. It was embarrassing, but not once had I complained because I lived for the attention. I loved it, almost as much as I loved myself.

After I finished brushing my teeth and showering, I reentered my room with a towel wrapped around my waist that grabbed my new uniform and changed. Yes, new. Meaning I was going to be attending a new school. SM Academy I think it was called. Heechul had mentioned it to me a few times before my family moved into our new mini mansion, along with something like audition and famous and talented. I heard from reviews that their dance teachers were only selected from the best, so that was pretty much what I was looking forward to.

I headed down a flight of stairs and I spotted Heechul in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

“You’re making breakfast?” I suspiciously eyed the flat golden piece of bread covered in red dots all over the surface. It looked like it was infected with a disease. The thought of it made me shiver in disgust.

“No this is actually an edible Frisbee for us to play with.” Heechul said as he flipped the pancake in the pan.

“I love Frisbees.”

“Good.” Heechul said while he flipped the pancake once more. “Let’s have a game right now.”

“Wha–”

Heechul flipped the pancake high up into the air. Without a second to spare, I dropped my backpack and made a dash for it, positioning myself just right so that I was able to perfectly catch the pancake with my mouth, preventing a potential mess and loss of breakfast.

Heechul smiled in approval and poured a glass of strawberry milk. I pulled the pancake out of my mouth ripping a soft chunk of it apart from the whole. I chewed as I talked. “I don’t like this game – Oh my god this is tastes amazing.” I beamed, feeling the smooth, rich flavors of my favorite fruit combined with the chewy pancake. The glass of strawberry milk was handed to me and I took a sip of it in delight.

I felt a pat on my shoulder as Heechul walked by. “I’ll be in the car. Oh, and wipe that milk moustache off your face.” He strutted off while I savored this delicious gift of heaven.

A tear fought its way through my eye as I was overwhelmed by the taste dancing in my mouth.

Thank god for strawberries.

Heechul pulled up in front of the academy and to my surprise it looked like blocks of steel stacked on top and around each other to create buildings. It didn’t even have the feeling of a high school. It was devastatingly less attractive and sadder than a prison. It was so mundanely plain that I felt betrayed by everybody’s high expectations and wanted to go home. This didn’t seem like it was fit to even attract talent. I was expecting something grander, not something that give off the vibe of ‘Beware and leave before it was too late’. I’ve only ever attended private schools that looked like castles, so this was definitely not right for me. Heechul saw my reaction through the rearview mirror and read my mind.

“I know it looks… Unpleasant, but I think you’ll grow to like this school.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Don’t just judge a book by its cover, Hyukjae. This is an academy that focuses on fine arts and talents. Not a fancy rich kid school for spoiled brats. It has a reputation of being one of South Korea’s best fine arts schools despite its exterior design.”

“Is that so…” I frowned, not buying the lies he was telling. There was no way in hell that this was a prestigious academy for the soon-to-be-famous.

Heechul sighed and unlock the car door. “If you don’t trust my words, trust your parents at least. They wouldn’t enroll their special baby brat in a prison school unless they knew it was the right thing for you otherwise.” He turned around and gesture towards the door. “Now out you go.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “Y-you can’t possibly be leaving me here stranded are you?”

“Oh trust me,” He scoffed. “If I could I would’ve done that years ago with your other schools.”

I gulped, swallowing my words of protest. “Fair enough.” I said getting out.

Once I closed the door, the car took off leaving me with no chance to retreat and escape. It was now or nothing, there was no other choice than giving it a chance. I cautiously approached the hideous school, yanking the metallic door open. The sound of the heavy door slamming shut behind me made me jump like it was automatically locking me away from the outside. Looking around, the ground was a black marble that soon faded into white. But it was only white behind the next set of doors. I was about to open it when I realized I wasn’t alone in the room.

“I presume you are Mr. Hyukjae?” A lady with her hair swept back into an elegant pony tail called out to me.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Her red lips rose into a smile. She stood up, dressed in a white collared shirt and black pencil skirt emphasizing her curvy hips. She made her way around the desk, black stilettos clicking on the ground. I was handed a piece of paper with a schedule neatly organized starting from Monday to Friday.

“Welcome to SM Academy – Where only the talented can enter.”

First chapter everyone! Yay~ I know this was pretty short, but it's okay, right? RIGHT? I know it's not very exciting - I at making the beginning of stories interesting - but it starts to pick up the pace/plots after a few chapters. I had fun making Heechul grumpy and Hyukjae the usual cause so I'm looking forward to writing more ^.^ Thank you~