~Hyukjae~

I clenched my schedule tightly in my hands, creasing the thin piece of paper into ugly wrinkles. This was just great. I finally got my schedule and after all of the anticipation I was yet again betrayed by this school. Dancing wasn’t even on my list. It was drama class and singing. WHHHHY! The rest were normal high school course classes and there was nothing enjoyable about that. I wasn’t very good at singing and I’m average for an actor. I had no special qualities that made me stood out unlike dancing, but maybe it’s because I don’t really have the heart for it.

I was still looking forward to seeing amazing talent, that’s for sure. It was only thought keeping me from fleeing this school. I’m not the son of an entertainment company owner for nothing. I know talent when I see it. My dad used to show me the trainees when I was little and I’ve even trained with some of them before - only during dance classes, of course. I planned to be a dancer or even a choreographer, but instead I’m stuck with drama and singing classes. I asked the office lady if I could change it but she told me that the dance classes were already filled to the max. So that meant I was stuck with drama and singing for the rest of the semester.

“Mr. Moon and Ms. Kang are excellent dance teachers. So I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.”

That guy, Donghae I think was his name, sounded so confident about their dance teachers. I would like to see for myself but no, I’m stuck with DRAMA AND SINGING! No point of sulking over it, but I couldn’t help wanting to.

I wandered around the hallways trying to build up a mental mind map of the school in my head. I remembered things best with my body. I paused to register how wrong that sounded and shook my head. I was true though. I found it hard for me to remember by simple instructions to the bathroom. I actually have to walk all the way to the bathroom to remember where it was, which was a pain at times. Sometimes words just went through one ear and out the other, but movements and pictures stay imprinted in my mind longer.

As I lingered, already I saw talent thriving. There was an acapella group that harmonized around the stairs to the second floor and dancers stretching and practicing choreography. I even saw a boy and a girl tangoing down the hall and back, all while incorporating lifts and spins. I saw a few flaws like a miscommunication in one stunt, but they had a lot of potential and fierce passion. I wasn’t gonna lie, my bad mood was starting the lift as I was being enlightened little by little from each individual student. I saw bands playing in spacious areas and artists sitting on benches and drawing.

The inside of this school definitely looked better than the outside – beyond better. The walls were covered in all sorts of colors, patterns, and textures. My hand grazed over a furry, zebra print wall as I walked passed it and the classroom doors were also decorated. One had instruments all over it and another had a collage of historian figures. Heechul was right; you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Damn, he’s always right. I grumbled to myself.

I stopped walking when I recognized Jessica and her strawberry blonde hair walking with a few girls I would assume to be her friends. She saw me too and started to head my way. Her friends followed and she called out my name. I recognized her since there were very few students that had their hair dyed and Jessica so happened to be one of them.

“Hyukjae! Hey, school is about to begin so you should probably start heading to class now.”

“Sure thing. But, before you leave, who are these lovely ladies, might I ask?” I said, flashing a smile at them.

“Oh, this is Krystal, she’s my younger sister and the girl standing by her is my close friend, Tiffany.”

I bowed at them. “Nice to meet you both, I’m Hyukjae, Lee Hyukjae.”

They smiled shyly and bowed in return. I think one of them even blushed. They welcomed me and told me about the amazing inside architecture of this school - if I already haven't noticed. They said the school had a symbolic meaning that a book shouldn’t be judge by its cover and I discreetly scowled.  It was then time for them to make their leave and they waved goodbye to me and I headed towards my first class – which I had no idea where it was.

Crap, I was too busy paying attention to other things I forgot that I was supposed to look where my classes were.

I walked around aimlessly until I was fortunate enough to find someone who I already knew. It was that one guy who looked like he had better things to do than stand around and talk to me. His hair was as black as ink, but it made his teeth that much whiter when he smiled.

“Hey!” I called, hoping he wouldn’t notice I forgot his name. He turned back and looked at me with an expressionless stare. I felt immediately intimidated by it and hesitated whether I should turn back while I could.

“What do you want?” He said, his expression not changing and his voice irritated.

“Do you think you can help me find my first class?” I asked.

I gave him my schedule and he took a look at it. He turned his head and looking around. He then pointed at a person I’ve never seen before.

“See that blonde guy? That’s Sungmin. Follow him.”

I felt shivers down my spine as he said it. He was emitting this cold aura and being a guy who didn’t have that much fat I quickly nodded and scurried away to somewhere far from him. Something told me that I shouldn’t get involved with that guy and I had no intention to either. I made sure to keep an eye on Sungmin because we apparently had the same first period. Soon enough, we both had reached our destination. Singing class.

What a great class to start my day. I said sarcastically in my head.

As I entered the room, I saw Mr. Song writing voice warm ups on the board and breathing exercises. It looked like people were sitting anywhere they wanted so I decided to choose a seat in the very back row. If this were dance class, I’d probably be standing in the very front ready to show off. But since it was singing, I was planning to participate as little as possible.

“Hello, Class!” Mr. Song practically sang. “Some of you may know me from last year, but allow me to shine some light on those who are new. My name is Mr. Song. I will be your singing teacher for this semester and I love bowties. No shame in hiding it because it is absolutely, positively true!” Mr. Song clapped his hands together making a praying gesture.

“Now, every day I like to start class by singing ‘Good morning, class.’ and when I sing that I want everyone to respond by singing ‘good morning’ back. However if I throw in a style, I want you guys to sing back in that same particular style. For instance, if I sang using a jazz style, your response will be ‘Good morning, Mr. Song’ but in a jazz style. Easy enough to understand? Great, let’s get class started. I want everyone to introduce themselves, but while singing. You are free to select any style you prefer. It’s okay if you’re not quite comfortable with your own voice yet, you’ll be able to do all sorts of things with it by the time this semester ends, so there’s no shame if it’s off key or if it cracks. Now let’s begin with the first row. Go!”

, , . I listened as students sang out their names, but as each one went by, I got more nervous. I just took silent deep breaths and hoped for the best that my voice wouldn’t fail me. The majority of the students had fantastic voices that were either naturally gifted or been trains for years. I heard rock, opera, jazz, pop, and ballad styles. It made me jealous since everyone pretty much sang effortlessly. We were down to the second to last row and Sungmin had just finished with his introduction. After he sang, I heard … What? Is that Donghae?

“Hellloooo~ my name is Leee Doonghaaae~”

His voice was actually soothing to say the least. But I didn’t care much about his singing voice. I was more interested in his dancing skills. Now that I think about it, his body does look fit and well-shaped. I wouldn’t mind seeing him strip – or being the one to strip him – and do some body rolls for me while I sat and admired his physique. I bit down on my bottom lip as my eyes moved up from his body to the back of his head. His hair was jet black, but silky, and his skin had a hint of a tan. His head turned to the side and I was given a good view of half his face. I took in as much detail as I could.

I heard myself gulp because I just realized he was exactly my type. His smooth jaw line and his thin lips; His round eyes and pointed nose. All the way down to his Adams apple that bobbed up and down when he swallowed.

“Lee Hyukjae!” The teacher called.

I looked at Mr. Song, startled.

“It’s your turn.”

As much as I didn’t want to, I just sat there thinking of how I was going to pull this off. There was no way I could escape since everyone had their attention on me, waiting for me to sing. I started to think of possible ways to avoid singing and so far it was either fake a heart attack, tell him I felt sick and go ask to be excused to the nurse’s office, make a mad run out of the class, or fart and make the class laugh and skip my turn.

Okay, maybe not the last idea… Maybe wait until I get abducted by aliens? No, that would take too long…

“Any time now.” Mr. Song said, getting a little impatient.

I cleared my throat and decided to just wing it and suffer from embarrassment later.

“Hel-LO! My name is Lee Hyukjaeeee~” I heard some of my classmates snicker. I didn’t think it sounded bad, but I didn’t know if it sounded good either. My face turned slightly crimson because the teacher’s expression looked like it was saying “What did I just hear?” Or maybe I was reading it wrong because to my surprise he said, “My, what an interesting voice you have, Mr. Hyukjae. I look forward to hearing it more, it’s quite unique. I like it.”

Maybe this class isn’t so bad after all.

Ahhh Hyukjae ^.^ farting won't get you anywhere. Anyway - Thank you~