“So, who gets what part?” Luna asked as she looked over the sheet music for the song.

 

“I can’t rap,” D.O. said quietly with a pink tint covering his cheeks slightly as he kept his eyes glues to the paper in front of him.

 

“Me neither,” Krystal said as she looked over at Luna who shook her head as if to say she couldn’t either.

 

“Why would he give us a song with a rap if this class is for vocal training?” Kyungsoo mumbled as he flipped through the music.

 

“I can rap,” Amber said plainly, “and sing.”

 

“You can?” Luna asked surprised. “I mean, it’s just that most of us in here can’t.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve learned from a few friends back home and ever since then I’ve been in love with both singing and rapping. They are just so… captivating.”

 

“You should take the rap then,” Krystal suggested with a small smile on her lips.

 

“Yeah, you should. The rap and a singing part so he can hear your voice,” D.O. said. “My part is pretty much picked out since I’m the only guy and it indicates the guy and girl parts.”

 

“Okay, then we’ll discuss who gets what amongst ourselves,” Luna said.

 

“I’ll take this part and this area,” Krystal said as she pointed to the sections.

 

“I’ll take this part and Amber you get here, okay?” Luna said.

 

Amber nodded, not really caring that her part was small because she got the rap which was where she knew she could shine.

 

“We’re in the key of C, right?”

 

After every group seemed about ready and practiced multiple times, the teacher stopped the class and called all the groups to stand towards the perimeter of the room.

 

“Okay, so how this is how it’s going to work: I’m going to randomly pick a group to come stand in the middle of the room to face me and sing. I will give you your starting note but the rest has to be acapella like how you practiced.”

 

The class nodded and the teacher went to sit in front of the piano while his assistants sat off to the side and watched.

 

“Okay, hmm… You!” he exclaimed as he pointed to a random person, “you’re group.”

 

After a few groups had gone, Amber noticed Krystal had begun to fidget nervously. She placed her hand on her shoulder which made Krystal jump, but she calmed down when she saw a reassuring smile on Amber’s face.

 

“Don’t be nervous, you have all of us here with you,” Amber whispered softly.

 

Krystal smiled a little and nodded her head in agreement, her nerves calming down already.

 

“You!” Leeteuk pointed to Kyungsoo. “You’re group is the next victim on the pitch is right, come on down!”

 

Krystal took a deep breath to calm herself down, but Amber quickly grabbed her wrist and walked out into the middle of the classroom before she could find all of her courage.

 

Luna and Kyungsoo followed, unaffected by all the people surrounding them with judgment in their eyes.

 

“Ah, my mixed group. What song did I assign? Goodbye Spring?”

 

“Goodbye Summer, sunbae,” D.O. said respectfully.

 

“Ah, right, okay. I’ll play your starting note then you guys go from there. Ready?”

 

The four of them nodded in unison all while Amber held onto Krystal’s wrist and rubbed reassuring circles with her thumb on the inner part of her thin wrist.

 

D.O. started first then Krystal joined in. The beginning was like a small duet then Amber joined and all three of them sang, then the chorus came where D.O. sang dominantly and the girls harmonized in the background.

 

Luna joined D.O. in his lines and sang a higher pitch while he sang the lower ones and Krystal and Amber harmonized in the back.

 

Slowly, Amber and Krystal swayed slightly side to side, getting lost in their voices then came Amber’s rap.

 

What do I say we didn’t have to play no games

I should’ve took that chance I should’ve asked for you to stay

And it gets me down the unsaid words that still remain

Sijakhajido anko kkeutnabeorin iyagi

 

Then Kyungsoo and Krystal took back over. The chorus repeated as before. Then a break came and Kyungsoo sang his high part but instead of going by how it was written, for one girl to sing a solo, the girl’s decided to change it and sing it all together, harmonizing to create a beautiful sound.

 

Kyungsoo-

Baby oh no oh oh honjatmariraseo mianhae

Oh sasireun neol saranghae yeah

 

The girls-

Sumgigo itdeon oraen bimildeul

Charari deulkyeotdamyeon neoreul pume anajultende

 

They finished the last chorus part and added so much emotion into it that Luna and Krystal’s eyes became slightly watery, and ended the song with all of them singing la la la.

 

As the song ended, Amber’s hand was now intertwined with Krystal’s and they stopped swaying. Everyone in the classroom was silent, with their mouth’s slightly agape, even Leeteuk.

 

Henry was the first one to clap then the class, including the teacher and Key, followed suit and clapped with him.

 

“That… that was just beautiful. You all have such great voices, they blended well in that song and I felt emotional while you girls sang together. Amber, you actually did very well on that rap and your voice is magnificent. I would say you all are supremes. Congrats!” Leeteuk sputtered out.

 

“Gomawo,” they said in unison and bowed.

 

Amber realized where her hand had gone and untangled it from Krystal’s nonchalantly as she walked off to the side to stand where they were before, missing Krystal’s slightly saddened expression.

 

“You. Front and center,” Leeteuk said as he pointed to Key and his group.

 

“We are singing Mr. Simple,” one of the guys said as they all found their spots, Key on one end and Henry on the other, and the teacher nodded, giving them their starting pitch.

 

Amber had to admit, Henry’s voice was rather mesmerizing and Key’s rap was actually good. If Key wasn’t such a to her in the beginning, maybe they could’ve been friends, but only time could repair the damage.

 

“Very good, boy,” Leeteuk commented. “I would say Key and Henry, you two are supremes, and you two,” he said pointing to the two guys in the middle, “Eunhyuk and Ryeowook I’m going to place you in intermediates, but I think it won’t be long until you are in the supreme grouping.”

 

The boys nodded and bowed in unison before they walked back to their spot. Henry changed route made a direct beeline straight to Amber, finding his place next to her while Krystal was on the other side.

 

“You’re pretty amazing,” Amber whispered as the last group made their way to the center.

 

“Thanks, you too. Your voice is very beautiful,” Henry whispered back.

 

Amber blushed slightly at his words, a small butterfly feeling erupting in her stomach. The feeling soon ended when she felt a pair of eyes watching her.

 

Sure enough when she looked over towards the direction where Henry’s group was, Key was looking right at her, but something in his eyes had changed from before. Something that made her uneasy.

 

The final bell rang seconds after Leeteuk placed the last group in their categories for vocal training.

 

Amber quickly grabbed her stuff and made a mad dash for the door before it would be impossible to escape. She just wanted to see the familiar face that made everything in her world seem okay.

 

Kris perked up when he heard the bell ring. He liked Chemistry so far, but the teacher was extremely talkative; it was quite annoying, but on the brightside, Kris thought she was rather attractive.

 

Kris grabbed his bag and stood up from his desk in the middle of the room. He hadn’t really talked to anyone in the class other than introducing himself as the only first year of the class, but even at that he wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular.

 

He trudged out of the class, just ready to go back to sleep, and made his way over to the stairs.

 

“Kris oppa!” a voice called to him.

 

“Oh, Amber,” he said happily once he looked up and saw her coming down the stairs. Surprisingly, she came down faster and wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Amber? Munchkin, what’s wrong?”

 

Amber shook her head. “Nothing, I just needed a hug for some reason.”

 

Kris laughed a little and hugged her back. “I can’t argue that, today isn’t even halfway over and I already want to go back to our dorm and sleep.”

 

Amber chuckled and pulled back smiling at Kris. “Let’s get to class before we’re late.”

 

“First floor, right?” Kris asked.

 

Amber nodded and they began walking down the flight of stairs to the main level of the school in a comfortable silence.

 

“So, guess who is in my vocals class?”

 

“Henry.”

 

“Well, no dur smart . Guess who else is in my class,” Amber retorted.

 

Kris paused for a brief second and looked down at his dongsaeng. “No, it can’t be.”

 

Amber nodded and pressed her lips together in a thin line.

 

“Really? Like of all classes, he has to have one with you? Did anything happen?”

 

Amber spent the rest of their passing period time to explain the whole class events to Kris. By the time she finished they had reached the threshold of their next class.

 

“Maybe he likes you a little better now. Tolerance is the word,” Kris concluded as they walked into a large room, similar to the one Amber just left.

 

“I wonder if he knows my gender,” Amber commented.

 

“I think he does now. Your voice is pretty girly when you sing.”

 

“Gee, I wonder why that is.”

 

“I don’t know, man. If you were a girl, your chest is pretty flat so that’d be a bummer.”

 

“Yah, my chest isn’t that flat!” Amber said as she looked down at her bust which was hidden because of her uniform.

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Kris teased.

 

The bell rang and the teachers came out of their office to start class.

 

“Good day, class. My name is Kyung and I am one of the teachers here in the rapping studio.”

 

“I’m Zico, another teacher here.”

 

“And I’m Seunghyun, but you can call me TOP.”

 

“We are all your teachers here. Rapping is a skill and most people overlook it, but we are here to make sure you guys gets noticed and are champs by the time you graduate this year,” Kyung explained.

 

 “Since not many people take rap and this class is small we are just going to split you into three groups and assign you each a teacher that you will be learning from each day. It’s better that way so you have more attention from the teacher to help you perfect your skills,” Top further explained.

 

“Let’s start,” Zico said.

 

Luck was on their side. Amber and Kris were in the same group for that class and TOP was their assigned teacher.

 

After introductions and a short summary over what to expect to do for that year, the teacher assigned them each a rap from a different song, some English and some Korean, and said their homework assignment was to have it prepared to be performed from memory by the end of the week.

 

When the bell rang, Amber and Kris gravitated towards their bags slowly.

 

“I don’t wanna go to history,” Kris whined as he picked up his bag.

 

“Me neither. I have a feeling that’s a class we’re going to ditch frequently,” Amber said as they shuffled their way out of the class.

 

“Eh, probably,” Kris said with a shrug. Ditching was nothing new to them, but how they passed with A’s each year in every class was a real mystery.

 

They walked in silence to their next period, too tired to really talk about anything, let alone think.

 

As soon as they walked in, they went straight towards the last two seats in the back and claimed them, dropping their bags to the floor beside them.

 

The bell rang a half a second later the teacher was introducing herself.

 

“I’m Mrs. Park, I will be your history teacher for this year, and only your history teacher,” she said sharply then smiled cheerfully. “Okay, let’s get started. Open your textbooks to chapter one.”

 

The whole class groaned in disapproval of work on the first day.

 

“Silence,” she said loudly and sharply, causing everyone to look at her incredulously. Her cheerful façade was long gone and a scowl was plastered on her old features. “I will not tolerate back sass, talking back, or talking in general unless I ask you a question, understood?”

 

Amber gulped nervously. Strict teachers were what drove her insane.

 

The class nodded and remained silent and soon the class became a blur for both Amber and Kris as the teacher began her lecture.

 

The bell ringing was what brought them out of their trance. Kris looked like he was on the verge of passing out and Amber was doing all she could to not let her eyes close.

 

“Have a nice day!” Mrs. Park said cheerfully with a bright smile on her face.

 

The duo collected their belongings quickly and scurried out of the room.

 

“Well wasn’t she just a peach?” Amber said scornfully.

 

“How is she married?” Kris wondered as the two walked down the stairs with the crowd of people.

 

“Amber!” a voice called from somewhere behind them.

 

Amber turned around to see Krystal and Luna a few feet back from them with smiles on their faces which made Amber forget her crappy teacher and smile back at them.

 

“Can we eat with you?” Luna asked as she tugged Krystal along behind her to catch up to Amber.

 

“Of course, I was just going to sit with Kris,” Amber explained.

 

“Hi! I’m Luna and this is Krystal,” Luna introduced herself and the younger to the giant male.

 

“I’m Kris.”

 

“Omo, your voice is so deep!” Luna exclaimed.

 

“Haha, yeah, I get that a lot,” Kris said as he smirked and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“You get used to it. He’s nothing special,” Amber said, shooting down Kris’s ego.

 

“Well, then, I see how it is, no love for Kris,” Kris said with a fake little pout on his lips.

 

“Yah, stop pouting, it makes your face look uglier,” Amber teased.

 

“You’re so mean!” Kris whined as he covered his face and pretended to run away from Amber.

 

“Wait, Kris!” she yelled after him.

 

He sniffled a little and looked back at his friend. “Yeah?”

 

She smiled and looked at him softly. “I need you…” she said and Kris smiled at her until she finished her sentence. “You have my lunch money.”

 

“What am I your sugar daddy now?” Kris asked with an offended look on his face.

 

“I was thinking more of a pimp but whatever floats your kayak,” Amber said.

 

“Well, if I’m a pimp then I think I have a yacht, not a kayak.”

 

“Whatever floats it, man.”

 

“Do you guys always talk to each other like this?” Krystal asked as she and Luna caught up to them.

 

“Yeah,” they said in unison.

 

“You should see us on the weekends,” Kris said.

 

When they four of them entered the cafeteria, they hadn’t planned on it being so packed.

 

“Man, it is nut-to- in here,” Kris whined in English.

 

“Oh, you speak English?” Krystal asked.

 

“Yeah, we both do,” Amber answered.

 

“Omo, that’s so cool! Me too! Not quite as good as my older sister, though.” Krystal said happily as they got in line for food.

 

“You have a sister? Does she go here?” Amber asked.

 

“Mwo?” Luna asked confusedly.

 

“Oh, nothing we were just having a small conversation,” Krystal explained in Korean.

 

Luna shrugged and picked out her food. The others followed and paid then quickly got out of the hectic line and looked for an empty table.

 

“Let’s eat outside,” Kris suggested when he saw that there were no empty tables inside. Just then a hand lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

 

He was surprised to see who it was when he turned around.

 

“Can I sit with you? I don’t really know anyone else…”

 

“Of course, Zelo. Come on,” Kris said and motioned for him to follow.

 

“Guys, this is Zelo,” Kris introduced as they walked outside. “Zelo, this is Amber, Krystal, and Luna,” he said as he pointed out each one.

 

“Hello,” Zelo said with a small bow to each of them.

 

“How old are you?” Amber asked as they sat down at an empty table a little ways away from the cafeteria.

 

“Um, fourteen,” Zelo said uncomfortably. “I skipped a grade,” he explained.

 

“You’re adorable!” Luna exclaimed and pinched his cheeks a little. Zelo was taken aback by the sudden affection.

 

“Please excuse her,” Krystal said, “she just loves to be affectionate to people. She means no harm.”

 

“Oh, it’s alright,” Zelo said.

 

The five of them sat in a sort of awkward silence, just eating silenty.

 

It wasn’t until Kris tried stealing Amber’s food that someone finally spoke.

 

“Yo, man, I see you trying to steal my food,” Amber said as she swatted Kris’s hand.

 

“But, Amber,” Kris whined, “I’m still hungry and you have two cookies!”

 

“I like my food, no.”

 

“Sharing is caring.”

 

“So if I get the flu, should I share it with you to show I care?”

 

“Yes, then we can both miss school,” Kris said as his hand crept its way back to Amber’s plate.

 

“No!” she yelled as she swatted his hand again.

 

“Please?”

 

“No. I need my cookies.”

 

“Pretty please?”

 

“Ugly no.”

 

“Can’t I just have a bite?”

 

“Why can’t you just get your own?”

 

“Because, that’s too far of a walk and we both know I’m lazy,” Kris said as he stole a chip from Amber’s bag.

 

“Dude! I hate you, quit stealing my food!” Amber shouted.

 

“You love me and you know it,” Kris said as he quickly stole another chip.

 

“No, I’m pretty sure I love my food more and I hate you.”

 

“Don’t deny our r squared pi, Amber! Don’t deny it!”

 

“There is nothing there to deny.”

 

“So you do love me!”

 

“No.”

 

“But, but, but,” Kris uttered as he wrapped his arms around Amber’s shoulders, hugging her while she continued to eat.

 

“Yah, get off me, I’m trying to make love to my food.”

 

“You’re weird-”

 

“Where do you think food babies come from?”

 

“-but I still love you.”

 

“Get off.”

 

“Um, Kris you can have mine if you want,” Krystal offered quietly.

 

“Really?!” Kris asked as he perked up and let Amber go.

 

“Yeah, I don’t need the extra sugar, you can have it,” Krystal said as she handed him her cookies.

 

“Thank you!” Kris said as she snatched them from her hand and quickly devoured them.

 

“You pig,” Amber mumbled.

 

“I love it when you ,” Kris said with his mouth full.

 

Amber rolled her eyes and began to eat her cookies more civilized.

 

“Are you guys dating?” Zelo asked shyly as he eyed them carefully.

 

They were sitting rather close to each other, but that was normal for them. And the way they talked to each other was far from normal but it was what they were accustomed to. Most people didn’t understand their friendship, but they didn’t need to.

 

“Aniyo,” they said in unison.

 

“Are you two related?” Luna asked.

 

“Nope,” Amber answered.

 

“We just grew up together,” Kris explained.

 

“You two would make a cute couple,” Krystal commented then looked down, trying to hide her slight blush.

 

“Yeah, we get that a lot. But Amber is too annoying to date,” Kris said.

 

Amber shot him a glare. “You just jelly that you can’t be this cool.”

 

“Yeah, sure,” Kris said as he gathered his and Amber’s trash together then tossed it in the trash can near them.

 

“So, Zelo, how’d you know Kris?” Amber asked, trying to change the conversation.

 

“Oh, we have first period together. I sit next to him in art,” Zelo explained.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Amber apologized.

 

“Haha, he’s cool though,” Zelo said.

 

“Oh, did you hear that? Someone actually thinks you’re cool,” Amber teased as she looked over at Kris.

 

“What can I say?” Kris said as he brushed off his shoulders.

 

“That’s a first.”

 

“You, hush,” Kris said to Amber.

 

Amber rolled her eyes and looked at Krystal. She looked extremely nervous, but before she could say something, the bell rang indicating that lunch was over and classes were back in swing.

 

“Yo, Zelo, what class do you have next?” Kris asked as everyone stood up from the table.

 

“Vocals, you?”

 

“Same. Let’s walk together,” Kris suggested.

 

“Okay. It was nice meeting you guys,” Zelo said as he waved to the girls.

 

“See ya later,” Kris said and waved then he and Zelo walked off to their next period.

 

“What class do you have next Amber?” Krystal asked as the three girls walked towards the cafeteria.

 

“The art of lyrics and composing. And you guys?”

 

“Oh, me too!” Krystal said happily.

 

“I have English next period,” Luna said.

 

“Let’s go together,” Krystal suggested.

 

“Sure. Bye, Luna!” Amber said.

 

Luna smiled and waved then went her own way to her next class.