Taekwoon dragged himself out of bed, dreading the next day. He would have to try and somehow get Kevin to understand that he was not trying to steal his place. He was so focused on his feet, taking each step carefully on the way to school, that he did not notice Yura sneaking up behind him.

“Boo!” she said and Taekwoon almost jumped out his skin. She laughed cutely until she saw the worry on his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing” he replied simply.

“Fine then, don’t tell me! And I won’t tell you what I did last night.”

Taekwoon really did not care, but the situation called for him to ask “what did you do last night?”

“Jang!” She said as she produced a small clear bag sealed shut with a yellow ribbon.

“Co-okies?” Taekwoon asked cautiously, questioning the burnt appearance of the baked goods.

“Yup, I brought them into share, would you like one?”

He did not want to seem rude so he took the smallest cookie from the bag offered to him. Yura looked at him with expectant eyes and he reluctantly took a small bite. Surprisingly they were not all that bad, just very crispy. He realised that ‘very plain’ would not be suitable feedback so, after swallowing the bite, he said “very nice.”

“Yey!”

Yura explained in great detail the cookie-making process and how she had accidently forgotten about them (how they ended up with their delightful, black edges) and before they knew it they had arrived at the school gates.

The person Taekwoon most needed to talk to was also the first person that they saw. Taekwoon made eye contact with Kevin who scoffed and quickly moved away. It was clear he was still annoyed, and Taekwoon could understand.

He raced to catch up with him. Once again he tried to talk to Kevin, once again it failed.

“I get it! You have skills so you get to be on the team. Me? I’m just some loser who has been practising every week for the past two years, finally made it as a regular but still can’t beat some guy who just showed up!”

Kevin stormed off again, but Taekwoon had no energy to follow him. It was tiring being hated by someone he did not even know. It was a shame because Kevin had seemed like a genuinely nice guy, he had hoped that they would be friends. As long as Taekwoon kept his head down, he would not annoy anyone else and could still fit in.

But Taekwoon had underestimated Kevin’s popularity.

Kevin had a strange group of followers, some from their year, some from the year