“Hello. I am Han Taeri. Please take care of me,” you bowed as girls started introducing themselves to you.

“Annyonghaseyo,” the girls bowed to you back. You were all in the auditorium right now waiting around for the official ceremony to start. All around you there were new faces that you knew you would get used to seeing. After moving into the auditorium, an awkward atmosphere had taken over as the students just milled around in their designated places. It was all new to you especially since the place looked fancy.

“So where are you from?” one of the girls asked. She smiled at you and you shyly smiled back.

“I was born in Jejudo but grew up in Seoul,” you shuffled your feet.

“Really?” Your answer got their attention even more.

“How is it?”

“Which part of Seoul?”

“I’ve never been to Jeju Island before.”

“Does your family have a house there?”

You looked at them wide eyed, shocked by their many questions, “Ummm,”

“You guys should back off,” a different girl joined the group. The girls you were with scowled at her.

“Why don’t you?” You looked between the two while taking a small step back. All of this was changing so suddenly. You hadn’t expected drama already.

“What?” the new girl crossed her arms.

You looked away from them feeling uncomfortable, you saw cameras everywhere and flashes going off but you noticed the bright light of one of those heavy TV cameras near the back. You tuned out the small dispute going on and tiptoed to see the back. Another light caught your attention within your peripheral vision up in the balconies and you looked up, only to see someone looking right at you. It was one of the boys who you saw earlier by the posters. He smiled at you once he saw you staring back at him. He was leaning against the edge and he awkwardly ran his hand through his hair as the other people behind him talked into the camera while pointing down into the crowd in the general direction of the other camera. A guy came up behind him and put an arm around his shoulder, drawing his attention away from you to him. You frowned in contemplation and tried to look for your parents.

“Yah Jejudo,” you faced the girls again and gulped nervously. “What do you think?” they were all looking at you.

Luckily a voice called out on the stage, “Annyonghseyo. May I have everyone’s attention.”  You sighed in relief as the girls glared once more at one another and faced forward. “First I would like to say, welcome to Seoul School of Performing Arts, parents, relatives, friends, and of course the students themselves.” A brief applause followed. “Now classes won’t begin today but I hope you are all looking forward to an education of excellence and…” his voice started to fade out as your attention went to observing the things around you.

You didn’t know why the girls were arguing about you in the first place as you played with the ends of your hair. The headmaster’s voice continued to drone on in the back of your mind but you couldn’t focus on his words. Your thoughts went back to your older brother, Hyuntae,  and you sighed. You had been looking forward to spending today with him and your parents in celebration of your start at this school.

To be honest, SOPA hadn’t been your first choice because you were aiming to go to a regular high school or even a prep school to get ready for college. But Hyuntae’s many lectures about living only once got to you so you ended up choosing this school. He was your main supporter in your