Mark took a deep breath. The air was fresh, a little minty with slight saltiness to it. The sea waves roared in a distance, and his eyes followed their movement, from the deep blues to the lighter shades carrying white foam, which eventually disappeared into the wet sand and joined the bed of seashells. 

Mark strolled along the water's edge, enjoying the coolness tickling his feet when they sank into the earth. He observed the patterns his footprints formed on the rippled sand and how they blurred as waves come and go.

Out of nowhere, a sweet voice penetrated the sea breeze.

It sounds familiar… I remember this voice…

The images from Mark’s memory pieced bit by bit, like a jigsaw puzzle: delicate fingers over worn out strings, shiny black hair, a charming grin reflective of the entire world’s happiness. The boy with the guitar materialised.

He was right behind Mark, who turned around, surprised. However, the wave caught his foot and pulled him away. The lapping wavelets turned into an angry tide, tugging at Mark’s frail body, pulling him away…

Away from the shore, and away from the beautiful boy with the beautiful voice…

Mark felt himself panicking as he began to lose sight of the boy and as he drowned in the strong waves. He struggled more as the honey-strung voice faded away so painfully slowly.

Catching a last glimpse of the shore, Mark realised that his wandering tide-washed foot trail has almost disappeared, and so has the boy.

A humongous wave neared Mark and swept over him, pushing him down the depths of the waters, sinking and sinking...

Mark woke up with a jolt, beads of cold sweat on his forehead. His heart was still pounding so hard against his chest that it hurt.

What kind of dream was that? The boy… Didn’t I see him that day?

Mark flushed at the thought of his embarrassing experience fleeing from the boy with the guitar a few days back.

“Mark, are you awake? It’s time for you to go to school!” Mr Park, Mark’s trusty butler, shouted across the mansion. They had dropped their honorifics long ago, as Mark did not want to lose the sense of kinship with Mr Park; he’d already suffered from a lack of it.

.

Mark muttered under his breath while leaping out of his bed. He had conveniently forgotten that today was his first day of lessons at JYP University and he was supposed to reach earlier to meet the principal of the school.

Hurriedly, he splashed cold water on his face and threw on whatever clothes he could find in his closet, grabbed his bag, and scampered down the stairs, so quickly he almost slipped and fell. Mark let out a huge sigh.

Another reason to hate this ginormous house.

Slipping on his favourite pair of Timberlands, Mark called out, “Mr Park, I’m leaving now. Goodbye!”

With that, the heavy door slammed shut.

Mr Park hobbled to the porch, only to see no sign of Mark. In his left hand was the car key, as he intended to drive him to school; in his right hand held Mark’s breakfast.

He could only shake his head worriedly and pray for Mark that his first day of school would go smoothly.

Mark knew that Mr Park wanted to fetch him to school, like he would do no matter where Mark was going. However, the last time he’d been to JYP University, he noticed that most students did not have chauffeurs escorting them. He did not go to a public school for unwanted attention, for he feared the feeling of millions of eyes staring daggers at him, when the only pair of eyes taking glances at him at home was Mr Park’s.

Also, he did not want to stick out like a sore thumb. He yearned to make friends in the school, only, he did not know how.

After a 15-minute walk, JYP University was in view. It was so large it was almost monumental, and that overwhelmed Mark greatly. He could feel butterflies threatening to escape his stomach as he stepped closer to the main gate of the campus.

Just then, the school bell rang. To Mark, it was more like an emergency siren that hypnotized him to dash towards the Principal’s office as fast as his legs could carry him.

I’m late… Oh my god, first day of school and I am late!

He ran towards what he thought was the correct room and barged through the door, banging, head first, into a bigger-sized boy.

“Ouch! What the…”

Mark fell hard and landed on his tailbone; for a moment he saw stars and nothing else. As his vision slowly recovered, he laid eyes on a strong hand gesturing for him to grab it.

So Mark did. In a flash, he was pulled up from the floor and came face to face with a silver-haired boy with thick, black-rimmed glasses.

“Hey!” The boy waved his fingers in front of Mark, who was still dazed from his fall. “Are you okay? How many fingers do you see?”

Mark squinted at the boy. He had manly features: a strong jawline, tall nose and sharp eyes.

“Umm… three?” Mark replied in a shaky voice.

“Okay, you’re fine. Phew…”

Mark released his hand from the boy’s firm grip and looked down, embarrassed and unsure of what to say.

“I’m JB. Are you new here?”

JB… Is that a nickname or?

“Um yes… Actually, I need to… I need to go to the Principal’s Office?”

It was a statement but Mark was timid and his lack of assurance made everything he said sound like a question.

JB smiled and beckoned Mark to follow him, which he did, clenching his teeth at the soreness from the fall previously.

“So, what’s your name?”

“I’m… Mark? I think?”

JB cracked up, guffawing as though he had just heard the funniest joke ever. “Yeah I’m pretty sure you’re Mark.”

~~~~~

“Sir, the new student, Mark, is here!” JB projected his voice through the door as he knocked on it.

“Come in!”

With that, JB opened the door and pushed Mark towards it, who gingerly shuffled into the cold room.

“Oh, JB! Is that you?” The Principal, a suited-up middle-aged man with a ramrod posture tilted his head to see the people behind his office door.

JB sighed and muttered something along the lines of the principal giving him extra work again and reluctantly entered the room with Mark.

“Ah, Mark. I’m the principal here and you can call me Mr Oh. Welcome to JYP University! I’m sure you will have a good time here.”

Mr Oh smiled without showing his teeth, portraying his firmness despite the friendly demeanor.

“Actually, I just wanted to hand you your timetable, and officially welcome you to our school.” Mr Oh passed a piece of paper – Mark’s timetable – to him and Mark thanked him profusely.

Seeing how Mark was absolutely flustered on his first day of school, Mr Oh turned his attention to JB, who was leaning against the wall and yawning already.

“JB, I want you to bring Mark around the school and help him out for the day, if that is fine for you?”

The tone of finality in the stern principal’s words, though phrased as a question, gave JB no choice but to accept the request, not that he minded spending time with Mark.

~~~~~

“You know, Mr Oh is quite dumb to make me bring you around the school. I’m in film studies and you are in the music course. We don’t even have the same lessons.”

JB complained as he snatched the timetable from Mark’s hands.

“Oh! Your first lesson is music practical! Jinyoung can guide you, he has the same class as you!”

JB seemed instantly relieved. Mark, however, was not sure if he could handle meeting another new person. He was pretty much used to the solitary lifestyle he had previously and he had a feeling he would struggle with the change.

JB swung the door open and cold air from the room met Mark’s pale cheeks. He shuddered lightly.

“You’ve gotta take off your shoes, Mark.” JB reminded Mark, who stared at the carpeted floor, understood, and simply nodded before doing so.

Right after, JB raised his voice to talk to the other person in the room. “Jinyoung ah! We have a new student, Mark! I’ll leave him to you. Bye Jinyoung, bye Mark! Have fun!”

With that, Mark felt a gust of wind and JB disappeared.

He left me alone with a stranger just like that?

Mark was anxious. He quickly slipped off his Timberlands in order to walk into the room and properly greet the new stranger. To his horror, he was wearing a mismatched pair of socks. One was black and the other was yellow.

… Now what?

Just then, a shadow hovered over Mark as he was looking down at his socks in disbelief.

“Hello! I’m Jinyoung, nice to meet you, Mark!”

The hairs on Mark’s neck stood, as though he was electrocuted.

This voice…

Mark raised his head immediately and right in front of him, stood the boy with the cutest eye smile, brightest teeth, and shiniest hair – the boy with the guitar.

His name is Jinyoung.

He just called my name.

Mark lost his bearings right there and then. He did not know what to do. He did not know if Jinyoung remembered him, and he did not know why his heart was pumping so hard it almost jumped out from his throat.

Jinyoung’s hand was still held out, ready for a handshake, but Mark was flabbergasted and did not respond. All he could think of was how embarrassing his mismatched socks are.

♥♥♥

Hello readers! Firstly, I want to thank my 42 subscribers! It's really encouraging as it is my first story, and it makes me really happy. This chapter took longer than I expected; it seems pretty normal but trust me, I spent a lot of time planning the structure of my entire story so the next chapters will become more interesting. :) Not a lot of jinmark here but I had to set the background of the story. Thanks for reading and once again, don't forget to flood the comment box. Love y'all! ^~^