When Yuri woke up the next morning at eight, Sooyoung was already gone. The smell of eggs that lingered in the room hinted that the girl had ate breakfast and already left for school.

‘Probably had morning practice,’ Yuri thought to herself as she quickly got ready. Which reminded her, she had to join her new sports team this afternoon for practice.

‘Ah well, at least I had two days off.’

Grabbing her backpack, Yuri headed off to her first class.

When she walked into the classroom, she was surprised to find Sooyoung sitting in the back of the class, hair wet from a recent shower.

Yuri lingered at the doorway, wondering if she should approach her roommate since she didn’t know anyone else yet when luckily, Sooyoung saw her and waved her over.

“Hey roomie!” Sooyoung grinned. “Come sit with us.”

Yuri headed over with her head held high as nearly everyone in the room turned to look at her.

“Is she a new student?”

“We have a transfer student now? It’s only been two weeks since school started.”

“I wonder what she got in for.”

“She looks tan. Probably a summer sport?”

“Ugh, I hope she doesn’t play tennis. I don’t need another rival.”

Yuri mentally took note. So this was how competitive SM Sports Academy is. 'And no I don't do a summer sport. I'm just naturally tan!'

She sat down in the empty seat next to Sooyoung and a short haired girl.
 

“Hi! I’m Sunny! You must be Sooyoung’s new roommate!” the short haired girl greeted, sticking her hand out.

Yuri grinned and took the hand. “I’m Kwon Yuri. It’s nice to meet you.”

Suddenly, Sooyoung leaned into their conversation. “Hey Yuri. Do you have any food?” she whispered, only to get hit on the head by Sunny.

“I can’t believe you’re already stealing food from her!” Sunny chastised.

“I’m not stealing! I clearly asked, didn’t I?” Sooyoung pouted before turning back to Yuri. “So do you?”

Yuri pulled out a sandwich from her bag and handed it over. She decided her breakfast was a small price to pay for new friends. “Here. You can have it.”

Sunny frowned as Sooyoung grinned and proceeded to eat it all in only three bites.
 

“You really shouldn’t make it a habit of giving that girl food,” Sunny told the tan girl.

“Why?” Yuri asked, seeing no harm.
 

“Because,” Sunny deadpanned. “She’ll bankrupt you.”

Seeing Yuri’s confused face, Sunny continued. “Just wait until lunch. You’ll understand me then.”

RING DING DONG ~

“YES! IT’S LUNCH TIME!” Sooyoung shouted as she jumped out of her seat, interrupting the teacher mid-sentence. Yuri and Sunny bowed their heads in embarrassment next to her.

“Ms. Choi! Please stay after class for a minute. I want to have a word with you on your behavior. Everyone else is dismissed.” Ms. Park called.

Sooyoung slumped back down in her seat. “Someone’s not getting laid,” she muttered to herself bitterly, glaring at the professor. She then looked up at Yuri and Sunny. “Wait for me?” she asked, purposely trying to make her eyes as big and round as possible.

Sunny rolled her eyes. “I can’t. I have to go grab something from my locker. I’ll be at lunch though.”

Sooyoung then turned towards Yuri with the same round eyes.

Yuri let out a small chuckle as she patted the girl’s back in sympathy. “Haha alright. I'll just be outside.”

“Thanks,” Sooyoung responded dejectedly as she watched Yuri and Sunny leave.

Yuri leaned against the wall casually as she waited for Sooyoung outside of the classroom.

She glanced around.

Everywhere she looked, she could see sports equipment, be it soccer balls, track shoes, lacrosse sticks, or tennis rackets. Everyone here was an athlete.

But there was still one athlete she had yet to see.

'I wonder where she is. Auntie said I would find her here.'

Just then, a sweet strawberry scent floated by and Yuri caught a glimpse of long, blonde, silky hair.

Yuri snapped her head up and managed to sneak a peek at the blonde passing by.

'That pale complexion, those long eyelashes, and those lips….No way.'

Yuri’s eyes widened. She reached out to grab the girl.

“Sorry, you had to wait for me, newbie.”

Yuri turned her head away from the girl as she heard Sooyoung come bursting out the door.  

Sooyoung paused seeing the blank look on Yuri’s face. “You okay?”

Yuri turned and eyed the spot where the girl was just moments ago. ‘She’s gone.’ She faced Sooyoung once more before letting out her signature friendly smile. “I’m fine. Just thought I saw someone I knew.”

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow in interest. “Oh, so did you know her?”

Yuri shook her head. “Nah. I don’t think so. Jessica doesn’t have blonde hair.”

“Jessica?” Sooyoung asked.

“She was a friend...a childhood friend,” Yuri answered in a daze.

“Maybe she dyed her hair,” Sooyoung suggested. “But we don’t have many American students. There’s only one I can think of. You’ll meet her in a few minutes. We can ask her if she knows another American.”

Yuri merely nodded, barely paying attention.

“Anyways, let’s go meet my friends. Trust me, you’ll like them,” Sooyoung slapped Yuri on the back before heading to the cafeteria. Yuri followed silently, a bit lost in her thoughts.

‘Jessica, was that you?’

They approached a table of two girls. Yuri recognized the shorter one to be Sunny. The other girl was blonde and looked like a foreigner.

“Hey, is Tiffany here?” Sooyoung asked as they approached the table.

“No, she’s busy practicing with Taeyeon and Seohyun, like usual,” Sunny answered and Yuri perked up at the names. “Why? Do you need her?” Sunny asked.

“Not really. My new roommate here is trying to find her American friend named Jessica and I figured if anyone knew, Fany would,” Sooyoung answered before turning to face Yuri. “Sorry, about that. I forgot Fany’s always busy during lu