The beginning of new semester in Shinhwa School was nothing but intense. Youngjae knew this, he could sense it even before he entered the somehow intimidating iron gate which refuse to open if it didn’t caught car presence nearby. He needed to wait for half an hour outside the gate even after announcing his arrival to the security before eventually a luxurious SUV made an appearance, followed by a foreign sedan, then a sleek sport car and that’s how what seemed like car exhibition started.

          Youngjae gulped. He walked straight, keeping his head high and tried his best to look nonchalant. It’s nothing Youngjae, nothing, he chanted to himself. Ten minutes passed by and he finally understood why there’s no one going in on foot.

          The school building was nothing like Youngjae expected, it looked like it’s part of Greek’s building, with exceptionally tall pillars, gigantic front door, super high ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows. There were chandeliers everywhere, their lights reflecting on the polished marble floor. Youngjae blinked thrice, everything seemed like they’re basking in glitter and it made him dizzy. He pulled out a guide book from his backpack and checked the map on the front page. He looked around, trying to locate himself. There’re double grand staircases right in front of him, so he had to be at the main lobby. His eyes were busy searching for administration office logo when suddenly he heard girls around him screaming like bloody maniacs.

           “ GOT4 has arrived!!” A second and they all ran past him, some even pushed him until he’s knocked down. Youngjae eyes widened, brain’s too shocked to process anything.

           “ Whatt???” He mumbled then looked back. The girls were lining up, making some kind barrier, squealing. Youngjae pushed himself off of the floor but to no avail. “ ,” he cursed, now noticing the pain around his ankle. First day and he’d been this lucky. Great job!

           “ Whoa, GOT4! Good morning!”

           “ Jackson long time no see!”

           “ Mark how’s your holiday?”

           “ Jinyoung-ah so handsome!”

           “ Jaebum please take this!”

          Youngjae cringed, he wondered if this GOT4 was some kind celebrity or something, if the students were their fans or their friends- how could people who’s known born with silver or even golden spoon acted barbaric like that?? Where’s the so called manner??

           “ Are you okay?” Youngjae looked up. A frail looking kid appeared in his vision, extending his hand.

           Youngjae took it and leaned on his good foot. “ Uh, thank you?”

           “ You’re welcome!” The kid smiled. He looked so young and friendly. Youngjae couldn’t help but smiled back. “ Did you sprained your ankle? Can you walk?”

           “ Yes, I guess. It’s okay though. Er, by the way, do you know where administration office is?”

           “ Admin office? Of course! Let me help you there, you’re new, right?”

          The young kid introduced himself as Kunpimook Bhuwakul, an exchange student came all the way from Thailand, a year younger than Youngjae and apparently a very chatty person. If anything, he made the older felt pretty comfortable, like they’ve known each other for a long time instead of ten minutes. The bell rang right as they arrived at the office.

           “ Thank you,” Youngjae said once more, showing his thumb up. “ I’m fine, and you’ll be late!”

           “ It’s okay, first period is only soci-“

           “ No no, don’t be like that, or I’ll feel bad!”

           The younger chuckled. “ Okay, and in case you find my name’s hard, just call me Bambam! See you again then!” He waved then disappeared in no time.

           Youngjae sat down on the sofa next to the front desk, waiting for the admin printing his schedule for the semester. He wondered if it’s okay to be late on the first day or if it’s better to just skip the first period. Receiving his schedule, he immediately looked for his class, hoping everything’s only going to be better from then onwards.

***

It turned out being a scholarship student was such a big deal in Shinhwa School. By the time the ‘scholarship’ word rolled out of his homeroom teacher mouth, everyone in the class looked so taken aback, Youngjae swore he could even hear some gasping. He gripped his backpack straps to stop his hands from trembling, then bowed.

           “ Hello, my name’s Choi Youngjae. Nice to meet all of you. “ He said, barely a whisper.

           " Okay so- yes, Sujin?"

           " I have a question!"

           " Yes, me too!"

           “ I’m also curious about something!”

           More hands raised up and lots of ridiculous questions followed after. Youngjae felt as if he’s a museum latest collection with all eyes focused on him.

           “ Of course I have phone, but no my house has no swimming pool-“

           “ Okay kids, let’s stop here and start our lesson. Choi Youngjae, you can sit there.”

          Fortunately, seemed like the main character still possessed the ability to blend, and the day went pretty smoothly. The lessons were not a problem as they’re not hard to catch up with, he’d learned most of them during the school break, and he didn’t experience anything bad like what he’d expected other than curious or judging looks thrown at him. He made his way quietly towards the cafeteria at the other side of the classes building. It had its own building in the middle of a pretty flower garden, with glasses as substitute for the usual walls. Youngjae wondered if he walked the right path.

          The inside was crowded. Many students were seen lining up to varieties of food stall, there were salad bar, Japanese style open kitchen, Italian pasta corner, and French bakery. Youngjae really couldn’t distinguish the rest. Everything looked like it costed half of his monthly pocket money, leaving him with no other choice than the bread. It would be the cheapest, right?

          He put his hands in his blazer pockets, trying his best to avoid any contacts with other students. He’s not a person who loved to spend his free time watching drama- that would be his mother- but he knew some clichés which could lead into any unwanted problem such as-

           “ Holy -“ was the first thing that broke the intense silence following the tragic accident him bumping into another student holding a food tray with hot soup on top. “ I’m so-so-sorry!” He put his hand on his chest, his heart’s definitely sinking into the pit of his stomatch. He’s going to die.

            Someone’s finally pressing a play button after what felt like forever and chaos ensued.

           “ Don’t you have eyes??” Someone from behind the soup victim said, pulling out his handkerchief and wiped his friend’s face.

          “ But I’m no-“ Youngjae didn’t even have time to complete his sentence as something smell weird but good landed on his face, covering his vision. “ What-“ He took it down, only to realize that the soup victim had just thrown his blazer and tie to him.

           “ I’ll give it to you.” The victim finally opened his mouth, his voice betraying his piercing eyes.

           " But Jaebum-"

           “ End of discussion, Jackson.”