Truth be told, Mingyu was way too excited and could barely sleep. He was pretty much awake when the alarm rang, but still jumped out of bed like any kid would, hurriedly washing up as he scrambled to get ready. He felt like it was the first day of middle school, being weirdly excited as if he was a puppy about to be adopted. It was 10 in the morning by the time he had finished getting ready. He looked around the house, double checking that everything was switched off and left in the right place, before he finally stood in front of the fireplace. 

“Hey Dad, Mum, I missed you. I will be finally leaving the house and going to school. Its not going to be any different from what i have been doing, but at least i will be getting some non-virtual-reality interactions! Depending on the school’s system, i will try to be back once every month to check up on things, alright.” Mingyu wiped the portrait of his dad and mum with his sleeve and kissed it one last time, smiling endearingly at the picture of the loving couple before putting it back onto the top of the fireplace. He grabbed his two luggage and slung his backpack over his shoulder before stepping out into the morning sun. Hmm fresh air, he smiled to himself. He was convinced that he was going to have a good day and he could almost feel it. 

Mingyu gasped as he got off the bus, this place is gigantic! He gave a quick glance to his surroundings, mentally taking note of the food places scattered about the compound. For someone who was nearly 2 metres tall like he is, the school compound was enormous by his standards. Dragging his bags down the pathway of the makeshift park, a student sitting under the tree, basking under the morning sun as he read his book caught Mingyu’s eyes. 

“Nice, not only does the compound look beautiful, their students are beautiful too.” Mingyu smirked as he shuffled closer to the raven-haired boy. Sure, he lacked social interactions, but he could definitely survive on his basic social skills. Or so he thought. 

“Hey.” The boy looked up from his books as he heard Mingyu call out to him. “Hey, my name is Mingyu, Kim Mingyu. I’m new around here.” He looked through his wire-rimmed glasses and nodded, before dropping his head back down to continue with his book. “Erm, mind showing me the way to Seventeen’s dorm?” Mingyu cocked his head as he looked down upon the boy. He had pale skin and cold features, but Mingyu found it oddly attractive.  

“Yeah, down the path and to the left. The information counter is there.” The boy used his arm to show and direct the path, but not looking up from his book. Mingyu shrugged at the cold shoulder he was given, muttering a quick ‘thank you’ before making his way over. What an ice princess, geez, Mingyu thought as he trudged over to the information counter to get actual directions. 

“Oh! You’re Mr Kim Mingyu? We have been expecting you! Truth be told, classes have already been starting for a week and the deadline for your enrolment was almost over... We had almost given up on your invitation!” The lady had grabbed Mingyu’s hands and was excitedly shaking them. She typed some things into her computer before studying it for a short moment. “Give me a second, I’ll get someone to help you with your bags and bring you to your dorm.” Pressing the intercom button, she calmly spoke into the mic, “Will all Seventeen members please proceed to your dorm, Choi Seungcheol and Jeon Wonwoo, please drop by the information counter before heading over. Thank you.”  

One of the 'guides' who was assigned to help him get to his dorm, came jogging over from the side of Mingyu, his thick arms grabbing onto his luggage. “This is the new guy?” The sweaty boy surveyed Mingyu from head to toe, giving a little grin when they made eye contact. “Hey, welcome to SVT, you’re late! We have been waiting for you for ages! I’m Seu