"Oh my god I was at the market and I realised they had a sale for the cute skirt that I wanted..."

"The Queenka is having another party this coming weekend are you joining..."

The usual old chatter fills the hallways of School Of Performing Arts also known as SOPA. The school where students who learn classical and traditional music seem to live. Everything of the usual school except for some different rules which may seem odd to other students who are not from SOPA or Hanlim Arts School, rival to SOPA. The history of the two schools seems to go back a long way and a lot of battles have ensued between the two schools. Annually, there are at least 2 music battles. These battles are crucial for students and their schools. These battles would help them to secure a musical career in life as well as giving a good name to the school that they are attending. Students who mostly make up the population of the school are mostly rich and have strict parents.

Owning a smartphone device is any smart devices can get students detention or suspended. If that was not enough, if one was found to have a smart device... bullying ensues. It may make little to no sense however, every minute and second is precious to these students. It is a battle for survival. Some students just attend because being a student and at least having a graduation certificate from either one of the schools, is enough to get a career. Yet, striving for perfection is what students have to do. It is like a battle to be the best. Different compared to other schools but effective is maintaining high-quality performances as well as education.

Within the schools, there is more than one type of students but there seems to be more than one issue in regards to being the best. To be the best is sometimes hard and very competitive. Scholarship students are almost unheard of but if there were scholarship students, they are considered the rare few who can get through the students and chances of getting a scholarship is almost like a blue moon. After the former principal stepped down, a new principal has taken over to manage the school. The system seems to change. Several rules were implemented as well as several other hidden rules. Students and teachers would no longer be able to detect who is a scholarship student, due to excessive bullying. Statistics show that the percentage of bullying of any form immediately increases when there is a scholarship student. Hence, SOPA decides to not reveal who is their scholarship students. 

Speaking of scholarship students, SOPA has only one registered scholarship pupil. No one within the school except the principal knows who the person is. The criteria to get one has changed after the retirement of Mr Ba. The current principal is Mr Park. Mr Park is a nice gentleman who is happily married and has children. His eyes always seem to twinkle with happiness but, he follows his principles dutifully daily. He is the only who knows who the person is for a scholarship.

The sweet monotonous bells ring, a sign that class is about to start. Mr Park seems satisfied with how everyone has turned up in the assembly hall. 

"Welcome Back students! I have hoped some of you have enjoyed your holidays and had enough rest. As all of you would know, the semi-annual battle is a good three months away from now. I am informing all of you so that you in advance so that you can get ready to sign up for the battle." Mr Park says with a smile. Through the slit of his eyes, he seems to glance at someone before pushing back his attention to all the students.

"As all of you would know, there are several rules that have been removed and new ones have been implemented. Some of your parents had given us feedback however, we have told them that it is to advance with the current times. More rules will be implemented along the way as a way to help you be more independent. As there is more to life than just grades and careers. Some transfer students will be joining your classes. Anyway, all of you can proceed back to your classrooms." He says with an endearing smile, yet his eyes seem to wander to the last rows of the seats.

"Let's see your potential, dear." He whispers to himself.

The hallways began to bustle and hustle with life as the students go towards their classrooms. Yet the sea of students seems to split right down the middle.

"Oh wow... It's her... The popular girl...", Students whisper to one another, as they standstill, with loud chatter now reduced to hush whispers. One student, however, does not seem to care about what is going and heads towards her designated classroom silently like a shadow. That specific student was oblivious to her surroundings and seemed to bump into another student. The two seemed to make eye contact, which lasted for a few seconds. She silently bowed to the student, panicking slightly before almost easily disappearing into the students' wave.

"w-what the...", The boy which she bumped into seem to in a daze after getting bumped into. "Who is she...?" Junmyeon seems to be confused since he has never seen her before within their school compounds. He moves on to his classroom as he decides that it may perhaps only be a one-time thing.

The girl, on the other hand, manages to sneak into her classroom before anyone else caught her. Sighing to herself, unconsciously clasping her fingers around her pendant. A precious gift that she would do anything to keep. Panting softly through her facemask that she had just worn. She has managed to hide throughout the entire school semester. She goes by the name of Alexa, but people often call her Invisible girl. She is a scholarship student, so in other words, she is trying to hide the fact by trying to be unseen and ghost classes. Yet, there is a new problem at hand. Junmyeon has seen her without her face mask on. If he finds out she is the invisible girl, she would not know how Junmyeon may ask her to do.

The bells within the school tolls to indicate the start of the student's classes. Each one of them seated down at their designated seats. A tall, male teacher enters. His name is Mr Kim. He is half-Korean and half-Thai. He has won the student's favourite teacher over the last 3 years that he has been teaching at SOPA. He enters with a smile. 

"Morning Everyone, please ensure that you have all of your instruments placed aside carefully if you have any. We will be introducing the transfer of students. Please make sure to welcome them and make them comfortable." Mr Kim said as he glances at the invisible girl. "Transfer students you may come in!"

Upon the call, three students enter and everyone seems to be stunned by how good-looking they are. The first student who entered seems to have cat-like similarities, specifically, his eyes give the cat-like look and his cheeks are adorable to anyone's eyes. The second student who entered seemed to have a very unapproachable vibe surrounding him. The girls in the class have already started to nickname him the "Ice Prince". His face remains stoic and chic. The last person who entered looked like a manga character who just walked straight out of the book. He seems to also have one of the clearest eyes like a majestic deer would have.

"Okay, transfer students. Please introduce yourselves to the class.", Mr Kim said as he chuckles. Realising the state of some girls who are fangirling or in excitement due to how good-looking the transfer students are.

"Hello! My name is Minseok but I prefer to go by Xiumin! Nice to meet you all!" 

"The name is Kris Wu."

"Hello, my name is Lu Han. please forgive me for my accent." 

The three introduced themselves. Yet, among all the chaotic classmates that they are going to be acquainted with. The invisible girl at the back seems to pay them no attention and seems to be doing her own things. She sees no need to get acquainted with people who may just very well react like the rest of the class. Unfortunate for her, Luhan was assigned to sit beside her. The three students take long strides towards their seats and as soon as Luhan sits beside her, he taps her shoulder.

"Excuse me?", Luhan whispers as class was already in session. She turns around, her bangs and face mask covering her face as she looks at him. This is how she always presents herself to class. Alexa seems to tilt her head as though questioning what Luhan wants.

"Can I share the textbook with you?", Luhan asks with a hushed tone as he glances at the teacher who seems to be busy already starting with the brief teaching of what they will be learning for Additional Mathematics. She just seems to nod her head and place the thick huge textbook between the two of them. Alexa just seems to glance at him through her long bangs. She tries to be quiet and pretends to listen to the class as the Teacher, Mr Oh. The class seems to learn the topic, namely Integration as well as Binomial. The subject itself is very dry and tough but students are trying their best to listen to the class, apart from the exceptional few. They normally make themselves seat comfortably at the back of the class. Teaching about Integration, students must read up about Logarithm and its rules

Sitting at the back of the class has its advantages however, with the new students here. The female students seem to glance at the back once in a while, because of Luhan. Alexa is worried if her classmates would start to take notice of her because she prefers to be left alone. If anyone in her school knew she was a scholarship student. It would bring in a lot of chaos, both physically and mentally to herself. Luhan, on the other hand, seems to glance at his desk buddy. Luhan is wondering when would she talk to him or reveal her name to him. That is what desk buddies normally do right?

As the class ends, Alexa seems to just sit silently again at her desk and glances around the class to see if anyone would notice her or would try to approach her. Yet, it appears that she forgot about  Luhan.

"Hey, what is your name?", Luhan asks, causing Alexa to look at him.

Alexa looks at him and writes on a notepad, that was sitting silently right beside the textbook she is sharing.

'My name is Alexa and I don't like to talk.', Alexa wrote it down. Reading back her words, she puts a cute emoji beside it to show that she is harmless. She does not want to come off rude at least, even though she does not want to interact with any of the transfer students. She at least wants to have a good first impression on the transfer students. She could feel herself wanting to break the mask that she has been hiding for so long at school. The urge to do such a thing is even stronger now when the boy sitting next to her, looks very much alike to someone that she knows. It is almost as if it has been forever since she last saw that face.

Luhan, on the other hand, seems to nod his head to acknowledge her and she seems to be slightly glad that he has yet to see her in the same light that her schoolmates have seen her for the past year. With all of them being in the second year now, she hopes to find a good friend in hopes of being able to share her pain and as well give comfort to someone that may need it as much as she does. Luhan however, seems to be slightly suspicious of her. He seems a bit cautious and wary because unlike the other girls in the class, who are fawning over him when the teacher face the blackboard, she seems to not see him like how the girls seem him. It is a good thing but at the same time, it is also a bad thing because if he were to get attached, it may bring more harm to him and his friends rather than to Alexa.

Alexa has a few attributes that she is proud to have or to have learned amongst her lonely years. She has learnt how to play a few instruments, after getting adopted into a loving family. Her family lives in the states, hence her English name. However, the ethnicity of her family is Korean and they moved to the states to find a better job opportunity for better living conditions. She loves learning something new but after a horrible incident, she rarely opens up to strangers easily. She used to be an easy-going girl and cheerful but, things changed. Being sent overseas with her brother, her parents want her to find herself and at the same time, to heal. On top of all of this, she decided to come to SOPA as a scholarship student. People sometimes have their own secrets that they prefer to not reveal because it is hard to bring it up or uncomfortable to talk about.

As the recess bell rings, the class seems to disperse into the hallways of the school., not knowing that Alexa is still in class. Alexa sighs in relief because Luhan seems to not notice that she was there. During her time with him, he seems to be more fixated with the class rather than her or the textbook which is deemed a good thing for Alexa. The lesser attention, the lesser problems it will bring for her and her life.

Luhan, however, is suspicious of Alexa. He seems to be more cautious and wary of her. Unlike other girls, Alexa does not seem to faze under his gaze. She does not see to fangirl over him like his other new classmates. It makes him more worried. As his train of thought continues, he snaps out of it upon seeing his long-time friend, Suho.

"Suho! It has been a long time since I last saw you! How are you and your family doing?", Luhan asks. 

"They are all doing fine. Anyways... shall we head over to the canteen for some food? At the same time, I can explain some of the rules that we have within our school!" Suho smiles as he pushes the bridge of his glasses up. Luhan seemed to notice Suho's friends who are waiting for them at the end of the hallway. 

"Are they your friends, Suho?"

'Yes, and I would prefer for you to call me Junmyeon because I am... after all the student body president of the school." Suho says with his cheeks turning slightly pink. Suho's friends, on the other hand, seem to be a bit worried as they observe the transfer students from China. To them, they are all handsome and good-looking. Kyungsoo seems to not be bothered, Kai and Baekhyun seem to more energetic that there will be more people to have fun and talk to, Chanyeol seems a bit worried about what the future may hold and Sehun seems to have his eyes fixated on a certain girl. That certain girl is none other than Alexa, who is walking down to the other side of the hallway where there are lesser students.

"Oh my goodness, they are so handsome!"

"They can be compared to angels or even idols."

"I wonder what are their majors in the school! We could even perhaps the same classes as them!"

Alexa seems to be annoyed with the way the crowd is reacting but makes no action to silence them. This is simply because if she were to confront the girls about it it will bring her attention and that is what she would want to avoid. One of the Chinese transfer students however, as if like a shift in the air, he noticed Alexa. If it weren't for her hiding her face and hair under a mask and hoodie, he would have not been able to spot her so easily. Alexa did not seem to notice him as she re-entered the classroom. But that very second, it was as if everything slowed down in life. It was like there were only him and her at that moment. When Lay shook himself out of it, she was already out of sight. It felt surreal to Lay and he felt like time slowed down. He seemed to notice as to how elegant and sophisticated the quite girl brought herself as she walked. The sigh of her felt familiar yet foreign like as if he has met her before.

"Xiumin-Ge... Do you know that girl?", Lay conversed with Xiumin in Mandarin. Lay's eyes somehow fixated on Alexa's back.

"Hmmm... No, maybe we can ask Luhan. He maybe knows that girl." Xiumin says, not bothered since he is starting to feel hungry. Xiumin wants to know what kind of food does the school sell. Xiumin is too excited that Kris seems to sightly smile because knowing his Gege, he would want to eat everything that the school has to offer.

"They are really good-looking maybe I can ask them what is their face routine?", Baekhyun says as he squints his eyes and wears his glasses.

"Not that good-looking.", Sehun says as he tries to look unbothered.

"You are bothered by how handsome they are, aren't you Sehunnie?", Chanyeol said with a chuckle as he continued to read the notes in his hands. Kyungsoo seems to sigh and sighs even louder when he sees Kai daydreaming again.

"Kai, What are you dreaming of this time?", Kyungsoo asks as he looks at him. Kai seems to regain consciousness of where they are.

"N-Nothing!" Kai says as Junmyeon advances towards them with the transfer students, smiling.

"Shall we go for recess? We only have an hour and we still need to queue." 

The sound of chattering and yells fill the air as Alexa silently walks to one of the snack stalls, just to grab a sandwich. Lay seemed to notice her. This time, however, their eyes met for a brief moment but to Lay, it felt like time stilled around them. The way Alexa seemed to carry herself with her elegance and poise, makes a stark contrast compared to the other students within the school.

"Lay Hyung? Lay Hyung! We have been calling for you so many times!", Baekhyun said while pouting as he looks at him. 

"Sorry Sorry... I was daydreaming.", Lay gave a smile as he responded to Baekhyun. He wanted to get to know Alexa more. To him, she perks his interest and curiosity.

"Are you okay Hyung?", Kyungsoo asks with a monotone voice. Yet his eyes seem to show his concern to Lay. Lay gave a genuine smile, in hopes to ease Kyungsoo's worries. 

Alexa seems completely oblivious as to what was happening. Yet, unbeknownst to her and Suho's friends, her life is about to turn around. A storm is brewing up. While walking down the hallways, she seems to be deep in thought. Looking around her in fear if anyone is following her, she silently takes out a necklace from her pocket. The sunlight seems to glimmer beautifully. She holds it up, smiling silently under her mask. To her, it is something that she would protect with her life on the line. The necklace was a beautiful silver yet minimal chain. The pendant is not too big neither too small and is in the design of a snowflake. There are some engravings at the back and it has been with Alexa throughout her life. It holds a deeper meaning to her than just a pendant.

In the canteen, however, there seems to be a commotion amongst the students. A lot of them have been eyeing the new students. 

"Look at the new transfer students~ They all look so attractive~"

"I am so glad to be in this school"

"Do you think they have a girlfriend?"

"Hey... Do you think we are being gossipped by the girls in this school", Tao asks Kris as he looks at him. Kris lets out a scoff and replies.

"Of course. But I don't know how big the extent or how big of an effect of the rumours will be by the end of today." He lets out a sigh because it has happened in their previous school, in China, within the Beijing Province. It is the sister school of SOPA, however, the rules in SOPA do not apply to the sister school. Kris seems to notice Luhan distant, as though he is daydreaming which is a rare sight. Luhan was thinking about a certain someone from his past.

"Luhan? Luhannnn? Luhan!!" Junmyeon called out to Luhan. Luhan immediately snapped out, assuring Junmyeon almost immediately that he is fine.

"I have just been thinking about her..."

"Oh, you mean LinLin? Your childhood friend? and..."

"And?" Baekhyun asked curiously.

"His first love..." Junmyeon said with a smirk. The others seem to have a shock. Kai asked about the age when Luhan had his first love. He said he fell in love at 6 yrs old... with a beautiful girl who was one year younger than him.

"If possible, I would like to meet her soon..." Luhan says with a dreamy sigh. As they continue on their day... Continuing their classes and meeting other students. As the day slowly continues till the next day. Where now all the students are once again at the auditorium for morning assembly. The air seems slightly tense at the students start to pour into the huge room. There seems to be a lingering urgency for seriousness within the air. The Principal seems to be sitting at his seat amongst the teachers, reading a paper and his face shows concerned. Alexa seems to catch on fast and realises that something is going to go down. One of the teachers announces for the incoming students to hurry into the room, which was a rare sight. This implied that whatever the principal will announce today will affect the students or perhaps the system. Alexa sits at the far back, silently, away from the main door where the students enter.

After doing the flag ceremony, the Principal seems to be more serious about the situation as he takes his stand on the pandemonium.

"Students, I have news to bring to you. This year's annual battle against Hanlim will take place 3 months from now, instead of having it a month from now. There... has been a change in the rules. It is good to change however, it will affect us as a whole. The battle now allows students to have different categories, solo, duo, quad and group category. On top of the new rules... Modern Music such as Hip-Hop, Pop and so on are allowed within the battle. This goes the same for performance-wise. The dances will no longer be limited to what used to be implemented. New types of performances are welcomed. On top of that... From today onwards, Music classes for your Majors will be used to prepare yourselves for the upcoming battle. I have learnt recently that some of the students within Hanlim have been learning new performances for a long time. I have fate in my students... So please do your best! The registry for the battle can be done during the Homeroom time." The principal ended off enthusiastically. Alexa starts to worry because that means that the chances of winning may be low.

"Please do your research and come back to your form teachers by next week." He said, walking down the stage, gazing amongst the students. His eyes landed on Alexa and he smiles as he queried whether Alexa would be performing for the battle.

Chatter amongst the students seems to get louder. The transfer students seem to be confused as Kyungsoo had to explain.

"The annual battle normally limits to Traditional or classic category. Not even acoustic. So, in a sense, this means that the chances of us winning may be lower than we think it is." Kyungsoo says, analyzing the situation. The transfer students seem to understand partially as their sister school was different from SOPA. Kyungsoo went on to explain that the students are mostly nobles and none of them is exposed to other dances or other forms of music. Junmyeon agreed with them. Alexa silently got up and left to settle in class, wanting to think about what she can do during the free time that used to be filled.

"Is it a bad thing?", Luhan asked.

"It is..." Chanyeol said dejectedly. Junmyeon knew that things were about to go downhill or either be roller-coaster filled with several obstacles and challenges just for this battle.

Author's Note:

Hello, I am finally back after taking the time off to re-write things about the story. Along the way... I will be re-writing due to my limitation of vocabulary and grammar. I am still trying to improve my language skills. I am very sorry for delaying the release of this chapter. It may be like that with chapter 2 because unlike a couple of years ago... I am a tertiary student so things are getting tougher. Hopefully, you guys can understand the situation. I also hope that you guys liked this chapter! I will try my best to write even more!