A bell rang throughout the school grounds. It came like a morning call to the students’ sleeping energies; everyone rushed outside to play. Except you. You stood up from your desk and looked out the window of your classroom. Pfft. Why does everyone has a friend already?, you thought to yourself. It’s only been a week since the school term started and everyone is hanging out with each other already. While you, on the other hand, doesn’t even have one single friend. Why? Because you’re a new student. An outcast. That’s why no one dares approach you first.

You took a deep breath and decided to go out there. Let’s try making friends. What could go wrong, right?

I am Kwon Soojin, 11 years old, and friendless. I just moved to this school last week and I am having so much trouble adjusting. This is not my first time changing schools though, but this is the first time I couldn’t find anyone to talk to. Maybe it’s because of the news. Or is it the rumor. I don’t know anymore.

You see, my father is the Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea. Great, right? Yes, I am his daughter, but my mother is not his wife. He “accidentally” had me. But my mother and I were living peacefully, we were happy even if it’s just the two of us. My father sends money every now and then, so we were alright with that arrangement. Until she died because of a tumor when I was 7 years old, and my father was forced to take me in. I can still remember my stepmother’s shouting vividly than my own mother’s voice.

I never lived in their house. I lived in a separate house far away from the “royal family”, as I call it. Ever since they took me in, I was trained not to tell anyone about who I am and my real identity, as this would harm my father’s reputation. At that time, even if I was very young, I understood the situation. I clearly understood, that I’m a black sheep, and I’m not really a part of this family.

I reached the grounds and approached my classmates who were playing tag. “Can I join?”, I asked bravely.

My classmates stopped running and looked at me, then looked at each other. After a few seconds they reluctantly agreed but tagged me as the “it”. I ran fast so I quickly tagged one of my classmates. I was laughing and having quite some fun until the one I tagged suddenly stopped and shouted, “Ya! You’re no fun!”

I was so surprised and even looked around to check if he was referring to me. I got the confirmation as he pushed me to the ground.

“You think you’re good because you run fast?!”, he said.

At this point, I couldn’t even focus my eyes because of the bright sunlight but I can hear what they say around me. I stood up and looked at him in the eye.

“You’re just slow.”, I said.

I immediately regretted saying it after because he pushed me again. But I managed to hold on to his jacket and he fell with me. I was about to punch him but he grabbed me by my hair, “Ow!”, I flinched.

“YA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”, a boy shouted.

We both stopped and looked at the boy. Well, looked at the boys. There were two boys running towards us, a tall one and a slim one.

The tall one held me and helped me stand up while the slim boy pulled my classmate off me.

“Are you crazy?!”, the slim boy asked my classmate.

“I-I’m sorry. She was teasing me. She said I run slow!”, my classmate pointed a fat finger at me.

“You do.”, the tall one, who was still holding me, answered. Everyone who was watching snickered. He continued, “Listen up everyone, she is our friend. If you dare fight her again, you have to go through us first.” Everyone ooh-ed at the sudden show of bravery and my classmate was looking down on the ground.

I am still speechless by what was happening in front of me so I let the two boys lead me back into the school. They led me at the far back of the school, where a small greenhouse stood. When we entered, I was shocked by what I saw. The greenhouse was filled with beautiful flowers of almost all kinds, the plants are very green and the greenhouse smells nice.

My first words were, “I didn’t know the school has this.”

“Neither does the school.”, the slim boy answered. “We both wanted a greenhouse, and we told the school no one should know about it or enter it.” I turned around and looked at the two boys standing in front of me. “Who are you to order the school?”, I questioned.

The two boys looked at each other and nodded. The slim boy walked towards me and extended a hand, “I’m Wonwoo.” I didn’t take his handshake, but instead looked at the other boy. “And you?” I watched him walk towards me and offered his hand, “Mingyu.”

“Soojin.” I took both of their hands and shook them at the same time. “Thank you, for what you did back there… But I was about to punch him!”, I added.

I thought Mingyu and Wonwoo would be angry at what I said, but they smiled. Wide smiles.

“I know, right? It’s the first time we saw a girl about to punch a boy! Usually girls cry whenever boys push them, but not you! You stood right back up and looked at him straight in the eye.”, Mingyu recalled excitingly while doing some reenactment.

“We chose the right friend.” Wonwoo said happily while looking at me.

Friend? I thought. They called me a friend.

“I’m your… friend?”, I asked, not believing what I heard.

“From now on, you are our friend. We chose you, and there’s no turning back, understood? We’ll protect you.”, Mingyu is holding his pinky finger up, waiting for me to close the bond. Wonwoo laughed and slapped Mingyu’s hand away. “Welcome to our greenhouse.”, he said while smiling at me.

For a friend, I went out to play at the school grounds and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to be. But sometimes, the unexpected is so much better… I gained two lifetime friends.