"Ah Eomma! I can smell something burning!" Sooyoung shouted while she was running down the stairs. She immediately saw her mom run out from the bathroom and into the kitchen.

"Aigoo your breakfast is ruined!" Sooyoung's mom said while placing the burnt eggs on a plate.

"It's fine mom I'll still eat it." she said trying to comfort her mom. She sat down and started eating.

"I'll be going to work now!" her father said as he approached the two in the dining room.

"But you haven't had breakfast yet?" her mom said causing her to look at her father.

"It's fine, I'll eat something delicious once I'm on my break." he said with a reassuring smile.

"Good luck on your first day sweetie!" He said as he walked of the house.

"Thanks. Well I'm done eating I'll get going now." Sooyoung stood up from her chair and grabbed her bag.

"Will you be alright honey? I mean this is a really big school. I also heard that the kids are ranked by some sort of criteria. I-" she was cut off by her daughter saying "Mom, i'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to some other country. Besides Seulgi is there too. I'll stay by her side if that makes you feel any better." she gave out a smile trying make sure her mom didn't worry too much. She always worries whenever her daughter would transfer to a new school.

"Alright then. I hope you have a good first day! Get there safe." she kissed her forehead and walked with her until the outside of their home and waved each other goodbye.

Sooyoung was on the bus thinking about the new school. She didn't really want to go to this school since the tuition fee was really expensive and her family was in the lower middle class but her parents wanted her to come from a well-known school because they wanted her to have a bright future. She always took the scholar ship exams for the schools she enrolled in which helped lessen the expenses but for this school the expenses felt like they didn't drop at all. Sooyoung let out a sigh as she remembered her father this morning, she knows that he doesn't eat breakfast at home and goes directly to work so that they can save some money. She is thankful that her parent's go to far lengths just so that she could have a good future but she hates seeing them struggle because of it. Sooyoung made sure her parent's efforts weren't wasted.

Sooyoung got off at her stop and headed towards the school. Students entered the school in pairs and groups while Sooyoung was walking in alone, some students gave her a look and others suspected her for being a new student. Sooyoung ignored them and walked in the building and headed to her assigned classroom. Along the way she saw a large screen displaying the ranks of each student. The top 10 were highlighted blue and also had crowns before their number.

"So this must be the rankings mom talked about." Sooyoung said while walking. Still distracted by the rankings, Sooyoung didn't see the person heading towards her direction. Due to the sudden collision, Sooyoung fell on the floor. 

"Ah who the-" Sooyoung stopped mid sentence as she saw a hand in front of her. She saw the student who was offering to help her up. Sooyoung realized he was waiting for her to place her hands on his so that he could help her up and so she did.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." She bowed.

"It's fine. Are you a new student? I don't think I've seen you before." he asked.

"Yeah, I was just heading to my class." Sooyoung brought out her class schedule.

"This one." she pointed at the room number on the paper.

"Ah, that's at the end of this hall right over there." he pointed at the classroom.

"Oh thanks! I'll get going now." she bowed and he started walking in the opposite direction.

"Good job Sooyoung, first day of school and you bump into someone and embarass yourself. Oh wait I didn't get his name."  

She walked into the classroom and saw a few students on their seats while others were talking to one another. A familiar voice called out her name.

"Yah, Park Sooyoung! Over here!" Seulgi yelled getting her attention.

She smiled as she saw her. They've been friends ever since middle school and she is relieved to know that she won't be facing this new school alone.

"Seat over here." Seulgi pointed at the chair beside her and Sooyoung sat down.

"How have you been?" Sooyoung asked.

"Ughh. This school is like hell!" Seulgi whined.

"Woah what makes you say so?" she was surprised by Seulgi's sudden mood change.

"I'll tell you this because you're my friend. You see this isn't your ordinary school. Students are ranked based on a given criteria and I personally hate the criteria they use. The rank itself degrades the students because they 'lack in different areas'." Seulgi air quoted.

"What's the criteria?" Sooyoung asked.

"Well it starts wi-" Seulgi stopped when she saw the teacher walk in. 

The students all rushed back to their seats. Everyone looked so tense some where playing with their pens and others were reciting equations and authors of books to themselves.

"Wait is there a test?"

"Alright class, as you know today is the first day of school and also the day your first ranks are decided. I hope you did your studying." the teacher said as he brought out test papers and started handing them to each student. 

Sooyoung looked at Seulgi with her yes wide. Seulgi was silently apologizing because she didn't tell her that there was the school immediately tested the students intelligence at the first day of school. The teacher hands both of them the test paper.

"Alright, you may now begin."

*After an hour 

"Time's up. Hand in your papers." 

Some students weren't even finished and others stood up and passed their papers. The students then left the class and Sooyoung could hear them talking about the questions in the test. All of them were worrying about their ranks.

"Sooyoung! I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you about this." Seulgi hugged her from the side pouting.

"It's alright Seulgi. Can I ask why they gave us a test on the first day of school?" 

"It's part of the criteria. Intelligence. They test your intelligence on the first day by giving out a test with all the subjects in it." Seulgi answered.

"Arghh I'm ruined! I forgot to study!" Seulgi whined.

"Yah what about me? I didn't even study cause I didn't know about this." Sooyoung said.

"Sooyoung, you're smart. I took a little peak at your test and saw that you answered everything." Seulgi said. 

"Wow. I didn't know you were that kind of person now." Sooyoung teased.

"Ah Sooyoung it's not like that! Come on let's go to the canteen I'm hungry." Seulgi patted her stomach and dragged Sooyoung to the canteen.

The two sat down with their food and started eating.

"So what else is part of the criteria?" Sooyoung asked.

"Thersch Intewigens, Charisha, Pop-"

"Eat your food first geez." Sooyoung stopped her from continuing.

Seulgi drank from her glass of water.

"Sorry. Like I was saying, there is Intelligence, Charisma, Popularity, and Wealth." Seulgi said. Sooyoung paused for a second as soon as she heard wealth.

"How are the rest tested?" Sooyoung wanted to be ready if ever another test was gonna be given.

"They test Charisma and Popularity on the day students are interviewed when they enroll. Charisma is how well you look. If you're pretty or handsome then you have a high score in that part of the criteria. Popularity is all about making a name for yourself. If you're known in this school for any reason at all may it be for something good or bad then your score in that part would be high as well. Finally wealth, this is measured through the enrollment form. They ask you how much your parents make and the more money they make the higher your rank is." Seulgi explained.

"I see." Sooyoung said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Don't worry Sooyoung. The top ten aren't all perfect you know. I know one of them doesn't have a high score in popularity but she is smart and pretty which made her rise up to her rank." Seulgi said trying to cheer up her friend.

"Come on let me see that smile." Seulgi placed each index finger on the endpoints of Sooyoung's lips and moved them upward trying to make her smile.

"There it is!" Seulgi laughed as well as Sooyoung.

"Don't worry Sooyoung-ie I'll be by your side!"

"That's too cheesy even for you." The two laughed once again. Seulgi suddenly stopped when a group of students walked into the canteen. All the other students seemed to stop talking as well and look at the group. Some of the whispers say:

"Hey aren't those the top 10 guys?"

"Yeah I heard that they were the top 10 last year."

"What rank do you think they'll get this year?"

"They're so pretty and handsome."

"They've maintained their ranks for 2 years now. I don't think anyone could beat them."

Sooyoung saw the group and asked Seulgi.

"Who are they? The canteen got quiet all of a sudden when they walked in."

"They're the Top 10 students of this school. Most of them excel in just one of the criteria but the others are known for excelling at all of the criteria." Seulgi replied.

"Ah. Wait what's his name?" Sooyoung pointed at the boy she bumped into this morning.

"Him? That's Lee Hyunwoo. Smart, comes from a wealthy family, in terms of popularity he doesn't really have name here in this school other than being the Top 9, and obviously he has those looks on him. Why do you ask, you like him?" Seulgi nudged Sooyoung.

"No I bumped into him this morning." Sooyoung said whil Seulgi had a shocked expression on her face.

"What? Was he mean to you?" Seulgi asked.

"No he wasn't. Is he supposed to be mean?" Sooyoung asked.

"Well not really. I just heard that some of them are bullies and I wasn't really sure who they were reffering to so I just thought tha-"

"You thought that all of them were bad people." Sooyoung finished the sentence for her.

"Well yeah. But it's true, some of them are bullies." Seulgi said.

"Bullies? Who are you talking about?" the girl standing behind them said.

They turned around and saw three girls standing in a triangle-like formation.

"Oh, I-I-I wasn't talking about you Jennie." Seulgi looked genuinely scared when she was talking to Jennie.

"Really? It sounded like it! There aren't any other bullies here in this school other than us."  The girl on Jennie's left spoke.

"No i-i-it's not like that Jessica." Seulgi stuttered.

"Judging from that stutter of yours, it really sounds like you're lying." Krystal, the girl on Jennie's right, said.

"Please I really didn't mean the things I said." Seulgi said. Most of the students were already watching the scene.

"So you were lying. Well, I'll show you what happens to liars like you." Jennie picked up the milk carton on Jessica's tray. She lifted it on top of Seulgi's head and started pouring down the milk. Sooyoung saw this and smacked away the carton of milk from Jennie's hand.

"What the heck are you doing?" Sooyoung was basically screaming at them.

"Who the hell are you and how dare you hurt my hand!" Jennie said.

"It doesn't matter who I am. Apologize to Seulgi this instant!" Seulgi grabbed Sooyoung's arm, "No Sooyoung don't I'm fine."

"See she even said it herself. She's fine! Come on girls let's go." Jennie said as she left with the two other girls. Sooyoung was about to follow them but Seulgi pulled on her arm and dragged her out of the canteen and into the girls locker room.

Seulgi got out of the shower and was changing into her spare uniform.

"Why did you stop me? I was about to give her a piece of my mind." Sooyoung said.

"That was Jennie. Jennie is the Top 2 of this school. The first rule of this school if you want to survive is to never fight against the top students. A student was driven out of this school last year because she tried to fight them. I don't want you to end up like her. They made her life a living hell. I just hope they won't target you after what just happened a while ago." Seulgi said as she was tying her hair into a ponytail.

"So your telling me I should just let them have their way with every student in this school? Seulgi, you know me well enough to know that I won't let them do that." Sooyoung said.

"I know. Don't worry I'll give you the prettiest flowers on your funeral." Seulgi joked as she hugged Sooyoung from the side. Sooyoung lightly slapped Seulgi's forehead for her joke.

The school bell sounded meaning an announcement was going to be made.

"Attention students! Your rankings have been decided and are now displayed. Have a good day!" the announcement ended.

Sooyoung and Seulgi saw a horde of students running towards the large screen. 

"Oh come on! I even wore my best dress on the interview!"

"How am I lower than my ranking last year? This is bogus man!"

"I just want to be part of the top 10 atleast once!"

"Ughh this year is gonna be a pain in the ."

These are some of the things Sooyoung and Seulgi heard from the students after seeing their ranks.

"Oh 50th rank. What a surprise." Seulgi's sarcasm was evident.

"What was your rank last year?" Sooyoung asked.

"49th." Seulgi said as she started looking for Sooyoung's name.

"Oh wow! I knew you'd be in a high rank! Look!" Seulgi hugged her again and pointed at the screen where Sooyoung's name was.

Sooyoung's eyes widened as she saw her name was on the 13th place.

"13th place!" Seulgi and Sooyoung shouted in unison catching the attention of the other students.

"Ah move out of the way kids 13th place is coming through!" Seulgi was gesturing the other students to move.

"Ya don't do that! I don't want to be treated any differently. Guy's its fine go back to what you were doing." Sooyoung said as she didn't want people to fear her like how other's feared the top 10.

"She's so humble."

"I'm betting that she'll make it into the top 10."

"Will she change when she finally makes it to the top 10, that is the question."

These were some of the student's comments.

"Come on there's one more class before dismissal we don't wanna miss that." Seulgi said.

*After School

"Come on Sooyoung let's celebrate your achievement of being the 13th rank!" Seulgi said.

"I can't I have to go home and help out around the house." Sooyoung said.

"Alright well then I'll see you tomorrow!" Seulgi waved her goodbye and started walking so did Sooyoung.

Sooyoung reached her house and when she opened the door her mother was standing there waiting for her.

"Oh mom how long have you been standing there?" Sooyoung slightly startled by her mom.

"Not important. So tell me what your rank is?" Her mom dragged her to the sofa and both of them sat down.

"Rank. I've heard that word so many times today." Sooyoung covered her ears and started shaking her head.

"Stop overreacting sweetie. Now what is it?" Sooyoung paused for a long moment.

"I got 13th place!" They both jumped and hugged each other.

"I knew my daughter was smart! We need to celebrate. I'll cook something special for this special occasion." her mom said as she rushed to the kitchen.

Sooyoung followed her to the kitchen to help her.

"Mom why were you so curious about my rank? I mean you've been talking about it since this morning." She asked.

"I was talking to our neighbor, Mrs. Lee this morning and the topic somehow went to you going to your new school. She told me all about the ranking system in your school. They said that if you graduated with low ranks, it would affect your chances of getting a job. She also told me the criteria they had and heard that wealth was also part of it." her mom stopped for a brief moment.

"I didn't want you to graduate with a low rank just because me and your father couldn't provide enough for you. You're a talented girl, it would be waste if a label would ruin your chances of getting a job." tears ran through her mom's eyes. Sooyoung hugged her mother with tears also in her eyes.

"Don't worry mom. I'll make sure that won't happen." 

"I'm grateful that I have a daughter like you. Now come on, we need to finish cooking this so that we can eat together when your father comes home." they both wiped the tears and started preparing.

*The next day

"Good morning Ms.13th rank!" Seulgi said as she hugged Sooyoung from her seat.

"Morning."  Sooyoung said.

"I thought about what happened yesterday, you know the canteen incident."

"Yeah what about it?"

"Well, I talked to the other students who share the same class with the top 10 and now I'm gonna tell you what info I've got." Seulgi said as she brought out some papers.

"Alright hit me." Sooyoung said as Seulgi rolled the papers and hit her on the head.

"Ow! No I meant tell me the information you got!" Sooyoung said as she massaged the part of her head.

"Oh sorry. You should be careful with your words. Anyways let's start with number 10. Her name is Chrystal Soo Jung but everyone calls her Krystal. She was one of the girls from yesterday. Her classmates say that her father manages a branch of S.M. Entertainment in America making her pretty wealthy. This made her popular towards student's who aspire to become idols some day. She's a bully, obviously. Her looks also helped her get into the number 10 spot. She isn't smart though." Seulgi read the paper and passed it to Sooyoung.

"Alright, next is number 9. It's the guy you bumped into yesterday right?" Seulgi asked showing her the picture.

"Yeah that's him." Sooyoung said.

"So according to his classmates, wow, he is acutally a nice guy, he helps some of his classmates who are having trouble in their studies. Guess I was wrong about all of them being mean. Let's see oh he is pretty wealthy as well hmmmm well he is handsome too what else...he's entered some competitions in this school but never gets first place. I guess that kinda gave a name for him."  She gave the paper to Sooyoung. 

"You know you could become a private investigator with skills like this." Sooyoung joked.

"Thanks. So next up is top 8. His name is Hansol Choi Vernon, his classmates call him Vernon. Says here he likes competing with the guy who is always on top. Guess he want's to be on the top ranking himself. His classmates say he acts pretty normal. Gets good and high grades as well. His family owns a company in New York wow another rich boy! For a foreigner he does have some good looks. Rumors say he like Ms. top 7 but nothing can confirm this. And...that's it. Not that much I guess." Seulgi passed the paper so her.

"Ah here we go Ms.top 7. I can see why people would think Vernon likes her. She's really pretty. But oh this is heartbreaking, her classmates say she likes Mr. Top 1 awww what a said love triangle we have here." Seulgi said.

"You're enjoying this way too much." Sooyoung commented.

"It's fun. Anyways she excells at everything, wow Ms. top 7 is Ms. Perfect as well. "She seems nice" oh come on what kind of comment is that? I don't want to know if she "seems nice" I wanna know if she really is nice. Let's see oh what? It says here she used to be really good friends with Jennie but something happened and now they became distant. I'm betting my entire allowance for this month that they broke apart because of Jennie." Seulgi said and realized what she said, she immediately looked around and let out a relieved sigh.

"What was that?" Sooyoung laughed seeing how ridiculous Seulgi looked while scanning the area.

"I just made sure my life wasn't in danger." Seulgi said.

"Next up is top 6. Oh her. Well you've already met her." Seulgi showed Sooyoung the picture.

"Oh her. Yeah she was the girl from yesterday too."

"Anyways, she and Krystal are actually sisters but the only thing they don't share in common is that Jessica is actually smart. No wonder she ranked higher than her sister. She's a bully just like her sister and she is part of Jennie's posse. She-" Seulgi stopped seeing the teacher come in. She grabbed the papers from Sooyoung and put them back in her bag.

"We'll continue this during lunch time." Seulgi said.

"Sure." Sooyoung replied.

*After the class

"Yes! Lunchtime! Come on let's get some food." Seulgi dragged Sooyoung to the canteen.

"Why does it feel like you're always hungry?" Sooyoung asked.

"It's part of who I am. I eat a lot but my body refuses to become full nor does it does it become fat. It's a blessing and a curse." Seulgi acted dramatically with those last few words.

"Whatever you say." They started eating and when they finished, they continued the "profiling".

"So yeah let's just skip top 6 you already know enough about her. Let's see...here we go top 5. Wow Visuals. His name is Kim Taehyung and according to his classmates he is actually capable of taking the top 1 ranking since they found out that his IQ is over 190." Seulgi was in awe.

"I wonder why he doesn't take the top ranking spot if he can manage it." Sooyoung said while Seulgi was flipping through the comments.

"Oh here it is. It says that the reason why he isn't at the top place is because he is....lazy. Ok this is just ridiculous if I had his brain I would reign supreme here in this school!" Seulgi started fantasizing about her being the top 1. Sooyoung snapped her fingers in front of Seulgi and sent her back.

"Sorry. Let's move on to-"

"What are you two doing?" Hyunwoo said.

"Ah jesus christ!" Seulgi shouted while trying to hide the papers but one flew out of her grasp and Hyunwoo grabbed it.

"Why do you have profiles of the top 10 students in this school?" Hyunwoo asked.

"It's for research purposes now please give it back and don't tell Jennie." Seulgi pleaded.

"Why? If you guys want to know something about the top 10 you could ask me. I'd be willing to help you out." Hyunwoo said.

"I don't know. Can we trust him Sooyoung?" Seulgi and Hyunwoo looked at her.

"Yeah why not?" Sooyoung responded as Hyunwoo smiled and sat on the opposite side of the table.

"Just promise you won't let all this be known to anyone else but us." Seulgi said.

"Ok sounds fair." Hyunwoo said.

"So can you confirm the things said on top 10 to top 5's profiles? Can you say that they are true cause I got this info from other students." Seulgi asked.

Hyunwoo scanned the papers one by one and placed them down.

"Yeah, they're true. Again why do you need to know all this?" Hyunwoo asked.

"I'm orienting my friend over here about the students who are part of the top 10. No malice at all." Seulgi said raising her hands up.

"So what can you say about Ms. top 4 or as people call her Ms. Bae Joohyun. Holy cow she is beautiful." Seulgi said as she looked back at the picture.

"Well, yeah she has a high score in the charisma part. She is always quiet and mostly spends her time in the library to study if the room gets noisy." Hyunwoo said.

"Wait what room?" Sooyoung asked as she took a sip from her drink.

"Oh me and the other top ranking students all have this room in the school were we spend our break time in. Sometimes we have study sessions but mostly use it to kill time." Hyunwoo replied.

"Interesting. Anything else we should know about her?" Sooyoung asked.

"I think that's about it. So who is next?" Hyunwoo asked.

"Well let's see. Jeon Wonwoo. He is the top 3 right?" Seulgi asked.

"Yup he is. He is the friendliest out of all of us. He is very extroverted I think you could get along with him. He is also known as the school's troublemaker cause he does all sorts of mischievious things like writing "Kick me" on a piece of paper and putting on one of the teachers everyone hates. He isn't really a smart guy but gets passing grades and he also comes from a very wealthy family. I think the Popularity section made him rise to the third rank, his wealth and charisma also helped him attain this rank." Hyunwoo replied.

"So there are a really some of you guys who are part of the top 10 but aren't really geniuses." Seulgi realized.

"Yeah, I mean it's a broken system what do you expect." Sooyoung said.

"It isn't entirely broken. Charisma, Intelligence, Popularity, and Wealth all play a crucial role in life when you finally graduate and get a job." Hyunwoo said.

"I get how Intelligence and Wealth help, but how does Charisma and Popularity help in the real world?" Seulgi asked.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's hard for people to get into a job if they aren't pretty or handsome. It's known issue here in this country since people value physical appearance a lot when hiring. Popularity actually makes students strive harder to make a name for themselves. In the real world, everyone wants to be remembered for something they've done like for example discovering a new element. Popularity helps students become goal-oriented to make a name for themselves some day." Hyunwoo explained.

"So that's what this system is all about." Sooyoung said finally understanding why the system exists.

"I guess that sounds reasonable." Seulgi said.

"Well I gotta go. It was nice meeting you two. Don't worry I won't tell anyone." Hyunwoo got up from his seat and headed out of the canteen.

"Come on let's head to class." Sooyoung said as she grabbed her stuff.

"Wait! He didn't tell us about top 2 and top 1!" Seulgi realized.

"Let's just read the information you have and ask him about it later." Sooyoung said as they both walked to class.

The door slid open and all eyes were on the person going in.

"Oh Hyunwoo. Where have been? You're usually the first one here." Vernon looked up from the textbook he was reading. Beside him was Jisoo who was busy staring at Sungjae who was also studying.

"I had something to take care of. So what are you guys studying?" Hyunwoo walked towards the group and looked at the textbooks.

"Basic Calculus. Which isn't 'Basic' at all!" Jessica said as she fixed her hair.

"I can't understand anything here." Krystal was frustrated as she looked at all the symbols and words that were unfamiliar to her.

"That's because you don't study!" Jisoo while Krystal rolled her eyes at her and looked at the sleeping boy beside her.

"Taehyung get up and teach me. Please!" Krystal was shaking the said boy but he wouldn't budge.

"Can't I'm to sleepy." he said in an almost inaudible way.

"Ah forget this." Krystal took out her phone and started scrolling through instagram.

Everyone at the table except Krystal had their eyes glued to the textbook. Everything was quiet which helped them. Some of them would occasionally ask for help from each other. 

Sungjae got up a few minutes after reading the textbook.

"Leaving already? You barely scanned through the book and you didn't answer any of the sample problems." Jennie said.

"I'm the top 1 meaning I'm the smartest person here. I'll be fine." Sungjae said with a boastful smile on his face.

"Not true. I can beat you any day but I'm too lazy to. Just remember that you weren't always on the top." Taehyun lifted his head for a second and said those words before going back to sleep. This earned some "Oooohh"s from the group. Sungjae's smile dissappeared and left the room. He hates being humiliated like that, he knows that he could be beaten but chooses not to believe that he will be. With all these thoughts in his head he didn't see the person walking in his direction. Due to the collision, the person he bumped into fell.

"Oh come on who i-" Sooyoung whined.

"Watch where you're going will you." Sungjae said as he continued walking.

Sooyoung was furious.

"You little-" She got up and was about to pull on his arm but Seulgi came out of the room and pulled her inside.

"That was way too close." Seulgi let out a sigh of relief.

"What was?" Sooyoung was confused but was mostly thinking about the guy who was rude to her when he bumped her.

"You almost attacked the top 1 student, which is also the son of the dean of this school." Seulgi said frantically.

"Oh. Well thanks for stopping me but I really wanted to pull that guy's hair out. He bumped me and just tells me to 'watch where I'm going'. He doesn't even bother helping me out!" Sooyoung almost yelled in her anger.

"Calm yourself. The best way to get back at him is take over his place then rub it in his face." Seulgi suggested.

"Me? Become Top 1?" Sooyoung pointed at herself while asking.

"Yeah, why not? You're smart, pretty, I think you've made a name for yourself as the girl who stood up to Jennie, and there are some upcoming academic competitions here in school where all the students can participate. If you win those then your rank would surely go up." Seulgi said.

"Wow, that is really smart of you." Sooyoung had open.

"Thanks. I think I'll join you. I'm aiming for the top 20. Think about it. It'll be the highlight of my life. From top 50 top 20." Seulgi started fantasizing about students cheering and shouting her name due to her achievement.

"Seulgi, Seulgi Seulgi, Seul-" she was chanting it to herself until Sooyoung snapped her out of it.

"Then it's settled. We'll help each other raise our ranks higher." Sooyoung and Seulgi high fived each other

*Cue studying montage

*After 2 months

"Students. Your rankings have now been updated. Have a good day." the announcement cued the sound of rapid footsteps and whining as the students saw their rankings.

Sooyoung and Seulgi were trying to squeeze through the hordes of students who were curious to see their grades. They managed to get to the front and quickly scanned the screen for their names.

"Oh.My.God. Sooyoung I think I'm gonna cry. No wait it's already happening." Seulgi had tears forming in her eyes.

"Why did your rank go down?" Sooyoung asked as Seulgi nodded in disagreement as she pointed towards her name. It was at the 15th rank. Sooyoung hugged her best friend and jumped with joy.

"I'm so proud Seulgi! All your hardwork paid off!" Sooyoung cheered.

"I know and it's all thanks to you! Oh what about you where is your name?" Seulgi said. They immediately looked back at the screen to see that Sooyoung's name wasn't in the 13th spot anymore. They dared to look above and saw Sooyoung's name on the 2nd rank spot. The two girls screamed causing most of the students to stare at them.

"You're in the top 2!" after those words left Seulgi's mouth all the students looked at the number 2 spot and started talking about it.

"She beat Jennie? What?"

"Amazing. I wish I had her brain."

"How did she do that?"

"Wait. If she is in the top 2 spot that means..." one student said and as if on cue, Krystal walked forward to the screen and saw that her name no longer had a crown beside it and wasn't highlighted blue. She now on 11th rank spot. Tears formed in her eyes, she looked at Sooyoung. Sooyoung was preparing herself for some trash talk from the girl but was surprised when she heard her say "Congratulations." then leave. Sooyoung was confused, the other day she was there with Jennie who poured milk all over Seulgi and now she is congratulating her? Once the student's went back to their break, Sooyoung tried finding Krystal and found her on the rooftop while she was being comforted by Jessica.

Jessica saw her and her expression immediately changed to pissed off.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica asked.

"I came to see if she was ok." Sooyoung walked towards Krystal but Jessica blocked her.

"No. It's fine." Krystal said while Jessica returned back to her position beside Krystal. Sooyoung sat down in front of the girl.

"Why would you care about me being ok? Aren't you gonna rub it in my face that you beat more than half of the top 10 students?" Krystal asked.

"No. Why would I do that? I wanted to know why you're crying." Sooyoung said.

Krystal paused for a moment while Jessica rubber her back trying calm her down and comfort her.

"I've always been a failure, my grades were never the best part of me. I'm not like her whose smart and our father didn't like that. Then we got into this school. I saw how the system worked and I became top 10 when the year started. I was happy and told my dad about it. He doesn't know the other factors that helped me get to my top 10 spot and I never told him that. I hid it from him because I didn't want him to know that he still has his stupid daughter part of his family. That position was the only thing that kept my relationship with my father healthy and now that it's gone, I don't know what to do."

"I could help you get your grades up if you want." Sooyoung offered.

"Really? But I've been mean to your friend what's her name again? Ddeulgi?" Krystal was confused.

"It's Seulgi but now that I see what you're actually struggling with I want to help you." Sooyoung said.

"You really are something." Jessica said. She was glad that Sooyoung showed an act of kindess towards her sister even if they were bullies to her friend.

*After a few days

"Are you really sure we're allowed to go in this room?" Seulgi asked as they were heading to the room where the top 10 usually stay to study.

"Yeah. You'll be fine. Hopefully." Jessica said as she opened the door.  Jennie was the first to notice that Seulgi and Sooyoung were with Jessica and Krystal.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Jennie said as she got up from her seat.

"They're gonna help me study. So please don't do anything to them Jennie."  Krystal said. Jennie walked out of the room and bumped Sooyoung's shoulder on the way out.

"Well, come. Have a seat." Hyunwoo said as he motioned for them to sit down.

"Alright so let's get started the test next week is all about Derivatives so I'll teach you that." Sooyoung said as she looked at Krystal.

"Alright let's start." Krystal was enthusiastic about studying for the first time which shocked some of the members.

"Wow Krystal is actually going to study. I'll give you my bracelet if you beat me in the test next week." Jisoo said.

"You're on." Krystal accepted the challenge and started listening to Sooyoung as she was discussing to her everything she was confused with.

During the study session, Joohyun looked up from her notes and spoke. "Sooyoung, can you help me answer this problem? I got stuck." She said in a soft tone causing some of the members to look at her. "What?" she looked at them with a confused expression.

"Sure. Krystal try answering those sample problems in the mean time." Sooyoung got off her chair and went stood beside Joohyun as she explained to her where she got stuck. Sooyoung analyzed and explained what she needed to do before getting to the final answer.

"Oh is that it? Thanks." Joohyun said as she slightly bowed towards Sooyoung.

"No problem." Sooyoung got back to her seat and saw that Krystal was finished with the problems. She reviewed them and saw that all of them were correct.

"Wow. You got all the questions right!" Sooyoung said while Krystal flipped her hair and turned her head towards Jisoo.

"What can I say." she said making the group laugh.

"But really, thanks for helping me." Krystal said.

"It's nothing. I'd be happy to help you guys if you need any help." Sooyoung said.

"You're getting the greatest help you can. She helped me go from rank 50 to rank 15." Seulgi said while some of them were amazed.

"I want some of that help. Maybe I can finally beat Sungjae." Vernon said as he looked at Sungjae who still had his eyes glued on the book but still said "In your dreams."

"Hey what's going on in here?" Wonwoo asked as he just walked in.

"Sooyoung's teaching us. Come on join us." Jessica said.

"No thanks. I have devised another one of my genius plans." Wonwoo said.

"You mean you thought of another prank." Taehyung said.

"Yes. It involves Mayo, ketchup, and-" 

"I don't wanna hear it just make sure that you don't get expelled with this prank of yours." Krystal said.

The last bell rang signaling all the students that it was time for them to go home. Everyone went ahead while Sooyoung just finished placing her things in her bag and headed outside the school. She was at the school gate's when she saw Jennie and an older woman, her mother perhaps, talking.

"What is the meaning of this? How could you move down a rank? You've been 2nd place all your life. I knew you were too pathetic to beat Sungjae but I didn't think you'd let yourself be beaten by some girl who just transferred to this school!" her mom was furious.

"But mom I-" Jennie tried to speak but got slapped by her mom. 

"I don't want to you to show yourself in front of me unless you get the top rank." Jennie's mom got into the car and drove leaving Jennie behind. Jennie had tears in her eyes and turned around to see Sooyoung standing there.

"Go ahead. Say it. Rub it in my face!" Jennie yelled while more tears came out. Sooyoung approached her and pulled her into a hug she let Jennie cry on her shoulder and waited until she finally calmed down.

"Are you alright now?" Sooyoung asked as she removed her arms around Jennie.

"Why?" Jennie asked as sniffled.

"I've seen enough to know that you're struggling and that you also held that position dear to you. I'm sorry." Sooyoung bowed.

"It's fine, my mom has always been that way. I've done everything to try and please her and she has never been satisfied. I feel somewhat free now that she isn't on my tail anymore so I should be thanking you." Jennie bowed.

"Well, I'll get going now. See you tomorrow." Jennie said.

"Wait what about your mom?" Sooyoung asked recalling that her mom didn't want to see her.

"All she said was that I didn't show myself in front of her. So I'll make sure she doesn't see me when I enter the house. Come on Sooyoung I thought you knew how I'd solve this problem." Jennie said as she waved goodbye while Sooyoung smiled.

The door slid open and the members start filling up the room.

"I did it! I passed an exam!" Krystal was showing everyone her score on the math test and when she showed Jisoo she said "Congratulations, but its not enough to beat my score." Jisoo said as she raised her test paper showing that she got 93/100 which beats Krystals 80/100.

"How about you guys what did you get?" Krystal asked.

"90" Hyunwoo said while taking a seat

"92" Vernon said while raising up his test paper proudly.

"94" Seulgi, Jessica,Jisoo, and Joohyun said in unison. 

"97. Come on people let me hear you scream." Jennie placed her test paper on the table.

"Same. 97." Sooyoung placed her test paper on the table.

"You weaklings." Sungjae placed his test paper on the center of the table and everyone saw that he got a score of 99.

"Wow, I can see that your only mistake was the negative sign." Taehyung said causing some ''Ooohh"'s from some of the members.

"How 'bout you? Let's see what you got. You just slept the entire time we were studying." Sungjae was once again pissed cause he got roasted by Taehyung.

Taehyung placed his test paper on the table and showed everyone his perfect 3 digit score.

"Should I start sleeping during lectures like you so that I could beat Sungjae?" Vernon joked.

The chatter died down when the door suddenly opened. They saw their math teacher standing in the doorway.

"Oh you're all here good." Mr. Lee walked towards them and placed down a flyer on the table and everyone looked at it.

"Math competition?" Vernon said.

"Yes. We need four students to represent our school and since you all have gotten high grades on this week's math exam I need some of you to participate. So who would want to join?" Mr. Lee waited for them to respond.

"I'll join the competition." Sungjae raised his hand.

"Ok great now three more who else wants to participate." 

"Me. I wanna give it a shot." Jennie stood up from her chair.

"I'll join too." Sooyoung raised her hand. Seulgi gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright now I just need one more person to join." Mr. Lee looking at the rest of the members with hopeful eyes.

Taehyung raised his hand. "I'll join." most of them gasped when he said those words.

"Great. The competition is next week Monday so I hope you'll do your best." Mr. Lee said.

"But sir, today is Friday. You're saying we only have 2 days to study for the competition?" Jennie asked.

"I'm really sorry guys but the competition was just a sudden thing. If it helps, all the schools that are competing were always given this information today. So good luck!" Mr. Lee dashed out of the room.

"2 days? Are guys gonna be alright?" Seulgi asked.

"Come on the competition is basically over with Taehyung with them." Vernon said.

"They can't just rely on him idiot." Jisoo smacked Vernon's arm.

"Well, what are we waiting for. Let's get started." Jennie said.

*cue studying montage.

*The day of the competition.

All the groups were seated together. Each school was cheering for their respective teams and the screams could be heard from the seats. 

"For a math competition, there sure are a lot of people watching." Jennie said as she looked at the amount of people in the area.

"Hey look, they're over there!" Sooyoung pointed towards her friends who started waving and cheering for them while they were taking their seats. They held out a huge banner wishing them good luck.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen please settle down as we are about to begin this years Mathematics competition." the host spoke into the microphone as the audience became quiet.

*The final question

"Now for the final question, winner takes all. Ready. Go." The question was flashed onto the screen and all the contestants started solving it on their papers. Taehyun woke up from his nap, he had slept for three rounds but the group was too busy focusing on the question to wake him up. Taehyung looked at the screen for 2 seconds and pressed his teams buzzer. Jennie, Sooyoung, and Sungjae were in a state of panic.

"Yes group 4 your answer please." The announcer asked. 

"47 feet." Taehyun spoke. Everyone was holding their breath while waiting for the announcer to declare wether his answer was right or not.

"Your answer is...Correct! Group 4 takes home the win everyone please put your hands together for group 4!" their school cheered loudly for them while the rest of the audience clapped.

"Yeah we won!" Sooyoung said as they all raised the trophy.

"Come on group picture!" the teacher said as he made all the students go up on stage while the entire group was at the center with Taehyun holding the trophy. The photographer positioned himself and took their picture.

Charisma, Intelligence, Wealth, and Popularity. All of these things are important and are considered the most important traits of a king must possess to lead his people but his citizens would only listen to him if he has a good relationship with them otherwise his kingdom would fall.