Sitting amongst other students in that well ventilated room, Mina couldn’t shake Kai’s voice from her mind. She could almost feel his breath grazing her ears. Unconsciously, she combed her hair with her fingers – covering her bear neck and ear. She’s painfully aware of the stares from her classmates but she just decided to ignore them. Let them stare as much as they want. They must be curious about the new girl who had the guts to push Kai away.

Back at the lobby, when Kai did what he did, Mina found herself pushing him hard enough to make him stumble backwards. There were gasps here and there when she did that. Gutsy – that’s what Kai muttered after what she did. He looked amused and she hated how he grinned at her before walking away. What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he picking on me? She internally grunted, unconsciously crumpling the paper in her hand.

And what is taking the professor so long? Mina looked in front, trying to be calm as possible. Just like in cue, the door came open and a pretty lady with long, black hair entered. She was holding nothing but a single marker. She looked barely Mina’s age. The lady stood behind the teacher’s table before scanning the classroom with a small smile on her face.

“Nice to see you again, class. How was your weekend?” she asked and Mina guessed that she’s one of those professors who are close to their students. She had a couple of professors like that back at her former school. The class replied with various answers.

“That’s Professor Seo Joohyun.”

Mina gasped. She turned to her right and realized that the girl from the lobby was the one sitting beside her. She was still wearing her sunglasses. How could she not realize that sooner? “Uhmm, what’s your name again? I was not able to ask you awhile back,” Mina asked, little bit embarrassed that she was not able to ask the girl earlier.

“Hwang Sia,” the girl whispered.

“Nice to meet you, Sia. My name’s Mina, Han Mina.”

They both exchanged small smiles before Sia leaned closer towards her. “I can lend you my notes if you want to borrow them. I’ve been taking down notes diligently so I’m sure that you can cope with the lesson in no time.”

Mina felt her heart jump in joy just by thought that someone’s finally reaching out to her. “Thank you. I really appreciate that,” she stated, smiling. With a light heart, the class finally started. Professor Seo is a better teacher than her Developmental Psychology professor back in her old school. Professor Seo’s explanations are way simpler yet more understandable.

She was taking Psychology at her former school. Being aware of that, Yunho enrolled her in that same course. Why Psychology? Why not? Humans are interesting. She wants to learn about people – their behavior. With her ability to see what others are thinking about, she thought that it’s the course that fits her.

One and a half hour of class went by so fast. When the bell rang, all of the students were in a hurry to get out of the class and go to their next classes. Mina checked her schedule and realized that she has no subject for the next hour. “You also don’t have a next class?” Sia asked when she saw Mina’s schedule. The latter looked at the shorter girl.

“Yeah. You too?”

Sia nodded immediately. “Do you want to check out the cafeteria?”

That invitation actually sounded great. “Sure. Lead the way,” Mina replied before picking her bag from her seat. They got out of the building and walked through a very pretty courtyard. They entered into the next building which has a very modern design. Mina looked up at the captivating chandelier. Everything’s just so extravagant.

“This is the Kim Building,” Sia informed when she saw Mina looking around in fascination. “The buildings here are named after the founders of this university. From what I learned, the Han Building is the oldest one in the entire university.” As they walked to the cafeteria, Sia continued informing Mina about the university.

With her sunglasses on, Mina can’t read Sia’s mind but that didn’t bother her at all. Mina could just feel that she’s different from the others. Sia’s dressed simply just like her. Her mahogany colored hair was tied with a ponytail. She has a smaller physique than Mina and the latter felt like Sia’s going to be blown away if there’s a sudden gush of strong winds.

When they got inside the cafeteria, Mina couldn’t hide her surprised expression. She couldn’t believe they’re still in a school because of the interior of the place. The tables were lined up prettily in a row and most of them were already taken by students waiting for their classes. “I’m actually hungry because I did not eat breakfast. How about you?” Sia looked at Mina, waiting for her reply.

Mina could feel her stomach rumbling. Just like Sia, she was not able to eat breakfast. “Me too,” Mina answered. She followed her new friend to the counter and they started stacking food on their plates. Hers looked like the Pisa Tower. Carefully, they walked to the empty table and took their seats. Sia started digging on her food and she did the same.

“How did you know Kai?”

Mina almost spat her food when Sia suddenly asked her that question. “Well-” she paused, wiping her lips with a tissue. She was not sure if it’s okay to tell Sia about the kiss. “-we just bumped into each other and he told me his name. I really don’t have a nice impression of him.” That was a half lie. The last sentence is true though.

“It’s not really a surprise though. Because of the rumors, students here stay away from him as much as possible.”

“What kind of rumors?” Mina found herself being curious about who Kai is which is actually weird. Sia looked around as if she was about to say something top secret.

“There are stories going around that he’s killed some people before.” Sia watched Mina’s reaction before she leaned back. “There’s no evidence to back those stories though. From what I observed, he’s not much of a jerk. He comes to class and he does not seek fights. I don’t think he’s much of a problem compared to the Ace,” Sia shrugged before shoving a spoonful of her food inside .

Mina almost scoffed at the idea of Kai not being a jerk. As far as she’s concerned, he is one. Something about what Sia said caught her. “What is the Ace?” she asked, sounding really curious.

“It’s who. Ace is the title given to one of the members basing on their skills. I don’t really know how they rank their abilities. The Royals are so exclusive.The Ace this year is Byun Baekhyun. You saw him this morning. He’s the one with blonde hair. Trust me, you don’t want to find yourself in his company. I don’t understand why many girls find him attractive.”

Blonde? That guy? Mina realized that he was one of those guys who were there that afternoon and she was sure that he was the one who was grinning while Kai was being pulled away from her. “So there’s a ranking among them?” She’s just getting even more curious as time passes by.

“Yes. The King is Kim Junmyeon. It’s his third year in that position. Suho, that’s what they call him.”

Suho. The guy with grayish hair?

“The Jack, basically the right hand of the King, is Oh Sehun. I did not see him this morning. And the most unpredictable of them all, the Joker, is Kai. I haven’t been here for a long time so I don’t really know that much about them or how their group functions.”

In the midst of absorbing everything that Sia just told her, Mina became aware of how Sia’s been fixing her sunglasses. She deliberated if it’s okay to ask Sia about it. She decided to go for it. “Why are you wearing sunglasses anyway? Are your eyes okay?”

Sia uncomfortably shifted on her seat. Mina regretted right away what she did. “I’m sorry. I-”

“It’s okay.” Sia adjusted her sunglasses once again. “It’s just that…I can’t get used with my ability just yet. It’s been a year since it showed up and I’m having a hard time adjusting. My parents told me that it’s just normal but I still feel weird. My ability’s not constant though. Sometimes I can use it but sometimes I can’t. I’m just wearing sunglasses as a precaution.”

Look