"You're about to meet the Roses."

Upon hearing Dahyun's words, Chaeyoung couldn't help noticing that her heart was beating faster in anticipation. She was about to meet the three most popular students of her new school. Granted, she had apparently grown up with one of them, to the point that she could call Jeongyeon "unnie". Nevertheless, she was excited to see the other two Roses up close.

As Jeongyeon approached, she grinned wide at Chaeyoung, then abruptly stopped in her tracks and squinted at the bench nearby. "Oy!" yelled Jeongyeon. She started to run, leaving her two companions behind.

"Yoo Jeongyeon!" called the shorter one. "No running in school!" 

"Momo!" shouted Jeongyeon in exasperation. She grabbed the sleeping girl's shoulder and shook hard.

Momo continued to face the back rest of the bench as she grumbled, "I said five more minutes, Jeongyeonnie. Let me sleep."

"It isn't time to sleep, Momo. It's lunchtime! I've been looking for you everywhere. You and Sana missed the council meeting," scolded Jeongyeon, pulling Momo's arm and forcing her to sit upright. "You were supposed to present the plans for the freshman welcoming ceremony!"

Seeing that Jeongyeon was having trouble getting Momo to sit up straight, Chaeyoung helped her by adjusting Momo's legs over the edge of the bench. Now, she was finally able to see Momo's face through a veil of disheveled light brown hair. Momo had prominent cheekbones that would have given her a stern appearance. But the innocent shine in her confused eyes and her sleepy half-smile made her seem quite friendly and approachable.

"Ehhhhhhhhh," whined Momo, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. "I told Sana to tell you guys that I needed to sleep. She was supposed to present instead of me."

"Well, she never showed up to the meeting either, so we came looking for both of you."

The other two Roses had arrived. They stood beside Jeongyeon with amused expressions on their faces. The one who had spoken was the smaller of the two. She had large, bright eyes and a calm smile. Her tanned skin made a nice contrast with her dyed ombre hair. She was also the one who had called out to Jeongyeon to stop running earlier. The other Rose was taller by an inch or so. While the first Rose gave off a calm, composed aura, this one seemed bubbly and energetic. Her large front teeth were prominent and gave her an almost bunny-like appearance.

"Nayeonnie! Jihyonnie!" Upon noticing that all three Roses were in front of her, Momo straightened her back and seemed to wake up completely. She struggled in vain to fix her messy hair and gave up with a defeated sigh.

"So, Momo," said the second Rose in a cheery tone. She reached out to ruffle Momo's already disheveled hair playfully. "Had a good nap?"

"Ehhhhhhhh, Nayeonnie, don't make it worse!" groaned Momo, without bothering to resist as Nayeon messed her hair up even more.

"Nayeon, stop, you're making it worse!" Jeongyeon cried. She stepped behind the bench, pulled a comb out of her pocket, and started to fix Momo's hair. As if this was the usual routine, Momo sat perfectly still and let Jeongyeon brush her hair like she was a doll.

The first Rose turned to Chaeyoung, Dahyun, and the other girl. "Thank you for finding our missing member. We've been looking for her for a while." She paused, glanced at Jeongyeon, then turned back to Chaeyoung. "You must be Son Chaeyoung. Jeongyeon has told us so much about you. My name's Park Jihyo." She shook Chaeyoung's hand enthusiastically, then turned to her other companion. "This is Im Nayeon."

Nayeon grinned at Chaeyoung, further revealing her adorable buck teeth.

Chaeyoung realized she hadn't spoken yet. She collected herself and bowed slightly in respect. "Nice to meet you! This is my classmate, Kim Dahyun, and..." Chaeyoung realized she didn't know the name of the tall girl standing nearby. She looked at her with a puzzled expression.

The girl spoke softly, "Chou Tzuyu."

"Chou Tzuyu...?" Nayeon paused to recall something. "Chou Tzuyu... Ahhh!" She clapped her hands excitedly and continued, "You're the foreign exchange student from Taiwan! We've been discussing who to assign as your guide at meetings!"

Tzuyu, completely unaware of why a bunch of upperclassmen were talking about her at meetings, only tilted her head in confusion.

"You're confusing her!" chided Jihyo with a short laugh. She explained to Tzuyu, "Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and I are members of the student council here. We're in charge of assigning guides to the foreign students, so you can have someone to show you around school and the city on weekends."

The two Roses glanced back at the pair by the bench. Jeongyeon was still combing Momo's hair, muttering under her breath about the tangles, while Momo seemed to have fallen asleep again, her head only kept up by the tug on the comb. Nayeon burst out laughing and said, "Actually, at the last meeting, we finally decided to assign Momo as your guide. It's a good thing that you met each other already!"

Tzuyu glanced at Momo, who sat perfectly still, as Jeongyeon fluttered around her like an anxious mother, straightening her uniform and trying her necktie. Tzuyu looked back at the Roses and bluntly said, "Is it too late to request a change?"

Chaeyoung couldn't help laughing at Tzuyu's honesty. This girl seems interesting, she thought. Dahyun managed to stifle her laughter, but only barely. The Roses, Nayeon and Jihyo, chuckled; they had not been offended by Tzuyu's request at all.

"Unfortunately, she's the only one in the council that can take care of you right now," explained Jihyo. "Our other two junior members are in charge of other events."

Giggling, Nayeon added, "You might have actually be doing us a favor, by taking care of Momo for us! You'll be saving Jeongyeon some headaches, that's for sure."

"Who'll be saving me from headaches?" asked Jeongyeon. She and Momo had left the bench and joined the conversation.

"Chou Tzuyu," introduced Jihyo. "Momo, this is the foreign exchange student you'll be showing around. Take good care of her."

"Ehhhhhhhh?" exclaimed Momo, looking at Tzuyu from top to bottom. "You said the girl was going to be a freshman!"

"I am a freshman," said Tzuyu softly. Chaeyoung's and Dahyun's jaws dropped, since they had assumed she was at least a year above them. How can she be a freshman? I'm barely up to her shoulder! Chaeyoung could barely even process Tzuyu's height at the moment.

"There you have it!" laughed Jeongyeon, slapping Momo on the back. "You have a freshman to take care of, Momo! You're an unnie now! Even if she's taller than you."

Everyone laughed at Jeongyeon's joke, then jolted when the bell rang throughout the school, signaling the end of lunch period. Jihyo checked her watch and cried, "Whoa, it's already one o'clock. Back to class, everyone! Nayeon, Jeongyeon, we have to stop by the principal's office for a short meeting." She addressed the freshmen before you, "You girls, head back to your classrooms already. Tzuyu, you can go with Chaeyoung and Dahyun. Your classrooms are on the same floor."

As the Roses walked away, Jeongyeon called back to Chaeyoung, "Tell me about your day later!"

Chaeyoung, Dahyun, and Tzuyu walked quickly back to the school building. There was no time to chat. As they climbed the stairs to the third floor, they had to stop, because a small crowd of students had gathered at the landing. 

What is going on here?