The first time Hoseok saw her, they were both seven. He vividly remembered dumping a pail of sand on her head – by accident, of course – and then running away from his mother, chasing after him with a stick. According to her, it took weeks to get all the sand out of her hair. After that, Hoseok remembered wrestling with Sehun, and then crashing into the table in the art room, sending paint splattering everywhere – including her face and hair. To his intense embarrassment, their entire elementary school days were marred with accidents, mostly concerning her hair – bubble gum, getting it trapped in his backpack's zipper, you name it, it probably happened.

That's why Hoseok could barely believe his eyes when, on the first day of his third year of attending Seoul Arts High School, an all-too-familiar face with thick curly hair appeared. Except it took a while for him to recognize her... she had changed. Gone was the little girl who cried in fear of what might happen to her hair every time he came near. Her facial features had become sharper, yet her cheeks were still slightly chubby, and she had large dark eyes, veiled by thick eye lashes. But what made him recognize her for sure was the six dimples that appeared on her face when she smiled – three on each side.

It was her, Bada.

Unbidden, the memory of their first meeting flashed across his mind. They were at kindergarten, and she was stacking brightly-coloured blocks, her curly hair tied up in pig tails.

"Bada!" a little girl beside her cried. "Lookee!"

"Badass?!" Hoseok was shocked that there were parents who would name their child that – he had heard the high schoolers in the bus call each other that, and when he repeated it at home, his mother scolded him and said it was a bad word. Unfortunately, the other children heard him, and burst out into laughter. "Badass! Badass!"

The little girl turned to Hoseok, her lower lip jutting out. Hoseok felt bad, but at the same time, he felt like a genius – what he had mistakenly heard made the entire classroom ring with laughter, despite the teacher's attempts to quiet them.

"Badass!" he said again, feeling even more proud when everyone laughed harder.

Crack!

A wooden block collided with his head, and the teacher dragged both him and Bada out in the hallway where they had to apolgize to each other.

Hoseok wondered whether Bada could remember this incident – people had called her Badass for a very long time after that. At the time, Hoseok found it funny, but now he felt slightly guilty. Poor Bada...

"Hoseok?!" a surprised and delighted voice called out. "Is that you?"

The girl with long curly hair made her way to him, followed by three other girls – Soo Mi, wearing new glases, Haru, her blue eyes which made everyone do a double take and asked if they were real, looking more striking with eyeliner, and Naeun, long dark hair tied back neatly, all three of them curiously asking how she was able to recognize him.

"We went to elementary school together!" Bada replied. "Hoseok, wow, it's you!"

"Badass!" Hoseok said, just as happily as her. Realizing what he said, he gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth as the three girls laughed, and his friends behind him repeated the word as though it were a brilliant joke. "I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "Damn, why am I-"

"It's ok, Hoseok," said Bada, but Hoseok thought he heard a frosty undertone. He glanced at his friends, desperate for them to bail him out. Sure enough, Namjoon was the first to stop laughing and he held out his hand. "I'm Namjoon," he said. "And I'm quite sure your name isn't Badass – Hobi here has a knack for ruining things, doesn't he?"

"Yeah!" Yoongi joined in. "He's a huge clumsy bum."

Hoseok went red – they weren't supposed to bash him!
 

"He had a knack for ruining my hair," Bada said, laughing slightly. "And everything of mine which he touched."

"Wow!" said Naeun. "He's a literal walking disaster!"

"You better stay away from him then," Soo Mi joked, and Haru dramatically threw herself between Bada and Hoseok, as though she were a shield.

"So anyway," said Naeun. "As class leader, I'm supposed to introduce you. Everyone, this is Choi Bada. This is Namjoon -" she pointed to the tallest one, with a strong jawline, and when he smiled, two deep dimples appeared. "-this is Yoongi-" the shortest boy gave her a gummy smile. "-and you already know Hoseok and us, and I'll introduce you to the others when they come. Ah and wait, I heard there will be a foreign exchange student as well..." Naeun looked around expectantly, as though the foreign exchange student would appear out of thin air.

Perhaps it was just as well, because when she saw an unfamiliar boy standing quietly in front of the classroom – he had large, brooding dark eyes, and beautifully defined features, she grabbed Soo Mi and Bada's arms. "See that!" she whispered. "Oh, my..."

"It must be the new foreign exchange student," said Haru. "Wow, he's handsome!"

"Back off!" hissed Naeun. "You already have a billion boys you drool over!"

"Really?" asked Bada, sounding amused. "How do you keep track of them all?"

"I have a very big heart," replied Haru, as though stating a fact.

Bada was about to ask more, when the girls suddenly fell silent and jumped to attention.

"Good morning, Teacher Noh!" Naeun, Soo Mi and Haru chorused.

Bada turned around hurriedly to see a tall woman with a no-nonesense face coming their way, and quickly said a good morning of her own.

"Good morning, girls," the teacher said briskly. "I take it you all ate a lot and passed out the entire vacation?"

"Of course!" the three girls answered, grinning, and Bada wondered if the teacher would approve. Surprisingly, she did. "Good, so that means your brain is ready for action again."

"But teacher, Haru lost her brain!" Naeun recieved a sharp jab in the ribs and the four girls giggled.

"We'll find it," said Teacher Noh, smiling. Her eyes fell upon Bada – an unfamiliar face. "You are a new student, aren't you?"

Bada quickly introduced herself, and the teacher patted her on the shoulder, telling her not to hesitate if she had questions regarding the class. "I hope you will have a good influence on these three girls," she finished.

"I'll try my best!" Bada grinned, and the teacher finally noticed the quiet boy behind them all.

"You are also a new student, aren't you?" she called out, and the boy shyly came forward and nodded.

"My name is Yang Yang," he said, his voice soft.

"Ah, the foreign exchange student!" Teacher Noh beamed. "I hope you're enjoying your time in Korea. These are a few of your classmates, and this is Naeun, the class president. She will show you around the school, and I've assigned you both seats together."

Nauen looked as though her birthday had come early. "It will be my pleasure!" she exclaimed.

Yang Yang seemed slightly taken aback at such enthousiasm, and befrore anyone could introduce themselves to him, the teacher told them to go in the classroom and take thier seats. The boys were already there, and out of habit, the first thing Teacher Noh said was, "Yoongi, chewing gum is forbidden in class."

The boy with tousled dark hair scowled and got up to spit out the gum.

Haru rolled her eyes. "You would think," she whispered to the three girls. "That after so many years, he'd get the rules in his stupid head."

"Does he chew gum in class often?" Bada asked in a low voice.

"All the time!"

"Take your seats, please, girls!" Teacher Noh reminded them. "Bada, your seat is there." She pointed to where Yoongi had been sitting before he went to spit his gum – no doubt she thought the new girl could maybe have a good influence on him.

Naeun took her seat at the front of the class, and Teacher Noh directed a fidgeting Yang Yang to sit beside her. Naeun looked as though her birthday and Christmas had come early. Haru and Soo Mi went to the back of the class, pleased to sit together once more – every year, they shared desks, passing little messages under the table.

"Hello," said Bada, sitting down.

"Hi," Yoongi said briefly.

Getting the message that he wasn't really talkative, Bada fell silent. Anyway, right afterwards Teacher Noh began the lesson, and Bada hated to be talked to during class, it was distracting. After a while though, she realized that her desk-mate was literally sleeping with his eyes open, and she stifled a giggle when she heard his half-open mouth emit a little snore.

Classes seemed to go fairly quickly, and before she knew it, it was time for lunch. Naeun leapt out of her chair as soon as the bell rang, quickly rounding up the girls and Yang Yang, because she was ravenous and didn't want to be in the back of the very long lunch line.

In the line, Bada asked Haru whether she wore contacts.

"Nope, these eyes are real!" Haru replied. "You see, my grandfather is American, he came to fight in Korea during the war and met my grandmother! I got his eyes and light hair, but yeah, I dyed my hair this year for a change."

"Wow! What colour was your hair before?"

Haru made a face. "Some weird brownish colour, blah."

"Must have been a pretty colour, though," said Bada.

"Ew no, it was awful! I actually wanted to dye my hair dark red."

Before Bada could reply, Nauen butted in by exclaiming over what there was for lunch, and how unfair it was that the students had to actually pay for the kind of muck served up at lunch.

Yang Yang sat with them for lunch instead of the boys, and Naeun sat opposite him, tryingto hide the fact that she was staring at him. Soo Mi and Haru took charge of explaining their classmates to Bada and Yang Yang.

"Your deskmate, Min Yoongi," said Soo Mi. "He's a genius musician."

"Really?" Bada said. "I love music!"

"He writes music and sells them," said Haru. "You know, that place in Hongdae where they have bands who are hoping to get scouted by an agency? Some of them use his music."

"Wow!" Bada was impressed. "I'm going to ask him about it!"

"Eh..." Soo Mi shook her head. "He doesn't really talk much to be honest – especially to girls!"

"Why not?"

"Who knows. So anyway, next up is Kim Namjoon," said Haru. "He's a literal genius and top of the class, always has been and always will be."

"I'm so jealous of his memory," Soo Mi confessed. "Just one look and bam! He memorized it!"

"That must be such a help for studies and stuff," said Bada. "I wish I could do that, too!"

"But he's a bit intimidating sometimes," said Haru. "You know, like sometimes he's really friendly, and other times he's thinking deeply about the meaning of life and that kind of thing." She made a face.

"That's a good thing to think about," Bada said. "I think about it too."

"Well, I guess it's because you're smart too," said Soo Mi. "People like us-" she gestured to herself, Bada, and Naeun. "- we think about stupidity!"

Bada laughed. "Is stupidity the meaning of life to you?"

"Definitely!" said Haru. "And Naeun is the definition of stupidity!"

Nauen, till now busy trying to pretend that she wasn't staring at Yang Yang, snapped to attention and proceeded to narrate a very long list of why Haru was the definition of stupidity and how she made Naeun and Soo Mi stupid and how Bada will become stupid too. While she spoke, Yang Yang tried his best to follow, but was visibly bewildered due to the speed at which she was speaking. Naeun seemed to discuss stupidity a lot, he realized. What an odd girl!

All in all, Bada thoroughly enjoyed her first day at this new school – the three girls had been only too eager to accept her into their circle, their love and silliness overflowing. However, sometimes silliness isn't always a good thing, as Soo Mi discovered later on that night.

Soo Mi was brushing her teeth when it happened. Her phone buzzed with a notification, and she nearly spat out her toothpaste when she saw the photo Haru had sent her – Haru's face completely squished on the bottom, and enlarged on the top, giving her the hugest forehead in the world! Soo Mi excitedly rinsed out and opened her camera, searching for a good filter. She finally settled on the feature of an ugly old pirate with rice stuck in his straggly beard, and sent the picture.

Haru would love this one, she was sure! She finished washing her face, and waited for Haru's reply. She changed into her pyjamas, and still, Haru didn't reply. All of a sudden, Soo Mi had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She her phone and checked her text messages. She hadn't sent the image to Haru. She had sent it to....

"KIM NAMJOON!" she screamed in a whisper, throwing her phone away as though it had caught fire. "OH NO OH NO OH NO!!!!!" She flopped on her bed and flailed her arms and kicked her legs, screaming silently because her mom would come beat her if she found Soo Mi throwing a mini-tantrum at night. "WHAT AM I GONNA DO??????" Tears of mortification formed in her eyes, and even though she knew she shouldn't, she checked to see if he had seen it – maybe she could erase it!

Who was she kidding? He saw it....

Soo Mi's throat went tight. How was she supposed to face him? How was she supposed to go to school? She shuld run away... yeah, far away, where Namjoon wouldn't show up... but of course, she had to let Haru know or else she'd die...

"HARUUUUUUUUU" she wailed into her phone. "GOODBYE!!! I'M MOVING AWAY............"

***

"What happened to you?" asked Bada, the next morning. "Soo Mi, are you sick?"

Soo Mi's mouth trembled and Naeun patted her back comfortingly, while Haru explained what had happened the night before. Bada clicked her tongue in sympathy, and before she could say anything, Namjoon, Hosoek, and Yoongi walked into the class. Soo Mi instantly dropped her head on the desk and covered it with her hands. Bada returned Hoseok's tentative smile and greeted the boys with Naeun, wondering why he always looked so nervous, and Haru suddenly became very interested in her backpack underneath the desk.

Bada elbowed Soo Mi. "What's up with you two?" she whispered, pointing towards Haru who was still out of sight.

"Oh," said Soo Mi, peeking up between her fingers. "Um... Haru has a pimple today."

"So?"

"It's so big, that's what, and she hasn't had time to cover it up properly with concealer." Soo Mi sighed.

"Is that what she's doing?" Naeun curiously ducked under the desk beside Haru. "Yo, ! Maekup won't make you pretty, you know! You – ow!" She surfaced with disbelief etched on her face. "She pinched me! With her tweezers!"

Bada burst out laughing and Haru came up again, looking flustered but pimple-free. Naeun was about to attack her hair but the teacher walked in. Instinctively, the class scattered, retreating to their respective seats. Bada got up and crossed the room to sit beside Yoongi, and Naeun excitedly zoomed to the front of the class to sit beside Yang Yang.

"Seems a bit disorderly." Teacher Noh looked at Naeun pointedly.

"Ohhh." Naeun fidgeted. "Well... see, Teacher, I was just showing Yang Yang how it was to be in a Korean classroom unsupervised, that's all."

"I think you should show him how it is to be in a Korean classroom with supervision."

Naeun nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I will – it was only a one time thing, anyway."

"Let's hope it will be the last, then."

Teacher Noh's eyes skimmed the class and rested on Soo Mi and Haru. "I think it's time to separate the twins."

Haru dramatically clutched Soo Mi's arm, and the teacher continued, "I've had enough with you two constantly pasisng notes and whispering and giggling – yes, I know perfectly well what goes on! You can do this outside the classroom, but not inside – you're distracting each other and it's time for that to stop."

Her tone invited no argument, and the two girls knew it was pointless to argue because anyway, what the teacher said wasn't wrong.

"Yoongi."

The boy jumped at the sound of his name being called by the teacher. "Y-yes?"

"Come sit with Haru, and Soo Mi, you can go sit with Bada."

With tragic expressions, the two deskmates separated, and with an even more tragic expression, Yoongi took a seat beside Haru. Throughout class, Haru and Soo Mi kept casting little tragic glances at each other. Soo Mi learned at once that Bada was not the kind of person who appreciated being talked to in class.

As soon as the lunch bell rang and Teacher Noh dismissed them, Haru sprang out of her seat and ran to grab Soo Mi's arm very tightly. "At least you can sit with Bada!" she said gloomily. "I want to sit with Bada too!"

Bada patted her head. "Come on, Yoongi is a cute boy and you love cute boys."

Haru shook her head. "Blah, Yoongi is not cute at all!"

Naeun swooped in from behind, giggling. "Only Yang Yang is cute in this entire school!"

"Whatever!" Soo Mi said, pushing her away. "Come on, I'm hungry – time for a mammoth sized lunch!"

"First I need the bathroom," said Haru. "You guys coming?"

"I'll go with Yangu for lunch now," said Naeun. "Since he can't exactly come with us to the bathroom."

Bada laughed. "Why do you make him follow you everywhere you go?"

"I don't!" said Naeun. "He follows me with his own choice! You know, I think we're soulmates – just watch, one day you will realize how similar he is to me!"

"Please no," said Haru in fake horror. "We don't need another idiot running around!"

"You're the biggest idiot," said Naeun, and skipped away serenely to where Yang Yang was waiting by the door.

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