The little girl sat in the dark corner, crying tears of sorrow that no one was able to hear. Outside, a floorboard creaked as the door began to open. A man dressed in a suit walked toward the girl, kneeling down so that he could be at her eye-level.

 

“Everything will be fine now, don’t worry.”

 

Despite the man’s seemingly words comfort, the girl widened her eyes in fear and began to shake. At her terror, the man sighed with annoyance.

 

“Come on, no need to make this hard.”

 

He reached for her as she began to scramble away and scream. Desperately, the girl called out for someone,but her efforts proved futile as the man lifted her up and walked out of the room with her calls still piercing through the air.

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“Okay class, I have a brief announcement to make before the midday break so listen up.”

 

The rowdy class of kids calmed down as the teacher waited for them to quiet down. Once she had their full attention, she cleared once more before beginning to speak.

 

“We have a new student joining us today. Jane?”

 

The class door slid open and a girl walked in. Immediately all eyes targeted her as she made her way over to the podium. From the other end of the classroom, Suga, who had been sleeping throughout most of the class period groaned with his eyes closed as the classroom filled with whispers. As he was getting ready to fall asleep again, Suga felt a sharp tap on his side and looked up to see Jin pointing towards the front.

 

“Hi… My name is Kim Jane. Nice to meet you all.”

 

Suga just shrugged. Exchange students came all the time. Nothing new.

 

“Alright Jane, you can get to know your new classmates during the break.” Mrs. Jang scanned her class, “Hm. I guess the only seat empty in the class is that one over there. You can sit there for now.” She said as she pointed toward the desk in the middle.

 

Jin cheered audibly as he saw that it was the desk right in front of him. Jane bowed slightly toward the teacher before making her way over. Jin smiled smugly at her, to which Jane looked at confusedly before taking her seat.

 

“Alright! Break.”

 

As soon as the teacher took her leave, all the students crowded around Jane, scaring the already shy girl.

 

“So! Where are you from Jane?”

 

Jane smiled softly, “I’m just from the town across the river. We had to move recently because of my dad’s job.”

 

“Well, I’m Seunghee. It’s nice to meet you, and I hope we can be friends. I know all the hottest places in town. Do you want to go to a cafe or something after school?”

 

“Yah Ko Seunghee, stop tryna get dibs on the new girl.” Jin said as he got up and slightly pushed Seunghee away. Instead, he smiled sweetly at Jane and offered her his hand, “The name is Jin.”

 

Jane hesitantly took his hand and shook it before quickly taking her hand back. Jin just smiled at her actions and pulled his chair closer to her, “So Jane? What’s your major? Visual Art? Photography? Sculpture?”

 

Seunghee smacked Jin on the head lightly, “Yah, what makes you think Jane is an arts major? She can be a sports major for all you know.”

 

Jane just smiled slightly at their bickering, “Actually, Jin was right. I’m a visual arts major.”

 

Seunghee’s eyes lit up at the mention of Jane’s major, “Really?! That’s so cool! How long have you been studying art? It’s so rare to see visual art majors in this school since everyone wants to be an astrophysicist or a neurosurgeon.”

 

“Well, I guess since I was six? I just started it because I always watched my dad paint, but we found out that I had an affinity for it. What about you guys?”

 

Jin stood up on his desk and posed, “This boy here is a music major specializing in vocals.”

 

Seunghee rolled her eyes and kicked the leg of the desk, causing Jin to fall.

 

“Aish! Yah!”

 

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there.” Seunghee said smirking. “Anyway, I am a violin major. You see, the fine arts majors at Harim High have to stick together since there are only a handful of us here. Most of the other kids are majoring in academics and think they are better than us cause of that. Those sons of-”

 

“Watch that mouth Ko Seunghee.”

 

Seunghee sighed and pursed her lips, “If only I wasn’t 19.”

 

Jane just smiled. She had worried in the upcoming weeks that she would not be able to fit in with the kids here, but Seunghee and Jin made it feel like she was welcomed. Rolling his eyes at Seunghee, he smacked the back of Suga who had been sleeping peacefully behind the trio.

 

“Suga, wake up for once and say hi to Jane.”

 

Suga grumbled before lifting his head slowly and facing them.

 

Jane studied him with curiosity, “Hi...I’m Jane.”

 

“Yeah, I heard you the first time. Suga.”

 

He looked at Jin for approval before closing his eyes again, ignoring Jin’s fuming eyes. He really didn’t care who showed up. All he wanted to do was sleep before another day of practice left him sore all over.

 

Shaking his head with great disapproval, Jin turned toward Jane who seemed to not mind Suga’s behavior, “Sorry. This boy has been practicing all night so he’s just a little cranky.”

 

“A little?” Seunghee added accusingly.

 

“Shut it. Anyway, you should come to our practice room today after school. The boys always love visual art majors since they lack the skills themselves. Plus, since all of them are some sort of music or dance majors, art helps them bring out the visual presentation.”

 

Jane looked confused once more, “The boys?”

 

“He means the group of wrangle monkeys that hang out in the practice rooms in the third floor.”

 

Jin turned to Seunghee with a shocked expression on his face and with his hand over his heart, “Harsh!”

 

“Actually, I think that’s a great idea. It would be nice to meet more people. Can you come too Seunghee?”

 

Seunghee ignored Jin’s puppy eyes, “I can’t. I have lessons after today. Word of advice though, boys will always calm down at the mention of food so keep that in mind.”

 

The bell signaling for the beginning of class rang as Seunghee finished speaking, and everyone returned to their seats. Suga, despite the chaos, remained peacefully sleeping until the the day was over.

 

“All right class! Make sure to read your pages on Joseon by tomorrow!”

 

As soon as Ms.Jang left, Jin grabbed Jane’s hand and Suga’s ear, while ignoring his yells of protest, and led them all into the nicely furnished room in the third floor. No one was there to greet them, allowing Suga to wriggle free.

 

“Will you please stop doing that for the love of God?!” Suga exclaimed while rubbing his now red ear.

 

Jin only shrugged, “Only if you stop sleeping! Come on, Jane is here, and we should help her look around before the boys come.”

 

“This is a room. She can see for herself from that corner over there so leave me be or else I’ll-”

 

“Who’s this?”

 

Jin and Suga both turned to see V, Jungkook, RM, J-Hope, and Jimin circling Jane who was staring at them with wide-eyes. For Jane’s sake, Jin took the role of a human shield to put himself before all the boys.

 

“Gents, gents, we do not want to scare the poor lady. Now, if you please, back up so the pretty girl over here can introduce herself.”

 

Jane smiled shyly, introducing herself for the third time that day, “I’m Kim Jane majoring in visual arts. Nice to meet you all.”

 

It took a moment, but Jane soon found herself smothered in hugs. “Uh...Jin? JIN?!” She was frantically searching for him but found herself engulfed in another round of hugs and introductions. Finally, when she thought she couldn’t breathe anymore, Jane felt a tight grip on her arm, pulling her out of the mess.

“Whew, thanks Jin. I thought I was-”

 

“Suga.”

 

Jane stopped and slowly looked up to see Suga, who still was holding onto her arm and staring at Jin trying to calm everyone down.

 

“Oh…. um, thanks Suga.”

 

Suga continued to stare right in front of him, and Jane noticed that his grip was still on her arm.

Gently, Jane slid her arm back out, causing him to look down again and cough awkwardly. It was only her first day, but Jane could already feel that there was a lot more in store for her at Harim that she expected.