Rosé was sitting in her first class, with her knees tightly pushed against each other. She couldn't believe herself. She was going to the most prestegious high school of art in Korea and she couldn't even concentrate. Blinking multiple times, as if it were helping her, she tried very hard to tune in on what the teacher was saying. But no matter how hard she tried, all she could hear were the words slipping from those plump lips. Those dark eyes that bored hard into her eyes. The words of the mysterious girl. Rosé hated the school bell for ringing when the girl was saying her name. Would she ever be able to meet that girl again? Even if she could pass by her briefly in the hallway, she would be satisfied. 'But why are you even thinking about a girl?' she thought accusingly to herself. But she squeezed her hands tightly, reassuring herself, 'I mean, what's wrong with thinking about a kind stranger on my first day of school? And what's wrong with thinking about her face? Her lips? She was prettier than average girls. What's so wrong with giving credit to visually attractive people?' 

All through her classes, it was the same uncomfortable deafness. She couldn't focus on anything or anyone except the mysterious girl. Each time she entered a new classroom, she would examine all the faces quickly, to check if the mysterious girl had possibly had the same class as her. Unluckily, she was nowhere to be seen. She did notice though, that almost all her classes, there were two girls that were with Rosé. They looked friendly too and didn't seem like brats, unlike many of the other students. Maybe possible friends? 

It was lunchtime. And Rosé was so relieved that she could take a break. As the bell rung, she followed the wave of students spilling out to a large courtyard outside, where there were dozens of lunch tables spread around. She realized that she had nowhere to sit. Maybe the bathroom? Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw the two girls she shared classes with. They smiled and waved shyly. They were both tall but one was a bit taller, with straight blonde hair and defined facial features. The shorter girl had black hair and cute bangs, and was very pretty. The black haired girl held out a hand, "Hello! I'm Kim Jisoo! I'm a junior and I'm majoring in painting and minoring in textiles in fashion!" Rosé smiled, shaking Jisoo's hand. The taller girl shook Rosé's hand excitedly, "Hi! I'm Lisa Manoban! I'm an international student from Thailand currently a freshman! And I'm majoring in dance and minoring in photography! Nice to meet you!" Rosé was a bit taken aback from the energy this girl had, but she appreciated it a lot. She shook both their hands again, "Hello! I'm Park Rosé and I'm a freshman. I'm majoring in singing and minoring in instrument studies on guitar and piano." Jisoo and Lisa, expectedly, were shocked at Rosé's unique name. "Wow, your name is so pretty! Are you from Korea?" Jisoo asked, with wonder. Rosé thought for a moment, "Well, I was born in Australia but I live in Korea now!" Lisa made a gaping O with , "Wow, that's so cool, no wonder though. And also, Jisoo and I wanted to have lunch with you, because we noticed we all share a lot of classes!" Rosé was delighted, "Oh, of course! I'm so thankful! I thought I'd have to eat by myself or something." Jisoo and Lisa laughed and the three of them all walked towards an empty table, setting down their bags, and sitting down. 

Rosé was happy. Satisfied. Finally, her mind wasn't all focused on the mysterious girl anymore. Her mind was peaceful and happy. She was eating lunch outside with two new friends. It was a great first day so far. She smiled a little bit, as she munched on her food. Lisa raised her brows, "Why are you smiling?" Rosé blushed, "Oh...you saw? I was just so happy that I made two friends." Jisoo laughed, "Aw, you're so cute and innocent! Be careful though, because there's a lot of people here that like taking advantage of nice people like you." Lisa nodded gravely, "Yes, Rosé! You have to stand up for yourself and don't let anyone step over you. I'm a freshman like you, but since I am an international student, I came to this school two years ago to take language classes so I can learn how to speak Korean so I'm pretty familiar with the social class of this school and how things work. Jisoo and I met when she was a freshman and we've survived so far, so you can just trust us now for advice!"

Rosé laughed nervously, "You guys make it sound as if this place is dangerous and not a school haha..." Jisoo and Lisa exchanged glances. Jisoo leaned in closer to Rosé, in a low voice, "Listen, I know this is the best school in Korea you can go to as a high schooler, but it's not as beautiful or impressive on the inside. Of course, all the students are smart and talented and the classes are all informative and useful. But there have been countless bullying at this school since last year. And there's been several students who committed suicide because of bullying too." Rosé gasped, "What!?" Lisa nodded, gravely, "Yes, it's all true. But the school board paid news reporters and the police to make sure it never became a public issue." "Wait, but, why only last year? Hasn't the school been opened for several years?" Rosé asked. Jisoo's lip tightened into a line. Lisa glanced at the older girl, but in a hushed voice she spoke, "Well...it's not that bullying didn't exist at all since last year, we're just saying that since last year, it was drastically increased...because of-" Jisoo shot Lisa a small hesitant look. Lisa sighed, rolling her eyes, "Unnie, are you seriously planning on not telling our new friend, Rosé? I know you're friends with you know who, but ...Rosé deserves to know so she can at least keep a low profile around her."

Jisoo shut her eyes, but then looked at Rosé, "Look, you can't tell anyone. This is extremely inside info. The CEO of Young Arts Academy has a daughter. Her name is Kim Jennie. She's a year older than you and Lisa, but I live near Jennie and have been friends with her since we were young. But yeah, even as a friend, I hate to admit it but, ever since she came last year, that's when the suicides happened." Rosé widened her eyes, with disbelief, "What.....!? What does she do?"

Jisoo looked uncomfortable, so Lisa took over, "She strangely put her focus on two students specifically each quarter to bother and bully. She would do it so sneakily too. Teachers never witness her. Even for students, only some would possibly see it. Jennie knows where all the security cameras are too, it's so scary. To one student in the 1st quarter last year, it was a sophomore girl named Yulim. But Jennie would order Yulim to meet her every morning and originally Yulim was supposed to tutor Jennie but eventually, it just became an excuse for Jennie to meet the poor girl. They'd always meet somewhere where no cameras exist and not many students go to. That's all we know about the case with Yulim. At the end of the quarter, Yulim had jumped off the roof of the school and died. It was most likely because of Jennie, and someone even said they saw Jennie go up the roof with Yulim. But that's just a rumor of course. And the second student in the same quarter died in the middle of the quarter, it was a boy who had apparently had a crush on her. He hung himself in one of the studio rooms. We don't know much but we just noticed Jennie bothering him all the time before his death. Basically, this repeated: every quarter, Jennie would bother two specific students. They'd take their life before the quarter ended. And she would repeat this process every start of a new quarter." 

Rosé got goosebumps, "Wait, what? You're serious? Aren't there 4 quarters? Are you saying 8 students committed suicide by the end of the year!? Because of Jennie?" Lisa and Jisoo nodded, solemnly. Jisoo pulled her phone out, "Here, let me show you a picture of Jennie. So you can just know to try avoiding her." Rosé nodded, feeling grateful. The older girl handed the phone to Rosé, and as she got a closer look at the picture, she suddenly froze mid-swallow, causing her to choke and cough. Lisa nudged Rosé's water bottle, "Are you okay? Drink some water." Rosé felt like throwing up. In the picture, was a beautiful girl with long brown hair and dark eyes. Her plump lips were widened into a smile, but Rosé recognized her right away. There was no mistaking that beautiful and unique face. Jisoo took her phone back, looking worried, "Rosé? Are you sure you're okay?" Rosé nodded, faintly. Lisa glanced at Jisoo uneasily, "Rosé...did you, possibly...meet Jennie?" Jisoo stared at Rosé, frozen. 

Rosé swallowed, "Y-Yes...I met her this morning...she seemed so friendly and helpful...we spent the whole morning together before first class started." Jisoo and Lisa dropped their jaws, with horror, "What?!" Lisa was leaning forwards now, concerned, "Rosé...that's what she does to her targets...she picks one and just starts out really sweetly. But she slowly starts to take over their life, bothering them...until they take their life." Rosé stood up, shaking her head, feeling queasy, "That-that can't be true..." She started backing away. Jisoo and Lisa opened their mouths, talking, but no noise came out. Rosé felt like her whole world was spinning. She ran as fast as she could. She got to her locker, taking her guitar out, and ran and ran. She came to the bottom of a stairwell, where no one was. She sat down on the floor, and started crying. She quickly started playing her guitar, trying to calm down her mind. To get that peaceful lake again...suddenly she heard footsteps. She looked cautiously behind, and saw none other than the mysterious girl- Jennie Kim. The bully. The murderer. 

Jennie had a small smirk on her face, "Did you break up with your boyfriend or something?" Rosé was confused, "What?" Jennie came over, sitting down, with that almost-smile look, "I mean, you're crying. And singing. And playing guitar. That was the only reason I could think of." Rosé quickly wiped her tears away, "I don't have a boyfriend. I don't know what you're talking about." Jennie did a small smile, "Sorry, my bad. I assumed you had one since you're so pretty." Rosé felt her heart pound madly. She felt her hands shake, as she realized, this was probably Jennie playing with her. To get to her. "Can you just...just go?" Rosé said quietly. Jennie blinked, unfazed, "You're different from this morning." Rosé avoided those dark eyes, "Well..." Jennie let out a scoff, "So you heard about my name finally? My rumors? My scandals? The people that committed suicide?" Rosé gulped, and looked at the older girl. Jennie stared at her with an unbreaking gaze. "What do you think of me now? Anything different? Do you regret meeting me this morning?" Rosé tightened her grip on the guitar, unable to answer. But a small voice whispered in her head: "I don't regret it. I still think you're beautiful and alluring. Nothing changed." As if reading her thoughts, Jennie moved closer to her, still staring, "Well? I said, do you regret meeting me?"