Yizhuo hated being the new kid. She hates the furtive glances, and the questions it would entail. She hates that everyone would seem to be walking on eggshells around her as they try to figure out how they would strike a conversation with her. Like she’s this conundrum that they should try to decipher, and pick apart open before the timer beeps because in the end, there’s going to be a prize awaiting them.

So, when her parents broke the news to her that they were moving, again, she did not take it well. She dyed her hair a shocking shade of red which honestly felt like a good idea at the time but now, she’s just feeling kind of stupid as the person in the counter who handed her schedule was looking at her with this open wonderment in his gaze.

“You know you’re gonna have to…” The man trailed off as he gestured to his own balding head. And Yizhuo was on the brink of snorting out a laugh, but manages to keep it in the last second. Because that would be rude. And maybe she cares a little too much about first impressions. “Dye it back to black.”

“Oh. Of course. Sorry.” Yizhuo tells him, not sounding contrite at all, as she struggled to pull out the binder in her backpack because of the haphazardly thrown paintbrushes and pens in it.

She hears the man sighing, and Yizhuo’s attention was momentarily teared away from him as another student emerged from the office. She just assumed the girl was a student too because she looks too young to be a member of the faculty.

“Ms. Kim, would you be so kind as to accompany our newcomer in her first class? She has Ms. Son’s Literature at M Building.”

The girl stopped dead in her tracks as she blinks. She looks about the same age as Yizhuo. Her short-cropped hair hanging just above her shoulders. She’s pretty, Yizhuo vaguely thinks.

“Oh. Sure.”

“You don’t have to.” Yizhuo chuckled awkwardly as she zips her bag.

“I don’t really mind.” The girl was already stepping forward, offering her a welcoming smile before stretching a hand, “I’m Minjeong.”

“Yizhuo.” Yizhuo takes the offered hand before following Minjeong as she beckons her towards the hallways.

“Are you a transferee?” Minjeong had this kind, open look on her face that made Yizhuo feel comfortable to share.

“Yes. A sophomore.”

Minjeong’s eyes widened and she looks mildly pleased at the revelation, “Same! What’s your major?”

“Oh, I’m trying to major in fashion design.”

Minjeong’s smile turned sheepish, “Is it weird if I tell you that I totally pegged you for an art major?”

Yizhuo raised an eyebrow. Minjeong’s tone wasn’t accusatory or anything that would give the sense of being judged so she decides to humor her, “Why?”

“Well for starters, you totally dress as one. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. Your wardrobe’s just very hipster art student. Not to mention, the hair. Trust me. No engineering or law student would even dare. Also, I might’ve caught a glimpse of you struggling to push those 10 types of pencils in your backpack earlier. Should I keep going?” Minjeong looks actually guilty with that but Yizhuo was just vaguely impressed.

“What’s your major?”

Minjeong guided her around the corner, “Pre law.”

Ah. That explains her knack for details.

“Nice. So, like, How To Get Away With Murder stuff.”

This time, it was Minjeong’s turn to throw her an amused smile, “It’s a lot more boring than that and hopefully there are no murdering or framing of professors involved.”

Yizhuo laughs, suddenly feeling at ease with this Minjeong girl. She had an inkling that they will get along well.

“Can I see your schedule?”

“Sure.” Yizhuo unclips the paper from her binder.

She watched Minjeong’s eyebrows furrowing before smoothing into a grin as she says, “Hey, you have third period with my girlfriend.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. Actually, I think Aeri’s in this class too. I’m not sure though, I think she mentioned dropping it once.” Minjeong’s eyes never left the paper in her grip. Yizhuo kind of lost her there, she doesn’t know any of those people. And Minjeong seemed to sense it as she snaps her gaze back to Yizhuo with an apologetic smile plastered on her lips, “Sorry, you’ll meet them soon. Good people. I’ll text Jimin to give a heads up.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to do that. I wouldn’t want to impose.” Yizhuo tries to argue, she’s actually kind of embarrassed at the prospect of Minjeong informing her friends just for the sake of Yizhuo.

“Hey, it’s okay. For the record, I think Aeri would love you.” Minjeong was shaking her head with a fond look on her face as she pulled out her phone. Yizhuo wasn’t sure if there’s some underlying meaning behind those words so she doesn’t say anything.

They walked in relative silence until Minjeong’s stopping her in front of a door. “And here we are.”

Yizhuo hoisted the backpack in her shoulder before speaking, “Thank you, Minjeong.”

“Really not a problem.” Minjeong waves her off. She tears a paper off her own binder, scribbling on it before handing it to Yizhuo, “Here’s my number. Don’t be a stranger, Yizhuo.”

“Yeah. You too.” Yizhuo clasps the piece of paper in her grip and vaguely wonders if everyone around here is just as nice as Minjeong.

Minjeong whips around to go but before she could fully step out of the conversation, she turns back to Yizhuo as if she recalled something important, “Oh, and if you need help with anything Math, I’m your girl.”

And for the first time, Yizhuo allowed herself to smile.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be bad, after all.

When Yizhuo got in for her third class, no one was still there. Her second professor dismissed them 15 minutes earlier, claiming that he needs to be in an urgent meeting. Yizhuo took that extra time to stroll the campus and memorize the halls that would lead to her classes so she wouldn’t have to bother Minjeong about it next time. When she found the classroom still devoid of any living person, Yizhuo took it upon herself to sit at the far back corner so as not to attract attention.

Yizhuo’s head was down, completely immersed in this short-lived solitary as she quietly arranges her pens on her table when another hand popped into view as it knocks twice on her desk.

Yizhuo immediately snapped her head up and was met with the sight of possibly the prettiest girl she had ever seen. Call her cliché but there’s just no other way to say it. Her hand was suddenly itching to reach for her sketchpad, as if it had a mind of its own, to start doodling every facets of details upon her. The woman was smiling down at her, eyes crinkling as the gentle waves of her long dark hair frames her face almost immaculately.

“Uh, hi?” Yizhuo croaks out.

The woman’s brown orbs gave her a slow once-over, almost as if she’s checking Yizhuo out and for a moment, Yizhuo felt weirdly exposed, “New girl, right?”

God, she really hated the reminder.

“Uhm, yeah.” Yizhuo offers a tight-lipped smile.

“This is Jimin.” The woman tells her, undeterred, as she places a hand on this Jimin’s shoulder and oh, she hadn’t even noticed her there. She was so caught up with the girl’s presence that her eyes never strayed too far the moment she saw her.

Jimin’s impassive face melts into a gentle smile, “Hi. Minjeong told me about you.”

Oh. Right. The girlfriend and the bestfriend.

“And I’m Giselle. But since you’re cute, I’ll let you call me Aeri.” Her lips curled into a smirk as she sat herself on Yizhuo’s desk. Yizhuo’s knee jerk reaction was to automatically lean back in her seat to avoid getting a face full of dark hair.

“Okay?” Yizhuo looks to Jimin, who only gave her an apologetic smile, then to this Giselle slash Aeri, “You can call me Yizhuo.”

“Oh, I like you.” Aeri leans in dangerously close, and for a fraction of a second, Yizhuo was stunned as her senses were immediately bombarded with a strong flowery scented perfume. She’s quickly learning that Aeri’s vocabulary doesn’t involve the word personal space. But then just as fast, the taller of the two was grabbing Aeri by the forearm to pull her back gently.

“Gigi.” Jimin warns, a slight edge to her tone.

Yizhuo was slightly offended. She was very much still there but they were talking as if she’s not. Hello?

“Jimin, you must be super fun at parties.” Aeri rolled her eyes at the girl but she did allow herself to be pulled back as she hopped off the desk. And something tells Yizhuo that if this had been any other person, Aeri would’ve personally slapped them right there for even daring. She just gave off that vibe. Someone untouchable and not someone to be messed with. So Yizhuo was pretty sure that this Jimin was very close to her, “I just want to sit with my new friend.”

Wait. New friend? Yizhuo was never the popular kid in high school. She never stood out and she was that weird theatre kid who would sometimes sing praises for the school’s choir club. Bottomline is, she was an average student.

And these two… well Jimin’s figure screams model straight out of those vogue magazines. And while Aeri was equally just as pretty, that’s not what piqued Yizhuo’s interest the most. It was her aura. Jimin was significantly taller between the two but the way Aeri held herself, she seems to be towering over anything. Aeri’s mere presence was just demanding to be seen. It’s like she had the whole damn school wrapped around her pretty little finger and she was well aware of it.

And nothing’s more intimidating than knowing you have that much power sitting pliantly in the palm of your hands.

Yizhuo was not dense. She had a pretty good hunch that these two belonged to the important crowd and she’d seen enough of those clichéd school themed films to know that they weren’t supposed to be befriending the new, strange kid.

Maybe they were doing this for Minjeong.

Or worst, they were planning to make her their personal note taker or something. But Jimin doesn’t seem the type to do that. Aeri, on the other hand…

Yizhuo jumps a foot when she feels dainty fingers running through her hair once.

“Cute.” Aeri has a chin propped on her knuckles as her eyes bored into Yizhuo. She noticed Jimin was already seated upfront as Aeri was already comfortably perched beside her.

“Oh. Yeah. It was kind of a heat of the moment thing.”

“Let me guess.” Aeri bit her lip as she whispers conspiratorially, “An act of rebel to your parents?”

Yizhuo’s reddening cheeks was enough to make Aeri burst into a fit of giggles. Strangers with this type of familiarity towards her would immediately annoy her. Especially to someone she just met not more than half an hour ago. But there’s just something about the way Aeri’s leaning into her, smelling of roses and cinnamon as she giggled uncontrollably that makes Yizhuo just want to—hear that laugh more.

“That’s really cool, though.” Aeri tells her once the laughter subsided, “I’ve always wanted to dye my hair but this school  for not allowing it.”

“What color?” Yizhuo asks as she starts arranging the textbooks on her desk.

Aeri tilts her head to the side, a small smile flirting its way past her lips as she says, “What color do you think I’d look good in, Yizhuo?”

Yizhuo allowed her eyes to rake over Aeri’s features. Aeri was pretty. From her big brown eyes, to the gentle slope of her nose up until those pink plump lips. Yizhuo knows she was going to look good in everything but she gets the sense that Aeri was looking for a specific answer, “I think highlights would suit you. Yeah. You would definitely look good in blonde highlights.”

Aeri’s eyes glints, like she had figured out something Yizhuo wasn’t aware of and she’s going to keep Yizhuo in the dark to just for the sake of stringing her along, “Huh. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Their conversation was momentarily cut short once the students started filing in along with the professor.

“Are you dropping this subject?” Yizhuo asks her out of the blue, a little worried when she sees the professor in all her glory of unfriendly aura, “Sorry didn’t mean to pry, Minjeong just kind of mentioned it.”

Aeri gives her an impish grin, “Well, Yizhuo, I just found a reason not to.”

“Hey, Yizhuo!”

Yizhuo cranes her neck to the source of the sound, she sees Minjeong across the quad, mid part waving goodbye to Jimin before jogging towards her.

“Hi.”

“So, how was your first day?”

“Pretty fun.” Yizhuo’s eyes automatically scanned the area for a certain dark-haired girl that seems to always come in package with Jimin. When she sees no signs of her, her eyes landed back on Minjeong, “Your friends are quite... interesting.”

Minjeong’s eyes shone with something akin to excitement, “Yeah?”

“Jimin’s really nice. And Aeri…”

Minjeong nods, urging her to continue.

“Aeri’s… intense.”

Minjeong barks out a laugh, as if the thought doesn’t surprise her and she was just waiting for Yizhuo to finally admit that. “That’s one way to put it. Hey, but listen, don’t hesitate to tell her off if you’re starting to get uncomfy. We love that girl to death but I know she can be a bit of a handful sometimes.”

“No, it’s okay. I like it.”

When Minjeong raises a questioning brow, Yizhuo was quick to utter out an explanation. “My family moved around a lot and I’m so used to being the odd one out that it’s such a breath of fresh air to have someone who would just make you feel normal.”

“I think I get that.” Minjeong’s features softened as her eyes traveled across the field, “When I came out in high school, Aeri was the only one who never treated me differently. Aside from Jimin, obviously.”

“So, you three go way back, huh?” Yizhuo throws her an appreciative smile. Minjeong was really nice. She just exuded this aura that made her feel at ease.

“Yeah. It used to be just Aeri and I. We’re what you’d call the dumb and dumber duo.” Minjeong chuckles, shaking her head fondly and Yizhuo can’t help but mirror a smile of her own, “And then Jimin came along, we started dating and we three just kind of clicked, you know?”

“That must be nice.” Yizhuo breathes out softly. Suddenly struck with the longing for that deep connection. What must it be like, she wonders? To be not afraid of failing because you have the knowledge that you’ll always have someone in your corner.

“So, still got class or you’re headed to the dorms now?”

“Heading to the dorms. Which reminds me, I’d have to pick up a few groceries first.”

“Can I come?”

Yizhuo furrowed her brows, “I don’t mind but don’t you have other things to do?”

Minjeong shakes her head, a small smile curling her lips, “Jimin’s still got dance practice until seven. I’ll hang out with you ‘til then.”

“You know… you don’t have to do this, right? I get that you’re being nice and all, and I really appreciate what you did for me earlier but if you have other things to do, it’s really fine.” Yizhuo eyes her warily. She doesn’t want to keep Minjeong from doing her own thing just because she’s the new kid and she feels obligated to babysit the new kid.

But Minjeong’s lips just stretched into a genuine smile as she hooks an arm with Yizhuo, “Yizhuo, I’m not being forced to do this. Let’s just say, as someone who’s going to spend her time in court trials, I’d have to be a stellar judge of character and I happen to think that you’re really cool.”

“Minjeong, people in trial literally have the most questionable judge in character.”

“Come on now, just accept the compliment.” Minjeong clicks her tongue playfully.

Yizhuo laughs as they pass by a group of students jostling each other in the corridor. They stop once they see Yizhuo, their eyes automatically traveling above her. Ugh. Sometimes, she forgets she’s still sporting an uncommon bright shade of red above her head.

Minjeong then claps her hand once, pulling Yizhuo out of her mulling, “Oh! Who’s your roommate?”

“They didn’t give me one. I guess it’s already halfway past the semester for that.” Yizhuo shrugs, she doesn’t really mind. She treasures her peace and quiet.

Apparently, Minjeong had the same idea judging by the audible gasp beside her, “You don’t have a roommate? That’s so lucky! I’ve always wanted a solo room!”

Yizhuo snorts, nudging Minjeong’s shoulder, “You’d have to be the weird transferee to be able to have it.”

Minjeong laughs along with her, “Hey, maybe I’ll do just that. Who knows?”

Yizhuo was fiddling with the sticker on her second bottled beer. She was quietly watching the scene unfold upon her. Parties were never her thing. Sure, she had her fair share of experience but she never really got the appeal of it. The stifling heat and watching couples grinding together wasn’t very ideal, thank you very much. But well, she couldn’t really say no to Minjeong. Especially when she’d been nothing but nice to her the past few days.

“Hi.” A deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts, the stench of his cheap cologne immediately filling her lungs that frankly just makes her nauseous more than anything else, “Haven’t seen you around here.”

Yizhuo would’ve rolled her eyes at the words but she manages trade it with a polite smile instead.“Yeah. Not really my scene.”

The guy looked slightly impressed as he leaned back on the wall beside Yizhuo, “What changed? You came here alone?”

Minjeong was off nursing Jimin’s drunken state (apparently, the taller girl was a lightweight) and Aeri left her for a moment to get her own punch. Interestingly enough, she learns that Aeri wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker herself.

“No, my friend just went to get her drink.” Yizhuo says, tone devoid of any emotion before she took a large swig of her beer. She doesn’t really do small talk. To his credit, the guy took the hint as he hummed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes instead. He takes one out, trapping it between his teeth before offering it to Yizhuo.

“Want one?”

Yizhuo doesn’t smoke. She tried it once but it only resulted to her almost hacking out her lungs so she never did it again. But she’s in a sea of people who are strangers to her. And she feels so ing miserable. Maybe, it wouldn’t hurt to try again.

But before she could reach out to pull a stick, a perfectly manicured finger was snapping its lid shut. Yizhuo didn’