Chapter 1 - Kidulthood 100% - haneul-gateun

"Okay, okay!"

You held your hands up and grinned at your friend.

"Give me 3 reasons why you like One Direction."

Gayun pulled a face and whined.

"Ara!" 

It was a typical lunchtime on a typical Monday at school. The morning had consisted of typical catch up conversations- talks about who was going to watch that evening's episode of Running Man, reminiscing/ gossiping over the weekend's antics and of course, Gayun declaring her love for One Direction yet again.

Seohyun chuckled, "for the love of god Ara, give her a break."

"She'll burst into tears at this rate," Yoona muttered, pulling her hair back into a ponytail with her hairband held between her teeth.

"It's fine as long as you don't mention her Lewis or whatever," Yuri said, getting hit on the bicep by Gayun as soon as she spoke. "Hey! What was that for?"

"His name is Louis!"

"Do I look like I care?"

"Guys!"

You all laughed, enjoying the cool breeze in the school grounds. You looked up and took in the place you called school, and perhaps even home at times, and sighed. This was the place countless girls wanted to attend- this prestigious school for 'only the best'. A breeding ground for competitive girls. Producer of alpha-females. Maker of women leaders. This was Northgate.

Jinhee stood up and straightened out her black pleated skirt. It fell about 3 inches above her knees which was the average for the students at Northgate. Gayun's skirt was the same length whilst yours, Yoona's and Yuri's were an inch or two shorter than that. Seohyun's skirt was the only to go through a whole array of lengths as she was one of the girl's who'd repeatedly be told her skirt was at an inappropriate length to which she's shrug, roll her skirt down and pull it back up once the teacher had gone. The rest of the uniform was pretty plain and somewhat dire and boring: white button up, dark navy v-necked sweater and a deep maroon neck tie which had the school's emblem printed onto it. That was the one part of your school's uniform that you liked. The tie was cute and like something out of a high school anime or from the Ivy Code uniform brand advertorials that popular idols always endorsed.

"Where are you off to?" you asked Jinhee, watching as she swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Teacher's office. I have some things to sort out with them."

"Wait!" Seohyun said, suddenly throwing her arms up into the air, "before you go, I have to tell you what I did on the weekend!"

Jinhee groaned, "Seo, surely it can wait? We all have the same lesson later."

"It can't! It really can't!" Seohyun had one of those creepy smiles on, grinning devilishly as if she knew the secrets to the world.

You were intrigued all of a sudden and it was something quite unlike you. Your friends liked discussing boys as much as they liked to look pretty and you knew that Seohyun was preparing herself to launch into a boy gossip attack. What was different though was how excited and adamant she was about telling you all right there and then. Jinhee was right. It really could wait- if it was just ordinary boy chat that is.

Without trying to look too interested, Jinhee crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay. What is it?"

Seohyun grinned, "I met a boy on Saturday-"

"Oh good lord, Seohyun met a boy everybody! Breaking news!" Yoona yelled, turning back to Seohyun with a smirk. "Come on, what's new? You made this seem like it was going to be super big."

Seohyun laughed, applying a slick of lip balm as slowly as she could, annoying Jinhee in the process. "Ask me where he's from-"

"Oh my god, is he from England?! He is, isn't he?!"

"You're too obsessed with One Direction, Gayunnie," you said, nudging your friend who frowned when Seohyun shook her head smiling as she did so.

"It's better."

"What could be better than England?"

"Seo, the suspension is killing me. Literally," Yuri said.

"Oh literally? It's literally killing you?" Seohyun asked, milking the saying for all it's worth.

"Seohyun!" Jinhee screamed, "are you going to say or not because I-"

"Eastgate." The name rolled off her tongue like butter. "I met a boy from Eastgate at a party on Saturday."

 

You blinked. Your friends around you also blinked. Seohyun smiled, almost purring in delight at the reaction her story telling had received. Even Jinhee was motionless.

"E-Eastgate?"

Seohyun nodded. "Guys, oh my god. He was so good-looking."

"What was his name?"

"How old was he?"

"Who's party was it?"

"Was he nice?"

"Did you kiss him?"

"Guys!" Seohyun laughed, "slow down with the questions!"

"Eastgate huh?" Yoona said wistfully, "damn Seo, I really don't know how you do it."

"Props to you though," Yuri said, nodding, "I don't think I would have had the guts to go up to an Eastgate guy and start a conversation."

"Oh they're really not as bad as people think. In fact Kris, that's his name by the way- he wants to see me again. He's so lovely. He lives without his parents and he's holding a party this weekend."

"Kris?" you repeated, quietly whispering his name to yourself. "Kris..."

Seohyun grinned, clapping her hands. "And because he wants to see me again, he said I should bring all of you to the party this weekend. He wants to meet more of us."

Your mouth opened slightly. Did you really want to go to an Eastgate boy's party? They had a reputation for being rowdy and horrible for one thing. They also had a reputation for starting fist fights left right and centre.

"Wait... You mean..." Gayun started.

Oh no. You could hear the excitement in your friends starting to bubble.

"We're invited to an Eastgate boy's party?" Jinhee carried on cautiously.

Voices were starting to heighten.

"A good looking Eastgate boy's party?!" Yuri asked.

Seohyun nodded. Oh god, here it was.

"Holy Seohyun! You're the best!" Yoona shouted, scrambling to hug her, "I love you!"

 

***

 

Incoming message from (the poo): How was school? I'm coming! Don't leave without me! 

Incoming message from (idiot): Hurry up then... I'll freeze to death by the time you arrive.

Incoming message from (the poo): I'll buing buing you if you leave first!

Incoming messsage from (idiot): Don't you dare use aegyo around me, you creep.

Incoming message from (the poo): You're so cold, Ara.

Incoming message from (the poo): I'm almost here! Where are you? The usual spot?

You were about to text back when you spotted a familiar figure turning the corner. Henry came running, hurtling towards you as his hair flapped about in the wind. He had taken off his tie and it was wrapped around his wrist. Westgate's uniform didn't have a blazer but Henry's jumper was wrapped around his waist. As he ran, it began to slip and you pointed to it prompting him to stop and put it on as he was just a few metres away from you.

"Hi idiot," you said grinning, "no Amber today?"

Amber was one of Henry's closest friends, along with you and a boy named Chanyeol who went to his school. You'd met Amber on a number of occasions as she was part of the 'Welcome New Friends to Korea' program that your mother developed and ran. Chanyeol was a mystery however you had heard nothing but good remarks about him.

Henry shook his head, "no poo face, she's staying behind for some extra practice or something."

"And you didn't want to stay behind too?"

"It was an all girls thing the teacher was organising. I don't know, it's probably a dance thing or something like that."

"Sounds like hell."

"That's what Amber said."

You grinned, pulling your scarf out of your bag and wrapping around Henry's neck as he stood and shivered in the cold. "Tell her I say hi, okay?"

"You tell me to tell her that every time I pick you up. When do I not?"

 

Henry lived a good 10 minute walk away from you but his mom and your mom were something like best friends who acted like long lost sisters so it was no wonder really that you had landed Henry as your best friend when he first arrived in Korea. It had been awkward during the first meeting as Henry could only manage to say a basic 'hello, my name is Henry' and 'my pencil is blue'. To make matters worse, your English was beyond bad. For someone from Northgate your English level was poorer than poor although compared with other schools, it was probably about average. Either way, it certainly wasn't enough to talk to Henry on his first day.

"Mum wants to go round to yours later. She said it was something about a good book she's reading and she wanted to tell your mum about it," Henry said sighing. "She won't stop going on about that damn book."

Unlike you, your mother's proficiency in English was astounding. Even your father who had spent a good few summers in America was nowhere near as good as she was. She had picked up English by attending night classes and watching a lot of Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives- English television shows you'd never imagine yourself being able to understand. Her accent was off at times but she worked hard, asking for help relentlessly, eventually expanding and launching the 'Welcome New Friends to Korea' in America and Canada. She was yet to go further west into England much to Gayun's dismay but you were sure Europe was the next thing on your determined mother's agenda. But all the while, even though she was a hardworking businesswoman, she was still a mother who cooked and cleaned the best she could, sometimes taking a break to get some quality time with your dad.

"Oh and dad's doing a big dinner thing this weekend and I've invited Chanyeol so you should come," Henry said as you to the main road. "You can finally meet him."

There was another great thing that you and Henry had in common- the lack of siblings. Henry had a brother who was much older than him and still lived in Canada as he was married now and you were an only child as your mother had put career over children.

"Sounds great. The infamous Chanyeol, eh?"

"He's my best friend as much as you and Amber are so it only makes sense for him to meet you. Who knows?" Henry said, teasing you a little, "you might find him so utterly attractive and fall in love with each other."

You took one look at Henry and hit him on the head, "don't think about things like that! I don't have time this year!"

"It's the beginning of the year and you're already stressed out about exams which are at the end of the year?"

You nodded, "you fail at Northgate and you fail at life."

"Boy I'm glad I don't go to your school," Henry said, "Westgate's nice and chilled."

"Evidently." You pointed to his ed top button and the trainers he wore with his uniform. Other schools wanted smartness but Westgate was different, understanding that comfort was still key. But now you didn't want to know about Westgate. You wanted to know about a different school. "Henry, do you know anyone from Eastgate?"

Henry shook his head, "I only know that it exists. I haven't been here long enough to know people that don't go to my school." He laughed as you approached the condo you lived in. "Why?"

You walked into the reception area with Henry and pressed the button for the elevator to take you to your floor. "No, nothing. Just wondering, that's all."

"I'll ask Chanyeol about it and get back to you," Henry said as you stepped into the lift.

"Thanks for walking me home."

"My mom would kill me if I didn't. She loves you."

You chuckled, "tell her I love her too."

Henry shook his head. "Then she'd want to adopt you. I can't have you as a sister, no way."

The doors of the elevator began to shut and you peered through the gap. "What? Why?! What's wrong with me?"

Laughing, Henry waved a final goodbye. "Everything, Ara. Everything."

"Hey!"

 

 

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