A week in, almost everything had become the norm. The students were used to the new school and schedule -- in fact, they almost liked it.

Almost.

It was one thing to be a new kid, but to have practically the entire school ignore your one class filled with new kids?

That was completely different.

And even though the kids weren’t really alone, it felt a bit lonely sometimes. Many of them transferred to escape the feeling of exclusion, yet they were still excluded. The only difference being that the exclusion was towards the class and not just one kid. It went unnoticed, of course -- the students were still settling in, and they didn’t exactly notice the rest of the school. Nor did the teachers. It was a silent shunning, to say it bluntly.

However, it didn’t really impact the way they functioned. It barely made a difference at all. Sometimes, they’d get an uncomfortable vibe, but it didn’t really affect them. Not at all.

Especially not for people like Hara who cared more about her grades than the people around her.

“Appa!” Hara called from her room. “Where’s my skirt?!”

“Why do you need it?” Sungmin responded from downstairs. “It’s Saturday!”

“But the school has a required workshop today! It’s some sort of talent development workshop!”

“Oh, that workshop! But the e-mail from the school said it was free-dress!”

“Oh, is it?! Never mind, then!”

Today was one of those days. One of those days that Principal Kwon planned so that they would be their own unique person. Today’s subjects were the arts. Visual, Performing, and any more they could include.

So, Hara quickly pulled on a pair of denim shorts, a loose crème colored shirt, and a pair of sneakers. She was just about to leave her room before running into her closet. After a few minutes of intense rummaging, she found what she was looking for.

Insoles.

With a smile, she slipped the inch and a half insoles into her sneakers and then bounded down the stairs and straight into her father.

“Oh, appa!” she squeaked as Kyuhyun held her up to keep her from falling.

“Whoa, there, what’s the rush, Hara? The workshop doesn’t start for another twenty minutes.”

“But I want to get there early!” she said, straightening up.

“What for? It’ll most likely be empty. Just stay home and chill for another half hour or so, Hara.”

“Appa, it takes fifteen minutes to drive there plus traffic, and thirty minutes to walk. We should just leave now.”

Kyuhyun paused as he did the math. “…Oh, yeah. You’re probably right -- we should leave now.”

“I told you,” she giggled, walking towards the door. Sungmin gave her a brusque hug on the way out.

“Good luck, baby girl,” he cooed, nuzzling into her hair. He paused for a second then gave her a once over. “…Are you wearing your insoles?” he asked with a slight smile.

“Shhh!” she hushed, giggling.

“All right, let’s go,” Kyuhyun said, jingling his keys. He gave his husband a quick peck on the cheek and opened the door for him and his daughter.

They entered the car, Kyuhyun walking to the driver’s seat and Hara slipping into the shotgun. Both were seated, seat belted and ready to go. With hands on the steering wheel, Kyuhyun gave a sideways glance to Hara.

“…Who bought you insoles?”

“This is dumb.”

“Yah, Jaehyun, could you be any more negative?” Dara sighed from the driver’s seat.

“I could actually -- I’d rather die than attend this.”

“Well, stop being so pessimistic?”

“Stop being optimistic,” Jaehyun murmured.

Dara let out an exaggerated sigh. “There is no winning with you, is there? Why so down today, Jae?”

Jaehyun whipped his head to look at her. “Was that a rhetorical question?”

“No. Was that a rhetorical question?”

“You like teasing me when I’m angry, huh?”

“Well, you’re certainly sassy today, Jaehyun,” Dara said with a slight smile. “You remind me of your dad.”

“Well, first of all, today is Saturday, and we have to attend a workshop at school.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to be fun, Jaehyun! It’s focused on the Arts, so it should be less school based.”

“… Still.”

“It won’t be boring! You have that friend of yours, don’t you? What was his name… Jay Lo?”

“Umma, that’s an American singer! His name is Jayden!”

“Oh, right, that boy! You’ll have fun with him, right? He sounds like a nice kid.”

“He is a nice kid!” Jaehyun said, smiling. “He’s funny, and really cool. You should meet him!”

“Well, maybe you could bring him over some time.”

“That might be a good idea.”

Jaehyun thought about it for a second -- Jayden meeting his weird, messed up family. His dad would probably say something to embarrass himself, and his mom would pull out baby photos of him.

“Actually, never mind, that’s a bad idea. Forget it.”

Dara pouted as she pulled up to the school’s curb. As Jaehyun got out, she called out, “Don’t pull any tricks today, okay?”

“…Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me,” he smirked.

“Jaehyun!” she shouted as he shut the door.

With a new spring in his step he headed towards the school.

“Aye, Jaehyun-hyung!” a voice called out.

There was only one person that called him hyung, and that was Jayden. He turned around to see the American headed towards him, walking away from his own car.

“Jayden!” he called back, pausing to wait for his friend.

“What’s up, hyung?” Jayden asked cheekily.

“The sky!” he joked, earning a laugh from both of them.

As Jayden’s laughter quieted, he looked at Jaehyun’s clothes.

“Nice shirt,” he commented, a smile playing on his lips.

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, “Like it?” he asked, looking down to his orange and blue-zigzagged t-shirt.

“It’s a little tough on the eyes,” Jayden admitted, a small smirk forming.

“Well, it’s supposed to.” Jaehyun laughed and looked at his doengsaeng. “And what about you? What is that?”

Jayden stared down at his black t-shirt with the giant white words ‘Team Edward’ embellished on the front.

“I am a Twi-Heart,” he stated simply.

“But Twilight’s a girl movie that doesn’t make sense. Even my mom says so.”

“…Well, Twilight is great. It’s huge in the States. I’ll make you watch it if I have to.”

“I don’t have a problem with that! It’s just your shirt!” Jaehyun laughed. He glanced around the front of the school, and pointed at a boy with blonde-brown hair that was exiting a car. “Even he is dressed better than you!”

Jayden glanced to the boy. “All he’s wearing is a red plaid shirt, though.”

“Exactly.”

“Thanks for the ride, Sunggyu,” Jaesun thanked softly as he exited the car.

“No problem. Have a good day today, kid,” his godfather smiled. As Jandi exited, she pecked her father on the cheek. “Be good, Jandi-ah,” he said.

“I will, appa.” She smiled and waved as he drove away. She turned to her god-brother. “What a coincidence that we ended up at the same school.”

“Well, you know our parents,” Jaesun commented, staring straight ahead. “They practically communicate telepathically whether the notice or not.”

Jandi smiled. “Yeah, they do. How do you like it here so far?”

“It’s alright,” Jaesun admitted, fiddling with his camera’s settings. “It could be worse.”

“That’s true,” Jandi agreed.

Honestly, the atmosphere was kind of awkward. It wasn’t like they weren’t close -- no, they were really close as toddlers. But, Jaesun had closed off a little bit, and so had Jandi.

“Jandi-ah!” a female voice called to her. Jandi turned her head to see Seohyun, waving in a white blazer, and pale yellow shirt.

“Seohyun!” she responded, a smile lighting up her face. She turned slightly to walk to her friend, but paused and looked at Jaesun.

“Go ahead,” Jaesun said quietly, playing with his camera.

“A-Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you by yourself or anything.”

“I’ll be fine -- I’m used to being alone anyways.”

“But--”

“It’s fine, Jandi,” he said, looking at her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“…Okay, then.”

She turned away hesitantly and walked towards Seohyun. Together, the two continued talked and walked to the school. Standing still, Jaesun brought the camera up to his eyes, and aimed it at the girls. With a quick snap, the moment had been paused.

“Bye, papa! I love you!” Xiaoyi cooed as she gave Yixing a warm hug.

“Love you, too, Yiyi,” he smiled. “Now be good, okay?”

Xiaoyi smiled and stepped back as her father drove away. She smiled and took a deep breath. Once she found out that this workshop was on the Arts, she was slightly excited. After all, Dance is part of the Arts, right?

She turned around and spotted a honey-brown haired boy snapping a photo with his big camera. He wore an open red plaid shirt over a white tee. She looked down at her own loose and faded, striped tank top and tilted her head. He was that one boy that didn’t talk.

As he continued to walk, she smiled to herself and bolted after him. She skidded to a stop at his side, and he looked up at her in surprise.

‘Wow,’ she thought, ‘that’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen on his face.’

They stared at each other for three seconds before he turned away and began walking again.

“Hey!” she yelled, rushing to his side again. “What’s your name?”

He barely glanced up. “… Jaesun.”

She grinned. “Well, I’m Xiaoyi!”

No response.

She raised an eyebrow as he gave her the cold shoulder and continued. But a cold shoulder wouldn’t stop Wu Xiaoyi! No! Desperate times call for desperate measures! She knew what she had to do, and he might not like it, but it was her method of finding information. She used it when Luhan kept secrets, or when she wanted to find out what her dad got her for Christmas. It always worked, so it had to work now!

“So… have you made any friends yet?” Chaemi asked, muttering the question to her brother.

Minwoo feigned a touched gasp and held his hand to his heart. “So you do care~!” He threw his arms around her, attempting a hug when she shoved him off.

“I don’t care, I’m just helping mom make sure you’re behaving!”

Minwoo and Chaemi had arrived early (thanks to their mother, of course) and were waiting in the classroom. Donghyun had yet to arrive, and there were still no students yet.

“But just in case you’re wondering,” Minwoo started, “I did make friends. And you?”

Chaemi felt a slight grin on her lips. “I actually found people a lot like me.”

“People like you?” he scoffed. “That’s bound to be disastrous.”

Chaemi rolled her eyes and just turned her face away when two people entered the classroom.

“Mina! Hyunri!” Minwoo called out with a smile.

The two caught his eye and walked over to him exchanging greetings.

“How are you guys today?” Hyunri asked brightly.

“I feel good today, actually,” Mina smiled softly. She giggled at Hyunri. “I like your sweatshirt, Hyunri.”

Hyunri glanced down at his baby blue sweatshirt. “Thanks, Mina! I like your shirt! It compliments your skin!”

Mina blushed shyly as she her light salmon top. Minwoo laughed at Hyunri as more and more students started filling up the classroom.

“Hyunri!” Hara squealed as she entered.

“Hara!” Hyunri exclaimed, equally excited.

The two ran to each other in a bone-crushing hug. Kyuhyun, who had taken the unwanted liberty of walking his daughter to the classroom, stared at Hyunri curiously. But he looked at Hara’s smiling face and let it slide. He smiled to himself before turning to leave.

“--you don’t talk? Are you mute? Are you shy? You know, I have a cousin who’s shy. He doesn’t talk much either. But he says hello to me! Why don’t you say hello to me? Or even just wave. Hey, do you know how to do a wave? It’s so much fun! I can teach you to dance, maybe.”

“Xiaoyi!” Chaemi called out, smiling.

Xiaoyi turned away from Jaesun (who was still expressionless) and waved to her friend. “Chaemi! Come over here!”

“You come here!”

“Well, I’m walking anyways.”

Jaesun was about to walk away when Xiaoyi grabbed his sleeve and dragged him over with her. But, she still didn’t get a reaction out of him.

“Who’s this?” Chaemi ask, sitting cross-legged on a desk.

“This is Jaesun,” she said, gesturing to the boy with the camera. “Jaesun, this is Chaemi.”

Jaesun barely glanced up and just nodded slightly. Chaemi nodded back, getting the feeling that he was awkward.

After ten minutes, the rest of the class and Donghyun had arrived.

“Thanks for coming guys,” he grinned, “The school and I really appreciate it.”

In the back, Jaehyun scoffed. ‘Sure,’ he thought, ‘Appreciate.’

“So, basically, these weekly workshops will be dedicated to developing your own talents. Mostly, though, in the Arts. We’ll be splitting into two groups -- Visual and Performing Arts. Visual Arts will consist of painting, sculpting and photography. Performing will consist of singing, dancing, acting and other stage skills. Visual Arts, please take a step towards me, and Performing Arts, wait by the door.”

The group split. Jayden and Jaehyun both agreed to go to Performing Arts, as did Seohyun, Jandi, Mina, and Xiaoyi. Otherwise, Hara and Hyunri decided on Visual Arts like Jaesun, Minwoo and Chaemi. Donghyun glanced at the two separate groups and nodded to himself.

“Performing Arts, you’ll follow me, and Visual Arts will stay here.”

Xiaoyi looked pointedly at Chaemi. “Hey, try to get him talking, okay? I’ll see you later!”

Chaemi nodded and looked at the quiet kid playing with his camera. No doubt she’d have to do photography also in order to try and talk to him.

The Performing Arts group walked down a few halls with Donghyun.

“Where exactly are we going?” Mina asked.

“We,” he began, “are going to the music room. It also doubles as the dance room, and there, you’ll be met with your instructor.”

“Instructor? Instructor for what?”

“He’s the school voice coach and dance teacher. He’ll be mentoring you all. He’ll probably spend some more time with the singers, since he’s more of a singer himself, but he’s basically there to supervise.”

Jayden asked, “So, why exactly are these workshops made? Why can’t we just spend our Saturdays like ever other teenagers?”

“It’s going to help you develop your unique abilities,” Donghyun answered.

“So, it’s going to help me?”

Donghyun glanced at Jayden, looking into his eyes. “… Do you know why this new homeroom was made?”

Jayden glanced around, not sure if it was rhetorical or not. “Uh, no. Not really.”

“Oh. Then, yeah, this will help. Ah, here we are!” he said, turning the corner and entering a room.

It was room with a mirror on one side and a corner with a piano and other instruments. Sitting on the piano bench was a man with light, toffee colored hair.

“Kids, this is your instructor, Jung Daehyun,” Donghyun smiled.

Daehyun gave a cheeky smile and motioned for them to approach. “You guys can just call me Daehyun-sungsengnim, but yes, I am your instructor for the Performing Arts division of these workshops.”

Donghyun smiled and turned to the door. “Well, I need to get back to the other kids, so I leave you guys with him. Have fun!” he said as he left.

“Sure, fun,” Jaehyun snorted.