A small sigh escaping her lips, Ara entered the classroom. She accidentally bumped into one of the girls who newly transferred into her class from the class that disbanded. The chestnut-haired girl nervously gnawed on her lower lip and muttered an excuse. Ara turned around and looked at her confusedly. “You don’t have to apologize,” she slowly said, a frown on her face, before she went to her seat.

The girl's eyes widened a bit, but she quickly nodded her head barely noticeably before going to her seat. She wasn’t used to people notice her when they bumped into her, let alone react to her apology. She curiously glanced at Ara, who had positioned herself comfortably on her seat.

She doesn’t seem as bad as the rumors say.

Not even a second passed when the door to the classroom opened once again. Sehun slowly walked to his seat, his gaze unconsciously focused on a certain girl: Park Ara. Her expression from earlier was like etched into his mind. The sad eyes, the indicated smile – though he wasn’t sure if he just imagined that one – and the gaze that didn’t seem to focus on anything in particular.

Ara immediately noticed him staring at her and shifted uncomfortably. Not because she still owed him a thanks – since she hadn't thanked him but only gave him a few bills in a not so friendly manner – but also because she didn’t like being watched. She turned her face away, her elbows resting on the table.

The teacher soon entered the classroom and let a huge pile of paper plop onto her desk. “Alright, we have a lot to do today,” she loudly said. “A project, which whole third year is going to participate in – environment.”

“As the best school in this country, we have to set a good example. Therefore each class is going to participate in this project, so we can definitely choose the best projects to be presented in the assembly hall in one month. Every class is going to get the same topics. But every group within the class will get a different one. So, in the other classes there will be groups with the same topic as yours, and the best project will be chosen to be presented,” she explained.

The whole class seemed to be rather curious and excited about this – the presentation in the assembly hall would mean no regular classes on that day – and listened precisely.

The teacher nodded her head, satisfied with the attention, and continued, “As I said, this is going to be group work. Minimum of two people and maximum of four. However, you’re free to form the groups yourselves.” Immediately, every student turned to his or her friends and started talking about the group arrangements. They got silenced though, when the teacher slammed a book on her desk.

“If you guys don’t stop your chattering immediately, I'll divide you into groups personally,” she strictly said.

Meanwhile, Ara had still propped up her chin and looked at the blackboard boredly. She wasn’t into group work, not a tiny little bit. And she could care less about the irregular classes on the presentation day – after all, she attended this school to learn and get good grades, as she couldn’t rely on her family in case she failed school; rather than that, she was the one her family relied on.

After a long explanation of every topic, the teacher finally ended her speech, clasping her hands tog