“Oh my god!” Minah cried as she fell out of bed. She landed with a thump on the ground. Minah groaned, sat up, and looked around. Hayoung was staring at her with a strange look on her face.

 

“Good morning,” Minah greeted.

 

“Umm… Good morning. Are you okay?” Hayoung asked.

 

“Hmm?” Minah mumbled. “What? Oh, yeah I’m fine! Sorry, I just had a weird dream. Hey, what time is it?”

 

“It’s seven thirty,” Hayoung replied.

 

Minah’s eyes widened. “Seven thirty? Oh no! I usually wake up at seven! My alarm, why didn’t this stupid thing ring!” She grabbed her alarm clock and looked at it. Minah groaned and flipped a switch on the clock. “I forgot to turn it on! Oh, I’m so dumb.” She hopped out of bed and ran into the bathroom.

 

“Umm.” Hayoung said to herself. “Okay..” She straightened her outfit and picked up her books. “I’ll be going first! Make sure to lock up before you leave! Bye!”

 

“Bye!” Minah shouted from the bathroom. “See you later!” She hurriedly combed her hair with her fingers and brushed her teeth. Then, she picked out the first outfit she saw, and threw it on.

 

A few minutes later, Minah was ready to go. She picked up her bag and textbooks, made sure the door was locked, and then left the dorm. She had about five minutes left to get to her classes. This would have been easy, except that Minah’s first period was all the way on the top floor. She sprinted to AP Chemistry and burst into the room. Suddenly, the room went quiet.

 

“Hey, it’s the girl who knocked into Kris,” a girl whispered. “Look at how she entered the room. Like she’s all that.”

 

“Yeah, she’s the one who spilled his coffee.” Someone else hissed. “Who does she think she is? The queen?”

 

“I heard she also tried to demand attention from Chanyeol,” a boy muttered in disgust. “Talk about desperate.”

 

Minah gaped at the class as they continued to accuse her falsely. What the heck were they going on about? It wasn’t like she had knocked into Kris on purpose! And what was this about demanding attention from Chanyeol? He had been the one to talk to her, not the other way around! She could feel her face grow hot with fury. These people were talking smack about her right to her face.. and they weren’t even getting their information right! She quickly walked up the aisle, looking for an empty seat.

 

She found an empty seat alright… next to Kris. There was no way Minah would sit there. It would only bring more trouble. She stood on the stairs, staring stupidly at the crowd. Where could she sit? Suddenly, an arm shot up, and Hayoung’s face appeared.

 

“Hey, Minah!  There’s an empty seat! Come sit here,” she smiled. Relieved, Minah rushed over to Hayoung and sat down.

 

“I didn’t know you were in my first period,” Minah said, bewildered.

 

“Me neither,” Hayoung chuckled. “If I had known, I would’ve walked here with you!”

 

“We should come together!” Minah suggested.

 

“Yeah, we should,” Hayoung agreed. The two girls smiled at each other. “I’ve got a new friend..” Minah thought happily. “At least she wasn’t talking trash about me...”

 

The teacher, Mr. Lee, entered and took roll, like he had done yesterday. Today, Minah began to take note of other names in the classroom. When Kris’s name was called, both Hayoung and Minah instinctively turned to look at him. Turns out, they weren’t the only ones; every person in the class had turned. Kris’s aura was just that strong.

 

He looked quite irritated with all the attention, and he looked directly straight, refusing to look at anyone. Minah was baffled. If he didn’t like all the attention, then why was he popular? Didn’t popular people enjoy being the center of attention? She shook her head in confusion and turned back around.

 

Hayoung was staring at her, a smile on her lips. “You think he’s hot too, huh?”

 

“What? No? I mean, he’s okay.. but he’s kind of a jerk.”

 

Hayoung laughed. “I’m sure that’s only because he doesn’t know you. Everyone has a nice side. If you get to know him better, I’m certain that he’d be nice.”

 

“Maybe,” Minah agreed. “But nobody except EXO is close to him.”

 

“Ooh,” Hayoung grinned. “You seem to be knowledgeable about them. That’s good. We’ll get along well then!”

 

Minah cracked a smile. “That’s because my previous roommate loved to gossip. I don’t really learn things myself. I’ll be relying on you for the latest news!”

 

“Leave it to me,” Hayoung said.

 

“You two,” Mr. Lee suddenly boomed. “Stand up.” He gestured to Minah and Hayoung. The two girls stood up slowly, realizing that they had been talking too loudly.

 

“What are your names?” he asked.

 

“Byun Hayoung,” Hayoung replied confidently. The teacher nodded and wrote something next to her name. “And you?” he asked, pointing at the girl next to Hayoung.

 

“I-I’m Jung Minah,” Minah replied softly.

 

“Speak up!” the teacher cried.

 

“Jung Minah!” Minah repeated, this time more loudly.  

 

“Good. You’ll never get anywhere in life if you keep mumbling like that. Learn to speak up, girl!” he scolded. The students in the room began to laugh and sneer at her. Minah lowered her head in embarrassment.

 

“Now,” the teacher said. “I don’t want to hear you two anymore. You’ll receive detention if I catch you talking again. Understood?”

 

“Yes, Mr. Lee,” the girls replied in unison. He nodded. “You may sit back down.”

 

The two senior girls sat back down. Minah turned her head and gave Hayoung an apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry,” she mouthed. Hayoung smiled at Minah and shook her head. The two remained quiet for the rest of the period.

 

 

Meanwhile, Kris was snickering to himself. “Wow,” he thought. “She at whispering. And not only that, but she’s clumsy as well. The only thing she has going for her is her brains, though she seems to completely lack common sense. She does have money though. And she’s not that bad looking either… I suppose those traits will get her somewhere in life…” Kris’s eyes suddenly widened. He sat up, clearing his throat and shaking his head. “Whoa, don’t even go there,” he thought. “This girl is a nobody. What the heck were you thinking? She’s not cute at all! She looks like a donkey!” He focused on the lesson and forced himself to stop thinking about the awkward girl.

 

Chemistry eventually passed. Minah went to her second period, Physics, while Kris went to AP Chinese. Luckily for Minah, she and Taeyeon were in the same class. The two chatted the whole period while the teacher droned on and on about physics. Finally, the period came to an end, and the two girls left the classroom.

 

“Ah, I’m glad we have fifteen minutes now,” Minah yawned and stretched. “That class is so boring!”

 

“Yeah,” Taeyeon agreed. “We should get something to eat. It’ll wake us up.”

 

Minah agreed with a smile. “Yay, food! I haven’t eaten yet, since I woke up late today.” The two approached their special table, where they would wait for Junhyun.

 

“Oh, shoot!” Minah suddenly shouted. Taeyeon looked at her in confusion. “What happened?”

 

“I left my textbook in the physics room! Hold up, I’ll go grab it real fast, okay?”

 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Taeyeon asked.

 

“Nah, that’s alright. Plus, you should wait for Junhyun. He’ll be here soon. Look, there he is,” Minah replied, pointing to the distance. Junhyun noticed the two girls, and began to run over. Minah raced back to the classroom. Luckily, the book was still there. Minah retrieved the book and began to walk back towards the cafeteria.

 

Minah turned the corner slowly, making her way to where Taeyeon and Junhyun were. Suddenly, twelve boys appeared from the side, blocking her way. She stopped in her tracks, as she was unable to continue any further. Eleven eyes darted to her direction, excluding Kris. He had no interest in clumsy girls like Minah.

 

Minah was frustrated. Why the heck was she seeing these boys so much all of a sudden? She had lived through the last couple of years with only seeing them about once or twice a year! She had already seen them twice now! In just two days!

 

“Do you need something?” a voice boomed. The owner of the voice looked unfriendly, and he looked her up and down, judging her.

 

“Er,” she said awkwardly. “I was trying to pass… and you guys suddenly appeared … Can I get through please?”

 

The boy remained where he was. He took a step towards her, smirking. Uncertainly, Minah took a step back. “U-Um.. What are you doing?”

 

“Oh, just let her pass, Kai,” one of the boys said. It was Chanyeol, from yesterday, Minah realized. “She looks terrified.”

 

She gave him a small nod in thanks, and he smiled. “Hey, Minah.”

 

“H-Hey Chanyeol..” Minah replied.

 

The boy named Kai rolled his eyes and stepped to the left, making room for Minah to pass. She rushed through with her head lowered, trying not to garner any attention from the boys. EXO continued walking in the other direction.

 

Minah ran over to Taeyeon and Junhyun, where they stood with their eyebrows raised.

 

“Were you just talking with EXO?” Taeyeon gasped.

 

“What? No! They were blocking my path! I was coming here to see you guys.”

 

Junhyun facepalmed himself. “No! You should’ve stayed to talk with them! Nobody gets to talk to them much! If you can become their friend, then you can introduce us to them!” He grinned at his girlfriend. “That’s like a dream come true, right baby?”

 

“You’re getting way ahead of yourself,” Minah groaned. “Who said anything about being their friend? I have no intention of doing that. They’d cause too much drama in my life,” she shook her head.

 

“Ooh, so you admit you had thought about it!” Taeyeon teased.

“What? No!” Minah protested. “I didn’t mean it like that! Oh, you know what I meant. I was just trying to pass through.”

 

Taeyeon laughed and patted Minah’s head. “I know, I was just messing with you.” She grinned widely and linked arms with Junhyun and Minah. “Hey, let’s go get something to eat now. We only have like five minutes left!”

 

The trio found a small stand and bought their snacks. They ate and chatted happily.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the boys looked at Chanyeol in confusion while they continued to walk down the hall. “How did you know her name?”

 

Chanyeol looked at the boys. “Oh, I introduced myself to her yesterday. We have fifth period together.”

 

“More importantly,” Sehun began. “Why did you tell Kai to let her go? That girl probably wasn’t terrified, but excited to death. After all, it’s not every day that Kai gives a girl special attention. He never makes the first move, he just waits for the girls to come flocking to him.” Sehun scratched his head in puzzlement.

 

“She was terrified,” Chanyeol announced.

 

“Technically, she DID come to me,” Kai interrupted. He grinned widely. Chen shook his head goofily and patted Kai on the back. “Wow, man. I don’t know if you’re dumb or just messing around. She was obviously trying to get to the other side of the hall.”

 

“She was terrified,” Chanyeol repeated. “She had the same look yesterday, when people were whispering about her.”

 

“Why are you paying so much attention to her? She’s just another common girl. I don’t see anything special about her.” Xiumin said slowly. “I mean, I know you have a pretty good memory and all, and that you notice and remember a lot of small details without trying... but it’s like you care about this girl or something. Why?”

 

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know. I’m not treating her differently or anything, I’m just acting on instinct.”

 

“Yeah you are treating her differently,” Baekhyun insisted. “You never try to make friends with girls. Heck, you don’t even talk to the guys. It’s just us. It’s always been just us.”

 

“Yeah..” Lay said softly. “Remember the last time we brought a girl into this? We almost fell apart…” everyone looked at Luhan, who flinched slightly.

 

“Don’t remind me, guys,” he said. “I’m really sorry about that. It was a horrible mistake. She just turned out to be like all the other girls…” he looked at his friends apologetically.

 

Suho put a comforting hand on Luhan’s shoulder. “No one’s blaming you, Luhan. Nobody saw it coming.”

 

Luhan smiled at Suho in gratitude, and then he turned to Chanyeol. “I don’t think it’s wise to befriend her… Especially since she goes to this school. I mean, if she was an outsider that didn’t know your status, it’d be fine, but everyone knows us here.”

 

Tao stepped up slowly. “I know we sound all whiny and overprotective, but we’re just watching out for you, gege. These girls are dangerous. They only bring trouble.”

 

Chanyeol rubbed his neck. “Look, guys, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t know why you’re all making such a big deal out of this. It’s not like I want to get with her or anything.”

 

Kris chuckled darkly. “Good. She’s clumsy and weird, not to mention she’s kinda antisocial. The only good thing about her is that she’s got money. But obviously we all have enough of that. If you want a girlfriend that bad, there’s plenty of other chicks.”

 

“I told you,” Chanyeol repeated. “I don’t want to get with her.”

 

“Oh,” D.O said slowly. “Really? Then… what do you want with her?”

 

Chanyeol sighed. “I was just .. I was just trying to be nice. All of us,” he gestured to his friends. “have been getting the same treatment from people our whole lives. Well, I’m sick of it. I want to know what it’s like to be treated normally. We’re all treated like gods, and girls are always trying to seduce us. She’s the only one who hasn’t tried and I just want to know what it’s like to be in the presence of someone like that. And plus, you were scaring her, Kai. She just wanted to pass through the hall, and we were blocking her way.”

 

Kai snorted. “Just because she hasn’t attacked you yet doesn’t mean she’s different. She might just be hiding her true personality. Maybe this is what she wants! Maybe she just wanted you to believe she was different, and then take advantage of you in the end anyways.”

 

Kris nodded and spoke again. “Kai is right. She threw herself at me, remember? We don’t know whether it was on purpose or by accident, but we shouldn’t assume she’s normal only after a day of knowing her. Hell, we don’t even know her. We’ve only seen her like once or twice.”

 

“Maybe,” Chanyeol said. “But I’m willing to take the chance. I know the chance of her being normal is really slim, but I’m trying to hold onto that small bit of hope. Please, guys. I just want to know what being normal feels like. We’ve been rich and famous our whole lives. She just might be the one who treats us like regular, human beings. Please. Just let me try.”

 

Suho looked around. “What do you guys think?”

 

“I think---“ Sehun began. Suddenly, the bell rang, and the boys groaned.

 

“My class is all the way on the top floor,” D.O groaned.

 

“Me, too,” Lay said sadly. “I can’t stay. I’ve gotta go now.”

 

“We’ll definitely continue this later,” Chen declared. “At lunch.”

 

The boys all agreed, and then they dispersed.