Chapter 1

Opening Night

"Aissssh! I can't believe I'm going to be late on the first day!"

Krystal furiously ran through the halls of Woolim Academy looking for the gym. She had taken a 'little' nap which she expected to take fifteen minutes, but lasted for three hours long.

"Pabo pabo pabo," she muttered to myself.

Upon turning the corner, she ran straight into someone and caused him to drop a bundle of papers on the floor.

Nice going, Krystal! Why do you have to be such a clutz? She thought. "Sorry!" she apologized and bent down to pick up the scattered papers.

The boy she had run into was wearing clothes that seemed fit for a performance on stage. "Aish," he mumbled and bent down as well.

"Here you go. Sorry again," Krystal apologized, handing him the papers.

Although he had a cap on that he lowered to hide his face, as he looked up to take the papers from Krystal, she caught a glimpse of his face. He stared at her intently, and Krystal couldn’t help but smile.

Hey, he's kind of cute...wait, I'm still late! She gasped and stood up. "Sorry again!" she yelled and ran off.

*****

Krystal finally found the gym and sneaked in unnoticed. Everyone was chatting and catching up with their friends while the stereo blasted loud music. All of the girls were wearing brand name dresses, carrying Gucci bags, and had their hair and make-up specially done. The men wore suits and ties with expensive looking watches on their wrists.

And Krystal? She was standing alone awkwardly in her plain Summer dress even though it was Autumn,  her thin cardigan, and naturally wavy hair, or rather—bed-hair. Aish, I forgot to check my hair after I woke up. She realized.

As she fixed the loose strands of her hair, the lights on the stage lit up and a middle-aged women who she assumed was a teacher, walked out and tapped the microphone to get everyone's attention.

The students quieted down and turned their focus to the stage. She cleared and smiled. "Welcome back to Woolim Academy!"

The crowd clapped and cheered, but she held her hand up to speak. "And to any new students, we hope you have a great experience here."

Krystal smiled. I hope so too.

The teacher continued, "Now, let's start off with the boring stuff first."

The crowd laughed and she went on. "Although you probably already know, Woolim Academy is a very prestigious school. Any bad behaviour will not be tolerated. Please treat the academy and your classmates with respect. Know that people are here to learn and make music and we all want to help you achieve your dreams. Understood?"

"Ne, sonsaengnim," the students answered together.

She grinned again, "Now down to the fun stuff! I'm sure all of the new students must be curious about what Woolim Academy can do for them. So without further ado, I present to you Woolim's pride...INFINITE!"

The curtains opened, revealing a band of seven handsome boys. "KYAAAAAAAAA!" the girls squealed and ran right up to the front of the stage, fighting for the best spots. Some boys groaned and rolled their eyes, probably annoyed at how the females reacted, but they too followed the crowd of girls.

Krystal slowly walked over to join everyone, but she was at the back of the crowd. It didn't matter though, because she could still see everything on stage. The boys' glowing faces still shone.

"Welcome back to Woolim Academy!" the two boys holding microphones shouted, causing the crowd to erupt in screams once more.

The shorter boy with fierce-looking eyes turned around to look at the rest of the band and snapped his fingers. "One, two, one two three four!"

As the band sang and played their instruments, Krystal found herself tapping her foot and bobbing her head to the beat. Hey, the song is pretty catchy. What's the title? Come back again? Well, they say it a lot so that's probably it. She noticed.

"Don't worry oppas, we're back!" a girl screamed.

Krystal rolled her eyes and laughed. I don't think all of them are your oppas, haha. She looked up at the stage and saw the taller singer roll his eyes for a second, but continued to sing. He has a powerful voice. Krystal noted.

She scanned the rest of the band members. Aside from the two main vocalists, another boy was standing on stage with a microphone in his hand. He looked charismatic and intimidating, more so when he started to rap. At the back of the stage was the drummer. Anyone could tell he worked out, but oddly enough, contradicting to his manly aura was his big, cute grin on his face. 

On the left of the drummer was the bass player. Although all of the other boys were tall, he was even taller. On the right of the drum-set was the keyboard, played by the youngest looking boy who looked skinnier more feminine than some of the female students. I have got to lose some weight. Krystal sighed.

And lastly, there was the guitarist. Krystal didn’t know why, but he seemed different from the others.

The song went on, but she kept finding herself always turning back to the guitarist. Although the entire band looked intimidating, they all looked happy as they performed together.

However, the guitarist had an emotionless expression plastered on his face. Krystal studied the rest of his features and found herself thinking that he was the most attractive of the group. His eyes were especially mesmerizing, and she found herself wondering what he’d look like if he smiled.

The guitarist suddenly looked up and met Krystal’s gaze, catching her staring right at him.

Aish, how embarrassing! Krystal quickly looked away and walked over to the table with the punch bowl. As she poured herself a cup, she turned her head to look up at the stage again and still found him looking at her. That meant he also caught her stealing a glimpse at him again.

Thankfully, the song ended and the room filled with applause. The guitarist stopped staring at Krystal and put his guitar on the stand, walking over to the rest of his band members. All seven stood in the center of the stage together in a line and bowed. "Ahnyeonghaseyo, we are INFINITE!"

"We love you!" girls squealed in response.

Krystal walked back over to join the rest of the crowd. The shorter vocalist was speaking again, but she didn't pay any attention to him. She was too busy staring at the guitarist once more, following his gaze. It landed on the drinks table she was just at. 

He's not looking for me, is he? Kr