CHAPTER 3: EXCUSE ME

Soo Ah tied her hair in a high ponytail, pulled her skirt down to her knees and went down to eat breakfast.

After a while, she felt a hole burning behind her back. She slowly turned around and saw her mother staring at her school uniform with sadness in her eyes. Soo Ah rolled her eyes.

“Soo Ah, what are you wearing?” She asked.

She looked down and studied her clothes.

"My uniform." She shrugged and continued eating her cereals. Her mother rushed to the seat in front of her. “Honey, if you’re wearing such a thing, how will you ever find new friends?” She sighed.

“Mom,” she called out. “Please, don’t start with that.”

This time, her mother sighed. “Soo Ah, please, stop being so resigned. It’s a new start for you!” Soo Ah stared at her for a while and just nodded, finishing her breakfast.

“I’m going.” She said, but before the door shut, she heard her mother shout, “Have fun!”

High-end cars rushed past her as she walked to school. Soon, she found herself standing in front of the school’s big, brass gates that had the school emblem and the letters, ‘S E H S’ which stands for ‘Seoul Elite High School’.

She took a deep breath, and although she would deny that she did it because she was nervous, she whispered, “Here we go.”

She looked at the long corridors of the school.

They looked like the hallways of those high class hotels and she shook her head at the frivolousness of it all.

“Why is no one around?” She asked as she checked her watch. Fifteen minutes before class but not one student could be found. “Let’s see,” She took out your class schedule and scanned the rooms. “Homeroom, West Wing Room 205…”

She walked down the corridor, looking up at the big doors and the signages. “210, 209, 208, 207, 206, 2---“

“205.” A tall boy with black hair, white skin, a tall-bridged nose and sharp eyebrows finished her countdown. But he was far too handsome for her to actually pay attention to what he said.

“Excuse me?” She asked, clearly baffled.

“East Wing, Room 205.” He stated clearly. She looked at the door and back to the piece of paper in her hands.

“EAST WING?!” She shouted in shock. “Oh no!” She panicked. She normally didn’t lose her cool easily, but this was an emergency. “Err… If you don’t mind, how do I get to the West wing?”

“Just go straight, then once you see the elevator, go around it, you’ll see a bridge connecting this building and the West wing, if you cross that, you’ll be able to find it.” He finished and before he could say anything else, she quickly thanked him and left. He shook his head as he chuckled. His phone rang.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Ya!!! Kris!” A chinky eyed boy and looked like a dumpling jumped on his back and caught the taller boy off-guard. “Hurry! Let’s go to our floor now!!! Class is about to start!”

“Xiumin, why did you call me if you were just behind me?” Kris asked as he shook his head.

The other boy shrugged. “Aish, just hurry up with patrolling. Class is about to start.”

A boy with droopy eyes and a short build appeared behind Xiumin, causing Kris to jolt in surprise. “Hyung, don’t do that to Kris hyung. He’s the President you know!”

“Let’s just hurryyyyy.” He whined.

“Arrasseo.” Kris sighed and closed his record book before going up the stairs.

Soo Ah’s/Your POV

It’s a good thing I met that handsome guy else I’d be later than I already am! I bumped into a lady who introduced herself to me as “Miss Park” in the elevator. Turns out she’s actually my homeroom adviser. I thank the heavens for bringing luck on my side this morning.

“Class,” She began as she entered the room. I watched her from the door. “We have a new student.” I felt a bit nervous. Meeting new people, being the new girl, entering a new school, going outside Busan… I didn’t hear Ms. Park call me. “Ms. Go?” She came near me and led me to the front of the class. I drank in the view in front of me. More than 30 students gathered in a really spacious room. I bowed to them.

“Annyeong haseyo, my name’s Go Soo Ah.” I said without delay and looked at Ms. Park to lead me to my seat. She looked at me for a while as if asking me to speak more. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to look at the class once again. Now that I look closer, the kids here are actually all pretty decent looking—some of them might not be so pretty or handsome, but they look presentable and dignified.

“I have a question for her!” A girl with thick eyeliner raised her hand.

“Yes, Jiyeon?”

“What is your father’s occupation?”  I raised my brow. The other students leaned in and paid closer attention. I sighed. Apparently, everyone has the right to be rude too.

“He’s involved in the entertainment industry.” I answered as plainly as I could.

“Hmm, really?” She looked a bit more interested. “So you know a lot of idols and artists then?”

I shrugged. I didn’t really know a lot of people. Dad was fairly new to this—I think. He owned a record label before, but now, his company merged with a big company and I didn’t know anything aside from that.

“No, not really.” That did it for her and she rolled her eyes as she turned to another pretty girl with flawlessly white skin beside her, who asked another question.

“Where are you from?”

“Busan.” That did it for her as well. I nodded in resignation and looked at Ms. Park.

“Okayyy,” She said awkwardly, “You can sit beside Lee Sungjong. Sungjong, please raise your hand.” A timid looking boy raised his hand. He seemed kind of familiar… Oh. Oh . I sighed and headed to my seat. It was beside the window, three rows from the front and 4 rows from the back.

As I walked, I heard comments like,

"Why is her skirt so long?"

"She's pretty!"

"Hey, we should ask her to join us for lunch later."

"What's with her attitude? I don't like it."

They stopped as soon as Ms. Park began talking again, “Sungjong will be your partner, Soo Ah. He’ll help you familiarize yourself with the school. Please get along.” I nodded and she turned to begin homeroom. I turned to Sung Jong who seemed to be thinking of something to say.

“It’s okay,” I began in almost a hushed tone and he looked at me in surprise, “You don’t need to bother yourself.” Or me. I kept the last bit to myself though.

“No,” He seemed shocked so his reply came out rather carelessly. “It’s okay. I hope we forget what happened a few days ago. I’m Lee Sungjong, I’ll be your guide.” He smiled a cheesy smile and I couldn’t help but think of how nice he was.

“Yes, Ms. Park already told me your name. I’m Soo Ah, nice to meet you.” I paused and looked at him again, “You really don’t have to bother yourself.”

He let out what sounded like a giggle. “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. I like helping people out.” I almost rolled my eyes. Almost. I try to be nice sometimes. Sometimes.

“Wow, well then, I’m in your care.”

--

My morning classes went on quite smoothly. I was able to catch up since I was only behind the other students for a week.

I took note of my classmates—Sungjong helped me familiarize myself with them. I think he thought I wanted to know who some people were when I stared of into space.  He really concerns himself with other people’s business.

The girl who asked me a question earlier was called Jiyeon, she was apparently the queenka of our year. She had 3 friends in our year: Minah, Luna and Dasom—the girl beside her. The other two were in different classes. A girl named Eunji was kind of boyish and was also from Busan, she approached me earlier, telling me so. There were also twins in our class, Hwayoung and Hyoyoung? I think. Sungjong just told me that because they were really noisy and comical (for being kind of too girly). So far, Sungjong didn’t seem to tell me any of the boys’ names. Which led me to think that he might’ve thought I wanted to make friends with the other girls.

I sighed and looked out the window. Although it was closed (because we have three air conditioners running at the moment), I could see the field from the other side of the school. There were boys in soccer outfits running to one of the fields. How carefree. I looked at the digital clock on the wall—one hour ‘til lunch.

---

End of Soo Ah’s POV.

---

“Kai!” A tan-skinned boy snapped out of his daze but continued to stare at the second floor of the West Wing when Taemin, his best friend, called to him.

“What are you looking at? We’ll be late for practice!”

“Nothing.” Kai replied but still looked on.

“You look like a creeper.” Taemin joked and nudged him at his side. “Oh, isn’t that the queenka’s classroom?” He chuckled. “I thought you weren’t interested in her?”

Kai looked at Taemin. “I’m not!” He denied and turned to the direction of the field. “Let’s hurry! We’ll be late for practice.” Taemin stared at him dumbfoundedly.

“Wait for me!”

--

Mr. Kim wasn’t exactly the most entertaining professor in the school. Soo Ah's class was having math class and the class was almost dozing off. She were too, but the entire class jolted when the door of the classroom opened abruptly.

“Jung haksaeng!” Mr. Kim abruptly turned to the boy in question. He had black hair with a few blonde streaks in his fringe. He was smiling apologetically at the professor. “You’re coming in so late, aren’t you?”

“I came from practice, sir. The manager didn’t want me to attend class, but I—I wanted to go so badly. I didn’t want to miss this class.” He said almost too convincingly. The elder man seemed to believe him, well, his flattery. Soo Ah raised her brow and admitted that she was actually impressed.

“Very well, please proceed to your seat.” He nodded and continued writing equations on the board.

Sungjong leaned in to her, “He’s Jung Daehyun, our year representative.” She nodded, eyes following him.

Daehyun stopped in his tracks and looked straight at her. She had to admit she felt slightly uncomfortable. Such a handsome boy was staring at her... she found it unnerving and annoying. He turned to see Mr. Kim’s back facing the class and smiled as he stopped in front of her.

“New student?” He smiled. She nodded dismissively. He raised his brows in shock.

“I’m Jung Daehyun, sophomore year representative. If you have any questions and need any help, you can ask me.” He said with a smile. She couldn’t help but think of how friendly he was—and well, how nice his smile was.

“Thanks. But he’s already trying his best to fill me in on everything about the school.” She motioned to Sungjong who, along with the entire class, was staring at the two of them.

Daehyun gave out a deep chuckle. “Alright. Just making sure.” He said as he nodded and went to his seat, two rows behind her.

---

“Sungjong ssi.” Soo Ah turned to him and he immediately stopped in his tracks, almost bumping into you. “Please stop following me.”

“Ani, Ms. Park assigned me as your partner, so I should accompany you.” He said with much persistence. “Are you heading to the cafeteria?” He asked a bit softly.

She sighed and nodded. He continued. “Then you’re going the wrong way.” She blushed and had no choice but to followed him.

Once the two of them got to the cafeteria, which looked so much nicer than her old school's cafeteria, or 80% of Korea's high school cafeterias for that matter, she told Sungjong to separate from her. She just made the connection that he would be meeting his “predator hyung” and she didn’t want to see him on her first day of school.

However, as soon as she got her tray, which was also filled with unnecessarily different viands, she caught Sungjong waiting for her.

“I’ll go to a different table. Don’t mind me.” She told him but he kept following! Soo Ah was beginning to get a bit irritated. She hastened your steps to avoid Sungjong’s clinginess.

“Ah!” He uttered quite loudly that she instinctively turned to him. “HYUNG!” Her head turned to the direction he was looking at and she immediately regretted it as her eyes met his. It was him, the predator hyung. She saw his lips curl up into a grin.

Soo Ah turned her heel after quickly bidding Sungjong goodbye.

“What’s with those granny clothes?” She heard a snicker. For some reason, she knew it was directed at you but she refused to turn her head. She quickened your pace. “Hey violent granny girl!” The voice got louder and she almost turned around if only to shut him up. His cheap accent annoyed her. “HEY.” He called again.

‘Really! What does he want?’ She thought to herself and stopped in her tracks, as she turned to him, aware that the entire student body in the cafeteria was staring at both of them. He was just a few inches away from her, staring coolly and no doubt hoping to intimidate her.

“What?”

“Can’t believe you followed me here.” He paused, smirking. He probably thought he sounded really witty at that moment and she raised her brows at him.

“Excuse me?” She asked calmly.

“Even made friends with our maknae. Good job.” He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his chin up.

She smiled sarcastically at him. “Oh, yes, because I wanted to stalk his predator hyung with the cheap accent and weak fighting skills. So, so, attractive.”

He turned to Sungyeol and whispered, "She just called my accent cheap!"

Sungyeol laughed, "We told you it was cheap."

"It's not!" He argued and looked straight at her again.

She walked to him, stopping only a few inches from him. She brought her hand up to touch his face but he flinched and held her wrist tightly. Gasps could already be heatd. She smiled sweetly at him, all the while wanting to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

“How’s your cheek? I hope it didn’t swell that bad from my punch.” He pulled her closer, the two of them engaging in an intense glaring contest, which made the student body hold their breath. When it became obvious that neither of them would give in, the same tall guy he was with the other day, Sungyeol, stopped him.

“L, let go.” He paused and whispered, “You don’t want to ruin our image.”

‘L?’ She wanted so loudly to laugh at him. ‘Didn’t he call him Myungsoo—as in the name of the comedian Park Myungsoo, the other day? What’s with the reference to Deathnote’s L?! What’s with him trying to be cool?’ She thought to yourself.

He released her wrist. “I was just having some fun” He said, not breaking eye contact with her. “Welcome to our school..." He paused as he came nearer and plucked her name tag from her shirt, "...Go Soo Ah.” He said as he turned around and stalked to exit the cafeteria. Her eyes twitched.

“Thanks, Myungsoo.” She said as she held her head up high and earned another round of gasps. He stopped in his tracks and turned to see her back facing him.

“What is Busan girl doing with L-oppa?” Jiyeon asked a bit too loudly to her friends and Soo Ah sighed. She scanned the entire cafeteria for a place to sit and caught sight of Eunji, who seemed startled to see Soo Ah make eye contact with her, but she smiled anyway and called her over.

“Soo Ah-ssi!!” She called and Soo Ah noticed she was with 5 other girls. She nodded, figuring you needed some refuge.

---

The bell rang and Soo Ah had PE next. She didn’t have her uniform yet so she were asked to sit the class out. Obviously, she were more than happy to oblige. She didn’t want to eat and then have PE afterwards! She excused yourself and headed towards somewhere she can sleep.

After a few minutes of searching, Soo Ah checked herself in the infirmary, claiming she had dysmenorrhea and was feeling nauseous. Even the infirmary was grand! She sighed and took one of the beds.

…

After a few hours, she opened her eyes when she heard shuffling outside the room. This time, she were really feeling under the weather. Sleeping in the infirmary wasn’t the best option after all. She unsteadily sat up and tied her hair in a ponytail again. She pulled the curtains open and as soon as she opened it, her eyes met with a familiar figure.

“Oh, doctor, I hope you don’t mind, I grazed my knee—“ He stopped his sentence short as soon as he turned around and saw her. Their eyes met. Hers was probably as wide as his.

‘It can’t be right. Just now… No..’ Soo Ah mentally slapped herself awake, hoping that she was simply dreaming and he wasn’t in front of her. She took a step back; she could feel her hands shaking in nervousness. ‘It’s impossible for him to be here!’

“Soo Ah?” His deep voice rang in her ear. ‘Soo Ah!’*

“Ah” was all she could mutter. ‘What are you doing here?’*

“I knew it was you.” ‘Get away from me, Jong In!’* He took a step towards her and she warily took a step back. Pain was written all over his face as she did so.

He cautiously took a step closer but she held out her hand. “Stop!” She yelled.

She swallowed, finding her voice. The infirmary door opened but both of them were rooted in your place, unfazed by the disturbance.

“Oh, Soo Ah-ssi.” It was a familiar voice. “Are you okay? PE’s over, so the teacher wanted me to check on you.” Both their heads turned to him. Her eyes softened.

“Daehyun-ssi.” She managed to say. She was simply relieved to see him there. His eyes curiously shifted from her to the other person in the room.

“Are you okay now?” He asked, this time, only focusing on her. “We’ll be having our diagnostic exams in a few minutes.”

She nodded. “I’m just a bit—dizzy.” She weren’t lying, though. She really felt dizzy. “I’ll go back to the classroom now.” She told him and he nodded as he came to assist her. For some reason, she smiled at him; glad for the hand he offered to help her. He paused as he looked at her for a while and genuinely smiled back; happy for the small smile she gave him.

“Soo Ah!” The other guy called and she froze for a bit.

“Sorry, Jong In, you guys can talk some other time.” Daehyun said apologetically as he led her out.

Before Daehyun closed the door and led you to the classroom, she managed to look Jong In the eye again.

-- END!!! --

SURPRISE!!! KAI APPEARS HAHAHA

How was it??? I changed the tone of narration. Hope you don’t mind!

Comment and subscribe, please! It would really mean a lot to me to hear feedback from you guys. <3

Note:

The ones in single quotation marks (‘’) together with an asterisk (*) are from a flashback

Got it? :)

Okay! ;) keukeukeu

P.S. Here's a clip of how the Infinite members calls L's accent cheap and L denies it haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0otQoDszMQ