Luhan and Kris pulled up to the school. It was a very imposing edifice, with five floors and an iron wrought gate with armed guards, it looked more like a prison. Luhan looked over at Kris. His brother smiled.

“Don’t worry, Luhan. You’ll be alright.” He reassured him. He turned away and peered out the window at the school again. He could see boys and girls his age skipping rope and playing football. He smiled. Perhaps it won’t be so bad. He turned back to his brother.

His tired eyes betrayed his strong façade. “You need to sleep, hyung.” He said, patting his older brother’s head. Kris smiled.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, readjusting himself. “But right now, you need to go so I can get to class. The faster I get to class, the faster I get out and am able to go to work.” Luhan grimaced.

“With school and work, I barely ever get to see you anymore.” He whined. Kris sadly smiled at his brother, trying to be strong for the both of them.

“It’s alright, Luhan. I’ll have a day off soon, and we’ll hang out then, okay?” Luhan nodded, leaning over and hugging his brother.

“Goodbye, Kris.” Kris ruffled his hair, gently shoving him off and out the door.

“Bye, Luhan, see you after work.” As Luhan stepped out of the car, Kris revved up the engine and sped off. He sighed as he entered the gates to his new sanctuary.

*****

As he passed through the schoolyard, he could feel eyes boring into him as he made his way to his homeroom. Taking out the slip of paper Kris had given him, he navigated his way through the maze of hallways until he found room 84E. He cautiously made his way into the classroom.

“Ah! Here we go, everyone!” the teacher called the class to attention. The boys who had been playing around rushed to their seats, and the girls slid back into theirs, switching from talking to passing notes instead. “This is our new student. Why don’t you introduce yourself to everyone?” the teacher asked.

Luhan nodded shyly. He looked out into the class, and spotted her. The girl from before. He turned back to the rest of the class. “Hi, my name is Luhan.” He said, looking down at the floor. The teacher told him to pick a seat, and he shyly wet over and sat down next to the girl. She smiled back at him. Did she remember?

*****

After school, which was a lot more exhausting than it seemed, he went straight home. Perhaps Kris had gotten off of work early? He wanted so badly to tell his brother about his first day of school.

He shot up the stairs and breathlessly opened the door. “Hyung! Hyung, are you here?” he asked, throwing down his backpack and frantically running around the apartment. His face fell as he realized that he was alone. “Oh,” he sighed to himself as he sat on his bed. It would be hours until Kris was back again.

He went over and retrieved his backpack. He took out his arithmetic and began working on it. Numbers were more difficult than it seemed. He wished Kris were here to help him. But then again, Kris had his own homework he had to worry about. He didn’t think it was a good idea to bother him about it. He would try to get a tutor at the school sometime. For now though, he sat at his desk next to his bed, and worked on multiplication by lamplight.

*****

As he walked out onto the schoolyard after class the next day, he was approached by a fierce looking boy. “Hey, new kid!” Luhan looked up.

“No, I’m Luhan.” He answered. The boy laughed.

“You’re a card, y’know that?” he asked. Luhan shrugged.

“I thought I was a person.” He answered. Several other boys laughed as they approached him.

“Hey,” said another boy, this one had a round face. “Are you the kid that lived in the mountains?” he asked. Luhan nodded. The boys looked over at each other, whispering something. They nodded to the fierce one.

“My name is Tao,” he said, holding out his hand. Luhan looked from his hand to his face.

“Shake it, Luhan.” One of the boys chided. Luhan grabbed his hand, and moved it up and down. Tao laughed.

“Well, it’s nice to have met you. Have you ever played football before?” he asked. Luhan shook his head. “We’ll teach you, then,” he said, putting his arm around Luhan’s shoulders.

Hours passed as they taught him how to play. After a few rough turns and landing on his behind, Luhan was finally able to kick the ball into the square at the end of the field.

“Whoo! Go, Luhan!” Tao raised up his hand. Luhan, smiled up at it. “Hit it, kid.” Tao said, lowering it a little. Luhan took his own hand, and put it on Tao’s. “Close enough,” he said, ruffling his hair.

The boys walked into the school, and back into the cafeteria. There, they sat and talked for a while. After a while, the one called Sehun said, “Hey, didn’t you save Lee Eunji?” Luhan looked over, blood rushing to his face.

“I helped someone, but I’m not exactly sure of whom.” He replied. Kai scoffed.

“Dude, she’s the chick you sat next to in class.”

“There was no baby bird, only a person.” Luhan retorted, quite confused. The other boys howled in laughter.

“Chick is another word for ‘girl,’ Luhan.” Tao explained.

“Oh~” Luhan finally came to the realization. He would have to start learning these new words they used. It was nothing like on the radio at home. And suddenly, his heart ached, remembering his mother on that lonely mountaintop. “Yeah, I guess I did.” He said, looking off in a daze. The others nodded and grouped together.

They kept looking back over at him from their discussion, which seemed to be getting quite heated. He could hear Kai and Tao over everyone else. Their whispers were hurried and urgent. Soon, they dispersed, and surrounded him.

“So, Luhan…” Tao began. Luhan looked up and sweetly smiled.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“We were wondering if you’d like to join our group?” he asked. Luhan’s eyes lit up.

“Oh boy would I!” he said, a giant grin spreading across his face. “Do you guys have a name?” he asked. Tao nodded.

“The Wolf Pack.”

“But,” Kai interrupted. “You have to pass initiation first.”

“In-ish-ee-ay-shun?” Luhan annunciated. “What’s that?” he asked.

“A test, to see if you’re worthy of being a brother.” Kai explained. Luhan nodded, determined to impress his new friends.

“What do I have to do?”

END OF CHAPTER 4