xxx  The Underdog Class

1 - Intro: New School

New, new, new.

Everything was new. Between waking up in a new queen-sized bed in his new, oversized bedroom in a new apartment in the heart of Gangnam-gu, Seoul leased under the name of his new step-father and getting dressed in his new school uniform, Yoo Youngjae felt annoyed at best and on the verge of a full-blown panic attack at worst.

He was more than disappointed that his mother had uprooted him from his childhood home in Suncheon to shack up with some random guy he had never even heard the woman mention by name until she strolled in late from work with a new wedding band on her left ring finger. His mother got remarried without consulting him, without letting him meet the new addition to his family, without regard for the fact that his father had passed away only six months prior in a car accident.

Yeah, he was going to hold a grudge about that one for a while. Hence the death glares he shot at both of them while they tried to make small talk over breakfast. Yoo Jisook and the glorious bastard Park Jinyoung, could only squirm uncomfortably under his hardened gaze as they poked at their rice, kimchi, and assorted bancheon. And he hoped beyond hope that they would feel nothing but guilt coarsing through their veins for as long as he was upset with them.

"Have a good day at your new school," Jisook said, quietly.

"Yeah," was all Youngjae said before walking out of the door, out of their apartment complex, and into the bustling, mega-city streets of Seoul. If he wasn't such a filal and respectful boy, he would have flipped her off, but he restrained himself. Deep down, he knew he was being a little ridiculous and knew that his mother was struggling with all of the sudden changes in their lives too.

But he was 17, slowly pressing in on 18, and he had to milk his last bits of acceptable childishness and defiance before he became a full-fledged adult while he could.

Youngjae gripped the straps of his backpack tightly as he navigated his way through two bus transfers and a mile walk to get to his new school, Sangjeon High School. One of the most prestigious in the city, he had been told, with rigorous academics and high-ranking sports clubs. His grades at his old school had been top-notch and he always found himself ranked comfortably in the top 5, hence why Jinyoung took it upon himself to get Youngjae enrolled in the well-respected school - his "housewarming present" to the teenager, as he liked to call it.

Scores of other teens passed by Youngjae, wearing uniforms identical to his. All of the boys' slacks and all of the girls' skirts were the same shade of dark gray. They all wore white button-up, collared shirts and spring green-colored neckties. Shoes seemed to be just about the only customizable part of the uniform, with the students wearing a vast array of boots, sneakers, heels, anything. Youngjae frowned at his own basic pair of black loafers. He wasn't sure how strict the uniform policy was, and now he felt like he looked absolutely boring and stuffy in comparison to his peers.

And his sensible shoes definitely must have made him stick out like a sore thumb, because the next thing he knew, a boy with fluffy blonde hair and prominent cheek bones had pounced on him (well, he basically just threw an arm around his shoulder, but Youngjae felt bewildered, violated, and a tad bit scared nonetheless).

"Welcome, Newbie!" the boy shouted.

Youngjae's face flushed bright red as he felt a few more eyes turn towards him and his new, unwanted companion.

"Seo Eunkwang at your service," the boy continued, smiling brightly. "How do I know you're new? I bet you're wondering. And I bet you've figured it out. What's with the church shoes?"

Youngjae rolled his shoulders, forcing Eunkwang to let go, and he straightened out his shirt. "Yeah, I'm new. Yoo Youngjae."

Eunkwang beamed and held out his hand, which Youngjae tentatively shook. "Nice to meet you. We don't usually get too many transfer kids, so pardon my excitement. You must be one pretty smart kid."

"Sure..." said Youngjae. "Top 5 at my old school."

"Well, let me do the nice neighborly thing and show you to your classroom," said Eunkwang. "What room have they assigned you to?"

Youngjae blinked, slightly puzzled for a moment, before remembering that the school had sent him a paper with room, teacher, and the school schedule. He fished it out of the side pocket of his bookbag and handed it to Eunkwang.

The other student hastily opened up the paper, scanning it quickly. His seemingly insatiable smile suddenly turned into a dark, worried frown. His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes narrowed as he continued staring at the paper.

"Youngjae, we need to get you to the guidance office asap."

"Why?" Youngjae asked, confusing flooding his mind.

Eunkwang didn't answer him. Instead, he simply grabbed his arm and dragged him into the building and into a twisting maze of hallways until they finally stopped outside a large door with large windows framing either side of it revealing the contents and people inside - the main office. Eunkwang ushered him inside and sat him down in front of the desk of a large woman who wore her glasses low on her face and had her graying hair pulled up into a dangerously tight bun.

"Mrs. Kim!" Eunkwang screeched.

"Seo Eunkwang, it's too early in the morning for this," Mrs. Kim replied, not even bothering to look up at the boy from the stack of papers she was signing her name to.

"My apologies, Mrs. Kim," said Eunkwang, his tone slightly more normal a little less chaotic. "But this is my friend Yoo Youngjae. He's new. And there seems to be a serious mix-up in his assigned classroom. You see, he has somehow ended up in room 134P. Surely that can't be correct."

At the mention of room 134P, Eunkwang had finally succeeded in capturing Mrs. Kim's attention. She raised her eyebrow. "134P? But we never put anyone new in that room."

"That's what I said!" Eunkwang cried.

"What's wrong with 134P?" Youngjae asked.

Mrs. Kim shook her head. "Oh, honey. Nothing's wrong with the room just..." she bit her lip. "Oh, darn it. I know what happened. I meant to put you in 134A, not 134P. I'm so sorry Youngjae."

"Sorry?" Youngjae's voice was rather high-pitched. He had no clue what was going on, but he got the feeling that he wasn't going to like it.

"The principal already shut down the transfer system since it's so late in the semester," Mrs. Kim explained. "We can't switch him to another classroom until next semester."

Eunkwang gawked at the older woman. "Oh come on! There's gotta be a way to get him out of there! We can send Peniel to the foreign school and Youngjae can have his spot in our room. He's a good kid, you can't leave him in 134P for an entire semester!"

"I'm sorry but my hands and the computer system are tied," said Mrs. Kim. "And Eunkwang, will you stop acting like those kids are the devil? They're just like you, they just struggle a bit more academically. No need to be so rude."

"Oh, compared to what Kim Himchan's done in the past, I'm just brushing the tip of the Titanic-sized Rudeness iceburg, lady," Eunkwang snapped, defensively.

"Just get out of my office," Mrs. Kim waved the two boys off. "Youngjae will be just fine. I've told you time and time again not to scare the new students. Now get out of my office unless you want detention."

Eunkwang scowled, but grabbed Youngjae's arm again, leading the boy out of the office and down the hall, presumably to the new student's notorious classroom.

"Did I just get put in a room with a bunch of dumb kids?" Youngjae questioned the older student.

"Dumb is one way to put it," Eunkwang answered. "134P is like the reject pile of Sangjeon High School. Their grades and test scores are horrible and they're all just a bunch of deliquents. They don't get along with anyone but each other. The school put them all in the same classroom just so the rest of the student body wouldn't have to deal with them... or so that's what we all think. Of course, administration would never openly divulge information like that, you know? Parents would complain."

Youngjae threw his head back and groaned. As if his life couldn't get any worse. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Eunkwang raised an eyebrow at Youngjae's outburst, but didn't question it.

"I didn't even want to go to this stupid school in the first place," Youngjae mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. "Now I'm stuck in the worst classroom with a bunch of losers who could probably beat me up and oh, god, what's going to happen to my grade point average in there?"

"It's only a semester," Eunkwang tried to reassure him. "And if you need anything, I'm just down the hall. I'll tell my friends about your situation so if you need anything, you can come to me or go to them okay?"

He stopped in front of a door at the very end of the hall and let out a heavy, dramatic sigh. He turned to face Youngjae, putting his hands on the slightly shorter boy's shoulders.

"God speed," said Eunkwang, solemnly.

Youngjae gulped, but nodded. As he Eunkwang walked away, he gave himself a little mental pep talk. He could deal with these kids and their foolishness and his grades would be just fine. In four short months, the semester would be over and he'd be back in the advanced class that he was used to. He would be just fine.

He put his sweaty hand (the jitters getting to him a bit) on the doorknob and took in a deep breath as he turned the knob and opened the door.

a/n: I feel like it's a smidge rushed and lazy, but intros are my weakness. >.< At least I got it out the way though right? haha Let me know what you think. xo; Alaina