The first day of school had finally arrived. Over the past few days Saehee frantically prepared for school with Minseok and his friends' help. Minseok eventually asked Jonguk to invite his friends over for Saehee's sake. And to much consideration, he allowed it. He kept a strict eye on them to make sure that no one crossed the line; especially since they were all boys surrounding his beloved niece. He has no idea what happened when he was away in Seoul.

The teens often told stories about their own experiences in school to help ease her mind and to get a feel for what it's going to be like. They told her about school festivals, boring teachers that lecture for hours, sporting events, clubs, and so much more. Her eyes widened at the amount of opportunities high school students had.

That warm summer morning, Minseok insisted to carpool with Saehee to school. She had prepared an hour early, so she was just patiently waiting in her bedroom. "Where are you going today?" The bunny figure asked Saehee, tilting its head to the side in wonder.

"I'm going to school," she simply answered. She tried not to talk to her hallucinations, hoping that they would just disappear if she didn't respond to them. But when it came to her imaginary friend, she couldn't ignore it so easily.

"Daebak! Aren't you scared? There's going to be a lot of people there." The bunny traced a huge circle in the air while saying 'a lot.' Saehee furrowed her brows, obviously irritated from its obvious question. Of course I’m scared, and I know there will be a lot of people! she shouted in head. She picked up a pillow and through it at the bunny. The pillow passed through the bunny and landed on the floor with a soft thud. It disappeared.

A soft knock was heard at her door. "Saehee, Minseok is waiting for you downstairs," Eunjung called. Saehee gathered her book bag, and then placed her pillow back on her bed before opening the door. When she opened the door Eunjung was there with a bright smile on her face. Lately, she was there when Saehee opened the door.

---

Minseok waited for Saehee to come down. The atmosphere was tense downstairs with Jonguk's usual stoic expression looking at Minseok. Minseok avoided Jonguk's strong stare by averting his eyes. The atmosphere quickly changed once Saehee arrived. Minseok couldn't help but gape at her appearance. She was wearing the summer uniform—the school colors being white and a light blue—and her hair was combed straight as normal. Nothing really changed, but Minseok thought she suited the school uniform so well; as if she was born to wear it. Her petite body definitely gave it that innocent feel that many males around Minseok's age loved. He gulped.

"Saehee, you look great," Jonguk complimented, also pleased at her appearance. She smiled at his compliment. Jonguk rummaged his pants pocket and took out a cell phone. She held it out for Saehee. "Since it's the first time you won't be home I bought you phone. I already saved my number in there. Use it responsibly," Jonguk told her.

Saehee was ecstatic; it was her first time ever having a cell phone. "Thank you Uncle." She took the phone, slipping in the pocket on her skirt.

Minseok and Saehee made their way to a car parked outside the gate. Minseok opened the back door for her. “Surprise!” Minseok’s friends shouted at her from inside the car. She stumbled back, startled at them all being there. The car being large van completely slipped her mind when thinking only three people would be in it.

“Kris rented a van so that we can all go to school together,” Luhan explained excitedly.

“They insisted,” Kris added. His facial expression showed that he was against the idea of having to rent a van when school was only a few minutes away.

“Come on in,” Lay scooted down, followed by everyone else scooting to make some space for the two. Kris even hired a chauffeur who looked somewhat confused to be driving a bunch of teenagers to school.

Minseok sat in the middle with Saehee to his side next to the window and Kris on his other side. The other four fitted themselves in the back with only three seats to occupy the still growing boys. The whole time they shifted in their seats for a more comfortable position; finally deciding that it would be best for Luhan, the skinniest of them all, to sit on the floor.

Soon, they arrived at the front gates of school. The teens piled out of the van and Kris paid the chauffeur before driving away. “Thank you Kris-shi,” Saehee slightly bowed to him.

“No problem,” Kris replied. His disapproving attitude from earlier completely vanished after her hearing her thanks. The teens made their way into school. Students were running around and hugging in joy at being able to meet up with their friends after the long summer break. Saehee flinched at the many random outbursts of squeals from female students. She instinctively hid behind Minseok as they walked toward the office to obtain their schedules. Minseok protectively walked in front of her, making sure that no one would bump into her. The boys were also cautious; they stole glances at her to assure if she seemed uncomfortable or not.

In the office, they were one of the first ones there. Many students had already arrived to meet their friends, but not many people were there to get their schedules yet. So they were lucky to get theirs without much hassle. Upon obtaining their schedules, they anxiously checked for similar classes. Tao, being a sophomore like Saehee, had the best chance of getting classes with her. It was a good thing since Jongdae and Lay were juniors, while Kris, Minseok, and Luhan were all seniors.

“Whoa, awesome, we have math together!” Minseok exclaimed, looking at his senior friends and Saehee.

“Eh, how is Saehee in a Calculus III class?!” Jongdae double checked her class schedule.

Minseok proudly grinned, “She’s really good at math.” They all nodded in understanding, not so surprised at how bright she is.

“Oh Saehee, we have two classes together: chemistry and gym,” Tao told Saehee.

“We all have gym together,” Lay said.

“Yes! This is great. We all have at least one class with each other,” Minseok cheered along with the others. Saehee laughed at their behavior. The remainder of the time was spent giving Saehee a tour of the school and her classes. It was all so new to her, that she wasn’t able to absorb all the new information at once. Luckily, first period was math, and Saehee had Minseok, Kris, and Luhan with her. The group dispatched in the courtyard, agreeing to meet up during lunch time to eat together.

The seniors and Saehee filed into the classroom. “Let’s sit in the back,” Luhan suggested. Kris followed behind them. Saehee hesitated; she wanted to sit in the front so that she wouldn’t have to look at all the people behind her. “Um, Minseok-shi, I…” she paused. Minseok had already sat down in the back with his friends.

“Saehee, what’s wrong? Sit over here,” Minseok patted the desk next to him.

“Uh, I…is it okay if I sit in the front?” she asked, unsure if he would feel burdened. Minseok made on ‘o’ shape with his mouth, understanding her reasoning. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll sit with you.” Minseok was quick to change seats. Saehee frowned, guilt washing over her, but she still went over to Minseok’s side.

“I’m sorry,” Saehee whispered after taking her seat.

“What for?” Minseok asked.

“Because I’m making you sit with me instead of your friends.” Her eyes began to water. Saehee jumped in her seat when feeling a hand rest on her head. She turned around to see that the hand belonged to Luhan. “We’re all friends, so let’s sit together,” Luhan smiled sweetly at her. Luhan took the seat behind Saehee and Kris sat behind Minseok. Saehee blinked away her tears and returned their kindness with a smile. Thank you.

First period passed without difficulty. The teacher’s name was Mr. Choi and he looked to be in his late 40s; he was very knowledgeable about mathematics. Saehee found herself enjoying the class. “Oh, I almost forgot, since it’s the first day how about we all stand up and introduce ourselves one by one?” Saehee’s heart stopped. She was prepared for a self-introduction. Minseok had practiced it with her just a few days ago, but her mind had blanked out. My name is Lee Saehee and…I…I… she couldn’t remember the next part to the self introduction she had already practiced.

“Let’s start over on this side of the room.” Mr. Choi pointed to the seat opposite of Saehee’s. The first student stood up. “Hello, I’m Jung Eunhye. I’m a senior and I’m this year’s student body president,” she confidently spoke in front of the class. The students clapped for her as she took her seat.

“How about we go to the back now?” Mr. Choi pointed to a student in the back corner where Luhan originally sat. The teacher started randomly calling on students instead of going in a straight line. Saehee stared at the surface of her desk, not even listening to anyone’s self introduction. Her palms began to sweat as she held them in place on her lap.

“I’m Kim Minseok!” Saehee shot her head up to look at Minseok next to her. He looked so confident and friendly. “I’m a senior and I love piano and math.” Minseok grinned cheekily at the teacher. The students laughed at him up to the teacher like that. The teacher also laughed at Minseok’s outgoing personality; his way of “ up” came across as playful to him.

“I’m Kris Wu, senior,” Kris made his introduction short and to the point. The female students giggled to each other at Kris’ cool aura.

“I’m Luhan; nice to meet you!” Luhan also had the same good-nature personality as Minseok. After a few more introductions, Saehee was the last one. Minseok observed Saehee’s actions. She was trembling more and she wouldn’t take her eyes off the desk. “And last but not least over here.” Mr. Choi looked over at Saehee. She remained seated, pretending that she didn’t hear him. I’m Lee Saehee, I’m Lee Saehee, I’m Lee Saehee, she repeated it over and over in her head in hopes that she won’t forget it. Minseok’s eyes widened at the sight of tears hitting the desk.

Minseok abruptly stood up. “This is Lee Saehee and she’s a sophomore. She’s a genius in math. She’s pretty shy, so please treat her well,” Minseok announced.

“Oh, I see. Thank you for the introductions everyone. Since we have some time left, feel free to chat amongst yourselves.” Students immediately turned their desks around to face their friends. Minseok stared at Saehee, afraid that what he did upset her.

“Saehee,” Minseok spoke first. Saehee shook her head.

“Thank you, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

---

After first period, Saehee had to part ways with the boys. She was reluctant to do so, but they gave her a few words of encouragement. She exhaled walked the other way from them to make it to her next class. This side of the school was unfamiliar to her. Since her first class was in the senior building, she had to maneuver her way through the junior building to get to her destination in the sophomore building. She had already forgotten the locations of all her other classes. She repeatedly looked at the room number on her class schedule and then to each of the doors to see if the numbers matched. No luck. She turned around to retrace her steps to where her group had separated just a few minutes ago.

Saehee paced the hallway, Minseok and his friends were nowhere to be found in the bustling crowd of people. She began to panic, her breathing becoming heavier. Every sound a rung in her ears; she cupped her ears to block the noises, but to no prevail. Lockers slamming, feet shuffling, students laughing, it was too overwhelming to handle all at once. Saehee escaped to the nearest girls' restroom, locking herself in a stall for some peace and silence. But to her dismay, the noises wouldn't disappear. It was all too clear—the noises—they were just too loud. Saehee patted her skirt pockets for the cell phone her uncle gave her that morning. Due to her trembling hands, she dropped it on the tile floor, causing the battery to fly out. She dropped to her knees, quickly trying to get the battery back in its place. Her blurry vision and shaking hands made the task take longer than intended. When she finally got the battery in she dialed her uncle's number.

Jonguk answered after one ring, "Hello, Saehee, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"I want to go home.”

A/N: WOOT WOOT. This has been by far the longest chapter I've written: 2,118 words! Aw yeaaah lol. Hope you all enjoyed this long-ish chapter!

(updated: 12-27-13)