Even after that talk with your brother, you still haven't changed. You still kept your distance from Chen and remained cold. Well, not exactly cold. But you still didn't bother starting the conversation or continuing them. 

 

Chen wouldn't give up though. He followed your mother's advice and continued to try and break down that wall of yours. But everytime he tried, he failed. But that still didn't stop him. 

 

 

Summer break ended sooner than you thought it would. That would probably be because your friends came over a lot for the last few weeks of the holiday and time would fly by when you were with them. 

 

It was the last day of summer break and you sat lazily on the couch while eating chips and watching television. It was 2 in the afternoon and you didn't plan on doing anything throughout the day. 

 

A little while later, there was a knock on the door. You looked at it and groaned. You were too lazy to get up and get it. 

 

"Who is it?" You called from inside, your eyes glues onto the television.

 

"It's us." The voice from outside said and you recognised it to be Kai's. 

 

"It's open." You called again from inside. 

 

The doorknob twisted but the door didn't open. "No it's not, Haerin." 

 

"Damn it." You cursed. You were about to finally get up and get the door when Baekhyun walked passed. 

 

"You're such a pig, Haerin. You couldn't even get the door?" Baekhyun sighed as he opened the door instead. 

 

When your friends came in, they stared at you with their mouths hanging open. Well, Kai and Chanyeol did. "That's why you didn't get the door? Because you were eating chips and watching tv?" 

 

"Yup." You said with a pop at the 'p'. "And for the record, I really thought the door was unlocked." 

 

"No you didn't. You just didn't wanted to move your fat off the couch." Kai rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 

 

"Yeah, you're right." You shrugged. "And I think I have a nice , thank you very much." 

 

Chen laughed at the scene in front of him. This girl really is different than from all those I've met. Different good.  

 

So for the rest of the day, the seven of you spent it by lazing on the couch (or the floor because not all seven of you could fit in the couch), eating pizza and watching movies. You had all finished your work that you needed to hand in when school started anyways. 

 

Hours passed and it was already 8 at night. 

 

"So Chen," Kai spoke. "Are you ready for school tomorrow?" 

 

Chen shrugged. "I guess." 

 

"You guess?" Chanyeol said. "Aren't you nervous?" 

 

"Yeah, maybe a little. But I'm more excited than nervous." Chen said, sounding confident. 

 

 

*

 

 

The next day, you failed to wake up when your alarm clock rang so Baekhyun had to wake you up personally. 

 

"I can't believe I have a pig of a sister." He muttered as he left your room after successfully getting you to wake up. 

 

"I heard that" You shouted after him. 

 

"You were supposed to!" He shouted back. 

 

With a sigh, you got out of bed and quickly did your usual morning routine. 

 

Like always, When you were finally done getting ready, Baekhyun was sitting on the couch, with his shoes already on, waiting for you. "Are you finally done?" 

 

"Yes, dad. I'm ready to go." You rolled your eyes playfully at him. 

 

The two of you left the apartment building and walked the 10 minute walk to school. 

 

When you entered the school building, Kai and Chanyeol were where they usually were; by the lockers waiting for you. But the different thing was that Xiumin and Chen were now there as well. 

 

"Hey guys," Baekhyun greeted as he got closer to the group. 

 

Chen heard Baekhyun's voice and turned to where his voice sounded. When he saw you, he immediately brightened. "Good morning, Haerin," Chen smiled. 

 

You looked up and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement. Although Chen was a little disappointed with your response, he was used to it. But he was going to make sure it didn't stay like that forever. 

 

"Good morning, Oppas!" Your expression immediately changed when you greeted the other boys and Chen couldn't help but feel hurt. Baekhyun noticed this of course, and felt bad for Chen. 

 

Soon, Minyoung came and the seven of you were chatting till the bell rang. 

 

But before the bell rang, something that you weren't ready for happened. 

 

"Haerin!" A voice called from across the hallway and you stiffened. You expression had turned dark and to be honest, you felt scared. I can recognize that voice anywhere. 

 

"Haerin!" The voice got closer and when the others saw the owner of the voice, the straightened (except xiumin, of course, because he didn't know what was happening). 

 

"Haerin!" He called again. But this time, he was right behind you. He placed his hand on your shoulder and turned you around to face him. 

 

You gulped, "Hey...uhm, Luhan." 

 

"Just 'Luhan'? No Lulu?" Luhan joked. "Why haven't you been answering my text for the past few weeks? I called you too but you never answered either." 

 

"I, uhm, I was busy." You managed to say as you tried to avoid eye contact with him. 

 

Luhan sighed. He looked up and realised that your friends were all glaring at him. He gulped. What's wrong with these guys?  

 

Luhan was about to ask you to eat lunch with him later when the bell rang. 

 

Saved by the bell. Literally. You sighed in relief as you straightened up. "We should get to class." You said and quickly left with Minyoung. 

 

"Wait up, Haerin! Let's go to class together!" Luhan was about to leave when Baekhyun grabbed his arm. 

 

"What's the deal, man? Let go." Luhan tried to shrug him off but Baekhyun didn't let go. 

 

Baekhyun turned to look at Xiumin and Chen. "Why don't you send Chen to the principal's office first? We'll see you at class." 

 

Xiumin and Chen were confused but they obliged anyways. Angry Baekhyun was a scary one. 

 

When they were away enough to not be able to hear anything, Baekhyun turned back to Luhan. 

 

"Don't you dare go anywhere near my sister." Baekhyun growled through his teeth. 

 

"W-what are you talking about?" 

 

"Don't play dumb with us, Luhan." Kai crossed his arms and said. "We know about your little game." 

 

"What game?" 

 

"Isn't it already enough that you got your A for your singing class?" Chanyeol said. 

 

They know?! Luhan panicked. But how?!

 

"And now you still want to play with her until you're bored with her?" Baekhyun tightened his grip on his arm. 

 

Luhan cringed in pain. 

 

"This is our first and final warning," Baekhyun said. "Leave my sister alone. Don't even talk to her. Don't even look at her." 

 

"If we catch you doing any of it, you'll face us." Kai said. 

 

"If you're still not scared yet, then I guess we should remind you about what happened to Kris and Suho?" Chanyeol smirked. "You know about that, don't you?"

 

The moment Chanyeol had mentioned the two names, Luhan started to panic even more. Of course he knew. The day after news spread that Kris and Suho had dumped Haerin, they came back with bruises and a black eye. 

 

Luhan shivered at the thought. "I get it. I'll stay away from her." 

 

"That's great to hear." Baekhyun smiled, but his smile definitely wasn't those of a happy one. 

 

Just then, the bell rang. 

 

"Oh, well, looks like we have to get to class." Kai said. "See you around, Luhan." 

 

Luhan watched his three seniors walked away from him and cursed in his head. How in the world did they find out?! Did Sehun tell them?! He fumed at the thought of his best friend telling on him. 

 

 

* 

 

 

"Kim Jongdae, right?" Mr Lee looked up from his desk to see a familiar face at the door of his office. 

 

"That's right, sir." 

 

"Please. Have a seat." Mr Lee gestured to the seats in front of his desk and Chen took a seat. 

 

"Well, Jongdae, I have good and bad news for you." Mr Lee said. "Which would you like to hear first." 

 

Chen became a little nervous. "The good news first, I guess." 

 

"Okay. Well, the good news is that we got your classes all settled." Mr Lee said. "The bad news, however, is that you won't be able to attend some classes with the other seniors." 

 

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Chen's eyebrows furrowed when he heard the news. 

 

"What I mean is that, although we accepted your application to transfer to our school, we cannot let you attend classes for half a semester and then graduate." Mr Lee said. "You see, you enrolled in late. Actually, to be honest, even if you had enrolled in at the start of the school year, we still wouldn't allow you to attend some classes with the seniors." 

 

Chen nodded, as if saying that he was following what Mr Lee was explaining. 

 

"But we looked through your portfolio and we were pleased with what we saw. So we decided to take you in." Mr Lee continued. "So because you enrolled in late, we have to put you in the classes which the juniors take." 

 

Juniors? Then I'll be in the same class as Haerin? He brightened at the thought but he frowned a little. 

 

"So it's like I'm staying back a year?" 

 

Mr Lee chuckled. "Not exactly. See, in this school, we do learn maths, science and english but since we are an Arts school, we have classes like singing, song-writing, piano and etcetra." 

 

Chen nodded. "Oh, so I'm only taking the normal classes with the seniors, but for the arts classes, I'll have to be with the juniors?" 

 

"Yes, that's exactly it." Mr Lee smiled and nodded. "But not to worry though, you aren't the only one who has this case." 

 

"Really?" 

 

"Yes, really." He smiled again. 

 

"So when the seniors graduate, what happens to me?" Chen asked. 

 

"You won't. You'll still continue to school here for another year and graduate with the current juniors." Mr Lee said. "But your grades from the normal classes by the end of this semester is what you will keep when you graduate next year." 

 

"Alright, I understand." Chen said. "I guess that's fair." 

 

"Great!" Mr Lee smiled. "I'm glad you're taking this news positively." 

 

Chen shrugged. "I guess." 

 

"Alright then. For your schedule, you can go to Ms Kim outside. She's at the front desk. Just tell her your name and she'll give you your schedule." Mr Lee said. 

 

Chen stood up and gave Mr Lee a 90 degrees bow. "Thank you, sir." 

 

"You're welcome, Jongdae." He smiled. "I hope you have a pleasant first day." 

 

When Chen went out of the Principal's office and found Xiumin still waiting for him. 

 

"So, how did it go?" Xiumin asked.  

 

"He says I'll be attending only some classes with the seniors and my other classes with the juniors." Chen shrugged. 

 

"Oh, you too?" Xiumin said. 

 

"Too?" Chen raised his eyebrow. 

 

"It's nothing. It's just that there are other kids in this school who are like that as well." Xiumin said. 

 

"Huh, I thought the principal said that just to make me feel better." Chen said with a smile. 

 

He went over to Ms Kim's desk, and did as Mr Lee told him to do. 

 

In less than five minutes, Ms Kim handed Chen his schedules and late passes to both the boys. 

 

When they were out in the hallways, Xiumin took a look at Chen's schedule to see where his first class was so that he could take him there. 

 

 

"Oh! You have Singing class with Haerin and Minyoung!" Xiumin exclaimed. "At least you won't be alone in your first class." 

 

I have first class with Haerin? Chen smiled. First day of school is going better than I thought. 

 

 

*

 

"Come in," Mrs Lee called from inside the classroom. 

 

Xiumin poked his head in before opening it a little wider. "Good morning, Mrs Lee." 

 

"Oh, Minseok-ah. What's a senior doing here in my class?" Mrs Lee asked. 

 

"Oh, it's not me. My friend's a new kid and I just showed him where his class was." Xiumin said as he pushed Chen inside. 

 

"Uhm, h-hello, teacher." Chen awkwardly greeted. 

 

"New student?" Mrs Lee's eyebrows furrowed. "Mr Lee never told me anything about this." 

 

"Well, introduce yourself to the class and then you can take a seat in any of the empty seats." Mrs Lee said before turning to Xiumin. "Thank you, Minseok. You can go back to your own class now." 

 

"Bye, Mrs Lee." Xiumin said and turned to Chen. "Good luck, buddy!" he whispered to Chen before going off to his own class. 

 

Chen looked at everyone in the classroom. He scanned the place and noticed an empty seat in the second row where Haerin and Minyoung were at. His eyebrows furrowed in concerned when he saw Haerin's distressed expression. Is she okay? 

 

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Mrs Lee nudged him. 

 

Chen snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh yeah." He turned back to the class. "Good morning. Uhm, my name is Kim Jongdae, but you can call me Chen." 

 

"Well, Mr Kim, you can go take a seat at any empty seats." Mrs Lee said as she gestured towards the class. 

 

Without hesitation, he went to the empty seat beside Haerin and sat down. 

 

"Hi Chen!" Minyoung smiled. 

 

"Hey, Minyoung." He smiled back. "Hi Haerin." 

 

Like always, you gave him a nod of acknowledgement but this time, even that simple nod seemed so different.