I felt a nudge around my shoulder and my head jerked up. I blinked sleepily at the blurry form in front of me and smiled when I realized it was just my personal maid. I yawned, greeting her. "Good morning, Hae! I already made breakfast, so hurry and get ready before it gets cold~" She chirped and I concluded that happiness is indeed contagious.

"Good morn' Jess. Is the bath---"

"I filled the bathtub with lukewarm water and added a few drops of lavender essential oil. Your school uniform is next to the towel rack. Anything else you'd need?"

I laughed at how prepared Jessica was. I went past her and entered the bathroom, diving into the bathtub that smelled oh-so-heavenly. While I enjoyed the warmth, I thought about Jessica. Jessica Jung is 16 years old, the same age as me. She was adopted into my family at the age of six, right after her parents went to heaven due to a car accident. Her parents were commoners who ran a small restaurant. My parents and my elder brother, DongHwa, loved the homemade food there, so when we heard about the accident, my parents immediately hired a lawyer and adopted Jessica. For the first week afterwards, I skipped school and stayed with her, listening to her as she poured her heart out. I let her cry as much as she wanted in my sound-proofed room where no one would come and interrupt us. After that slow week, Jessica and I had formed a strong bond. We became so close that Jessica couldn't even sleep without me by her side. As she was also constantly pestering my parents about paying back them by working, my parents have decided to make her my personal maid.

I smiled bitterly as I remembered how much I scolded Jessica when she protested at the suggestion of her going to school. She was only six, but she thought like a full-grown adult. She kept ranting about how she already owed my family and I so much, and going to the prestigious schools that I am/will attend is too much of a burden. After I gave her hour-long lectures, she finally caved in and attended a public school instead. Currently, I'm in SM High, the Harvard of South Korea that offers basically every subject you could, or could not, think of.
Meanwhile, Jessica attends the Seoul Science High School through a scholarship. My bitter smile lightened up a bit as flashes of old memories invaded my mind. Memories of Jessica studying on my bed 'till late night and me sleeping hours before her.

Don't get the wrong idea. Jessica has been given her own room ever since she entered this family, but she slept in my room with me until we turned 12.
Even so, she would still sleep beside me when exams are near. I made sure that she could come and study in my room when an exam or test is approaching, just to ensure she wouldn't overwork herself. At times when I accidentally dozed off during revision together, I would wake up early the next morning with her next to me and her face flat on a science book she was memorizing. I'd lie her down next to me, with a bolster between us and then pull my blanket up 'till her neck. I'd make sure to set an alarm before going back to sleep. I'll soon wake up again not by the ringing of my alarm, but to her soft nudging at my shoulder. She'd look totally refreshed and thankful, telling me that my breakfast was made and bath prepared.

This routine continued on 'till today.

"HAE! IT'S 4 AM ALREADY! ARE YOU ASLEEP?" Jessica's sweet but unfortunately loud voice rang through the glass bathroom door and I groaned, sinking deeper into the water. When my instincts told me that Jessica is ready for another round of screaming, I quickly got up and shouted back, "WHY DO WE NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL SO EARLY ANYWAYS?!" Suddenly, silence prevailed and I grumbled while running towards the door, sloppily dressed.

"I was joking." I muttered, watching as Jessica flinched and stared at the carpeted bedroom floor. "SeoHyun noona wants you to go have breakfast right now." She whispered. SeoHyun is the main house maid. She serves the household whereas Jessica serves me. My brother, DongHwa, has a girlfriend and so ridded of his personal maid.
"Okay. But are you alright?" I asked, keeping my voice low and quiet. Jessica looked up at me and smirked. "Of course I'm alright!" I feigned a gasp, as usual, and continued the daily drama we perform every morning.

I cupped her face with my hands and looked tenderly at her. She gazed at me with starstrucked eyes. "I know that we have to wake up early and send you to school a few hours before school actually starts, all because my school is just so far away from yours." Jessica whispered, not breaking her eye contact with me. I smiled gently at her and replied, "No, my dear. I don't mind, as long as I can share the same car with you to school. I'm just so upset you couldn't be beside me today for my first day of school, Jess." My face neared hers and her eyes fluttered close.

My trembling lips were an inch away from her forehead, her hands gripping my shoulders. We stayed in that awkward position for a long moment before crashing to the floor, laughing and thus destroying our newly ironed school uniforms. When we stopped being crazy and managed to stand up straight later on, SeoHyun had already marched in and grumbled about how cooled toast is disgusting while fixing Jess and I's uniforms in one swift movement. I couldn't help but smile at how calm and skilled she was, as she pulled my tie and made it perfect.

SeoHyun and Jessica stood by the door as I went to my desk to retrieve my school bag. They followed me out of my room and we made our way to the kitchen.

"Hae! Today's your first day of school, isn't it?" DongHwa hyung called out and I smiled at him. "Yeap!" I sat down after placing my school bag on the floor. "Mornin', mum, dad." I greeted my parents who greeted back. I watched as Jessica placed a glass of milk next to my plate and sat beside me. "Your toast was getting cold so I ate it for you." DongHwa hyung told me and I glared at him with wide eyes.

"Relax~ SeoHyun noona's making a new plate for you," DongHwa hyung pointed behind him where SeoHyun noona stood. I sighed in relief and wolfed down my toast as soon as it was placed in front of me. "Just eat a slice, Jessica." SeoHyun said sternly to Jessica who was sipping her water. I whipped my head towards the two women and asked, "You haven't eaten yet, Jess?" Jessica continued to look down at her steaming plate of toast and shook her head.

"Why didn't you eat? Usually you'd eat as soon as you wake up." I asked. It was really unusual for Jessica to refuse food. "No appetite," she mumbled. Everyone at the table clearly heard her and my dad cleared his throat. "Jessica, you should eat at least a slice, like what SeoHyun said. You'll just get hungry at school later on." From my peripheral vision, I saw my mum nod.

Jessica's breath hitched and she picked up her fork to eat. She barely ate a corner of the toast before she placed her fork back on the wooden table. "I'm sorry, I really can't eat right now," she said in a quiet voice, looking at my parents with an apologetic expression. SeoHyun patted Jessica's back lightly and inquired if she was feeling sick. Jessica merely nodded and everyone frowned.

"Why don't you stay home and rest for today?" My mum suggested. Jessica shook her head furiously and stared at my mum in alarm. "NO! U-uh I mean...I...I'm not sick enough to skip school..." My mum sighed and I knew it was because of how uptight Jessica was. To be honest, I'm quite surprised that she is still so polite to everyone even though she has been living with us for so many years already.

"Alright then. You can go to school, but if you feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable, you are to call Alex to pick you up immediately, am I clear?" My dad practically ended the conversation as everyone nodded.

Alex is our family driver. He was at the hospital when I was born, so this obviously means that he has been around for a long time. Alex is like my own uncle, treating me ice cream whenever I cried when I was younger. Even now, whenever I feel sad and Jessica isn't available to listen to me, I'd go to him for absolutely everything. I'm still anticipating the day when I can finally enter a real posh bar and drink with him, just like how manly men do. DongHwa hyung had reprimanded me time after time that drinking alcohol is bad for my health and I'll die early, but I really want to know how alcohol tastes like!

Anyway, the time has come for me to step out of the black sportscar Alex drives. I bid short farewells to Alex and Jessica before closing the door behind me. I sighed. I hate school. I can't act like myself because people would start judging me, so I have decided long ago that I would act the complete opposite of who I am when I'm in school. I was about to growl at the hand that slapped my back before realizing that it was just HanKyung. "Hannie!" I squealed softly. HanKyung smiled at me as we made our way to our classroom. The first lesson was History, and I had it with HanKyung and KyuHyun.

You see, I have managed to make friends with a small group of wonderfully evil people, all thanks to my family. As I have explained before, I started acting cold in school...ever since I got bullied when I was 12. All because I wore my Nemo suit to school. Almost every single one of whom I thought were my friends laughed at me and constantly tried to embarrass me. I endured all the insults, but Jessica couldn't. Right after I confessed to her about my situation in school, she immediately went ahead and told my parents about it. My parents asked me to file a complaint to the teachers, so I did. However, the kids at school would only act nice to me when the teachers were around. Whenever I played alone in the playground, they would come and jeer at me. I hated the feeling. Again, I accidentally told Jessica about how difficult it was to keep myself from crying in school, and as you would expect, she reported everything back to my parents.

My parents wanted to file an official complaint to the Principal, but I didn't want to worsen my situation even more. At the end, my parents decided to move me into a more famous and prestigious middle school. Before I stepped foot into that large school, I vowed to act indifferent and for the first few weeks I did everything alone. I wouldn't let anyone come close to me. My parents have noticed that through my teacher's eagle-like observation skills, so they introduced me to the children of their peers.

There were a lot of people swarming around me everyday after that, but I realized that I could only find comfort in a few of them. And these few people were: SiWon, the only son of a medicine manufacturer, Henry, the second son of a pair of famous musicians, HanKyung​, the only son of an internationally famous chef, HeeChul, the heir to a game-manufacturing company, ZhouMi, the only child of a well-known fashion designer and KyuHyun, the only son of the owner of the middle school where I met all of them: SJ Middle School.

SiWon was basically perfect. He was rich, he was kind, he was tall, handsome and muscular. I didn't want to get close to him at first, but once, a girl kept clinging onto me and he was the first one to help me chase her off. I was thankful and we soon became the best of friends. The second BFF I made was with HeeChul hyung. HeeChul was a hyperactive diva who causes trouble in all the classes he shares with me. I immediately took a liking to him and without a doubt, we became close. The third BFF I had...well, they came as a set. ZhouMi hyung and Henry were already best friends, but once, when I couldn't find a seat in the school cafeteria, they invited me to their table and you could say those two were attached by the hip.

Next would be KyuHyun. KyuHyun was a transfer student and I was shocked when I found out that he enrolled to SJ Middle School through a scholarship. His family had more than enough to fund for his education, but who would reject a special government-funded scholarship? I realized why KyuHyun got that scholarship after I attended Maths with him. That kid and Henry were the same. Freaky geniuses. KyuHyun could do messy calculations with his eyes closed (literally) while Henry could play instruments instinctively, without even looking at the score sheets.

KyuHyun kept latching onto HeeChul hyung after he found out that HeeChul hyung was the heir to KyuHyun's favourite game manufacturing company. I would've been offended and left the brat, but HeeChul hyung loved attention more than anyone else. So, as he and KyuHyun became BFFs, KyuHyun started hanging out with the 'gang' and I found myself enjoying his always-present sarcasm.

Last but not least, HanKyung. HanKyung had Chinese parents and he studied in China. His father, the famous chef I talked about, had to move to Korea as he was scouted by a seven-starred Korean restaurant. Without further ado, HanKyung enrolled in SJ Middle School during our final year. His Korean wasn't very good and he was constantly picked on. Once, I saw him being pushed into the school's lake and my body moved by itself as I dived into the lake and saved the poor boy.

From there onwards, everyone became friends and we stuck together through thick and thin. As you'd expect, all of us entered the same high school and we still hang out together as often as possible.

Today is my first day as a 10th-grader, or 'second grader' as the school likes to call us, at SM High. Everyone received their schedules in November last year, so we already familiarized ourselves with the location of our classrooms, etc. HanKyung and I chatted 'till we literally bumped into KyuHyun, who was ever so immersed in his NDS that he wasn't even looking ahead. HanKyung scolded him lightly as the three of us made way to class. In class, KyuHyun turned into a full-time nerd while HanKyung became deaf to my gossip. I sighed and once class was over, I complained to my friends. "Why is History getting harder and harder?! I hate this." I grumbled and KyuHyun laughed about my low I.Q or something. "Hey, where are you going?" HanKyung called and chased after me when he finally realized that I was going in the opposite direction of my next class. KyuHyun the brat ignored me and continued to walk to his Maths class excitedly.

"I think the freshmen's orientation just finished. I don't want to study anymore. I mean, today is the first day of school, but they're making an exception and letting the crazy teachers start class at five a.m."

"So where are you planning to go then, badboy?" I rolled my eyes and replied, "To a random class the freshmen are using today."

"Lee DongHae! Just because your parents donate the largest amount of money to this school, it does not mean that you can use that as an excuse to do whatever you want!"

Normal P.O.V *Donghae Centered*

Of course, HanKyung's words were deaf to DongHae's ears.

"What are you doing here, Lee-ssi?"

DongHae turned around, his hand still on the sliding door. "I am entering this class, and I shall spend my whole day here." DongHae replied monotonously to the teacher who he suspected was the homeroom teacher for the class he was about to enter. "O-okay, but this is the freshmen's class...and you're a 'second grader', if I'm not mistaken, that is." DongHae opened the door and stepped in. The teacher followed suit.

"Nope, you're right. I'm a second grader. But I shall be joining this class for as long as I'd like." DongHae announced and plopped down onto a random seat at the back of the classroom. He pulled out his cap from the backpack he was carrying and tipped it so he could take a short nap before the freshmen arrives. He heard the teacher sigh and exit the classroom.

Later, the students poured in like water and DongHae continued to nap. He woke up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked beside him and saw a guy who stared at him with big eyes. He's quite cute, to be honest. "Hello, my name is Kim KiBum. What's your name?" KiBum smiled and DongHae scowled at him. "DongHae." He answered coldly. The guy didn't even flinch and he found that interesting. "Do you have a phone?" KiBum asked after a moment of silence between the both of them. DongHae fished out his phone from his pocket and started a new game. "Nope."

KiBum looked at DongHae curiously before turning back to the front. Only a few minutes later was KiBum called to the front for introductions. When he came back, DongHae glanced at him for another second. Yup, he's definitely good-looking. But kinda annoying. Donghae thought to himself as KiBum kept pestering him about exchanging numbers.

DongHae met his gang for lunch and that was probably the most interesting part of the day. When they had to part, he became moody and decided to sleep the whole afternoon off. He went back to the freshmen's class from earlier and went to his seat to take a nap. He was happily dreaming about cute, adorable, fluffy puppies until a guy rudely bumped into his table and woke him up.

DongHae glared up at the person who caused such an annoying disturbance and his eyes widened by an increment. That guy was probably the human version of an anchovy. Thin, tall and a pale face with definite features.

I smirked when I saw how alarmed the anchovy looked. He started bowing and apologizing. The words didn't even register into my brain. All I could see was how shaky his hands were and how his eyes were clenched shut. Cute. Cuter than my annoying seatmate, it seems. I'm so going to play with this fish. Kekeke.

"You have to pay for interrupting my nap, monkey."

Oops. Wanted to say anchovy. But then again, upon a closer look at his cheeks and lips...he would've been a cute monkey. A cute monkey for me to bully, that is. This is going to be interesting.

SPPV's Note: I'm so so sorry, all my readers for this fic >.< No, I'm not ending this fic. Just wanted to apologize for not updating...I am busy now since I just entered college, and besides that, I would also like to say a loud SORRRRRRRRYYYY! for the confusing school system. According to Wikipedia, Korean High Schools consist of three years, 10th, 11th and 12th grades. I didn't read that right, so now, I'm going to abuse my powers as an author. >:)

SM High would have three years known by the school as 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders.
Instead of following Wiki's suggestion, SM High's 1st year is equivalent to 9th grade, and so on.
In addition to that, the students in SM High are elite students. Therefore, the students are all in the express/advanced stream, meaning all students in the 1st year (9th grade) are actually supposed to be in 8th grade.

To summarize, if a student has just graduated from SM High, he/she would be known as an 11th grader by the school, but is considered as a 12th grader by the whole of South Korea.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!
I'm just doing the most to be honest #ExtraAF

Well then, ciao~ Have a nice day! :)