“Jino-ya!” Hyo Ri called her seventeen-year-old daughter while preparing her lunchbox for school.

“Oh…” Jino woke up, ruffling her short brown hair and scratching her eyes from deep sleep. “Eomma…” She walked to where the voice came from.

“Jino, do you like this?” Hyori showed the Kimchi Bokumbap her mom prepared for her.

“Wow, that looks yummy!” Jino’s eyes grew wide and she felt awake as her stomach grumbled.

“Well, it’s your first day of school in the most prestige school in Seoul so I have to cook a nice lunch for you every day,”

“Ya, I still don’t get why I’m studying in Seoul University. My past school was okay. I’m learning even though it’s a cheap public school,” Jino said, trying some of the spare Kimchi Bokumbap her mom made.

“Well… I want you to feel like a princess, even though it’s just in education. Your name Jino means precious and I want you to feel the same. This ordinary life doesn’t suit you, Jino…”

“Aigoo, what are you saying eomma? I grew as an ordinary person; I don’t need to live like a princess to feel precious. I already feel that with your love…” Jino said and hugged her eomma.

“I think I’ve watched a lot of dramas last night!” Hyori said while chuckling as she wiped the tears that formed on her eyes. You can’t back out anyways since you’re already enrolled. So go and take a bath, you might be late!” She then patted her daughter’s shoulder for encouragement.

“Arasseo!” Jino replied politely.

***

“Ya! What’s the matter with you?” Yejin, one of the Seoul University’s queenkas, had her worst first day of school ever. Having heard of her boyfriend Kai beat up her childhood best friend Lu Han made her feel like she want to beat Kai as well. She pushed him that made Kai’s eyes grew wide from shock.

Lu Han was behind her, stopping her from pushing Kai violently and trying to keep her calm.

Kai rolled his eyes and let out a snicker. He turned to Lu Han with a glare. “So you told her?”

“Kim Jong In! Look at what you’ve done to his face! From all those bruises, I could tell that you had a fight last night!” Ye Jin said, almost shouting.

“And he told you I was the one who did that?” Kai interrogated.

“Yeah, he did ‘cause I asked! What’s wrong with that?” Yejin asked.

Kai chuckled. “Nothing,”

“Kai!” Yejin almost shouted from frustration. “Why are you like this?! Lu Han’s my friend… No, he’s OUR friend! We’ve been friends since we were kids and you still don’t trust him?! What’s wrong with you?!”

Kai looked at Lu Han’s eyes sternly. “The length of friendship isn’t the basis of trust you give to a person. We may have been friends since childhood, but that doesn’t mean he’ll never betray me,”

“Shut up! Kai! You’re ruining your friendship just because of your malicious thoughts! Lu Han’s my friend; he’s like a real oppa to me! How could you be so cruel? He had been your best friend too!” Yejin’s tone got higher, making Lu Han hold her arm to stop her.

“That’s it Yejin! He’s just your best friend, while I’m your boyfriend! Why can’t you just give some time to understand how I feel rather than what he feels? I’m your boyfriend, Yejin!” Kai said, still trying to keep himself calm. He then saw Lu Han frowning, making him let out another snicker.

“What’s with the face, Lu Han hyung?” Kai asked, emphasizing on the word ‘hyung’. “Is it because of the fact that you’re just her best friend and I’m her boyfriend?”

Yejin’s hand found its way to slap Kai’s cheek. “You’re just too much, Kim Jong In. I’m breaking up with you. This foolish thing going on between the two of us is over, and that’s an order!” Yejin walked out of the scene, leaving the two boys who were once the best of friends, and now rivals, alone.

“Now what’s with the face, Jong In?” Lu Han mimicked and let out a snicker at him.

Meanwhile, Jino was busy fantasizing the Seoul University. She never thought she would be in a school as big as this.

“Wow, this school’s really big!” Jino said, looking at the tall buildings of the school. She was already walking backwards, hypnotized by the beautiful architectural design of the whole school.

Suddenly she bumped into someone behind her back. She quickly turned and quickly bowed for apology. “Omo, I’m really sorry… I-I am a new student here and I got really amazed-“

The man with plump lips and fair skin walked away like he didn’t hear Jino’s apology.

“Aigoo, what a snobbish man! Is it because he’s rich? He even have a darker skin tone! Even darker than-“ She suddenly felt a paper being thrown on her head behind her.

“Are you crazy?” A man approached her and tapped her shoulder.

“W-Why?” Jino asked with a confused look on her face.

The man rolled his eyes and chuckled. He had a dimple on his right cheek. He leaned in closer to Jino while she tried to keep a distance away from the man. “Try not to talk to yourself when you’re alone,” he flicked Jino’s nose and winked at her as he left Jino, dumbfounded.

***

“Annyeonghaseyo! I’m Lee Jino,” Jino introduced herself to the class as the teacher asked her to do so.

Her classmates greeted her back politely, making her nervousness ease up a bit.

“Okay, please sit right next to Do Kyung Soo-sshi,” The homeroom teacher pointed at an unoccupied seat beside a big-eyed man.

Jino carefully walked to her seat while Kyung Soo looked at her with his eyes growing wider as she gets nearer to the seat. She tried to avoid the eye contact to avoid the awkwardness as well.

“Is he mad at me for taking this unoccupied seat?” Jino thought to herself.

“A-Annyeong,” Kyung Soo greeted shyly, like he could not breathe anymore.

Jino tried to smile comfortably. “Annyeonghaseyo,” she also tried to greet him as friendly as possible.

“Does anyone know what happened to Kim Jong In-sshi?” The homeroom teacher asked while the others were looking at each other. “It’s the first day of the second quarter of the school year and he’s absent… What a mess,” the teacher said and signed on the attendance sheet.

The school bell rang and it signaled for lunch break. All the students rushed to the cafeteria while Jino carefully kept her notebooks she used in her bag.

“J-Jino?” A familiar voice asked. As Jino turned, it was Kyung Soo, her seatmate.

“Hey, what is it?” Jino asked, still trying to keep the friendly smile on her face.

“I’m really sorry for the awkward hello a while ago,” Kyung Soo apologized. “I thought you were like the other girls who would snob me,”

Jino laughed. “Do I look snobbish?”

Kyung Soo nodded his head. “You look really snobbish, it felt like I melted when I said hello,”

Jino laughed again. “Aigoo, you’re really funny,” Jino got her things and was ready to go out of the classroom.

“I wish I could have lunch with you so I could tour you around the campus, but I still have a meeting with my friend for the school’s music club.” D.O. said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s alright, I can handle myself. It’s part of being a new student, isn’t it?” Jino smiled back at him with assurance on her face.

She went to the school’s garden to eat her lunch. Before eating, she smelled the aroma of the Kimchi Bokumbap her mother made her.

“Wow, yummy,” Jino murmured as the Kimchi Bokumbap satisfied her taste buds.

“Uhm, excuse me?” Someone suddenly approached Jino. She lifted her head up and saw two girls looking at her. One looked really nerd with her short hair and round eyeglasses and one looked like an uljjang despite of her average height.

Jino munched the food and swallowed it before opening . “Waeyo?” Jino asked politely.

“Are we in the same class? You are the new student in class 1A right?” The uljjang asked with a soft smile. “I’m Park Jinra and this is my friend Kim Boram,” she pointed the girl with round eyeglasses.

“Annyeonghaseyo, let’s be friends!” Boram greeted cheerfully and Jino greeted them with a bow and a smile.

“Why don’t you eat your lunch in the cafeteria?” Jinra asked.

“It’s so awkward because everyone have their own friends. Eating there would make me look really… loner,” Jino explained boldly.

“Aigoo, from now on let’s eat together!” Boram said and Jino nodded excitedly.

Suddenly a number of students ran towards the cafeteria, and cheers can be heard like there was some idol group visiting the school.

“What’s going on?” Jino asked, clueless of what’s happening.

“Probably the 3 biggest chaebols in the whole Seoul University are back!” Jinra said, almost squealing.

“3 biggest chaebols?” Jino asked.

“Yeah, they are the sons of the richest and elite families in South Korea that had a large contribution in this country,” Boram said.

“Are you done eating?” Jinra asked Jino as she noticed there weren’t any food left on her lunch box. Jino nodded and kept her lunch box inside her bag. “Lee Jino, you should meet these 3 biggest chaebols. They’re not only rich, they’re also hot!” Jinra said and pulled Jino and Boram towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was crowded as soon as Jinra, Jino and Boram got there. Suddenly, three model-like men came in. They were wearing the school uniform like they were casual clothes.

“Are they really that popular here? Like F4 in Boys Over Flowers?” Jino asked.

Boram and Jinra looked at her. “Yes!”

Jino scratched her head. “S-Sorry, I’m not used to this kind of situation. I thought it was only real in dramas,” she apologized while chuckling.

“Boram, it’s time for you to introduce these guys to the newbie,” Jinra winked and quickly turned to the three biggest chaebols again.

“Okay,” Boram nodded and looked at Jino.”See that man wearing noticeable eyeliner? With those piercing mischievous eyes, he makes every girl fall for him. That guy’s the son of two legendary persons here in Korea! His father, Byun Sang Baek, is the best architect in Asia. He made this building and even Incheon International Airport… And, he owns that airport too,”

“What?! Really?!” Jino could not believe what she heard. The son of the owner of Incheon International Airport studies in her school. And she’s seeing him now.

“Yeah, for real. And her mother owns Amore Pacific Corporation, which you know is the leading cosmetic brand in Asia. Laneige and Etude House are two of its product lines,”

“No wonder where he gets his talent in putting eyeliner on his eyes,” Jino commented.

Boram chuckled. “Yeah, but beware. That man who looks really soft and sincere, that guy whose name is Byun Baekhyun, is really a player! Not only in basketball but with girls; looks can really be deceiving so beware,”

“Ya, Baekhyun oppa’s really nice. He talked to me once during a party and he even offered me a seat right next to him,” Jinra complained.

“Ya, don’t you get it? That’s one of his tactics!” Boram argued.

“But… He doesn’t look like a basketball player to me…” Jino examined Baekhyun, who was currently sitting on their usual seat in the cafeteria. “Like, really… He doesn’t look like a basketball player to me…”

“Ya, you’re so mean! Playing basketball isn’t judged by the height!” Jinra, once again tried to save Baekhyun from criticisms.

“Speaking of height!” Boram suddenly butted in. “I bet the next one will make you agree that he’s in the basketball team. He’s the one sitting beside Baekhyun, the one wearing a cap. That’s Park Chanyeol,”

Jino stared at Chanyeol who kept on laughing. “He doesn’t look like a basketball player to me either,” she thought.

Boram continued. “He’sometimes cut; sometimes handsome; sometimes manly; and sometimes… creepy! He’s Baekhyun’s best friend and he’s really clingy. He could look innocent but like his best friend Baekhyun, he’s a player; even worse than Baekhyun. He could convince more girls to be his girlfriend with them knowing. And there was an issue before that he had a relationship with a college professor in this school. But the professor was kicked out of the school,”

“The professor was kicked out of the school?!” Jino laughed while the two other girls just stared at him. “I-I mean, that’s just odd! Shouldn’t the student be the one kicked out from this school?”

“Well, money can do tons of things. And when I say he’s rich, he’s totally rich. His dad was Park Tae Woo, the former president of South Korea,”

“REALLY?!” Jino almost shouted and covered . “S-Sorry,”

“And her mother on the other hand was a famous supermodel in Europe. But something happened, if you remember the reason why South Korea had to change the president…”

“Oh, yeah! I still remember… They died because their house burned, right? Well, I still don’t know the reason why it burned…” Jino replied.

“No one knows why and how the fire started and killed the parents of this cassanova. Firemen who tried to save their house thought that Chanyeol’s survival was really a miracle, since the fire was really big and unstoppable, that even the firemen really tried hard to stop the fire for one whole day… They said it took them 30 hours to stop the fire,”

“Gosh… He should really change because he’s already given a second chance to live and he’s sort of ruining it,” Jinra said, holding her forehead. “Luckily his face was saved as well; he’s really handsome too,”

Boram buried her face on her palm. “Going back, hid dad’s brother, Park Chun Ji owned the Kyobo Life Insurance Company and because of Tae Woo’s death, he’s the one owning the Hyundai Motor Company and the Lotte Retail Group. Rumors said that after Chanyeol’s graduation in college, he’ll be the owner of his dad’s companies,”

“Woah, he’d be really rich even if he’s a player!” Jino thought.

“Oh my gosh, you should check his cars every day. He uses different daebak cars, you’ll really die of envy,” Jinra said.

“But right now he’s busy with Shinsegae Department Store Franchise. It’s what his mom had owned when she was still alive and it was the only thing entrusted to him. He’s handling it responsibly, I think… Rumors say he’s a really strict boss,”

“A third year student owning a department store… This is crazy!!!” Jino thought.

“Next is the tallest man sitting in front of Chanyeol and Baekhyun… Awwww, it’s unfortunate that his back’s facing us, you won’t see his face!” Boram said.

“Just picture this Jino… A man coming out of a manhwa - he’s perfect!” Jinra described almost squealing.

“Perfect in looks,” Boram clarified. “But he’s the worst of the worst. He’s really bossy, yet he’s good the basketball court. He’s highly competitive, that’s what makes their team strong. People do not dare to talk to him ‘cause he’ll really snob you when he thinks you talk of nonsense… He’s not someone who would bully you… He’s just really snobbish. That’s Wu Yi Fan, but he’s known with his English name Kris Wu. He’s Korean-Chinese. His father owned a lot of real estates and owns Beijing International Airport in China. His mother on the other hand owns the Jeju Island and Samsung Group. Right now, Kris owns this school and handles the Samsung Electronics. And if Chanyeol’s strict, Kris was rumored to be stricter,”

“He owns the school… I only see this in Boys Over Flowers… And they’re as rich as the characters in The Heirs…” Jino muttered.

Boram and Jinra chuckled. “Except for the red card thing and the sitting arrangement in the cafeteria for ‘Social Care Group’ thing… They don’t give such stupid cards and discrimination here,” Boram explained.

“I think Kris doesn’t really care about riches… That makes him even more handsome,” Jinra fantasized again on Kris.

Su Ho came in the cafeteria and noticed the 3 biggest chaebols weren’t wearing their uniforms properly. He then confronted the 3 biggest chaebols to warn them.

“Kris-sshi?” Su Ho politely asked from Kris’ back.

Kris turned to Su Ho. “What?” He asked, without using formal language.

Su Ho tried to show his bright smile to lessen the cold atmosphere. “Uhm… I’m sorry to interrupt you with your food but I think you’re not wearing the school’s uniform properly… As the student government’s president, I’m giving you the chance to change it-“

“As the owner of the school, I’m telling you to just shut up,” Kris said and walked out of the cafeteria.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun giggled seeing how Kris humiliated Su Ho.

“YA!” Su Ho reprimanded.