“Guys, today we have two new students that will be joining our class.” The biology teacher announced as soon as she walked in. “Come on in, boys.” She invited the students who were waiting in the hallway.

Krystal was busy doodling on her notebook to care about what was happening around her. She finally looked up when she heard the girls squealed and the guys groaned. It was no wonder for the girls to act like deranged fan girls, Krystal thought as she studied the boys standing in front of the class. They were quite good looking.

For a second, her gaze locked with one of the new guys. He had eyes that looked like an owl’s.  He gazed intently at her with his big rounds eyes squinted a little and he wore a confused expression like he was trying hard to remember who she was. She gave him a small smile and chuckled to herself when the boy abruptly looked away in embarrassment for getting caught staring like an idiot.

Having her question answered, her curiosity had died down and she found herself more interested to doodle instead of paying attention to their introductions. Do Kyungsoo. She wrote on her notebook.

The taller guy between the two decided to introduce himself first.“Anyeonghaseyo, my name is Park Chan Yeol. You can call me Chanyeol.” He introduced himself cheekily, earning another round of squeals from the girls and grunts of jealousy from the guys.

“My name is Do Kyungsoo. You can call me Kyungsoo or D.O.” the shorter guy said in a more serious tone than the former.

Krystal found herself marvelling on how deeper his voice and how different he had become since she last saw him. She was snapped out of her reverie when the teacher called her name.

“Yes, teacher?” Krystal replied distractedly.

“I asked you to raise your hand so that the new students know where to sit.” She gave Krystal a disapproving look.

“Oh, sorry.” Krystal smiled sheepishly as the boys made their way to sit next to her.

“Hi, Krystal-sshi. Nice to meet you.” Chanyeol said as soon as he sat in the seat on her right.

Krystal gave him a small smile before introducing herself, “Hello, my name is Jung Soojung but as you know, people call me Krystal.” She heard D.O who was sitting on her left gasped. Krystal ignored his reaction towards the mentioning of her real name and proceeded to shake hands with Chanyeol.

She turned to D.O who was wearing a bewildered expression on his face. He looked like he had seen a ghost as he stared at her wide eyed, lips trembling from the words he failed to produce as realization finally hit him like a ton of bricks. The beautiful girl took his hand and shook it like it was the most normal thing in the world, unaffected by their sudden reunion.

“It’s nice to meet you, D.O-sshi.” She stated before turning her attention towards the teacher who had begun teaching a new topic in the textbook, leaving him already distracted by his own thoughts on his first day in a new school.

The bell rung signalling that the lesson was over and it was time for lunch. Almost all the girls in the class crowded around the two new students as soon as the teacher left. Most of them introduced themselves and shamelessly flirted like they’ve never met boys before. Krystal rolled her eyes at the girls who had hungry looks in their eyes like a pact of hyenas stalking their prey. As funny as it was seeing the new kids get suffocated to death by their new fan girls, Krystal decided to save them when Chanyeol gave her a pleading look.

Krystal cleared and successfully made the girls shut up. “I’m sure the boys are really flattered to receive all this attention, but Chanyeol told me that he is starving because he didn’t have breakfast this morning and I think he better have lunch soon before he gets sick. As his new friends we wouldn’t want that to happen now would we?” She smiled in victory as the hyenas girls retreated and made way for the three of them to pass through.

“Phew! Thanks Krystal-sshi. Those girls were really starting to freak me out.” The tall guy wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead.

Krystal chuckled before adding, “No problem, but aren’t you supposed to be immune to this kind of thing already? I mean, didn’t the girls from your old school drool over you too?”

“No. We are from an all-boys high school so we’ve never received this kind of attention before.” Chanyeol explained.

“Oh, I see. So what made all twelve of you transfer to SM High?”

“How did you know there are twelve of us?” D.O, who was quiet all this time finally asked.

“Oh, I know everything that’s going on in this school.” She simply smirked at him.

“I, Kai, and Kris hyung got into a fight with the principal’s son and his gang. We were unfairly expelled from the school and the rest of our group decided to transfer with us to this school.” Chanyeol answered.

“You guys must be really close to be able to sacrifice and leave all the familiarity for each other’s sake. You’re really lucky to find friends that would stand by you through thick and thin, never wavering even when things gets rough.” Krystal gave them a hollow smile.

Somehow, D.O could not help thinking that there was a hidden meaning behind her words directed towards him. He suddenly felt guilt stabbing his heart mercilessly but he hid it well with a mask of indifference.

As soon as they walked through the cafeteria door, all eyes were staring at them. The boys looked puzzled by the attention because not only the girls were staring, but also the male students. While the guys fidget under the intense gazes they were receiving, Krystal was calm and collected as if she could not hear the murmurs around her.

“Chanyeol hyung! Kyungsoo hyung!” a slightly tanned guy waved enthusiastically.

“Look, there’s Kai and the rest of the gang.” D.O pointed towards a table that was occupied by ten handsome guys.

Krystal was about to go on her own way when Chanyeol suddenly dragged her towards his group of friends. “Come on, let me introduce you to our gang!” he said excitedly, earning a chuckle from the said girl.

Krystal allowed herself to be dragged by the happy virus while D.O quietly followed them from behind.

“Hey, guys!” Chanyeol grinned cheekily as he finally reached the table.

“Hey, hyung. Who’s the hot girl?” a tall blonde asked, earning himself a smack on the head by a shorter and more matured looking guy.

“Sehun, that’s rude!” the shorter boy reprimanded.

“Ouch! Fine, I’m sorry! Who’s your new friend, Chanyeol hyung?” Sehun rubbed the spot where he was hit.

“Guys, this is Jung Soojung-sshi but everyone calls her Krystal. She is our new sitting partner in Biology.” Chanyeol introduced her to Exo and the guys gave her welcoming smiles. One by one, they introduced themselves to her. She found out the name of the guy that had reprimanded Sehun before was Suho.

“Nice to meet you, Krystal-sshi. Would you like to join us for lunch?” Kris offered politely and the other boys nodded in agreement.

Krystal smiled warmly at how thoughtful they were being. There was hardly enough space for the twelve of them to sit, but they still invited her to join them. “I appreciate the offer but no thanks, maybe next time when we’re somewhere that has a bigger space?” She chuckled when Kris scratched his head awkwardly when he realized that there was literally no space for her to sit at the table.

“Well, it’s really nice meeting all of you. Welcome to our school and I hope you guys will have a wonderful time here. I’ll see you around.” Krystal waved at the group of guys before making her way to grab her own lunch.

“Damn, she’s hot.” Xiumin exclaimed as soon as Krystal was out of earshot.

The group of new boys were astonished by her popularity as she walked through the crowded cafeteria with her tray of lunch in hand. Every table she passed would offer her a seat. Although most of them were boys, there were also a lot of girls who had invited her to join them. She just politely declined their offer with a small smile.

“Soojungie, over here!” A tall, handsome senior who was sitting at the table just across from Exo’s waved over to her, causing all the commotions to die down.  The rest of the student body had admitted their defeat as soon as Krystal made her way towards the said boy and his group of good looking friends.

“Wow, I didn’t know that Krystal-sshi is really popular!” Chanyeol exclaimed in amazement while the others nodded.

“Well, it’s not that surprising, you know. I mean, she’s like smoking hot. It’d be crazy if she’s not popular.” Luhan shrugged.

“Hmm, I guess I can agree with that logic. We’re really lucky to be able to sit next to her in Biology, huh Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asked the owl like boy, only to receive zero response from the latter.

D.O was too busy in his own world to hear anything his friends said. His thoughts were occupied by the events that had transpired earlier today. He remembered what he had felt the moment he laid his eyes on Krystal; a sense of familiarity, warmth and happiness. At the same time, she reminded him of heartbreaks and goodbyes. He was confused; she was familiar yet different at the same time. Krystal looks almost the same as her, he thought, but he couldn’t be sure because truthfully, he had forgotten what she looked like.

Unconsciously, he stared at the girl who had plagued his thoughts who was sitting at the table across from his, chatting happily with her friends. ‘No, it couldn’t be her. She acts so differently from that Soojung. She seemed unaffected when she saw me and the Soojung I’m looking for would’ve been excited to see me, right?’ he tried to convince himself although deep down, he already knew that there was no other Jung Soojung and she was the one he was looking for.

Kai shook D.O’s shoulders when he did not respond to any of them calling his name, forcing him out of his trance. D.O found himself staring at her beautiful face again and for the second time that day, she caught him. She offered him a small smile before turning away to talk to the handsome senior.

D.O sighed and for the rest of the day, he found himself asking; ‘who are you, Krystal?’ over and over again.