Editor's Letter

Hello and welcome to a new edition of the Seoul Regional High School's official student paper. I'm proud to speak here as the new Editor-in-Chief, taking over from the fine work of our former editor Park Eunae. She did her very best, but as with all things, change is inevitable and necessary. I promise to deliver the same quality content she did, while refocusing on further relevant stories and topics. Let me be the first to wish you luck and success in the coming academic year, and I hope you enjoy reading every two weeks. Don't be afraid to approach me anytime for a chat, I'm always socializing. Thank you.

-- Huang Zitao, Tao.

Once her eyes hit the name...that name, the paper was ripped out of the flimsily stapled together booklet their school called a newspaper. The entire thing was discarded in a nearby trashcan, but not before she crumbled that particular page with a tightly clasped fist. The gum she had been chewing was spit into it for good measure. She couldn't even fathom how something like this had happened. Some transfer student shows up and after only a few months of being there he managed to take everything she had worked years to achieve. To think the peers she considered coworkers, a part of her team, overthrew her and replaced her so quickly after she had given them the best years of her life.

Eunae's quiet seething was hardly even interrupted by the throngs of students moving through the hallway. She was in her little corner by her locker channeling hatred perfectly fine despite them. That was until she felt a tap on the shoulder.

“Not interrupting anything, am I?” The voice was all too familiar, and couldn't have come at a worse time. The girl hunched away instinctively when she heard the voice, briefly looking similar to Quasimodo. Standing right behind her was Huang Zitao, wearing a thin smile, perfectly managed hair and an exceptionally neat uniform. His eyes were sharp and aware, which certainly didn't help her trust him too much.

Realizing her less than perfect form, she straightened herself out just as fast as she had cringed away. She cleared , slowing donning a more self assured demeanor. "Just my thoughts. I hope this is important..."

His smile stretched wide before opening up to take in a loud breath. Even taking in a lungful of air needed to make a statement for him. “Oh, I wouldn't want to interrupt those.” The Gucci satchel bag by his waist was carefully opened up to retrieve a small leather notebook. He combed a hand through his hair to keep it slicked back to the side before opening it though, his index until he found what he was after. “Ah, here,” he announced, tapping a date in his calender. “Well you know tomorrow is the 20th?” The purposefully cryptic question was dangled in front of her like a near-taunt, his eyes wide and staring at her as if just waiting on any sign that she had forgotten.

She did sport a clueless expression while searching her mind for the relevance of that date. It didn't take long for her thankfully enough, and soon she was smiling along with him. "I'm very aware of the staff meeting, Zitao." She emphasized his whole name, making sure he knew they were absolutely not on friendly terms. The smile was forced even more as the name practically had to slip out from between her teeth to escape.

Instantly he raised a hand up, pausing her next non-existent sentence and shaking his head all too smarmily. “Please...you can call me Tao, let's not keep so formal, hmm?” While scribbling some unknown series of notes onto an already crowded page he spoke again, glancing up at the girl once or twice. “Just a reminder is all, I wouldn't want my new staff writer to miss out. I'll have plenty to organize, I need your expertise.”

She gave a nod, showing that she understood, while also managing not to give away how hard that nonchalant reminder of her new position had hit her. Just a staff writer once again, right back to square one...

She was silent for what might have just seemed like an awkwardly long amount of time before clearing again. “Yes, I'm sure you do," she murmured, letting her gaze drift in an entirely different direction than from where he was standing. "Now if you'll excuse me...I have to get to class."

“A...Of course...umm...mhmmm...” He nodded slowly, pausing for a moment given the fact that class was still quite a while off, but was wise enough to leave the girl to her quirks for now.

“Before you leave...” She could have rolled her eyes until they fell out, but still he persisted and outstretched a hand to be placed into her own. “I look forward to working with you, so...no hard feelings?” Now his grin was a toxic mix of superiority and potentially sincere.

Her shoulder was nearly pressed up against the locker in an attempt to keep a good distance between them, distance that was completely lost once he held his hand out. For awhile she just stared at it, but just before he was ready to give up and return the arm to his side she gave it a quick slap. It seemed like maybe a high five, but the dismissive nature of it canceled out any cordiality.

"None at all, Zitao." Her smile at least looked more genuine now. "It won't last though. Just saying." She adjusted her bag strap after making what could be seen as an almost sugary sweet sounding threat before making her way to class.

Watching her leave left him feeling a little acidic, and the sensation bubbled in his stomach until he shut his eyes and gathered his thoughts. Fine, fine. She could hate him, that wouldn't change a thing.

“You still work for me...” he muttered under his breath, adjusting the strap slung over his shoulder and stepping out into the hall again.