***

"Most students choose to eat at the cafeteria, for obvious reasons. There are those that opt to stay in the classroom instead, but the school encourages students to eat at the cafeteria, to meet with peers." 

"Ah, I see, they used to do that at my old school as we-,"

"This is the main floor, as you probably already guessed. The stairs at the main hall lead to the second floor and the third floor. Third floor is prohibited for students, so we only use the first and second floors, which is more than enough. We don't have that many students on the island." 

"O-okay. Why is the third floor prohibit-,"

"The school has several buildings on campus. This is obviously the main building and is sectioned according to the courses that are categorized together. That might help you find your way to classes easier. The main floor comprises of languages, history, geography and the like. Second floor is the science department." 

"T-thanks for the ti-,"

"I'll show you around the second floor real quick, so you'll see what it looks like and then we're going to head out of the main building so I can show you the rest."

I watched as D.O. played the superspeed tour guide and walked briskly ahead of me to the main hall. My lunch was still heavy in my stomach and it honestly amazed me that he could move so easily on a full stomach. The cafeteria had been ridiculously fancy for a high school and the menu even more so. I ordered pizza, thinking I'd just get one of those big slices, but nope. This school was all about extravagance so up came an entire pizza pie on my tray, enough to feed three people, all for a measly four bucks. Student discount, D.O. said. 

I managed to eat two of the slices and had to give in. D.O., after eating a cheeseburger and finished the fries, actually managed to finish my pizza like there was no mañana, letting out a charming little burb afterwards. He apologized for it of course, but his face had been so deadpan that I couldn't help but just gawk at him. I honestly didn't know whether I should've applauded him or not. Seriously, where did a little guy like him store it all? Of course, when I say 'little', I meant little compared to most teenage boys. He was still at least 8 centimeters taller than me. Right now, I was just trying my best to keep up with him. 

"Um, actually-,"

"Come on, it's this way," D.O. called over his shoulder and I sighed, running after him. Something told me that even though D.O. didn't seem particularly hostile towards me, he wasn't really in the mood to play tour guide much. I wasn't sure what to make of the guy just yet either. It was hard to read him. At first glance, D.O. definitely struck me as the quiet and resilient type, not prone to show his emotions on his face, but not too shy to say what he wanted to. He didn't make a lot of eye contact either and seemed to prefer to listen to others speaking than have to do so himself. Not that that was noticeable now, though. He kept sprouting out technical facts about the school and didn't seem to take the time to hear what I have to say or ask, for that matter. 

When we got to the second floor, D.O. had already started walking to a random direction, without waiting for me. That's when I reached my own limit of patience. 

"Excuse me, D.O.?" I called out. He either hadn't heard me, or he didn't listen, continuing to walk on his own. "Hey, buddy!" I shouted, sounding agitated. That seemed to do the trick as he stopped and turned around, his eyebrows lifted in confusion. He kind of looked like a lost puppy, wondering why his owner was shouting at him and I immediately softened up. 

"I-I'm sorry," I started, cautiously approaching him. "It's just...are you in a hurry to get somewhere or something? I mean, didn't the teachers excuse you from your classes?" I asked gently. 

At this, D.O. looked at me as though he realized something and a blush crept over his cheeks, all the way to the tips of his ears. 

"Was I going too fast?" he asked.

"Yeah. Any faster and I'll call you Flash Gordon," I quipped and that managed to break the ice a little. D.O. chuckled lightly and looked at the ground. 

"Look, I'm sorry that you're stuck with me. I can totally imagine that it's lame to have to show the new kid around, but give me a break too, huh? I mean, imagine what it's like for me; I'm new to everything, just trying to survive high school like everyone else. It's not necessarily easier for me, either," I explained calmly and D.O. seemed to get the hint. 

"Right. Of course. I apologize, it's just that I'm...I'm not really good at this, and to be honest, I'm not yet sure what to make of you yet," he said straightforwardly. 

"Well, uh, right back at you," I stated. "Still, that doesn't mean that we can't find out, right? I'm sure there's time for us to get to know each other a little better," I suggested and D.O. nodded with a straight face. 

"I suppose so," he said. 

"Also, I think you're doing a good job with touring me around, but maybe it'll be even better if you take it one step at a time, huh?" I smiled goodnaturedly at D.O. and he seemed to be less high strung now. 

"You're right. I'm sorry," he conceded and took a deep breath while looking around. "So, eh, yeah, this is the second floor. You'll find the math, physics, chemistry and biology classes here, amongst a few others," he explained in a more relaxed manner. "Oh, and this cabinet is the Sciences hall of fame," he pointed at a glass cabinet that held trophies, pictures and plaques. 

"Wow, there's so many prizes here," I mused, looking at the pictures. "Hey, isn't that you?" I pointed out with a smile. 

D.O. blushed again and nodded, but didn't explain. When I kept looking at the picture, I recognized more faces and squinted at the picture. "Isn't that Suho and Lay?" I muttered. 

"Yep, there's actually, eh, twelve of us in this picture," D.O. cleared his throat a little uncomfortably and I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. "We're pretty good at science, so we take some advanced classes together." 

"Aha," I mused, swallowing when I realized that I recognized all twelve faces. I shivered a little when I thought back to lunch. They probably didn't think I noticed, but I remember distinctly that eleven of those faces had been keeping an eye on D.O. and I during lunch. I didn't know what it was, but something told me that those guys had it in for me, for whatever reason. 

"Are they your friends?" I asked, watching D.O.'s reaction. 

"Yeah," came the short reply. 

Any idea why they seem to dislike me before they even know me?

"What are they like?" I questioned, hoping that I wouldn't raise any suspicion. 

"Truthfully, they're idiots, but they're alright." I couldn't help but smile a little when I saw the look of brief playfulness in D.O.'s eyes as he commented about his friends. But, since it wasn't a real answer to the question I had asked, I felt a little dissatisfied. 

"We should go. I still need to show you some more things before P.E. starts," he said. 

"Okay- wait. What? P.E.? I thought you were going to show me around for the rest of the day?" 

"Sorry, I was only given an excuse from a few classes. Besides, you have P.E. too, so I'll show you where we exercise," D.O. said, though he didn't look like he was looking forward to having to go to P.E. either. To be honest, I hadn't anticipated that I'd have P.E. today, so that really . 

"Oh crap, wait. I don't have a uniform for P.E.," I realized, already feeling traumatized that they'd give me clothes that won't fit again. 

"Ah... Well, oops," D.O. noted a little redundantly. "Well, you've seen how the second floor looks like, right? Let's head back down and I'll show you where you can get your P.E. uniform instead." 

"I'd appreciate that," I thanked him. Afterwards, D.O. seemed noticeably more comfortable and at ease when he guided me around, telling me how the school's outer buildings all served different purposes and were usually being used by clubs for their extracurricular activities. D.O. mentioned the clubs he was active in, but there was an impressive amount of it, so I wasn't able to memorize all of it.

With my new P.E. outfit safely stored in the new sportsbag I got with the uniform (fancy, right?), D.O. continued informing me about the school. It was surprising how much he knew and how he could perfectly remember every fact about the school. He spoke a lot, but for some reason, I didn't get the feeling that I got to know him. He had continued keeping his wall up, full defense. 

Come on, bro, what are you hiding? Juicy secrets?

We were walking outside where D.O. pointed out all the different buildings to me again, including the sports area where we'd have P.E. class. The area was divided in several pitches for baseball, soccer, basketball and, of course, football. There was a large track field as well and D.O. even showed me the school's outdoor and indoor pool. 

"Should you be interested in signing up for a sports club, check the announcement board at the track field. You can usually sign up there," he explained. 

Right, because I, Jae, was such an elegant and strong athlete...not. "Okay, cool," I nodded.

We walked out of the indoor pool establishment, when we passed three guys. I quickly checked to see if it was one of D.O.'s weird friends, but when that wasn't the case, I relaxed. D.O., on the other hand, just seemed a lot more stressed. Did he know them?

"Hey, check it out," one of them suddenly called and I noticed D.O. becoming nervous. He was wiping the sweat from his brow and hadn't looked up from the ground. 

"It's Dungsoo! What's up, Dungsoo?!" the biggest one of the bunch called out crudely and I watched rather awkwardly at how D.O. winced and cringed at the name. 

"We, eh, we should go that way," D.O. pointed at a general direction, opposite of the three clowns. 

I nodded in comprehension. "Yeah, sure," I gave a small smile and we started walking away. I have to admit that I'm rather hopeless when it came to dealing with bullies. I'd always been rather lucky that I never had been the victim of bullying before, but I never really knew how to act or behave when someone I knew was getting bullied. Preferably I'd just ninja-kick their butts and shove a few slippers into their mouths, but I was real enough to know that I'd never be capable of something that badass. 

"Hey, where are you going, Dungsoo? I thought we were having a good time here!" the burly one shouted after us. 

"Kenn, check it out, he brought his girlfriend with him," a skinny, dark-skinned guy with big teeth commented. I shot him a glare for good measure, but that didn't impress him. 

"Yeah, that's the new kid, right? Look at them, scrawny and scrawnier, the couple!" the third one said as he made kissing noises. I just frowned at hearing him snort out of laughter and shook my head. 

"Where are you going to take your girlfriend, Dungsoo?" the one named Kenn asked and I saw D.O. just shrink further and further underneath his words. 

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to be offended to be called a girl?" the words flew out of my mouth before I even realized it, but it was too late to take them back now. D.O. had glanced up in surprise at me as well and just shook his head. 

"Just ignore them," he urged. Well. Too late for that. 

"Duh, you're a guy, aren't you? An ugly one at that- look at him! He's smaller than Dungsoo!"

I lifted my arms up out of exasperation. "Really? Really?! What is it with this freaking school?" I huffed out of frustration, looking at D.O. when he grabbed my arm and pulled me with him. He only rolled his eyes when the three stooges started catcalling. 

"Hope you're not planning on going on a date after school, 'cause we'll still be waiting for you, Dungsoo!" Kenn shouted after us and me, being agitated enough as is, my heels to give him a scolding of a lifetime- had D.O. not calmly stopped me and turned me back around with ease. 

"How can you be so calm?" I asked, amazed and in disbelief at the same time. 

"You learn to live with it," D.O. stated flatly, shrugging as though it didn't bother him. 

"You're joking," I exclaimed. "Who were those guys anyway? More friends of yours?" 

"They're in my year. They've always been like that," he said without any emotion in his voice. I looked at him, long and hard, but D.O. made no eye contact and just kept on walking. 

"Do the things they say to you not hurt you, or something? I mean, what was up with the Dungsoo-thing? That doesn't even make sense," I protested, and apparently I was confusing D.O. since he was looking at me as though he was wondering why I was so worked up by this. It was admittedly a little strange since I'm not usually one to get angry so quickly. Maybe I was exaggerating, but how can someone not get irked after hearing stuff like that? I felt like stomping on the earth like a raging toddler. 

"Kyungsoo is my real name," D.O. revealed out of the blue. "They think it's a clever nickname. It hurt at first, but you learn to deal with it," he shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it, if you don't mind. I'm sorry that you got dragged in it though. If it's any consolation, I don't think you look like a girl at all." 

My eyebrows flared up at him, and I had the mind to get angry, but once I thought about the irony of the situation, I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, thanks, that's apparently the case," I laughed it off and caught D.O. looking at me with a vague little smile on his face. "What?" I asked. 

"Nothing," he shrugged before looking up again. "You're a little weird, you know?" 

The honest statement blindsided me to the extent that I only laughed in response. "Thanks, I try really hard," I joked and D.O. finally managed a full smile. We both jumped a little when the bell rang and D.O. heaved a light sigh. 

"Time for P.E.," he muttered, stretching himself. "Guess this was the end of the tour. Hope it was still somewhat useful to you, Jae."

"You know what, it actually was. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to guide me around, D.O.," I gave a light bow, which he returned. 

"Yeah. It was actually rather nice getting acquainted with you," he said, extending his hand. I shook it with a smile on my face. 

"Same here," I said. 

Soon, the school's campus was filled with students from different years and classes as they headed to the dressing rooms. Five classes had P.E. together, so it was rather crowded. I walked part of the way with D.O. to the dressing rooms, through the hall way that split into two. To the right were the boys' locker rooms, to the left were the girls. 

"Jae, where are you going?" he asked. "Boys is this way," he pointed out. 

My eyes widened. "Oh, uh- what? No, I mean, yeah, I know, it's just, I don't-,"

"Ah, so this is the new student!" a hand was placed on my shoulder and when I was turned around, I was looking at a brightly smiling, rather tubby, gym teacher. He was holding a clipboard and glanced at it. "Jae, I presume?"

"O-oh, y-yes, sir," I bowed and he laughed. When I peeked behind me, I saw that D.O. was already gone. Damnit, this 'new-kid-is-a-boy-shtick' was getting old. 

"Wonderful! Nice to meet you, Jae. My name is Mr. Bosch, I'm the gym teacher, but you can call me Coach," he winked friendly. His eyes then moved to the new sportsbag I got and he tapped on it lightly. "I see that you already went to get a uniform for P.E., that's very good," he stated and I nodded. 

"Yeah, I was told that I would be needing it." 

"Indeed you will. However, did you get that at the main building?" he asked and I nodded again. He made a face. 

"I was afraid of that. So sorry, Jae, but the uniforms at the main building are no good. The sports faculty have been trying to get rid of the old uniforms, since they were easy to tear. No worries though, I got you a brand new one. Will you follow me?"

We walked past the girls' locker rooms into a separate room which was filled with new, clean uniforms. I looked around and saw that they were indeed different. The trousers were black, instead of dark blue and the shirts were scarlet, true to the school's colors. The shirt I got from the main building was red on black. 

"Take your pick," Coach Bosch gestured with his hand. "I'm sure you'll find one that fits you here, right?" he patted my back and I nodded again, trying not to wince under him slapping me.

"Good. You just pick one out and take your time getting dressed here. Saves some time from having to walk all the way back to the boys' locker room," he chuckled and walked towards the door. "See you on the field, Jae," he greeted, closing the door behind him. 

I wasn't even bothered at this point anymore. Well, I mused as I searched for my size, giving into defeat, wasn't this a most convenient coincidence...