He wrings his hands nervously, inhaling deeply like an uneasy father waiting for the birth of his first child. Gathering up his courage, he enters through the school doors, mumbling under his breath. “I can do it. I can do it.” He approaches the classroom, watching as the girl of his dream talk to her friends. He turns on his heels and flees. “I can’t do it. I can’t do it.”

“Hyung, where are you going?” Zitao approaches the miserable male with his childhood friend next to him. She was the jiejie next door that he would spend most of his childhood school days with and got tutored from. Somehow a year in university, she managed to convince him into the Asian Study Abroad Program with her, and thus, here they are in South Korea, along with a few others.

“Let me die in my misery.” Jongdae turns around and bangs his head on the wall.

“Why? Did you get rejected?” The foreign transfer student stuffs the sandwich into his mouth, his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk.

“Yah, Zitao. Don’t say that. You’re going to make him more miserable than he already is.” The girl next to Zitao jabs the much taller boy with her elbow.

“But Kitty jie~.” Zitao whines with a pout on his face.

“Well, it’s not helping.” Jongdae sighs heavily, trying to ease his pounding heart.

“Jongdae ah, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it too much. Just gather up your courage okay?” The girl, Zitao calls Kitty, gives him an encouraging smile.

“Hanna noona, it’s not that easy. You think everyone’s like you and Zitao here? That we’ll talk and talk and end up together?”

Hanna and Zitao turn to look at each other, confused at the other’s statement. “We’re not…” They’re interrupted by the miserable lovesick Kim Jongdae as he puffs up his cheeks.

“I don’t care. I’m not gonna do it. She’ll reject me and I’ll be embarrassed in front of the entire school.” Jongdae throws his arms up dramatically, as if there needs to be any evidence of his participation in the drama club.

“Yah, what are you talking about now?” Yifan, a transfer student from Canada, walks over with a smirk, his arms around the shoulders of another transfer student from… Well, he didn’t bother to ask since that detail isn’t that important.

“Shut up, Yifan. Or I’ll shut your mouth for you.” Jongdae growls at the taller male.

“Leave him alone. You weren’t all that when you tried to confess to me.”

“Yah, what are you saying? Was I bad? I swept you off your feet when a smirk and a kiss.” Yifan puckers up his lips at the shorter girl. “Come give oppa a kiss.”

“Get your slimy lips away from me.” She jabs Yifan hard, smiling at the look of pain across the male’s face. “You were stupid. And get your arm off me.” She nudges the tall boy’s arm off her shoulders. “I never said I’ll accept your proposal.” She shoves the offensive face away. “Stop that or I’ll stab your eye out with my stylus.”

“But babe, how can you reject me?”

[“Get over yourself, Yifan. If she doesn’t like you, she doesn’t like you.”] The girl next to Zitao states in Mandarin, sticking her tongue out at him. 

[“Kitty jie, Yifan ge has a big ego. It’s as big as the entire galaxy.”]

[“This is why I like you better, by precious TaoTao.”] Hanna coos at him, pinching his cheeks as the boy smiles brightly at her.

[“What’s going on?”]

[“Hey, Yixing.”]

Yixing turns to Jongdae with a frown. “Yo, you still moping on how to tell her? Just tell her. Just tell her! Like this” He takes Jongdae’s hands into his and stares into his eyes. “I know we don’t talk much, but I just want to say…I like you. “

The practice confession comes to an abrupt halt as a girl passes by the door. Both Yixing and Jongdae turn to the girl, quickly pulling their hands back in awkwardness.

“Um…sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” The girl nods her head and quickly hurries away. She didn’t want to disturb them after all.

Jongdae looks longingly after her disappearing figure, cursing Zhang Yixing’s horrible timing and his stupidity of thinking that now is the time to tell him how to confess.

[“It’s over.”] Zitao states, watching as the girl turns the corner. [“It’s all over now. You’re done for.”]

“Yah.” Jongdae shoves Zitao harshly. “Speak Korean.”

Zitao pouts and whines as Hanna coos and comforts him at Jongdae’s shove as if it causes him to bruise terribly. In other words, the panda eyed Chinese transfer student is being a big baby and his Kitty jiejie is going along with it.

“Does that mean she thinks ChenChen and Yixing are together?” She glances towards the two boys before looking towards Yifan.

“Please…” Yixing starts with a frown on his face. “I did not come all the way to China as a transfer student to this gifted school to be in a relationship with you. No offense, ChenChen, but you’re just not my type.”

“ChenChen so cute~!” Yifan coos and reaches over to pinch Jongdae’s cheeks.

“Who are you calling ChenChen?” Jongdae sends a scowl towards Yifan.

“What? We can’t give you a name? You’re our ChenChen.” Yifan pinches Jongdae’s cheeks with a smile. “ChenChen ah~. Our precious baby ChenChen ah~. Why are you so cute? When have you become this cute? Last year? Yesterday? Come give me a kiss.”

“Stop that. I…” Jongdae stops and turns to his right in horror. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Yifan doing the same, his lips still puckered up.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you again.” The same girl ducks her head and hurries into the classroom.

[“You’re done for.”] Zitao shakes his head with a sigh. He squeals at the punch thrown his way and dodges it, hiding behind his Kitty jiejie. [“Jie! Save me!”] He bends his knees ducks his head behind hers, peeking out and sticking his tongue out. “Merong~.”

“Why can’t you speak Korean?” Jongdae retorts with an irritated frown. Despite not knowing what the other is saying, at least fluently, he knows enough about the other to guess.

[“I’m not Korean.”]

“Yah! You’re in Korea, you need to speak Korean.”

[“But it’s hard.”] Zitao wraps his arms around the girl’s shoulder. [“Jie, if I learn properly, can you give me a reward?”]

[“Are you going to study hard? You promise?”] She replies with a smile, poking Zitao’s cheeks. The arms around her shoulders are ignored as she leans slightly back against the other.

[“Jie~.”] He whines with his chin on her shoulder, wiggling his behind and tighten his arms around her after lowering them to her waist. [“Promise you’ll give me a reward if I do well on my next test. I’ll try to get a perfect score and you’ll buy me food as a reward, okay?”]

[“Okay, okay.”]

“What are you doing standing around for? Hurry and get inside. Class is starting soon. Hurry, hurry.” The teacher ushers them inside and class begins.

Jongdae whines and heads into the class to listen to the professor explain why smoking and drinking is bad in general, but especially worse for singers and vocalists. He did not want to sit through the class again. The only reason why he took this class is because of the easiness in getting a high mark on it and because of… He glances back towards the group of smiling girls a few tables behind. He groans deeply at Lilly talking to TC and Hanna.

She’s just so pretty. Lilly has perfectly round eyes and puffy pink lips and soft cheeks like marshmallows, though he has never touched them before. He bet they’re soft like silk and warm like the morning sun.

“KIM JONGDAE!” The professor screams, causing the said student to jump up in his seat. She glares towards Jongdae with a look that threatens to chop his head off. “Sit up, pay attention and stop making indecent sounds!”

Jongdae is horrified. Simplify horrified. How could the professor say something so inappropriate to him? Now the class is going to think that…

“Professor Im.” Hanna stands up with a sneer on her face. “Jongdae is a friend of mine and I know for certain that he does not, as you said, make indecent sounds. If he does, that is none of your business and you have no right to put him on the spotlight like that.”

“Are you saying I’m in the wrong?”

“I’m saying that you have disrespected him by saying something as inappropriate as that and therefore, I have no reason not to report you to your superior about this manner. You may continue class as normal, but I will still make this manner known. I will urge the board to take appropriate action and dismiss you from the school. Honestly, that was ual harassment if not borderline.”

Professor Im is horrified at the statement and gulps air like a fish out of water. “I…I…” She suddenly sends a dirty look at the whispers in the classroom. He glares angrily and turns back to her lesson. “Pay attention! Listen or I’m going to fail you on the spot! If you don’t like it, leave!” She resumes the lesson and proceeds to avoid Jongdae and Hanna for the rest of the class.

Jongdae mouths a quiet ‘thank you’ towards Hanna who returns a smile. His eyes shifts over and he notices how pretty Lilly really is. “It is the east, and Lilly is my sunshine.” He freezes when Lilly sudden lock eyes with him and he quickly turns away. When he turns back, Lilly has already return her attention to the lesson. He resists the urge to squeal and giggling happiness. Nothing can ruin his day now, not even the stupid Professor Im talking about how some people think ion can help one’s vocals. Seriously, is this professor a nutcase? She should be dismissed on accounts of inappropriate discussion topics.