"GOOOOOAL! You just witnessed it here, ladies and gentlemen. Kwon Mina has led FNC Academy to victory! She only 16 and already one of the best players in the Seoul district! Who knows how far she'll g-"

"Kwon Mina! Wake up!" A loud voice shouts so loudly, even the neighbors probably woke up.

"Gah!" a teenage girl wakes up from the scream and harshly falls off her bed, landing flat on her . 

"Are you up yet?! You're going to be late to school!" asks a woman in her mid-twenties, Kwon Nara.

"I-I'm up. Sorry Unnie" Mina mumbles.

"Good. Now go change. You don't want to be late to your first day do you? I have to drive you to school and then get to work. Change quickly, I already finished making breakfast."

"Yes Unnie"

Nara nods and leaves Mina alone in her room to change. Mina is 16 years old and lives alone with her 25 year old sister, Kwon Nara. Their parents remain in Busan and Mina decided to move in with her sister in Seoul because she wanted to go to school there. Although their parents were against it initially, Nara assured them that she'd take care of her little sister, which she does. While she might not be used to Seoul, Mina is adapting fairly well and today is her first day of high school in the city. The younger of the Kwon sisters changed into her uniform as quickly as she could before Nara could get angry again. Once she finished, she ran to the dining room and ate the food that her sister had prepared while Nara was fixing her outfit. Nara works as a senior editor in fashion magazine so she always has to look on point, which is no challenge for her.

"Minnie, how do I look?"

"Great!"

"Thanks. Now hurry! I have to get to work!"

Mina cleaned her plate as fast as she could and the two sisters ran out of the apartment and into Nara's car. 

They drove in silence and Nara noticed Mina nervously fidgeting in her seat.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"What if they don't like my busan accent?"

"Then they're not worth befriending. Just have fun okay."

"Okay Unnie. Thank you"

"You're welcome"

They stopped in front of the school and Mina slowly got out of the car with her school bag. She waved to Nara when she saw her older sister driving away. Because it was the first day, Mina had no idea where she should be so she followed a large group of students to what looked like a board with the classroom information.

Mina looked for her name and student ID until she found it on the board. The girl silently read out her homeroom, A7. Once the commotion died down, everyone went inside the building to attend a freshmen orientation; everyone except Mina who got lost.

'Why is this school so big? Where is the auditorium?' Mina frantically ran around the building and didn't look where she was going. The next thing she knew, she had crashed into another person. 

'Ow...I keep falling on my today' The girl groaned and looked up to see a tall brunette staring down at her with cold eyes. The taller girl reached out her hand and Mina hesitantly took it as the mysterious student helped her up.

"I'm so sorry for bumping into you! I was in a hurry and I couldn't find where the freshmen orientation was being held!" Mina apologized as she bowed before the girl.

"Are you alright?" The girl asks. 

"Y-Yes" Mina replies.

"Good. Be more careful. What's your name by the way?"

"K-Kwon Mina"

The taller girl nods in response.

"Shin Hyejeong. And you're not from around here are you? You don't speak in the Seoul dialect."

"I-I'm from Busan." Mina answers. She was getting more nervous because she was missing the orientation to talk to this other student.

"Ah I see. I'm also a freshman by the way."

"My apologies but can you show me where the student orientation is being held?"

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"I'm lost too"

~~

The two freshmen finally found their way into the orientation and quietly sat next to each other while their principal was giving a speech.

"And now we'll have a speech from the freshmen representative, Seo Yuna"

The crowd clapped as a girl with shoulder length red hair walked up to the podium. Although it's fair to say that everyone was captivated by her beauty, Mina was hands down the most enchanted by this new student. Everyone listened as Yuna delivered a speech and Mina could hear some people around her whispering about this student. Because Mina wasn't from Seoul, she didn't know about middle schools here, unlike most of the other students.

"That's Seo Yuna from Seoul Ace Middle School. She didn't only get into this school with perfect scores on exams, but also a sports scholarships for soccer. Rumor has it that she has been scouted by even professionals to join in the future."

'Seo...Yuna' Mina thought to herself and could've swore that Yuna was staring back at her. 

~~

The first day was going by rather quickly; the new students met their teachers and learned about what to anticipate for the year. Mina and Hyejeong found out they were in the same homeroom and the two managed to become friends despite Hyejeong's aloof and quiet nature. The two classmates ate lunch together and watched as everyone else formed new cliques, which they didn't care to join because they could just imagine how much drama their school year will have if they join groups like that.

However, they were interested in things like clubs and teams, at least Mina was. 

"Hyejeong, are you going to join anything?"

"I don't know."

"You should join the basketball team! You're so tall, it'd be a waste for you to not join!"

"We shall see, I guess" Hyejeong says as she takes a bite out of her kimbap.

The two girls return to their classroom for the last class of the day and quickly pack up once it ended. Like Mina said during lunch, it'd be a waste for someone as tall as Hyejeong to not play basketball; the girls in the team immediately crowded the poor, aloof freshman and dragged her to the basketball court to force an audition on her. Mina laughs at Hyejeong screams for help. Once she packed up, Mina hurriedly ran to the soccer field.

"Alright, we'll start off auditions very simple, run 15 laps across the entire field. Anyone who stops, will automatically be kicked out and will have to try again next year. Understand?" The captain, Yoon Bora, explains.

Almost immediately, everyone drops their bags on the bleachers and proceed to running. By the 7th lap, almost 3/4 of those students had given up and gone home, the remaining 1/4 (except for a few) were close to dropping, including Mina.

'I can't give up... I need to make this team'

"3 more laps!" Dahye, a senior midfielder, announces.

Just as Mina was about to collapse, she felt someone run up next to her.

"Quitting already?"

Mina looked to her left and was surprised to see Yuna there, smirking at her.

"You know, I thought there was something special about you, but you're just weak like the rest of these losers. Better luck next year, weakling" Yuna arrogantly tells Mina and runs off, leaving the Busan girl dumbfounded. Mina clenched her fist and began to pick up speed.

'That jerk! I'll show her!

Yuna glanced back and saw Mina's determination then went back to looking in front of her.

'That runt, she better make this year interesting for me' Yuna chuckles and finished her remaining laps before anyone and goes to take a break on the bleachers.

'That's Seo Yuna. With her on the team, we'll definitely succeed' Bora tells herself and then looked at the remaining students running. She was impressed by their determination, but couldn't help but notice Mina the most. 

'That kid, she's beyond exhausted and really overexerting herself, but she won't give up. I'm impressed' Bora smiles to herself.

'They all look promising' 

~~

Meanwhile in the other side of the school, Hyejeong had just left basketball tryouts and, to her dismay, she had made the cut with flying colors. She silently curses at her competitive nature and abnormally gifted talents when it came to athletics. The quiet girl was exceptionally good at swimming, volleyball and basketball. And even though she had the option to decline, she knew the team wouldn't stop bothering her until she voluntarily joined so she just decided to join now and spare herself some trouble. Hyejeong sighed for the nth time since she was dragged to the court. 

'Great, there goes my plans to just focus on studying in high school'

Hyejeong heard some noise coming from the side of the court. She was going to ignore it until she heard someone whimpering for help. The girl dropped her bag and ran to the scene, only to see two guys pushing a girl on the floor.

"What's wrong you ugly and dark nerd?! You won't do our homework even after we volunteered to you? Who else would a dark and dirty looking girl like you?!" the first guy, Chanyeol, asked as he tormented the girl.

"Exactly. You're so dark and ugly. You should do some skin bleaching. Your face isn't half bad but why are you so dark? Are you even Korean? You're black like a black pig, disgusting. And yet you have the nerve to reject us?" The other guy, Hongbin, teased. 

"What the are you s doing?" Hyejeong threateningly questions and throws a rock at Chanyeol. The two guys looked up and saw Hyejeong glaring at them as she got closer. 

"This doesn't concern you!" Hongbin yells.

"You're hurting a girl just because she doesn't fit your trashy beauty standards. This does concern me you disgusting colorist trash. Once I'm done with you, the doctors at the E.R will have something to tell." Hyejeong smirks.

"C-Chanyeol, l-let's r-run. That's S-Shin H-Hyejeong. The famed demon middle schooler who single-handedly beat up a gang of high schoolers when she was just 13!"

Chanyeol and Hongbin both ran away, fearing for their lives, leaving Hyejeong and an injured girl.

"Useless losers" Hyejeong mumbled and quickly checked up on the girl.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

The girl weakly nods and Hyejeong groans before picking her up bridal style. The girl blushed and hid her face in the crook of Hyejeong's neck.

"What's your name?"

"S-Seol...hyun. Kim Seolhyun." the girl whispers low enough for just Hyejeong to hear.

"I'm Hyejeong"

The brunette picks up her bag and carries it around her shoulder while still carrying Seolhyun. She brings the girl to the school's infirmary and helps see to Seolhyun's wounds. 

"T-Thank you" Seolhyun mumbled as Hyejeong applied some ointment onto her injuries. Hyejeong looked up and gave a small smile.

"You're welcome"

The two remained in awkward silence until Hyejeong spoke up again.

"Why did those guys bother you?"

"..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's nothing. They just wanted me to do their homework and I said no. Then they told me to their but I refused and they got mad and started calling me ugly and dark."

"...I-I'm sorry" 

Seolhyun fakes a smile and shakes her head.

"I'm used to it"

That was probably the most painful statement Hyejeong has ever heard. To hear that Seolhyun not only gets mistreated, but to the point that it has become normalized was too much. Hyejeong shook her head.

"It's not okay and you shouldn't be used to it..."

"... they had no right to hurt you. No one has a right to do or say things like that.."

"...don't listen to them. I think you're beautiful."

The girl who was sitting on the infirmary's bed looked down to hide her blush and hoped no one could hear her beating heart. No one has ever complimented her the way the brunette in front of her did. 

"I have to leave now. Feel better." Hyejeong informs Seolhyun and begins to walk away.

"W-wait! What is your homeroom?!"

"A7" Hyejeong answers and leaves.

"Shin Hyejeong... I think I like her" Seolhyun whispers to herself.  

TBC

I'll try to make this story as short as possible. Maybe 10 chapters? Well I'm tired and don't have the energy to check typos. Thank you for reading and I promise we'll have more yunaring in the next chapter!