The first week of school was… lackluster. It was the most prestigious school in South Korea and 98% of graduates moved on to the SKY universities to become top of their class. I had worked my off to get into this school and if I’m being perfectly honest, it was complete and utter bull. I earned a full scholarship, the one and only in every year. What I expected to be a serious learning environment that encouraged growth and free thinking, was just another high school except this high school was filled with rich kids. It’s not all bad though – the teachers are brilliant and there seemed to be a lot of school spirit and the boys were cute but ugh, the conversations between the students consisted of which car their parents bought them for the month or their new handbags, or how many Swarovski crystals they managed to glue onto their boney manicured fingers.

I didn’t make friends. I rode to school on my father’s old delivery bike – the only one that’s ever chained in the massive bike racks; my shoes were Nikes that my mom managed to pick up at a second hand shop but they were on their last few days; and I didn’t wear makeup or get my hair done every week. I’m plain, to be frank, at least compared to all the girls here. But despite this, I worked to be here and I was here to challenge myself.

The oddest occurrence during my first week was when I stumbled across what seemed like the student council room. Peeking around the door frame, I saw seven boys, all incredibly attractive and all being waited on by two or three girls each. “Who were they?” I thought to myself as I took another look inside. Getting a good look, I recognized that one of them was in my class... At least I think he's in my class, I've only seen him in one of my classes.

Week 2, let’s go! I said as I pulled myself out of my bed to get ready for school. I packed my bag, the newest thing I possessed along with my uniform, and headed downstairs for breakfast. As per usual, my mom was hard at work over the stove, putting the finishing touches on breakfast while my dad put on his uniform for work. It’s a humble lifestyle but it’s all I’ve ever known and it’s my motivation to be the best – to give my parents the best. Sitting down for breakfast, I noticed a slim long box placed under my bowl. “What’s this?” I asked my parents as both of them stayed quiet. “Open it up,” my dad smiled while opening up his daily newspaper. A thought crossed my mind regarding what was in the dark blue box but I still wondered. Opening the box, my jaw dropped, it was the watch I’ve had my eye on for three years. “But dad, this is too expensive, I can’t take this.” I handed it back to my dad as he stopped my hand and shook his head. “You’re mom and I saved our extra money for years and got it for you. Think of it as a reward for all your hard work.” He forced it back into my hand as my mom walked over and put the watch on my wrist, “it’s yours, honey,” she kissed my temple, “now get going, don’t be late!” she smiled.

I sat down for class with a huge smile on my face as I admired my newest possession. “That’s really pretty.” said one of the less-materialistic girls. “Uh, thanks, my parents got it for me.” I beamed. She’s a beautiful girl and didn’t have piles of makeup on like the other girls. The best way I can describe her is that she looks like a doll with her straight black hair, round brown eyes, and her pink lips, “I’m Soyeon,” she introduced herself, “you’re Euijin right?” she asked as I nodded, “It’s nice to meet you, come eat with me and my friend at lunch,” she gestured to her friend who was equally as beautiful as her.

Did I just make a friend?

“So what do your parents do?” Soyeon asked what seems to be the primary way to introduce yourself at this school. “Uhh… they’re in business,” I half-lied as they both smiled and nodded. “That’s awesome. My parents are diplomats and Sumin’s parents are both lawyers.” She said. They kind of explained the hierarchy of the school. It seemed like the children of businessmen and lawyers were on the bottom of the pyramid, contrary to my belief. Next, were the directors and CEOs of companies; on top of them were the families that were associated with royalty – again, contrary to my belief. And finally, the top of the pyramid, the Student Council – the boys I saw in that room last week. “They’re the heirs of the greatest fortunes in Seoul. Their families are the most powerful people on this side of the world.” Sumin said. “Why are they called the student council?” I asked. “They basically run the school. Their parents fund the school and they basically have say in everything that goes on in this school, even more than the headmaster.” Soyeon explained. “This all seems so undemocratic,” I said in disbelief.

After we ate, we walked by the Student Council room and peeked in as Soyeon and Sumin pointed out and named each of the seven boys. “That tall one right there? His name is Kim Namjoon. His parents are the top research scientists in Seoul. He’s also the top of his class and always places first in the country for testing scores and of course, he’s the President.” Sumin said.

“That one with the black hair and the wide shoulders in Kim Seokjin, all the seniors call him Jin, he’s the vice-president representing the senior class. His parents own like 50 restaurants in Asia and they have 4 Michelin stars between them.” Soyeon said before quickly moving on to the next one, “That small guy with the blond hair is named Min Yoongi but everyone calls him Suga, his stage name. His dad is the CEO of Sony Music Asia and he produces music for artists. He’s not a member of the school student council but the students named him as our official music director.” She sighed and I’m pretty sure I saw hearts form in her eyes for him.

“Umm…” Sumin waited for her to snap out of it before giving up and continuing on, “That kid with the massive smile on his face, he’s the representative for the junior class and his mom is the top fashion designer and his dad is the web designer for GMarket. We call him JHope but his name is Jung Hoseok.” We waited again for Soyeon to stop drooling over Suga but Sumin continued, “Those two over there? They’re the co-representatives of the sophomore class. Their dads are the leading engineers at Samsung while their moms used to be like supermodels but now they’re heads of the only modelling agency that matters on this side of Earth. The little one is Park Jimin and the one with the yellow hair is Kim Taehyung.”

“How do you guys know all of this?” I asked as Soyeon finally snapped out of it, “How do you not know them? They have their own Wikipedia pages AND they’re like the idols of every school we’ve all been to.” She scoffed as she continued to stare at Suga. “Ignore her, she’s a fangirl. But yeah, we’ve been going to school with at least one of them since kindergarten up until now.” Sumin said. “I guess that’s what I get for transferring,” I laughed as I looked back into the room and saw who seemed to be in the center of all the action. “Who’s that?” I pointed at the boy who seemed to glow. Despite all the girls waiting on him, he didn’t seem to react to them at all. He simply had a blank look on his face as he listened to his iPod.

“Oh that? That’s Jeon Jungkook, he’s our class president and the heartthrob of the entire school. His mom is on the board of directors of the school and his dad is the ambassador to South Korea for England.” Soyeon replied, “He went to school in London for middle school while his dad worked there.” Sumin added. “How did he become our class representative?” I asked as both girls looked at me with confusion. “He was chosen,” they said bluntly as I returned their look of confusion. “That’s the least democratic thing I’ve ever heard of,” I stated and finally stood up from our hiding spot under the window looking into the room from the hallway.

As I walked away, I gave one last look into the Student Council room, suddenly making eye contact with Jungkook. His face lit up and a small smirk crept across his face as he waved the girls away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lean forward and felt his eyes follow me as I walked away.

“I’m running for class president,” I declared.