1 First Encounter

The teacher strut in with a glum expression, silencing the raucous chatter of the students. She went to take her place in front of the board, placing her hands on her desk.

"Now class, we have a new student joining us today."

The students murmured to each other, "What? A transfer student now?"

The teacher turned her head towards the door, gesturing for the person outside to come in.

To the students' awe and wonder, a handsome boy made his entrance. He had his hair dyed a bright red colour and had multiple earrings dangling from his ears. His shirt collar was unbuttoned and his tie hung loosely from his neck. No wonder the teacher had looked so grim. The new boy had broken all the uniform regulations.

"Introduce yourself." The teacher said sharply, squinting her eyes at the boy. The students held their breaths, anticipation on their faces.

Much to the students' surprise, the boy smiled brightly and spoke calmly under the teacher's glare.

"Hello fellow classmates. My name is Taehyung and it's nice to meet you all."

The boy picked an empty spot near the back and walked over, plonking himself down on the hard, wooden seat. The girls turned their heads to glance at the boy and whispered among themselves. His voice was so magnetic and his gaze was so sensual; the way he walked had such elegance. The boy sat in his seat with a relaxed posture, one leg over the other with his hands clasped together. He smiled naturally, looking like he was used to the attention.

"Quiet!" The teacher frowned. "I am now going to hand you back your mid-term results, look carefully at what you got wrong."

The students groaned.

"Overall your results weren't great, however, I have to congratulate one student for her commendable achievement of correctly answering all the questions," The teacher beamed. "Come up and collect your test, Aria."

The students all turned to look at the back row where a girl with glasses and two braids pushed out her chair and stood up. The new boy frowned at the sudden movement beside him, arching his head up to stare at his desk mate.

"So you're the nerd?"

The class gasped. The new boy was so brazenly rude. Some of the girls gushed at his charm, others shook their heads. One couldn't blame the new boy for his mistake, however. He did not know that she was the dean's daughter.

The girl looked down to face him, her expression neutral and indifferent. "Then you're the hooligan."

"Ooh," the students gasped, shocked at her biting comeback.

The boy jumped back, pleasantly shocked at her feistiness. Rubbing his nose, he whispered, "I'm not a hooligan."

The girl rolled her eyes and left her seat, strutting her way to the front.

"Thank you, ma'am. It's thanks to your good teaching that I have these results." Aria commented modestly as she took her test back.

The teacher smiled warmly. "I hope you can continue like this and make your teacher proud."

"Yes ma'am," the girl replied while keeping her head down.

"You don't want to disappoint all the work your father put into your studies," the teacher added.

The girl kept silent; the woman took it as acknowledgement of what she said.

"Now class," the teacher said, raising her voice. "I will call each of you up to collect your test papers. Do not stand up if your name is not called."

The teacher turned back to Aria and said affectionately, "You can go back now, sweetie."

The girl nodded while avoiding the woman's eyes, quickly turning around and walking away.

…

"You're back from work, father?" the girl asked as she took off her shoes.

"Yes, not too many papers to mark today." He replied while flipping through a newspaper. "How did you do on the exams?"

"First place," she immediately responded. The man nodded approvingly; it was what he liked to hear.

"Go to your room and study some more. I've already ordered dinner."

"Alright," the girl agreed, heading to the stairs. Walking a few steps, the girl paused and turned her head, "Are you proud of me, father?"

The man raised his head, flabbergasted. "Of course, Aria. What's there not to be proud of?"

The girl waited a moment before she spoke, "I was just confirming, that's all."

The girl scampered up the stairs, turned a corner and ran into her bedroom. Wordlessly, she got out her schoolwork and organised her books. She glanced at the poster that sat above her king-sized bed, depicting a group of seven young men in flashing outfits. They had wide smiles on their faces as they posed for the shot; their expressions were so happy and free. If only I could be like them, she thought.

Sighing dejectedly, the girl opened her books and started studying.