1 Prologue

"You have now arrived at your destination. Welcome to Los Angeles, California. Thank you for choosing to fly with Korean Air. Please make sure to grab your belongings before leaving. You may now unfasten your seatbelts."

Hundreds of passengers stood up to grab their bags and purses in the above compartments. A boy sitting in the far back kept his seatbelt on while watching others walk past him. He glanced over at his watch and looked down the aisle. He tapped his feet as others grabbed their belongings. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and turned off airplane mode, where he was bombarded with text messages. One of them belonged to his best friend, Chanhee.

-Where are you?

-Did you land safely?

-Please send me a picture when you arrive! :3

-Did you spot any cute girls? If you get a girlfriend before me, you can kiss our friendship goodbye.

-Eric? Bro. Don't leave me hanging.

-Did you already forget about me? Have you moved on? Am I not important to you anymore?

-Just because you got into an elite university, doesn't mean you can throw me away. :(

-Fuck you.

Eric chuckled at the messages. Chanhee was trying so hard to keep their conversations in English since he knew Eric had gone abroad for university. Eric attached pictures from the flight and sent them to Hyunsoo.

-No girls? Uhhh. You're boring.

Eric looked through his other messages.

-Mother: 0 Messages

-Father: 0 Messages

Eric sighed and texted his parents that he had arrived. He turned off his phone and glanced at the window. As soon as the aisle was clear, he stood up and opened the compartment. His small backpack was deep within the compartment. He stood on his toes, but his height and stubby fingers could not reach for his backpack.

"Would you like some help, boy? Are your parents nearby?"

A blonde woman in her late 40s stared at the smaller boy in front of her. Her clothing was of the plane's cabin crew. She wore heels, making her a head taller than Eric. She was able to grab the backpack and hand it to him. She then pulled out her phone and was dialing a number, most likely security at the airport.

"Eh? I'm an adult..."

The woman stopped abruptly, and her pale cheeks turned bright red.

"I'm so sorry. Excuse me."

Her heels clicked loudly as she walked away.

"I'm 18..." he mumbled under his breath.

After he left the plane, he noticed hundreds of families gathering and hugging their loved one. A loud sigh escaped Eric's mouth. He looked over towards the people holding signs. He was notified from his college acceptance email that a person would pick him up from the airport while holding a sign of his name. After looking for a few minutes in the pile of people, he noticed a woman wearing shades and glasses. She held up a sign saying Eric Lee. It was her. Eric walked up to her as she took a small glace at him. She noticed Eric walking towards her, but she furred her eyebrows in confusion.

Was he really a college student?

Eric had straight black hair with short bangs, brown almond eyes, thick puffy cheeks, and full lips. He appeared almost boyish compared to the ideal image of an 18-year-old teenager.

"Are you Eric?"

Eric nodded and handed her his passport.

"Lee Eunsoo. And you go by Eric?"

Eric nodded again. The lady didn't seem to think he was Eric. She inspected his passport for a minute before realizing he was indeed Eric.

"We will be driving you to the campus. As soon as I drop you off, you can walk over to housing services to find your dorm. If you have any questions, please call the university."

"Thank you," Eric said.

She led him outside the airport to where he would be taken to his next destination. After a few minutes, a large black Bentley car pulled up next to Eric. The car was modified with gold plates all over the rims of the car. Eric backed away from the car, in complete disbelief. He could see his shiny gold reflection.

"Our ride is here."

Before Eric could open the door, the driver got out of the car and pulled open the door for Eric. He wore a suit with white gloves. For some odd reason, Eric thought he looked like a butler. He pulled his dirty Jansport backpack into his arms, not touching the car. His feet dangled, making sure that the bottom of the shoes doesn't touch the bottom of the car. The leather of the seat felt cold along with the air conditioning. The texture of leather felt new and almost foreign to him while the cold air brushing against his face felt unnatural.

"We will be arriving within an hour. You can take a nap if you'd like and we can wake you up when needed."

Eric opened his backpack and found his earphones. He untangled them and placed them in his ears. He opened his flip phone and shuffled through his playlist. Many Korean songs appeared, but he eventually changed the songs to some American pop songs. He wanted to feel like he was in America. He could feel his eyes droop, but he wanted to look outside. The flight from Korea took a while and he barely got any sleep. This was his only chance to get some rest. Within minutes, Eric closed his eyes.

"We have arrived Eric."

Eric's door opened and he stepped outside of the car. He spotted hundreds of cars, which many were of luxury brands: Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Tesla, etc. In front of his view was this enormous castle. It was tall, possibly 15 stories in length. It reminded him of an old European church, but without religious figures. It looked newly built with statues of famous philosophers, scientists, and Greek gods and goddesses in front of the building. A large water fountain was placed right in the middle, creating a loop driveway to the front of the building. There were many trees, bushes, and benches placed all over the campus. Students had already gotten accustomed to each other, as they mingled into many small groups. This was indeed the university that Eric was attending, but he couldn't help to stare at everything, especially the people.

"We will be on our way. Hope you enjoy your stay at Kraus University."

Eric smiled at the driver and the lady who escorted him. They drove off, leaving Eric by himself. As he walked towards the campus, he noticed people staring at him. He hunched his shoulders and averted his eyes. Everyone wore nice clothes. They had expensive accessories and handbags. He could imagine they costed a fortune to own.

He slowly picked up the pace as more people began to stare at him. He could feel those stares turning into glares.

Why were they acting so hostile?

Once Eric reached the doors, he noticed how fancy the design was. There was a mirage of famous people such as Thomas Edison, George Washington, Einstein, and many more. The doorknob was even plated in gold.

How much money does this school even have?

"Welcome to Kraus University. How may I help you?"

A man, around the same age as Eric, was behind a large counter, wearing a nice suit and white gloves. He looked very clean cut.

"I'm looking for housing," Eric replied.

The man pulled out a large map, pointing towards the trail.

"If you call your driver, it should take about 10 minutes."

"Um...I'm walking."

The male's voice turned sour all of a sudden. "I see."

The man stared at him and handed him the map. "You can figure it out for yourself. I have other people to attend to now."

Eric furred his eyebrows and took the map on his way out, examining every part. Before he realized, he crashed into a hard surface.

"Move out the way!"

Eric stepped to the side. Two tall men in expensive looking clothing glared at Eric. They had diamonds in their ears with gold chains down their necks. They looked him up and down before giving him a disgusting look.

"Fucking commoner," one said.

Eric glared back at them. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't say anything. Something felt off. Who were these people? Eric did not want to make a scene. He gritted his teeth and replied with, "I'm sorry." The men chuckled and shoved past him before entering the building. Eric collapsed onto the cement and groaned in pain.

"What in the world is this university?" Eric said.