Chapter Text
"are you lee jaehyun?"
lee jaehyun— hyunjae jumped, turning his body around to find a tall boy, not as tall as hyunjae. he was slightly shorter and looked quite intimidating.
"that's me, and you are?" hyunjae asked slowly, his fingers fidgeting. his eyes lingered down from the boy's face. there a name tag, that reads 'lee sangyeon'.
a smile appeared on the boy's face, slightly stunned hyunjae. "i'm lee sangyeon!" he put his hand out which hyunjae hesitantly took. sangyeon shoot their hands eagerly, "happy to meet you! i hope you didn't wait too long- i knew i should've left early for this."
hyunjae laughs at him, shaking his head. "you didn't! i just arrived and you gave me time to prepare myself mentally."
sangyeon breathes out, "phew! that's good to hear! i'm the school rep and i'll be showing you around- come on!"
sangyeon had brought hyunjae around the school, showing different classes and departments. hyunjae was glad sangyeon didn't ask him any questions like why did he transfer to this school during his final year.
"i hope i didn't confuse you with anything. it's a big school," sangyeon claimed.
"you didn't, don't worry. it's gonna take a while to adjust but i'll manage," hyunjae reassured. he couldn't help but feel eyes drilling onto him. he hated it. what made it worse was the whispers making his ears ring.
"hyunjae!"
hyunjae snapped from his thoughts, his mind cleared up as soon as he hears a familiar voice calling out him. he watched as sangyeon's eyes widened, staring at something— someone behind him.
he hears heavy footsteps running closer behind him. before hyunjae could fully turn his body around, he was jumped— arms were around his shoulder and with hyunjae not prepared for the weight, he fell down on his back.
"you're here!"
hyunjae recognized that voice. he found himself laughing.
"up now, you two," sangyeon grunted, helping hyunjae and the other up. "i'm surprised you know kevin." he said, laughing fondly at the two in front of him.
kevin moon finally pulled away from hyunjae, he poked hyunjae on his sides, "hyunjae and i worked at bookstore nearby." he glared at hyunjae, "i'm happy that you're finally here!"
"hyunjae?" sangyeon asked, his lightened up as if he finally connected the dots. "you're hyunjae?! kevin talks about you so much to us. it's finally a pleasure to meet you."
hyunjae had his hand up at the back of his neck, feeling a little shy. "i'm not that special."
kevin smacked him on the arm, "you are! talking about special," he turned to sangyeon, "we have to recruit him for our band. hyunjae's voice is amazing!" kevin begged.
"can we not do this now?" hyunjae said which kevin frowned at. "fine! but promise me you'll check out the club?"
"now, now, kevin. let's not scare him off," sangyeon chuckled, "is there anything else you need help with?" he asked hyunjae.
hyunjae thought for a bit and said, "will you show me where my class is?"
sangyeon clapped his hand, "right! i forgot about that. let's go-"
"do you know what class you're in?" kevin asked.
hyunjae stood in between kevin and sangyeon as they walked through the hallway. he tries to focus on sangyeon and kevin, ignoring the stares and the faint whispers.
when hyunjae told kevin in which class he's in, sangyeon cheered. "you're in my class then!"
kevin glared at the school rep, "you're lucky. you better sleep with one eye open," he hissed and sangyeon only stuck his tongue out at him.
"i'm excited for you to meet our friends!" kevin said, "there are some in your class with sangyeon, some are in mine and the others are just a year below us,"
hyunjae raised his eyebrows, "how many friends do you have? it didn't seem much whenever you talk about them to during our shifts," he muttered.
"not that many, trust," kevin teased and hyunjae can't bring himself to trust him.
"you actually came at a good time. our first class got cancelled. our teacher's is running a little late," sangyeon said.
hyunjae noticed it's taking long- too long to reach his class. so long that he wondered if sangyeon and kevin were secretly training him for a marathon. he turned and there was another set of stairs. his first day just started and he wondered if he can actually survive his final school year with this much sets of stairs up to his class.
trailing behind sangyeon and kevin, he breathes out heavily. "why am i here again?" hyunjae wheezed out.
kevin chuckled, "you're doing fine. you survived better than i did, i basically passed out on the first day."
hyunjae glared at his friend, "this is why you turned into a gym rat!"
kevin had his hands up in surrender and sangyeon laughed at them. "come on, we're almost there."
when they arrived in front of a class that had a sign that said '3A' on in. and the moment sangyeon slid open the classroom door, hyunjae knew peace was not something this room had ever known.
It was loud, not chaotic exactly, just... alive. laughter bounced off the walls, a faint smell of nail polish hung in the air, and three students sat around a desk like they were plotting world domination with glitter. sangyeon and kevin went to them and hyunjae followed.
"everyone," sangyeon began with his please behave voice, "this is hyunjae, our new transfer student. please be welcoming. And normal, if possible."
A voice answered before anyone else could. "define normal," his tag read, choi chanhee, sitting cross-legged on his desk like a prince on his throne.
"not scaring the new kid," sangyeon replied wearily.
too late. chanhee had already turned his sharp, assessing gaze on hyunjae. "hmm. he's cute. pretty even. kevin, do you know this one?"
kevin, standing beside hyunjae, snickered. "yeah, we work together at a bookstore. he's actually survived me shelving romance novels alphabetically by tropes."
"that's... impressive," chanhee said.
before hyunjae could respond, another voice, smooth and teasing, chimed in from across the room. "bookstore boy, huh?"
hyunjae turned to see a tall boy lounging back in his chair, uniform a little undone, hair annoyingly perfect. He had that easy confidence that could only belong to someone completely aware of how good-looking they were.
his tag read, lee juyeon. the infamous heartthrob, according to kevin's whispered into his ear.
hyunjae raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"
juyeon grinned. "depends. do you shelve the books by looks too?"
"oh, totally," hyunjae shot back dryly. "The ugly ones go in the back."
one of them, jacob bae burst out laughing, and even chanhee's lips twitched. kevin gave hyunjae a discreet thumbs-up. juyeon just blinked, caught between surprise and amusement.
"okay," he said, sitting up straight. "you've got some bite."
hyunjae smiled, tilting his head slightly. "and you've got glitter on your sleeve."
they snickered. juyeon glanced down — sure enough, his sleeve sparkled faintly under the fluorescent lights. he groaned. "jacob, you said you wouldn't get it everywhere!"
jacob raised his hands innocently. "hey, art is unpredictable."
"agreed!" kevin point out.
sangyeon cleared his throat. "right. hyunjae, that's juyeon, the—"
"the school's most eligible bachelor?" juyeon supplied helpfully.
"the school's biggest headache," Sangyeon corrected.
"debatable ," juyeon said with a smirk, locking eyes with hyunjae again.
hyunjae didn't look away. "no, I think he's right."
a small pause — then laughter erupted again, mostly from chanhee, who clapped his hands like he was watching his favorite drama unfold.
"oh, I like this tension," he said gleefully. "do it again. flirt or fight, I don't care, it's entertaining."
Juyeon scoffed, though his ears had turned the faintest pink. "no one's flirting."
hyunjae tilted his head, deadpan. "Who said I would?"
"ouch," kevin murmured, grinning. "watch out- he's got claws."
jacob leaned toward hyunjae, whispering conspiratorially, "you'll get used to Juyeon. he thinks banter equals friendship."
"friendship?" juyeon said, offended. "I was being nice!"
chanhee raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "your version of nice sounds like a challenge."
juyeon shot him a look, then turned back to Hyunjae. "well, book boy," he said, resting his chin on his hand, "welcome to 3A of Solbit High. try not to fall in love with me before midterms."
Hyunjae smiled sweetly. "don't worry. i'm immune to delusion."
kevin lost it.
even sangyeon had to press his lips together to hide his grin. jacob giggled softly, and chanhee clutched his chest like he was witnessing a masterpiece.
"oh, this is going to be so fun," chanhee said. "im painting both your nails matching red. symbolism."
juyeon looked scandalized. "no—"
"sounds fun," hyunjae said, giggling.
"wait, what- no, I didn't agree!"
too late. chnahee was already rummaging through his pouch for the polish, and kevin just leaned against a desk where jacob is, quietly enjoying the show.
as chaos unfolded, sangyeon sighed in defeat. "Welcome to class 3A," he said under his breath.
hyunjae glanced toward juyeon, who was still grumbling, but sneaking glances at him through his lashes and smiled.
maybe this school wouldn't be so bad after all.