♣ ♣ ♣

"You have everything you need?" mom asks me when I sleepily enter the kitchen. I nod lazily and sit down by the breakfast bar, resting my head against my hand. A yawn escapes my lips as I'm slowly forcing down my breakfast despite my non-existing appetite. I glance at the clock. Seven twenty. God, I shouldn't have stayed up so late watching anime.

Today is my first day at Korean high school. I wasn't too excited about it, to be honest.

We moved here a few days ago because of mom and dad's work. They obviously couldn't say no to the offer, honestly neither would I if I were them, so here we are. They can both speak Korean pretty fluently. However, me on the other hand -- nooope. To be fair, I have a strong basis since I can both read hangul and understand pretty much anything I hear. My speaking ability however.. now that is another story. But I will survive, I think..

"Remember that you should speak formally in school, especially with the teachers. Never call anyone by their first name until you become familiar. Bow when you greet someone new.." I hear my mom babble on, but I had completely spaced out and therefore didn't apprehend any word she was saying. Realization had finally started to sink in, suddenly making me nervous and anxious about school. Appetite now completely lost, I push away the plate containing my half-eaten toast and allow myself to let out a deep sigh.

"I know, mom.. You told me that yesterday, the day before and the day before that. Don't worry, I'm not that unfamiliar with Korean culture," I mumble monotonously before standing up to dispose the leftover food and placing the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Just making sure. Oh, crap! Is it seven thirty already?! Dammit, I'll be late!" she suddenly exclaims in hysteria before quickly standing up and bolting towards the hallway, searching for her bag and car-keys meanwhile.

"Have a nice day, sweetie! I love you so much!" Is the last thing I hear before slamming the door after herself, not giving me any time to even respond with a simple goodbye.

Then I realize; I have to walk to school. Oh crap.

♣

Heavily panting and probably sweating, I arrive five minutes past eight to the school grounds, eyes immediately scanning and searching for the building where my classroom was supposed to be located.

Of fucking course I'm late to my very first day at school. Luckily enough it was only a couple of minutes past the first period, but it's still embarrassing enough to walk into a full-seated classroom with all eyes on you. To make things better; being a half-italian, half-swedish girl -- which probably isn't very common in Korea -- will cause people to stare even more when I walk into the room exhausted and flushed, while trying not to ejaculate my lungs out of my face while catching my breath.

And even better; this school is enormous. Adding the size of the school to the equation in ways to screw me over this morning, it will probably take me an additional hour to find my classroom, if I'm lucky.

Wow, someone up there must really despise me.

I start powerwalking through the front yard while trying to read the signs -- which was a challenge to say the least -- but in some miraculous way I managed to understand most of them. Without too much trouble, I actually succeed in finding the right building and make my way up the stairs to the third floor. I look around for a second before deciding which way to go, but my eyes suddenly lock on some guy that appears to be walking alone through the deserted corridor. He looks like someone that could belong in my grade, perhaps he's late as well and knows where my classroom is.

"Excuse me!" I shout after him while jogging to catch up with him. His walking slows down until it stops, but he doesn't turn around to look at me. I collect the little courage I had left and walk up to his side, slightly reluctant.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, but I'm late for class. Do you know where this classroom is?" I ask him, trying to sound natural and not annoying.

The boy breaks his stare from the ground and looks at me, his eyes meeting mine. Like a slap across my face, I was immediately affected by his piercing gaze. I never thought it was possible for a simple human being to look ethereal.

But here he was, standing right infront of me.

No flaw could easily be found when I started studying his appearance. Whatever disgustingness you would normally find on a teenager's face apparently didn't apply to him. His face was literally so clean, it almost appeared as if he was glowing. His eyes had the most unusual eye shape I've ever seen; wide and open, deep brown, dark and mysterious... As if they were hiding the most desired secrets in the world. And holy shit his lips. Those must have been the most perfectly sculpted pair of lips I've ever laid my eyes on. Perfectly plump, wide and so incredibly well-defined and formed beautifully. His golden-brown hair fell effortlessly perfect on his forehead. Something that definitely did not go unnoticed, was his broad shoulders and his tall, perfectly built body.

My heart picked up its pace just by looking at him.

My mouth fell open for a split second before I regained control over my consciousness and snapped back to reality, breaking away from my dreamland of this perfect stranger before me. Feeling the heat finding its way up to my cheeks, I immediately break away from his stare, looking down on the books I'm clutching against my chest.

"You're new?"

An incredibly deep, but somehow soft, voice spoke, breaking the silence that had been engulfing us for the past ten seconds. Shivers run through my spine, causing goosebumps to spread across my arms. Somehow, for some unbeknownst reason, I caught myself never wanting him to stop talking. His voice was like that one specific song that you can keep on replay for days, without ever being able to grow tired of. However, I could not help but notice the bored tone of his voice.

"Uh, yes," I mumble, becoming slightly embarrassed. I had no idea of what to respond. My brain was currently overloaded with emotions, causing it to momentarily dysfunction. It was mostly clouded by thoughts; thoughts I'd never admit out loud.

He lets out a heavy sigh, suddenly sounding quite bothered.

"Follow me," he says and starts walking again, without even giving me a second glance. I just stare after him for a second, trying to process what just happened. Then I quickly follow his lead and walk up next to him, keeping some distance between us.

Why did he sound so bothered? Maybe he just doesn't like talking to strangers, or people in general. Oh well, at least I will find my classroom now.

"What's your name?" I ask him, just for politeness sake when I thank him later. He furrow his eyebrows, as if he just got offended.

"You don't know who I am?" he asks, sounding bored as ever. Now it was my time to furrow my eyebrows.

"Uh, good morning to you too. I'm new, like I said before. And I wouldn't have asked if I already knew," I retort, starting to get slightly annoyed by him. Suddenly the ethereal beauty of him didn't appeal much to me anymore, he's so darn cold.

"You sure like talking a lot," he points out with an eye roll, sounding even more bothered than before. God, what is up with this guy?! He's so rude! I bite my lip, trying to contain my rage inside so I don't accidentally start yelling how much of an ass he is. Maybe he's just not a morning person.

"Care to tell me your name, then?" I try again, this time sounding just as bored as him. I hear him do some sort of a chuckle-sound, like a quick but heavy exhale through his nose.

"You'll find out soon enough," he answers nonchalantly, leaving me hanging with all my pride blown out of the window. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Containing my rage inside with much, much difficulty, I succeed to remain silent the rest of the way, while envisioning how the scenery would change if I hit him with the fattest book I have.

He finally stops in front of a door. Silence consumes us once again, so I guess this was the classroom I was looking for.

"Thank you for helping me," I thank him as I bow to show my gratitude. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

Totally ignoring me, he simply knocks on the door and looks into the opposite direction to where I was standing. I have never been so offended in my entire life. Here I am, totally out of my comfort zone in a foreign country and barely knowing how to speak, asking a dickhead for help to a classroom because I'm late for the first day in school, and he shits on me even more like it was necessary. I fucking hate this guy.

The door eventually opens and a middle-aged man with glasses appears in front of us, watching us with wary eyes.

"You're late as expected. You know where the detention room is after school," the teacher says, looking at Dickhead who just nods and walks into the classroom without saying a single word or excusing himself. Damn, he really is an ass.

The teacher then looks at me with a slight confused look, before asking, "And you are?"

"Oh, my name is Aldini Blue," I introduce myself with a bow. "I'm new here. I'm really sorry that I'm late."

"Ah, so you're the new student I'm having. My name is Vong Kyung, welcome to this class," he kindly introduces himself as he gestures me to step into the classroom. I quietly and carefully walk inside, my heart racing yet again. When I look up, my eyes automatically scan the room, making me aware of that everyone was staring at me -- except one person. Dickhead is sitting in the far right corner of the room, looking out the window without a single care in the world. I quickly notice the empty bench next to him. My stomach drops to the ground as I realize what was waiting for me next.

"Class, this is Aldini Blue. She recently moved here from Sweden, therefore please welcome her with kindness and make her feel comfortable," Mr Vong announces loud and clear, making sure that every student had heard him. He then turns to look at me, while gesturing to the empty seat next to Dickhead. "You can sit down next to Mr Kim in the right corner, that will be your bench for the rest of the semester."

Oh, so his last name is Kim.

I nod and commence my slightly awkward journey to the empty seat -- awkward because everyone were still staring me in utter silence. The girls even furrow their eyebrows, looking like they were judging me. What the heck?

I quietly sit down on my assigned seat, determined not to throw a single glance at Dickhead nor his desk.

"Oh, and Ms Aldini, you will be joining Mr Kim on detention. We do not tolerate being late here in Korea," Mr Vong announces finally, before he sits down on his desk and proceed with the lesson. I bite my lip and nod.

Then a quiet, heavy sigh leaves my lips as I bury my face in my hands. Great. Detention on my first day, and with Dickhead out of all people?!

I feel so betrayed. There was literally not a more possibly worse way to start off school than this. I hadn't been in school for even thirty minutes, and I already wanted to sink into the ground and completely disappear from the face of the earth.

♣ ♣ ♣

Like a wise person once probably said: never judge a book by its first chapter..

Edited: 2018-02-25

( Revised again 2018-09-08. I've come to realize that I'll never be content with this chapter no matter how many times I come back to it )