Chapter 1
જ⁀➴ ♡ 💌
The gentle hum of the nighttime traffic outside was the only sound keeping Jisung company as he meticulously laid out his uniform on his desk. He smoothed down the fabric of the crisp white shirt, aligning the edges perfectly with the dark trousers. He stood back, resting his hands on his hips, a wide, genuine smile spreading across his face
"Okay," Jisung whispered to himself, his voice dropping into that quiet, animated register he only used when he was alone. "Tomorrow is fresh. Tomorrow is day one. No one knows who you are, Han Jisung. You're just a regular student going to a regular high school. You're going to walk in, you're going to be totally normal, and you're going to make exactly *one* friend. Maybe two. Let's not get greedy."
He hopped on his tiptoes, a sudden burst of nervous excitement making his chest flutter. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his clenched fists in the air. *Please let it go well,* he prayed silently. *Please don't let them be mean.*
With a final, satisfied nod at his neatly arranged clothes, he climbed into bed, pulling the duvet right up to his chin. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, the familiar twist of anxiety in his stomach turning into something that felt suspiciously like hope.
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The morning sun broke through the curtains right on cue, and for the first time in months, Jisung didn't hit the snooze button. He scrambled out of bed, a whirlwind of energy as he washed his face, brushed his teeth, and put on the uniform that fit him just a little bit loosely, making him look slightly smaller than he actually was.
Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, he grabbed his hairbrush. His medium-length dark wolfcut was a bit unruly from sleep, the soft layers framing his face and curling gently around the nape of his neck.
Carefully, he gathered a small section of hair near the top right side of his head and tied it into a tiny, stubby pigtail that stood up like a little sprout. On the left side, to keep his longer bangs out of his eyes, he slid in two bright, colorful hair clips one pastel pink and one sky blue.
He tilted his head, giving his reflection a small, testing smile. Satisfied, he grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs.
"Good morning, my beautiful boy!" his mother beamed the moment his feet hit the kitchen tiles. She stopped midway through plating a mountain of fluffy scrambled eggs and toast, her eyes crinkling with absolute warmth. She reached out, gently patting the side of his head. "Look at you. The pigtail is so precious, Jisungie. You look absolutely darling."
"Your mother is right," his dad chimed in from behind his newspaper, lowering it just enough to wink at him. "That hairstyle is a masterpiece. You're going to turn heads today, kiddo."
Jisung's cheeks immediately flushed a bright pink. "Mmmph," he mumbled, his voice completely muffled because he had already shoved a massive piece of buttered toast into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out completely, perfectly resembling a hamster storing food for the winter.
"Chew before you speak, sweetheart," his mom laughed, setting a glass of orange juice down in front of him.
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur of warm, easy chatter, his parents doing everything they could to ease his hidden nerves. When the clock on the wall indicated it was time to go, Jisung pulled his backpack straps tight over his shoulders.
At the front door, his parents didn't just wave; they completely enveloped him in a massive, sandwich-style hug.
"Have the best day," his mom whispered, kissing the top of his head, careful not to disturb his clips. "Just be yourself."
"We're proud of you, Jisung," his dad said, giving his shoulder a firm, reassuring squeeze.
As the front door clicked shut behind him, Jisung took a deep, shuddering breath of the crisp morning air.
He began the walk to school, his sneakers clicking rhythmically against the pavement. With every step closer to the heavy iron gates of his new school, his heart beat a little faster.
The moment Jisung stepped onto the school grounds, he felt the heavy weight of eyes on him.
He kept his head down, staring intently at the laces of his shoes, but he could feel the burning stares of students lingering by the lockers and walking down the hallways.
People whispered as he passed. Some stopped dead in their tracks just to look at him. Jisung's breath hitched in his throat. *Oh no,* he thought, his chest tightening with a familiar, suffocating panic. *Are they judging me? Is my hair stupid? Are they going to laugh?*
At his old school, those kinds of stares were always followed by cruel snickers, harsh whispers about him being "too soft" or "too feminine," and a total, freezing isolation. He instinctively clutched the straps of his backpack tightly against his chest, trying to make himself look as small as humanly possible.
In his haste to get away from the crowd, he completely missed the signs for the main administration area. The hallways stretched out in confusing, identical grids. Five minutes turned into ten, and Jisung realized with a jolt of panic that he was completely, utterly lost.
"Excuse me," he tried to say to a passing student, but the words caught in his throat, barely coming out as a squeak. The student didn't hear him and kept walking.
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he blindly turned a few more corners until, miraculously, he spotted a door with a frosted glass pane that read *Main Office*. He practically threw himself inside, breathing a sigh of relief when a kind-faced secretary looked up and immediately smiled.
Within a few minutes, a teacher was assigned to guide him to his homeroom, shielding him from the overwhelming layout of the building.
When he finally walked into his first classroom, the teacher briefly introduced him, and Jisung gave a stiff, terrified little bow before scrambling to an empty desk near the back window.
For the rest of the morning, Jisung braced himself for the worst. But strangely, the worst didn't happen. In fact, nothing happened at all. Nobody threw crumpled pieces of paper at him. Nobody snickered when he stood up to hand in a worksheet. But nobody talked to him, either. During group transitions, people would glance his way, look like they wanted to say something, and then abruptly turn around, leaving him in a bubble of total silence. He sat perfectly still, feeling like an alien dropped into a strange new world.
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By the time the lunch bell rang, Jisung's stomach was growling, but his anxiety was at an all-time high. He packed his notebook away slowly, waiting for the classroom to empty out so he wouldn't get caught in the rush.
Armed with a little map the secretary had given him, Jisung set out to find the cafeteria. But his spatial awareness was completely compromised by his racing thoughts. He took a left where he should have taken a right, ended up in a deserted wing of the science department, and felt a cold sweat break out across his neck.
"No, no, no," he whimpered quietly, pacing back and forth in front of a row of biology lockers. "Not today. Please don't cry on day one."
His hands began to tremble, his fingers twitching against his uniform trousers. He was so caught up in his impending panic attack that he didn't hear the light, hurried footsteps approaching from behind.
"Hey! New guy!"
Jisung flinched, spinning around so fast his colorful hair clips rattled.
Standing a few feet away was a boy with bright, golden-blonde hair, a smile that seemed to radiate pure sunshine, and a face dusted with the most prominent, beautiful freckles Jisung had ever seen.
"Oh, wow, you really *are* lost," the boy said. His voice was shockingly, incredibly deep completely contrasting his bright, fairy-like appearance.
He took in the sight of Jisung: wide, terrified brown eyes, cheeks slightly puffed in distress, and his hands holding onto his backpack straps like a lifeline.
The blonde boy let out a bright, melodic laugh. It wasn't a mean laugh; it was warm, bubbly, and completely disarming. "Don't panic! You look like a little hamster who dropped his favorite sunflower seed. It's okay, I've got you."
Jisung let out a long, shaky sigh, his shoulders instantly dropping an inch. "I... I can't find the food," he admitted in a tiny, vulnerable voice.
"The most important room in the building!" the boy declared dramatically, stepping forward and giving Jisung a reassuring pat on the arm. "I'm Felix, by the way. Come on, follow me. My friends and I saw you in the morning, and I told them I was gonna hunt you down and bring you to our table."
Jisung's heart did a weird little flip. *They wanted to sit with him?*
He followed Felix through a shortcut, and within two minutes, the loud, chaotic roar of the cafeteria hit them. Felix guided him seamlessly through the crowd, leading him toward a large round table in the corner where six other boys were already seated.
As they approached, the conversations at the table died down, and six pairs of eyes locked onto Jisung. Jisung immediately froze, his old defense mechanisms screaming at him to run away. He stood slightly behind Felix, his fingers nervously tugging at the edge of his own blazer.
"Guys, this is Jisung," Felix announced proudly, sliding into an empty seat and pulling out the chair next to him for Jisung.
"Hi," Jisung whispered, his voice trembling slightly. He looked down at the table, refusing to make eye contact. "Um. I'm Han Jisung. Nice to meet you."
He braced himself for the whispered remarks about his hair, or his small stature, or his quiet voice. He waited for the judgment.
Instead, a boy with sharp, cat-like eyes and a strangely comforting aura leaned forward, his gaze tracking the tiny pigtail on the side of Jisung's head before settling on his face.
"Sit down, Jisung," the cat-eyed boy said. His voice was smooth, calm, and carried a weirdly authoritative undertone that made Jisung's legs move automatically. He sat. "I'm Minho. Don't mind the rest of them, they're loud, but they don't bite. Usually."
A taller boy with long, dark hair laughed, throwing a piece of crumbled napkin at Minho. "Ignore him, Jisung! I'm Hyunjin. Your hair clips are literally the coolest thing I've seen all week. Where did you get them?"
Jisung blinked, completely thrown off. "Uh... the convenience store near my house?"
"Brilliant," Hyunjin beamed.
For the rest of the lunch period, Jisung sat in a state of quiet bewilderment. The boys who introduced themselves as Bang Chan, Changbin, Minho, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and I.N didn't press him for answers. They didn't tease him. They just included him. They passed him half of their side dishes, argued about video games loudly enough to distract him from his anxiety, and occasionally threw warm smiles his way.
Minho, in particular, didn't say much, but Jisung kept catching the older boy watching him with a look of quiet, intense curiosity.
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By the time the final bell rang and Jisung walked back through his front door, his brain felt completely fried, but his heart felt lighter than it had in years.
"Jisungie! You're home!"
His mom rushed out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron, while his dad peeked out from the living room. They practically ushered him into the dining room, sitting him down as if he had just returned from a long, perilous journey. A plate of hot dinner was already waiting for him.
"Well? Don't keep us in suspense!" his mom said, leaning over the table, her eyes wide with anticipation. "How was it? Did you find your classes? Did anyone talk to you? Did you eat your lunch?"
"Slow down, honey, let the boy breathe," his dad chuckled, though he looked just as eager. "How was the atmosphere, son? Did it feel okay?"
Jisung looked at his parents, seeing the genuine, fierce worry in their eyes the residue of all the nights he had come home crying from his last school. He felt a soft, genuine smile break across his face.
He took a bite of food, chewed carefully this time, and swallowed.
"It was... actually really good," Jisung said softly. "I got lost. A lot. But a boy named Felix found me. And... he introduced me to his friends. I sat with them at lunch. They have a guy named Minho who is kind of intimidating but nice, and they liked my hair clips."
His mother's eyes instantly welled with happy tears, and his dad let out a loud, booming laugh of pure relief, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair.
As his parents launched into a flurry of happy, excited follow-up questions, Jisung smiled into his rice bowl. For the first time in his life, he was actually looking forward to going to school the next day.
Hi guys!! How do you like this chapter? It feels a bit rushed even though it was 2229 words 😭
