The crisp, sunny weather welcomed your day.

As you stepped out from your bicycle, you found yourself standing in front of an enormous gate.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with your new school uniform, you took out a mirror and look at your reflection. You fixed your white turtleneck. It feels a bit suffocating. The navy blue vest with a badge onto your left chest caught your (e/c) eyes. The checkered navy blue, knee-length pleated skirt adds some style onto it. You smiled, thinking that this uniform suits you nicely.

Next, you fixed your (h/l), (h/c) hair. After you saw your hair in its perfect place, you returned the mirror inside your bag. Soon, you observed your feet wearing those black leather shoes.

Your shoes, which are your recent Christmas gift from your late mother, feel kind of…a sore for your toes. You knelt down to see if your shoes look shiny. Noticing that the shoes looked fine, you sighed. "I think I have to save money to buy a new pair of shoes."

Behind those bars and steel reels was a majestic huge castle-like mansion with a huge and spacious garden. You can barely see water from behind the gates, flowing…upwards.

You thought, "A fountain, huh?"

It was then that you noticed the beautifully-carved nameplate just located by the right side of the gate. You took a few steps forward to see the golden cursive letters, telling you that you that you were at...

"HEY! Annyeonghaseyo, (name)!"

With your surprise, you yelped.

You saw a tall, raven-haired young male running towards you. He's wearing a navy blue vest and collared, long-sleeved polo shirt underneath it. His navy blue checkered pants were very similar with your skirt. His eyes were almost blind by the sun rays, covering them with his right hand. Soon, he stopped in front of you and bowed down; panting heavily for air.

You giggled and took a bottle of cold water from your bag. You handed it over to the young male. He looked at you with those dark, chinky eyes. Then, he spoke to you in pure Korean accent.

"T-Thank you, da ze…" he muttered, taking a few gulps from the bottle. You just stared at him.

"Good thing that you came early today, Yong Soo.", you said.

"W-What do you mean? Don't you know that we're fifteen minutes late?" Yong Soo cried.

It was then that you lately realized that your watch went broke yesterday, and you forgot to set the new alarm given to you by your Korean friend. You hurriedly took Yong Soo's phone from his pocket after noticing that he brought it with him. As you look at the time, you gasped.

How you hate yourself for being forgetful!

"W-What are we still doing? COME ON!" you shouted, grabbing the young Korean's arm.

Yong Soo stared at you and pointed his finger at your bicycle. "W-What about your bike, (name)?"

You went back for the bike. The two of you ran in a hurry, hoping that you won't get scolded for being late on the first day of classes.


Alta Hei University…

You couldn't believe your eyes. Finally, you managed to get yourself enrolled at the most prominent University in the world that was previously known to be an "all-boys school". Alta Hei has its previous annex building, exclusively built for the female students of the said school. Soon, it came to pass that it's decided that arrangements should be made; alterations on the Rules and Regulations should be implemented. After years of considering applying innovations in the University, Alta Hei Universtiy reopened to the world as an exclusive institution for all boys and girls.

The grand clock at the middle of the main building struck nine in the morning. You could see the vast school ground; those gardens are filled with fresh, fragrant flowers with various sizes and colors. The main building indeed looked majestic, the foundations of that building was very similar to a 12th century castle. The pillars, as well as the paintings aligned on the walls, leading to the main entrance gives you the artistic atmosphere. Frescoes, sculptures, and even the grand fountain with those eight angel statues and the marble statue of the globe astounded you. The enormous labyrinth leading to the University's well-preserved lake suggests the beauty of Nature in one institution. Behind the main building were five other buildings, formerly the Alta Hei Annex. These buildings were renovated and remodeled, making them as suites for all students who were staying in the University.

The first two buildings were suites for the males; the third suite belonged to the faculty members, including the Principal's office at the top floor; and the remaining two buildings are suites for the female students.

From your far right, you could see the building where the classrooms are located. Behind that building was the school gym and the oval. At you far left was the school auditorium building, next on it was the music room, then the laboratory, and lastly, the library and the computer building. Other rooms and facilities necessary to be found in an international school are all located inside the main building.

The rest of the school grounds were beautiful parks, plazas and amusement centers which are only opened during holidays and school events. Benches and tables with chairs around them are available for students who want to hang out with their friends, or when someone wants to spend the time being alone. At the farther center behind the suites was the chapel and other religious buildings built for people who have different faiths. In this manner, they can still promote freedom to the students to choose their faith.

You took a deep breath and smiled.

"I guess my first day of school will be just fine! I wonder where the room for my first class is…" you said to yourself gleefully, until Yong Soo pulled you by the hand.

"Hey, _, da ze! Take a look at this!" he said towards you while pointing his finger at a large bulletin board located outside the entrance of the University's main building.

Your eyes opened wide in skepticism and shock.


"This is crazy! WE DON'T HAVE CLASSES ON OUR FIRST DAY?" you cried in despair after you and Yong Soo saw the wide tarpaulin posted on the giant bulletin board. Yong Soo laughed at you. You looked at him with fierce eyes.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" you shouted.

Still, Yong Soo can't hold his laugh. He let out a chuckle, his eyes almost teary now. Soon, he wiped the tears away with a handkerchief and faced you.

"N-Nothing. It's just that I found you…cute when you're angry!" Yong Soo answered, which made you gave him a punch on the shoulder. Yong Soo shrieked.

"Hey, watch it, da ze!" the Korean protested.

You folded your arms and said, "You deserve it!"

"Fine…I'm sorry, (name). "he said with those puppy eyes.

How could you stand your friend when he's like that, anyway? You let out a loose sigh and smiled.

"Apology accepted, pal." you said.

"Still, I wonder what we are going to do today, da ze." Yong Soo asked you when a loud booming voice startled all the students roaming around the school grounds.

You and Yong Soo got startled when you heard a well-modulated voice of a man on those speakers surrounding the perimeters of the school. By that, it's very impossible that no one will be informed. You listened carefully, and noticed that the man's speaking fluent English in a witty Italian accent.

"Good morning to you, students! Welcome to Alta Hei University! This is the Principal."

"T-The Principal?" you uttered.

Yong Soo looked at you and spoke, "Haven't you seen him, have you, (name)?"

You shook your head, telling a straight "No."

"I see…well…as I've heard from the senior students here at Alta Hei, the Principal's a very nice guy. He's also sweet and gentle towards transferees and new students, da ze." Yong Soo said, winking at you.

You grinned. "I hope that I'll see him one day."

"As you see, he's not always here in the University. He's a very busy person, you know. People say that he's the richest and most powerful person in the world because of the companies, establishments and now…this University that he exclusively owns." the Korean added. Those words made you amazed.

"N-No way…" you said.

"Believe it or not, (name), but he's totally awesome, da ze." Yong Soo said.

After wards, the two of you heard the Principal's voice again.

"I would like to request all of the students to attend the student orientation at one in the afternoon at the school auditorium. Your presence is highly needed and appreciated. We're going to discuss the rules and regulations of our University, as well as the upcoming events of our school. I'll be expecting all of you. Grazie (Thank you) and have a good day!"

Soon, the voice went off. You stood there stiffly, while Yong Soo waved his hand.

You turned you eyes and saw two young girls approaching you two. By the looks of it, those girls are about your age, wearing the same uniform that you wear. The first young lady has long, brown hair with pink flower clips and that wild curly strand on the right side of her hair. She has those black eyes like Yong Soo's, looking at the two of you cheerfully. The second one was carrying a paddle onto her back, neatly wrapped in white cloth. Her eyes seems serious, her long hair neatly lay back with a ponytail.

You stared at them in wonder. "Whoa…those two are…"

"Hey, Yong Soo! How are you doing?" The lady with the pink flower clips asked the Korean with a smile.

"I'm doing great! Well, I never thought that I'll be seeing you and Lei here!" Yong Soo happily exclaimed.

The girl with the paddle looked at you from head to toe; you stared back with your eyes, feeling a bit intimidated by her gaze. Yong Soo faced her and said, "Lei, looking stern as always. That's what makes you pretty."

"Watch it, Yong Soo, or I'll paddle your ass out." Lei said with a striking glance. The young Korean hides behind your back and started to whimper.

"I'm sorry about Lei. She could be serious most of the time, but she's really nice." the cute long-haired girl told you.

You smiled, "It's alright."

Soon, she offered her hand to you. "Ni hao! (Hello!) My name's Mei! What's yours?"

"I'm (name)." you uttered shyly as you shake hands with Mei. The young lady grinned.

"You don't have to be shy, (name). By the way, this is Lei!" Mei pointed to the other long-haired lady, who was standing next to her.

"Chào! (Hello!) Just call me Lei. Sorry for what I did a while ago. Yong Soo's joking could give me the nerves." the pony-tailed girl said to you.

"It's OK. He's always like that." you giggled.

Soon, you found out the four of you walking together.

Mei and Lei are best friends since middle high school. Their families were close acquaintances of Yong Soo's family, which is why the three of them already knew each other. What stunned you about these two was the fact that they are rich. Mei's parents are known to be successful owners of the largest bicycle manufacturing company all over Taiwan. Meanwhile, Lei's father was known to own most of the private and public sea ports in Vietnam, and was known to be one of the "Big Guys" in the shipbuilding industry. Yong Soo, your middle high school classmate and best friend also came from a rich family. His parents are working at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. They also own a big Korean restaurant at Seoul, with its other branches around South Korea.

You can't help but wonder why you are here in Alta Hei University. You perfectly know that the richest and powerful young people study here…a simple, ordinary girl like you shouldn't be here in the first place. Nevertheless, you thought of all the hardships that you encountered before entering this University. You worked so hard and studied for months, just to pass the entrance examination. Even you couldn't imagine of the thought of being one of the "rich guys and gals".

After all, you have a long, bittersweet past in your life. No one knows it…except…

"Hey, (name). A-Are you alright?"

Your thoughts snapped back to reality, and saw Yong Soo snapping his fingers in your face. You blinked your eyes for a while, and said, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

The three looked at each other with concern in their eyes. Suddenly, Mei patted you on the shoulder and smiled. "Let's have our lunch. It's already noon."

"Oh, the orientation will start after an hour, right?" Lei asked. Yong Soo nodded.

You sighed. "Well, sure. Let's go."

You felt your stomach rumbling softly. Probably, all you need is a nice, savory meal for lunch.


As soon as the four of you reached the cafeteria, your eyes went wide.

The entire cafeteria's too big…almost the size of two football fields combined. The garnished round tables and chairs stumbled before you. The ambiance of the whole cafeteria reminds you of those restaurants and cafes' in Europe. The well-blended earthy colors give you the cozy feeling inside you. There were flowering plants along each window. You wondered at those chandeliers hanging on the ceilings. Most of all, you saw a large, long table, exclusive for the rich students. You feel a bit dismayed, thinking that such a scene caused you discrimination.

"How the hell did they do this?" you thought as you saw Yong Soo, Mei and Lei falling in line with the other students.

You took out your wallet and counted your money. You bit your lip.

"Oh no, I'm short." you thought. You just waited for your three friends to finish ordering your meals. Yong Soo gave you a tray with a plate of delicious food and a cold glass of iced tea on it. You were surprised, but then take the tray quietly.

It was then that the four of you sat by the long table. You feel embarrassed, but keeping your cool. Mei and Lei stared at you.

"Take this." Lei said to you as she handed the tray towards you.

Mei giggled lightly. "We intently bought you some food. Take it."

"E-Er…t-thank you very much."

So, the four of you started eating your meals on the table. Your thoughts got lost again as you took a few spoonfuls of your food.

"H-How do they know that I-I don't have enough money to buy food? T-This is embarrassing." your mind alarmed you.

"I think I should get a tissue roll for the four of us." Yong Soo said as he stood up, but you stopped him.

"I'll get it." you said. Yong Soo stared at you.

"Is it alright with you?" Yong Soo asked.

"Oh, yes. It's alright. I'll get one." you replied as you stood up and walked a bit further.

"Oh, is it alright if you could get us two glasses of iced tea, please?" Lei and Mei said in chorus.

You smiled. "Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." Yong Soo told you.

And you went on your way.

You carried the two glasses of cold iced tea and the tissue roll in your pocket. You walked slowly towards the long table.

You were dozing off in your thoughts. You can't believe that this is happening to you-your rich buddy with two other rich girls as your company. You are starting to think of yourself as the pauper, and the three of them are your masters.

You sighed.

All of a sudden, you felt a sharp pain on your right ankle, which caused you whole body to go rigid. You cannot move your other leg, and the pain's starting to get worse.

"Oh no." you thought in distress, until…

A swift, painful bump caught you in shock.

Everything went too fast.

You finally saw yourself on the floor; the glasses are in shattered pieces along with the spilled iced tea on the ground. The tissue roll was too on the floor, miraculously untouched. You hair got tousled, and your ankle went stiff. You almost yelped in pain when suddenly, you noticed someone in front of you.

It was a guy…a blonde guy. His uniform was damn soaked with that iced tea.

You tried to stand up, but the pain in your ankle is trying to hinder you. You tired to ignore the pain, and so you stood up and faced the young blonde male whom you bumped into.

You were aghast to see a blonde male looking at you intensely. His messy hair, those deep emerald eyes, along with those bushy eyebrows…looked…enthralling.

Still, you are aware that his expression isn't really good.

"Oh…no…" you thought.

You could almost stepped farther from him, as you saw his vest completely wet with the iced tea. His face was red in anger. Soon, you heard him spoke in a fluent English accent.

"Bloody hell!" he cried.

Soon, you noticed Yong Soo, Mei and Lei running towards you coming from the back.

"Oh my!" Mei exclaimed as she saw the young blonde in his furious look.

Lei never said anything; Yong Soo took out his handkerchief and gave it to you. Once you took the handkerchief, you attempted to come closer to the blonde to help him wipe the excess tea from his uniform, until there were four guys walking towards the four of you.

Those four young males were anxiously looking at the frustrated blonde.

One of them spoke in English, but you could tell that he's American based on his enunciation.

"What the hell happened here? Artie…you're…wet…" he uttered, as he looked at the blonde with a worried face.

You discerned that that young blonde also has the same hair color as the green-eyed blonde, except that his eyes were electric blue. He was wearing glasses and has that straight strand of hair standing up on its own. He's wearing the same men's Alta Hei uniform, but with a brown bomber jacket covering it. By the looks of it, he's a few inches taller than the one with the thick eyebrows.

"C-Could we just go back to our seats, gentlemen? Alfred, take this." the one with the English accent said towards the taller blonde, as he handed the tray to him.

Soon, you saw another blonde with shoulder-length hair and blue eyes which are staring at you. He has a red rose in his hands which he took out from nowhere, and then offered it to you. You could feel chills electrifying your spine after that; not to mention that the pain in your ankle is getting worse. You felt that signal inside your brain, warning you to take action towards your injured heel. Still, you chose to ignore the pain. Afterwards, you heard him speaking in damn French.

"C'est toujours un plaisir de voir une belle jeune dame ici à Alta Hei! Quel est votre nom, mon amour? (It's always a pleasure to see a beautiful young lady here at Alta Hei! What's your name, my love?)" the blue-eyed French told you as your arms slightly brushed.

You took one step further, holding Yong Soo's shoulder. Soon, your best friend spoke towards the French, saying, "Watch it, byun-tae! (pervert!)"

"Idiot, I was only greeting your lovely friend here." he replied sarcastically, thus making Mei and Lei raised their brows. The French winked at them. You avert your eyes, feeling loathed at what you just6 saw.

Mei and Lei noticed the guy with a panda about his back. The creature peeked at them, and suddenly hid itself from them. There were different sparks in their eyes, which you noticed.

"Do they…know that guy there?" you thought.

Soon, another guy faced you. He was holding a handkerchief and gave it to you. He has long, ponytailed hair like Lei's, having the same eye color and fair complexion. He bowed his head down in humility, which surprised you.

"Dui bu qi. (I'm sorry.) Pardon for what Francis had acted towards you, aru." The raven-haired young man said in pure Chinese accent.

You accepted the handkerchief, saying a soft "(Xie xie.) Thank you."

"Y-Yao…" Yong Soo uttered as he looked at the guy with a daze. You stared back at him, saying, "Y-You know him?"

Mei and Lei looked at the ponytailed male with the same shocked look. You tried to read the atmosphere, but the throbbing in your ankle's killing you gradually; you can't think properly, feeling so distracted by the ache.

The fourth guy was a white-haired young male with lavender eyes. He has fair skin and was wearing a smile upon his face. He has a knitted gray scarf around his neck, and you could tell that he's the tallest among the five males.

He told everybody in slow, Russian accent. "Maybe we should go back to our seats. We are causing a ruckus here in the cafeteria, da."

Everybody was looking at all of you. You guessed that the white-haired guy was right.

You turned your back away and looked at Mei and Lei with a suggestive stare; it's as if you're telling them to go back to your table. As soon as your two girl friends went with you, the cheerful blonde spoke out.

"Don't y'a worry! Artie's not mad at you! He knew that you didn't mean it!" the blonde with the glasses told you smilingly. Then, he faced the thick eye browed blonde beside him. The other blonde hissed.

You couldn't deny that you are laughing inside.

"Use the Queen's language properly, Alfred. And please…call me Arthur…not by that annoying nickname!"

"Hahaha! At least, we're getting to know everybody, huh?" he told you with a happy wink. You felt a leap inside your chest.

"L-Let's go, aru." the black-haired young male said to the others.

The French looked at you, and then turned his eyes to Mei and Lei. Yong Soo gave him a "f**k" sign. The shoulder-length haired blonde smiled in a crooked way and turned away.

The Russian went towards you and told you one thing.

"I guess we'll be seeing each other all the time from now on." He said as he smiled at you and walked away with the four guys.


You were holding Yong Soo's left shoulder with one hand. Mei and Lei walked behind you. The once sharp hurt in your ankle is starting to lessen. You feel somehow relieved to realize that. But then, since you don't want to get your ankle hurt again, you tried to walk slowly, though awkward as it look. You look like a crippled old lady without a cane.

Mei noticed it, and so she took your hand and said, "N-Need help, (name)?"

You simply nodded; she took your hand and assisted you back at the long table. You continued eating your lunch. The scene inside the cafeteria went back to usual.

Lei noticed that your hair is a bit tangled. She sighed and took out her other ponytail, giving it to you. Surprised, you accepted the ponytail and thanked her.

Lei let out a small smile, and continued eating her food.

Now, you're wondering why your friends act strangely. And so, you broke out the silence between the four of you.

"So…tell me…do you know those guys?" you asked.

"Oh...those bastards, you say?" Yong Soo said with a touch of irritation in his voice.

"They were the members of the Alta Hei University Student Council." Lei replied smoothly, thus made you stunned.

Mei stared at you and said,"W-Well…we don't know much about them…except Yao…the one who gave you the handkerchief."

"Oh, I see." You uttered.

"He's a close relative of ours, that's why we know him." Lei added. You nodded in response.

"All we know is that…the original Student Council consists of eight members. You already saw the five of them. The remaining three weren't here. I could say that those three Council members were the exact opposite of those guys." Mei explained.

"What do you mean?" you told Mei.

Mei sighed and continued, "You see, (name), we've been studying here at Alta Hei since we moved here during middle high school. We reached the time when the Annex is still present. We witnessed how cruel and arrogant those boys were."

Your one brow rose up in disbelief. "Cruel…arrogant…"

Yong Soo looked at you. You knew that he doesn't like to continue this conversation. And so, you patted him on his shoulder, saying with a smile.

"I think we should go to the auditorium. The orientation's about to start in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, right." he muttered as he quietly finished your meal and stand up. Mei and Lei too stood up. You picked up your bag and went to your three friends. Soon, you walked altogether to the school auditorium.