Song of the Chapter - (Start, Gaho)

Rosé POV

"Chaeyoung, hurry up! You will be late for school!" shouted my mom from downstairs. I put my lip balm down on my studying table before leaving my room.

"Alright, I'm coming!" I answered as I walk down the stairs. As soon as I reached the living room, my friends, Jennie, Jisoo, and Lisa locked me in a group hug. I giggled at the way they swarmed me before joining in the hug.

"How is our new student doing?" joked Lisa.

I looked at her and shrugged, "she's good, but she wished she could sleep in," we laughed at my reply until my mother decided to break the conversation up.

"Girls, I don't want to be a killjoy, but you should hurry! School is starting in half an hour," my mom exclaimed, and my friends picked up their bags before we left the house. Of course, I gave my mom a goodbye kiss before leaving.

The walk to school took about half an hour, depending on our pace, but since we were running, it only took us about 20 minutes to reach the gate. I looked behind me and saw Jennie struggling to catch up with us – between the four of us, she's the least athletic friend. (In this story. Don't come at me with a 'well aCtualLy...')

"It's okay, Jennie. Take your time," I said supportively at her as she finally slowed down from running.

>>><<< 

As soon as we entered my new classroom, I went to sit next to my friends since they were the only people, I am comfortable with. Besides, it was my first day at school, so I still haven't talked to other students.

"Thank God, we made it on time," I said, catching my breath. It would've been easy for us if our class was on the ground floor, but no. The class was on the 4th floor.

Not long after that, a teacher entered the class. I assumed he was the homeroom teacher based on how the students reacted when he stepped in front of the class. "Alright class, good morning."

"Good morning, sir."

The teacher nodded at the response he received before scanning his students. After a while, he landed his eyes on me and smiled, gesturing me to stand up. "I see that the new student is here. Please, introduce yourself to the class."

I looked around me and noticed the other students looking at me in anticipation. I stood up and cleared my throat before flashing a smile as I introduce myself. "Hi, my name is Park Chaeyoung, and I used to live in New Zealand for six years before moving to my family's hometown again, which is here, in Seoul. It's nice to meet you," I finished my introduction with a small wave before receiving a round of applause from my classmates.

The teacher nodded, "alright, you may sit."

I thanked him before sitting down. "She's a new student, so I hope all of you can show her why our school was one of the best in Seoul by treating her with respect like you guys always do," the teacher reminded before placing his laptop on his table. "Now, please get ready for your lesson today while I work on what we are going to learn today," he added before focusing on his laptop.

It was quiet for the first few minutes – students were minding their own business. Not long after that, a male student entered the room. I assumed that he was a delinquent since he has his hair dyed brown and his face was bruised. What kind of student fight before coming to school? The student continued to walk past the first row of students.

The teacher took a glance at the student and fixed his glasses, clearing his throat. "Kang Y/n," he called out and the student stopped, turning slowly to face the teacher. I tilted my head and leaned against my chair, crossing my arms.

"Y/n? That name is quite cute for someone who looked like a street fighter," I mumbled. Lisa nudged my shoulder before leaning in to say something.

"His face is way better without those bruises," she stated.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "what?"

Lisa giggled and continued to whisper to me, "I noticed that you were staring at him, Chaeyoung. I bet you are wondering how those bruises ended up on his face, right?"

She was about to explain how those bruises got on his face when a cold voice rang out.

"Lalisa Manoban," the voice said, and both Lisa and I turned our heads toward the owner of the voice. It turned out to be Y/n.

"Hey, Y/n..." Lisa smiled at him nervously while I watched them quietly.

"Restrain yourself from talking about my appearance. You don't have the right to talk about it," Y/n scolded despite the calmness on his face.

Lisa nodded and cleared her throat, "right... Sorry, Y/n..." she apologized before facing in front. Y/n walked away from our table and once he was out of sight, I scoffed in disbelief.

"What's with that attitude," I whined before turning to look at Y/n who was walking toward an empty seat at the back of the class.

"Don't worry. You will get used to it soon," Jennie said to me as she tapped my shoulder after barely reaching out from Lisa's back. "Besides, he is not like that all the time," she added before flashing a smile.

"Miss Kim, Miss Park, please focus. Our lesson is about to start," the teacher called us before turning the projector on. We apologized to him before focusing on the whiteboard.

>>><<<

After a lesson that lasted for what felt like an eternity, we were finally in the cafeteria for our break. The girls and I spent most of the time talking about our past while Jisoo was busy cleaning a whole plate of fried chicken without feeling bothered to offer some to us. We ended up laughing at her action since we know how much she loves her chicken.

The cafeteria went quiet suddenly and a few students started murmuring, "they are here," they said with their eyes fixed on someone at the entrance. I followed their eyes and immediately recognized one of the three students as Y/n. On his side were two other students I still don't know their names yet.

"Who are those guys on Y/n's side?" I asked, looking at my friends.

"They are what we call '3C'," Jennie replied. I looked at her, tilting my head.

"Chrissy?"

She looked at me and sighed softly, "no, not Chrissy. Three C."

I was still confused, "why? Is it because the highest score they could get in exams is C-?"

Lisa looked at me in disbelief before sighing, "look, the reason they were known as 3C wasn't because of their academic performance. In fact, they are excellent students..."

I looked at her in shock, "including Y/n?"

Lisa nodded, "yes, Chaeyoung. Including him. Look, the reason they were known as such was that they are each captain of their respective sports team. The one on the right, Baekhyun. He is the captain of this school's basketball team. The one on the left, Jin on the other hand is the captain of the school's volleyball team."

I nodded, finally getting it, "so Y/n is the captain of the school's delinquents, right?"

"No, silly. Y/n is the captain of the football team."

"Huh," I scoffed before looking at them again – in that case, I bet Baekhyun, and Jin were like Y/n as well – rude and full of themselves. "So, the other two are just like Y/n. I mean..."

Jisoo shook her head and smiled, "see for yourself," she said while politely pointing at them.

I looked at Y/n and his friends – I wasn't expecting Baekhyun and Jin to behave like they were now. Y/n was quiet, obviously. But the other two were trolling around while laughing goofily.

Lisa sighed, shaking her head, "those idiots..."

I was too focused on how stupid the two of them were acting that I didn't even realize Y/n was standing in front of our table while looking at us with his usual cold face.

"Hey, go find another table," said Y/n before kicking the table's leg.

None of my friends dared to oppose, "let's go guys," said Jisoo, getting up from the table.

"Wait," I stopped her before shooting a glare at Y/n. "What right do you have to tell us to sit somewhere else? We sat on this table first," I said and Baekhyun and Jin, who had just caught up with Y/n gasped. Jin gestured for me to tone myself down from behind Y/n meanwhile Baekhyun mimicked a person praying, and I was confused by their action.

"I thought I made myself clear that I want you guys to find another table," Y/n retorted, glaring at me.

"Well, boohoo. We got here first, so you go find another table."

"Why you—" Y/n clenched his fists and was about to charge toward me before someone stopped him. I looked at the person that was taller than Y/n and then back at him. "Hey, Chanyeol. Mind your own business and get lost," he growled, but Chanyeol ignored Y/n's warning.

"Do you want to stay in detention after school again?" Chanyeol retorted.

Y/n didn't say anything. He pulled his hands away and clicked his tongue before harshly shaking Chanyeol's grip off his hand. He finally left us after being threatened with detention.

After Y/n was out of sight, Chanyeol turned to look at us with a concerned smile. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, focusing on me as he did.

I nodded and let out a breath of relief, "yeah, we're alright," I replied.

Chanyeol nodded, "thank God," he breathed out before smiling at me, "I'm sorry your first day has to have Y/n involved."

"It's fine," I replied. But it wasn't fine – Y/n really ruined recess for me.

Chanyeol sighed and offered his hand afterwards while smiling, "by the way, my name is Park Chanyeol."

"I'm Park Chaeyoung." 

>>><<<

Once school was over, our group of friends decided to take the longer route home. We talked about a lot of things on our way home, but mostly about how we struggled to understand what was taught in our biology class. Jisoo stopped us and hurriedly gestured for us to step back. Jennie, Lisa, and I looked at each other in confusion before looking at Jisoo.

"What is it?" I asked.

She told me to lower my voice before pointing at Y/n a few meters away from us. He was grabbing someone by the person's collar. We decided to eavesdrop and walked closer to them.

"I thought I warned you before. Do it again, I dare you. And I might as well send you to the hospital, again."

Lisa looked at us and gulped, "I think we should go," she whispered. We agreed and almost immediately ran away from the scene. The person Y/n was harassing screamed in pain, but we were too scared to do anything.

Once I got home, I quickly got changed and stayed in my room until my mom called me for dinner. "I could tell that he is messed up, but I never expected him to do something like that," I finished off after telling my mom about what Y/n did in the alley while we were on our way home.

My mom, who was listening quietly finally said something, "is that so? Oh my... stay away from that kid no matter what, okay sweetie? Don't hesitate to report him to the authorities if he ever does anything bad to you," she advised, and I nodded. We continued to eat dinner until my mom asked me something I least expected from her, "by the way, what's up with this Chanyeol boy? Jennie said you like him," she said, and I almost choked on my food.

I swallowed the food in my mouth before clearing my throat, "I'm going to study in my room. Don't disturb me," I told my mom before quickly getting off the dinner table. I went upstairs into my room and sighed. "Jennie, that girl... Just because I asked for his number doesn't mean I liked him," I mumbled before walking toward my study table.

Y/n POV

I was sitting on my bed while staring at the floor. The reflection on the tiles showed how messed up my life is – I couldn't even go home because of my stepfather. 

"Get out of this house! You don't belong here! Go to your pathetic mother and live there instead!"

After what my stepfather said, I didn't dare to come home again because I know I would just end up being his punching bag. This morning was an example since I went to school with bruises. As for my mother, I don't think I am ready to face her after her decision to file a divorce from my biological father – I am disappointed in her. So, I ended up living in a hotel.

Then, I thought about what happened today – I let my anger take control of me and left a bad impression on the new student – she even saw me this evening, hitting the delinquent. It's not like I didn't notice Chaeyoung and her friends watching me – I did but explaining what I was doing would be a complete waste of time.

Flashback~

I was on my way back to the hotel when I saw a familiar guy harassing a female student. "Hey!" I shouted at him, and when he noticed me, the harasser tried to run, but I was able to catch up to him.

I tackled him to the ground and pinned him against his face with my knee on his back, "Remember me? Because I certainly remember you. I also remember warning you about doing what you did just now. Do you remember?"

"You said you would break my bones," the guy said, panting. 

"Ah, excellent! You do remember the warning!" I played with him before smacking his head.

"Please, let me go. I promise I won't do it again!" the guy cried, but I shook my head. I turned him around and grabbed him by the collar.

"You said the exact same lines the last time I caught you, but here you are again, doing it," I said, but he shook his head, starting to cry.

"I promise, this time, I will stop for real!"

I scanned my surrounding, and from the corner of my eyes, four girls were watching me – I immediately recognized them.

"I thought I warned you before. Do it again, I dare you," I growled before clenching my jaw, "And I might as well send you to the hospital again," I said before pressing my knee against his thigh – I don't think it was that painful to the point someone would cry in pain like it's the end of the world. 

End flashback~

I sighed before getting up from the bed. I walked toward the bathroom and took my shirt off before looking at my reflection in the mirror. The bruises from the beating my stepfather gave me this morning were still there, and some of the bandages started to wear off.