Hanbyeol felt like she was looking in the mirror.

Another girl was hiding herself with makeup, desperate to escape her ugly past. Although Jugyeong tried to pretend she was fine, Hanbyeol told her that it didn't matter to her and that everyone should be who they want, how they want.

In the yellow hallway scattered with students in maroon and grey, Hanbyeol let Jugyeong tuck herself in the wall and consult her mirror. She spent a few minutes fixing her foundation, and Hanbyeol quietly watched by her side. Luckily, none of the students passing by stopped to stare. 

Suddenly, Suho reappeared, thrusting his makeup-stained blazer at Jugyeong. The girl cried out as she caught it, dropping her foundation, which cracked on the floor. Trying to ignore Hanbyeol's glare, Suho immediately returned to their classroom next door.

"Hey! Why is he like that?" Jugyeong was flabbergasted.

As she picked up her broken foundation and checked it, the other girl pat her back, sharing her sympathy. 

"Just ignore him," Hanbyeol gently advised. 

She craned her neck to see Suho through the windows and nearly stuck her middle finger at his unknowing face.

The sound of the school bell caused the surrounding students to disperse to their classrooms. Luckily, the girls didn't have to wait long for Mr Han to come and usher them into their room.

Standing in front of all her classmates made Hanbyeol fidget with the ends of her hair. The room seemed bigger than it was. Wooden, single desks were laid out in rows and the back of the room housed their blue lockers, matching the bottom half of the walls while the top half of the walls were yellow. On the right, large windows looked out to the front of the school, a beautiful view of hedges and huge bushes lining a maze of walkways under the blue sky. 

Silence coated the room as all eyes stared up at them, excited to have two pretty girls joining them. It was like an army of meerkats waiting for them to speak. Hearing her own breathing, Hanbyeol tried to slow it down.

"These are the new transfer students in our class, Lim Jugyeong and Park Hanbyeol," the teacher announced from behind his stand. "Jugyeong, can you introduce yourself?"

The makeup-caked girl swallowed, observing the sea of seated students in the warm room.

With hardly a wave, she started, "Hi. Nice to meet you."

"You're so pretty!" a short-haired girl cried.

Other students clapped and cheered with their arms in the air. This kind of appreciation was new to the two girls, almost like being worshipped as royalty.

When it was Hanbyeol's turn, she gave out a similar introduction, including her name and that she loved playing the guitar. She was soon met with the same round of applause and whistles. The amount of happy faces aimed at them made her heart flutter, but her smile faltered when she noticed Suho's blank face from his spot next to the window. What was his problem?

"Okay! The visual average for our class went up!" a boy with glasses shouted from the back.

After some cheesy words from the teacher, he offered two seats: one next to Suho and one closer to the front, behind Sua, the short-haired girl. Jugyeong quickly claimed the closer seat, making an excuse with her bad eyesight. Hanbyeol wasn't picky, but sitting next to the boy with a bad attitude was not on her wish list.

The dark-haired girl succumbed to her fate and set up her desk as Mr Han started his lesson on poets. Thinking positively, Hanbyeol enjoyed the whole class. She was an arts person and quite liked literacy. On her left, Suho couldn't help but steal a glance or two at the girl who had been enthusiastically taking notes.

At the end of first period, most boys ventured outside while girls crowded around Hanbyeol and Jugyeong, eager for their number and friendship. They awkwardly gave their number, but both didn't have social media.

"Your lip colour is so pretty," Sua said, leaning her elbows on Jugyeong's desk. "What tint are you using?"

Jugyeong touched her lips, surprised. "Really? I'm using..."

As she reached for her tint in her pocket, the small cylinder fell to the floor and rolled a metre away. Jugyeong wished the ground would open up and swallow her right now. Instead, a pair of black, polished shoes stopped by the tint. The girl who picked it up was an angel.

Hanbyeol's jaw dropped a bit. If she was a guy, she would date this girl for sure. It was clear that the girl had no makeup on, yet she was radiating. Her ebony hair was straight and shiny, and her eyes carried comfort like her smile.

"Here," the girl gave Jugyeong her lip tint, who thanked her in response.

"Kang Soo, you're here?" Sua hugged the girl. "This is my best friend, Kang Soojin. She is our school's goddess, according to me. It might change now that Hanbyeol and Jugyeong are here." Then she jokingly added, "Be careful, Kang Soo."

"Stop hitting my butt," Soojin scolded before beaming, now perched on someone's brown table. "Your name's are Hanbyeol and Jugyeong? Nice to meet you."

The two girls returned the sentiment, something they weren't used to but were now treasuring. Relaxing her shoulders, the welcoming classroom - although currently emptier than usual, was already growing on Hanbyeol. She couldn't stop herself from smiling the whole time.

"You're really pretty," Sua continued gushing at the new students as she moved closer to them. "Are you a trainee under a company somewhere? And are you a trainee for a band?"

They both shook their heads quickly, though Hanbyeol liked the sound of that.

"She talks a lot, right? Please be understanding," Soojin said, making Hanbyeol like her even more.

During their next break time, Jugyeong went to the bathroom to try and save Suho's blazer while Hanbyeol decided to explore the school by herself. On the third level of their large building, she was entranced by the sound of drums. Peeking through the small window, she watched a boy bounce with his drums while a girl and a boy set up their guitar and bass guitar.

Hanbyeol moved her head to the beat, enjoying her world of music. It was short-lived, however, when the melody paused, and the drummer motioned for her to come in with a wide grin. Looking left and right, she didn't see anyone else around. 

The long-haired girl entered the cosy room, taking in the rock posters plastered on the blue and yellow walls. Musical instruments bordered one side of the room while bean bags lined the other.

"Are you a new student? Do you want to join our band? Who are your favourite bands? What instrument do you play? Ooh, let me guess – the guitar," the drummer fired enthusiastically at Hanbyeol.

The tall boy with dark blue hair had come to greet her, twirling his drumsticks in his hands as he moved on the balls of his feet.

Hanbyeol blinked. "Um... yeah."

The guitarist sighed with a small shake of his head. "Sorry about him. Doyoon gets too excited."

"Yeah, just ignore him. I'm Gyuri, the bassist. That's Doyoon, the drummer. And that's Hyuk, the guitarist and vocalist," said the only other girl in the room. "We generally have practice every Wednesday after school but we like to hang out here other times too. Are you looking to join our band? We actually need another guitarist, coincidentally."

"Or perhaps, it was fate!" Doyoon exclaimed. "It was written in the stars."

"Yeah, it must be," Hanbyeol nodded with a chuckle, her light brown eyes twinkling like his. 

Her fingers were itching to dance across guitar strings and her body craved the beat that pulsed through the air. Promising her return to this club room, the girl headed off to please her stomach, meeting Soojin and Sua on the way.

The short-haired girl chatted with Hanbyeol while they strolled through the usual corridor. Up ahead, the trio spotted Jugyeong and Suho, with the latter slowly approaching their direction. His cold eyes met Hanbyeol's as their shoulders brushed past one another.

Once she was behind him, his composure faltered for half a second. Suho didn't like to bother with people, but for some reason, he didn't want to embarrass himself or appear rude in front of Hanbyeol. Having his blazer stained with a scary face in the morning was something that made him clench his fists though.

"Jugyeong, what's with Suho?" Sua asked as she linked her arms with the disheartened girl.

"I accidentally got something on his jacket, but he said to just throw it away," Jugyeong replied, caressing the blazer in her hands.

The four girls glared at him until he disappeared round the corner behind them. "He's being a jerk again," Soojin remarked.

"He's like that," Sua continued. "He's super good-looking but is a sociopath."

Hanbyeol nodded, not intending to interact much with the boy in the future. This was why you couldn't judge a book by its cover. They wore the same white shirt and maroon blazer, but they were quite different.

Sua moved onto the most exciting topic, "Jugyeong, our dumpling..."

"Oh, I'll go get it," Jugyeong cut her off, preparing to run for their food.

The short-haired girl pulled her before she could disappear. "No, let's go buy it together."

Jugyeong's expression of awe made Hanbyeol frown. Could it be that the reason why she transferred was due to bullying? At least now, the pretty girl seemed to be truly shining, and she had people to hang out with.

As they walked to the snack bar outside, Sua and Soojin bickered like a married couple. They also found out more about each other, such as their love for spicy food and music, and Hanbyeol and Soojin's impressive grades compared to Jugyeong and Sua's lack thereof.

After school, the four girls shared spicy tteokbokki at a bustling restaurant. What made it more delicious for Hanbyeol was the warmth of her new friends. Sure, she used to have Dohee, but it had been a while since anyone asked her to eat out together.

The chill evening carried on as they entered a crowded and bright arcade, unleashing Hanbyeol's competitive nature. It had been months since Hanbyeol had played and laughed like that, learning about games that she had only seen once before from afar. Memories were then printed in the photo booth – a first for Jugyeong and second for Hanbyeol. Running through the streets under the blossoming stars, hand in hand, nothing could be more perfect.

When Hanbyeol returned home, she was still bursting with adrenaline and joy. The girls added her to a group chat. She now had friends – plural. Lounging in her blue bed after showering, she let her hair return to its tangled spiderweb, and she removed her light makeup. Her first day at her new school was a dream come true.

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Did I get character inspiration from Jazz For Two? Yes. Mwahahaha, Omega X is one of my ult groups, so that's where I got the names Doyoon (Jazz For Two character) and Hyuk from. 

Hope this chapter wasn't too boring, it's still only the second chapter and introducing everything though, I'm sorry. Next one coming on Tuesday.

Thank you so much for reading!! Please like and comment! :)