WHEN JIEUN ENTERED THE DORM, HER MIND FELT LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. the hallway that greeted her was long and led to the main room. against each wall, a bed was neatly aligned, each separated by ample space, creating an open, airy bedroom area. on one side of each bed, wardrobes stretched from floor to ceiling, while on the other side of each bed, a study nook featured desks, bookcases, and a well-organized array of academic supplies.

"you like it?" wonyoung asked with a grin.

"this room is bigger than my house," jieun replied, her eyes wide with amazement, her expression reminiscent of a child discovering a candy store.

just then, a loud squeal pierced the air, drawing jieun's attention to a strikingly beautiful girl who darted towards wonyoung.

"wonie!" the girl exclaimed, enveloping wonyoung in an enthusiastic hug. "i've missed you so much!"

"i've missed you more!" wonyoung beamed. after the two friends separated, wonyoung turned to jieun. the girl, now feeling suddenly self-conscious, looked back at her. "this is chang jieun. jieun, this is ning yizhuo."

"it's a pleasure to meet you, jieun. i'm ursula's daughter," ning yizhuo said, extending her hand for a shake. "and you can call me ningning. yizhuo is my mother's name."

"hi, i'm the next goldilocks," jieun replied, shaking ningning's hand.

"well, winter's waiting for me," ningning said with a smile. "it was nice meeting you, jieun."

"it was nice meeting you too," jieun said as ningning departed, leaving jieun and wonyoung alone in the dorm.

"i'm going to settle in," wonyoung announced. "you should do the same, or you'll never get around to it."

jieun nodded and walked over to the middle bed, which was unoccupied. on top of it, she found neatly folded clothing in the school colors-purple, black, and white-along with several stacks of books that were likely her textbooks.

"hey, wonyoung, is this the uniform?" jieun asked, picking up a sweater. the material felt exceptionally soft, almost as if it were melting in her hands.

"yes," wonyoung answered from her spot by her closet, where she was hanging up her clothes. "they offer a lot of options, so not everyone wears the same thing. you still have some freedom in how you dress."

understanding, jieun placed the sweater back on the pile and gathered everything in her arms. she walked over to wonyoung. "where should i put my stuff?"

"your closet is that one," wonyoung directed.

jieun moved to her closet, which was empty as anticipated. she designated a small portion for her uniform and then brought over her suitcase, unzipping it to unpack.

as she worked, jieun couldn't help but turn around and compare her belongings to wonyoung's. the royal's section of the closet was filled with luxury brand clothes and multiple suitcases, whereas jieun's singular suitcase and worn backpack looked modest in comparison. her own closet ended up looking sparse.

jieun also noticed the stark contrast between her living space and wonyoung's. while wonyoung and ningning's sides were richly decorated and personalized, jieun's side remained relatively bare aside from the few pictures she'd hung and the bedsheets she'd put in place.

sitting on her bed now adorned with yellow and green-her favorite colors-jieun flipped through her course books, assessing what she already knew.

in truth, it wasn't much. with her parents as her teachers, she had spent most of her time reading mystery novels, which were far more engaging than ancient elf wars.

"so, are you ready for the new school year?" wonyoung asked from her bed, which was surrounded by pink blankets and plushies.

jieun set down her book, advanced elfonomics 101-a subject she barely understood at the basic level-and looked at wonyoung. "i'm a bit scared, to be honest. i've never been outside the woods where i grew up. the only people i've interacted with besides you and ningning are my parents and my four-year-old sister."

"is there a reason for that?" wonyoung inquired gently. "if it's okay to ask."

"they're just extremely paranoid about something bad happening to us if we're out of their sight," jieun shrugged. "they don't really trust anyone and think everyone is out to get us."

wonyoung frowned. "wait, didn't your mom literally commit a crime just for some porridge?" she asked.

jieun chuckled. "yeah, well, that's my parents for you."

"listen, if it helps, my parents are kind of the same," wonyoung offered. "they're worried about every little thing. i spent half of my first year with a bodyguard constantly around me."

jieun nodded, though she didn't fully grasp the connection. as a princess, it made sense for wonyoung's royal parents to be extra cautious. maybe she had judged wonyoung too quickly. maybe the royals were just as self-centered as she thought. but she kept her thoughts to herself to avoid offending wonyoung.

(how does jieun know wonyoung is a princess? the numerous ballgowns and tiara collection overflowing from wonyoung's closet made it pretty evident.)

"anyway, i'm going to take a shower and wash off the ten hours of travel," wonyoung said, rising from her bed. she slipped into her heeled slippers and stretched, though jieun couldn't quite understand why she was stretching after sitting for just ten minutes.

wonyoung retrieved fresh clothes-a long yellow day dress, white shoes with an oversized heel, and a delicate tiara-from her closet. "you can hop in after i'm done. then we'll head down to the dining hall together for dinner, and i'll introduce you to my friends."

jieun watched as wonyoung entered the bathroom, the door closing quietly behind her.

jieun sighed as she picked up the book and placed it on her nightstand. she then grabbed the notebook on the table. the notebook that jieun kept on her at all times. she opened the book to the page that described what jieun's first few days here is supposed to look like. the hundreds of stickers she decorated the page with stared right back at her.

♥️♥️ DAEHAN ACADEMY !! ♥️♥️

DAY ONE
- go to dorm and meet roommate(s) 👭👭
- unpack 🧳🧳🧳
- go over class material (see what you know and don't know) 📚 📚

DAY TWO
- start of year assembly @ 9:00 am 🏫🏫
- annual start of year lunch @ 12:00 pm 🍔🍔

DAY THREE - CLASSES BEGIN !!
- be in breakfast hall by 6:45 SHARP 🥞
- first class @ 8:30 am (see schedule down below) 🎓🎓
- go through rest of schedule
- lunch period 09 @ 1:40 pm 🥗 🥗
- do hw 📄 📄
- dinner at 9:30 pm 🍽️ 🍽️
FIRST DAY OVER !!!

most importantly - MAKE FRIENDS

SCHEDULE 📄
7:00 - 7:45 - magic theory
7:50 - 8:35 - advanced elfonomics 101
8:40 - 9:25 - villainy studies
9:30 - 10:15 - chemythstry
10:20 - 11:05 - royal history
11:10 - 11:55 - folklore and mythology
12:00 - 12:45 - magical creatures care
12:50 - 1:35 - royal politics
1:40 - 2:25 - lunch
2:30 - 3:15 - fairy tale fitness
3:25 - 4:00 - transformation studies

jieun smiled brightly as she checked off the first three with her glittery green pen. she hesitated before marking a tally for making a friend, unsure if it was too soon to call wonyoung a friend, especially given their earlier disagreement. she decided to wait a few days before labeling wonyoung as such.

just as jieun set the notebook down, she heard singing emanating from the bathroom.

"of course the princess sings in the shower," jieun muttered with a shake of her head.

❪ KOKO SPEAKS ❫
dorm layout made by yours truly !