"Why me? I don't have time for college!" Felix complained, frustrated.
"Key might look young, but we can't risk him cursing around teachers or students," Rain said, glancing at Key. Key just gave a silly smile and returned to eating his rice and curry.
"Then that leaves only you, because I'm the money bank," Rain added calmly. Felix sighed and nodded reluctantly.
Rain was important—he controlled the finances. Key wasn't reliable; he might even sell Sun for profit if left unchecked.
"Still! I don't have time for college! My fans are calling me!" Felix complained again, striking a peace-sign pose as if posing for a photo.
"Your non-existent fans can wait! Sun is our priority. If he dies, we lose his family's support," Rain pointed out, causing Key and Felix to glance at Sun and nod in agreement.
"I feel so loved…" Sun whispered sarcastically, but everyone ignored him.
"All decided then. And you, Key! I signed you up for a meditation class. Go there and stop cursing! You're getting worse by the day," Rain said, rubbing his temples.
"But Boabby!" Key whined, leaning in to hug Rain. His hands were sticky with curry and rice—Key always ate with his hands and was a total mess.
"No! Stay away! My night suit is more expensive than your entire being!" Rain shouted, jumping back.
Rain rubbed his forehead and turned to Sun. "You're in charge of the house. I might come home late from now on. Here." He pulled out his wallet and handed Sun a thick bundle of notes.
The trio's eyes sparkled as they stared at the money. Rain sighed, smacked their heads, and clarified, "This is for groceries and essentials, not for wasting. Here's your pocket money."
They nodded eagerly, clutching the notes like treasure.
"Use the money wisely! Or else I'll let you starve!" Rain warned, walking upstairs.
The moment he left, they huddled in the corner.
"Let's rent video games!" Felix whispered.
"No! Rain said to use it wisely. Let's buy a game so we can play as many times as we want!" Sun suggested.
"Yes! And save some for fried chicken!" Key added. Suddenly, they felt a dark presence behind them.
They froze. Rain stood there, scowling.
"Ah… haha… games? No! We are talking about… getting…" Key stammered, failing to come up with a lie.
"Stationery!" Sun shouted.
"Yes! Stationery for college!" Felix added. Rain nodded, walking toward them.
He pinched both Sun and Felix's cheeks while glaring at Key. "If I find out you misused my hard-earned money… I'll shave off your eyebrows!" He squeezed Sun and Felix's cheeks harder, making them cry out.
Finally, he let them go and returned to his room. Sun and Felix rubbed their bright red cheeks.
"How does he always know what we're thinking?" Sun muttered, inspecting himself in his phone's camera.
"He's got a sixth sense," Felix said, holding his fingers like antennae on either side of his head. Sun nodded in agreement.
"Let's go back to our rooms before he decides to beat me next!" Key shouted in panic, dragging the others along.
Rain shook his head in disappointment, listening to their chatter. His sensitive hearing made it easy to keep tabs on Sun, Key, and Felix—a blessing in this chaotic household.
---
The next day, Felix, Sun, and Key lined up as Rain inspected their clothes. He adjusted Sun's tie, straightened Key's collar, and stopped at Felix. His eyes twitched at the sight of Felix's black mask.
"Explain," Rain demanded, trying not to rip the mask off
"Well! Soon I'll be joining an idol company. I need to maintain my image as a future idol!" Felix said proudly, running a hand through his hair.
"You haven't even joined yet! Why all this now?" Rain snapped. Sun stepped away from Felix, while Key rushed to Rain's side.
"What if someone gets enchanted by my beauty? I can't afford a scandal," Felix replied smugly, fixing his hair.
"You idiot!" Rain groaned.
"Let him, Bae, or he'll throw a tantrum!" Key tried to calm Rain, who felt like exploding.
"GET OUT! All of you! And don't dare return before 3 PM!" Rain shouted, pointing to the door.
"Sir! Yes, sir!" They grabbed their stuff and bolted.
"This is our farewell, Felix! If alive, we'll meet again," Key saluted before splitting off. Felix and Sun sighed, realizing they had to go to college.
Standing outside the house, wearing sad faces, Felix suggested, "How about we skip?"
Sun was about to answer when their phones pinged:
"Dare to skip and I will skin you alive — Rain."
They froze, looking toward the door, but found it locked.
"Howww!" Sun yelled in fear
---
"Everyone, welcome an exchange student from Country C. His name is Sun. Take good care of him," the teacher announced. Sun scanned the room full of unfamiliar faces, feeling awkward.
Sun had chosen Business as his major, while Felix was in Performing Arts. Sun looked for an empty seat and spotted a guy facing the window, clearly ignoring the class.
As Sun sat down, the boy glanced at him briefly, then returned to staring out the window.
"Hello, my name is Sun," he tried politely.
The boy gestured for him to zip it and went back to staring out the window. Sun felt awkward and decided to focus on the professor.
After class, the boy packed up. "Excuse me! Can you show me the way to the cafeteria?" Sun asked nervously.
The boy, expressionless, slammed a map onto Sun's desk.
"Here. I hope you can read this," he said before leaving. Sun scowled, tempted to pick a fight, but decided against it—the boy was just as tall as him.
"Hey! Don't mind Kiet. He doesn't like talking to others," a tall guy approached.
"Come with us! We'll show you the cafeteria. By the way, I'm the batch representative, Noel, and this is East," the short boy introduced himself. Sun nodded in relief and followed, glancing back toward the door one last time.