Lee Sora blinked, standing frozen in the middle of the crowded brick pathway leading toward Kirin's main building.
Her shoulders were still slightly numb from the impact.
A towering, broad-shouldered guy holding an oversized, battered guitar case had plowed straight into her like a runaway train, barely registering her existence before shouting over her head:
"Sorry. Yah! Ha-neul!"
Without a second glance or a proper bow, the dark-haired giant had taken off at a full sprint after Lee Ha-neul, his heavy sneakers crunching loudly against the gravel.
"Yah! Is he crazy?!" one of Sora's third-year friends gasped, her face flushing with immediate, senior-class offense. "Did he seriously just bump into you and run off without bowing?"
"Unnie, look at his clothes," another girl chimed in, pointing a manicured finger at his retreating back. "No Kirin uniform, baggy jeans, a wrinkled shirt... Is that the new exchange student from Ukraine everyone was whispering about?"
"Unbelievable," the first girl tutted, shaking her head in disgust. "Looks like they have zero manners over in Ukraine. Honestly, what is wrong with the second-years this semester? They walk around campus acting like they're the main characters of a K-drama!"
Her friends continued venting, complaining about the lack of respect among the lower classes and how the second-years were completely ruining the school's disciplined reputation.
Sora, however, didn't hear a single word of their lecture.
She stood staring down the path where the boy had vanished into the grand entrance.
Her mind wasn't focused on his lack of manners or his wrinkled shirt.
Instead, her brain was fixated on the split-second eye contact they had made right before the crash.
He had messy, overgrown dark hair that looked utterly soft, wide, panic-stricken dark eyes, and a face that was... unusually, unexpectedly cute.
A sudden, uncontrollable wave of heat rushed up Sora's neck, turning the tips of her ears a bright, betraying shade of red.
'Wait... why am I thinking he's cute?!' she screamed internally, her heart giving a strange, treacherous flutter against her ribs. 'He literally almost knocked me flat onto the gravel!'
"Sora-ya? Sora-ah!" Her friend swatted her arm lightly, pulling her out of her daze. "Are you even listening? Your face is completely red! Did he hurt your shoulder?"
"N-No!" Sora squeaked, quickly covering her warm ears with her hands and clearing her throat. "No, I'm fine! It... it just startled me, that's all. Let's go inside."
Before they could take three steps toward the double doors, a deep, earth-shaking roar tore through the quiet morning air.
VROOOOOOOM!
A sleek, pitch-black motorbike cut smoothly across the circular driveway, spraying a light dusting of gravel against the manicured hedges.
The rider was wearing a dark helmet, a black leather jacket thrown over an unbuttoned Kirin blazer, and moved with a lazy, dangerous precision.
Every single student on the path stopped in their tracks.
Everyone instantly recognized the bike.
The motorbike purred to a halt near the edge of the courtyard, right beside a group of seven students lounging around the stone benches.
The seven teenagers were all dressed in the Kirin Arts High uniform—except it was a mere suggestion to them.
Shirts were untucked, ties were missing or dangling loosely around necks, and one guy was casually spinning a pair of drumsticks.
The Class 2-B rebel crew.
The rider clicked off the ignition, pulled off his dark helmet, and shook out a mop of dark, messy hair.
Lee Myung-dae.
"Ugh, look at them," a third-year guy standing near Sora murmured to his friend, shaking his head with a tired scoff. "Class 2-B is gathered in full force again."
"On the very first day of the semester?" his friend replied, crossing his arms. "You just know those delinquents are about to pull some unauthorized trouble during the opening assembly."
Sora watched from the steps as Myung-dae tossed his helmet to one of his crew members, his sharp, cat-like eyes scanning the courtyard with utter indifference.
Beside her, her friends kept grumbling about the second-year chaos, but Sora's gaze drifted once more toward the giant oak doors of the main hall.
A tiny, secret smile touched her lips before she quickly turned around and followed her class inside.