Status: Awkward

Chapter 1

How to fit in?

That is the only question that comes to her mind on the first day of school.

Byulyi went to a public institution in middle school and continued her first year of high school there. Everything went south when she received the news for her long-standing wait for a scholarship.

Her first impression.

Private schools are fancy. They have better equipment, from the academic clubs to the recreational ones, like the music room which she planned to join on the club member recruitment week to help her ease the homesickness she immediately felt right from the moment she stepped inside the train, heading for the city.

The club headquarters are different from the ordinary classrooms. Back at her old school, students usually wait for classes to dismiss and conduct club meetings on vacant spaces, or mostly, the open gymnasium will do if they are running out of time.

Trying to familiarize the walkway of the prestigious university, the scent of the concrete walls and granite floors seemed foreign, yet it resembled the floor of her rooftop apartment where she is currently staying.

Then her eyes landed on the Football Team Headquarters which makes her a little sentimental. Thinking about the times she playfully chats with her former teammates at her previous university, she smiled a little with glee.

But she needs to get used to it. The high-rise buildings with fancy wall decorations on the long, silent corridors of fully airconditioned rooms, it is certainly a treat for a girl who has never been this free.

'Still lucky after all the misfortunes, huh?' she whispers to herself.

Byulyi is not as smart as what others might assume, she barely made it to top fifteen. It is all thanks to football that she gets to experience the now that she used to imagine. The government sponsorship for promising athletes got her to this university.

It was a tough decision to make specially that Byulyi is used to mingling with the same neighbors and classmates ever since she was allowed; she is no social butterfly. In her hometown, she has very few friends who helped her blend with normal people.

Then the opportunity to make her life worthwhile came... What else is there to do than accept it without hesitations?

With her grandpa's situation, accepting the scholarship is the right decision. She gets to live her life independently and let the old man live the life his age deserves.

...

A second-year high school student with an athlete scholarship.

This is how she describes herself, no more, no less. It is the proper introduction for someone who doesn't like to standout and make friends, yet she is also concerned that some students might find her weird. Maybe she'll slip under their radar. At this point in time, her classmates sure already have their circle of friends and that her pathetic existence will repulse to attract friendship.

______

It was still seven in the morning. Classes usually starts at nine, but Byulyi's grandpa always reminds her to be ahead of everything.

***'The early bird catches the worm.'***

Right?

And she takes the old man's advice to heart. Nothing will ever cost if she believes in the person who cherishes her the most in this lifetime.

Honestly, the birds and the worms even grandpa has nothing to do with her decisions. His advice are her guide but Byulyi is the kind of girl who likes to do things her way. She is not the type to break rules, but she needs to follow her new mantra...

***'We only live once.'***

Right?

...

The school bell rang followed by the announcement to head to the school gymnasium for the students' orientation. There placed the list of classes with student's names plastered on the bulletin boards organized by some faculty members and student officers who also came early and helped with the campus tour.

After some time, students head to their classrooms to officially start the school year.

...

Byulyi is fortunate enough to be seated beside Jung Hoseok, the bubbly and energetic boy who chatters a lot. In front of her is Ahn Heeyeon, who's cool and chic but appears to be really sweet, and on her right is Kim Namjoon, labeled as the 'always' class president. And why would she be interested with them? Because she is caught in the middle of their conversation. They appear to belong to the same circle of friends.

Lunch break came and her classmates head for the cafeteria. She was even invited yet refused to mingle with them, thinking it would be uncomfortable to sit with those she barely knows. And what's the use of preparing her lunch if she will only be tempted to eat the food the cafeteria serves? She is not some rich kid to afford takeaways or even a tray of lunch at the school canteen, so she settles alone in the classroom, aware that she has to hide from the patrols who will give her punishments for not following the rules.

Before she could even start eating, her phone rings. As soon as the name flashes on her screen, an uneasy feeling suddenly crawl up her chest, making her heart pound, hard and loud. With the click of the answer button, she heard the sobbing from the other end of the line.

Tears uncontrollably fell from her eyes as she silently cries on her desk. The desolate she felt at that very moment was unbearable. On the first day of school, where she has no shoulder to cry on, she was informed about her grandpa, peacefully passed away in his sleep.

And despite the grief, she tried to focus on what's there and then. Byulyi stares at the clock and realizes she only has thirty minutes before lunch break ends. She needs to get herself together of she wants to avoid attention from her classmates. It was pitiful enough that they stared at her as she introduced herself as a scholar, how much more embarrassing would it be if they see her with puffy eyes and stuffy nose, like a drama queen on the first day of school.

'They might think I am a weakling who enters a prestigious school only to cry on the first day.'

But her tears just won't stop shedding that she tries to bite her lips furiously to control her eyes from crying.

"Not now. Please stop." she annoyingly told herself.

_____

In the midst of sorrow, a hand with a handkerchief appeared. In front of her is a boy. His eyes were filled with worries as if he saw right through her pain. He gently shook his hand offering the handkerchief again. She stared at it for a moment then he suddenly said...

"Do you know what a brother asks to his sister when she has troubles?" he paused for a moment as Byulyi's brows furrow at his subtle, worried smile. "Are you having a cry-sis?"

Soft chuckles escape her mouth. She doesn't know if it is because of his ridiculous joke or the fact that he is trying to ease the torture that she is feeling inside.

She took the handkerchief from his hand and utter the words. "Thank you." with a smile.