Indispensable

1

It was the 15th of March in the City of Seoul. The perfect time to witness the Cherry blossom bloom. It was pleasing. Aesthetically pleasing.

In sharp contrast to the cold and dry weather outside, the inside of the only black car on the road provided bearable warmth to the grey hair male heading to his new school.

Kai Hiwatari sat in the back seat while Nikolai drove him to Sehyoon International School. He had ear pods plugged in, listening to his same old playlist while looking out of the window wondering how he ended up in this place.

He was in his school uniform which consisted of a white shirt, green necktie with white strips, a black sweater vest with white strips lined near its V-neck, a black blazer with the school logo on top, and black pants.

The 16-year-old removed his earpiece the moment they reached the school campus. He got off and walked towards the entrance, not sparing a single glance at his driver steering back to the road like he did about a hundred times back in England and Japan.

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Every weekday, exactly at 7:00 am, the noise of the alarm clock would ring across her (as she liked to call it) 'Modern Rococo' bedroom. Today, however, it seemed as if she woke up early.

That's what she thought.

The next moment she knew the door to her room burst open, revealing her maid with a panic expression all over her face.

"IT'S 7:50!! WHY ARE YOU STILL IN BED!??"

The dark-haired girl shot up from her bed and briskly walked across her room to check her alarm clock. "It's fucking stuck!!"

She rushed towards her bathroom as the realization hit her that she forgot to change the batteries.

"Seriously?! Just the second week of school and I'm about to be late."

She hurriedly brushed her teeth in front of the bathroom mirror while eyeing the products inside the glass door cabinet, trying to contemplate whether or not to follow up with her skincare regime. After all, she still had 10 minutes before everyone was in the classroom and 40 before the classes actually started. She could use 6 minutes to shower and get dressed, cleanse her face, skip exfoliation and do the rest of her skincare in the car while eating breakfast.

She spit the toothpaste in the sink and decided to do exactly that.

'Wear a sheet mask in school uniform while having breakfast in the car ride to high school.' Check ☑

Speaking of her school uniform, it consisted of a white shirt, green necktie with white strips, a black 'above the knee' pleated skirt, a black sweater vest with a white strip on the neck, and a black blazer with the school logo on top. Obviously, every girl in the school wore the same thing but a few changes were made. Like, she tucked in the sweater vest inside her skirt, opt for knee-length socks held by socks glue instead of the smaller ones provided by the school, tailored the blazer to be tighter around the waist, and rolled up (folded up) the sleeve of her blazer so her white shirt was also visible around her forearm.

She followed up with the rest of her skincare before doing her eyeshadow, light 'puppy' eyeliner, and tinting her lips a lighter shade of pink. Then she proceeded to brush her black mid-length hair.

It's against the rules to wear makeup in school but everyone did it anyways, so most teachers just gave up. It would be fine as long as she stayed away from 'that' sharp-eyed female teacher who can tell the difference between a bare look and a 'no-makeup' makeup look. Well, she skipped foundation and concealer anyway so no need to worry about it today.

As the car reached the first building of her school, she immediately grabbed her bag and ran towards the seemingly empty entrance. She was about to climb the stairs but abruptly stopped to avoid bumping into the person coming down the stairs.

"Sorry!", she let out. She was about to continue on her way when her gaze went up his unfamiliar face.

Her light brown eyes met with his reddish-brown ones (an unusual shade of brown that almost looked red). She also noted his lips that appeared a pinkish shade of nude and his grey hair styled in an odd fashion which would look bad if it wasn't for his pretty face.

"Are you new here?", she said, even though she might be late for class after that 25-minute ride to school.

He nodded in response. She asked to see his classroom number that was written on the paper he held. He showed it to her.

"Oh! You're walking in the wrong direction. I'm in the same classroom. But we'll have to get there fast, we're almost late.", she said before ushering him to follow her. He did as told.

He ran behind her through the corridors with floor-to-ceiling glass 'walls' on both sides and entered a different building.

She looked at the classroom numbers on top of some doors before finally entering the one numbered 2-4, with Kai following right behind her.

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Kai was relieved when no one noticed them walk in since everyone was deep in conversation with their own group of friends. He hated it whenever a room full of people was completely silent and he had to walk to his own seat while everyone settled their gazes on him. He hated that kind of attention. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to make friends here as he did in Japan and England.

"At least we're in time.", she sighed. "I think the second last seat near the window is the only one left. You'll have to sit there unless you want to exchange with me.", she pointed towards the seat she mentioned and the empty one in the last row of the 2nd column which he assumed was hers. The seat in front of hers was surrounded by a group of girls deep in their own conversation.

He shook his head, "No, thank you. I will take the one near the window."

This was probably the first time he took notice of her features. Light brown eyes, fair skin, black hair. Everything about her appearance was very much common but something about her still managed to stick out.

"Woah, didn't think you would have a British accent. And I didn't get your name."

"Kai Hiwatari"

"Well, mine's Choi Areum. I'll see you during the lunch break."

With that, she walked to her seat and he did the same. He didn't remember asking her to be his friend. Well, he didn't ask Takao either but they probably had something close to friendship. But he wasn't sure if he could talk to her in a 'nice' way even if he pretended. Especially when she was the first girl his age to speak to him in nearly two years.

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