Wicked Fox

Chapter 6

MONDAY MORNING, MISS Son quieted the class to start homeroom. As the kids settled, she didn't launch into morning announcements as usual. Instead, she cleared her throat and glanced at something written in her notebook. "We have a new transfer student today: Minatozaki Sana."

She gestured to the open door.

The girl moved quietly into the room. That was what Minmin noticed first.

He half rose from his seat at the shock of seeing her. The dozens of times he'd thought of her over the weekend, he never imagined she'd do anything as boring as attend school. Let alone his school.

In the sunlight her face was striking. All angles and planes, a straight and tall nose, and warm eyes framed with long lashes and curving brows. The boys in the room sat up straighter, like they were all puppets with their strings suddenly pulled taut.

"Introduce yourself." Miss Son invited Sana to step forward.

"My name is Minatozaki Sana." She bowed. "My mother and I recently moved to Seoul. Please take good care of me." It was the generic introduction of any new transfer, but the way she said it held an edge of warning: Stay away from me. Her eyes were hard as they swept over the room. Minmin waited for them to find him. But she didn't even pause when she saw him.

"I think I'm in love," Seungmin whispered.

"Stop drooling," Minmin didn't spare his friend a glance. He was too busy staring at Sana, who refused to meet his gaze.

"You may sit by Son Chaeyoung," Miss Son said.

Sana took her seat, keeping her head down and thwarting Minmin's attempts to catch her eye.

Miss Son finished the morning announcements as the bell rang. As soon as she left, the room erupted into chatter. While the teachers moved from classroom to classroom for each period, the students gained a few minutes of freedom to gossip and eat forbidden snacks previously hidden away.

Minmin usually used the break for the latter, but this time he pushed back from his desk, stepping toward Sana.

He was beat to the punch by Kim Jisoo.

"Transfer student," Jisoo said. She was pretty in a traditional way: classic oval face, pert nose, and heart-shaped lips. Her straight bangs perfectly styled, her pleated skirt perfectly pressed. She reminded Minmin of a porcelain doll, if dolls had judgemental eyes and sharp tongues. "Where'd you transfer from?"

It took Sana so long to answer, it seemed she intended to ignore the question. Finally, she said, "Gyeongsangnam-do."

"The whole province of Gyeongsangnam-do?"

"Busan." Another clipped answer.

"I have cousins in Busan." Jisoo smiled, but it held no kindness. "You're very pretty. Who was your plastic surgeon?"

Minmin rolled his eyes at the barb. Everyone knew that Jisoo had begged her parents for a nose surgery; just because they denied her didn't mean she was above plastic surgery. He saw Sana's hands clamp, two tight fists folded together. He wondered if she did that to saw Jisoo from a well-deserved punch in the mouth.

"Do you need something, Jisoo-ah?" Chaeyoung asked, and half the class stopped their conversations. Some settled in for the show.

Jisoo squirmed under Chaeyoung's stare. Minmin didn't usually find pleasure in other people's discomfort, but he felt a grim sense of satisfaction as Jisoo's eyes darted back and forth between Chaeyoung and Sana. She seemed torn between playing with her new target and preserving her own skin.