Wick | 민윤기

Thirty

15 September 2009

Victoria had texted Jimin about thirty times telling him to meet her in the main building. The short male hadn't replied and she was beginning to get pissed off. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she stood there in her uniform, which was a crisp white dress shirt and a beige pleated skirt. As other kids crossed the spacious floor before her, she noticed that they mixed it up.

Some girls never took off their cheerleading uniform. The jocks always wore letterman's jackets. Some kids wore bright green sweater vests and others wore an aqua colored material. Then there were the kids who just wore their normal uniform like her. It wasn't often that she saw them, but there were kids who dressed in leather jackets and slicked their hair back with gel.

She turned around to scan the rest of the interior of the building, even looking up at the second floor, which was open to the first. Then she spotted Jimin walking quickly with his head down, arms full of books. He looked up as if he sensed her staring at him. She opened her mouth to call out to him but he widened his eyes and shook his head.

With a tilt of her head, she glared at him as he scurried over to her. "Ashamed of me, jerk?"

"No—no," he said quickly, checking over his shoulder as if someone was watching them. When Victoria looked up she realized that people were watching them. Students were staring and whispering. "I just...we can't be seen together too much. At least not alone."

Victoria scoffed and crossed her arms, trying to hide that her backpack was feeling heavier with each of his words. "You're my cousin."

"Yeah and I'm also a loser and you're pretty." He sighed. "I don't think I can take the taunting."

She exhaled and dropped her arms, softening. "Minnie—"

"I'll see you around, noona," he mumbled and ran off.

The KIS logo in the center of the floor seemed to mock her with how shiny it was. Even with the hundreds of students stepping on it all day, it still looked better than she did. It probably felt better than she did. Of course, she knew it didn't have feelings. It was an inanimate object. But it fueled her self-pity, so she paid no mind to the facts.

"Hey, psycho."

A seemingly friendly voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Then she dragged her gaze from the floor to the tall and handsome boy standing before her. "Oh." She smiled weakly. "Hey, Seokjin."

"You're a third-year—it's 'oppa' to you," he said with a smirk before looking both ways. "How about I show you around this prison?"

Taken back the underlying flirtiness in his voice, Victoria only nodded. "Okay." He turned around to begin walking toward the right wing of the building and she followed meekly. "Um—what about Hoseok?"

"Showed him yesterday."

She hummed to herself as she followed just behind him. "I see."

Jin raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. "What are you doing?" He beckoned her forward to walk beside him, which she did gingerly. "The only difference is that Hobi was almost put in the hospital by Seungcheol."

"Who?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.

"You know," he began with a smile. "The Big Ape." Jin laughed to himself and stared straight ahead. "Muscular and dumb. If we see him, I'll point him out."

It seemed they were only walking in a big circle around all the lockers until he led her behind the main staircase. There was a large archway with a few steps leading down into the cafeteria. It was a large room filled with benches for kids to sit at. There weren't many people there and she figured that most kids didn't go there to eat, but Jin stopped at the bottom of the small staircase.

He looked down at her before turning his gaze back on the others. He clasped his hands together. "Feeding time at the zoo. Ok, here's the deal." The tall boy pointed at some kids in bright green sweater vests. They were playing a board game and seemed very into the storyline. "Over there we've got the nerds. Of course—they're complete social outcasts."

Victoria shrugged, tilting her head as she looked at them. "They look pretty harmless."

With a smirk, Jin turned to her. "They're actually sneaky bastards." He looked up with a sigh. "Their turf is the library." Then he nodded toward a group of rich-looking people in the aqua shirts she had seen earlier. "And those are the preps. They're all money and condescending attitudes."

"Massively inbred and completely brainless," she muttered. Victoria had gone to school with rich kids back home. Needless to say, they didn't get along.

Jin smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Very observant, Tori." Not missing a beat, he nodded toward some of the kids in leather jackets. "Now over there are the greasy kids. They think they're tough."

She examined their over-exaggerated gestures. One of them was clearly telling a story about beating someone up. "Or at least try to look tough."

"Wouldn't advise messing with them—at least not yet. They hang by the auto-shop." He then looked at some guys in dark blue letterman jackets. Two were arm wrestling, the veins in their thick necks popping out as they used all of their strength. The other boys around them cheered loudly and obnoxiously. "And last but not least, the jocks. These guys rule the school. Definitely avoid them."

Victoria looked them up and down. Muscles meant nothing if they weren't somewhat intelligent. "Whatever," she said quietly. "I'm not afraid of some dumb roid monkeys."

"Funny," he said with a small laugh. "Hobi said the same thing." He paused in thought for a moment before turning to gaze down at her. "You'll learn."

She sighed, giving all her attention to the oak tree outside the large windows that scaled the wall. Its branches swayed in the breeze, the orange leaves dancing to the autumn song she so desperately wished she could hear, too.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the free period. Jin looked up as if the bell was right above them before turning around and touching her shoulder. "Come on." Once outside the cafeteria, he stopped and faced her. "What class do you have next?"

"Oh." She pulled her schedule out of her bag and scanned the paper before looking up at him. "Chemistry."

Jin began walking away, toward the left wing. "I'll show you where it is."

Victoria followed skeptically. She wondered why the jerk was being so nice to her. She still hadn't forgotten about the way he had spoken to Jimin the previous day. Nonetheless, she followed him to the room and pressed her lips together when he stopped outside.

"Thanks," she said and bowed before going inside. Jin watched her silently and tilted his head at her retreating figure before he headed to his own class.

Inside, the teacher was wearing a white lab coat. He was old and graying, his face fixed into a permanent scowl. "Why are you all in here?!" He slammed his palms on the desk, startling her before he seemed to realize something and sigh heavily. "Oh, right. Class..."