Hearts in Seoul ✧

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in celebration of the book's 100 reads, here is an early update! please note that after this, i will be updating weekly! keep in mind that i have written more than 2 months' worth of update. enjoy loves xx

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Kayleigh would be lying if she said that she hated it at Hangkuk National University. She loved it there, and as a matter of fact, she had adjusted so easily that she almost did not want to leave. Of course, after her inevitable encounter with the campus kings, she started to be wary of her presence here and almost hated accepting the exchange programme. Almost. But after some careful deliberation, although the J-Alpha made her first day a living hell, she was glad she did. She would never have had met He-Jin otherwise.

Although the J-Alpha pretty much left her life alone (they hadn't been bothering her two days later), she felt weirdly unsatisfied with how her day went. She woke up, had breakfast with Roisin, shower, ran to her class, had lunch with He-Jin and Roisin, go back to classes, did her homework and slept. Three days in and it was starting to get tedious. She despised it.

Speaking of the J-Alpha, ever since her brave remark, none of the men seemed to bother her anymore. She kind of missed her blunt way of speaking to them. Perhaps, she was the only one that actually spoke to them that way, judging by He-Jin's and the other girls' reaction, and she loved standing up for herself. Now though, she felt almost immense guilt, no one had ever spoken to them that way, and to be ignored by the J-Alpha because of her tone? That's an achievement, somehow.

Although from her peripheral vision, the J-Alpha appeared to be running away from a certain individual. Not from her though. The boys feared no one, and they weren't running away from fear; they were running away from disgust. It was as if they did not want to see a certain someone. They successfully did hide, though, considering that they had all climbed up the stairs to their lair, or so He-Jin had said.

Another commotion enveloped the campus into chaos. Kayleigh understood why, since it was the start of the year, that most people would spend an extra day or two off. K-idol trainees especially, because they had to negotiate their schedules with their management.

He-Jin appeared by her side with Roisin a few steps behind. "Looks like a future celebrity graced us with her presence."

Kayleigh was confused. "What? What do you mean?"

He-Jin just glared and dragged her and Roisin's arm to the jostling crowd, yet again. It wasn't too far from where she initially stood though, as the "celebrity" took long strides towards the J-Alpha's lair. Brave of her to do that. No one could ever enter that place, only the J-Alpha members themselves.

Kayleigh stood on her toes in order to take a good look at the future K-idol. Man, she did not regret it. Her hair was dyed in a sakura coral colour that complimented her fair complexion. Her hair was tied up into two space buns, which suited her face shape. Her nose was pointed, her lips painted cherry red with a lip tint and her eyes had a very Asian shape that suited her face. She was probably as tall as Kayleigh, except Kayleigh had medium to light brown hair, her nose was quite flat, not too flat though, medium lips, large eyes and an olive complexion. She was pretty, at least she thought she was, but the girl she saw made her feel so insecure about herself that she just wanted to be like her. The girl was slim and fairly tall. The girl was the definition of beauty.

"Wow," Kayleigh finally said. "Who is she?"

"Seo Mi-Rae," He-Jin said, in awe as well. "She's the queen of the campus. All the boys love her."

"Yeah seems like it. I mean I'm not even surprised."

"Does J-Alpha love her too? Is she dating one of them? Why is she going there? Does she have the right too?" Roisin breathed, bombarding He-Jin with questions.

"No. They despise her. But she loves them, all of them. Her ultimate goal is to date at least one of them, eventually," He-Jin groused. "I'm not sure, but the J-Alpha will probably kick her out. Also, that girl is an idol trainee. She's pretty."

"No wonder," Kayleigh sighed.

"Anyway, she might be pretty, but that girl bullies anyone she sees. There are two other girls that are way kinder than her, although they kinda rejoice Mi-Rae."

"What are the other two called?" Roisin mused.

"Kang Dan-Ah and Lee Eun-Kyo. They're both nicer than Mi-Rae, but they both love the attention. All three of them are trainee idols under some management called Shine Entertainment. Their group's called KANDEE."

"Interesting. Oh!" Kayleigh exclaimed as she pointed at Mi-Rae ascending up the stairs. "Look at her go up to the J-Alpha! Do you think they'll actually kick her out?"

"Yeah. They've always done that." He-Jin said. "Look..."

Not long after, saw Mi-Rae huffing and growling as she descended down the stairs. She looked extremely upset. Seems like the J-Alpha really did kick her out.

"She's going to come down and fake everything. She'll say they are busy... Just wait."

The crowd never withered. They all waited for her to come down the stairs. Truly it was as if she was a celebrity, her fans club anticipated her appearance to the media. She waved it off though, but it was obvious she was hurt... and embarrassed somehow.

"Looks like the J-Alpha is busy. I'll speak to them later. Goodbye, everyone!" Mi-Rae smiled again, finally freeing herself from the media. Kayleigh guessed that she would probably be sulking.

Itaewon. 11:30 pm.

After hanging out at their tavern discussing strategies for their upcoming game against the Japanese collegiate team, the J-Alpha decided to have a few drinks at Golmok Vinyl and Club. The J-Alpha loved the rustic feel of the club, the modern twist in the nightlife and the iconic vinyl records, anyone could listen to per request, plastered on the wall. The J-Alpha occupied the largest seat at the back and ordered the regular, fried chicken and beer.

"Let's get straight to the point. How do we plan to convince Kayleigh?" Levi muttered, placing his fist on the table.

"Chile, Levi," Lucas joked. "Well, we can use two of us to convince her," Lucas flashed his famous smirk.

"Before we begin, can we talk about the fact that Mi-Rae will be arriving tomorrow?" Noah mused.

"Yeah, and I bet she won't be happy to hear that we replaced her..." Joseph trailed off.

"Let's not talk about her, please," Justin pleaded. "Lest we forget, our opening is in two weeks. We need to convince Kayleigh as soon as possible."

"Yes, exactly. Justin and Jacob, befriend her," Lucas ordered. "Get close to her. Then convince her to become our muse. Remember we're quite short on time. Do it as soon as tomorrow. Make sure she does not suspect. If she falls in love, then great. Easier for us to get her."

All the men looked at Lucas as he took a swig off his beer and smirked, showing his dimples, "You can do whatever you want with her. Just don't touch her. Levi, I am talking to you," Lucas looked at Levi directly, then at the two boys. "Most importantly, do not fall in love with her."

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