The cafeteria at Seonghwa Integrated Middle & High School was loud with trays clattering, kids chatting, and chairs scraping across the shiny floors. It was early March, just the start of the school year, and everyone was still figuring things out.

Shin Ho-jin left the lunch line with two classmates beside him, balancing his tray in one hand. He was tall and carried himself with confidence. His black hair was cut short in an almost military style, which made his jawline stand out. He had thick eyelashes and a beauty mark right under his left eye. He was really good-looking, and he was used to people looking at him.

He noticed some girls by the windows waving at him, and one of them called his name loud enough for everyone to hear. His friends started teasing him. "Aishh¹... Ho-jin's fan club..."

Ho-jin stopped and looked at his friend, then put on a grin so fake it was meant to be obvious. "Ya², watch how you talk about Min-ji."

The others found that even funnier.

Ho-jin kept up the act as he said, "Idiots." Then he turned toward the girls and met Lee Min-ji's eyes, adding a light, easy wink. He tried to send her a message with his eyes, and she was the only one who caught it.

Min-ji liked the idea of being the one someone like Ho-jin chose to flirt with. Ho-jin liked that she settled for moments like this because his life didn't leave room for anything serious. Min-ji came from money, the kind that made things easy and predictable, and that alone put her in a world he could never really step into. They both knew they would never line up that way, but they still liked each other, and for now, that was enough.

Min-ji was way too good for Shin Ho-jin, and he was the only one who knew it.

Ho-jin kept walking with his attention on her. Then someone smaller stepped into his path before either of them had time to move.

Their trays hit the floor. Food splashed across their uniforms and scattered everywhere, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Ho-jin stayed still for a moment, then lowered his eyes. His shirt was covered in food, with rice and sauce dripping onto the floor.

A shorter kid stood in front of him, with black hair and blue eyes that looked almost out of place on such a young face. His skin was pale, and his small, neat jaw had not fully matured yet.

Ho-jin wiped some soup from his sleeve and kept his composure, even though his hands were trembling. The fabric was already sticky.

He rubbed at it anyway before looking at the people watching. He had already drawn enough attention, and having it happen right in front of Min-ji and her friends made it worse.

Someone snorted, and someone else whispered his name. Ho-jin steadied himself, though he knew it would not change how the scene looked.

Still, he didn't raise his voice. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" he asked calmly as he stepped into the kid's path, standing close enough that the boy would have to look up if he wanted to answer.

The boy looked unimpressed, as though he were already tired of the conversation. With his empty hands at his sides, he looked down at the trays on the floor like he couldn't be bothered. "Maybe if you looked straight ahead instead of trying to impress every girl in the cafeteria, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he said.

A few people reacted right away, and someone snickered again, louder this time.

Ho-jin grinned, though there was nothing amused about it. He stepped closer, stopping just short of touching him.

For a moment, everything went quiet.

Ho-jin was much taller and clearly older, and everyone around them could see it. He tilted his head, waiting as though he expected the kid to back down. "Say it again?"

"You heard me," the kid said, keeping his eyes on Ho-jin. He looked down at the trays on the floor, then back up at the name tag on Ho-jin's chest. "'Shin Ho-jin.' Got it." He picked up his tray and walked past, lightly bumping Ho-jin's shoulder on the way. "Don't bother me again unless you want to be reported. I know your name now."

Ho-jin didn't move. What the hell is wrong with this kid? he thought.

Before he could say anything else, a teacher called out, "You two! That's enough. Clean yourselves up and move. You're blocking the line."

Some girls nearby were snickering. One of them barely managed to hold it in. Ho-jin noticed, but it didn't bother him. What got to him was the fact that the kid, younger and smaller and clearly a first-year, had spoken to him like that.

He grabbed a few napkins, wiped his hands slowly, and walked toward the locker room.

—

Moon Ji-hun was halfway through changing when he muttered to himself about how stupid it was to run into someone like that on his very first day at school. He didn't notice the door at first. It creaked open behind him, and when he looked up, Shin Ho-jin was standing there.

Neither of them said anything. The room was quiet, the kind of quiet where even a dripping showerhead sounded loud.

Ji-hun turned away quickly, pretending to fix his shirt.

"Ya," Ho-jin said. "Are you okay?"

Without looking at him, Ji-hun kept his eyes on the wall. "Why would you care? I'm just changing."

Ho-jin had not expected that answer. He chuckled quietly at first, then louder. "Damn. You're really something," he said, scratching the back of his neck. As he stepped closer, the amusement disappeared from his voice. "I'm trying to talk to you like a normal person. You ran into me, and now you're acting like I'm the one who messed up. I'm your fucking sunbae³. What's your problem?"

Ji-hun looked at him. "My problem?" he said. "I don't like people who bully everyone they meet."

"Bully?" Ho-jin repeated. "When did I ever bully you?"

"You don't need to," Ji-hun said. "Your face and attitude say enough. Just so you know, I don't scare easy." Then he turned away so Ho-jin would not see his hands shaking. He hurried through the rest of changing and went straight to the door once he was done. Just before stepping out, he turned back to look at Ho-jin. "Hope I don't see you again."

Ho-jin watched the door close. The whole thing annoyed him twice over. First, because a stupid cafeteria accident had turned a tiny kid into an enemy, and second, because that tiny kid had actually spoken to him like that. "You picked the wrong fight, hoobae⁴..."

¹ 아이시 (aish) A common Korean exclamation of frustration or annoyance.

² 야 (ya) A casual Korean interjection used to call out to someone or get their attention. Depending on the tone, it can sound familiar, teasing, annoyed, or confrontational and is generally used with close friends or people of equal or lower status.

³ 선배 (sunbae) A Korean term for someone senior in the same school, workplace, or field, regardless of age.

⁴ 후배 (hoobae) A Korean term for someone junior in the same school, workplace, or field.