Saturday, February 17, 2007
I finally managed to write the first chapter of my Super Junior FanFic and if I like it enough, I'll end up changing all the names, editting it a bit and make it a real novel. Who knows.
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Title: Keep In Touch
Rating: PG-13
“We’re very happy to have you with us SungMin,” said the President. He peered at SungMin through thick, black-rimmed glasses with his hands perched upon his desk, which was covered in stacks of paper. The President was a very plump man, round about the face and right around the waist. And you got the impression that he was living a full life, but what else could you expect from one of the most successful men in Korea? He was the President of the most prestigious school in all of South Korea and all he had to do was sit behind his desk and sign papers. How could a man not become plump with such a lazy job? “It’s not everyday we get such talented students enrolled here. We are very prestigious school SungMin, you should be proud to walk amongst the students within these halls.”
SungMin nodded silently. What more was there to say? For the past three hours, the President had been talking nonstop about how great the school was and he had run out of replies. He had gone through at least ten different variations of 'yes' and 'mmhmms' and there was only so long that he could go on smiling. Sighing, he leaned his elbow against the arm of the chair and watched as the President stood up from his chair and began to pace behind his desk. "We are a school built on pride and dignity SungMin. We don't let just any kid off the street waltz on in and attend our classes. NO!" SungMin nearly jumped out of his seat in shock as the President slammed his fist down on the table. "We pick out the true flowers from among the weeds and we place them here. True, these flowers may be a little under fed, perhaps some petals are missing and they may not smell or look as nice, but they have something. You have something."
SungMin scrunched up his eyebrows together and stared at the President. He was an...underfed flower? Had he just been insulted? He definitely wasn't a flower with missing petals. Now really, if anything, SungMin considered himself a nice, well-fed, pink tulip, because tulips were pretty and people always enjoyed a nice tulip.
“Now, Mrs. Shim will give you your schedule and will show you the way to your class,” said the President. The instruction came so suddenly that SungMin nearly missed it. But when he finally realized he was being dismissed from three hours of insane tortute, he quickly removed himself from the office and closed the door behind him securely. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand to be in the same room with the man.
“Lee SungMin?” asked a middle-aged woman as she tapped one of her long fingernails on her clipboard. She had a very pursed-looking expression about her and the way she dressed, with her blouse a little opened, and the way she walked, with her hips swaying back and forth, SungMin assumed that this...Mrs. Shim wasn't the secretary because of her good resume. And by her name, she probably wasn't a very loyal wife either. SungMin merely nodded in response as she shoved a rectangular piece of paper at him. Taking it, he ran his eyes up and down the paper and only stopped when he realized that Mrs. Shim had already left. Jogging a bit to catch up to her, he managed to catch up in the hallway. He began to walk slower though as his eyes roamed over the walls of the school, silently admiring the architectural genius of the school.
SM Academy wasn’t known as the most prestigious school in South Korea for nothing. They had more graduates turning into businessmen, government officials and icons in the everyday media than all the other schools put together. It was known that 95% of the student body in SM, were heirs to large, multi-millionaire companies. The other 5% were students enrolled into the school through a scholarship fund, which only came about because the school board became under attack from high end officials who were receiving threats from the general public who were angry at the fact that their own children couldn't attend. And when average, minimum wage paid families made up the whole of Korea and held the majority vote over elections, you had to keep them happy.
SM Academy enrolled students from early as preschool all the way until their graduation. Before the change in letting in scholarship students, kids weren't allowed to transfer into the school district unless they came with wads of cash in their pocket. And with the popularity growth of SM Academy came rich parents knocking. This ended up turning the tables. Power shifted from the actual school to the parents who had children attending the school.
SungMin quickly snapped out of his thoughts as Mrs. Shim cleared her throat. She pointed one of her fingers, which he noticed had a rather sharp, brightly red and obviously fake fingernail attached to it, into an open door where SungMin could already see that the class had started. She quickly handed him another piece of paper, pointed at the teacher and then turned on her heel and left him alone. Rooted to the spot, he clutched the paper in his hands and stared inside the classroom. The class itself wasn't very large, perhaps holding from ten to fifteen students. It wasn't as if he was scared, because he was generally a very big people-person, but it was the fact that he knew these kids got more in an allowance each week than he would ever receive in a lifetime that intimidated him. Taking a deep breath, he entered the class and quickly made a zip line to the teacher and handed him the piece of paper.
“Class," he said as he tapped his ruler onto the chalkboard. "CLASS!"
The class quickly got into attention and stared up at the teacher. The teacher shook his head and sighed and turned to SungMin. It wasn't everyday that he managed to actually get the attention of the whole class. Truth be told, it wasn't as if he enjoyed his job very much, especially since the kids he taught could probably care less. But the paycheck itself settled any thoughts of quitting or early retirement.
"Now then. I would like you all to welcome a new students today. His name is Lee SungMin and he joins us from Busan with an Art Scholarship."
"Where's that?" Somebody asked and the whole class seemed to erupt into laughter. SungMin looked down, trying to hide the small tint of pink that was beginning to form. He didn't expect any of the students here to know where Busan was. He was pretty sure these kids didn't know any city outside of Seoul. The teacher seemed to ignore the comment and the laughter though.
"I'm Mr. Han and it's very nice to have you with us SungMin. I'm sure you'll fit right in. Now, how about we get you a seat," he said.
Fit right in? Was he kidding? SungMin glanced around the classroom and sighed. All the students seemed to go back to whatever they were doing before he intruded on their perfect little world. From just scanning across the room he could spot diamond jewelry, designer bags and watches and every student typing away on their cell phones, something he still didn't have. Well...all excluding one. And this particular one seemed to be looking at him and smiling.
“There. You can sit next to JongWoon,” said Mr. Han.
“YeSung. It’s YeSung Mr. Han,” said the boy who had smiled at him. Looking back over at YeSung, SungMin was surprised to find that not only was he smiling again, but he was also waving at him.
“Right, right. You kids and your nicknames,” said Mr. Han as he rolled his eyes. SungMin quickly shuffled over to the empty seat behind YeSung and placed his bags on the table. He hadn't exactly brought anything other than his lunch for the day, and if he memorized the bell time right, it was about to ring in five minutes anyhow.
“Hey,” someone whispered.
SungMin slowly lifted his head and jumped back a little in his seat to find YeSung staring straight at him. "It's nice to see another Art Scholarship kid. Usually it's Academics or Athletics, but I guess that's because they only added the Art Scholarship a few years ago," he said. "But still. I do photography and sketching. What about you?"
"Ummm..." he began. He hadn't really been expecting this. Obviously he knew that there would be more scholarship kids attending SM Academy, but he hadn't been expecting to meet one so soon. Especially someone with the same scholarship. "I paint."
“Alright. Just at least try to do pages 42 through 45 tomorrow,” said Mr. Han as the students began to shuffle out, not even paying attention to what the teacher was saying. As SungMin stood up, he noticed that YeSung hadn't left yet either. “Ah, SungMin. Remind me to get you a book tomorrow.”
SungMin nodded and shuffled out of the room with YeSung still at his heels. Suddenly he stopped in the middle of the hallway and began to fish around his pockets for his schedule. It took him a minute or so to realize that his schedule was being waved in front of his face.
“I’m guessing this is yours,” said YeSung as he smiled. SungMin grabbed it quickly and stuffed it into his pocket. “You dropped it back there and it’s lunch now, so how about you come eat with me and my friends?"
There was no way he could refuse the offer. It wasn’t like he had anyone else to eat with and he wasn’t really sure which way the lunchroom was anyway. So silently, SungMin followed YeSung down the corridor. He had seen pictures of the lunchroom in the brochures he had received, but seeing it in person was something totally different. SungMin wasn’t even sure if he could call it a lunchroom, because it seemed more like a very expensive café. There was a balcony and little shops on the edge where you could buy your lunch and instead of regular wooden tables like at his old school, there were little circular glass tables and long, metal tables that looked more like something you would see on a patio in France.
“Come on. My usual table is over there,” said YeSung as he began to weave his way through. SungMin followed the older boy awkwardly, trying his hardest not to bump into anyone or anything.
“YeSung, what took you so long?” asked a boy.
“Sorry. I was helping SungMin here. He’s new,” said YeSung as he sat down and patted the empty seat next to him. SungMin plopped himself down and removed his lunch from his bag. “SungMin. This is RyeoWook and KyuHyun.”
“Nice to meet you,” said RyeoWook as he smiled. KyuHyun didn’t say anything but offered him a smile and returned back to his lunch.
“SungMin’s here on an Art Scholarship,” said YeSung. “RyeoWook here got here on an Academic Scholarship. He's our resident genius. And KyuHyun’s here on an Athletic Scholarship.”
“Our KyuHyun here is the best Soccer player around,” said RyeoWook as he smiled and patted him on the back.
“Soccer?” asked SungMin curiously as he unwrapped his lunch box. There wasn't anything special inside, just some rice and deep-fried zucchini. His grandmother had offered to make him some danhobak soup that morning, but SungMin had declined. He didn't feel as if his first day at SM was something to celebrate really, coming here was more like a...necessity.
“Yeah. We have a pretty good team here. Do you like to play?” asked KyuHyun.
“A bit. I’m not the greatest,” said SungMin as he shrugged.
“That’s okay. You should join anyway,” said KyuHyun. "Most of the members really aren't that great. That's probably the only reason I'm here."
“RyeoWooooooook. What’s for lunch?” asked YeSung as he placed his chin upon the younger boy’s shoulder.
“I made some KimBap this morning,” said RyeoWook as he began to open up his lunch. “and I’ve got some eggs, spam, and kimchi.”
“KimBap! Seriously?” asked YeSung excitedly as he clapped his hands and smiled. He peered over RyeoWook's shoulder as he opened up his lunch box, his facial expression being the exact replica of a child on Christmas morning opening his first present.
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“So. Who’s the new kid?” asked HeeChul as he leaned over the balcony edge to stare at the table SungMin was sitting at.
“Lee SungMin,” said ShinDong as he slapped a manila folder down on the table. There was nothing ShinDong didn’t know about the kids who went in and out of SM Academy. This was mainly because his father was the President of the school.“Apparently he’s here on an Art Scholarship.”
Several pairs of hands immediately dove for the folder, nearly ripping it in half. But it seemed EeTeuk managed to grab it first and began to flip through it. "He's from Busan," he said. "Where's that?"
"Somewhere on the coast I think," said SiWon as he shrugged and lightly tugged on the tail end of HeeChul's jacket, trying to pull him back to where he had been sitting moments before.
“He’s cute,” said HeeChul as he finally removed himself from the edge and plopped himself down on the lap of SiWon. “But you have nothing to worry about of course.” Grinning, he playfully patted SiWon’s cheek and leaned his head against SiWon’s broad shoulder. Smiling, SiWon wrapped his arms around HeeChul's slim waist and rested his cheek ontop of his head.
“Honestly,” muttered KiBum as he folded his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. “When Dad approved of this, I don’t think he thought you would abuse it.”
“Awww, come on KiBum,” said HeeChul as he looked over at his younger brother. “It’s not like Dad can say anything about it now.”
Kim HeeChul and Kim KiBum were the sons of the owner of the largest restaurant chain throughout all of Korea. And it was by coincidence that HeeChul, the oldest son and heir to the company, just happened to fall in love with Choi SiWon, the son and heir of the largest grocery chain in Korea. Of course every restaurant needs groceries, so even though HeeChul’s father had been against it, he realized that it was the greatest business deal he could make. So he had approved of the relationship. Despite the fact that the decision had been purely based on money and not the happiness of his own son, HeeChul had been ecstatic about it.
“Here comes KangIn,” said EunHyuk as he stood from his seat and glanced over the balcony. And sure enough, through the main entrance came waltzing in KangIn, clearly not in the required school uniform.
“Wonder what took him,” said DongHae as he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, since his temporary pillow and decided to stand up.
“Where were you?” asked EeTeuk as he got up and stood at the head of the stairs leading up to the balcony. KangIn was slowly making his way up the stairs, his hand trailing behind him on the railing. It was apparant that KangIn was clearly trying not to look EeTeuk in the eyes, but it became harder to do since he was blocking the way.
“There was business,” he simply muttered.
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“Who’s that?” suddenly asked SungMin as his eyes drew up to EeTeuk.
“Hmmm?” asked YeSung as he looked up, his cheeks still stuffed with KimBap.
“Oh, that’s Park EeTeuk,” said RyeoWook. SungMin watched as EeTeuk placed his arm around the unknown boy who had just come in. The two then walked over to their friends and sat down. It was as if the people up there had a complete world of their own. "Son of a big multi-billionaire. His Father owns majority of all shares of every major company in Korea."
SungMin looked over at RyeoWook in shock. He had heard of EeTeuk, well actually, he was actually called JungSu in the tabloids and such, but he had read of him. He knew rich kids went to SM, but he figured someone as rich as that would be homeschooled by top scholars from all over the world or something of the sort. "Who are they?" he asked, referring to the rest of the boys.
“Well the boy who just walked in is Kim KangIn,” said RyeoWook as he waved his chopsticks towards the balcony. “Supposedly his Father runs all the underground operations and controls the gangs and whatnot. It’s really not all too clear. The one sitting near EeTeuk is Lee EunHyuk. He’s the son of an actress and a filthy rich business man who actually works under EeTeuk’s father. Next to him is Lee DongHae. His dad owns all the sauna and bathhouses in Korea. It’s rumored that EunHyuk and DongHae are actually a couple, but who knows. Next to them are the Kim Brothers; HeeChul and KiBum. Their father owns the largest restaurant chain and HeeChul is dating Choi SiWon, the guy sitting with HeeChul. SiWon’s dad owns the largest grocery chain. Let’s see…oh yeah, the boy over there is Shin DongHee, but everyone calls him ShinDong. He’s the son of our school president. And then of course there’s HanKyung, he’s the son of the Chinese Ambassador.”
“Hey, hey,” said YeSung. “Less talking. More feeding.” And with that, YeSung leaned close to RyeoWook and opened his mouth for another KimBap. Popping another piece into YeSung’s mouth he looked over at SungMin, who was still staring up at the balcony. It was amazing to have heard and seen all these people being talked about in magazines, radio stations and on the television, but to actually be in the same room with them. Somehow it was invigorating and yet disgusting at the same time.