Serendipity | SunKi Au

15: Hanlim High School

It's very much overwhelming Riki thought nervously as he gazed at the building in front of him which stood in all its glory and pride. Students passed by him paying no attention, chatting happily with their friends as they walk towards the school's gates. He is there between them, still, worriedness filling every fiber of his body with specs of anxiousness and excitement.

"What are you doing?" A monotonous voice comes from behind but he doesn't divert his gaze and instead simply shakes his head slightly. The voice sighs, "You should really get going. You have to be at the office before class starts. I'm gonna go meet Jungwon," the voice says nonchalantly before walking past him, his newly silver hair easily visible through the younger's peripheral vision as well as when he walks through the crowd and with confident steps through the gates.

He takes a deep breath, 'Just do your best,' he tells himself encouragingly before beginning to walk step by step until he is finally inside the grand building. He lets out a nervous, shaky breath as he looks from left to right, scanning everything inside hoping to come across a sign indicating where the office was. Of course, he could have asked Sunoo but they weren't exactly comfortable not having had a conversation since the latter's birthday.

Thankfully, the staff office was only a couple of doors away from the entrance that he took. Seeing the sign beside the door he brightened in delight as he knocks on the door.

The doorknob was soon twisted from the inside and a young female stood there with a warm smile on her face, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm a new student, Nishimura Riki," he introduces, politely bowing down at the older.

"Ah, perfect, we had been expecting you. Come on in," she says joyfully, stepping away from the door. "Come this way," she instructs once the door was closed and she began to walk. A couple of steps later, they were in front of a desk, the imprinted nametag on the cubicle 'Mr. Jang Beomhyuk.'

"This is your teacher's desk, he'll be here soon. You'll have to wait just a moment," she explains smiling, her eyes turning into crescents. Just as she was about to walk away, she turns to him to say, "Ah," she begins as if remembering something, "Welcome to Hanlim Multi Arts High School."

~

"Nice to meet you Riki," Mr. Jang greets as he takes a seat on his desk. "I wished I could have been here sooner but I had to deal with some stuff," he explains with an apologetic smile.

Riki returns the smile, uttering, "It's alright."

"As you might have seen, I'm Jang Beomhyuk, you can call me Mr. Jang," he says, pointing at his nametag. "I am the head of the practical dance department as well as your homeroom teacher for this school year. You can come to me for any doubt or worry, I can assure you. This is your schedule," he hands him a paper. "I hope that you find Hanlim suitable for you and that you adapt soon," he finishes off with a warm smile.

Riki bows down with a sheepish smile, "Thank you, Mr. Jang. I'll try my best here."

Just then, the door to the teacher/staff room opens and a male's voice greeting resonates through the room. "Hello, Mr. Jang," the male says, bowing down to the teacher with a soft smile on his face. "You were looking for me?"

"Oh yes, how was your break Jay-ah?" Mr. Jang asks caringly.

"It was great Mr. Jang. How about yours?"

"It was great as well. I have called for you so that you could meet someone," he starts, looking at the youngest of the three, "This is Nishimura Riki, an exchange student from Japan. He is a new addition to the Practical Dance department. Riki, this is Park Jongseong, the student body president of our school as well as one of the top students in our department." The two students bow to each other at the end of the introduction. "I was hoping for you to give him a tour around the school. When you're done, guide him to my classroom."

"Okay, Mr. Jang, I'll see you later. We'll take our leave," the senior says after the explanation, bowing politely. "Come on," he tells Ni-Ki, giving him a smile.

They soon walk out of the room. Jay is in front as the younger follows one step behind. "As you heard, my name is Park Jongseong but I prefer to be called Jay, so you can call me that."

Riki silently nods. "You can call me Ni-Ki then."

The older chuckles softly, "Alright Ni-Ki, we should get this tour started. First, we already saw the teacher's room. These classrooms," he points at the ones in the corridor, "Are shared by the Film Making Department and the Broadcasting department. The Fashion department and Theatre take up the second floor. Practical Music takes up the third floor. Meanwhile, Applied Music takes the fourth," he explains as they keep walking.

"Jay-ssi," Ni-Ki calls out shyly in the middle of their tour as they went through the second floor. The older hums, stopping his tracks to give his full attention to the younger. "If I wanted to stay up late to practice or something similar, does the school stay open?"

"Sadly, no, school closes at 7 pm at the latest for club activities but there is no such thing as practicing hereafter those hours," he explains, getting a disappointed expression from the other. "But," he starts, the younger's eyes gleaming with hope. "There's this studio nearby that's closely connected with Hanlim. My Hyung actually owns it. The studio's name is PRE-PHASE and it conducts both vocal and dance lessons. They also host many contests, they have really great opportunities." He pauses a second, thinking. "You know what, I'll take you there tomorrow after school if you're up to it."

"Yes!" The fifteen-year-old exclaims with no seconds thoughts, a wide smile decorating his face.