once tae was old enough, he was enrolled in the education program the foster home provided. there were classroom sessions available, but there was also an option to get into the public school. there was a select number of children allowed to go to the public school, but only if they passed the advanced placement test and behavioral interview. miss cheol arranged for an intelligent student with a friendly disposition, kim namjoon, to escort tae to the public school for his test and interview.
tae was dressed in beige dress pants, a navy blue v-neck sweater, and plain black shoes, which miss cheol personally bought for him just for the occasion. he stood in the foster home's lobby area, waiting for the boy who shared his surname to arrive and take him to the public school. he also held a manila envelope containing his information and education program grades, which he was pretty proud of. he was definitely a bright boy with a high reading level, and he was certainly aware of it.
he finally noticed a boy heading his way, with a dimply smile plastered on his face. being polite, tae smiled back.
"are you kim taehyung?" the older boy asked.
"yes, and you're kim namjoon?"
"i sure am, and i'm going to be your guide at the public school," joon answered. he led tae out of the foster home, and into a car waiting for them at the entrance.
"how old are you?" tae asked joon.
"9," joon answered. "and you're 6, right?"
tae nodded. "are you smart?"
joon shrugged. "i mean, i guess?"
tae started to laugh, and namjoon did the same. they spent the car ride discussing school. namjoon described what it was like being one of the few at the foster home to be a public school student, and tae pulled out his papers with an air of confidence. namjoon dramatically expressed how impressed he was, hyping tae up more than necessary.
"you have to get into the school with these grades," namjoon assured him. "and that reading level, just— WOW."
tae grinned proudly. he liked namjoon already, and wondered if they could become best friends. in movies, people always had a best friend. miss cheol was surely tae's best friend, but she was pretty old, not even close to his age. tae yearned for a person closer to his age to have as his very own best friend. namjoon seemed like the perfect fit, but tae didn't want to ask him or anything; that would be too weird and awkward.
they arrived at the school, and briefly thanked the chauffeur before stepping out. tae instinctively grabbed namjoon's hand, and joon led him inside. they made their way down a few hallways, the sound of voices jumbled together behind closed doors filling the air. they stopped outside room 12, and waited until a lady popped her head out and beckoned for just tae to come in.
tae handed her his envelope, and she seated him at a table, giving him a pencil to take his test. he struggled a little with the math section, but breezed through the reading and writing sections. once he was done, he turned in his test.
"hello, taehyung, i am mrs choi, and i will be administering your behavioral interview today," the lady from earlier introduced herself.
"hi, mrs choi, you can call me tae, well, if you want," he replied, and sat down at the chair set in the middle of the room. a camera stared at him from its spot in front of his chair, next to mrs choi.
"your response will be recorded, so that other administrators can judge your performance as well, but try to act natural and give honest, genuine answers," she explained, and then started the recording. "look at me, alright? i'll be asking you questions."
"name, birthdate, age?"
"my name is kim taehyung, i was born on december 30, 1995, and i am 6 years old."
"what do you think of school?"
"i think it's important, but it gets really boring. i only like lunchtime, snacktime, playtime, nap time, and reading time. that's when i have the most fun."
