This luxurious fancy place
Baby look at us, look at us

It was exactly as I had thought it would be.

The room was filled to the brim with people, with tall, sparkling glasses filled with clear liquid, and the realest smiles I'd ever seen.

The whole scene wasn't too different from the one I was used to seeing back in Daejeon, but somehow the whole vibe here was much more dominant. It was like seeing the headquarters of a certain organization, with more confident people who knew how to deal with shit.

It wasn't unwelcoming, exactly, but the whole thing was so strange, and backwards, that I simply couldn't bring myself to mix up with the crowd.

The corner of the area was occupied solely by me, a lone form sitting straight against the arm of the lone couch. No one really paid attention to me—after the introductions were done, no one had really bothered to pick up a proper conversation with me. Not in a mean way, exactly...maybe it was that I was as unfamiliar to them as they were to me.

Still, I hoped to see someone from the trio that had been responsible for getting me caught up in this mess.

I wanted to drive already.

The only reason I'd agreed to this was to feel the wind again, to ride the road, the steaming asphalt with it's screeching tires and purring hood. That was what I had wanted, not some glorified less-than-socialites party. That—and maybe something else.

My eyes strayed to the corner, where a certain redhead sat alone at a table, his thin hands lighting and putting out a lighter. There was a cigarette dangling from between his lips, but it was unlit, unlike the last time I had seen him. His vacant stare bore holes into the table's wooden top.

I shivered despite myself, feeling the weight of his gaze even though it wasn't on me. His face was dark—a complete change from the slightly edgy smile from the race, the soft voice and the gleaming brown eyes.

"I hope you're not feeling too lonely."

I looked up, straight into the eyes of a boy who was smiling down at me with a unique charm. I blinked, thrown off; I hadn't expected anyone to think about me again.

Or maybe this was the Minhyuk type.

"I'm fine," I shrugged, after I had recovered from my initial shock. Despite that, I made no move to invite him to sit, still a little wary about his intentions.

"Good to hear that." He was a pretty boy, definitely, though he didn't look particularly interested. There was a loud politeness to the way he spoke, with a broad, friendly smile, something of a smug layer underneath it. "Y/N, right?"

"That's my name," I muttered, self-consciously fingering my collar, offering him a tight-lipped smile. "I was pretty sure Vernon had already broadcasted the new recruit's name to the whole assembly."

A short laugh. "That's just the way he is. You'll get used to it, training under him and all that." He looked at me curiously. "You are training with him, right?"

I tried for a self-deprecating smile, but it must have looked more on the awkward side. "I don't know, actually. This whole training thing is new for me, so I don't know how this will work out...and I'm not very sure who I should ask for help, you know?"

He nodded, and my gaze was distracted by his finger tapping rythmically against the top of his glass. "Well, if it's any consolation, you seem much more adapted than some others we've had here."

That got me to chuckle, and his smile was such that I realised it had been his aim. "I guess not everyone stays."

He nodded, his lips pulling sideways. "Very few."

We settled into a comfortable silence. I let my back relax against the back of the couch, and looked over at the group gathered around a longer table, laughing over something. A gleaming silver keychain hung from one of the guys' fingers, clinking hypnotically whenever he moved.

My legs drew up, and I pulled them in closer to the couch, looking away.

But I raised my eyebrows, and turned my face to his. "I realised I didn't ask for your name."

He blinked, looking surprised for a moment, and then grinned. "I thought you'd never ask." He said. "It's Jinyoung."

"Jinyoung." I nodded, almost in approval, my eyes raking his appearance again. "Nice."

He smiled. "Are you awkward talking to me?"

"Why would you say that?"

"You said my name was nice." Jinyoung smiled wider, which made his eyes turn into crescents, his full lips pulling into a teasing grin. "Unless you're the type to make small talk with unnecessary compliments, that should be saying something."

Pretty blunt, I see. "Oh." Fully aware that I was staring, I cleared my throat. "I guess I'm a little awkward."

"Don't worry, you're new. It's only natural." He shrugged, and I noticed the Gucci logo across the sleeve of his t-shirt. Apparently, he was loaded. "Lecture rooms, racing arenas...they're more similar than you think."

I let another moment pass before speaking. "You're not in Gyeongju-seon, huh? I haven't seen you around, and, well, I have a lot of time to look around."

"Nope." He pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes as he looked at something a few feet away. "And unfortunately, I may have to leave you at the moment. Seulgi needs attention."

I glanced towards where his gaze was directed, noticing the said ravenette smiling widely at me. I raised my hand in a half-hearted wave.

"That's alright." I said. "I can guess how she can be."

The corner of Jinyoung's lips lifted in a half-smile, the slight discomfort his doe eyes mixed with amusement. "See you around, Y/N."

Lowering my head in acknowledgement, I smiled feebly. "Jinyoung."

And then I was alone again.

It was pretty noticeable, the way some of them threw furtive glances my way. They must have been curious, as it is with everyone, but I noticed that Vernon was nowhere to be seen.

I looked away, and once again, my eyes met Taeyong's.

His leather jacket was as black as the shadows that surrounded him, and his eyes were like concentrated laser beams digging into my form. The veins in his pale hands stood out against the blackness of his sleeves, twisting a thin silver chain around his fingers.

My throat felt dry when I tried to swallow, but his expression was flat, devoid of emotion. His red hair was like a firestorm on his head, loose strands of it falling into his eyes, making him look even more intimidating than he already was.

This time, it was him who looked away.

──────

The monotone voice of the professor mixed with the rough scribbling of pencil on paper.

It was annoying at first, but after a few weeks, I was more used to it. The combination was strange, ticklish to the ears, and I was listening with a sort of detached mindset to the lecture.

"—from the tiniest particle to the largest spacecraft." The professor - a tall, built man with salt-and-pepper hair, put his hands on the table, looking like he did not want to be here. "And for the next—"

I zoned out for a moment, and when I came back, the girl in front of my was noting something down. Hesitating, I looked up at the whiteboard, and then at the man, and then, down at my blank notebook.

Hastily picking up my pencil, I tried in vain to pick up where he was going, and slowly got into rythm in a sort of drilling way. My shoulders eased.

"And that's equal to the energy released by the combustion of fifty million tonnes of coal." He paused, as if for emphasis, but no one really reacted. The man sighed.

After the lecture was over, I stared helplessly at the empty page separating my notes, trying to note down whatever I remembered. I glanced up at the movement of the crowd out of the door, and groaned in frustration.

My fingers ached. The padded insides of my fingertips were imprinted with the neck of the pencil, reddened and painful. Once again, I put the tip of my pencil against the sheet.

"Semiconducting polymers." The voice was so sudden, and so close to my ear, that I jumped, dropping my pencil. A figure from behind me bent to pick it up, and my eyes stayed on the slim hand that offered it to me.

I blinked, and looked up.

Another pretty boy.

I scoffed, almost disbelieving of my luck—or was it? The boy was almost slight, with a soft jawline and rounded honey eyes. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his button-like nose, but looked more decorative than actually useful. His lips were pursed, and his eyebrows were raised, like, well?

"Uh, thanks." I took the pencil, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "You were saying?"

He smiled a little, and gestured towards the table, where my sentence lay incomplete. "It's semiconducting polymers. Your...your notes."

I glanced down, and after a split second of confusion, slowly but surely wrote it down. When I looked up, his eyes were still on me.

"Thank you. I think." I said, frowning. Maybe things could be normal, too, despite the whole illegal thing.

To be honest, I was just glad someone here was willing to at least talk to me, much less help me.

"You're welcome." He shrugged, pushing his round, wiry glasses off his nose. "I sit behind you and noticed you were sort of, uh, panicking." He smiled again, the sideways smile without showing teeth that was mature yet friendly at the same time. "I'm Baekhyun. I mean, I'm caught up with most of the stuff, so if you ever need anything..."

I kept staring at him, but he didn't move, his eyes fixated on my face as if he was waiting for me to say something. So I nodded.

"Sure. Thanks again."

Another short smile, and he jerked, as if to move. Then he paused, frowning, and opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something—but then he closed it again, turning around and shouldering his bag strap, moving through the desks.

My eyes stayed on his back, watching him move out of the room. There was something familiar about him, at least the way he talked—but I just didn't recognize how.

Then my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I looked down, pulling it out and clicking open the messages.

Then I sighed, tucking it back in, and got up. As I was gathering the loose sheets, the tail of my gaze caught the pencil in my hand.

It wasn't mine.

──────

okay this chapter was so boring gosh

but baek is here can i get a cheer? (that rhymed). this is just a filler chapter though, but it was important, so stick around :')

next up: ride or die ;)