Got dropped into a new highschool, still gotta study

by Solmaroki

Summary:

Kim Soleum just wanted a regular school life at the new highschool he was transferring to so he could quickly graduate and get into the same university as his friends. Why did he end up getting involved with a delinquent!

“Aren’t you going to get your textbook out?”

“Why should I?”

“I need it since I clearly don’t have one yet. Is your one functioning eye also failing you as well?”

“...Hah!?”

Chapter 1: Day 1: I shouldn't get involved with him

Kim Soleum had lived in his home his whole life. All of his family were supporting and loving, and he was extremely close with his group of friends ever since he was very little. He had a comfortable life with not many extreme things to worry about. He was a kind kid, with an interest in reading about the supernatural despite his fears.

That just made him miss his home more. Having to move to a new area and school all of a sudden, far from his friends, with no time to say goodbye made him feel depressed for quite some time. Though he eventually accepted his fate as he was in the process of moving out. He would just make sure to study hard as he always did so he could get into the same university as his friends as they all agreed.

‘Haah…’

A sigh escaped his mouth as he found himself wandering around the somewhat empty streets, mapping out the route to his new school and figuring out what buses to take.

He had already visited his distant relatives' house. However, his parents wanted to have him stay in the dormitory as the relative -who offered to take care of him - lived rather far from the school and was rarely home. Of course, his parents said they were going out of the country for a while so wouldn’t be there either, leaving him all alone.

That relative was someone who he had never met before, but they seemed friendly. As soon as Soleum arrived they brought him various kinds of snacks and treats, making sure to pat him on the head and tell him how good of a kid he was.

The relative was a little strange and didn’t talk much but after he learnt they worked at a theme park then Soleum realised they must have been used to treating young kids this way. Though, Soleum felt like he wasn’t that young to be treated that way.

The sun was already about to set, a sign that he should quickly go and get his supplies ready for his first day. Pens, pencils, rubbers and rulers were stuff he already had ready but he remembered his mental note to go buy a notebook.

He found the nearest stationary shop and bought the first notebook on sale. It had a black cover and a golden ‘x’ as the cover. Not wanting to spend too much time outside before it got dark, Soleum hurried to pay and left without buying anything else.

His decision to return was pushed forward even more when he heard crashing coming from the alleyways beside him. Shouting came from there, crashes of trash cans being toppled over echoed out from the alley way. The sounds of a fight froze Kim Soleum in place.

“Damn you bastard!-”

“Ahhh-! Someone help me!”

“Don’t act like the victim you snake! Give me back my money!”

Two people were punching and kicking each other left and right, making a ruckus. Kim Soleum quickly got out his phone and put in the numbers 112.

“Hey. Stop fighting.”

Kim Soleum said loudly to the two in a clear and stern voice. His face scrunched up uncomfortably as the two turned to him, his heart stopped for a moment after they both stared at him in silence.

It wasn’t his intention to directly get involved but it wasn’t like he wanted to be a bystander either. There obviously was one rational choice.

He raised his arm up to put the phone to his ear, and reported the two to the police.

“H-Hey! This is none of your business! Don’t you get the police involved!”

This situation was the kind of situation that the police definitely should be getting involved in. Soleum gripped his phone tighter to stop himself from visibly trembling, keeping his voice as steady as possible.

“Mn, there is a tall man in a dark blue hoodie with dark black hair and there is a school boy with brown hair and a white shirt.”

“Agh! God dammit! I’ll take out your other eye next time I see you damn snake!”

The older of the two immediately ran off, escaping through another door.

The high schooler -who had bruises all over- wiped the blood off his cheek and strode past Kim Soleum irritatedly, without a single thanks. His casual walk made it seem like he wasn’t injured at all if it wasn’t for the clear bruises. His right eye seemed especially bad.

“Where are you off to? Get back here.”

“Hah? Don’t boss me around just because you think you saved my life! I am not getting involved with the police!”

“...Go to a hospital then, who knows, you might go completely blind in that eye. Forever.”

The teens mouth twitched and forced out a smile with his response along with it.

“Oh really? What does any of this have to do with you? Don’t try and get me to owe you something in return for this when you took it upon yourself to call the cops!”

“...Oh, don’t get me wrong. I thought it was pretty entertaining watching you get beat up, I just so happened to call the police since I thought it would have been a shame if you lost an eye from this. Actually, maybe that would be more interesting for the future. Oh, and when you screamed for help, your method of pretending to be the victim really was just wonderful. Maybe it's best if you don’t go to the hospital. It would be more fun if I see you again. Man, I really feel the thrill running through my blood right now.”

The roughed up student stared at Soleum quietly without a word. A drop of sweat started to form at his forehead with curses repeating in his head. The two stood in a motionless stare off.

‘That must have been enough to scare him off into getting treatment right?’

Soleum opened his mouth to say a couple more encouraging sentences however he could barely keep track the moment the student turned and bolted the other direction.

‘Hopefully he went to the hospital… those injuries looked pretty bad.’

The uniform seemed similar to the one Soleum had laid out in his room. If the teen really was from his school then he truly wished that he wouldn't have to get involved with him again.

With everything that he had planned to do done, he made his way back to the house, tracing his steps back.

***

Soleum rushed to school. He had not expected to be late, but a series of unfortunate events led him to this situation.

His brain was moving a beat slower than usual after staying up all night with only a short moment of sleep. He knew he himself was to blame as he was the one who decided to stay up longer to continue reading the Prophecy of the Apocalypse: Dark exploration records.

The night was already in motion, he laid on his bed restlessly, nervous for the next day. Of course his bored mind came up with an idea. An idea that he should just read one or two exploration records until he fell asleep. And read he did. For the next three hours he was in complete darkness, scrolling away while his drowsy eyes worked overload to finish just one more chapter.

Fortunately, his guardian was coming back from their strange late night shift and saw the strange red light coming from his room. Upon being caught, Soleum was forced to sleep under Yongyong’s (his new guardian’s) close watch.

He was already tired by then so it really didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

This morning he did wake up on time, but his energy was at an all time low. Being late on his very first day of school really was not a good impression on the teachers or others, if only luck had been on his side then perhaps he would have made it on time. Who knew that his relative would have been strangely attached to him despite it only being a day, all he did was make dinner and breakfast for them as a thanks before leaving. That wasn’t a good enough reason to try and hold him back and keep him at home!

Following that he saw a stray black cat that was injured on the side of the road in a small cardboard box. He hadn’t had a lot on him, but he still had enough to buy a small can of food; who would have been able to resist helping that poor kitten with glowing eyes begging for food.

Then after almost getting isekai-ed into another world by a crazy speeding taxi, he got lost after riding the wrong bus heading to some random mountain lodge. Quickly getting off at the first stop, he ran to catch the next earliest bus he could and got onto the next train which he got off one stop late.

‘Haah… this day really can’t get any worse.’

It might have been ten or maybe twenty minutes since the start of the morning attendance already.

Before joining, Soleum had done his research on the school to learn about what is was like. However Daydream highschool had little to none information online about it. All you could find were the records who people who attended and the rankings of the school. Forunately, Soleum saw how quite alot of students made it into Sekwang University after studying here.

There were barely any students at the entrance as the gate was about to close. Soleum’s eye caught onto another student -who was about the same height as him- talking to someone with a clipboard in hand.

They seemed to be arguing about something, the brown haired teen face scrunched up in anger the longer he continued talking with the other.

‘I shouldn’t get involved with delinquents…’

Kim Soleum thought to himself as he squeezed his rabbit doll, named Braun, tightly in his palm.

“Excuse me, you are late so I am going to have to write your name down.”

Kim Soleum looked back up to see a tall student with a well built body. The name on his shirt saying ‘Ryu Jaekwan’. The red armband showing that he was a member of the student council.

“Alright, it’s Kim Soleum.”

“Class?”

“Ah… I just transferred today so I don’t know. Sorry…”

The student council member’s head tilted as if examining him. Soleum explained all the events that had occurred on the way in earnest, hoping that there would be some chance of leniency. Seeing Soleums untidy hair and slightly red face from running, he pitifully crossed out the name written on the board.

“It’s alright… it must have been rough getting here. I won’t write your name down this time, but please be on time in the future.”

Kim Soleum cheered in his mind upon hearing he would be let off, the teen helping him was fortunately very understanding about his situation and the trouble that he went through just to come here. The stern looking member kept on glancing back up at him from the clipboard, his expression warping from varying ranges of pity and helplessness.

The older student seemed like someone reliable, his well built body and azure blue eyes that felt as if they were judging you fairly made him seem mature and someone to go to for assistance.

The growing volume of the argument near them started to become ever so clear.

“What’s your problem?! It hasn’t even been that long since the bell rang!”

“Hmmmm~ it’s been three times now, so don’t think you will be let off this time! Plus, you should tidy up your uniform.”

The other two were bickering between themselves drawing attention to them. Jaekwan sighed before turning to Soleum.

“Would you like for me to bring you to your class then? The teacher’s office is quite far and it’s very easy to get lost in this school.”

“...! Yes please! That would be very helpful, thank you.”

Jaekwan scratched the back of his neck and started to lead the way. The student council member really wasn’t kidding when he said it was easy to get lost here. The building was large and had two separate blocks, both with multiple floors.

“By the way, my name is Ryu Jaekwan. I am the school council’s vice president. Just to let you know… depending which building and class you are put in… your experience here may differ…”

“I see… What class are you in?”

“Class 2-H, in block two. Of course don’t worry if you do end up in a class inside block one, it’s just that…”

“?”

“There are alot of trouble students are put there. You seem responsible so I doubt you would be put there though.”

Soleum nodded at his explanation but still had questions in his mind. Just what kind of school did he end up in? Thinking back, didn’t he already see a delinquent at the gate just now? Accepting whatever fate was to come at him, he continued following behind Jaekwan silently.

Since it was class time, the halls were quiet so only the two students' footsteps could be heard travelling down the hall. Ray’s of sunshine lit up the hallway, the summer heat spreading throughout the building. Occasionally the voices of teachers speaking could be heard from the classrooms, most students listening whilst half asleep. Eventually they reached the teachers office.

Jaekwan knocked three times before entering on his own, Soleum following suit. Only a few teachers sat there, typing away at their desks, all focused despite being tired. It wasn’t until Soleum was called over that he knew who to go to.

A smiling man with smartly styled hair waved to him energetically. His desk was neat and tidy, nothing but the essentials.

“You must be Kim Soleum right?”

His eyes curved into crescents as he grinned, his loud clear voice contrasting the silent office.

“Don’t you think you got here quite late for your first day?”

“Ah, I-”

“He got lost on the way so I led him here.”

Jaekwan spoke sternly whilst covering for Soleum. It seemed the excuse worked well since the smiley teacher nodded to himself.

“Ah yes yes… this school is rather large isn’t”

“Yes…”

“Well no worries, it would be bad if you ended up in the other building! Everyone makes mistakes! I am the school counselor, Mr. Ho. Your class is 1-D, which I am sure this student council member would be glad to show you the way. As he should recognise that room.”

He spoke with a dark flame in his eyes as if knowing the other would not be able to decline. Ryu Jaekwan nodded silently, earning Mr. Ho's bright smile. A chill ran down Soleum’s spine, the longer Mr. Ho continued to stare at him dead in the eye, the more Soleum began to get a bad feeling about the other.

“If you have any problems then feel free to come and see me, I would be extremely happy to help.”

He rested his head on his clasped hands with a foxy grin. Mr. Ho seemed like a rather suspicious teacher, Soleum decided in his mind to make sure to go to anyone but him for help in the future.

“Now, off you go! Hopefully you have a great time here!”

Mr. Ho shooed them away and left the two to their own devices.

‘1-D…’

Kim Soleum was led around the school once again before arriving at his class. From the window he could see the image of their teacher talking at the front to all the students in an expressionless monotone voice.

“I am going back to my own class now. It seems that you got put in the first block… still, if you have any problems then you are free to talk to the student council for help. That is what we are here for.”

“Thank you…”

The two separated there and as Soleum was about to knock on the door, it slid open. The homeroom teacher, a tall handsome man, with white hair and red eyes stood in front of him. Their eyes met, Kim Soleum could have sworn he saw a white lizard travel down the teachers neck. However, he was unable to spot anything after the moment passed.

“Kim Soleum?”

“Yes… I am sorry for being late…”

“Okay.”

Although the teen expected to be in trouble, the teacher had just nodded in acceptance. Kim Soleum awkwardly followed behind the teacher back into the classroom, trying his best to be calm under the pressure of everyone's stares. He stood at the front and looked towards the expressionless homeroom teacher.

At a glance, he looked to be a strict teacher, but from their first encounter he seemed to be slightly more laid back.

“We have a transfer student today.”

“Hello, my name is Kim Soleum…”

The class was quiet with only a few whispers being passed across the room. It was a rather awkward time to transfer since it was already a few months through the school year, meaning most people already had made their friends and their own small groups by now.

As he walked down the aisle between the desks he heard the pitiful mutters he heard being said.

“He’s sitting next to him isn’t he…? Poor guy…”

“Hey, that guy is only nice to people at first. The new kid is going to have a grace period at least…”

“I would cry if I was him…”

He held back a sigh and sat down in one of the leftover seats he was assigned to.

“Is Baek Saheon not here today? Find someone to share your textbook with.”

‘Baek Saheon…? That name sounds familiar…”

A girl in front of him turned back with a warm smile. Her hair was a hazelnut brown, cut into a short bob that curled inwards.

“Mr. Jaheon is a good teacher and is kind even if he shows no sign of it. So don’t be afraid to go to him if you encounter any troubles!”

Soleum nodded, now understanding that his teacher’s expressionless face was simply his usual nature. The class wasn’t loud at all, he wasn’t sure what he exactly thought it would be like after hearing there were alot of troublesome students in his block, but seeing the calmness made him feel better.

“Since that demonic goat isn’t in today why don’t you move here and share with me?”

‘Demonic goat?’

Kim Soleum ignored the distressing signs and foreboding concerning his deskmate, continuing to think positive thoughts, and politely agreed to her offer. She seemed kind and even offered to help him out, perhaps they would be able to become friends in the future. Soleum took this as an additional good sign that his days at the new school wouldn’t be as bad and lonely as he thought. Of course, knowing his luck, all the good vibes came crashing down when loud screeching steps were heard echoing down the hall.

‘...?! What the hell is that noise? A ghost?!’

The door was mercilessly slammed open as a student who was ever so familiar with Soleum appeared in view.

It was almost like everyone was used to this as no one had said a word, only sighing a couple times. Mr. Jaheon looked at Soleum and back at the latecomer and calmly spoke.

“Baek Saheon, share your textbook with your deskmate.”

“...huh! Since when…”

Scratching his head in confusion, he turned his head and locked eyes with Soleums. Correction. He locked an eye on Soleum. Unlike the previous day that he was seen with a pair of eyes, plural, now he wore a medical patch on the other side. One eye visible under his messy curly bangs, a shade of green similar to that of emerald.

At the very least he looked to have gotten his eye treated and bandaged up even if it came at the cost of a nerve wracking conversation with him the previous day.

‘So Baek Saheon is his name… I shouldn't get involved with him.’

“You-”

Saheon was just about to call him out upon recognising the other, however the sharp glare Soleum sent him was enough to shut him up.

He could only grumble quietly while making his way to his seat.

“Oi, move over. The window seat is mine..”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, so get out.”

“...It’s pretty comfortable, I think I’ll stay here.”

“...!”

“Anyway, I was told to sit here so I don’t see why I should get up.”

“Damn you…”

Their small scuffle didn’t last long as to not cause a scene at the very start of their meeting. Fortunately everyone else's attention was on the teacher or they were busy zoning out so really the only one who could hear the two were the other two students in front of them - who were listening but didn’t dare turn around- they had to hold in their chuckles upon hearing the school delinquent being taken down a step.

“Baek Saheon, is something wrong?”

“No!”

He grit his teeth and swore to himself that he wouldn't let it happen again. Soleum cheered in his mind, clearly happy that his decision to assert his dominance over the other worked. Of course, he didn’t let that show on his expression.

The air was chilly in the back of the class, more specifically the desks where the two late arrivers sat. Soleum had to use all of his physical power to avoid flinching when he felt Saheon’s eye staring daggers at him. If he looked at his arm then, he knew there would be goosebumps forming.

‘Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.’

He forced himself to shift his attention outside of the window beside his seat, embracing the beautiful scenery of the natural world.

‘What could I have possibly done wrong in my past life to have gotten so unlucky to have to get involved with this psycho! Haah, I just want to go back home…’

Mr. Jaheon began his science lesson, going over one of the example questions from the textbook, writing them down on the board one by one. Explanations and perfectly written definitions filled the board quickly as others hurried to copy it down in their notebooks.

His monotone voice continued on showing no hint of emotion, though every sentence he spoke was filled with useful information that explained the topic perfectly. You could tell he was a good teacher despite not being very interesting.

Upon closer inspection, the topic that he was covering was one that he had already previously learnt in his old school. Soleum was a hard worker when he put his mind to it and had done many practice questions in advance so he could continue reading the Dark Exploration Records in class without worrying too much about his grades.

He wasn’t a bad student, lots of his teachers even enjoyed having him and were slightly lenient on him for his good grades.

Still, at the moment, it would have made a bad impression if he looked to be doing no work at all, and his scary deskmate hadn’t even gotten his own textbook out! He really should have stuck to sharing a textbook with the kind girl in front of him.

Soleum tapped onto the desk, getting Saheons attention immediately. The troublemaker clicked his tongue quietly in irritation.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to get your textbook out?”

“Why should I?”

“I need it since I clearly don’t have one yet. Is your one functioning eye also failing you as well?”

“...Hah!?”

His loud exclamation was heard by everyone in the classroom, including the teacher. Unfortunately for him, it was at the exact moment Mr. Jaheon had asked a question to the class. And of course, the one eyed student had not been paying attention with not a textbook, notebook, or pen in sight on his side of the desk.

“Baek Saheon, answer this question.”

“u-uh…”

Almost as if not understanding his silence, the teacher tilted his head ever so slightly.

“An adaptation of a lizard is that their tail autotomy allows them to detach their tails to escape predators and regrow them, they also can conserve water through their skin allowing them to survive in dry deserts.”

Soleum spoke out from the side, not caring for Saheons reaction.

“That's correct, Saheon, you can sit down now.”

Following the teachers orders, Saheon silently fell back into his seat without complaint. Soleum had been trying to not look at the others face but with his silence he got curious and turned to see what got him so quiet.

Turns out his face was fuming red, with anger? embarrassment? Whatever emotion it was, Soleum turned away slowly once again.

Mr. Jaheon really was a kind teacher after all, he hasn't made any comment on the lack of equipment at all on Saheon’s side.

“Damn you…!”

“Haah… don't tell me your grades are also failing as well as your eyes?”

“...!”

“So, are you gonna get your textbook out now?”

Reluctantly, he went to search for his textbook and slammed it on the table. The sound was loud enough that everyone could hear, it was almost like a white flag of defeat. With Saheon’s silence at the comment about his failing grades, it did seem like he wasn’t one to study a lot.

Soleum held back a smirk at his victory and slid the textbook to the middle and opened it to the correct page.

‘Hm, this really is the topic I learned already.’

Images of animals from lizards to deers filled the pages with their skeletal structure, adaptations and more being explained in the paragraphs beside it.

‘Haah, I really don’t want to do this again.’

Opening his notebook, he opened to a random page and swiftly wrote random notes and examples that might be useful. He didn’t write for long until he was happy with the amount it looked like. Then he left it open and pulled out his phone, starting to read the dark exploration wiki under his desk.

It was a perfect plan, his skills of not getting caught on his phone from his previous school was carried over to here so you could say that he was an expert. A small smile formed on his face, eyes quickly reading through the records.

The current exploration record he was reading was about the abyss transpo train. It seemed almost nonsensical, with a lack of correlation between the successful escapes. Reading through each entry carefully, Soleum tried to figure the success conditions to this difficult question. He felt as if there was a clear rule to this story but he couldn’t figure it out.

As he thought about it, his deskmate shared a name with ‘Baek Saheon’ the viper. Spending only a glance at the other, Soleum could really see the similarities between the character and the troublesome deskmate.

Though he hadn’t gotten to know the other well yet, his first impression of Saheon was somewhat similar to the character. Of course he wasn’t as evil as the viper, but if the two of them were transported into a darkness, Soleum had a feeling that his deskmate would be just as evil and selfish.

A sigh escaped his lips.

‘Are all the Baek Saheons in the world like this? Maybe the name is just getting more popular lately.’

Time continued to flow while Soleum decided to continue reading and try figuring out the success conditions for the ghost story. His level of curiosity and determination was too high to give up.

Little did he know there was another curious reader beside him peeking over his hand to read.

***

‘...This guy has to be a crazy psychopath!’

Saheon already began reciting all the curses he knew towards the nonchalant transfer student sitting next to him. That seat was his favourite spot to sit! It was at the perfect angle where the teachers couldn’t see him easily as well. But in the end he knew a seat was just a seat, and he also knew that he wouldn’t let the evil new student get the better of him once again. It had been twice now that he had been humiliated in front of everyone, he would not allow a third time.

Of course he had many tricks up his sleeve to get the other to stay away and make him tremble in fear, but now he thought that it would be best to let it go for now. He had nothing on him after all but the new guy had caught him fighting an older brother he stole money from.

He watched the other use his textbook from the corner of his eye, the black haired student speedily writing down notes like a madman.

‘Hah, this guy has to be some kind of nerd-?!’

Pens and half of the newly bought and empty notebook were placed on the edge of the thick science textbook to hold it open. Question marks appeared in his mind, continuing to observe the strange actions of the other.

Under his desk, he placed his phone and began to read from it immediately. The notebook and textbook Saheon ever so kindly took the (very little) effort to take out left on the table like an unwanted toy.

It wasn’t that big of a deal but he still felt a little miffed about the situation.

‘So this guy must get bad grades as well then! Well then he is in no place to talk when he said I was probably failing all my classes, hah! Just now he must have been reading off another page from the textbook!’

The transfer student sat silently, hunched over a little, focused on whatever he was reading. The screen was set to a low brightness but some of the colour from the screen reflected a red glow in his eyes.

Ten minutes passed. Dark hair drooped down, covering the side of his face. Long smooth fingers held the attached popsocket tightly under the desk, hidden from the teacher. He wasn’t trying to stare at his deskmate who just so happened to look a little handsome. But his deskmate had done nothing but continue reading the same screen, only clicking next to another similar layout from what he could make out. What could have possibly been so interesting to read over and over for the last ten minutes!

Saheon was bored. That only made his interest grow quicker when before he knew it, he was leaning in closer to see what the other was reading.

That was an unconscious decision he almost immediately began regretting when the first words he caught sight of were the descriptions of some blood massacre scene that would be fitting to describe a horror movie. Names of serial killers, names of body parts, he only saw a few of those words before he quickly turned away, deciding to not look at it any more.

‘Screw this! I was insane to think I should mess with a lunatic! He really must have not been joking when he said all that yesterday! No way. Did he transfer schools because he got caught in a fight or something before? What if he got expelled for doing something worse!?’

Saheon shifted his seat towards the right, every increase in distance between them mattering. Whether he was in a spot where everyone could see what he was doing if they turned around, it didn’t matter. His mind was focused on making sure not to anger the mad man!

‘I need to avoid this guy at all costs.’

***

Soleum sat there unaware of the distress in the other's mind.

‘Why is he staring so much? Scary…’

Chapter 2: Day 1 - School tour and the occult club!

Summary:

Kim Soleum is offered to get a tour by two kind classmates and debates if he should and what club to join.

Notes:

Sorry if Go youngeun and jang heoun is ooc… it was so hard to write them.

Time had passed quickly when he was busying himself by reading the wiki. The school bell rang, marking the end of the lesson and start of their break. Students hurriedly left the class to go and meet up with their friends.

Soleum handed back the textbook straight into Saheons hands. Pulling up the best smile he could.

“Thanks. It was very useful.”

It really did work out well, whenever Mr. Jaheon glanced in their direction and saw words written down he didn't go forward to check. He had guessed that the sir wasn’t the strictest teacher so would walk around and check the work unless someone was caught messing about.

The other flinched and shoved the book into his bag and took off with it. Not sparing another second in the class.

He was confused why the other had dashed away so quickly, but he probably just didn't want to be stuck into a classroom any longer.

The girl with a short bob turned around to talk to Soleum, a cheeky smile on her face.

“Haha, you really got that guy good didn’t you?”

“hm?”

“My name is Go Yeongeun! Nice to meet you!”

Her hand came up asking for a handshake which was quickly returned.

“Oh beside me here is Jang Hoeun!”

“Hello… It’s nice to meet you Soleum.”

“Yes, you too.”

The two of them were very welcoming. The two of them both wore hair clips of animals. Youngeun, having a small sheep clipped onto the right side of her head, and Hoeun with what looked to be a bison hair clip on the left side of his head. His hair was slightly longer than Youngeun's, only about an inch longer than her bob.

“It must be rough transferring a couple months after the new school year has already started.”

“It's alright.”

“So! how about we give you a little tour of the place.”

Hongeun chimed in, a small smile seen on his face.

“Yes! If you would like, I can introduce you to my friends…”

“I can too! but um… my seniors can be quite rude…”

Soleum felt like he was about to shed a tear at their kind offers. In the end, he declined the offer, not wanting to intrude on their already made friends.

“It's alright, but it would be nice to get a tour of the place… If you are really alright with it…”

“Of course!”

The three of them traveled around the school, the two of them showing Soleum around.

“Here are the toilets, over there is the science lab. Outside you can see the sports hall and the field.”

The both of them showed Soleum all of the buildings and answered all of his questions.

Soleum tried his hardest to remember all of the names and locations of everything but there was a lot to keep up with. He just needed to remember the classes he would have to move to and where the essentials were.

It was good weather, and many students were walking about outside.

His eye caught onto the second block that was separated by a long corridor that could be seen through the window. Almost as if reading his mind, Jang Hongeun explained the building.

“That’s the second building. The students there are really smart and supposedly really strict...”

“mn, everyone just calls this building daydream but it's more common for everyone to call block two the disaster management school.”

“That's a strange name for it…”

What kind of person would start calling a school building something like that? A sigh came from Go Yeongeun.

“Yeah, well I don’t know who exactly came up with the name but it fits pretty well with them. Who knows, maybe when those guys get older they are going to end up as government agents?”

From Soleum’s previous encounter they seemed like a regular student council, Jaekwan was also quite kind to Soleum. With how the two buildings seemed so split, he guessed that he would most likely not see the other often.

“So what are the disasters they are managing…?”

“Ah well… other misbehaving students?”

“...oh, I guess a member of the student council did tell me that this building was full of delinquents.”

Youngeun paused to think, perhaps she hadn’t had many encounters with them either.

“I can see why they think that. It's almost like the two buildings are completely different schools, the only times their side interacts with ours is when one of ours causes trouble or starts a fight.”

He recalled Saheon arguing at the gate and began to understand why they would have thought that. It seemed like they had to deal with issues all around the school pretty often then.

“Oh, sports day too… It gets extremely competitive then.”

“Don’t worry though, Our class is pretty nice, I am sure you won’t get into a lot of trouble.”

Jang Heoun comforted him, but it felt more like a jinx. The three of them continued walking down the hall, coming to the end of their tour of the essentials.

“I see, thank you.”

A small hum of static entered Kim Soleum’s ears, growing with intensity as they reached the stairway. Soleum’s footsteps slowed as he slightly lagged behind the other two -who were casually chatting away like normal- looking around, there was nothing unusual.

Just where was that sound coming from?

His questions were answered soon enough.Towards the end of the hallway was the sign for the broadcasting room that was in the same area as where the noise was coming from.

The door slid open and an extremely tall man walked out from it. A white shirt neatly tucked into his trousers, and a perfectly tailored brown suit that anyone could tell was extremely expensive. His face was out of view from Soleum’s angle, only a perfect smile was seen.

“Excuse me, do you know who that man is?”

“Hm…?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Uh, the tall blonde man wearing a brown suit…”

He was going to point it out to him but the other had already disappeared! Along with the man the static noise had also vanished, only the door to the broadcasting room was left open.

Go Youngeun raised an eyebrow at the empty hall.

“I can’t think of anyone matching that description, maybe it's a new substitute teacher?”

Soleum decided to leave his curiosity for later, whoever that man was he would probably see around the school another time

Since the school tour took up most of their break time, they just decided to take a break on one of the benches; taking sips of drinks they got from a vending machine, casually talking until the topic of clubs was brought up by Jang Heoun.

“So, are you interested in joining any clubs?”

“Ah… I haven’t thought about it much yet. What clubs are you two in right now?”

Youngeun laughed awkwardly.

“Im in the science club…”

“Is that so? Do you want to become a doctor then?”

“Hmm, I still am not sure, maybe I'll study it in university.”

Hongeun smiled and spoke.

“Thats really amazing though, I could never… I can't do blood or gore.”

“Well in the club we don't always do dissections.”

Since it was a big school there were a lot of clubs that were open, it was nice that there were many opportunities here. Perhaps it was because the school clearly had a lot of money probably from the pharmaceutical company it was affiliated with.

“How about you, Heoun?”

“Im not in any clubs currently since I am a little bit busy taking care of… my family at home.”

He turned to Soleum with a bashful smile on his face. Hoeun didn’t expand further but Soleum felt as if it was best to not pry.

Anyway, maybe it was better to not join any clubs. Still, it would be nice to make some friends as Jang Heoun and Go Youngeun both had their own friend groups. The bell rang marking the end of their break time.

Returning to class with mindless chatter, Soleum’s mind was still pondering whether he should find a club to join or not.

He sat by the window seat watching the other classes go out into the field. It had been exactly five minutes since the start of the lesson. Baek Saheon had not returned just yet, did he have a reputation of always coming to class late or something?

‘Hah, what a classic trait for a delinquent’

Soleum thought, chuckling quietly to himself. Without him noticing, Saheon entered the classroom to find the transfer student in his seat once again. Of course, spotting the slight shake of his shoulders as he chuckled with a smile that Baek Saheon could only associate with something bad.

Feeling a gaze on him, Soleum returned to his usual expression and gazed at the delinquent as he made his way to his seat.

For some reason the other took a moment to scan his desk and seat before he finally sat down with the questioning of their maths teacher.

Back straight and tense like a ruler, Saheon clicked his tongue and avoided all eye contact with Soleum.

‘Does he really hate me sitting in this spot that much?’

Still, he had textbooks to share. Tapping on the other’s desk to get Saheon’s attention, Soleum gestured for him to get his textbook. Saheon gave him a dirty look but begrudgingly got it out of his bag and slide it to the other side, not caring if he would need it later in the lesson.

Soleum paid no attention to his attitude and proceeded to do his same tactic as before.

It wasn’t all that bad. His seatmate wasn’t that hard to deal with. Once he got all of his textbooks tomorrow, then he wouldn’t have to interact with the delinquent at all for the next school year hopefully!

Without even a single look at each other the lesson’s passed quickly as Soleum continued reading the dark exploration records and Saheon fell asleep on his desk.

***

Following the route that he had learnt during his short tour guide by Go Youngeun and Jang Heoun, he made his way to the cafeteria.

There were many different clubs that he could try and join. At the moment, he had no current friends that he could hang out with at the club so his choice was wide

At the same time, there was none that really peaked his interest.

He wasn’t a big fan of sports, but he would say he was alright at it. He wasn’t an artist either, nor was he a musician. Maybe he could join the literature club, but it was unlikely they would be talking about ghost stories there.

He sat down at an empty table in a random corner, eating his lunch quietly: a simple sandwich and bottle of water. That was the moment a poster stuck on a wall caught his eye.

The bright colours and large lettering immediately lured him to it.

It was a poster for an occult club. Out of everything he didn't expect there to be an occult club in this school, there really was everything here.

The poster did look a tad bit sketchy though. But the supernatural was something Soleum took an interest in, so whether it was a prank for whoever's unfortunate soul stumbled upon it or not he decided he might as well try it out.

He strolled down the halls that he had memorised, looking at signs on the doorways to find the specific room he was looking for.

There it was.

He stood in front of the room with the same sketchy poster he saw on the door, a ‘come in’ sign and an arrow next to it.

Cautiously, Soleum slowly opened the door slightly to take a peek inside. The light was eerie and dim, an amber glow lit up the room just enough to see your surroundings.

A chill ran up Soleum’s spine. Yes he enjoyed reading ghost stories but he wasn't sure if his heart could handle actively doing rituals and missions to find signs of the supernatural.

Not a sound could be heard from within. Maybe it was just that no one was inside.

He stood up straight. Deciding that it was most likely a prank. That was, until a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder causing him to freeze in shock.

A shadow overlapped him, fear filled his mind while he stood there in the empty hallway.

“Are you interested in joining the club?”

“...!?”

Mr. Jaheon stood there gazing down at him. A crash came from inside followed by a series of footsteps. The door slammed open, a wide smiled student looking expectantly at Soleum.

“You want to join our club!?”

“Um… I am not sure yet.”

“Woah! Haje we got another student interested!”

A blue haired girl came up from behind the boy with a pack of cards in her hand.

“Be excited after officially joining, he still has to do that thing first right? Anyway, what's your name? I haven’t seen you around before.”

Soleum was unsure what it was that he was going to have to do. There was no way he was going to end up as an errand boy for these two seniors right? right?!

“Good afternoon, I’m Kim Soleum, I just transferred today. Sorry if I interrupted anything…”

“Ooo we got a transfer student. No worries, come in.”

Nodding, he walked into the dark room cautiously observing all the objects around him. papers were piled up and cards, candles, salt and other bits and bobs were placed all about the shelves.

The curtains were abruptly pulled open showcasing tarot cards laid out on the table. Light filled the room as the blue haired girl pulled out her hand for a handshake.

“I’m Eun Haje, there to your left is Park Minseong.”

She introduced herself politely, her eyes sharp like an eagle's, and Park Minseong waved cheerfully.

“Nice to meet you seniors.”

“No need to be so formal!”

“Alright…”

“Anyway, we really hope you do join the club in the end! The student council is constantly trying to shut it down saying there is nothing educational being done and there is practically no one in it…”

His expression drooped mournfully. Soleum was surprised at the fact the club was even started at the first place so, although sad, he wasn't that surprised some weren't so much for it.

“Haah, though if you join we would be able to meet the required number of people!”

Senior Eun Haje and Park Minseong were two, and if Soleum joined that would be three and Mr. Jaheon was the supervisor. Weren't around five students needed to run a club usually?

As if reading his mind, Eun Haje explained.

“There are actually two other juniors who signed up. One joined but is constantly busy with her other club while the other is a complete no show.”

At the very least they still were technically in the club so one more person was enough. Though Soleum was still curious as to who they were.

“It’s perfect that you want to join! We almost had to shut down by the end of this week!”

Jaheon stood behind them, watching with crossed arms.

“Mr. Jaheon, are you the supervisor for this club then?”

“Yes.”

He nodded once and continued observing. It was rather surprising to imagine the stern looking science teacher supervising the occult club. One look at him and he didn’t seem like one interested in the supernatural. That and the combination of a science teacher and supernatural was a unique combination.

Come to think of it, what activities would he even do here?

“What do you normally do in the club though?”

“Well anything to do with the supernatural of course! Have you ever read ghost stories?”

Yes! As a matter of fact Soleum loved reading the wiki, fortunately the club didn't do any really terrifying things. Perhaps he would even be able to talk about the Dark Exploration wiki here!

His eyes lit up enthusiastically, even if he didn’t intend to, earning a grin from his seniors.

A white creature crawled up and around the teacher's neck. Silently moving around, red eyes paused and met Soleum’s; it was like it was assessing him.

It really wasn’t a hallucination! who knew teachers were allowed to bring pets to school. How come nobody mentioned anything though?

Minseong’s voice made the white lizard scuttle away into the teacher's shirt.

“Oh ho~ you’ve already met Mr. Jaheon. Mesmerised by his amazing looks?”

“Yes, he is my homeroom teacher...uh- but the lizard.”

Eun Haje chimed in in defence of their supervisor.

“Hey we know he does kind of act like a lizard but he isn't actually a lizard!”

“Huh? No there-”

Mr. Jaheon turned to Soleum expressionlessly, speaking in a low volume.

“Did you see it?”

“...Oh haha… nevermind sir.”

With a nod he returned to watching over the three students. The two seemed almost proud with Mr. Jaheon’s good looks.

“So are you willing to join!?”

“Mm, alright I will try it.”

Park Minseong and Eun Haje muttered to each other and brought out the club letter with smiles on both of their faces.

Just as he was about to grab the letter Minseong pulled it back.

“Before you join… you need to pass a trial of courage first!”

“... I’m sorry, what?”

In an instant, Kim Soleum felt his face pale. Haje tuned in with a smirk on her face.

“It's quite simple, you can just watch any horror movie or maybe even do your own ritual at home then give a report when you return!”

“Um… can I ask why?”

“Ah~ well a lot of people tend to join the club and abandon it after only coming once and the damn student council keep on trying to send people in to shut the club down…”

With a nod Soleum took the letter and list of recommended movies. He read the first few lines and dread washed over him. Many well known horror movies were listed on there as a recommendation.

There was a second page to the booklet and the instant he flipped the page halfway a terrifying image of a bloody clown in impeccable detail filled his vision.

He turned back to the front of the booklet at lightning speed but that wasn’t enough to erase the image of the movie poster from his mind.

Sure. Watching horror movies wasn't that hard of a task.

But the problem was…

He's a totally scaredy cat!

Looking back up, the two gazed at him with expecting eyes. The two of them were already in need of another member before the club shuts down, he didn’t think he could live with the guilt if he declined causing their failure.

It was either watching horror movies or doing a ritual. If he had to pick one then it would obviously be to watch a movie than possibly invite a demon or ghost to where he was staying.

Oh but ghosts aren't real… they couldn't be real! So maybe doing a ritual would be better, because ghosts aren't real! His fear was just a natural fear of the unknown after all!

With a pat on the back he was sent away swiftly, with his mind in chaos on what to do.

“We both are second years so just go to class 2-D if you ever need us for help or any questions.”

“Good luck with writing the report! Now off to your class.”

The door was shut behind him with a click.

Then again… He didn’t really owe the club anything… He didn’t have to join right!?

Notes:

Sorry this chps so late. Alot happened... anyway I was gonna write two chps and post them both but turns out the third chp is all gone now… haha i love my life. So i give up and im just posting this one.

btw, what clubs do u think other characters would be in?

—->Next chapter: Soleum moves into his dorm, and you know who is his roomate.