Chapter Text
The first time Rumi saw him was in her final year of high school - just another rushed morning. She had sprinted to the teacher’s office to print out some handouts and was now hurrying to class, papers clutched tightly in her hands. She wasn’t expecting her life to turn into a scene straight out of a K-drama.
But there he was.
Time seemed to slow as sunlight filtered through the windows, catching in his soft brown hair. His eyes - deep, warm, and annoyingly beautiful - shimmered like something out of a music video. A romance Kdrama OST practically started playing in her head. Surrounding him were four other guys, probably friends, or at least his acquaintances. He moved with casual grace, the kind that said he was used to being looked at.
And then it happened.
As they passed, he bumped into her - hard enough to send the freshly printed handouts flying in every direction.
"Hey-!" Rumi began, startled.
She barely had time to register what happened before he turned, eyes meeting hers with a strangely unreadable expression. He extended a hand slowly, as if offering help... but then retracted it at the last second, brushing his shoulder instead like she’d somehow contaminated him.
“Watch yourself,” he said flatly.
Then he walked away, leaving Rumi still on the floor, stunned.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
“Oh, hell no.”
Scrambling to gather the scattered papers, her shock turned to indignation. She spun around and shouted after him, “ Watch my-?! Watch yourself, jerk!”
Stomping into class with a face like thunder, she dropped into her seat just as her friends Mira and Zoey turned around with identical concerned looks.
“What happened?” Mira asked.
“Some arrogant asshole slammed into me and had the nerve to say ‘watch yourself,’ like it was my fault,” Rumi snapped, still fuming.
Before either girl could respond, the teacher called the class to attention.
“Everyone, please welcome our new transfer students.”
The door slid open. Five boys entered.
Zoey and Mira immediately started whispering excitedly - gushing over the first four guys, each of them visually pulled straight out of an idol teaser trailer.
But Rumi’s eyes locked onto the fifth one.
Of course. It was him .
The pretty-faced jerk.
“Please introduce yourselves.”
One by one, they gave their names - unusual, definitely not your typical names: Romance. Mystery. Baby. Abby. And finally-
“Jinu,” he said with a slight bow, his eyes scanning the room.
When his gaze landed on Rumi, her glare was already locked and loaded. He met it, expression unreadable - then smirked and, once again, brushed his shoulder like she was a speck of dust he’d shaken off.
“Oh, it’s so on, pretty boy,” she muttered.