Celebrity School

The Prologue (by Kim Ki Won)

One would think being talented enough to make in billions of won before the age of 25 would render school a bit obsolete, but nooooo.. if life were just that simple. Hey, I’m a guy who loves simplicity, but always fails to get it. Don’t worry, I’m not the narrator here, so no sad stories from my side. Just giving a simple statement to lure you all into the story.

They’d even had to start a new project for all the kids who have to balance an important career and school and thus cannot attend school for six days a week. It’s the first year for the project here at Seonghwa high, a school that has spawned a lot of celebrities in the last few decades. Well, that’s what they’re boasting anyway. Not so sure if you could exactly call them “celebrities.”

It’s not surprising then that they came up with this plan (aka the big money making scheme.. hey normal students can only give so much, why not milk the wealthy?). To give young stars and stars-to-be a chance to effectively combine work and education, without compromising either (whatever, education ALWAYS gets compromised when you are an artist or top sportsman) . But if you’d ask any of the kids who got recruited for the plan, they would tell you:

“With our god given gifts, who needs regular education? Who wants to go to cram school when a singing career awaits? Who wants to take entrance exams to a regular university when there’s golden medals to be won?”  Not that I’ve ever won a golden medal at an event that actually matters to other people. Regionals are so underrated.          

Of course they wouldn’t all say that..but a lot of them would.


Chap 1: Welcome to the jungle

Da In looked up at the building she hadn’t been at for 3 months. Actually, she hadn’t expected to go back there ever again. Not that that had been her own choice. It had just seemed unlikely at the time. A lot of her fellow students on the other side of the fence ogled at her as she walked by, holding up their mobile phones to take a quick picture. She had been feeling like a circus animal on display ever since the spread in Elle Girl had come out, but she still felt uncomfortable with it so she rushed to the special wing of the school.

She couldn’t help but dislike the way this new class was treated in such an elitist way. Their own wing, their own part of the park surrounding the school and designated times when they had to use the sports fields when none of the regular students were allowed. How was this different from private education? So much for regular school huh? Still her mother had pressed her into going, probably because of her mothers’ affair with the head master, which they were all pretending wasn’t happening.

So she had resigned in her fate. Being in a class with all those admiring kids had been hell, so this might be better anyway. For the famous boys at school it had probably been worse. Fan clubs devoted to their every desire had been erected and the girls showed qualities that would prove handy for their future careers as delusional stalkers. Da In found it disturbing to say the least. They really weren’t deserving of that kind of worship. They were just doing their job and getting paid for it. So what if everybody knew their faces? It didn’t make you a god.

Da In walked up the stairs. Everything here had been renovated, and it still smelled like fresh paint. There were only 3 classes now, one for every year of high school and Da In was already in her senior year. She wondered how many special kids there actually were in this school, a lot of them had probably transferred here from other schools in Seoul. She found the classroom, which looked surprisingly normal, to be empty except for one person sitting in the back on the window side.

It was a weird looking girl, with a scarf covering half of her face. Not feeling social, Da In just nodded and chose a chair at the side of the wall, though in the back. She didn’t like to get attention, knowing how paradoxical that was, with her being a famous model and all.
She tried to look at the girl inconspicuously, trying to figure out where she had seen her before. She smiled at the thought that she’d probably get that feeling a lot today, with all of them being at least mildly famous.

Da In opened her school book and started leafing through it. History would be their first lesson today, since that was what her homeroom teachers gave.

“Annyeonghaseyo [hello]..” A soft voice came from her left and she saw the girl had walked up to her. Da In took in the long frizzy hair and the oversized gray woolen scarf, the school uniform that was already showing creases and the unpolished shoes. She looked like a plain mess, and not at all what Da In would expect from someone who would come to this class. Da In must have looked agitated because the girl mumbled an apology.

“I didn’t want to bother you or anything..I just wondered if I could sit here. You see, I’m resolved on being social this year.”

“Being social as a new year’s resolution. I’d rather start dieting.” Da In remarked. “ But you can sit here if you want.”

“But you don’t need to lose weight. You’re stick thin.“ The girl replied. “I’m Ha Na by the way, Jang Ha Na.”

“I’m Park Da..”

“In.. Yes I know. I’ve seen your advertisements practically everywhere. Woah, you’re even prettier in person.”

“That’s because the sponsors won’t forgive me if I leave the house without a 2 hour hair and make-up session and get caught on camera.”

“Really? My sponsors never do that.” Ha Na wiped some hair off her forehead.

“Maybe they should.” Da In scoffed, but immediately regretted it. Why was she acting like such a b*tch? Ha Na didn’t seem bothered.

“Probably yeah. But then again, I can’t imagine waking up so early. Especially when I perform the night before..”

Da In continued reading her book. She started feeling bad not knowing where she had seen Ha Na from. Ha Na seemed to catch the hint and took out her own books while humming some mildly familiar song from underneath her scarf.

Four other students came in, talking enthusiastically. There were 2 boys and a girl, dressed up as if she was going clubbing, with heave make-up on and her hair in a slick high pony tail. Da In snorted at the sight. There was such a thing as overdoing it. Moreover, it seemed like she had pulled up her skirt by at least 2 inches.

“Hwan! How awesome is that right.. my online single got raving reviews on MNet and DC Online. People thought it was way better than that latest crap single SNSD* brought out a while ago.”

[*Korean girl group]

“Just because you didn’t get flamed yet, doesn’t mean you’re all set in the business.“ Hwan said. “ Personally I thought you were a bit too hoarse, did you start smoking?” Hwan received a deadly glare.

“ Would it kill you to compliment me once, mister big-shot?” She pouted.

“ Yeah.” Hwan grinned. “ Come back when you fully deserve it.”

Even Da In wasn’t ignorant enough to not know who Hwan was. He was tall and even though he wasn’t what you could call classic handsome, his face had a certain charm to it. She had even had a poster of him at one point, though that had been years ago and it was a secret she would take into the grave.     

“ By the way, don’t bitch on SNSD, those girls are smoking.” The other guy shouted. “ You could learn from them about appearance.” He laughed while pulling her pony tail. “How many layers of mascara have you got on there?” Pointing at her pitch black eyelashes. Her eyelids seemed to be caving in under the extra weight.

“ Oh shut up Ki Won-ah.” She snarled and punched his shoulder. “I’ll stop wearing mascara when you win gold for once. Which will never happen anyway.”  Ki Won glared at her until his eyes fell on the two girls in the back. His eyes lingered on Da In, who tried to avoid his piercing look. Then he prodded Hwan.

“ Yah, Hwannie, is that Park Da In?” Pronouncing her name with affection and awe. Hwan looked up and shrugged.

“ We’ll probably have this kind of moment a lot this day.” He said and Da In resisted the urge to look up. He had voiced the thoughts she had had before. Not that they were special thoughts. Actually, in a situation like this, those thoughts would be quite logical.

“Seems a bit stuck up to me.” The girl said. “ Doesn’t even say hello or anything.” Da In ignored them. They could think whatever they wanted, she didn’t care.

“ And do you see that other girl..weird. And do you know who she is?” Both Hwan and Ki Won shrugged.

“Must’ve stumbled into the wrong classroom.”

The threesome took a seat at the window side of the classroom and struck up a conversation Da In wasn’t interested in.

“Actually, I’m a cellist.” Ha Na whispered. “ But I guess they’re not interested in classical music.”

***

“Yah, Lee Han Sung!” Ki Won shouted to Hwan’s other friend who had just entered the class room. Han Sung took up a seat besides them and sighed. It felt weird to see Han Sung here, when they had met years ago while working on a song together and not at school. Han Sung sniffed.   

“This is such a waste of time. I have to prepare for my concert anyway, so what’s the point of history and math lessons right now?”

“Maybe math will help you to calculate the profits, or losses if you suck.” Ki Won joked, “You’re right though. I’ve got training every day, but ya gotta admit, it’s kinda awesome we’re all here in the same class now. At least we can go through the torture together, right?”

He flashed them his perfect smile, but Han Sung couldn’t warm up to it. He was reminded of something he considered to be the worst thing.

“ Shibal [swear word]..Talk about torture.” Han Sun replied after a pause. “ You know who will also be in this class?” So Hee shook her head. “That Woo Cheol prick. I can’t stand him and his ego the size of Australia.”   

“Well he is hot.” So Hee remarked. “and his acting in that last movie was stellar. He’s like Korea’s rebel without a cause.”  Han Sung snorted.

“Rebel my ass.” Han Sung felt two arms fling over his shoulders.

“Chagiyah!” [honey] A clear voice chimed. “We’re classmates again.”  It was his girlfriend of two years, Hyo Rin. She had a bright and happy face and half long light brown hair that now rubbed against his cheek. Han Sung placed his hand on hers and smiled faintly. “I thought you were gonna pick me up this morning.” She let go and stood in front of him, her big eyes peered into his as her mouth shaped into a pout.

“Sorry, had to discuss some stuff with my manager.”

Other people entered the classroom. And Ki Won couldn’t decide who to look at first.

“Wait, is that?” Ki Won hissed. Hwan nodded.

“Yeah.” Hwan let his gaze wander over the classroom which was starting to fill. Most of the faces were familiar to him and it felt surreal. This was probably going to be a year where a lot of people with big ego’s had to get along. He grinned at the thought.

Ki Won grabbed a notebook and a pen out of his bag.

“Do you think people would mind if I asked them for autographs?” So Hee rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you have any sense of pride?” So Hee’s eyes darted to the doorway, where soccer star Baek Hae Yoon stood, his white teeth flashing from his well defined lips. Ki Won quickly hid his face behind his notebook while So Hee almost fell off her chair. “Forget an autograph, where’s my camera?” She hiccupped when she regained her ability to speak.

Hae Yoon smiled at all the faces looking at him admiringly. They must have all heard about the offer Juventus had made for him. And if it were to happen, he would be able to leave this idiotic school ASAP.  Then again, the fact that this was a class filled with celebrity kids, probably meant that a lot of the girls here were absolute babes.

He recognized Ki Won and waved.

“Oh no.” Ki Won blurted. “He saw me.” Hwan gave him a puzzled look. “Remember the Pocari Sweat CF last year that I had to do?”  Ki Won whispered quickly, since Hae Yoon was strutting their way. “ Well he was in it too. I’ve never met anyone so annoying!”

“Beside yourself?” So Hee quipped. Ki Won glared at her.

“Ki Won-ah!” A low voice rang. Hae Yoon dropped in the seat beside him and patted him on the back.  “Too bad you won silver yet again.”

“Funny, I didn’t know we were on first name terms.” Ki Won snapped and looked the other way.

“ Ah don’t be a stranger now. What about all those days we spent last year? Did you already forget it?” Ki Won huffed in response. “I’ve never seen anyone run so slowly. I think even PD Kang went faster and he weighs what? 120 kgs?” Hae Yoon sniggered. “ But I guess that’s why you chose skating huh?” 

“Baek Hae Yoon likes to organize little competitions.” Ki Won clarified and then Hae Yoon went into the particulars of all his winnings. Hwan noticed that So Hee was hanging onto his every word, which was a strange sight. 

“Oh, there’s Chae Ra.” Hyo Rin squealed and she ran off to greet her well-dressed friend. For the past few minutes she had been busy with what seemed to be the grooming of Han Sung. Han Sung had been a bit annoyed by it, but kept his silence. Something more irritating than Hyo Rin plucking at him was to hear her preaching about looking properly. Sometimes he felt like he was her play doll, the way she told him how to dress up and what to do with his hair. Just to spite her, he had shaved it off last month and as expected, she had thrown a big fit.

He turned around and looked at the girl with the big scarf. He was pretty sure it was Jang Ha Na, an classical artist he had admired for a while now. She had a unique style of playing and a f*ck the world attitude he could never pull off. He was used to seeing her in ill-fitted dresses on TV or photo’s, but in person she looked even more freakish. Maybe she was just a weirdo after all.

***

The class door closed with a bang and a lot of students jumped of their chair in surprise. Their homeroom teacher was not the stuffy 30 year old maiden most of them were expecting, but a handsome man who could’ve easily been passed off as a model. He wore khaki colored trousers and a light grey shirt, his face was unshaven, giving him a rougher look. Most girls gasped as they saw their new teacher heading for his desk, already imagining the star-crossed love story that a teacher-student relationship would ultimately entail.

The teacher, Sung Jae Soon peered around the room. He tried to identify the feeling that was welling up inside him: was it, contempt? About twenty youngsters, most of them good looking, wealthy, arrogant probably and totally unaware of the life the less fortunate had to live. Sure, he had been blessed with a good face himself, but what good did that do when you came from the dumps? When all your hard work had amounted to..being a teacher of a bunch of nitwits.

The head master of the school had assigned him to this special project over his seniors, because he was a well-liked, but strict teacher. Jae Soon saw it more as a punishment however and wondered what he had done in his former lives to deserve all this bullsh*t.

“So here we all are. My name is Sung Jae Soon and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for your senior year here. I guess you all know it’s the first year for the SCTP, or the Special Children Teaching Program. Honestly, that name makes me think I’m teaching a class of mentally challenged children, which might very well be the case here.” Most of the students sniggered, though the tone of his voice suggested he might be serious about that one. “Anyway, since most of you won’t be able to follow classes 6 days a week, this will probably be the only time we will all be present. Let’s check who showed up for today.”

He started calling the names on his list.

Da In looked at the teacher. He was hot, but something in his eyes was a bit unnerving. He didn’t seem very fond of them and the term had only just started. She looked sideways at Ha Na who seemed awestruck. Da In felt like she might be the odd one out here.

“Han Woo Cheol.” Teacher Sung said, but no one replied. Ha Na gave a disappointed sigh. One of the reasons that she had been excited by this special class was that she would finally be able to sit in the same classroom as Woo Cheol. And now he was nowhere to be found.

“Okay, second no-show after Choi Eun Soo.” Teacher Sung mumbled and continued. “Jang Ha Na.” Ha Na raised her hand and smiled happily to give off a good first impression. “Do you have pneumonia or something?” Ha Na shook her head. “No? Then take that ridiculous scarf off.” Teacher Sung ordered while most of the students started laughing. Ha Na tried to quickly take off the scarf, but her earring got stuck in the threads and finally an exasperated Da In helped her out.

“Jung Chae In. Kang Jae Hwan. Kim Ki Won. Kwon Ji Woo. Lee Han Sung. Lee Na Young.” Da In lost interest and started reading the first pages in her history book until her own name got called out.

Only two people were missing in the classroom, but nobody knew they were already in the school and seconds away from a fateful encounter. 

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Sidenotes:

I'm using a few Korean words here and there to create a more Korean feeling. I also try to use Korean titles, but I will make sure I explain m all. If you find this annoying just let me know and I'll try to change it in the future.