Chapter 1

"Hmm," Kolya groans at the sound of the alarm clock. He is aware that the little devil is ringing because it's already time to wake up, in spite of this; he still chooses to cover his face with the pillow.

It'll stop if you ignore it. This is his belief.

But it didn't.

"Nikolai!" The alarm clock stops ringing, but another sound hurts his ears.

"Wake up!" The sound is none other than the voice of Beth, his seventy two years old grandmother.

"You'll be late!" Beth is not just Kolya's second alarm clock, she's also like a hanger—an object used by Asian parents to hit every part of a child's body for being a pain in the ass.

Kolya is a pain in the ass, but instead of being hit by a hanger, he's being hit by Beth's metal like hand. Frankly, this is worse than a hanger.

"Five more minutes," the grandson whines, turning to the left side of the bed. He already memorized his grandmother's pattern of hitting so he can get away with it even if his eyes are tightly shut.

"I said wake up!"

Beth knew that Kolya takes a lot of time preparing because he easily gets distracted by literally anything.

"Oh! Noah-hyung, where did you get this!?" See? He's distracted now. Kolya forgot how sleepy he was when he sees a hand mixer in their table.

"I bought it." Noah, Kolya's hyung, says. Hyung is the Korean term used by boys to address their older brother.

The siblings' father is pure blooded Korean. However, their dad left them during their toddler stage so they refused to talk about him. They haven't even been in Korea yet. Their mother, on the other hand, is a resident of the country where they’re currently living. Sadly, she died upon giving birth to Nikolai—rendering the two brothers orphans. Luckily, Beth, the spinster aunt of their father, decided to adopt them.

As of the moment, Beth and her two grandsons are staying at a small apartment located in Abelia City, the capital of the country where they live.

"—Because I'm planning to sell strawberries and cream sandwich,"

Kolya isn't listening anymore. He's busy using the hand mixer to mix whatever ingredients there is in the bowl. His hyung didn't stop him so he assumed that what he's doing is okay.

He is aware that he should be eating his breakfast now; otherwise he'll be late in his second day at Morello University.

Nikolai and his family used to live in Oakwood Province. Beth owns a piece of land in the mentioned place; she is a farmer—was a farmer. She's officially jobless now that they moved here in the city.

Actually, they didn't want to move but then Kolya got a scholarship at Morello University. The privilege includes 100% paid school fees, housing allowance, (luckily the school agreed to let him live in an apartment and not a single space dorm. He also told the administration that he'll only accept the scholarship grant if he's allowed to bring his family in the city to live with him.) Other necessary expenses related to school are also covered by the university.

 Nikolai grabbed the opportunity because it's his only way to climb into the pyramid of social stratification. As much as Beth wants to enroll him into a university, she can't. Her salary is just enough for their physiological needs.

"Try this," Noah hands the strawberries and cream sandwich to his dongsaeng (younger brother.)

"Oh wow~" Kolya didn't reach out for the sandwich, he just straight up takes a bite from his brother's hand.

"What do you think?" The older boy’s eyes sparkle. He adores Kolya's expressive face a lot.

"It's as fresh as halmeoni's strawberries," Kolya take another bite.

Noah feeds the younger boy happily.

"Yeah, it's from our farm."

Oakwood is a two to three hour drive away from the city. Noah plans to use their old delivery truck to go to their farm every harvest season to pick up and sell their crops.

Mr. Cruz, a farmer and close friend of their halmeoni (grandmother) takes care of their land in Oakwood. Beth just gives her co-farmer some incentives for this.

It's not that hard. Noah doesn't have anything better to do. He's three years older than Kolya; he then decided not to enroll in a university because he figured that their halmeoni needs some help at the farm. Besides, he claimed that he doesn't have any concrete plan for the future. He didn't want to waste his limited time and resources in doing something he's not sure he likes.

Noah is the exact opposite of Kolya. The latter is full of dreams. He believes that he can reach his goals through his passion for dancing and consistency. He's so good at moving his body that's why out of three hundred fifty seven applicants; he is the one who got accepted in Morello University.

The semester already started and he's one term late. The principal assured him that he'll be able to catch up since he's majestic.

The major Kolya has chosen is good for three years only since it's not an academic degree. Most of the students who chose this kind of course end up as professional dance instructor, choreographer, country's representative during competitions, and the most rewarding of all: an artist.

Artist of the top entertainment agencies. They can be a solo artist or a member of a group.

"Hyung, can you make some more for me?" The student abruptly stands up when he sees the time.

It's already 7:28am. His first class starts at 8am. He should hurry up because he still needs to take a shower and catch the bus.

"Kolya, you forgot this!" Beth goes after her grandson. Thankfully Kolya heard him. The older seriously doesn't have the energy to run more than three meters away from their small abode.

"Thanks, halmeoni!" He snatches the umbrella from Beth. "See you later!" And then he kisses her cheek.

Kolya reached the university's gate at exactly 7:54am. He smiles at himself when it started to drizzle. Thank heavens his grandmother ran after him. He can't afford to show up in class when he's soaked in the rain.

He needs to build a good image. His first week should be calculated. He should show everyone that he's a treasure because the university is paying a lot of dollars just to help him reach his dream. He cannot fail them.

The cold wind blows. Kolya giggles for the reason that he almost flies away with his umbrella.

He's about to run toward the classroom building when someone suddenly pulls him. He isn't able to see the person who snuck an arm around his waist.

"Hello," the person didn't last long to be anonymous, though. After being dragged into the back of the building, Kolya comes face to face with them.

Them as in plural, as in people and not just a person. Five students corner him.

"H-Hi..." Kolya smiles weakly. He isn't sure whether he should be happy to meet new people or be scared because they're looking at him as if they're about to end his life.

"You're Nikolai Park right?" One of the guys asks.

The victim nods his head. Victim = Kolya. These five male students appear to be the bullies you watch in movies. Even the way they look fits the character of a bully. You know, the stereotypical look: lip piercing, the first four buttons of their uniform are open, their hair is full of wax, and their bodies are damn big—like they can crush Kolya in a blink of an eye.

 "You humiliated Gold yesterday...."

Kolya creases his forehead. He isn't sure what this guy is talking about. He didn't humiliate anyone yesterday. He doesn't even know who 'Gold' is.

"I think you got the wrong boy." He scowls.

He met many students yesterday, but he doesn't remember anyone that goes with the name Gold. Is Gold even a person?

What if these people are just playing him? What if they are really bullies who do not have anything better to do aside from annoying weak students?

Kolya might look feminine, but he's hiding muscles under his uniform. He works out a lot so he's really strong. He can probably punch these boys hard in the face.

Or....

He can just run.

He isn't stupid. There are five of them. He might be strong, but you know what they say, quantity matters.

"Oh. It's the bell." He points out when the school bell rings. "I'm going to be late. Bye!" And so Kolya runs.

He runs away so fast. The sad thing is; the bullies are able to corner him again. This time, they didn't just stand tall to intimidate Kolya. They actually start throwing punches at him.

"No one messes with Gold!"

Kolya's lips bleed. His head spins for the reason that the biggest among the bullies punch him in the nose.

He falls on the ground when one of them punches him for the—well, he lost count. His eyes are getting blurry as well. He can't even beg them to stop so it's obvious that he won't be able to count the number of punches he's getting.

This is a horrible second day of school. Kolya cannot believe this. He's already living in the modern times, there are cameras everywhere and people are more educated—especially about the effects of violence. How can Morello, a prestigious university, still accept delinquent students?

This whole situation is absurd!

Kolya curls into a ball. He's barely conscious. The rain streams down his cheek—making it hard for him to distinguish raindrops from his tears.

He feels sick.

"Stop it."

Somewhere along the punches and blood, he hears footsteps and a voice full of authority.

Kolya crinkles his eyes—trying so hard to peer at the person standing before his curled up body.

"He humiliated you, Gold." The bully says.

The abused student crinkles his eyes more. Gold? So...Gold is really a person?

"And you're pissing me off. Leave, Christopher."

The five bullies grant Gold's order. They turn to leave, but not before kicking Kolya in the chest for the last time.

Nikolai coughs. He wipes the raindrops staining his eyes and cheek. He can't breathe.

"T-Thank you," Kolya blinks to clearly see the face of the boy who just helped him.

He wipes his face once again. He tries to sit down too. When he's already comfortably seated on the floor, he stares at Gold harder.

The guy looks familiar. Kolya strives to remember where he saw Gold. It's impossible to forget a face like him. He's the only one who can sport a black bowl-cut like hairstyle and still look so fine. 

"Why'd you do it?" Gold raises his thick brow, pursing his lips when the rain drops on it.

"Oh." Kolya copies his expression. Gold's question made Kolya realize who this man is.

Gold is his classmate in Mr. Song's class. He used to be the center in their dance group performance. Kolya failed to recognize his name because their instructor calls him by his family name: Adana

He also realizes that the reason why the bullies cornered him was because of Gold. Kolya believes that the golden boy is embarrassed because the former stole the latter's position.

"You stole my position."  Gold confirmed his hunch.

Kolya blinks. His mouth goes dry because he's misunderstood. Of course he wants to fulfill his dreams, but he will never step on other people's feelings just to get what he desires. He only felt uncomfortable watching Gold being grilled by Mr. Song. He just stepped up because Gold looked like he's suffering. His grandmother told him to always help someone in distress, especially when he knows that it is within his power to somehow lessen the pain of that person.

Kolya didn't steal his spotlight. He just didn't want Gold to be embarrassed that's why he executed the dance move.

He stares into Gold's angry eyes.

"Because you were having a hard time." Kolya finally answers, making Gold flinch. He also takes a step back when the dance position thief gets on his feet—his legs wiggle a little.

"See you around, Gold." He walks away, leaving the golden boy whose anger is rapidly boiling down to guilt.