Chapter 1 -The Equation of Mischief

Jin was a transfer student from a small village in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do. A top student at his previous school, he was praised for his good looks and excellent academic performance in all his subjects. Everything was paradise until his family decided to move to Seoul to find better opportunities and livelihood. He was an only child, his family had divorced when he was 7 years old, and now he lived with his mother and grandmother.

Start of 1st year College Year>>>

"Good morning, everyone. We have a new student joining us today, Kim SeokJin..." Miss Dana, the professor, introduced Jin to his class.

"Oh, he's cute." Every girl in the class whispered.

"There are a lot of vacant seats. Sit anywhere you'd like." Miss Dana smiled politely at Jin.

Jin bowed his head with a smile, immediately capturing everyone's hearts. They found him quite charming.

"Taking the top spot would be easy," Jin thought as he grinned and went to find a seat.

"Alright, listen up!" Miss Dana shouted in front of the class as she began her lesson reviewing.

"Hi, you can sit here," a random girl offered a seat next to her.

"No! You can see much clearer in front if you sit beside me!" Another girl offered a seat, "No! Here..." Then another one, "This seat..." And another one, and another one.

Jin was putting on a fake smile, you could clearly see that he had enough. He looked around and saw a guy sitting far behind in the corner all alone. "Oh, no need, I'm much safer far behind, thanks for the offer though." He smiled softly.

"Safer?..." The girls were baffled at first but were then instantly melted by his smile.

Jin went far back to the corner to greet his new seatmate.

"Hey there." Jin waved but got no response.

The guy was quiet as a mute. Jin noticed his tattoo and the glances from other students and thought he was trouble. "He must be a dropout," he thought, and decided not to befriend him.

Jin sat far beside him. "It's better to stay away from him." Jin peeked at him when suddenly Miss Dana called.

"Namjoon," Miss Dana politely called him, "Why don't you try to answer this equation?"

"Oh, so his name is Namjoon," Jin quietly said and looked at the given equation on the board.

"It's... complex, what tf, how can you even solve it?" Jin mumbled in frustration as he tried to figure out a way to solve it.

"Are you kidding me?" Namjoon uttered, as he stood and went to the front.

"Right! This equation is unsolvable, even a dropout like him sees that." As he thought in his mind.

The silence grew louder with anticipation. Every student inside the room knew what came next, except for Jin.

Namjoon stood there quietly observing the equation that was given to him. He then let out a big sigh and uttered a word, "It's simple."

He then took the pen from his professor's hand and wrote the answer.

"What?! He must be joking." Jin scoffed at the thought of him answering the equation by only making a fool of himself.

As Jin observed him, he noticed every stroke of the pen led to a small fragment of connecting dots to the correct answer.

"...wait, it looks much simpler now... the answer is much clearer." Jin was stunned with disbelief. He couldn't take his eyes off of Namjoon. He had so many questions.

"How is he able to solve that?" Jin wondered in doubt as he looked around and saw people unconcerned about it. It almost seemed like they were used to it.

"Simple as that," Namjoon smirked as he handed the pen back to his professor and went back to his seat.

"Very splendid, Namjoon," Miss Dana praised in delight and continued the rest of the lesson.

"How come a guy like him is able to solve that..." He thought he was nothing but a troublemaker. "Unless...he cheated!" As he came to believe that.

Jin was infuriated. He kept staring at Namjoon looking for any cheat sheet.

"You're going to poke a hole in my face if you stare too much." As he turned his head, their eyes met. A dimple smile played on his lips.

Jin was startled for a moment by his smile. "I know you cheated..." He said, his voice blending in with the hushed murmur of the crowd.

Namjoon's smile faded as they locked eyes. A moment of silence stretched between them, Jin waiting for a response. A thought flickered through his mind.

"He's... not bad looking, I guess," he muttered, hating to admit it but knowing he was weak to good looks.

"You caught me," Namjoon sighed, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

But Jin, lost in his own thoughts, didn't catch the sarcasm. He hastily jumped to a conclusion.

"Aha! You cheated! I was right. How could someone like you get the right answer?" Jin declared, a confident grin spreading across his face.

"Someone like me… what do you mean?" Namjoon asked, crossing his arms and turning his whole body to face Jin.

Jin grinned, "A guy like you, who only does no good and causes mischief." He was certain.

Namjoon was speechless for a moment. He looked annoyed at first, but then he started to chuckle.

"What are you going to do about it? Do you have any evidence to your claim?" He tilted his head with a mischievous grin, his body language radiating playful energy.

Jin was caught off guard. The lack of remorse in Namjoon’s confession stung worse than a bees. His heart pounded with a mix of anger and confusion. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction, and it only added to his frustration.

"You… you don't even care?" Jin sputtered, his voice rising slightly. "You just admitted to cheating, and you're acting like it's no big deal?"

Namjoon raised an eyebrow, amusement still dancing in his eyes. "Cheating? Who said I cheated?"

"You did! You just admitted it!" Jin exclaimed, feeling a wave of anger rising inside him.

Namjoon shook his head, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face. "No, Jin. I said, you caught me. But I didn't say I cheated. I'm quite good at this, you know. Maybe you just haven't seen everything there is to see."

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs, and looked Jin straight in the eye. "I don't cheat, Jin. I'm simply better than you at math."

A wave of heat rushed through Jin's face. He had been so focused on his assumptions, so quick to judge, that he hadn't even considered the possibility that Namjoon was telling the truth.

"You think you're better than me?" Jin challenged, his voice laced with a mixture of defiance and insecurity. He had always prided himself on his intelligence, and to be called out so easily was a blow to his ego.

Namjoon smirked, amusement still flickering in his eyes. "I know I am."

Jin stared at him, his mind reeling. The challenge was clear, and the sudden spark of competition ignited a fire within him. He wasn't going to let Namjoon get away with this. He was going to prove him wrong.

"Fine," Jin said, pushing his chair back from the desk with a determined scowl. "We'll see about that."

Namjoon's smirk widened, a challenge of his own mirroring Jin's. "I'll be waiting," he said, and then, as if on cue, Miss Dana announced the start of a new lesson.

Jin sat back down, his eyes fixed on Namjoon, a silent promise brewing between them. This wasn't just about proving Namjoon wrong; it was about proving himself. This was about proving that he, Jin, was more than just a pretty face. He was ready for the challenge, ready to show Namjoon what he was truly capable of.

And as the first sparks of rivalry ignited, the first seeds of something more complex and intriguing were planted.

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...End of Chapter 1...

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