Falling Into You

The new girl and the storm

It was the kind of morning that smelled like rain, but held no clouds.

Eve stood at the gates of Seoul International High School, her fingers nervously clutching the straps of her canvas backpack. Her eyes, a soft chestnut brown, scanned the bustling crowd of students pouring through the iron gates. Everything here felt louder, faster, sharper than her quiet countryside life. The polished black shoes, the laughter that carried arrogance, the indifference etched into every face—it was a different world.

She swallowed.

“Just one year,” she whispered to herself. “One year, then university.”

Eve had transferred mid-semester—something about her father’s new job in the city. But no one really cared about the details. All they’d see was a shy, plainly dressed girl who spoke politely and never raised her voice. She wasn’t flashy. She wasn’t loud. And that made her invisible here.

Or so she thought.

---

Han Jin was late again. Not because he overslept—he never did—but because he liked the silence right before class, the kind that only happened when everyone else was already inside. His motorcycle roared into the schoolyard, turning heads as it always did. The headmaster had already warned him three times: “No vehicles inside school grounds, Han Jin.”

He never listened.

He parked like he owned the place, swinging his leg over the seat with casual arrogance. Girls near the hallway windows giggled. Boys either hated or admired him—sometimes both. His uniform shirt was unbuttoned at the top, tie loose, blazer slung over one shoulder. A single silver chain peeked out from under his collar. He lit a cigarette just to annoy the guards.

Then he saw her.

She was staring at the school building like it might eat her alive. Small, wide-eyed, with a neat braid over one shoulder and a faded rabbit charm hanging from her backpack zipper. She didn’t belong here—and that intrigued him.

Han Jin exhaled smoke, tilted his head, and smirked.

“Lost, rabbit?”

Eve turned, startled. She blinked at the tall boy with black hair that kissed the edge of his eyes and a devil-may-care smile curling on his lips.

“Um... I’m not a rabbit,” she said quietly.

He chuckled.

“Sure you are. Look at you.”

Eve’s cheeks flushed. She wasn’t used to being teased—especially not by boys like him.

“I’m Eve,” she said, trying to summon some courage. “It’s my first day.”

He studied her. The way she looked down when she spoke. The way she clutched her bag like a lifeline.

“Han Jin,” he said, without offering a handshake. “Don’t get in my way, Eve.”

Then he flicked the cigarette onto the ground, stepped on it, and walked past her into the building—shoulders straight, confidence untouchable.

Eve stood there, heart thudding, unsure whether she had just met her first enemy................... or something far more dangerous.