#atomhome19

@atxpremier

First days were tough for everyone. At least that's what he was told by the scouts who had visited him at his old home. First days were tough, but everyone else is probably just as, if not more anxious than you are.

Looking at the man in front of him, Haneul had to strongly disagree with that generalization. It was bad enough that the man was an adult and physically a larger presence in the room, it definitely didn't help that the first thing on the to-do list for the first day was a health and mutation test.

He was sitting on a low examination table, but there was no way he was just going to let himself be examined.

"So what is your specialty?" the man asked him not unkindly. He probably saw hundreds of cases of different... mutations, and so it was nothing to him, but Haneul wasn't quite comfortable with disclosing personal details about himself with a stranger, especially when the one large room for health and mutation tests was split into two by a thin opaque veil so that the process could be more efficient.

Haneul tries to pretend not to hear, but can't avoid it any longer when the man takes the smallest step towards him. Fighting back the almost overwhelming urge to flinch, Haneul mumbles, "I have wings."

There is more to it than that but it's already more than enough information in Haneul's books. The man looks intrigued and stretches out a hand. And this is when Hanuel jerks away reflexively, banging his shoulder into the short table beside him and sending a glass jar of cotton pads falling to the floor. That was going to leave a bruise. The shattering sound is piercing to his eardrums and he yelps in surprise. His eyes, however, are fixed on the man's still outstretched hand.

"Sir, could... Could I p-pls ask that you don't t-touch me," he manages to get out, all the while pushing himself back as far as he can go without falling off the other end of the table. The man simply looks confused, "Son, I just need to check and make sure you're healthy."

The man didn't get it. He was going to touch him, he was going to- Haneul manages to stifle just the end of a shriek when the man's hand presses gently down on his shoulder. The man's other hand goes down to lift the ends of his sweater upwards, exposing skin and just the tips of his wings. He's not being rough at all, quite the opposite. But Haneul still freezes, eyes filling with tears of fear and his shaking starts up from his hands and intensifying until his whole body is quivering.

the semester commencement of the xavier’s school for the gifted has officially been announced, with the orientation week to begin the activities done in campus. there is incessant hustle and bustle across the hallways of the brand new building as students are assisted by the staff members in their adjustments to the new environment. faces, most of them foreign, swarm in the corridors of the campus, sleek with modern interior and idyllic exterior. during this very first week, the school is aiming to promote familiarity among the newly accepted students, as well as the staff members.

there will be no class within this timeframe, and instead, they will have five days, from 9am to 3pm with a lunch break at 12pm, to do activities expected to aid in the bonding. past the scheduled hours, students are free to roam in the campus, or vacate the premise to wander in the city as long as they’re back before 9pm — when the gates will be closed and security system activated. after finishing the move into the dormitories, students are expected to stay in their allocated accommodation to ensure that they get accustomed to where they will be staying for the entire semester.

the schedules for the orientation will begin with health and mutation tests for each student, which is a repeat of what was done during the enrollment in 2018. after that, students are divided into groups of six to eight, with a teacher or trainer leading them, to tour around the campus. they will be rotated, shown the functions of each room, including the auditoriums, classes, and most importantly, the training fields and chambers. students will not enter the simulation room, however, but it’s a stop in front of the doors. on the second day, they will be briefed on how to access facilities all around the campus, including the glass house and the libraries. technological advancements will also be introduced here.

wednesday will be when the games begin, with the students reallocated into different groups. it’s encouraged for students to befriend their group mates as the games will require teamwork. the next day is the city tour with xavier’s very own private school buses, colored silver; the staff acting as tour guides will give backgrounds of historical places for mutants, aware that most students, including those coming from seoul, aren’t familiar with the otherwise tightly wrapped stories. friday would be the quickest day, in which students are given their schedules for the semester, and also provided with free time to prepare for the next day. this is also a day when they can return home if they originally reside in seoul.

the closing ceremony is a homecoming of their own, a black tie party held in the campus’ esteemed main hall. there will be a plethora of foods and drinks, non-alcoholic. elegantly decorated with gold décor, the main hall also brandishes the vast dark night skies as its ceiling, a product of illusions maintained throughout the night. the party will officially begin after the headmaster’s welcome speech, and will end with the students either returning to their dorm or exiting the campus… perhaps to continue the party with their newly made friends. with the week coming to a conclusion, the semester is going to start on monday. welcome to seoul’s xavier’s school for the gifted.

atxclover

Dohyun was bored; mind numbingly bored , and if he didn’t do something about it soon, he would surely lose his mind. Arriving at the academy had captivated his attention for all of four hours before he started restlessly pacing. He wasn’t used to being in such a structured environment, with schedules and rules he needed to abide by. In all honesty, it was a welcomed change, but one that would take a lot more time for him to get used to.  This thought, however, did nothing to help ease his boredom and he ultimately made the decision to become more familiar with his surroundings.

It was orientation week, meaning that there were a number of different activities that he could potentially take part in, but there was only one he was interested in. He needed a pick me up after the events that had transpired a few days ago, and there was no better feeling than playing a game he knew he was sure to win. After his detention, he had been especially careful about using his powers, but this was harmless. It would purely be an opportunity for him to mingle with the other students while learning about what other abilities they had been gifted with.

Eventually his wandering had led him to one of the common rooms, where he immediately made his way to one of the game cabinets. They had the standard collection and assortment of board games and card games; typical, but to be expected. He really wasn’t too particular about which game he chose, but seeing the all too familiar cover of the Monopoly box filled him with comforting nostalgia. He knew the odds of someone coming by were rather high considering that everyone was probably out wandering and exploring their new surroundings. The game mechanics were also pretty simple, and required little to no effort when it came to changing around some of its outcomes.

@atxhwan

Haneul hadn’t really ever ventured out like this. Sure he had taken walks before, back even before he had started at Hangang Academy, but he was alone then. He didn’t want to trouble the doctor too much, so he had never asked. He figured the nice man had taken him in, so it would be rude to disturb him too much. 

But now, he was just walking down the street, hands in his pockets, and with a friend, no less. Hwan was an easy presence, and a good friend. It was surprisingly easy for Haneul to let down some of his guard around the guy. The physical contact part was hard at first, but it became easier as time passed by. 

He didn’t know if they had a specific destination in mind, actually. They had just decided that they wanted some fresh air, and that a trip outside of the school would be nice and refreshing. So far, it was. 

@atxclover

Haneul doesn't know of the classic games, let alone any of the more obscure party games that are going around. This new group decided to play some fun games to break the ice and get everyone happy and interacting with one another. And it was a good idea as well. It was just too bad Haneul knew nothing about playing any of these games.

He gets shuffled into a subgroup of students clustered around a pile of black and white cards. He doesn't have a clue as to what's in front of him, other than the fact that the cards have words on them, and people are laughing every so often. The words on the back of the cards say "Cards Against Humanity" but Haneul has no idea what that means either. So he stands near the edge of that group, looking on in confusion and curiosity, also hoping to make himself just scarce enough so that he doesn't get pulled in to join.

Things don't quite play out his way though, as he accidentally catches the group leader's eye, and he gets invited to be dealt a hand of white cards.

"N-No I'm fi-," the rest of his words get cut off as the group leader's hand gets dangerously close to his elbow, so he moves before contact can be made and sits down in the circle in front of his small pile of cards. Better embarrassment from being bad at a game then embarrassment at having a panic attack in front of his peers on the first day, right?

But there's a difference between being bad at a game and just not knowing how to play. One black card gets set down and snickers come from his left and right. Haneul looks at the words, slowly putting them together in his head. Reading has never been his strength. By the time he's processed the words, people have already offered one of their own white cards to the center. Haneul has in inkling that proper play of the game includes some sort of knowledge of references, but he doesn’t really know any of them... 

@atxasteria​

Haneul was lost. He had somehow managed to lose his group, during the tour, no less, and was aimlessly walking around, trying to see if he could miraculously stumble upon them again. There was a small directions board, and he figured he would try and make sense of where he was. The group had said they were going to visit a training room, but the letters on the board were less than helpful. He hadn't really had an education before, and his reading and writing skills were on par with that of a first grader. Actually first graders were probably more familiar with reading and writing than he was.

It took him a while, but the words on the board slowly started to make sense. "Caf...te...ria?" He mumbled the parts of the word before it clicked in his head what the word said. Cafeteria! Haneul's face broke into a small smile of success. Now to find the training room. Training should start with T-R, right? He was scanning the board for words that started with those letters, when he heard a condescending voice from just behind him.

"Are you actually lost in here? What were doing? Got lost in the big boy's section of the gift shop?" The insult didn't make much sense to Haneul; the school didn't have a gift shop. But he was aware that the tone wasn't a good one, and the mocking lilt gave away that he was being taunted. He stayed quiet, turning around to face not one but two physically larger males. Instantly, his fingernails found the palm of his hand and dug in as he tried not to have a panic attack right there. It probably wouldn't help his case.

"Are you a mute on top of being dumb? How long does it take someone to find a room on a map anyways? Can't you read, dumbass? Maybe your group ditched you because you're just dragging them down." 

atxmercury

The first week of school is proving to be testing for Haneul. It was mentally exhausting in itself, to remember what corridors led where, but to also have the energy to try and fail to figure out the variety of games being played was a much more difficult challenge for the boy. 

He’s sitting there, playing cards in hand, thank goodness he know what the symbols and numbers mean. Haneul also knows that there are 52 cards in each deck, as well as four of each number but with different symbols. But none of that knowledge is proving to be any help at all, as he sits there numbly, staring at the cards being played in front of him. The small part of his mind that is not frantically trying to make some sense of this game, is wondering idly how he got dragged in to play another game that he didn’t understand. Forget the wings, people are about to think he’s a freak just because he doesn’t know anything about the modern world. 

@atxyuki

He didn’t know how he had gotten himself in this situation. Perhaps it was more karma from his past finally getting in the blows he was owed? Or maybe it was just some odd glitch in the simulation that just so happened to work in his favor. Either way, for the first time since he had slipped away from the dishonest world of underground gambling, Dohyun found himself being challenged to a card game. It was inevitable, and he had known that sooner or later, he was going to personally be challenged to something of that nature; but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon

Things like this used to happen all the time, and he had grown used to humoring his opponents until he felt he’d milked them out of enough cash. However,  all of those other challenges had come from people who were clueless about his ability. They accused him of counting cards, hiding cards, and other forms of cheating, not knowing that he had the power of probability on his side; which was what made this challenge especially interesting. After a few days at the academy, everyone eventually grew more aware of each other’s powers, so even if this challenger didn’t know the exact mechanics of it, they still knew enough about his power to boldly challenge him. It was interesting, but still put him on edge.

Oddly enough, the challenge had come to him while he was trying to finish up his sandwich at lunch. He had been making small talk with some of the other people at his table in an effort to appear more sociable when he first heard the aggressive proposal.