On August 3, 2009, at 5 o'clock in the morning, before the alarm clock rang, Ouyang Guang opened his eyes.

Outside the window came the sound of rain drops, hitting the glass with a slight tapping sound.

The summer rain in Seoul comes quickly and heavily. Ouyang Guang lay on the bed, listening to the sound of rain and Park Junhao's snoring coming from the next room, which was somewhat blurred by the wall. His eyelids felt heavy as if they were filled with lead.

"Sleep for another hour..." He thought drowsily, burying his face in the pillow. He had been in the company for a week, and the high-intensity training made him sleep deprived every day. Every muscle in his body was sore, especially the continuous spinning practice in the dance class yesterday. His inner thighs were still aching.

The phone screen lit up in the darkness, showing 05:03. Ouyang stared at the number for a few seconds, and suddenly sat up with a start.

"I can't sleep." He rubbed his face hard, and his fingertips touched a pimple on his chin - the result of staying up late and being under a lot of pressure.

Ouyangguang got out of bed quietly, trying not to make too much noise.

Ever since he was assigned to live next to this room, Park Junhao never treated him well. The two of them lived in the same room but had almost no communication. There was always invisible hostility in the air. ——But it didn't matter. He wasn't here to please others.

The mirror in the washroom reflected a tired face, with obvious dark circles under the eyes. Ouyang Guang scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face. The biting coldness sobered him up a little.

Of course he knew why Park Junhao treated him like this.

Park Junhao in the next room has a prejudice against Chinese people from Z country. In addition, a very popular post on the Internet a few days ago - the revelation below about how he "sneaked a backdoor" into the company - made this person dislike him.

Not to mention those anonymous posts on the forum - "Trainee from Country Z secretly hides snacks" and "Making a phone call in Chinese in the middle of the night" - under each of them you can find traces of Park Jun-ho's likes.

I also heard from Kim Seung-hyun that before he moved in, Park Jun-ho's good friend originally lived in this dormitory, but now he has been transferred to another dormitory.

No wonder Li Boxun said "The dormitory has just been vacated" when he led him in that day.

Ouyang Guang wiped the water drops off his face, and the boy's eyes in the mirror gradually became sharper.

The dormitory arranged by the company was not something he had to beg for. Did he have to kneel down and beg Park Junhao for permission to move in? Since the other party had shown this attitude first, there was no need for him to swallow his anger.

Park Junhao coughed from the next room. Ouyang Guang squeezed the toothpaste slowly, thinking that this person's cough sounded artificial.

"Korean...performance...dance..." He recited the main points of today's lesson silently while brushing his teeth. He had not yet mastered the emotional outburst lines required by teacher Li Boyuan, and the thought of shouting those embarrassing lines in front of everyone made his ears start to burn.

After brushing his teeth, he deliberately slammed the toothbrush into the cup. The sound of metal collision was particularly harsh in the silent early morning.

——You dislike him? Coincidentally, he also felt the same way.

The phone screen lit up with a text message from Zhang Yixing: [Xiao Guang, it’s raining, remember to bring an umbrella. See you downstairs at six o’clock].

After staring at the smiley face for two seconds, Ouyangguang's mouth corners slightly raised, and he quickly recovered and put on his sportswear. It was raining heavily outside the window, so he picked up a long black umbrella and deliberately didn't use much force when closing the door.

As the elevator descended, he adjusted his hair against the metal door—black hair had begun to grow at the roots.

The lobby on the first floor was empty, with only the security guard on duty dozing off. Ouyang Guang swiped his card and went out. A cool breeze with a hint of rain blew in his face, and he subconsciously shrank his neck. In Seoul in August, there was a hint of early autumn coolness on a rainy day.

The company building is a ten-minute walk from the dormitory. Since Yixing hasn't arrived yet, Ouyangguang plans to go to the convenience store to buy some banana milk and bread for breakfast.

In the past few days, apart from having porridge with Brother Yixing in the morning, I drank the skim milk and nutritional supplements prepared by my mother, and was too lazy to find something to eat.

Ouyang Guang opened his umbrella, and the rain immediately beat on the umbrella in a dense rhythm. There were almost no people on the street at this time, only the occasional taxi passing by splashed water. He carefully avoided the puddles, but the edges of his sneakers were quickly wet by the rain.

"Hey, isn't this the kid from Country Z that Director Jin has been taking special care of?"

A sarcastic voice came from behind. Ouyang Guang didn't turn his head, but quickened his pace and continued to move forward. This week he had learned to ignore most provocations.

"Hey! Senior is talking to you!"

A hand suddenly grabbed his backpack strap, and Ouyang Guang was forced to turn around. Three tall boys stood in front of him. The leader also had dyed blond hair and was looking at him with contempt. None of the three had umbrellas, and their sports jackets were already mostly wet by the rain.

"Good morning." Ouyang Guang said in stiff Korean and nodded slightly.

"That's it?" The blond boy widened his eyes exaggeratedly, "You can't even bow to your seniors? You are indeed an uneducated foreigner."

Raindrops dripped down the edge of Ouyang Guang's umbrella, and a few drops splashed onto his sneakers. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. When he was in China, he hated this kind of seniority the most, but remembering Minzhi's warning - any conflict could lead to expulsion - he suppressed his anger and bent down stiffly.

"Ha! What kind of bow is that? You didn't even bend your waist 30 degrees!" The blond boy laughed loudly, and the rain flowed down his blond hair onto his face. "It seems that I need to teach you Korean etiquette."

Ouyang Guang felt a surge of blood rushing to his head. Just when he was about to explode, a figure picked up his black umbrella and stood beside him, shielding him from the falling rain.

"Good morning, Senior Zheng."

Zhang Yixing appeared beside him without knowing when, and was bowing to the blond boy at a standard 40-degree angle, his voice respectful but not servile. His umbrella was slightly tilted towards Ouyang Guang, but half of his shoulder was wet by the rain.

"He is a trainee from Class D who just came here. His Korean is not very good yet. If there is anything rude about him, I apologize to you on his behalf."

The blond boy - Senior Zheng - narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhang Yixing: "Zhang Yixing? Aren't you from Class C? What's your relationship with this kid?"

"A junior from the same company." Zhang Yixing replied with a smile, and at the same time quietly pulled the corner of Ou Yangguang's clothes, signaling him to follow suit.

Ouyang Guang took a deep breath and imitated Zhang Yixing's movements and bowed again: "I'm sorry, Senior Zheng. I will work hard to learn the etiquette of H country."

Perhaps it was Zhang Yixing's intervention, or perhaps it was because the rain was getting heavier, but Senior Zheng finally snorted and left. After the crowd dispersed, Ouyang Guang's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Thank you, brother." He whispered to Zhang Yixing, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of rain.

Zhang Yixing shook his head and switched to Chinese: "Korean seniors and juniors are very strict with their rules, especially for us foreign trainees. From now on, when you meet someone you don't know, as long as they look older than you, just bow and say hello first. It's never wrong."

Ouyang Guang curled his lips: "Hypocrisy."