Before the First Snow Falls

Ariel Han has spent the last five years counting down the days until she can leave Seoul behind. At fifteen, the Korean-American finally gets the acceptance letter she’s been waiting for: admission into one of Seoul’s most prestigious high schools. It should be exciting. Instead, there’s only one thing on her mind when she sees the school’s name—Jun-Seo goes there. The son of her parents’ longtime business partners and one of the heirs to one of Korea’s biggest media companies, Jun-Seo has been part of Ariel’s life for years. Their families work together, their parents expect them to get along, and Ariel already knows exactly what kind of trouble he is. On her first day, Jun-Seo introduces her to his friends with one warning: Ariel is off limits. But the warning has the opposite effect. Ha-Joon—quiet, sharp, and impossible to read—is immediately curious about the girl Jun-Seo is so determined to keep everyone away from. Ariel wants nothing to do with either of them. She already has a plan: survive high school, go back to New York, and get into Parsons to study fashion design. Seoul is temporary. This school is temporary. None of these people are supposed to matter. Until they do