Weak. Oblivious. Meek. Those were words that would describe Byun Baekhyun. He just couldn't fit in no matter how hard he tried. Maybe it was his personality that prevented him from being social but before he knew it, fourth year of college came around and he still had no one to talk to. Because of this Baekhyun was the perfect target for many people. Whether it was to take advantage of him by passing on assignments to him or just outright bully him, it all happened one way or another. Teachers didn't really care since this was college and students should be able to take care of themselves by now. Their motto was "this is the real world, mommies don't exist." 

 

Walking to school was the norm for Baekhyun everyday. He couldn't bother his mother by asking her to drive him every morning. It's was only a thirty minute walk anyway so it wouldn't hurt to get some exercise. While walking down the stony path Baekhyun observes his surroundings. There are little stores lined up to his left, some restaurants while others are shopping stores. Trees line the walkway to his right and looking beyond them gives the observer a beautiful scenery of the city below. Noises bring Baekhyun out of his reverie and he notices kids running in the opposite direction of where he is going. They are so excited that one of them crashes into Baekhyun's legs.

 

"Hyung, I'm very sorry." The little boy starts to sniffle.

 

"Oh I'm okay. There's no need to cry now." Baekhyun assures the boy that he is fine and no damage is done.

 

The boy smiles a smile so big that it lights up Baekhyun's face. He walks up to Baekhyun and wraps his arms against Baekhyun's legs to give him a big fat hug.

 

"Hyung you are so nice...and pretty," the boy mumbled something but Baekhyun was only able to catch the beginning of the sentence since he was pressed up against his legs. The little boy lets go and smiles one more time towards the college boy.

 

"Hyung my name is Luhan and I really really like you. Can we be friends? Promise me we can be friends please?" The little boy known as Luhan grabs Baekhyun's hands into his and connects their pinkies together. "I hope we can meet again since we're friends now."

 

Baekhyun is dumbfounded at the new friend he just made without him knowing. He watches as the boy runs off to rejoin his other friends to continue their way before his crash. Baekhyun smiles to himself thinking about what just happened. He made a friends even though his friend was only in middle school judging by how small he was and his direction of his destination. Schools in that direction only contained middle and high schools. He wasn't old enough to be attending the ladder so it must be the former. 

 

Thinking about friendship brings nostalgia to Baekhyun about his friends in his hometown off in the country side. He misses them so dearly. It's been four years since he moved to the city with his mother for college and his mother, her job. He remembers waking up early in the morning on weekends just so he and his friends could go play all day long. Running through the small town they lived in and going swimming in the lake that was only half a mile away from their town. Riding horses all day and helping his father and uncle attend to the little restaurant the family owned. What a rush it was when he and his friends would try to run away from the group  of bullies that liked to hurt others. He remembers when he and his friends pranked the bullies by replacing all their ketchup for their French fries with ddukbboekki sauce. That day the whole cafeteria sure did have a laugh. And the fun didn't end there. It continued even after school when the group of bullies barged into their classroom at the end of class and at that time Baekhyun remembered thinking that he and his friends were so screwed. But what he didn't expect was for him and his friends to jump out the open window to escape their demise. Baekhyun laughs thinking about how lucky hey must have been that their classroom was on the first floor. But all this fun had to stop at some point. High school was ending and he had to open the door to his next point in life. They all had to. Some applied to colleges while others stayed behind to help their families. Baekhyun had applied to Seoul University because not to sound conceited but he was number one in his school. He really didn't think he would get in so imagine his excitement when his acceptance letter came and it was so convenient considering his mother just got a promotion but had to be transferred to the city. He remembers the goodbyes and farewells everyone had said to him. On the last night before he had to leave the next morning, his friends threw him a farewell party. He remembers crawling on everyone shoulders but it was not out of sadness,it was out of excitement and happiness because he was finally able explored what else there was to outside of his hometown. In his excitement the sadness and longing didn't kick in until half way through his first year of college. Especially when it was so hard for him to make friends. 

 

Baekhyun thought college was a new start and there would be people from all over the place that it wouldn't be so hard to make friends but oh how wrong he was. Apparently many people already had their social circles that it was too late for Baekhyun to join any. When ever he tried though, he would end up stuttering and the groups of people would stare at him weirdly. In the end all his attempts were a failure and he gave up. What was the point of trying if no one was going to give him a chance? So everyday for the last four years has been the same. Go to school, learn, lunch, learn, and go home. Sometimes Baekhyun would take detours from school to go home just to explore the neighborhood that situated outside the city. This also gave Baekhyun some peace to let's his thoughts loose.

 

Just a few more blocks and he would reach his destination. A place that brings unfamiliarity and solitude to Baekhyun. He really did want it to be the place for him to enjoy and want to go to everyday. Well there's nothing he can do now. It's going to be his last year here anyway. 

 

Baekhyun looked up from watching his feet and saw the big campus one block away now. The majority of Baekhyun's classes were in the main campus. There were many steps leading up to the building that he had to go to. Trees lined both sides of the stairways and created a beautiful path for students to cruise through. It was so beautiful.  Baekhyun still couldn't believe that he was one of the few that were selected to attend to this amazing place. 

 

Walking up the steps slowly Baekhyun finally reached the main doors. Closing his eyes and counting to ten Baekhyun reopened his eyes and placed a hand on the door handle. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and braced himself for another day at college.