”You do know that we can all barely breathe in here right? You're all aware that even if we take our last breath at this very second thanks to insufficient oxygen supply, it still wouldn't make a difference, right? He doesn't know she exists until this stubborn girl walks up to him and introduces herself!" Hyoyeon whined.

"Sssh!!! He might hear us! Omo he looked this way! Palli hide!" Sooyoung scolded.

"Aish! Ya! Can you two not squeeze me to death here?! I get that I'm a shortie but no need to make me feel the agony of my height by doing this!" Hyoyeon said angrily. 

Unintentionally, she pushed the two other girls who were crowding her space a little bit hard than what she expected. As a result, the youngest of the three tripped and lost her balance.

Seohyun thought that she was about to be humiliated in public by falling flat on her face until a pair of strong arms caught her just in the nick of time. Like a damsel swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor, she looked up to meet the concerned gaze of her hero.

"It's...Omo. It's Y-yonghwa sunbae. Omg what do I do?! What can I say?! I'm going to murder Hyoyeon unnie!!!" Seohyun panicked. 

"Uh..are you okay?" He asked warily.

"Murder." Seohyun blurted out. 

"I'm sorry?" He asked confusingly.

"Uh..u-unnnnieee." Seohyun stuttered. 

From the corner of her eye she could see her unnies giving her a thumbs up, and not being subtle about their overexcited reactions. They were beginning to draw in a crowd and the last thing Seohyun needs is to make a fool of herself in front of him. 

"Who? Are you sure you're alright? It's Joohyun, right? From the Performing Arts department?" He inquired.

"You know my name?" Seohyun asked, mentally slapping herself for looking so delighted that the question came out in a sing-song kind of voice.

He looked surprised and Seohyun could've almost sworn she saw him blush. He tried to clear his throat by coughing awkwardly, shuffling his foot to and fro as well as randomly fixing his fringe and black-rimmed glasses.

"Uhm...I.." He stuttered.

"Yes...?" Seohyun asked expectantly. 

"I read it on your I.D." He said while pointing to something.

"Oh." She tried not to sound disappointed but knew that she failed.

"I...I have to go. Uh, see you around. Don't go falling for, I mean to, another guy or uh something. Yeah, g-gotta go..."

He missed a step and tripped a little. Embarrassed, he quickly grabbed his thick hardcover books, looked left and right, stood up straight and pretended that nothing happened.

"See? Guess, uh, I'm t-the one falling head over heels, or crap that's so uh, forget it. What I mean is, I'm running late and I, yeah I h-have to go. See you around Seo Joohyun-sshi." 

He made a dash before she could even utter a reply. So much for getting her hopes up about having a longer conversation with him.

"You're wrong! He knows uri maknae exists!!! Manseeee! Time to pay up honey!" Sooyoung rejoiced.

Hyoyeon grumbled as she reached for bills and paid her debt. Meanwhile, Seohyun was still in a trance, repeatedly mumbling something like,

"He..Yonghwa sunbae... Knows my name. He knows I exist in this planet! He even knows which department I'm in!" 

"What is wrong with her?" Seohyun heard Hyoyeon ask as she felt herself pulled away.

"Lovestruck." Sooyoung replied with a cheerful laugh.

"Seohyun-ah, done with the boy watching? Got your daily dose of eye candy? Can we go back to the dorm now? Please?" Sooyoung pleaded.

Seohyun was oblivious to her unnie's cry as her eyes focused on the cafe's handsome barista. She wanted to strangle those girls who keep trying to make a pass on him but she also knew she had no right to exercise her jealous streak.

Once in a while, their eyes would meet. She'd blush and turn her head away too soon to realize that he too had a similar reaction.

"Oh quit it. Let the girl look at her unrequited love for another hour or so. Besides, we get free food so why bother complaining?" Hyoyeon contradicted.

"Because we've been here for four hours now and I haven't eaten a decent meal since getting out of bed! I haven't even done my homework!" Sooyoung argued.

"Since when did you get so concerned about homework, Choi Sooyoung-sshi? Last time I checked, you got exempted for your finals thanks to that project of yours." Hyoyeon laughed.

"Well I've got other subjects I want to study!" Sooyoung debated.

"Look Choi Sooyoung. We're not in high school anymore. I get that you're smart and on the road to a successful career but you gotta spill the beans and tell me why the hell are you in a hurry to leave this place." Hyoyeon threatened.

Sooyoung's shoulders slumped as she resigned to tell the truth.

"I don't want my ex thinking I'm stalking him, okay? I know it's just coincidence but I still have some pride left that I want to save." She admitted as she pointed to a couple. Hyoyeon nodded in understanding.

"Hyunnie I think we should go.." Hyoyeon said.

"Omo unnie he's heading this way! Quick! Pretend to laugh at something!" Seohyun panicked.

"You want me to what?!" Hyoyeon asked disbelievingly.

"I think the poor girl wants you to laugh." Sooyoung snorted, still trying her best to conceal her face.

"Quick!!! Unnie please! Laugh like I said something funny!!!" Seohyun begged.

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon exchanged looks and just sighed. The things they do for their baby girl...they laughed like there was no tomorrow, trying their best to look and sound like the three of them were having a typical conversation when the cute barista reached their table.

"We've got everything we need, thank you." Seohyun said automatically, trying not to stare long enough at him.

"The sky is blue. Gogumas are brown. And so are Jung Yonghwa's eyes..and his glasses are black..he looks so y with his sleeves rolled up like that and he's wearing an apron!! And.... Seohyun stop!!! Stop before you melt like chocolate!" Seohyun scolded herself.

"Uh, okay. That's good. I was just, uh, saying, I mean, we're closing early today...boss has an emergency to attend to.." Yonghwa informed.

Feeling embarassed and anxious, Seohyun started gathering her things.

"Oh okay no problem we're about to leave now and Sooyoung unnie has a homework and.."

"No, I don't." Sooyoung smiled mischievously. Seohyun glared at her.

"Yes, you do, unnie." Seohyun insisted.

"It can wait." Sooyoung smiled. She then turned her attention on the barista, pretending to read his nameplate though she already knew who he is.

"So, uh, Yonghwa-sshi. Would it be fine if we stay for at least five more minutes? I don't want an indigestion or so..." 

"Unnie..." Seohyun hissed. 

"Not to mention we got some sort of an emergency.." Hyoyeon added.

Seohyun loves her roommates to death and by death she might actually take that in its literal meaning. 

"What can I do to help?" Yonghwa asked earnestly.

Seohyun stepped on both her unnies' feet, they winced in pain but the two were determined to push through with this.

"See, uri Seohyun..she likes y-oumakandumpf!!!" 

Seohyun successfully shoved some donut before Hyoyeon could even announce her long guarded secret. While she was preoccupied with her Hyoyeon unnie, Sooyoung didn't hesitate to grab the chance.

"What she meant to say was, can you help heal uri Seohyun's broken heart?" 

Mortified, Seohyun tried to think of immediate ways to mutilate her other unnie.

"I don't know how I can possibly help..." Yonghwa answered in a confused state.

"I think we go to the same university right? I swear I saw you around campus. Aren't you pre-med?" Sooyoung asked confidently.

"I'm taking up pre-law/he's a pre-law student!" Seohyun and Yonghwa answered at the same time. 

Both Yonghwa and Seohyun were caught in surprise. He for the fact that she knows his major and she for the fact that he finally knew that she knew him or his major. Or something like that. They exchanged brief looks and blushed, trying to put an end to such an awkward situation by faking coughs or diverting to other unnecessary topics. 

Hyoyeon and Sooyoung wanted to laugh at the two's awkwardness but before they could, Seohyun got up and dragged the two.

"We really have to go. Sorry." Seohyun mumbled as she embarked on her great escape.

As soon as they got out of the cafe, they knew the youngest occupant of Dorm Room # 937 would not hesitate to strangle them, and so, both Hyoyeon and Sooyoung ran for their lives. 

"For the nth time Hyunnie, none of these stalking would help you get the guy!" Sooyoung complained. She was almost breathless and dead tired.

"Unnie, we're not stalking anyone. We're jogging, remember?" Seohyun batted her eyelashes innocently.

"And that doesn't have anything to do with the guy studying over there?! Yuhoo!! Black glasses! Yes you! You got yourself an admirer here!!!" Sooyoung called over to Yonghwa. 

Seohyun was able to hide both of them behind a tree before Yonghwa could recognize their figures. 

"Sssh! Not too loud unnie!" Seohyun warned.

"I thought you said this wasn't about stalking a guy." Sooyoung laughed.

"It's not." Seohyun said defensively. 

"Of course it isn't." Hyoyeon, who was left out from the jog, finally caught up.

Seohyun looked across their shoulders and felt saddened to see Yonghwa gone. Dejected, she decided to brush it off and instead challenged her unnies to a race. Obviously, she won...if second place means anything to a group of three. Perhaps it does because she wouldn't be the one stuck to buy some refreshments.

"Hey! I'm coming with you! Wait up!" Sooyoung called out to Hyoyeon. 

Seohyun was too tired to even stop her unnies from leaving her alone for a while. She figured that the other may need some help with the drinks. She lied on the grass and covered her eyes with her arms. She must’ve fallen asleep or so until the feeling of thirst became unbearable. Almost ten minutes passed and still, her unnies were still out of sight.

She felt something cold come in contact with her shoulder so she sat up and sighed in relief .

“Finally you’re back! I thought was going to die of thirst. Thanks by the way. What is this? It’s officially my new favourite drink!” Seohyun said as she happily gulped in one go.

“Uh, actually, it’s just…mineral water?” 

She almost splurged out or choked on the drink upon hearing the low-toned voice. 

“Soo and Hyo unnie!!!” Seohyun repeatedly chanted in her mind as if those names were vile enough to be a curse.

“Joohyun-sshi?” Yonghwa called her nervously, unsure if he should touch her shoulder or not. 

“Sh*t. He called me by my real name!!! Help!"  Seohyun felt the butterflies going wild.

 She looked towards her left but was surprised to find only 5cm distance from his face. Unnerved and deliriously happy, she felt her face start to burn.

“Uh..I.. Hi! Bye! Thanks!” That’s all she could say as she got up on her feet and ran towards the two culprits she saw hiding behind the tree.

“If I’m going to find this book, I’m going to need more information other than “the cover is blue.”” A cranky girl said.

“Sorry to break it to you honey but that’s the only thing I can come up with now. Can you do your job and just find the damn book?!” Sooyoung demanded irritatedly.

Seohyun and Hyoyeon pulled her over to the side and apologized in her stead. If they didn’t break out the catfight, it would’ve been a very ugly scene. It was the typical ex  vs. present girlfriend kind of thing. 

“What? She’s so rude!” Sooyoung said defensively.

“What do you expect? She’s a high school kid! You should know better than picking up a fight with someone obviously not up to par with you.” Hyoyeon scolded. 

“Oh, hey, do you happen to know where the a or Adult Romance book section is located?” She suddenly stopped a random bookstore employee. The young man blushed upon hearing the genre but just pointed nonetheless to its location.

“Thanks. You’re such a sweetheart.” Hyoyeon blew him a flying kiss and dragged the two to that corner. She was happily absorbed in going through the latest titles to pay attention to the two.

"How can you dog-ear a page?! That's disrespecting the book!" Sooyoung cried dramatically.

The poor unsuspecting victim was at a loss on how to react to the stranger's outburst. Seohyun pulled her unnie aside before she could create more drama.

"Just let her be, please? Her cat died two days ago." Seohyun mumbled in apology. The older girl looked at Sooyoung with sympathy, even giving her a pat on the shoulder and saying,

"I'm sorry for your loss but I know you'll make it through this tough period." The lady said.

Sooyoung was confused and taken aback by the lady.

"I told her your cat died, and hep! Before you react and tell me that you have no pets since you're all