Seulgi tripped over her own footing and face planted onto the floor when she realized what she was actually witnessing.

I immediately removed my hand from my pants and turned toward the wall, my face burning red in shame and embarrassment. Seulgi wasn't doing so well either, her face was flushed and her eyes were the size of tennis balls.

"I-I u-um, I didn't... m-mean to, u-um," she sputtered.

"I'm sorry!" I squeaked, my voice unstable, scrambling to get a grip on myself.

". I-I didn't mean to... intrude on you. I was just wondering i-if you could point me in the direction of the main hall," Seulgi said, regaining her composure a bit as she pushed herself off the ground. She rubbed the back of her neck anxiously.

My heart still hadn't calmed down from the scare of being caught. I cleared my throat, multiple times, suddenly feeling like I haven't drank water in days.

"Um... Yeah, give me a second and I'll show you where the building is at," I replied.

"Okay," she squeaked as she turned toward the door. "I'll wait for you out here."

The moment the door closed behind her I pulled at my hair with both fists. How could I let this happen?! On our first day meeting, too. I've only known Seulgi for four hours and this is what I get myself into?

After wiping myself with tissue and cleaning my hands with sanitizer solution from beside my bed, I took a couple deep breaths. It's okay. We're all adults here.

I nervously knocked on the door before opening it, chastising myself for knocking when I'm the one leaving the room.

"You ready?" I asked, clasping my hands in front of me.

"Yep."

I headed down the hallway, careful to be a couple steps in front of her so I didn't have to look at her face right now.

I really embarrassed myself like that.

We parted ways with an awkward greeting after I walked her through the doors of the student center. I headed for the coffee shop on campus, and saw stray freshmen still looking for the meeting hall wearing their nametag lanyards. It almost seemed as if it were yesterday that I was one of those students.

I smelled the espresso before I saw it. I took eager strides toward the counter; A cup of tea would do wonders to calm my nerves right about now.

"Hi there, what can I get for you?" asked the barista. His nametag read "Mark" with stars drawn around it. He was a pretty good-looking guy, a new hire. I've never seen him around before. His eyes were bright with the contacts that he wore.

"May I have a small chamomile tea?"

Mark smiled as he reached for a takeout cup and poised his pen above the paper. "What's your name?"

"Irene."

He wrote my name carefully, his tongue slightly out in concentration, then passed it off to his coworker to put my drink together.

"Is there anything else I could get for you?" he asked, his gaze intent on mine.

"No, thanks." I replied, reaching for my phone. 

I scanned my phone on the card reader and thanked him. I moved to the last counter and waited for my tea.

"Irene!" a barista called out as she placed my cup on the counter.

I moved forward and claimed it, thanking her. The two baristas snickered at each other but I brushed it off.

I walked to the lounge area and found a comfortable seat that engulfed my entire body when I went to sit down. Luckily, I had a good grip on my cup or else I would have definitely spilled it all over the place.

Spinning the cup in my hand as I took small sips, I looked at how my name was written on the cup.

Wait, what is this?

"Txt me, 080-555-5557 - M"

I was taken aback. I've been hit on before but every time it surprises me. I don't think I'm that attractive...

Anyway, I was flattered but I didn't know how to reject him kindly. I only liked girls, and I know saying that to a heteroual guy is a recipe to be ized. I'm definitely not in the mood to deal with any of that right now.

I'll just ignore it. He'll get the hint.

I had just finished replying to a few more emails when I saw hordes of freshmen leaving the meeting hall on their way to the football field nearby. I tried my best to block out the rising decibels but their noise drowned out my thoughts completely.

"Irene."

I looked up to see Seulgi standing by my seat.

"Oh! Seulgi!" I sputtered. I grit my teeth to keep my face from contorting. The embarrassing memory of her walking in on me just an hour earlier burning my cheeks.

"I didn't expect you to still be here when we finished," Seulgi commented.

"Uh, I was answering some emails." I held up my phone as if trying to show that I wasn't lying.

"I was just about to head back to the room. Are you coming with?"

"Ah, uh, yeah. Sure. Don't you have some more orientation stuff to do?" I asked while I stood up, half hoping that she would realize she needed to get somewhere so I could have a little bit more time away from her to recover.

"There's a bit, but I think I'm going to skip over it. Some of my group members and I were going to go to the arcade."

I nodded slowly. "I see."

We stood there for another uncomfortable few seconds before Seulgi broke the silence.

"Shall we?"

I cleared my throat. "Let's go."

We made it back to the room in one piece. At least... I think so. My heart was pounding the entire way through. I didn't realize that I could get even more anxious until the dorm door shut behind Seulgi and we were in the room. Alone.

Please don't bring it up. Please don't bring it up. I pleaded as I tried to act natural and headed toward my bed. No! Not there. That's where it happened.

I turned and went to sit at my desk instead.

"So..." started Seulgi.

I pursed my lips.

"So," I said.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

I didn't move to face her. Still staring at my cleared desk top, I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to lock the door. I promise I won't do it again."

"You won't what?" asked Seulgi.

Really? Was this girl really dumb or just playing dumb?

"Um. That I won't... do that in our room again."

Seulgi hopped on her bed with her hands tucked under her thighs. She stifled a laugh.

"Irene, look at me."

I turned ever so slightly. I could feel my temperature rising. I'm probably sweating profusely, but I felt numb to every sensation other than embarrassment at the moment.

"We're adults, it's okay. You can do whatever you need to in this room. It's yours as much as it is mine."

I stayed silent.

"Just... remember to lock the door next time, okay?" Seulgi said, giggling at the end.

Her laughter eased the tension and I felt a little bit better.

"Definitely," I said, cracking a smile.

Seulgi fell on the bed sideways, resting her head on her hands while facing me. "What was orientation like for you?"

Thankful that she switched the topic of conversation, I replied, "It was fun... strange? It was the first time I was on my own doing things for myself."

Seulgi nodded. "What was the transition like for you? I kind of miss home already."

"It was nice," I started. "At home, I didn't get to do anything for fun."

Seulgi stared on at me intently, waiting for me to continue.

"I had a schedule planned out for me daily," I said.

I turned to look at Seulgi properly.

"Sorry, that was a bit depressing huh?" I said, suddenly feeling shy.

"No, that's okay. We'll get to know each other more this year, at least. I hope you aren't tired of me yet!" exclaimed Seulgi. "We don't have to talk that much more for right now."

I nodded, thankful to Seulgi for sensing my discomfort and ending the conversation there.

"Are you okay if I decorate my walls right now?" asked Seulgi, getting up to open some boxes.

"Yeah," I replied, finding my headphones in a drawer and pulling them over my ears. I shuffled over to my own bed and laid on top of the covers. I the playlist with my piano recordings. My favorite set of songs that I wrote myself.

Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to drift off into a light sleep.

A/N

Back from the dead! Shorter chapters means more updates. Thank you for enjoying the story!