"Thanks for the help, Sumi."

"No problem." The girl smiled over her shoulder as she locked up the empty lab where she tutored second years.

Although it was her second year on a scholarship, Sumi had grown to love helping her junior students out. Plus the pay wasn't too bad.

Smile still playing along her lips, she approached the secretary booth and slid the lab key over to the half-asleep aged man, a short greeting passing her lips.

This was her element. Sumi wasn't a nerd per se. It was more apt to say she had been lucky enough to have found her calling at so young an age, not to mention her fees had been evened out. She actually enjoyed her studies, what was so wrong with that?

"Sumi." A baritone voice called out behind her just as she turned to head for lunch.

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at the tall guy closing in on her. "Hey, Chanyeol. What's up?"

Teeth bared in a wide grin, the guy pushed his glasses further up his nose, the handles disappearing behind wild copper curls. "Just wanted to welcome you back. How was break?"

"It was pretty restful, thanks." She grinned in return. "How was yours?"

"Oh you know, did nothing for the first few weeks, then guilt forced me outside, then laziness had me hibernating the last week. And then I crammed reading everyone's write-ups in the last two nights."

"So pretty normal for you." She teased.

"Just about."

Sumi shook her head in amusement before braving a question she'd been too nervous to ask through a text.

"So... Did you read mine?"

Chanyeol's face lost its humor and merged into seriousness. "You want the truth?"

Sumi's heart sunk, her answer the pitch of a squirrel. "Yes?"

"I didn't."

"What?" She nearly shrieked, and Chanyeol gufawed.

"You sure don't know what a write-up is, Sumi." He settled down, though his shoulders kept racking in merriment. "What you submitted looked like a polished thesis, written up and ready to be published. I looked at it and I knew it'd take at least a week to process."

"Well..." She frowned, unable to decide if the guy was complimenting her work ethic or not.

"I'll get to it, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure its on or above par." He assured her. "Hey, are you assisting in Tory's prac later?"

"Hmm, yeah." She nodded, still processing the lack of feedback on her thesis.

"Great, I'll see you then."

A pat on the shoulder and the gangly youth was off, labcoat flying with the movement.

Deciding to rather not dwell on the one thing she had been biting her nails over all break, Sumi set her mind on lunch.

Yanggu University probably believed that science students didn't need to eat, because the cafeteria was nearly a fifteen minute walk away from the senior labs. By the time Sumi arrived, lunch was the only thing she could think about.

"Sumi!" Yoonmi exclaimed in happy surprise from their usual lunch spot, seated at one of the tables placed outside the cafeteria building. "How come you're here? I thought you tutor during lunch?"

"They changed the timetable." She explained as she sat down beside her friend and opposite a munching Jisu. "So I can make it now. I'm glad you guys didn't change tables."

"If I knew you were coming, I would have gotten you something from the caf."

"Yeah," Jisu added from behind the chicken wrap she devouring, "and the best part is, you dont have to pay."

"Actually, that was a one-time thing." Yoonmi pouted. "You can start paying me again for your meals."

"Why? You're like super rich."

Sumi shook her head at the back and forth banter between her friends, while beginning to scratch around her bag for a plastic container. "Thanks Yoonmi, but I packed in lunch."

"Of course you did." Jisu rolled her eyes jokingly. "Seriously, did you take a course on being the perfect nerd, or were you born this way?"

Sumi's only answer was a large bite of her homemade sandwhich.

"So what happened with you and - what was his name, Jongwoo?" Yoonmi asked Jisu.

"Jongin." Jisu corrected, and a smirk began to play at her lips. "And I think you know what happened."

"Besides that." Yoonmi rolled her eyes.

"Nuthin. We did the deed and moved on." Jisu spoke with as mush casualness as if describing yesterdays weather.

"I dont understand how you can do that." Yoonmi remarked with a frown.

"And I don't understand how you can still manage to smile at a guy after be breaks up with you for no reason."

Sumi's eyebrows rose at the alarming retort, her head swerving towards her friend, whose cheeks had warmed in color.

"Yoonmi-" She began in a warning tone, but was cut off.

"I was just being polite." She quickly defended herself.

"Yoonmi-"

"And I didn't want him to think I still cared."

"Yoonmi!" Sumi lay a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm not gonna tell you to stay away from him - just don't let it be bygones. If he wants you back, he's gotta earn it."

Yoonmi bit her lip and slowly nodded.

Sumi felt like a hypocrite when it came to her two friends. Always the mediator between two extremes, she was hard on Yoonmi for jumping from too high, and non-committal with Jisu for not bothering to jump at all. It wasn't that she didn't care for Jisu's love-life, but Jisu wasn't the one ending up in tears and broken hearts every other semester.

"Pshh, forget that." Jisu rolled the wrapping of her finished lunch into a small ball, as if aiding Sumi's guilty thoughts. "Just join me in my ways and you'll never get hurt again."

Yoonmi began to say something, when her eyes caught on an object of attention.

"Ok, whatever guys, but just don't tell Jongdae, ok?" She spoke quickly and looked down at her own half-eaten lunch. "I'll figure things out."

Sumi frowned in confusion. What did Jongdae have to do with anything? But just as she began to ask that exact question, the devil himself appeared.

"Good afternoon, m'ladies." Jongdae approached the table, accompanied by another familiar looking guy, bringing back memories of their night at the club. His eyes fell on Sumi and his smile became even cheekier. "Ah, if it isn't Tupperware."

Sumi blinked in surprise, at the name and at his existence, but she managed to greet in her usual bland tone when adressing him. "Hey, Blind Date."

The others greeted in normalcy, not even turning around to look at each other - although she figured it was quite forced on Yoonmi's end. Sumi could only assume Jongdae visited them during lunch on a regular. Somehow, this had gone without her knowing since their friendship started. 

"Look who I bumped into in the Law faculty." He announced, head tilting in the direction of the guy next to him. "Another Kim. Who would have thought?"

"Actually, that's not all that improb-" Jisu began and stopped as soon as she caught sight of the guy smiling down at her.

"Hey." He grinned, olive skin making his toothy grin all the whiter. "I was hoping to bump into you sooner or later. I'm glad it was sooner."

Sumi bit down on her lips to keep from smiling, while Yoonmi poked her under the table as well, keeping a perfect poker face from above. 

"Jongin, was it?" Yoonmi smiled with all the politeness in the world, eyes treading between him and Jisu, who was eying her with deadly intent. "Sit with us, wouldja? We were just talking about you."

Said guy's face brightened at the bit of information, his smile widening. Just as he began to bend into the seat next to Jisu, the tall girl got up.

"I actually gotta run." She stood up and dusted chicken crumbs from her clothing before looking Yoonmi's way. "I'll catch ya later."

"I'll walk you." Jongin stood up just as quickly as he sat down.

"Just so you know," the girl turned about, throwing her dark bob over her shoulder and aiming a blatantly rude stare at the guy, "I didn't even know you went here."

"How could you?" He grinned with all the innocence in the world. "I'm a freshman."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better." Jongdae murmured behind a hand.

Wordless, Jisu turned and walked off, followed by Jongin, as if a longing puppy.

"That is by far the cutest thing." Sumi admitted as she watched the fading bickering couple. "Ever."

"Didn't think you'd be one for romance, Tupperware." Jongdae commented as he stole the rest of Yoonmi's lunch. 

Sumi faced Jongdae with an open expression. "When it's right. Jisu could do with a normal relationship."

And again, like in the car the past weekend, Sumi was rewarded with a long look of... fascination? And like last time, it was broken off in an instant. This time, she wasn't disarmed by his pretty lashes. Well, almost.

"Speaking of freshman," Jongdae spoke up in a quick change of subject, "whose in for the Fresher's Bash on Friday, huh? Its themed this year."

Sumi blinked.

Both Yoonmi and Jongdae gave her the longest of looks before exchanging their expressions for snickers and giggles. 

"C'mon, Sumi - you at least went to your own Freshers bash, right?"

"Judging by the name, I'm assuming its a party for freshman." Sumi verbally grasped as she packed away her now-empty lunchbox. "But just to be clear, wasn't the point of going clubbing before class started so that we'd stop while class was on?"

"The bash is different." Yoonmi insisted laughingly. "Very light on booze, its more of a chill place to meet people you'll probably see on the daily."

"This is my last year of studies. I don't really need to make more friends."

"Well, you're missing out." Jongdae chimed, but he made no further advances.
 
With a defeated puff, Yoonmi gave up and began discussing her outfit with Jongdae. Something regarding a lot of fish nets or a lot of leather. And despite being called out on her lack of outgoingness for the 178th time, Sumi grinned at the oomph in her friend's conversation, and even gave some input. 

Partying was not her thing. That had been made painfully clear the previous weekend when her hangover had lasted nearly two days. She loved hearing about her friends' misadventures with boys and booze, but she loved going back to her books with a clear head afterwards just as much.

'Kill me for being a buzzkill, right?' She thought to herself.

A/N: So, three things. One, I'm sorry for the delay. For the past week, I was terribly sick, but the silver lining is I've been diagnosed with Anemia. Lol, I say silver lining because I've probably had it for years and only found out now. Now, I can make changes and live better.. I hope. It might be a heavy battle for me to stay away from sugar.

Two. Last night the inspiration to write this was rekindled as I figured out the entirety of the story plot. So I hope you guys are enjoying whats up so far and ready for the rest.

Three. Just. Thanks for reading. I'm a bit of an awkward soul but I love to write, and I'm happy others like it.