(The next few chapters/posts are going to be little flashbacks about them meeting!)

By some miracle, Jinki’s already sitting at the right table. He stops putting his supplies away and relaxes, waiting for his group to accumulate. Luckily, he’s in a smaller, group, just him and two others: a Minho and a Kibum. He glances around as the rest of the class shuffles from table to table.

“Are you Jinki or Kibum?”

“I’m Jinki. I take it you’re Minho?” he replies, turning around to get a better look.

The tall man behind him beams and nods before taking a seat on Jinki’s left side. He starts pulling out supplies of his own; Jinki tries not to laugh as a battle takes place between Minho and the pile of papers haphazardly shoved in his backpack. Just as Minho finally finds a clean paper, the third and final member of their group joins.

“Hi, I’m Kibum.” he says softly, sitting in the empty seat to Jinki’s right.

“Since you’ll be working together for the next four weeks,” the professor says from the front of the room, “I want you to take the next....15 minutes and introduce yourself to your groupmates.”

The three of them glance at each other; sensing the others’ nervousness, Jinki decides to make the first move.

“Well, I’m Jinki. I’m an architecture major. This is my second year. I’m taking this class as an exercise in aesthetics. I enjoy cooking, fixing cars, and long walks on the beach.”

Minho laughs at the speed-dating style intro; Kibum does not.

“I’m Kibum. This is my first year and  I’m an urban planning major. I’m taking this class to better understand classic European cityscapes.”

“What do you like?” Jinki asks.

Kibum stays silent, then offers “Organization.”

Jinki nods and they both turn to Minho.

“Uh I’m Minho. This is my first semester. I’m a literature major. I’m taking this class because I enjoy mid-to-late Victorian lit. I like reading, eating and sleeping.”

Great. Just what Jinki needs. A deferred lit kid.

*

“For the last fifteen minutes of class, I want you to get with your groupmates and create set schedule for when you’re going to work on your projects. You’ll turn a paper in to me at the end of class, just one paper per group please.”

Jinki groans internally as everyone starts shuffling around, just like last class. Why did this professor have to be so involved in the group project? Why not just add himself to each group? Jinki’s internal grumbling is interrupted by Minho plopping down in the seat next to him.

“Hi Minho.”

“Hey, Jinki.” he says with a bright smile. “Can I see your notes really quick before we start? I missed the last couple blanks because I was trying to listen to his explanation.”

Jinki nods and slides his powerpoint print out towards Minho. After finding the right paper in his stack, Minho copies with frightening speed. Eventually, the rest of the class settles and a hum rises as discussions begin. Kibum is nowhere to be found.

“I guess it’s just us today?” Jinki says, pulling out a fresh sheet of paper.

There’s a pause as Minho finishes copying.

“He texted me this morning that he’s sick today. We have college algebra together so we swapped numbers for studying stuff. He made a schedule already, I printed it out.”
Jinki watches Minho start pulling papers out of his backpack again.

“Does he already know our schedules or something?”

“I told him my schedule and he worked out our common times off. He made a bunch of slots and we’re supposed to pick a few that work for you too.”

There’s a soft “aha!” as Minho finds the right paper and puts it front of Jinki. It’s an excel sheet, filled with all sorts of colors for each hour and day. The detail in it is definitely excessive, almost gaudy in a way. He starts crossing out slots where his classes fall. Minho watches him intently and it almost makes Jinki nervous. In the end, there’s three slots.

“So, it looks like we’re all off immediately after class as well as after noon on Fridays.”

Minho bites his lip nervously.

“There’s supposed to be an asterisk with Fridays because normally they’re good for me but sometimes I have to catch up work on Fridays.” he says, rushing the words out as fast as he can.

Jinki nods. He pulls his paper, writes his name at the top.

“So, we’ll say that we’ll definitely meet after class and then on Fridays as needed or as available. Sound good?”

Minho nods as he pulls the paper over to write his and Kibum’s names under Jinki’s.

“Kibum seems like...a very organized person.” Jinki says.

Minho looks relieved at the comment.

“His notes for algebra are pristine. They’re nicer than the textbook! I sat next to him yesterday to try to get to know him but I don’t think I’ll be able to because I feel bad about my messy notes...”

“Everyone feels that way their first semester: your notes are either too nice or too messy or whatever. You take notes however it’s useful to you.”

“Thanks, Jinki. It’s been rough, getting used to classes like this.”

“No problem. To get in the habit of meeting after class, would you like to go for some coffee?”