“Hey, Dana, look at the man in front of the vending machine.”

          I scan that being’s entire visible existential figure, and blink twice. The said male species is now blending in the queue for lunch, ten feet away from my current location.

          "He doesn't even match with this campus cafeteria." Sehee whispers beside me. "He should be somewhere in Gangnam, sipping coffee."

          "Agreed." I respond flatly as I divert my sight to my food on the table.

          "So?"

          "So what?"

          "Aren't you interested in him?"

          I slowly lift my head again, and lazily steal another glance. The man we’re spying on, dressed in tight-fitted black pants, dark brown sweater, and covered with a long black coat indeed boasts an aura that screams “I’m hot.”

          I wonder how can one’s face look that cynical even when someone who seems to be his friend is cracking jokes next to him. “Isn’t today’s weather too cold for that coat? It looks thin.” I cringe.

          “Answer me.” Sehee snaps.

          “I’m not.”

          “Why?”

          “He’s not my type.”

          “Another reason?” she presses.

          I exhale audibly. “Nothing.”

          “Good. Then dibs on him.” Sehee quips. “We see him quite often here, don’t you think? I think he’s an International Studies major. Do you know his name?”

          “Nope.” I answer in a second.

          “Ah, too bad.”

          I put down my chopstick. “Dude, I need to find out how to deal with my missing credit for Professor Han first.”

          Sehee groans. “Oh, about you missing a surprise pop quiz? Damn, yeah that was tragic. You might have to wait for a year to retake that class.”

          “And meeting the almighty Han Jooyoung again for the entire semester? Yeah, thanks.” I mumble. “I’m going to the admin office after this, I wish a report or two could end my suffering.”

          “Even if that report needs to have a thousand pages?”

          “Quiet, Hong Sehee.”

*

                I stare emptily right at the eyes of the faculty admin staff. “Pardon?”

                “Yes.” the staff looks at me just as soullessly. “A month of night classes until the end of this semester. Monday to Wednesday, 7 PM until 9 PM. D building, Room 301. Starting today. Details are on that paper.”

                “I thought I’m here just to take an info paper for my report?”

                “Yes, on that very paper.” the officer starts to screech. “Prof. Han requires you to take the night classes, and write the report as the final project.”

                My shoulders drop. Night classes nearing the end of this semester? Great.

*

                I’m sitting on the third row of seats in this small classroom, and silently curse inside. I should be already at home at this time, in this cold winter. Now I’m stuck in this sleepiness-inducing room, with a man in office attire and a masked woman with a severe cough in the front row. It’s almost 7 PM, are there only us three?

                I’m in the middle of complaining to Sehee on our chat when the door is opened with a medium-sounding bang, and there it is, Professor Han. The middle-aged man with oily hair is bringing his signature mustard-colored bag which looks contrasting with his white coat, complete with faux fur around the hood. I immediately look down, praying to God I can ever be used to seeing this human.

                “I thought there was a ghost with one extra addition in this class!” he exclaims as soon as he walks inside, relaying his irritating smile to me. “But isn’t there supposed to be two—oh.”

                Someone appears on the door, and I instantly turn my head to see. It’s the man with the long black coat from the cafeteria this afternoon. I look down again, and impulsively rub a side of my face. My heart starts drumming, and I grit my teeth. Why now?

                “Yep, that makes the four of you!” Prof. Han says as he gets things out from his bag. The long coat man moves to sit on the front row, and I look at the back of his head. I just realized he has dark brown hair. “Okay, so… Joo Dana?”

                “Yes?” Professor Han breaks my unintentional focus.

                “Firstly, I think you need to move to the front row. Don’t make yourself an outsider. To that space next to… Kim… Who are you again, from International Studies?”

                “Kim Jongin, Sir.” the man answers, and his voice brings a strange new atmosphere to the air.

                “Ah, yes. There.” Professor Han motions his hand to the seat.

                I bite the insides of my lips as I stand up, and walk slowly to the front row.  Without a word, I make a one-seat gap between me and Kim Jongin.

                “Okay then! So Mr. Go and Miss Yoon may wonder why these two are in this class, right? They’re apparently missing scores from my classes, for whatever reason—“ Professor Han sneers. “—and to pay for that, I decided they should just join this Global Civilization class since it’s obligatory in Social Studies, their faculty. Isn’t this better than retaking my class next year?”

                I give him a half-hearted smile.

                “I also do this to make the night class a little bit merrier! I know, I’m too nice for my own good. Okay, so since what remains in the syllabus is only the final project, you guys are going to work in pairs for that, for a month.”

                The sides of my mouth flatten again.

                “Mr. Go Harim and Miss Yoon Sunkyung, you’re partners. Since you work in the same building, maybe during the day you’ll find some time to discuss.”

                My shoulders drop.

                “Kim Jongin and Joo Dana, of course, partners.”

                I clench my hand tightly. I’m going to spend a month doing the final project with him?

*

                My mind is full as I exit the building later that night, and I feel the urge to stomp the ground in every step of my feet but my shoes are too heavy. I breathe through my scarf, and look at the lightly falling snow. It’s cold. I remember how I side-eyed Kim Jongin’s long coat earlier today—isn’t he going to freeze in that? Why would I even care about that?

                Kim Jongin. His name resounds inside my head, and I vacantly stare at the dark campus area. I shake my head, and take a deep breath. Let’s just go home.

                It’s twice as long to walk to the main gate from the building where the night class is held, and I grunt every fifteen seconds or so. There’s nobody around me anyway. On a long straight sidewalk leading to the gate, I notice someone with a long black coat sprinkled with snow walking far ahead of me. Is that…?

                The man walks under a streetlight and his backside confirms that it’s Kim Jongin. I look at the thin snow on the ground as I sigh. Him again… It’s okay, I’ll keep my distance, or even slow down from here so I won’t run into him.

                I lift my head up again, and try to look around. There are a few streetlights that aren’t functioning so I have no choice but to look ahead anyway. Gah, this campus needs better maintenance.

                I try not to focus too much to the front, but then I see someone hastily crossing the street, to the lane I’m walking on, a few meters behind Kim Jongin. The man has an average build, with a hat on. I can’t see how he’s dressed within this darkness. Why is he walking so carefully, yet progressively advancing towards Kim Jongin?

                The man walks under a light, and at the same time he’s taking something from his pocket. I narrow my eyes to see it, but it’s too far. My eyes widen when I see the thing reflecting light, and the man looks like he’s slowly swinging his arm forward.

          "KIM JONGIN!"

          The man made a U-turn as soon as I screamed, and I focused on Kim Jongin who was looking back behind him, eyes wide, instead. What I don't realize is that the man runs towards me, but I can't move my feet.

          The next thing I know, the man hits the side of my body, but there's a strange stinging pain following. I'm pretty sure it was a knife.

          The man continues dashing away, but I lose my balance and fall to my left side. I thought I was landing on the ground, but my body continued moving to a steep side, and I rolled twice until I finally stayed still, lying on my back.

          Too shocked to do anything, I'm staring at the snow-covered grass beside me. Right... I was walking beside a borderless soccer field, two feet below the sidewalk. The coldness starts to hit me, and I glance at my aching arm. The snow below it starts to turn red.