Suho received a text from Sehun that him and the other guys would meet up at the bar first, since Kyungsoo took awhile to get ready. It had been Kyungsoo’s lazy day, and he had spent the majority of the day cleaning the dorm, and taking out the trash. His entire side of the room had been a pigsty when the semester started, and he had no time to clean up until today. Tired from the chores, Kyungsoo had thought he had enough time to catch a quick power nap before going to the bar with the rest of the gang.

If Suho hadn’t come in, Kyungsoo probably wouldn’t have woken up. After that, everything became a complete rush hour for Kyungsoo. He had to shower, he had to clean himself; he had to look presentable, you know?

Suho who was done getting ready first, was sitting on his bed, watching a television show while he waited for Kyungsoo.

About half an hour later, Kyungsoo was done and the two made their way off campus. The bar wasn’t so far away from campus, but considering that it was still winter, the walk felt extremely far.

“I’m surprised you agreed on going tonight,” Kyungsoo remarked as he let out a small yawn.

Suho shrugged, “You know… I’m just a bar type of guy.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, noting the hint of sarcasm in Suho’s voice. “How was the exam though? Hard?”

“Unbelievable, we had to write out a 6 paragraph analytical essay. Did I mention to you how bad my memory of the human body is? It was a killer.” Suho made a face, which earned a chuckle from Kyungsoo.

“Should’ve studied Music and Theatre with me.”

“Too late now...”

While Kyungsoo was talking to Suho about his day and complaining about the amount of trash that had accumulated over the semester on his side of the room, he noticed someone sitting on the bench and staring up at the sky.

In an instant, he knew who it was.

Kyungsoo stopped talking when he noticed Suho’s attention was no longer on him. “How rude!”

Suho paused, “You know what…” It took only a second for the idea to spring up in his mind. “I’ll meet you at the bar, I think I forgot something.”

“What?!” Kyungsoo belched out. “What did you forget? I thought you had everything!”

“You scared to go alone?”

“No, jeez. I’ll go there first, but text me okay?”

Suho nodded. The two parted, and Suho made his way towards Winter’s residence. This was the same exact place where he saw Alena the first time after the Facebook incident. He didn’t know why or what urged him to march towards her, but his footsteps was one step ahead of his mind.

When he got closer, he said in the softest of voice, “Alena? Is that you?”

Her back to him, and the strands of her jet black hair was dancing softly in the wind. She slowly turned around, and the light of the moon illuminated her pale skin. “Shouldn’t you be at the bar?”

He didn’t know what to say. Yes, he should be at the bar. However, it didn’t strike him dumb until now; to lie to Kyungsoo and come all the way here just to say hello to Alena. But a part of him felt her loneliness, even from afar. He just wanted to see if she was okay.

“Yeah, but I stopped by for a hello,” he admitted after a moment of pondering. “Mind if I sit down for a bit?”

Alena didn’t say anything. Instead she scooted over a bit, and gave Suho a small space next to her.

“So you liked Fahrenheit 451, huh?” Alena asked, as she took out a pack of cigarette. She delicately pulled one out and placed it between her lips. In her other hand, she took out a steel lighter and flicked it with her thumb. It lit up instantly.

He watched as she inhaled through the filter, and then said, “It was a good read. You have good taste in books.”

“Thanks, I think I got that from my mother. She was such a bookworm.”

Suho chuckled, “That’s nice.” 

The two sat still and did not move. The silence enveloped them like a blanket. The only thing Suho could hear, were the sounds of Alena breathing in and out, and the sound of his own throat swallowing nervously.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pockets.

“You should probably go. They’re waiting for you.”

In the way that Alena spoke, there was a certain shortcoming about it. There was something that was lacking, yet all the words she wishes to convey was there. She talked as if she knew the world, as if she knew all the answers, every crook and cranny. She was a lot more intelligent than what people made her out to be. It was hard to picture her as the girl who once dated someone like Kim Sungjoo.

Suho didn’t pick up. Instead he asked, “Why don’t you come out to the bar tonight?”

It was the first time since they became acquainted that Alena gave him the blankest of stares. She dropped her cigarette on the pavement and squished it with her boot. He watched as she crossed her legs and placed her hands on the bench. It was a cold night, and to see her lay her hands bare on the wooden bench made Suho question whether or not she could feel the cold or not. It certainly didn’t seem like she was suffering at all.

“I don’t like to be where I am not welcomed,” she stated. It wasn’t a question, she just knew.

“They don’t know you. There’s no reason to dislike someone you don’t know.”

“But that doesn’t give them reason to like me, either. I’m not a very likeable person, as you already know,” Alena countered. She let out a sigh and stared up at the sky. There were no stars, but only a big moon that hovered over them, watching and listening intently to the sound of their conversation.

“My friends are understanding people,” Suho tried to assure her. Though his friends were judgemental upon girls like Alena, if they were just given the chance to speak with her, they would know she was not as bad as people make her out to be.

“I am a , and people don’t like to be friends with s.”

“I cannot associate that term with you,