The next unforgettable thing on our list of obstacles was our four years at university.  Doojoon had been accepted into a program that specialized in professional training for sports at a campus far away, while I had chosen Cube’s newly established university to continue my studies in literature and linguistics.  Kikwang and Junhyung have also been accepted into the same campus as Doojoon,  with the latter following in his hyung's footsteps and the latter, surprisingly, deciding to flourish his studies in music composing.  Who would’ve thought the quiet kingka was so into the arts? 

Nonetheless, I was worried that the long distances might become a burden on our relationship.  We've only been together for a year, and I've heard from Bomi that most long-distance relationships don't last very long.  Doojoon had been quick to assure me otherwise. 

“Don’t worry jagiya, I have eyes for no one but you.”  he teased, sealing his promise with a kiss and sending me into another frenzy of uncontrollable blushes.  Argh, he sure knew my weakness now.  His friends have also assured me that they will watch for him, so that any funny business that happened would be reported right back to me. 

“What are you, her guard dogs?”  Doojoon muttered sarcastically as the four of us hung out in our local café.  It was a hot summer afternoon, and none of us had anything else to do except talk and laugh over our iced beverages.  The boys had just seen Doojoon's excessive PDA and were now goading him for it.      

“Ani, just making sure you don’t break Suah-yah’s heart again,” Kikwang replied.  He winked in my direction, and Doojoon smacked him on the head.  “Yah!”

“Speaking of university, I heard they’re going to assign dorm mates for us,” Junhyung said as he took a sip of his coke.  Kikwang's eyes widened - he obviously hadn't heard the news.  “Chincha?   I wonder who they will be?”

“Definitely not a girl, Kwang-ah.” 

Junhyung cut into the latter’s wishful thinking and Kikwang pouted.  “I wasn’t implying that!  Why on Earth would you jump to that conclusion?”

The three of us just looked at each other and deadpanned, “Pabo-kwang.” 

A few weeks into March, I had settled into my own dorm when my cell phone buzzed.  It was Doojoon calling.  Unlocking the screen, I had the shock of my life when I saw an unfamiliar face stare back at me, and I almost dropped the device. 

“Ahnyeonghaseyo!”  His baby-like face spoke through the screen.  I was amazed - surely it couldn't have been his classmate, this boy looked so young.  I gingerly picked my cell phone and was about end the call when I heard an irritated voice shout out, “Yoseob-ah!  What the heck are you doing with my phone?”

I saw the stranger glance back and then face me.  “Chatting with your girlfriend,” he chirped, “And boy, does she look prettier in real life!” 

I saw the screen fuzz out for a bit, then it was replaced by Doojoon’s side view yelling, “Go wash or something!” before turning to me with a bright smile.  “Morning, Suah-yah!”

I smiled back.  “Morning.” 

Doojoon pouted.  He looked like he was talking to me while lying on his bed.  “I wanted to see you so bad, but they’re not letting us out of campus grounds for visiting until early April,” he complained. 

The screen suddenly shook, as if someone else had also sat on the mattress and its impact distorted Doojoon's face.  A moment later, the boy from earlier appeared next to the screen with a big smile. 

“Annyeong, Suah-sshi!  I’m Yang Yoseob, Doojoon’s roommate.  Nice to meet you!”  The boy with the childlike face waved at the screen.  I smiled at his natural hyper tone.  “Nice to meet you too, Yoseob-sshi.  My name is Yoon Suah.” 

“Doojoon’s girlfriend, arayo,” Yoseob chuckled, looking at his dorm mate with a grin.  “He talks about you all the time, it gets a bit boring to listen after a while.  By the way, do you know he keeps a picture of you on his bedside table?” 

The screen became unclear again, possibly due to Doojoon chasing after a laughing Yoseob and then settling back down with a disgruntled look on his face.

“Stupid, blabbermouth monkey,” Doojoon mumbled under his breath.  Perhaps it was just the lighting of the dorm, but I swear his cheeks turned pinker than before.  Aw, is he embarrassed?

I bit back a giggle.  “Doojoon-ah, I’m already starting to like your roommate.  He’s quite funny.”

Yoseob’s dimming voice boasted from afar.  "Hear that?  She said she likes me already!"

Doojoon shot a playful glare to the screen.  “Yah, are you trying to make me jealous?”

“You said you never would!”  I shot back, laughing.  “But did it work?” 

“Yes.” 

His deadpan was immediate.  Oh, Yoon Doojoon.  My smile softened.  Looks like he needs some comforting again.  “Doojoon-ah, you know I would have eyes for no one but you,” I teased, using his cheesy phrase from earlier. 

“Urggh!  You guys are so lovey-dovey, it makes me sick~” Yoseob’s voice came close again, and I saw Doojoon aim a kick at his leg.  Yoseob darted out of his reach and to the door with his tongue sticking out.  "Hehe, you can't catch me~"    

“Go bother Hyunseung or someone!”  Doojoon hollered.  He slammed the door behind his friend's skipping form and returned to his bedside.  

“Sorry about that, Suah-yah.  Yoseob is a good roommate and friend and all, but he can be quite annoying sometimes,” Doojoon sighed as he ran a hand over his unkempt hair.  I laughed and switched to another sitting position on my bed. 

“How are Kikwang and Junhyung doing?”  I asked.  Doojoon shrugged.  “Good, I guess.  They seem to get along pretty well with the others, and by others I mean their dorm mates.  Hyunseung, the one I mentioned earlier, is Junhyung’s roommate.  I swear they have some forbidden secret or romance that they don’t want others to find out about…”

He cackled quietly into the phone. 

“Just kidding, they’re good friends.  Kikwang on the other hand, is rooming with a guy who is a year younger than us, Dongwoon.  Apparently, he is a genius just like Junhyung and skipped a grade to enter university early.  But they seem to get along well, even if Dongwoon is much taller than Kikwang. He's monstrous, I tell you.”

I suddenly had an outrageous image of a shadowed male towering over a whimpering Kikwang, and I covered my mouth as to not laugh.  Doojoon looked at me weirdly.  “Are you okay there?"

I nodded furiously, substituting my urge to collapse in mirth by taking deep breaths.  “I-I’m fine, I just need to t-take a break, I’ll call you later.” 

Doojoon nodded, still unsure about my current trembling self.  “Okay then, bye.  I love you!”  He smiled that breathtaking smile ofr his again, and I blushed. 

“I love you too,” I whispered back and ended the call.  After a few seconds, I just let myself drown in laughter, rolling on my bed like a retarded idiot as I replayed that image with Cube High’s former abs kingka.  How I would give anything in the world to see that happen in real life.  Scratch that, almost everything.  I couldn’t forget about Doojoon, now could I? 

The semester passed relatively well, with Doojoon and I communicating regularly via phone.  Junhyung and Kikwang also called in once or twice a month, either to joke about their ongoing classes or complain about the food being served in the cafeteria, which apparently wasn’t very appetizing to the stomach.  

April rolled by, and I was finally allowed to visit the boys at their university.  Doojoon was acting a bit weird that day and became overprotective of me the entire time, right from the moment I got out of the subway station to greet them.  Nonetheless, they acted like their school's hosts that they were and showed me around campus, pointing at each building and reciting their purpose. 

“Why don’t you show me your dorms?”  I asked when we got to the final building.  It was more modernly built and had glass windows decorating the walls.  Junhyung pointed out that an identical building to its right, served as the girls' residence space.  

Doojoon made a face.  “Well…it’s dirty and we didn’t have time to clean them yet!”  he blurted out.  Junhyung raised an eyebrow at him.  "It is?"

Doojoon glared at Junhyung.  It had not been more clear that he thought Junhyung was going to back him up.  The latter quickly realized and hurried to nod his head.  " Oh right, it is."

I scrunched my eyebrows.  This was starting to sound suspicious.  

“Junhyung-ah, you’re a neat freak.  If Kikwang split even one drop of your coke on the floor, you would have him clean it up in no time to spare.”  I spoke bluntly.  Bingo.  I saw Junhyung look at his friend with a shrug and a guilty expression.  “She got me there.” 

Doojoon now looked nervously alert.  “Uh, what I mean to say this—”

“Suah-yang!” 

A young male shot out of the main doors, yelling my name at the top of his lungs.  “Welcome to Dongshin University!  You are currently standing in front of the boys’ dormitory where I, Yang Yoseob, will be your tour guide for today!” 

He bounced towards us, wearing a white shirt titled ‘SWG’ and dark jeans, grinning from ear to ear.  My eyes widened as I realized this was the same boy who introduced himself as Doojoon’s roommate.  “Ah, I remember you from the video call!” 

Yoseob looked pleased.  “She remembers me!” 

The young man did a silly victory pump into the air, and then his eyes did an once-over on me.  “Wah, Suah-yang does look very pretty in person!  She’s so cute as well!”  he smiled, a small dimple appearing on his left cheek.  My mom always told me that a person who had dimples was either poked by an angel or the devil.  From my brilliant blush, you could tell it was an angel. 

“Yah, she’s my girlfriend!  Go get your own!”  Doojoon glared at the smirking boy, tugging me closer to him.  Now with Doojoon's presence, I nearly collapsed under the heat of my flaming cheeks.

The angelic boy just laughed, and ushered us all into the two story building.  Upon entry, Doojoon pulled me close to his chest again.  Stay close, He whispered in my ear.  I barely registered that thought, for my mind was too distracted by the amount of skin shown through his thin v-neck.  I inwardly smacked myself on the head.  God, I can’t believe I just stared at his chest…

“And we’re here.” 

Doojoon stopped at a narrow doorway labeled ‘1457’.  Yoseob quickly poked his head in, and came out sighing in relief.  “Pretty decent, in my opinion.”

I nudged open the door to reveal two small beds, one on opposite sides of the room with their own writing desks and laptops booted onto their surfaces.  A medium-sized sofa resided in the middle, with a collapsible wooden table in front, and two metal contraptions that resembled those hotel trolleys, served as hangers for their clothes and other accessories beside the edge of their beds.

The room was tidied quite nicely, and I admired the view of the vast grounds from their dorm window.  Satisfied, I turned to the two boys residing in this room with a smile.  “I like it.  The atmosphere feels nicer here than it does at Cube.” 

Doojoon sat onto his bed with a frown.  “Waeyo?  Is that Heeyoung giving you a hard time again?”  His voice had a hard edge to it. 

I shook my head.  “Aniyo, Heeyoung-sshi never made it to Cube.  I think it’s just the new renovations and everybody not getting used to the settings, which by the way are still white.” 

Yes, every nook and cranny of Cube University was still undergoing final construction and furnishing since our principal kind of rushed the preparations to be done, so that students can attend classes the following month.  Thus, everywhere was just bare white: white walls, white tables, white chairs, even white floors.  The only places that held colour were the classroom doors, which also had the room number plaques on them, and the washroom doors with their respective signs.      

Another door I hadn't noticed before opened up and Yoseob came out, slinging a towel on one shoulder and a gym bag on the other. I presumed it was their washroom, and didn't think any further on that.    

Yoseob gave us an energetic wave.  “I’m meeting up with Kikwang at the training room.  Don’t have too much of a good time without me!”  He winked over his shoulder, and dodged an angry pillow thrown from Doojoon as the door slammed shut. 

I laughed at my boyfriend as he warily picked up the fallen object and placed it back onto his bed.  “Stupid, annoying idiot…” he muttered under his breath.  I sat down on the side where his bed table stood and glanced at the clutter of stuff piled on there: headphones, cell phone, some coins, a pencil, some books.... and a picture of me.

I looked at Doojoon; he seemed to be busy rearranging his pillow and didn't notice me taking the small picture frame and holding it in  my hands.  I gazed fondly at the image - it was taken during during our date to the beach and he had photographed me without me knowing.  I was embarrassed of it, but Doojoon always told me that this was my best shot.    

“Yoseob-sshi was telling the truth,” I murmured as my fingers traced over the glass exterior.