Being an advanced student is supposed to be rewarding and somewhat uplifting, but to me it’s just straight-out burdensome. I have my parents assigned for giving me all the pressure and unnecessary attention because of it 24/7. The last thing I need is for anyone else's nose on my business, but of course that won't happen either and I'm stuck having to deal with others too.  

I’m young and everyone’s weaving my future before I can even build it properly on my own. So much for believing in me...

“Hey, Sanghyuk sunbae!”

A random person greets me on my way to the cafeteria. He’s the thirtieth I think—not that I’m really counting them. It’s just exhausting whenever they do that because I don’t have a choice but to greet back. In my situation, you see,  most of those calling me ‘sunbae’ are actually older than me so I have to greet back. Once again, I don't have much of a choice.

 “Baby, over here!”

I hear that overly affectionate voice from the entrance of the cafeteria that I know was only referring to me. I walked over towards a table with practiced ease from that embarrassing call, where a tanned lad was tabling and grinning his face off like the usual. Everyone had their steady gaze on me with a few whispered greetings I had to force myself to deal with again. It’s already been several months, and I haven’t completely adjusted with all these added attention I'm receiving everyday. Each day feels like the first day, uncomfortable and strange. 

“Thanks for making it awkward for me, N hyung,”

“You’re always welcome, Hyukawaii~” he smiles giddily, shoulder hugging me.  “Is the campus newspaper going well?”

 “As usual.” I simply replied, biting the sandwich he just offered me with a double sigh. I saw him throw a sympathetic look before quietly eating as well. 

Cha Hakyeon, or N as we call him, is actually the university’s student council president and my previous high school friend as well (and probably the only one I have back then). We have a four years but we got acquainted due to me being advanced and all. When he found out I registered here, he quickly assigned me to become the club president of the university's Writer’s Society that led me into naturally taking the chief editor title as well despite being the youngest in said the club. It was an honor to get it since I was expecting a lot of things from the prestigious university I applied in, but boy was I wrong.

When I mentioned “as usual” it meant I edited almost everything in our column. The members were all surprisingly bad for some odd reason. They do have great ideas that, if you try and analyze—if you have all the time in the world—enough, but how they conveyed it is just a whirlpool of chaos. It’s purely mumbo jumbo of thoughts, like I don't even understand where they're referencing it.

 “You should take a breather,” Hakyeon glances worriedly. “I can always take you out of the position if it’s really that burdensome.”

“Thanks (I'd love to at some point) but I do love writing(more).”

I emphasized in all honesty. That’s the only reason why I’m still putting up with that club anyway. It can’t be helped, there’s no other place to learn and practice writing besides the classes I'm taking anyway and actually the moderator of the club, Choikang Changmin seongsaengnim, is really promising.

“That’s the spirit!” he pats my back hard and I almost choked on my caramel macchiato frappe.

“Hyung!”

“Sorry! By the way—“

“What’s up guys?” a permed blonde greeted with his slightly decent English, throwing his obviously build arms around us out of the blue.

              “Kim Ravi, your arms are heavy!” Hakyeon grumbles, hand slashing Wonshik(Ravi)  neck before pushing him away from us. He takes a step back, amused before turning to look at me and squeezing my right shoulder lightly.

“You finally come out of the basement Hyuk! I guess you’re still stuck with the incoherent members of your club—Ow!”

“Watch your mouth, Ravi!”

“Hyung, I sincerely approve of your writing abilities as a musician but you’re just a tad bit better than them,” I motioned my finger to emphasize ‘tad bit’. “Do you remember your first composition?”

Hakyeon and I, instantly broke into fits of laughter upon remembering it, while Wonshik finds himself trying to choke us to death. Kim Wonshik, also known as Ravi, is from the Music and Arts department like Hakyeon and is also the vice president of the student council. He has this cool vibe around him that will intimidate you sometimes that matches with his hauntingly deep baritone voice, that can’t even be masked by his lively laughs.

“AH! Geez get off already! We’re still eating—”

“Can I have a kiss?” Wonsik cuts Hakyeon off breathily.

I cringed at the offer that I'm forced to hear. I can see Hakyeon’s hesitance for his ‘boyfriend’s’ skinship draining and I shuddered from my seat and wishes it swallows me whole to not witness anything further. Too bad it never happens. All eyes were on us but the two don’t really give a damn about them. They’re publically dating and it’s nothing bad in all honesty. Homoual relationship isn’t really a shock to everyone in the university now, especially when the ratio of female and male population is 1:4. Also, let’s just say there’s not really that much fishes in the ocean. 

           “Oh, did you tell him about the new photographer for the school papers?” Wonshik peels away from Hakyeon. Finally.

           “Ah yes! I was about to but you interrupted me!” Hakyeon kicks his shin under the table and Wonshik automatically sunk down to hold on to his leg in pain. Hakyeon turns to me with excitement written on his face. “I assigned a new photographer for you, Hyukkie. I personally believe that he is a lot better than the last one so hopefully it’ll lighten your work a little bit. I also think you will like him~”

“Oh, really?” I tried not to sound sarcastic but he might already got that.

“Yes, really.” He deadpans and I bowed my head low involuntarily like a reflex.  

             “I can attest to that too,” Wonshik cuts in, still on the floor rubbing his shin one last time then meeting us back up. “He’s from our department and he’s already a professional photographer. They’re family is kinda known for it.”

“Then why is he here?” I asked still in doubt although I knew Wonshik doesn’t really lie that much.

“For credentials of course,” He rolled his eyes. “We’re the same age but he’s a little younger.”

“He looks old too?” I blurted out one of Ravi’s insecurities, smirking.

“You—“

              “Nope! He’s beautiful! Oh my gosh, I didn’t know why I just found out about him!” Hakyeon butts in with his ever so manly voice, screeching against my ear again.

               “What do you mean by nope?” Wonshik looks at Hakyeon with clearly offended expression. “Well stupid, he just transferred that’s why you just found out about him!”

“How dare you call me stupid, Kim Ravi?!”

“What are you going to do about it?”

"You're talking back?"

I slowly backed away from their petty fight quietly, when I spotted the rest of the student council heading towards our table. I left knowing they’ll handle the two, who by now is really making a commotion out of something trivial. I don't need to be there anymore.

Upon taking a turn to a corner, voices from the cafeteria long gone, my thoughts were suddenly filled with that ‘famous’ photographer that even earned the Great Ravi’s recognition. That hyung doesn’t really boast about others except himself and he has a legitimate excuse for it because he’s greater than most people in the university. He just acts a little too foolish whenever he is with his boyfriend.

Since there’s a couple of minutes left before the lunch break is over, I headed to the Photography club’s room in hopes to meet this beautiful and talented person (That rung sarcastically inside my head). It can be true though because Hakyeon hyung has a good eye for pretty and beautiful things while Wonshik hyung has a good eye for rare and amazing talents.

I huffed in my breath, fixing my collar and my hair just in case there’s really that person really existed in this university. I at least need to look decent, not that I have any complex with how I look.  I even exercised my smile a few times before entering just find out it was futile in the end—everything was—when I opened the door; he was really there.

"He's not a real person. How can one look that—" I blinked several times, my mouth gaped and I almost dropped my drink.

“Are you okay?” 

TBC