chapter four            














it was the first evening all of the dormmates would finally bunk in together. kymin and hyusu had arrived a day early; jiae and eunji had arrived on the dot; and chaebyul and minah had started school a day late due to complications in their paperwork. the girls, being in an international school, shared different classes together despite their varying ages. they were grouped according to their grades for each of the classes although technically, their age determined their year and homeroom. the dorm was almost empty. minah was busy reading in the library; hyusu was finding solace in the library as well, without the other's knowledge. chaebyul was staying late in the art club doing research for the term report that wasn't due till three months later. ji-ae had just returned from ferrying textbooks from the staffroom, having been elected the class chairperson. eunji was battling her math textbook on the wide study table in the dorm and kymin was spread out on the floor, knocked out in the midst of reading her korean textbook. it was only the first day of school and the girls were already too busy for one another. or maybe they just wanted to be left alone. 

kymin woke up with a start as the door to the dorm was flung open with a resounding crash. both ji-ae and eunji looked up from their respective books to see a girl in a long sleeved blouse and plaited knee-length skirt bolting the door with trembling fingers. she looked half scared to death, with fear etched upon her face. upon surveying the room with frantic eyes, the new girl backed away from the dorm table as her eyes sensed the two figures beside their human friends, staring at her quizzically. she read them as a manace though, she always did. she retreated straight into kymin and both went sprawling as kymin gave an annoyed hiss. "j-joeseonghabnida.." she stuttered anxiously, tugging at her blouse as her face paled, before toppling over in a dead faint. kymin instinctively reached out to catch the taller girl as both slumped to the ground. "wha.. what happened?" kymin glanced from the unconcious girl in her arms to the two girls leaning over the study table. "uhh.. mouth to mouth?" ji-ae suggested hesitantly before making her way towards kymin. "she's still breathing, nothing too serious.." ji-ae assessed, lifting the girl in her arms and propping her up with some pillows. "it's an interesting way to meet our new dorm mate. meet zhang chaebyul.." ji-ae announced as she read off the girl's name tag. eunji exchanged a look with younju before peering past the bedposts. kymin was still busy dusting herself off from having fallen under the bed when chaebyul had collapsed onto her. without any response from  the two other dormmates, ji-ae proceeded to tuck chaebyul in as kymin watched, leaning against the bedframe. eunji stood where she was, fiddling with her math homework, uncertain about what she was supposed to do.

the awkward silence didn't last long though. minah and hyusu had returned to the dorm together, and as the pile of library books in hyusu's arms tumbled to the ground, minah rolled her eyes at the older girl, setting her own pile of books down on her bed before snatching up the fallen books and flinging them to hyusu. minah didn't so much as acknowledged the pressence of the other girls, making a beeline straight towards the bathroom while the rest watched quietly. she seemed to exude an invisible force; everybody knew from the first glance that she was not to be trifled with. "uhh so what do we do with the.. uhh.. body?" kymin drawled as she slid into bed. "b-body?!" hyusu gave a strangled cry as she found herself staring at the girl under the sheets. "sheesh. she's not dead.. probably just tired.. or homesick.. she's one of the youngest after all." ji-ae smoothed out chaebyul's hair as the latter seemed to visibly relax under her touch. hyusu nodded and joined ji-ae as she positioned her own teddy bear in the girl's arms. eunji, having witnessed the entire event in silence, turned back to her math homework in misery. then, as the girls went back to doing their own businesses, a calm voice called out, "should we do some introductions?". the voice belonged to ji-ae, the one who actually had shown the utmost concern and displayed responsibility for the well-being of the other girls in the dorm. eunji tensed up in her chair as hyusu nodded with a hint of excitement. kymin resurfaced from under the blanket. everybody saw chaebyul give a flinch as her eyes fluttered open. beside her, tiffany had unknowingly hovered over her while ji-ae was tending to chaebyul. tiffany quickly withdrew herself as younju stepped back as well. eunji, observing from the sidelines, scratched her head in confusion.

"it's okay.." ji-ae coaxed, as she slid under the covers with the now consious chaebyul. "I know you must be feeling homesick.. we'll get through this together!" chaebyul bobbed her head lightly, panic still clouded her eyes. "so I'll start first," ji-ae began.

"I'm kang ji-ae and I'm twenty this year. I'm a junior." she motioned for the others to introduce themselves.

"kim kymin. seventeen. freshman." kymin stayed detached, but stood respectfully as she noted that ji-ae was older.

"I-I'm jung hyusu. I'm eighteen this year, a s-sophomore." she was smiling, excited, but also nervous.

"..s-seo eunji.. I'm s-sixteen. I'm a f-freshman.." eunji was trying.

the girls strained to hear eunji speak. everyone turned expectantly to the last girl as she gave a little cough.

"z-zhang chaebyul. s-sixteen.." she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

there was a pause as another voice spoke up. "I'm tiffany hwang." and another. "younjuuuuu!" the other hollered. chaebyul frozed in horror while the rest were struggling to keep their composure. ji-ae smiled to herself as she noted the return of the usual playful tiffany as eunji tossed a side glance to a hyper younju, pulling up into a smile. each of them thought that only they themselves could hear the two extra voices. all of them pretended not to hear.

"ahh so I'm the oldest. I should've known that." ji-ae saved the conversation again by pulling a face. this elicited smiles from almost everyone, including eunji and chaebyul. "and we have the maknae line!" ji-ae looked at them fondly. the two maknaes were already warming up to her.

"two is better than one.." kymin spaced off by herself.

"kim kymin." ji-ae mock-glared at the younger. "I know what you're thinking about. don't you dare!" kymin narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue jokingly at the elder. ji-ae turned to the maknaes as she declared them under her protection. "and may those who bully them face the wrath of.. me." she deadpanned. now kymin couldn't hold back a chuckle as well. she felt like she belonged, somehow. she wasn't ignored here. she liked it, even though ji-ae didn't say anything about protecting her, she just felt.. safe. for the first time in the dorm, there wasn't awkward silence. it was a comfortable serenity as all of them nodded and smiled at one another.

the sound of the shower being broke the calm atmosphere of the dorm. "WHO. TURNED. OFF. THE HEATER?!" a muffled voice made its way across the dorm. with a grin, kymin turned another switch. as the light in the shower turned off, the bystanders suppressed their giggles as they rushed into their beds, awaiting the wrath of their newly-acquainted dorm mate.  

co-author's note:     heyyyy so here's the fourth chapter! ^^ I had fun picturing the girls! please do tell me if I wrote your character out of her plotline >.< sometimes I might mess up their reactions! anyway, thank you so much for staying by! we hoped you have enjoyed the story so far! :D ooh and I've discussed with sherr and I'll be doing the next chapter as well while sherr will come back with the sixth! :) seeyou soon!