It was rather unusual to switch buildings in the middle of the school year but this college did it. It was still on their college’s campus but the students of the arts were relocated to another spot because the board had been given permission to demolish their old one to build a huge auditorium. Baeri didn’t understand why they would even want one but it wasn’t like she had any saying in it all so like any other good student, Kim Baeri let it slide.

 

She was still curious, though, because they had been given a week off so the school could move all their stuff to the ‘new’ building, so she decided to take a look at what would be her prison for the rest of her time at this college. To say that she was surprised was an understatement.

 

Baeri winced at the sight of the brown brick building and shook her head when she ran her eyes over the massive structure that was supposed to be their new campus. She also couldn’t help but groan when she saw a dozen steps - now covered in a dangerous layer of snow - that led to the entrance because this undoubtedly meant that every morning, the girl had to climb these to get to class.

 

Morning exercise was the devil’s invention.

 

Drawing a deep breath, Baeri prepared herself mentally before she started to climb the stairs. She noticed with each step she took that the height of the following wasn’t as high as she expected. Normally, she had to use a little more muscle and stretching when she walked because she was smaller than average but now it took her the least amount. A victorious smirk found her lips because this meant that every person that was taller than her would hate these steps because they were too low. That’s what you get for being tall!

 

When Baeri reached the top, she couldn’t help but gape at the large wooden doors that were supposed to be the entrance. From a distance they didn’t look as massive as they looked right now with the woman standing closer. She pulled on the golden (gold?!) metallic handle and groaned at the heaviness the door moved with when she opened it and quickly slipped through the crack she created, sighing relieved when she had safely entered the large hall.   

 

“Goddamn workout and school hasn’t even started yet,” Baeri mumbled to herself as she wiped the snow from her jacket and hooked her thumbs into the bands of her backpack as she scanned the old hall she found herself in. “You’d think they would bless us with an upgrade,” the girl continued to complain to herself when she slowly started to walk more into the building and spotted the small cracks in the gray walls that surrounded her. The interior was fairly modern but one could definitely see that the building itself had aged well and had seen its best time.

 

Frowning at the various paintings that hung from the walls, Baeri couldn’t help but feel like she was walking through a museum rather than a college. It was only logical, though, because the woman attended a fairly well known school of the arts. Students that went here didn’t make it all the way to the top but far enough to make themselves known in the world of the delicate crafts. Baeri wasn’t aiming to become the most famous pencil artist out there but she definitely wanted to be known. She knew she had talent - this was acknowledged by the board of the school and her fellow students - so there was a part inside of her that whispered that she deserved it.

 

So did for the rest of the students at her college but everyone had dreams.

 

Baeri continued to scan the empty hallways, reading the numbers and signs that helped the students to find their way around the building, but felt her fingers tighten around her bag straps when she read what was on the first floor. She strode with confident steps up the stairs but they faltered as soon as she saw the black letters against white signs above the doors.

 

 

She bit on the inside of her lower lip before approaching one of the closed doors and checked through the window next to it if anyone was inside. When finding nothing but emptiness, Baeri slipped her hand onto the cold handle of the door, hesitated for a moment but shrugged the feeling off and opened the door. The wood sounded like a soft thud when it met with the doorframe but Baeri didn’t take notice of it because the contents of the room had her full attention.

 

The outer wall was completely covered with windows that let in enough natural light to make Baeri narrow her eyes because of the brightness. The wooden floor felt comfortable under the student’s feet because every step made her feel like she was as light as a feather - the floor seemed to move and adjust to her whole being. A small smile found her lips when she spotted her reflection in the wall furthest from her and began approaching it until she stood in front of it, only inches left between her and the shiny surface of mirrors.

 

A black box on the right caught her attention and when she walked closer, she recognized it as the stereo system that regulated the music in the room. Various sliders and buttons covered the top with a gap on the side for CDs - Baeri nodded impressed because it was all pretty advanced. She shrugged her backpack from her back and threw it next to the box together with her jacket, when she spotted a black cord that led away from it with a golden ending. Baeri’s lips molded into a grin and with swift movements, the student fished her phone from her bag and plugged the cord into it, earning a few static noises through the room.

 

Shuffling through her phone, she found her music gallery and pressed some buttons on the box before playing a song. She smiled when an English song began playing through the speakers; the voice of Justin Timberlake instantly seeping into her muscles together with the beat that faintly called her name.

 

 

 

“Yes we are, mister JT,” Baeri responded softly to the song with the same smile that had appeared on her lips before and began to lightly bounce on her toes, stretching her neck and arms over her head to loosen her muscles. The first verse began playing while she shook her muscles and when she heard the song progress into the bridge, her hands began to move lightly with the beat as she took a few steps back.

 

 

Her shoulders locked at the hook before she let herself go. Her moves were a little rusty and not as fluid as before but the heat she felt in her chest was still the same; still the feeling of satisfaction that spread from her heart to the rest of her body, traveling through her bloodstream until it reached her toes. Baeri rolled her head before locking it and stretched her arm so it was perpendicular to her body before sensually pulling it back to her side.

 

It was a sense of freedom that hugged her whenever she moved this selfless. Her heart would pound in her chest and left her with nothing but pure bliss traveling through her body. To have danced since she was a teen, Baeri found refuge in this sport. It was her escape from reality because she didn’t have to think of anything other than her breathing while the beat took her by the hand and led her through her fantasy world.

 

A clicking sound from behind her snapped Baeri out of her dreamy reverie and almost fall to the floor because she miss-stepped. “Oh, I’m sorry!” she heard a faint voice over the music but didn’t turn to the source of it and just made her way to the sound system where she pressed pause on her phone. The room was instantly filled with nothing but silence; the song still played in Baeri’s head but it was almost like the silence around her was louder when she turned to the entrance.

 

A boy with a blue and white beanie rubbed the back of his head with a caught wince playing his face as he slowly made his way to the middle of the otherwise empty room. “I didn’t know anyone was using this.” he apologized softly and met with Baeri’s surprised eyes. Like anyone else in the world, Baeri had one specific thing she noticed at first glance. She was sure that she wasn’t the only one that did, but eyes always caught her attention like flowers did to bees. It intrigued her because they came in different shapes, colors and owners that interested her or not.

 

It was terribly cheesy but eyes were like windows to the soul and Baeri lived to this saying.

 

Her feelings and judgments went through the eyes of a person because this pair showed how a human being really was. It was weird but this was the method she handled when she met new people because it just attracted her.

 

So as she was staring at the beanie-boy that had just entered, all that went through her head was one thought. His eyes are so big! kept echoing in her mind but soon she snapped out it when she saw the man come nearer until he stood a few feet away. “No, it’s fine,” Baeri showed him a small smile whilst waving the situation away. “I was leaving anyways.”

 

The male’s mouth rounded before he nodded in understanding. To Baeri’s surprise, her eyes fell to his lips and subtly scanned their redness and the way they were slightly parted into a smile that showed a sliver of his straight teeth. They were fairly plush and managed to make the woman conscious of her own because they were almost as luscious as his; so she pressed them together in tightlipped smile. She bowed at him before quickly detaching her phone from the sound system and threw it back into her bag, which she shrugged onto her back before turning to the boy again.

 

Their eyes met for a moment again but Baeri broke the contact almost in an instant because the look he had in them made her feel uncomfortable, so she quickly brushed past him with her jacket in her hands as to take her leave. “See you,” she heard the boy call after her so she turned to him when she was at the door and showed him a small wave before she disappeared behind the door into the hallway.

 

Before the student knew it, she was standing outside at the top of the stairs before the entrance of her new college building. Her breathing was irregular and created large, white clouds of air that left and joined the cold winter air. When she felt herself having calmed down, Baeri carefully walked down the steps to the bordering street and leaned against a light pole with a sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts for a moment and shook her head when she realized she hadn’t even worn her jacket in her hurry.

 

She quickly slipped into her black and green jacket before pulling her bag back onto her shoulder and let out a frustrated groan. “Damn eyes.” she mumbled to herself and started to make her way to the nearest bus stop with a pair of perfectly shaped brown eyes torturing her in the back of her head.

 

 

 

 

“Where are they!” Baeri’s brother bellowed as he held her in a tight headlock. The younger struggled in his grip and smacked his back and sides with her frantic hands but it was to no avail because he was two times as big as her. “I - don’t know!” the girl tried to voice but since she was nearly choking, it came out like a strangled groan rather than a sentence. Jihoon kept his grip tight and surprised his sister by starting to walk towards the kitchen with her still in his hold. “Let me tell you a little story, my dear sister,” he spoke as he continued to drag the two of them towards a cabinet.

 

“Do you see this?” he asked casually as he looked down at the head with dark hair that was visible in his arm. “W-what do you - think!” Baeri croaked and continued to wiggle her way out of his tight grip. Jihoon laughed at her poor attempts and opened the upper cabinet anyway. “This is a spot I like to call my little piece of heaven. We all know why and we all know the rules,” the man continued as he lifted Baeri’s head, revealing a reddened face with a deep scowl.

 

She glanced at the filled cabinet with food and rolled her eyes as sassy as she could in the headlock. “Geez, such a fatty,” she spoke daringly with a smirk on her lips. Jihoon frowned at the girl in his arm and harshly knuckled her head, earning a string of screams and curses from the smaller. “You really think that comment will help your case?”

 

Baeri tried to pull her head from his grip with all her might and was glad when she heard her mother’s voice call for her brother. “Jihoon, for God’s sake, let your sister go and help me set the table!”

 

With a groan, the man let Baeri go and threw her a dirty look as he walked towards the kitchen but not before doing the I’m-watching-you gesture multiple times. “We’re not done yet,” he finally said to her and disappeared behind the kitchen wall. Baeri dropped herself onto the carpeted floor as soon as he had left and spread her limbs as she enjoyed the freedom her mother had initiated. A sigh escaped her lips when she rest her eyes and rolled onto her side with a groan. “Damn giant.”

 

“Baeri, dinner!” the girl heard her mother call and made her instantly jump to her feet when she caught the scent of her favorite dish. “I’m glad you decided to join us, fatty,” Jihoon greeted his sister with a victorious smile and waved at her with his chopsticks. Baeri mocked him for a moment before she took a seat next to her mother and did a quick prayer before digging in.

 

Dinner at the Kim’s household was never a boring and that was once again proven tonight, as Baeri was fishing a piece of slaw out of her hair with a dirty scowl with her brother laughing like the mad hatter in the background. Bora, the mother of the two, just continued eating her meal as the situation was all too familiar to the elder and only tapped her son’s fingers with her chopsticks once to warn him. “Gee, thanks for your support, mom,” Baeri pouted when she saw this and took an angry bite of the meat she had impaled on a stick.

 

Bora smiled at her daughter’s behavior and lovingly her cheek with the back of her hand. “Where’d you go this afternoon? You didn’t finish your chores,” she skillfully changed the subject and eyed Baeri for a moment before taking a casual sip from her water. The girl winced at the reminder and went for the ‘stop-drop-and-roll out of the vicinity of your mother’ as she feinted a stretch before attempting to dash for it. Her brother knew how his little sister thought, however, and stuck out his leg from under the table, resulting in the student to smack on the floor with a defeated whine.

 

“School,” she continued to whine and rolled onto her back with a pouty face. Bora frowned at this and looked over the edge of the table. “Don’t you have break this week?” she asked and leaned her chin in her palm. Baeri sneered at her brother as she straightened and stood up to take a seat again. “I do but we have a new building so I wanted to check it out.”

 

Baeri’s mother hummed in understanding before motioning at her daughter to continue eating. “Seen anything interesting?” Jihoon asked with his mouth filled with food as he hadn’t just tripped his sister. At the mention of interesting, Baeri’s stance stiffened and instantly the brown eyes she had stuffed away earlier came rushing back and flooded her mind with images. Quickly shaking her head, the student filled with meat and vegetables to try and ignore the piercing pair.

 

Jihoon and his mother looked on with slight disgust how the little being at their table slurped and her food away - most probably not even enjoying the taste or texture. “I’m done!” Baeri cleaned and showed the two a smile before sliding from her seat and stalking over to the entrance to the living room.

 

“Kim Baeri, you best come back right now and clean your dishes or I will let you do your forgotten chores plus Jihoon’s room.”

 

These words made Baeri halt abruptly in her spot and remain motionless for a moment before she shot back to the table and carefully grabbed her dirtied plate with a sweet smile that was meant for her mother. “How could I have forgotten~” she spoke sweetly and pressed a kiss against her mother’s cheek before placing it in the sink and rinsing them. “How was the new building then?” the student heard her mother asked and frowned as she thought back to this afternoon. “Old,” she replied and turned the plate under the running water to remove the soap, “but it has all the required rooms so it’s fine.”

 

The memory of the hall containing the practice rooms found its way into Baeri’s mind, making a small smile appear on her lips. “They even have dancing rooms,” she added softly and recalled how she had swayed in one of them. “Dancing? But you’re not in that program,” Bora spoke up confused again and reminded Baeri of that one painful fact. “I know but every course has been put in the same building for the time being because of the relocation,” the student clarified, trying to show that she wasn’t affected by those words and nodded to herself. “So also students of the dance program.”

 

She heard her mother hum in response, but then ask the one question she really didn’t want to answer. “Have you met them?”

 

Baeri nearly dropped the plate back into the sink when her mother had taken her by surprise and hissed frustrated as she tried to push the brown eyes away from her mind. “I-I might’ve. I don’t know?” she answered with an unsure tone and put the clean plate into the respective cabinet with surprisingly shaky hands.

 

“Mom, do we have any ice cream left?” Jihoon interrupted with his loud voice as he searched through the fridge and freezer. “I ate it,” Baeri commented casually when she felt her heart slow down again as her mother didn’t continue to ask about the dancers. Jihoon sneered at his sister and bumped her with his when she passed him, making her laugh. “Oh, and those cookies of yours were delicious!” she called with a wide grin on her lips before she shot out of the kitchen, up the stairs to avoid her brother’s wrath.

 

Jihoon gaped at her random outburst slash confession and was momentarily stunned but when the words had finally settled in his ears, he snapped. “Kim Baeri!!!”

 

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