Ji Eun shielded her eyes as the sun pierced through her blinds and right into her face. 'God, why now?" She wondered. Her eyes shot open "I'm late!" She cried, throwing off her covers and racing to her dresser, throwing her clothes about and just as she made it to the bathroom door, she stopped.

"Wait a minute, its Tuesday," she said out loud." I don't have class today." Her face fell into that look, the one when you realize that you're a moron. She tossed her clothes on her desk, threw her clothes back into the dresser, drew her curtains and crawled back into bed. 'Every Tuesday,' she thought to herself, snuggling into her pillow and cuddling beneath her blankets. 'I'd forget my head if it weren't attached.' Her thoughts drifted away as she lost herself into a blissful sleep.

Some time later she almost had a heart attack falling out of bed. Gina had jumped on her, waking her up, kicking and flailing until they were both a giggling heap on the floor, tangled up in her blankets. "So, how'd it go last night?" She asked. Ji Eun raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? He took me home and left."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. What did you think was going to happen?" She asked. Gina shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know...loss of ity at least." Ji Eun's jaw dropped.

"Gina!" She scolded. Gina waves her off.

"Oh, come on, you gotta give up the v card sometime!" She shrugged.

"You know I wouldn't do that!" Ji Eun sat upright, clenching her pillow. "You know that-"

"You're waiting for that special someone, blah blah. Not until marriage, blah blah." She rolled her eyes. "Its gonna hurt either way...unless you've been practicing." Ji Eun turned away from Gina in disgust.

"Ew." Now it was Gina's turn to roll her eyes.

"Its not 'ew,' Ji Eun. How is your future man gonna know how to please you if you don't know how stuff works down there, hm?" She asked.

"I, I don't know..."

"Do you expect him to be a too? Then what?" She shrugged, pulling a magazine out of her purse. "Sounds.sloppy to me." Ji Eun rolled her eyes.

"I'll give my cookies out when I'm damn good and ready." She said, her face flushed. Gina giggled.

"Is that what you got goin on? A bakery?" She shook her head. "Make sure those cookies don't burn, Ji Eun" She said as she rose from the floor, heading out for the day.

*****

Minseok wiped the grease off his hands and threw the dingy towel aside. He tightened the pipe, giving it a good look. Satisfied with his work, he got up, gathering his tools. He turned to one of the cooks. "All good. I got all the backed up scraps, you shouldn't have any more problems." He said, lifting the bucket of sludge. The cook wrinkled her nose.

"Thank you Mr. Kim. Now please dispose of that elsewhere, it is stinking up my kitchen." She said, waving him off. He nodded. "Of course." He nodded as he made his way out of the kitchen through the back door. He put a lid on the bucket, making sure to screw it on tightly.

He picked it back up, hauling it to the dumpster. He could hear the football team mocking him. They thought they were slick. But unbeknownst to them, it appeared that they lacked the intelligence to whisper. "He smells like a sewer," he heard one of them say. "I heard he's homeless, bet he's never heard of a shower."

He brushed them off, knowing nothing good would come from giving them the time of day. He spotted Ji Eun, walking by her friend. "Hey!" He called out to her. She looked up, making a face. Her friend leaned over, looking from him to Ji Eun. She smiled and waved him over.

"So, who are you?" Her friend asked.

"Uh, Minseok. We met last night at the party." The friend gasped.

"Oh, that's right. You're the guy that broke some guy's nose." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." He said. He turned to Ji Eun. "So, how have you been?" He asked.

"Fine." She said shortly. "Why do you smell like a sewer?" She asked. Even Gina couldn't hold back her disgust any longer, and covered her nose with a handkerchief.

"Uh...this," he said, holding up the bucket. Ji Eun held back her gag reflex. "I should probably get to throwing this out."

"Yeah, you should." Gina grabbed Ji Eun's hand. "Come on Ji Eun, let's go." she said, making her way clear around Minseok. Eun Ji kept her head down as she passed him.

"Aw look at that," said Yunho, captain of the football team. "His girl totally ignored him. How long was that, Dumpster boy? Five seconds?" He slapped one of his friends on the arm. "Told ya he wouldn't be able to keep her." The entire team burst out in laughter as Minseok turned away.

He understood that he didn't smell like roses, and perhaps he was used to the ridicule that came with it. But it hurt. Knowing that this is what people thought of him. A homeless bum that cleans up garbage. 

As proud as Minseok carried himself, he couldn't change who he was and where he was from. He would always be the boy working for his tuition rather than having a scholarship or having his parents pay for it. And he had never felt such shame as he had the moment Ji Eun had refused to look him in the eye, treating him as everyone else did.

Like garbage.

*****

Ji Eun looked back in Minseok's direction. "Don't look, they'll think we're friends with him." Gina whispered, pulling her along. She fought to go back to him, going through it in her mind. But she had to admit, the stench was overwhelming. She had resolved to find him and apologize. She would do it later, when Gina was sleeping. That way she couldn't pull Ji Eun away.

It was past 10:30, Gina was out cold. She had spent all day with her friends in the campus sorority, and passed out around eight o clock. Ji Eun had snuck out and was walking around, rather lost. She saw a group of people quite a ways off, and hid behind a tree.

'If they saw me I'll always be remembered as the weirdo behind the tree.' She peeked out, seeing no one she crept from her hiding spot.

"Hey," she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could yell, a hand clasped tightly over and drew her close to themselves. "Hey, whoa, calm down Ji Eun its me." She relaxed as she recognized his voice. She turned.around.

"Minseok!" She sighed in relief. He folded his arms.

"Nice of you to notice I exist." He said, returning to his cold demeanor." Ji Eun looked at the ground in shame.

"I'm so sorry, that was awful of me." She said, daring to lookup at him. She could see a small smile peeking out from his tough exterior.

"I suppose I could forgive you. This once." He said, a stern look on his face. "Don't cross me again." Ji Eun nodded. He stuck out his hand. She slowly put out her own. "Oh come off it, I don't smell like sewage anymore, he said as he pulled her close. "Nervous baby?" He asked, a coy smile on his lips.

"Stop calling me that!" She cried, stamping on his foot.

"Yeowch!" He said, letting go of her to grab his foot."Can't even joke around with you can I?" He asked.

"No, I'm not your girlfriend, so you can't call me that!" She said, turning around.

"You say that like being my girlfriend would be a bad thing." She turned to frown at him.

"I don't even know you like that." "You could try. Without running away or denying that you know me." Her face softened.

"What exactly are you looking for?" She asked.

"Just don't pretend that I don't exist." He asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Of course...my turtle." She smiled gleefully as his face turned bright pink. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Minseok." She said, waving at him as she headed back to her dorm.

"Goodnight, Ji Eun." He said, adjusting his backpack and heading back to his own room.