The next day when Kyungsoo dropped Min Jee off at her house, her mother gave her a handful and interrogated her right into next week before taking away her travelling privileges and basically putting her on house arrest until further notice (the good thing about her mother was that she usually caved after a few days so she wasn’t worried). Min Jee of course, couldn’t actually tell her mom what she was actually up to, and thus her mom assumed she started dating someone. It didn’t exactly help with the fact that Kyungsoo opened the car door for her in front of her house and her mother saw the whole exchange. Her mother asked to meet the young man sometime, and Min Jee didn’t know how to weasel her way out of that.

Nonetheless even though Min Jee was on house arrest, there was one person who her mother trusted more than her own daughter and that was Minseok. It was the perks of having a childhood friend who was the most respectable and responsible child that Min Jee’s mother ever met. Her mother practically adopted Minseok as her own and Min Jee still believed that her mother was still hoping those two would get married at some point in spite of them both telling her that they saw each other as siblings.

“Thank you about pulling me out of there.” Min Jee said in the passenger seat of Minseok’s jeep. At the moment they were driving to the café after her mother said the okay, it was a Friday and her mother wasn’t that cruel. Minseok keep quiet, and Min Jee couldn’t help but glance over to her friend who was frowning. “Minseok?”

He suddenly slammed his hand on the steering wheel and Min Jee jumped, “You should have told me you were going there!” Minseok shouted at her.

“Well you said you didn’t want to be pulled in any of my mishaps again.” Min Jee argued referring to their previous conversation.

“Yeah, but I’d rather you not get hurt.” Minseok said, and looked over at her, worry evident in his eyes, “Plus I had no clue you were going to follow this whole box thing.”

“I was curious.” Min Jee replied even though she did feel a bit bad about not telling Minseok.

“Curiosity will get you killed one day,” Her friend eventually said with a sigh, “So at least tell me next time you’re planning on going somewhere okay?”

Min Jee blinked and pursed her lips thinking for a bit before searching through her bag for a card. She handed it to Minseok who glanced at it with a raised eyebrow.

“Then I hope you don’t mind bringing me to this place?”

*

*

*

 “I can’t believe you were able to convince me to bring you here.” Minseok said as they both eyed some university students roaming around the campus.

“I like to assume it’s my charms.” Min Jee replied, before walking towards the building with Minseok closely following her who barked out a laugh at her answer.

After a while of wandering around the place, Minseok realized that Min Jee was still as useless as ever with directions and thus took over searching for the head of the archaeological department—as said on the card given to her—with Min Jee trailing behind him with a sheepish smile.

She couldn’t help but admire the place, this was where she was going when summer ended, and while she felt prepared, she didn’t know how well she would handle it all. Her last year in high school was insanely crazy and stressful after all, and she could only imagine university could be worse. Nonetheless, it felt as though it was a new beginning and for that, she was excited.

She didn’t realize the campus was so big though.

Seriously though, she had to consider exercising.

“I think this is the room.” Minseok said pointing at the door in front of them they got to by entering one of the many buildings there.

Min Jee shrugged and glanced around momentarily thinking she saw someone looking at her near the end of the hall, “Well let’s knock then.”

A voice answered and told them to come in and when they did, Min Jee saw a man who looked only a bit older than her, a few years a least around Minseok’s age. He was currently sitting in a chair and bent over reading a paper behind a table, and brandishing his red pen like a sword.  

“Mr. Zhang may we speak to you?” Min Jee asked walking into the room and glancing around at the relics and knick knacks that were placed all around, each of them were unique and creative. She was sure each held a wonderful story and under another circumstance she would have wanted to know what they were.

The man glanced up and smiled, a dimple appearing on his cheek and Min Jee stared and resisted the urge to do something stupid, like surrender to the side of her that wanted to poke that dimple. However it was a second later that the professor widened his eyes.

“Minseok?”

“Yixing?”

“You two know each other?” Min Jee said a bit incredulous.

“Yeah, we were friends for a while till he moved away.” Minseok answered and then turned back to Yixing. “Glad you’re back though, as a professor no less.”

“Thanks, I’m glad to be back myself,” Yixing said smiling widely, and the two exchanged hugs before patting each other on the shoulder. “So what brings you here?”

“As much as I’d like to catch up, that’s actually Min Jee who wants to ask you some things.”

At that, the two exchanged pleasantries before all three of them sat down.

“Well what is it?” Yixing asked.

Min Jee pulled out the box and handed it to Yixing who held it with careful hands. His eyes instantly lit up with delight while staring at the box. In fact he was the designs on the box with delicate fingers as if it would fall apart in his hands. After a while Min Jee felt a little uncomfortable to the point where she vaguely wondered if she should leave the room.

“So this has been in my family for years,” Min Jee said, it wasn’t totally a lie, for all she knew it actually was, her grandmother just didn’t tell her about it, “And well since I’m not expert on the symbols here, I was recommended from a friend that you can have more luck with deciphering them.”

Yixing looked up at that, and smiled, “Well you’re not wrong there, and this is my area of expertise.”

“So you’ll do it?” Min Jee asked with a bit of eagerness leaking through her voice. She would finally know.

“On one condition,” The professor answered with a more serious tone, at this, even Minseok leaned closer to hear what he had to say, “Whatever I find, I can use the information to document a research paper, it’s been a while since I’ve published something.”

Min Jee felt no harm in the request and nodded. The two exchanged phone numbers after that, and Min Jee left the room not long after so that Minseok would have the opportunity to be able to catch up with his old friend.

As she stood leaning against a pillar that looked across the courtyard, Min Jee felt herself become entertained at some of the students, who by the way they were running, were late for their classes and found herself exercising the idea that she’d turn into one of them soon enough. Some part of her didn’t believe that she was already an adult and that at some point she’d have to face the responsibilities that her mother always told her about it. Frankly, it all scared her and all she wanted to do was to take a break; do something to liven up her summer days before she’d fall under the pressure of a university student.

Watching the students milling around, she wondered if it would actually happen.

*

*

*

Min Jee jumped as if someone touched her on the shoulders—something she never liked people doing—but when she looked around she found nobody.

Minseok who was sitting across her at the café raised an eyebrow at her antics, “You okay?”

The girl frowned, feeling as if someone was watching her. “I’m fine,” she answered, before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

Minseok just looked at her.

“Seriousl