“Well, that’s the last of it.”

She hears the resounding thump of a box on her wooden floor as Jongdae drops the last of the stuff she brought with her from home. Minseul heaves a sigh of relief, a tired smile on her face as she raises her hand to give Jongdae a high-five.

“I really don’t know how I would’ve managed to move in if you didn’t help out, Jongdae. Thanks a lot,” she tells him fondly.

Jongdae’s eyes crinkle and he shrugs lightly, sporting an effortless grin. “Come on, it was nothing. Besides, you’ll be helping me and Dae In move in to our apartment once she flies in tomorrow. She has a lot of crap, just so you know, so better prepare yourself.”

Minseul nods and offers to buy coffee and a late lunch for the two of them. “I’ll be right back. If you want to freshen up, you can take a shower in the common bathroom,” she tells him before she leaves. “Technically it’s for girls only, but I don’t think anyone’s around yet anyway so it should be okay for you to use.”

As Jongdae walks the empty halls of Hongik University’s all-girls dorm, he can’t help but feel giddy with excitement. In two weeks’ time he’ll be starting college. He can’t wait for all the parties, the new people he’ll meet and the friends he’ll make, and the girls. The girls! He didn’t date much in high school, though he was always friendly with the ladies. But he promised himself he’ll do better in college on the dating front, and his best friend vowed to make sure he makes good on that promise. Like him, Dae In couldn’t wait to start college either. Jongdae have been best friends with her since they were kids, and while it probably didn’t help either of them on the dating front in high school (there were always rumors going around that they were more than just best friends, but they were truthfully always just rumors, and the two of them were always just best friends), they promised to help each other get a boyfriend and a girlfriend freshman year.

“So here’s the deal,” Jongdae said the night they got their acceptance letters in the same university (and maybe they were slightly tipsy from the champagne they stole from his parents’ stash to celebrate). “We have to promise not to be a , but instead be a wingman to each other in college.”

The clink of glass, a sip and a gulp. “I don’t approve of you using all male references in this mutual agreement you’re proposing,” she slurs, “but fine. I get it. We have a deal.”

It makes him smile now, thinking about how they spent their last summer before college making plans and getting organized, including looking for an apartment they’ll be sharing near the campus. He thought it that they only got to spend one month of the summer together because Dae In left the country to go on a backpacking trip with her cousins, but at least it freed up his summer so he could work at his dad’s shop and earn some extra cash for all those dates he’ll be spending on once freshman year starts. Oh, the college dating game. He couldn’t wait to get in on all the action. The only thing left to do now is to find a girl he likes who would actually go out with him. Luckily he has eyes on the ground in Minseul, another high school friend, who’ll be staying at the girls’ dorms. All bases covered, that’s how he operates.  

The stifling summer heat and the effort of hauling all those boxes to Minseul’s dorm room got him all sweaty and smelly, and Jongdae couldn’t take it anymore. As he steps into the common bathroom, he pulls off his shirt, ready to douse himself in a refreshing shower. He doesn’t immediately realize he isn’t the only one in the bathroom.

He hears a gasp and a whimper that make him look up to see a girl by the sink, a towel wrapped around her body, toothbrush in hand, the glob of toothpaste on it falling into the sink as she stares at him in shock, eyes wide and mouth open. Jongdae doesn’t miss the way the girl’s eyes rake over his flat stomach and toned arms (which he also worked on during the summer), and he couldn’t help but return the favor, staring back at her cleavage and tan legs, but most of all, finding the way she blinks slowly in confusion incredibly cute and adorable.

The moment doesn’t last long, however, and in a blink of an eye Jongdae finds himself dodging to avoid a projectile toothbrush coming his way in impressive speed and accuracy.

“What the hell are you doing here, you ?! This is a girls’ dorm! Get the hell out!” the girl all but screams at him, cheeks flushed in anger or embarrassment or attraction, he doesn’t know.    

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m not a . I was helping a friend move in to her room and she said I could take a shower here because we didn’t know anyone else was around. I’m sorry!”

“I don’t care why you’re here, just get the out before I call the police!”

“Okay, okay! Relax,” Jongdae tells her with a smile before covering his eyes with his hand. “There. I don’t see anything. I didn’t see anything. Just like you didn’t see anything. Are we cool? I’m gonna go now.” He backs out of the bathroom slowly.

But before he leaves, he takes one final peak at the girl, still flushed and flustered by the sink and looking as cute as ever, and throws her a genuine smile.

 “Oh, and see you around, I hope,” he says before skipping back to Minseul’s room.