Part Two

        It took her a whole month to make that adjustment. Friends weren’t really hard to come by. Turns out, there was a bunch of kids who are as awkward as her and they kind of just gravitated towards each other.

        This doesn’t mean that her life line wasn’t needed. There’s a reason why he was her life line.

~0~

        “Kids here don’t usually like being bothered. The intellectual ones tend to stay in one place...”

        “The library?”

        It’s her first week at the campus. She’s moved at one of the U Dorms and is quite settled. Her room mates weren’t that bad, all of them coming from towns outside Seoul. They studied to a certain extent to be accepted to this university, regardless of having no connections.

        “Aish... Would you let me be the intellectual one for once? I’m giving you a tour...”

        “So they do stay at the library? Like those uni students in tv dramas?”

        “Aigoo... Those kids act like uni is easy. You’ve been accepted to this school with blood and tears; do you think you’d be able to graduate without shedding more?”

        “Stop scaring me...” She sneaks a glance at him; the left side of his mouth is twitching. “You’re scaring me, right?”

        “Of course not...” The playful smile is still on his face as he continues with what he calls a ‘How to get by in Uni’ lecture. “Some students join study clubs... The library can be over crowded during exam week. So it’s good if you can find somewhere quiet to study. That is where the club rooms become useful.”

        She decided to ignore the teasing. Tips are tips regardless of how it was given. “Okay, first, I need to join a club... What clubs are there to join? Oh wait... I saw a few posted on the lobby’s bulletin board.”

        “Join one or two... Make sure it’s of interest to you...”

        “What clubs did you join?”

        “Ha! I’m not telling... You’d probably stalk me if I did...”

        “You wish!”

        He laughs out loud, eyes barely visible. Lee Soo Jung resists the urge to melt in a puddle. “I’ll see you around... Message me if you need someone to eat meals with...”

        “Go with your friends if you’re so popular...”

        “Ye... See you around, Soo Jungie!” he messes with her hair before waving goodbye and going the opposite direction.

        She watches as he disappears into the sea of university students.  Her first week wasn’t that bad. Maybe she’ll ask if Myeong Eun and Sung Jong want to look for clubs to join.

        The book club and the music club might be a nice idea. She wonders if they are still accepting new members.

~0~

        University is fascinating in a sense that you get to meet different types of people all at once. It’s not like high school since you mostly came from the same neighbourhood or you practically grew up knowing each other. 

        It’s nice to know new people.

        “Yo! Lee Soo Jung!”

        Not someone like him though.

        “Hey, I was looking all over for you. My friend and I are setting up a hip hop group. We’d like you to feature on it...”

        “Feature?”

        “Yeah, like sing for a bit... You know like sing the chorus or something...”

        Meet Jang Dong Woo, a sunbae from the music club. He’s into... hip hop... And he’s a bit...

        “Crazy? You think the idea is crazy, do you?”

        Can he read minds?

        “Aish, I’m not a mind reader. It’s just written all over your face. Let’s just try, okay... Your friend, Park Myeong Eun said yes already. So... call?”

        “Ah, yeah... Call.” I was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug. How do I get out?

        “Ya! Lee Soo Jung!”

        The familiar voice made Soo Jung freeze. She’s a magnet of wrong timing.

        “Oh, Sung Gyu-nim... How have you been? You’ve skipped club practices.”

        “Do you know him?” 

        The bear hug has suddenly gotten lose. Soo Jung looks at both males, seemingly sizing each other up. Is she getting her own university romance? Omo! University life has just become more exciting.

        “Excuse me, guys... Don’t figh—“

        “Jang Dong Woo, why are you squeezing this hoobae so hard? Are you scheming again?”

        Jang Dong Woo’s laugh is so hard and loud, everybody starts staring. It’s a bit embarrassing.  So, is my university dream romance not happening? Aren’t they fighting over me? She thought, looking alternately (more bewildered now) at both guys.

        “You asked me to feature only to find out that I’ve been replaced by a newbie. Aren’t you being harsh?”

        “Oh that... we’re actually planning on doing three songs. So we need three people to feature. This one here decided to be the third one...”

        “Soo Jung? Is she singing or rapping with you? She’s pretty good at rap... Singing, I think she needs a bit of practice...”

        “Ya!”

        “Let’s all work well together then... I’ll see you both at the club room.” That teasing smile again, Soo Jung sometimes want to smother his face when he does that. But most of the time it just renders her speechless.

        “Ye, club president!”

        Club President? Kim Sung Gyu is the Music Club’s president?

        “You didn’t know? Gyu-nim restored the music club... I’ll see you later. We’ll have the piece ready so brace yourself.”  He walks out with a laugh.

        There’s a lot of things that she still doesn’t know about university student Kim Sung Gyu. She realized, there’s really nothing that she knows about of the Kim Sung Gyu of now. The disappointment starts to set in.