Sam Hunt - Take Your Time

The first thing she noticed when she was changing had been Seulgi’s suspicious look. It was unnerving at first, seeing how cautiously the girl had taken a look at her. Wendy noticed the slight raised eyebrow making its’ way through her soft features and for a moment, she wondered if she had done something wrong.

Did she snore? Was Seulgi a light sleeper? Was snoring one of Seulgi’s turn off?

Wendy wondered what it really had been that had ticked her off. Unable to hold it in any longer, the girl had crept up to her new roommate, her hands fidgeting from the nervousness.

“Seulgi?” She croaked anxiously. “Are you okay?”

As if in trance, the girl only kept looking towards her and Wendy found herself turning back – double checking if there were any ghosts – but found that there was nothing instead.

“Seulgi? Earth to Seulgi?”

“O-Oh!” The girl finally snapped out of it. “Uh… Wendy! Good Morning!”

“Are you okay? You seem a little… restless.”

“Oh, uh…” Her words trailed on. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

There were many things that Seulgi was thinking about. One would have to be how orientation starts really soon. The other would have to be whether she’ll be able to have a good school year. The third, however, involved Wendy talking to a non-existent person that probably lived in their room.

Either that, or she was going crazy.

“You know, last night…”

Please don’t tell me she heard me, please don’t tell me she heard me….

“Who were you talking to, Wendy?” Seulgi continued. “Was it that ghost you met in the diner?”

She heard me.

“Okay, I know this is going to sound weird, but it was the ghost from the diner.” Wendy rambled on. “He suddenly appeared when I was about to sleep and forced me to tell him my life story. I would have said no, but he was really pushy. Like seriously, I didn’t know ghosts could be this pushy. And obviously-”

“Woah, slow down.” The former laughed. “You’re telling me a ghost came into our room and forced you to tell him about your life story?”

“Yes.”

“And this ghost… was pushy?”

“Yes!”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Sounds to me like you got along well with him, though.”

“Yes…. and no.” Wendy made a face. “I got along with him because he was easy to get along with. And I didn’t get along well with him because he was really annoying.”

“So this ghost,” Seulgi laughed. “What’s his name?”

“I think he said his name was Mark?”

“Mark?”

The name seemed to ring a few bells, but Seulgi couldn’t put her finger onto why it seemed familiar. Did she know of any Mark in the first place?

“Mark Tuan. Yeah, that was it.”

“Wait, Mark Tuan?!” She surprised Wendy by jumping over towards her, before shaking her shoulders vigorously. “Mark freaking Tuan?!”

“Ah… yes.” Wendy answered meekly, not because she was scared of her new roommate’s overexcitement, but rather because she was feeling a little nauseous from the shaking. “Do you know him?”

“Do I know him?!” Seulgi exclaimed in disbelief. “Everybody knows him!”

Wendy recalled his ghostly face and that annoying little smile he had when he had wanted to know something. Mark Tuan? Popular? The girl could see why but she secretly wondered if they had bad taste if an annoying guy like him had been popular.

“He was the most popular senior in Summer Valley until he passed away of course. He was the captain of the football team and a pretty good one too. I heard that there were some companies that were actually interested in having him in their team.”

That explains the varsity jacket.

“But pushy?” Seulgi shook her head. “Mark Tuan was never pushy. Sure he was quiet, but that only made him more charismatic. I don’t think he ever was pushy.”

“Are we talking about the same Mark Tuan here?” Wendy frowned as she remembered how too overbearing he had been. “Because I don’t think we’re talking about the same one to be honest.”

“Well,” She scratched her head sheepishly. “I wasn’t really close to him so I wouldn’t know. I’m a loner, remember?”

Wendy nodded her head sympathetically and patted the girl in reassurance. It was honestly too much to say that she expected Seulgi to have been close to him for now she remembered that Seulgi didn’t exactly had the best time growing up in this small town. Wendy then realised that there was much that needed to be done in order for her to help Mark move on to the other side.

“It’s funny, though, knowing that the Mark Tuan wasn’t able to rest in peace.” Seulgi finally spoke after being deep in thought. “But how sure are you that the Mark Tuan you’re talking about right now is the legit Mark?”

“I… don’t know.” Wendy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “Why would a ghost even bother lying about his past?”

“Oh, Wendy.” Seulgi placed her arms around the petite girl. “Aren’t you glad that you have me? A ghost might want revenge, and lying will come easy for beings like them.”

“But I don’t think…”

“Luckily for you,” The girl perked up. “Today happen to be orientation day. Maybe we’ll find out who your ghost really is if he isn’t Mark in the first place.”

“I think you’re over thinking things, Seulgi.”

“When it comes to life and death,” She huffed. “There is no such thing as over thinking. You find that out when you work in a graveyard. Now, off we go to orientation.”

--

Orientation hadn’t really been what she expected.

She imagined the halls to be filled with students rushing all over the place as they try to get their schedules in order. She imagined professors bearing a bored look on their faces as they try to take into account the new troubles that a new year had in store for them.

Wendy expected anything but this.

She sat there wide eyed, amazed that the school took priority in introducing each and every respected senior and professor in campus.

There were a few that had been introduced before; Namjoon the Captain of the Rap Club, Jungyeon of the Model’s Association (something Wendy wasn’t interested in due to her lack of height), Hakyeon, Captain of the Debate club and other professors like Professor Jiyong in Music Studies and Professor Sooyoung in Sociology.

It was definitely strange, she thought, to be introduced to such prominent people in the campus’s very own auditorium. If Wendy had realised it before, she realised it again; noting that the enrolment number was really low.

“Professor Sooyoung can teach me anytime.” Jackson chuckled.

Wendy rolled her eyes at his statement to mock him. The young man had appeared just before they headed into the auditorium, refusing a seat beside his own twin sister and took a seat right beside her instead. She couldn’t help but acknowledge his sense of humour for he always had something to comment on whenever they introduced a prominent member of the University.

“Next.” The host announced and a beautiful young woman walked onto stage.

“Hello.” Her voice boomed through the speakers. “My name is Bae Irene and I’m head captain of the Cheerleading Squad. If you’re flexible and outgoing, the Cheer Squad is the way to go.”

“Hey look it’s cabbage girl!” Jackson grinned widely.

“Cabbage girl?” Wendy turned in confusion.

“It’s an inside joke.” Seulgi whispered. “It’s just a little nickname for her.”

After Irene, a handsome young man had taken the stage and Wendy felt mesmerised by his presence. She turned a quick pink when his eyes had glazed over hers – or was it to someone else – but continued listening attentively anyway.

“Good Morning freshies and everyone else.” The young man smiled a sweet smile. “I’m Park Jinyoung and I’m the Captain of the Football team.”

It seemed everyone knew who he was, for the young man received louder claps than the most popular girl on campus, Irene.

“And no, I’m not related to our Principal.” Jinyoung chuckled. “Though yes, we do have the same name.”

“If uh, you’re good at football, you can come join us.” He finished and Jackson had clapped madly.

“I assume he wants to join the team?” Wendy whispered to Seulgi.

“It has been his lifelong dream.”

The girl was entranced as an older figure took the stage this time. He wore a sleek suit and he had a charismatic aura to him. If she hadn’t been more careful, she was sure that her drools would have made its’ way to the corner of her lips.

“Hello everyone. Nice to see you all.” He spoke out loud, but in a calm manner. “I’m Professor Wooyoung and I will be teaching Communication and Interpersonal skills. All freshmen will probably be under me once classes start as this is a general module.”

“He’s really good looking.” Seulgi giggled.

“Really good looking.” Wendy echoed after.

“He’s nothing special, really.” Jackson crossed his arms though it was obvious that he too was awed by the man’s presence.

“Since I’m the last person introduced,” Professor Wooyoung continued. “I’ll also be the one to tell you to head to the main hall where different extra-curricular activities are lined up so that freshmen can choose one for the rest of their 4 years here. As we are a small campus, it is absolutely mandatory for students to take up an extra-curricular activity. You may now head over to the main hall in an orderly manner.”

“This feels like high school over again.” Wendy muttered to Seulgi who only shrugged her shoulders in response.

“This is what small town universities are like. I guess I’m just used to it.”

“Are you slow pokes going to sit there forever?” The pair turned to find Jackson already excitedly heading to the main hall. “Come on!”

The girls laughed as they trudged after the energetic young man to the hall. As she was walking, Wendy came to meet a few other freshmen, who were nice enough to introduce themselves to her. She didn’t know if it was because she was the new girl in a small town or if it was because they were genuinely nice and outgoing people.

There was one named Hoseok who seemed too eager to introduce himself to her. There was also a Joshua, whose father had been a pastor as told by both Seulgi and Jackson.

Out of the few who introduced themselves to her, Wendy distinctively remembered a Joy. She was really pretty and had a dazzling smile. Unlike the others, she didn’t seem too eager in getting Wendy’s attention and Wendy had felt at ease with her.

She was definitely going to keep an eye out for her. Who knows? Maybe Joy will prove a great friend in the future.

Wendy soon found herself entering a huge hall and widened at the many different booths they have. Her eyes were immediately attracted to a Singing Club and luckily for her, Seulgi did too.

“That’s Kim Taeyeon!” Seulgi tried to maintain her squealing. “She’s the best singer in Summer Valley and is the President of the Singing Club.”

“Do you like singing too, Seulgi?”

“Definitely!” She replied enthusiastically. “I’ve always wanted to sing on stage but I was always too shy.”

“You should go for it!”

“You’re coming along too, right? I know you enjoy singing too.”

“How did you-”

“Your voice is really beautiful, Wendy.” Seulgi grinned cheekily. “But maybe you should sing on stage instead of singing in the shower.”

The girl turned red, embarrassed that her new roommate had already picked up her weird quirks and habits. Wendy strengthened her resolve to be a little more wary of her surroundings, even if Seulgi had been an angel to accept her little quirks.

“Hello.” Taeyeon walked towards them. “Are you guys interested in joining?”

“Yes!”

“That’s great!” The senior laughed. “I haven’t seen such enthusiastic responses in quite some time. I have to admit, though, it isn’t easy to join our club.”

She continued. “We have an audition this coming Thursday. You guys should come.”

“We will!” Seulgi hopped about excitedly. “Where do we sign up?”

“Just sign your name down here.”

When it was Wendy’s turn to sign, she realised that Seulgi had already written her name down for her.

She’s definitely my reliable roommate.

“Hey guys!” A sudden loud voice made its’ way across the halls. “Seulgi! Wendy!”

The pair turned around to see an excited Irene flailing her arms excitedly as she waved them over. She seemed to be trying to get their attention and her action had left Taeyeon muttering is disbelief.

“Wow. You guys are really popular. Even the great Irene wants you over.”

“We’re really not-”

“Ah, that’s because you’re new isn’t it.” Taeyeon nodded in understanding towards Wendy. “Though I could understand why she wants Seulgi to be in it.”

“M-Me?!” The girl widened her eyes in surprise.

“Yeah. Aren’t you Irene’s best friend?”

“But I’m-”

“It makes sense for the popular kids to be in the same club.” Taeyeon laughed. “You guys should go before she gets scolded by the professors for making too much noise.”

When they had walked over towards the Cheer Squad, Seulgi had whispered incredulously towards her partner.

“She called me popular.”

“See.” Wendy reassured the girl. “You’re actually looked upon kindly. Have a little more faith in yourself, Seulgi.”

“Hey guys!” Irene grinned from ear to ear as they arrived at the Cheer Squad’s booth. “Come and join us!”

“I’m not really flexible.” Wendy lied.

“Me neither.”

“Come on, you two.” Irene had frowned. “Seulgi, I’ve known you all my life. There’s no way that you’re not flexible when I’ve seen you do some weird martial art moves on Jackson before.”

“Um…”

“And you, Wendy.” She turned towards the new girl. “Your records stated that you’ve done gymnastics for about 2 years.”

“How did you-”

“Professor Wooyoung allowed me to look at some of the freshmen’s records, though you better keep it a secret.”

“Wow.”

Like that wasn't creepy or anything.

“He’s the one in charge of both cheerleading and football, by the way.”

“I’m not really sure if we’re both a good fit for cheerleading.” Seulgi muttered at long last. “We’re more, uh… down to earth?”

“Don’t be like that will you.” Irene scrunched her nose in annoyance. “Just come for the try-outs this Thursday. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.”

“I don’t know…” It was Wendy’s turn to be deep in thought. “I’ve never really thought about cheerleading.”

“But all the pretty girls try out for cheerleading.” A sudden voice interrupted them.

Wendy turned to face a tanned young man, his charismatic eyes covered by the glasses that he was wearing. He too wore the standard Summer Valley varsity jacket but there was something about the way he wore it that made him stood out more than the others who wore them as well.

“Kai.” Irene sighed. “Why are you always hanging around the Cheer booth?”

“Because that’s where all the pretty girls are.” Kai grinned, before placing his hands on Irene’s shoulders. “Except you, Irene. You’re not that pretty because if I admitted you were pretty, Jaebum will kill me.”

“So who were you trying to hit on this time?” The girl yawned. “Wendy? Seulgi? They’re not interested.”

“I know that.” He faked a cough. “I just came to tell Seulgi that Jackson will probably be confirmed to be a member of the football team.”

They turned towards the football booth and soon saw how pumped up Jackson was from talking to the football seniors. Wendy noted that even the grumpy Jaebum was smiling as well and he was standing next to the handsome Jinyoung, who was still flawless in whatever that he did.

As if he noticed her gaze on him, Jinyoung had returned her eye contact, leaving Wendy much frozen in her spot. When he had gave her a quick smile, Wendy found herself breaking off the eye contact and staring at the ground instead.

“Thanks, Kai.” Irene had answered for the two ladies. “Now if you’ll please excuse us girls.”

“U-Uh!”

“Kai. I’m serious. Move it.”

“I was just wondering,” The young man scratched his head sheepishly. “If Seulgi wanted to come support her brother at the try-outs, even though he’ll be confirmed as a member anyway.”

“I… uh, I guess?” Seulgi blinked on in confusion.

“Great!” Kai gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll see you this upcoming Friday then?”

“Can I bring Wendy along too?”

It took Kai a moment to realise that she had been talking about her new roommate. He turned towards the new girl and Wendy noticed how less awkward he had become.

Kai definitely have the hots for Seulgi.

“Yeah, you can come along too.” Kai answered. “I bet Jinyoung-”

“Sup ladies!” Kai’s sudden words soon turned muffled as a hand suddenly covered his mouth. Wendy jumped at how familiar the voice had been and soon found herself face to face with the man himself. “Nice to see you guys trying out for the Cheer Squad.”

“Seriously, men.” Irene rolled her eyes at their antics before turning to the two girls. “Don’t forget, okay girls? Try-outs are this Thursday. We’ll be waiting for you to come.”

“Uh…”

“You can now entertain these two losers here.” She pointed towards both Kai and Jinyoung. “I’m going to find myself more freshmen.”

“You do that!” Kai shouted to Irene once Jinyoung had let him go. “Geez, way to make it obv-”

“So!” Jinyoung cut his friend off. “You girls trying for the Cheer Squad?!”

“I guess we have no choice.” Seulgi scratched her head sheepishly. “Though we were more interested in the Singing Club.”

“Singing.” Jinyoung nodded his head dramatically. “Very nice. I mean, you’ve always had a beautiful voice, Seulgi.”

“How did you-”

“O-Oh.” The young man realised that he had put himself in an awkward position. “I, uh, heard you sing before. A long time ago.”

“I see…”

“So, Wendy!”

“Y-Yes!” The girl stuttered at being called out so suddenly. Her eyes darted everywhere except at Jinyoung’s eyes.

“U-Uh, you can sing too?”

“I… I guess.” She laughed, though her eyes had now somehow met Kai’s. He looked at her strangely and she felt her heart knotting up in anxiousness.

He definitely thinks something is suspicious!

“G-Great. A-Awesome.”

“Yeah…” Wendy steadied herself to meet his eyes. When she did, she found herself mesmerised at how deeply his gaze seemed to pierce her and she felt her heartbeat beating faster. Like an awkward fool would, she then mumbled out quickly. “Great to see you! Okay! Bye!”

The girl speed walked towards the exit, her hands now clutching onto her chest tightly. This was definitely a sensation that she hadn’t felt in so long. The last time she felt this way was the one time Wendy developed a crush on KPOP Idol member Jaejoong of TVXQ.

And Jinyoung wasn’t even a KPOP Idol to begin with!

“Wendy! Wait up!” Seulgi ran after the panicked girl. “Where are you going?”

“The toilet.” She simply replied. “I need to take a breather.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“It’s okay, Seulgi.” Wendy turned decisively. “I’ll be out in 5 minutes. You can just wait for me near the hall’s doors.”

“Uh… I guess. If you really say so.” Seulgi reluctantly agreed.

Her feet raced quickly towards the toilet and upon seeing it, she slammed the door open as she went to stand near the mirrors. Wendy took in her appearance, still neat but her cheeks were flushed and she seemed to resemble a tomato. She took in quick breaths to steady her heart and after counting down to ten, she managed to slow down her heart rate.

What the hell is wrong with you, Wendy?

“Excellent.” A male voice suddenly echoed in her ear and Wendy screamed in shock. “It’s only the first day and you’re in love.”

“M-Mark?!”

The young man waved coolly before leaning against the white sinks, his eyes searching her features in suspicion.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Wendy raised her voice. “This happens to be the ladies!”

“And I happen to be a ghost. There's literally no boundaries for us ghosts.” He reminded her before coming closer. “Say, you’re in love are you?”

The girl turned even redder and found herself backed up against the wall. She noticed he made no move to come closer and finally straightened her clothes when she realised he had been waiting for an answer.

“I’m not.” Wendy huffed. “I don’t fall in love at first sight.”

“Pity.” Mark mumbled softly before shooting an accusing glare towards her. “By the way, you promised to help me!”

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he continued. “So much for trying to help me find some information! All you’ve been doing since the last couple of hours was ogling at my best friend!”

“I… I didn’t!” She protested. “Wait, what? Jinyoung’s your best friend?”

“You do admit you were ogling him.” Mark muttered through gritted teeth. “Can’t expect any less from a hormonal teenage girl, I guess.”

“You…. You’re a hormonal teenage boy too!”

“Correction.” The young man smirked. “I’m a hormonal teenage ghost. Know the difference.”

“Ergh, whatever!”

Wendy crossed her arms in frustration as she took in his appearance. She noted his eyebrows were knitted tightly together and she wondered if there had been something that was troubling him. When Mark had noticed that her eyes had been glazing through him, he quickly gave her a quick cheeky smile and Wendy confirmed that there was something that had been troubling the poor ghost.

“Anyway, the reason I came to you was because I now have a list of people that could help us in finding more information to why I can’t move on.” Mark broke the awkward silence.

“Oh, really?” Wendy muttered in relief. “That will seriously help me, thanks.”

“Yeah, Jinyoung’s one of them too…” He continued in deep thought. “I guess it will work if you guys got close.”

“You do know that it will be weird if I suddenly brought you up, right?”

“I’m not asking you to ask him right off the bat, stupid.” Mark face palmed to himself. “You could ask him in time. After all, time is what I have in abundance.”

“You know.” The girl made a face. “Seulgi mentioned that you were charismatic. I fail to see how.”

“You don’t have a refined taste, that’s why.”

“You….”

“So will you do it or not?” Mark ignored her glares and looked seriously towards her.

She felt her heart skip a beat at the intense look he was giving, and quickly shook herself out of his charms. If only Mark knew that she did had a refined taste in the first place, but Wendy was never one to make it easy for someone like him.

Hell will break loose if he knows that I think he’s at least attractive.

“Earth to Wendy.” The young man yawned in boredom. “Will you do it or not?”

“Fine, fine.” Wendy huffed again. “Like I have a choice. I’m the only one that’s able to see you, remember?”

“Good girl.” Mark immediately grinned. “I knew I could count on you.”

“But do tell me. What type of information am I exactly supposed to get from Jinyoung?”

Mark pondered for a moment, letting her words sink in. It was true, wasn’t it? He was supposed to be extracting some sort of information from his own best friend.

But what was the information needed in the first place?

“I… I’m not sure.” Mark muttered at last. “I’ll have to think of that.”

“You had the whole night to think and you couldn’t even thought of that?!”

“Hey! I had a lot of thinking to do.”

“Geez, seriously?! Here I thought you at least could have spent your time better.”

“At least I don’t purr in my sleep.” The young man retorted back. “Who the hell purrs in their sleep?”

“I don’t purr- Wait. How did you know? Were you watching me while I was sleeping?”

He froze as Wendy only glared further in his direction.

“Were you?!”

“Oh, wow. Look at the time.” Mark looked towards the non-existent watch on his wrist. “It’s time for me to go.”

“Mark! Answer me!”

“The supernatural gossip club is calling me.”

“Mark! Oh My God!”

“Bye Wendy. See you later!”

“Mark!” Wendy screamed as his apparition disappeared. “Come back here you little…. Mark!”

The doors to the toilet swung open and Wendy turned around in shock at her sudden companion, who only looked at Wendy weirdly.

Feeling out of place, the girl turned to the mirrors and her mind raced to find some excuse to defend her shouting.

“Mark!” Wendy screamed into the mirrors. “M-Mark my words, Wendy! You’ll fit in with no time!”

The newcomer only stared and blinked before walking towards a cubicle near her.

“M-Mark your own words, Wendy! Yeah!” Wendy screamed some more.

“Pep talk huh?” Joy giggled before winking at the horrified young lady before her. “I do that all the time. No weirdness or anything.”

The cubicle door shut close and Wendy found herself sinking lower into the ground. It seemed as though the girl Wendy had wanted to become friends with must have now thought that she was at least borderline psychotic for screaming at herself in the mirrors.

And here she thought she would have been close to Joy as well.

Damn that little ghost boy. Ergh.

Here's the long awaited chapter 3. I apologise for the long wait as I've been overseas! xD

it's only the third chapter, so there's still so much to be covered.

like how Jinyoung knew Seulgi could sing............................

hope you guys like the chapter! (:

happy, early christmas guys! :D