Eric scrunched his eyelids in annoyance, protesting his lack of sleep. The man turned away from his brother and rearranged his position, hugging his luggage and swaying lightly together with the motion of the bus.

Andy could not resist rolling his eyes at the sleeping man. He told Eric to rest early the previous day, since the brothers had to catch the bus at wee hours. Unfortunately, the older one could not contain his excitement and spent the entire night awake, trying to make the drowsy Andy chat with him. Andy pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at Eric, thinking of how he should wake the older one. He finally resigned to just letting Eric catch his final 5 minutes of sleep before reaching their destination.

Andy turned to the window as the bus paced along the quiet road. The uninhabited white beach outside brought back fuzzy, aged memories. A faint smile ghost over the man’s lips as Andy recalled a family vacation with white sand, gentle waves and happy smiles on his parents’ face. Eric inherited their smiles. Shortly after, the bus came to a halt in front of an almost deserted bus stop, save for a young man with earphones plugged in. Andy gently shook his brother and pulled over the older man’s luggage to help his sleepy brother carry it down the bus. Eric entwined his fingers with Andy’s and groggily followed.

“You must be Andy!” The man at the bus stop pulled out his earphones when he saw the brothers alighting from the bus. “I’m Minwoo, the one that roped your brother into joining the police academy.” Minwoo was full of energy. He turned to greet the yawning Eric, “Morning sleepy head!" The friendly man slinged his arms over Andy’s shoulder as he led his new dorm mates to their home, at the same time supplying them with information about the cadet school and the surroundings of their quite secluded dorm. “It’s a nice place to live in, but I’d love it better if there is some action near by,” the veteran concluded as he unlocked the door to a place looking like a rundown holiday house.

The interior wasn’t anything fanciful, with a tint of slight messiness hinting at the characteristic of its current three occupants. Eric folded his arms and rested them on Andy’s shoulder as his eyes surveyed the place. “This feels like home,” he said absentmindedly, comparing the place to the orphanage he and Andy had been staying in. That moment, the door at the end of the corridor burst open and jolted Eric out from his reverie. A man with several bags draped over his broad shoulders and all around his arms took quick hasty steps towards the group.

“Hey handsome!” Minwoo’s greeting was packed with evil glee as he observed the new comer’s haste movement. “Are you sure you can make it in time? The orientation is starting in 10 minutes,” he commented as he raised his hand and read the time on his watch.

“I know, I know!” The man grumbled as he walked past the three men and headed for the door. Eric mildly registered that Minwoo's description fit the man pretty well. His features are a guaranteed head-turner.  “Hello guys, I am usually friendlier but I really really need to rush off now.” The man apologised to his new dorm mates, while stuffing his feet clumsily into his shoes since his loaded hands were of no help. He straightened his back when done and flashed a quick smile at Eric and Andy as he stepped out of the house. “I’m Dongwan, nice to meet -” The door, with its spoilt hinge, quickly shut itself in Dongwan’s face before he completed his sentence.

“That man…” Minwoo chuckled.

Eric’s gaze preserved on the close door, as if spellbound. He remained frozen until Andy’s voice broke his trance. He quickly took in a huge breath of air to fill his suffocating lungs. For what was he holding his breath? And what was this unfamiliar queasy feeling in his stomach? “I’m fine,” he answered Andy as the striking eyes of the man that just went out materialised in his mind without any logical sense. Dongwan…Eric savoured the name in his mind.

“And you have just met Dongwan, the legend of our school,” Minwoo’s words seized Eric’s attention wholly again. “Or you can say the legend of the entire police history in Korea. He had easily broken almost all records set by previous cohorts. That bastard!” Minwoo scolded affectionately. “Oh, by the way, don’t be too surprised if you see female lingering around our dorm area. DONGWAN IS THAT FAMOUS.”

An absurd annoyance surfaced in Eric.

“He is in the wrong place if he wants to be a celebrity,” the man scoffed. Deep down, Eric was confused. Why did all these illogical and unfamiliar emotions keep surfacing in him?

Minwoo never sensed Eric’s unhappiness. He simply laughed Eric’s comment off. “I assure you no one fits here better than him. He is shining so brightly, most probably the police force already singled him out as one of the future Superintendent General.”

A shadow of gloom cast over Eric’s heart. Dongwan was really that impressive? In comparison, Eric saw himself as just a common everyday guy on the street. He was never competitive, nor did he ever try to contest anyone. He was contented as long as he was with Andy. But now he is senselessly getting upset over the achievements of a guy he just met.

Eric, what had gotten into you? The man flustered.

“Anyway, Dongwan can be sensitive about his privacy so you guys will be sharing room with either Jinnie or me. Take your pick now. Who is going to be my new roomie and who wants Junjin? I’m tidier than him.” Minwoo gave a cheeky wink at the brothers.

The announcement jolted Eric out of his convoluted thoughts. “Can’t I have a room with Andy?” He whined. He had never lived in a different room from Andy before, but to his request, Minwoo shook his head.

“We only have three rooms. I am definitely too lazy to shift my stuff and I don’t think Jin would be diligent enough to do that. Come ‘on, it’s only – ” Minwoo purposefully take two steps from the door of one room to the other, “ – two steps away!”

Eric pouted and wrapped his arms around Andy. After some hard negotiation, it was finally clear he can’t get his way and would be sharing room with Minwoo while Andy with Junjin whom the brothers had yet to meet. After unpacking and settling down, Minwoo brought them to explore the surroundings of the dorm. It was exactly as what Minwoo had said earlier, quiet with no hype of the city.

Andy stretched his hands high and breathed in deeply when they were at the beach. More of his fuzzy memories started playing in his mind; the blurred imaged of his parents strolling along the beach with Eric and him, the brothers splashing seawater at each other…

“I love this place,” Andy said softly. He gasped when a sudden cold hit his skin. The nearby Eric laughed playfully as he splashed more salt water onto his younger brother. Andy’s lips twisted into a smile. He ran towards the sea, re-enacting the piece of aged memory with Eric. Minwoo observed the two brothers amusingly. For the past one year plus staying in the dorm, he always thought the beach was a boring place, but Eric and Andy managed to enjoy it their first day here.

“Who gave you the permission to just stand and stare?” A huge manmade wave hit Minwoo.

“You are asking for it, untrained cadets.” Minwoo rolled up his sleeves, laughing as he launched himself into the sea and attacked the brothers.

***

Junjin dragged his feet towards the porch, his fingers digging into his jeans pocket for the key. His heavy eyelids shut themselves again and with sheer willpower, he forced open a tiny slit as he ineptly tried to fit the key into the keyhole.

Darn it! Why is this so difficult?

The only obstacles between the sleepy man and his bed now were only that darn door, a few more steps and the ladder to his double deck bed. Junjin sighed, feeling sorry for himself. Why was he arrowed to help out in the orientation? He was enrolled to the police academy only 6 months ago. TECHNICALLY HE WAS STILL A FRESHMAN! Thank goodness Dongwan hyung had volunteered to stay overnight in the campus in his stead.

“Dongwan hyung, you are godsent!” Junjin mumbled like a drunken man as the door finally swung open. He staggered back to his room, plopped his heavy body on the lower deck of the bed and rolled to rest on his side. He had given up on the last obstacle to his rightful bed - the dreadful ladders.

The man absent-mindly sling his arms onto an awkwardly shape and extremely hard bolster.

Wait a moment, something is not right...Since when did he have a bolster on the lower deck?

Junjin suddenly tensed up. His eyes shot opened……a pair of eyes gazed right into his eyes.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The man screamed and jumped off the bed, cowering down with hands covering his head.

The dorm is haunted!

“What the hell Jin!” The light flickered to life and a peeved Minwoo stood at his door. Junjin raised his head and saw an unfamiliar man with half open eyes standing behind his hyung.

“I…” He turned back to the bed. There was a man sitting on it, looking down at him with a shocked expression.

Oh right! Minwoo did inform that their two new dorm mates are shifting in today. Naturally the lower deck of his bed will now be occupied since there was no way Dongwan would welcome the idea of a room mate. Junjin felt his face flushed with embarrassment. His mind had been on strike and refused to work after the tiring day. He stood up gawkily and mumbled apologies to Minwoo and the other two men as he climbed the ladder to his rightful bed. Minwoo still looked grumpy when he switched off the light and retreated with the guy who introduced himself as Eric.

Junjin heaved out through his mouth as he ruminated what just happened. The scene when his roommate and he were staring into each other’s eyes played again in his mind. The man’s heart clenched with a weird sensation.

This was a horrible first impression! Junjin felt like knocking his head against the wall to get rid of the embarrassment flooding his head...

“Goodnight,” Junjin heard his new roommate said to him.