“I don't like them innocent / I don't want no face fresh / want them wearing leather / begging, let me be your taste test / I like the sad eyes, bad guys / mouth full of white lies / kiss me in the corridor / but quick to tell me goodbye” – ghost, halsey

PAST

There're so many things that you had to prepare the night before your first day of classes, especially if it was your last year of sleepless nights and drowning in coffee. Nayoung made sure to make a list and check off everything on it the night before the first day of their last year in university.

Here’s how it went:

• Bag
• Pad Paper
• Pen
• Extra pen for Suhyun
• Extra pen for Eunwoo
• Another extra pen for Heehyun
• Those cute highlighters I bought last weekend
• Those cute page markers I bought last weekend
• Class schedule
• Book I’m supposed to finish this week
• Make sure there’s enough milk for cereal
• Make sure there’s enough creamer and sugar for coffee

And so on, including a “make sure to call Heehyun to wake her up and tell her she’s an first thing in the morning.”

So, she was pretty much ready for the big day. Really, nothing to worry about.

“How the did you remember you need to wake up Heehyun and tell her she’s an first thing in the morning but forget to set the alarm?” Sejeong screamed at her, one hand in the shower, impatiently waiting for the water to be warm. “I cannot believe you, Kim Nayoung.”

Except, of course, the alarm.

“Um, excuse you, I’m not the only one capable of using a phone here, why didn’t you set an alarm then?” was Nayoung’s retort from the kitchen, struggling to pour apple juice in a glass while also pouring milk in her cereal. “, , . I hope you like apple juice in your cereal because I am not eating that and we are not wasting food.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks to you, we’re going to be late to our very first class.”

“Oh, quit nagging and start showering,” Nayoung told her, walking in the bathroom in her iron man onesie. She glared as Sejeong laughed at her old pajamas. “Laugh all you can, Miss ‘why didn’t you set up an alarm blah blah blah’, I have a car and you don’t.”

“I can just call Joonyoung,” Sejeong retorted before pulling the shower curtains and singing loudly over Nayoung’s complaints outside.

She showered as Nayoung ate beside the bathroom, eyes on the small TV they put in the kitchen upon Nayoung’s constant ‘but I wanna watch horrible soap operas while eating. They always make me sick to the stomach and that’s my kind of diet’.

After what seemed like a century (seriously, what was taking Sejeong so long?) Nayoung entered the bathroom with a scowl. “Are you quite done yet, your majesty?”

“Oh, off,” Sejeong grumbled from inside the shower, voice muffled by the sound of the water hitting the tiles harshly. “Brush your teeth, I’ll be done by then.”

And so Nayoung took her toothbrush and wetted it, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. “Are you not done yet?”

“It’s literally been two seconds since I told you to brush your teeth!”

“I want to shower already.”

“Stop being a brat.”

“If you don’t get out, I’ll come in.”

Shuffling and curses, Nayoung smirked. “As if.”

She scoffed, smirk widening. “Are you challenging me, Kim Sejeong? Need I remind you this is Kim Nayoung you’re talking to and this Kim Nayoung ran around the campus once?”

Sometimes, Nayoung could be really arrogant. “That was in the middle of the night, no one was awake, and you ran with Suhyun and Heehyun because you were too embarrassed to do it on your own.”

Nayoung scowled. “Still did it.” She started brushing her teeth.

“Only because Stone Nayoung threatened to never talk to you again after you spilled coffee on her ten page report, you clumsy .”

“Stop taking my happiness from me!” Nayoung yelled back, annoyed, toothpaste foam not really making her sound intimidating at all. “I’ll really enter, Sejeong. One… two…” she grabbed the curtain and heard Sejeong pausing inside. “Thr-”

“I’m coming out, I’m coming out!” She heard the rushing of the water stop and grinned.

“Finally. I thought you’d stay in the closet our whole lives.”

The curtain was pulled back just a little, revealing Sejeong’s scowl. “Huh, look at that, Nayoung knows how to joke. Too bad she’s bad at it.”

Nayoung only grinned, lips white with toothpaste. Without any hesitation, she kissed Sejeong’s nose, eliciting a yelp from the younger. “You er, you’re so gross!”

“Get out, princess.”

Sejeong glared at her again, before pulling the curtains close so she could put on her robe. She emerged a few moments later with that same scowl, the toothpaste foam still on her nose. “Cockass.”

“Oh, lookie here, Sejeongie can curse,” Nayoung teased before quickly getting in the shower and pulling the curtains close.

Sejeong only rolled her eyes. She reached for her toothbrush, wetted it with water, put toothpaste on it and started brushing her teeth in peaceful silence, until, of course, Nayoung’s “Look out!” and before Sejeong could even react, a red onesie dropped on her head.

She glowered at her reflection, resisting the urge to push Nayoung’s face down the toilet and flush it away.

“Did it… did it land on you?”

“What do you think?”

Silence, then a small laugh and the water started running inside the shower again.

Sejeong could only shake her head, smiling at her reflection in the mirror, and wish nothing ever changes.

-

They ran through the quiet hallways, bags slamming against their backs, shoes striking the ground noisily. They saw the professor at the same time, just a few meters from the door, and they ran faster.

They got in a few seconds before their professor did, high-fiving each other obnoxiously. They spotted Eunwoo and Suhyun sitting at the very back, three seats beside them reserved and walked to them together just as the professor settled her things on the table.

“Hey, Naong, do you have-”

She raised a hand to their faces, rummaging through her bag with her other hand. Then she pulled it out and gave her two friends pens. “There.”

“Where’s Heehyun?” Eunwoo asked her, taking the pen from Nayoung. “Aren’t you supposed to wake her up?”

Nayoung bit her lower lip, eyes wide. Then she nervously smiled. “Right. , I forgot about that.” She reached for her phone, and dialed Heehyun’s number.

“Miss, turn your phone off. We’re starting class. And next time, please, don’t just run past me.”

She smiled wide and put her phone back in her bag, letting it call Heehyun until it cut off. That should wake her up.

It was just the first day and it looked like the professor was going to use up the whole period talking about why she wanted to teach Philosophy and all the philosophies and fallacies included in her journey. Suhyun nodded off every now and then while Eunwoo kept herself awake by pushing the end of the pen against her palm.

She took Sejeong’s arm, uncapped her pen, and started drawing on it, Sejeong stared at her drawing. Nayoung wasn't an artist but Sejeong could figure out what she was drawing – a dolphin. She chuckled softly because she knew why she drew it, they were watching a dolphin documentary the night before and Nayoung fell in love with them.

Heehyun came in class just fifteen minutes before dismissal. Suhyun opened her eyes; Eunwoo stopped poking her palm; and both Nayoung and Sejeong looked up from Sejeong’s arm.

“Why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry,” Heehyun said, bowing. “I crashed my car. I had to bring it to a repair shop.”

The professor’s expression immediately softened. “Oh, dear, are you okay?”

“Thankfully, I am. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, prof.”

“No, no, don’t worry. Go on sit then. We still have fifteen minutes.”

Heehyun smiled at her, friendly and disgustingly fake. Nayoung gagged. She scanned the room and her gaze landed on her friends, eyes turning cold as she stared at Nayoung. Sending one last fake smile to her professor, she walked over to where her friends are.

She grumbled a ‘thanks for waking me up’ as she walked pass Nayoung and sat beside Eunwoo at the other end of the row.

“Did you really crash your car?”

Heehyun sighed. “Yeah, I did. I did it on purpose just so I can show the repair shop receipt. Old fart didn’t even ask for it.”

“Must be your stunning smile,” Nayoung retorted.

“You’re paying for the damage, you .”

“Why me?”

“I wouldn’t use my paycheck on that. You were the one who didn’t wake me up this morning.”

Nayoung sat straighter, leaning closer to the other side. “First of all, I woke up really late. Sorry for thinking about myself just one day instead of thinking of you, er. Also, I called. I still woke you up. And… what paycheck?”

Heehyun shrugged, exhaling through pursed lips. “You know how my mom disowned me?”

“Stop exaggerating, she didn’t disown you. You’re just having a quarrel.”

“Right, ‘quarrel’, and Suhyun’s just ‘unintelligent’, not stupid.” Suhyun didn't even argue, just rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I don’t have money. She’s still paying for my tuition but money for, say, food and other necessities like, well, cabled TV, she doesn’t give. Well, she does, she still puts money in my account, but I won’t stoop that low. A war is a war, and she disowned me. So, I’m working as a cashier in this convenience store.”

“I don’t think a mother who ‘disowned’ her daughter would still send her money.”

“I don’t care, Sejeong, this is between me and Nayoung.”

Sejeong rolled her eyes and sunk back in her seat, used to Heehyun’s iness.

“Stop being a ,” Eunwoo told her, eyes squinting in annoyance. “Sejeong’s right, you’re not disowned, you’re just a drama queen.”

“Again, I don’t ing care. I won’t take her money.”

“Then don’t go to class. Don’t accept the tuition she’s still paying.”

Heehyun glared at them. “Can’t you just be on my side for once, you ers?!”

There was a loud thud and they all turned their heads swiftly to look front. “There at the back, quiet down.”

Nayoung also sunk back in her seat. “I can already see how much of a ty cashier you are. You’re not even good in math.”

“ you, I don’t need to know linear equations or the square root of 10,609 to give change to boys buying condoms.”

“Quiet down!”

-

The thing with Nayoung’s campus was… it’s huge. It took about a fifteen minute walk to go from one end to another, and some places couldn't be reached by cars.

And so she had to run. As soon as their professor told them she was finished telling them her life story from when she first walked to when she almost fell down when two disrespectful students passed by her that morning, she bid her friends goodbye and ran out the room, maneuvering her way through crowds of hopeless souls just waiting for the school year to end before their lives do.

Nayoung was not a runner, so it took her more than five minutes to run from her building to the one beside it, and up to the fourth floor of said building. She entered the room, breathless and sweaty. She shuddered, so much for a good first impression.

She walked in the room and found that the prof wasn't there yet - great, must be one of those professors who came in late to class and couldn't care less about the class then gave random grades to students. It , because this was Psychology class and Nayoung was really looking forward to it ever since she found out she'd be attending it.

She walked to the back and spotted an empty corner seat; she quickly sat there, placing her bag on the floor and taking her phone out her pocket all in one swift, graceful movement.

Not. She accidentally hit something with her elbow and the next moment there was a tin can of mint candies toppled over, the small sugary balls falling down to the front of the room.

Her gaze traveled to the person beside her; she smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'll- I'll buy you a new one."

The girl - a woman with a cold gaze, silky black hair, and deep brown eyes, clad in dark clothes that accentuates her light skin - stared at her now inedible candies and sighed. A sigh so long and troubled, it made Nayoung feel even guiltier. "It's fine. This is my last class anyway, I only eat those when I'm sleepy in class. The mint jerks me awake."

"I'm really sorry," Nayoung repeated, bending down to pick up the candies, "I was too clumsy."

She raised an elegant hand. “It’s fine. Don’t worry. Stop gathering them, the janitor will clean them anyway.”

Rich girl, Nayoung thought. She looked up and smiled, slipping back into her seat with an awkward gaze settled on the door in front, avoiding the girl at all costs.

Their professor finally entered – a man maybe in his mid-thirties, Nayoung felt a boring vibe from him. She sighed.

“Pair up.”

They all looked up, confused. He looked back at them blankly. “I said pair up.” Everyone suddenly started talking to their seatmates, friends immediately grabbed each other’s arms. “Not with someone you know. Must be with someone you’ve just met in this class. You can’t know their name.”

Nayoung looked around, shyness and dread filling her gut.

“Hey, want to pair with me?”

She whipped her head and found the girl looking at her stoically. “Uh, sure. I’m so sorry about-”

“I know.” There was a quirk in her lips and Nayoung smiled, she wasn't a robot after all.

“Do you know what kokology is? It’s a psychological game type questionnaire to understand your emotions and behaviors towards some things. I’ll flash a question and you’ll answer. After, exchange with your partners and try to guess what their answer means.”

The question was shown on the projector: You're walking down the street when you come across a closed black briefcase. There's no one else around, and when you open it to check for the owner's name, out spills a bundle of cash. What is your first reaction to this sudden windfall?

She wrote down “"Oh no, what am I going to do now?" then she exchanged papers with the girl, and she saw her answer: "Hey, this must be my lucky day!"

Huh, that was unexpected. “Uh, you’re obviously someone who takes advantage of something that’s not yours. You believe in finders keepers. Which is bull, I tell you.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “And you’re obviously someone who doesn’t know when a good opportunity has come.”

“Look, it’s not mine.”

“You don’t know who owns it.”

“I could, like, go to the police station.”

She leaned forward, eyes squinting. “That’s stupid. It’s not your fault they left it.”

“It might not be their fault either!”

They were interrupted by their professor who flashed the meanings of the question on the screen.

Your reaction on finding the bag of money reveals how you would react if an attractive person suddenly asked you out on a date.

“Well that makes so much sense,” Nayoung muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at how absurd this whole thing is. “That means Mint Girl immediately the of said attractive person.”

“And what makes you think I won’t a ?”

There were some things Nayoung never expected, like their professor making them answer this bullted personality test and Mint Girl hearing her, but she least of all expected her to have such a rude mouth. She blushed hard, ashamed. “Uh, sorry.”

“This is our first day meeting and you said sorry like five times.”

She blushed harder. “So- I mean… I apologize?”

Mint Girl chuckled, and she didn’t look cold anymore. She looked… pretty. “Accepted.” She looked back up at the projector as Nayoung stared at her. “Your answer means you worry too much when asked on a date. That must mean you weren’t asked so much?”

This . “I was asked quite a few times, okay? Being attractive doesn’t mean you can be arrogant, Mint Girl.”

“Are you going to keep calling me Mint Girl?”

Nayoung shrugged. “Well, I’m not supposed to know your name yet.”

“I’ll call you…” Her eyes scrutinized her, beautiful brown orbs scanning her whole body, stopping as they locked eyes with Nayoung’s boring ones. “You remind me of my pet bunny, awkward and shy. She’s dead now.”

Okay, she didn’t know whether she should think of that as a compliment or not, so she just smiled and waited for her to continue, and she would decide later if she’d kill this or not. (She’d probably have to ask Heehyun to do the dirty work for her.)

“So I’ll call you Cottontail.”

Was she serious? She looked behind her, yep, no tail. “I don’t even have a tail.”

“Of course you don’t. You just remind me of my rabbit.”

“You named it Cottontail?” Mint Girl nodded; Nayoung’s heart ached for the rabbit. “Wow, I’m so sorry for her.”

“You’re an , you know that?”

“I was told once or twice that I’m very, very sweet.”

Her eyes squinted. “I don’t see it.”

Nayoung’s jaw dropped, then she laughed. “You’re the !”

Their professor called their attention and told them they can go. Mint Girl nudged Nayoung. “Where’s your next class?”

“Oh, I only have two classes today. I’m heading home.”

Mint Girl nodded, walking beside Nayoung, arms hugging a laptop case. “This is also my last class today. I’m busy now, but… maybe some time we can get lunch together?”

Nayoung stopped walking, staring at Mint Girl incredulously. “Why?”

She smiled. “So you can get used to people asking you out on dates. I’ll ask you out every Monday to a date somewhere in the city. I can’t start now though, because my roommate left our door open and I really need to go home.”

“Are you teasing me?”

“I’m helping you. So when someone else finally asks you out, you don’t worry about it so much.”

“Okay, you’re being an , y’know.”

Mint girl winked; Nayoung paused again. “I know.” She reached inside her back pocket and took out some keys. “Bye Cottontail.”

Nayoung watched her walk away towards one of the parking lot in campus. She shook her head; this was going to be a long semester with that girl infuriating her every Monday.

-

She looked back up at the rearview mirror, the black motorcycle carrying a girl clad in a leather jacket and black jeans, a white helmet with darkly tinted visor covering her face, was still following her. It has been following her since she first got out of campus grounds.

Trying to calm herself, she dialed Suhyun’s phone and set it on speaker.

“Yellow.”

“That’s not cool.”

Suhyun sighed against the phone. “. Why are you calling?”

“Someone’s following me.”

“Did you borrow money from one of those shady organizations?”

“What, no!”

“Is it obvious that your car is worth a million won?”

“It’s not even worth that much.”

“Maybe it’s one of your mother’s trainees out to get you so your mother will be forced to debut them?”

Nayoung scoffed. “As if she’d be fazed.” She parked her car in front of their apartment. The motorcycle was also parked near her. “They parked too!”

“Alright, listen, there is only one way you can go home with your intestines still neatly stacked inside you…” she paused, purposely adding a dramatic effect to this whole thing; Nayoung rolled her eyes. “Run!”

She abruptly hung up and got out of her car. Walking inside the apartment, she noticed the girl still following her, head still covered by the helmet.

She even followed her inside the elevator, and Nayoung suspected it was Heehyun trying to mess with her.

They both stopped on Nayoung’s floor and got out at the same time. She half walked-half jogged to their door, and felt the girl still following her.

Taking a small pen knife from her bag and hiding it behind her back, she confronted the girl. “Are you following me?”

A pause, then the girl took off her helmet. The motion was elegant, beautiful, like one of those moments in movies where the hot girl takes off her helmet and her hair flies around her like it wasn’t stuck in a closed space for a long time.

The girl looked up and Nayoung raised her knife accusingly. “Mint Girl!”

Mint Girl grinned at her, touched her fingertip to the tip of the knife, pushing it down with a wink. “Hey, Cottontail.”

“Are you following me?”

“Don’t be too full of yourself. I live across your home, apparently.” She pointed a thumb to the door behind her. “And it seems like we’ll be seeing more of each other lately.”

Nayoung watched her enter her home and close the door behind her. She took out her phone and dialed Suhyun, talking before she could say that goddamned color again, “She lives in front of me. Help me."