It was only as I walked in that I realized Myungsoo hadn't knocked on the door.  It must have been the first thing the Dean noticed as well because he commented, "Still not knocking on doors Kim Myungsoo."  His voice was warm and I could hear the smile in it.  The familiarity in the statement suggested they had some sort of relationship.  I blinked and waited for my eyes to adjust as the room was pitch black, the curtains drawn.  

"Sorry kids, I know it’s dark in here." I couldn't see the Dean but his voice was coming from what I thought was a long couch.  It occurred to me he must have been napping before we came in.  Suddenly the bright afternoon light shone through the window to my left and I saw Myungsoo standing there, fiddling with the curtain tiebacks.  I could feel Dujun standing close to me, his body warmth making me shiver in the cold office.

The light shone on the Dean's face, he was sitting upright but his eyes were still closed.  As I watched him fumble for the pair of sunglasses in front of him, the realization that he was blind hit me like a baseball bat.  He looked up and smiled, as if he discerned I knew.

"So from the footsteps I assume Yoon Dujun and Kim Yongsun are standing in front of me."  He put on the sunglasses and stood.  I watched as he expertly navigated around the coffee table to stand next to the grand polished oak desk in front of the window and sat in the office chair, aware that Myungsoo had moved to stand in front of the desk.  Dujun and I followed him to stand with Myungsoo.

We waited in silence for what seemed like forever when the Dean finally decided to speak.

“I guess I should start by introducing myself to you Ms. Kim, you may address me as Dean Lee or Mr. Lee.  Although I am the dean now, I was a detective for 35 years.”  I nodded, I had read his biography on the school website.  He continued, “I was pleasantly surprised with the three of you, you were the top three scorers on the qualifying exam for this school.  All three of you are in the top 1% nationally with Dujun and Myungsoo tying for 1^st place and Yongsun being 2^nd in the nation.”  I turned to look at Dujun in surprise, he seemed more athletic than intelligent but I guess that was just me forming assumptions.

“So, imagine my surprise when the three most gifted applicants this year decided not to show up for the entrance exam.”  The Dean’s voice had hardened and I became stiff as he continued, “Not only that, two of them entered the school carrying the third, who was unconscious at the time, and demanded that I let them into my school.”

I shifted nervously. So far this conversation wasn’t going as I had hoped.

His scolding went on as the three of us listened. “Holding another entrance exam would be a waste of resources for this school, and I was tempted to just reject the three of you as punishment.  We have more than enough applicants to fill spots in the school.”

I wanted to drop down to my knees and beg him to reconsider, but the shock was settling in and my body felt like a wooden board.  I could feel both Dujun and Myungsoo tense next to me, Myungsoo looking like he was getting ready to fight.

“But I decided to give you guys a second chance.”

What?  I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly.  I tried hard not to smile, biting the inner corner of my lip.  This was amazing news.

“I won’t be holding the entrance exam again, instead you will be admitted into the school.  However the three of you will be on probation for the first month.  If you fail any of the tests we administer or cause any problems in the school, no matter how small, you will be out with no exceptions.”  As he spoke, a glimmer of hope shone through the darkness. 

“Your first test will be tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.  Even though it is Sunday, if you fail it, you won’t be allowed through the gates Monday morning.  I am confident that Myungsoo and Dujun will pass, but this test is mainly for you Yongsun.  You three will be running two miles, the time limit will be 15 minutes total.  I hope you three are prepared,” he said while smiling.

I swallowed, and nodded.  If it was just running, I was confident.  It pricked a little that he had singled me out in front of the boys.

“I will see you three on Monday providing you pass.  Your orientation to the school will continue then.  If there are no further questions about tomorrow, the two of you are dismissed,” he said nodding at Myungsoo and Dujun.  He turned to face me, how he knew where we were I would never know, and said, “Yongsun I still need to discuss some things with you.”

This couldn’t be good.

Dujun and Myungsoo still looked a little shell-shocked but they bowed in symbolic respect and left the room.  As soon as the door had shut I felt a change in the atmosphere.  I slowly made eye contact with the Dean, I hate myself but I felt my hands tremble a little.  I recognized what I was feeling inside, it felt a little like fear.

Mr. Lee smiled, as if trying to put me at rest.  “Ms. Kim, what shall we do with you?”  My quick intake of breath must have shown my confusion because he carried on right away, “Honestly I wasn’t expecting you to get past today, don’t get me wrong, you are smart and your gift would probably be quite useful in this field but you are a female and we have never admitted one into this school.  This academy is rigorous and as you know, the female falls short in terms of physical fitness.”

I felt the anger rising up within me and I realized I had had my fist clenched during his speech.  What he said next erased that weak glimmer of hope I had felt earlier.

“Despite what I said to the boys earlier, you are different.  I can’t have a female student bringing down the exceptional reputation we have built over the years so I am placing you on probation for three months instead of the month I stated earlier.”

He was still talking but my head was swimming and I felt weak in the knees.  I wanted to argue the unfairness of this rule, but I knew anything I tried to say would be futile.  I just had to be better than the boys.  I tuned in for the last part of his speech, aware that an angry tear was developing in my left eye.

“So my suggestion to you is to give up and not come tomorrow for the test, to save yourself the embarrassment and energy.”

He stopped talking and waited for my answer.  Honestly, if he hadn’t been blind he probably would have laughed because my face was comical in its anger with my mouth hanging open.  It took me a good minute to regain my speech and I’m sure I must have spluttered a little in shock.  I couldn’t say I was completely surprised however, there was obviously a reason why no females had been admitted into the academy to this day.  I just didn’t realize it was because of a misogynistic jerk.

“With all due respect, Mr. Lee,” I said, glad my voice was not wavering, “I am not worried about tomorrow’s physical or about my future in this school.”

He nodded, he was probably expecting my answer but not expecting me to show up tomorrow.

“Well if I can’t discourage you, then I will see you Monday morning.”  This was stated with a smirk and I felt like punching him in the face.  I took this as a dismissal and bowed, though respect was the last emotion I was feeling.

I saw my backpack on the floor by the desk and went to pick it up.  I felt a chill run down my spine as I faced the door, almost as if he were watching me but I shook it off.  As I moved through the exit, the conversation replayed in my head as if it were a movie.

I opened the door and wondered how he had known about my gift.