The DBSK hour on the KPOPNET radio station was just beginning.  The girl cuddled up underneath her blanket, trying to extract the alluring warmth of the woolly material, while she listened to her favorite tunes on the radio.  Just when she heard a majestic voice sweep her off the grounds of earth and into the skies of heaven, she heard an alarm sound off. 

 

HOLY CRAP she thought.

 

“Mom, why didn’t you wake me up!?”

 

, I’m late again.  Why don’t I ever change my habits? cursed the young woman as she clambered out of bed and quickly rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

 

God, I’m so dead if I don’t make it to class on time.

 

She turned off the faucet and ran back into her bedroom.

 

What to wear, what to wear? She frantically paced the expanse of her bedroom and thought.  She grabbed the closest things lying on the bed and put them on, not thinking about what her horribly coordinated outfit was. 

 

So much for dressing cute on the first day she grumbled to herself.

 

The clock kept ticking.  She could feel time creep up on her like a stalker.  She hastily combed through her disheveled bangs and tried to straighten them into place.  She tied the shoelaces of her worn-out converse and skipped out the front door, ignoring the bowl of Froot Loops on the dining table.  The bus would be at the stop soon and if she didn’t run like the wind, she would never catch it. 

 

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She panted as she ran up the escalating staircase.  She had been running for the past ten minutes since she got off at the bus stop.  She finally had the opportunity to catch her breath.  felt parched and she honestly wanted nothing more than a sip of water, but she had other priorities to take care of.  She looked around in all directions, trying to find some sense of where to go next.

 

What room was it again? she thought.  She tried to recall the notice in the mail that had detailed her orientation information within it.  However, no room number came to mind.  She began to mindlessly walk the expanse of the outer hallways, peering into random rooms, hoping that the number would eventually come to her, but no such luck came.  She must’ve walked another ten minutes before she bumped into another student.

 

“Jwesonghamnida” she politely bowed in an apology and rushed on her way.

 

“Hey, who’s that chick over there?  She looks lost,” sneered a deep voice. 

 

The girl spun around and stopped dead in her tracks.  It was the guy that she had just bumped into with a group of other students.  She gulped, confirming that she definitely did not want to mess with these guys.  There were five of them, and they didn’t look like they were easy campers.  You could tell just by their prideful stride and their wrinkled clothes that they didn’t care about what the world thought of them as long as they had it their way.  She quickly turned back around and looked for an exit-anything to get out of the predicament she would soon be in, but it was too late.  One of them had already ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm.

 

“Hey,” he stared into her eyes. “When an oppa calls you, you have to stop.  Haven’t your parents taught you any manners?”

 

“Cool it, Jung,” responded another student who tried to cut in and make the first student let go of the woman’s arm. “Give her a break.  It’s the first day of class and I don’t want to get involved in this already.  My parents are already pissed from last semester’s suspension.”

 

The first student by the name of Jung turned his attention to the other student. 

 

“This is my gang and I make the rules.  You do what I tell you to do.  You got that?” he replied in a gruff voice.  He then turned his attention back to the woman.  “And you…” he began, but something  seemed to catch his attention. His eyes lingered down to her shirt.  He smirked.

 

The girl grew conscious of herself and desperately stared into the glass of the bulletin board on the wall opposite her.  What she saw horrified her.  In the rush of the morning, she had put on her “Sleepy Elmo” shirt.  The bright red face with its plump orange nose and huge white eyeballs taunted her from the glass of the board.  She immediately brought her arm to cover the sweater, only to have her efforts in vain; her arm was still being held by the guy in front of her.  But he was still grinning.

 

“If you have time to play with Elmo, then surely you have time to play with us oppas.”  Jung’s grip on the girl’s arm tightened as he began to drag her along with the group. 

 

“What the hell are you doing? Let me go!” shouted the girl as she flailed her arms and legs in a failed struggle to be freed from her .  She frantically searched the hallways for anyone who was passing by, but to her dismay classes were still in session. Just when they turned a corner in the hallway, she was met by a welcome sight. 

 

There, right in front of her, was another student.  He slowly approached the guys.  As he got closer, the girl noticed his features more up-close.  In short, he was beautiful.  His skinny figure echoed the delicacy of his bones.  He looked fragile, as though one touch could shatter him into a million pieces.  His skin was pale, but at the same time it illuminated the light from the moon.  The girl’s eye immediately darted to his layered messy jet-black hair.  She almost wanted to reach out and touch the silky threads, but she restrained her desire to do so.   His eyes were cold, radiating the aura of a dark past.  He had a killer stare that was sharp enough to pierce even the strongest man’s soul.

 

The expression of pride on Jung’s face transformed into one that was rather of anxiety and worry.  Ah , I didn’t expect him to be in school today he thought.

 

A ping of hope went through the girl’s mind.  It was just like those manhwas she used to read late at night where the heroine was in distress and a guy would come out of nowhere to save her.  However, as the guy continued to walk, he merely glanced at her and brushed past them. 

 

The girl winced.  She felt tears sting at her eyes.  Where are you going? she thought as she turned around to only see his back.  That was her last chance to be saved from the hoodlums who had her in their clutches.

 

“Ah Kim, where are you going?  Don’t you remember we have a score to settle?” taunted Jung upon making an attempt to pick a fight with his rival.  He straightened out his shoulders and brought his chest out to boast of his masculinity.  With a tone of false confidence in himself, he went on, “Don’t think I’m gonna let you off easily for what you did to us.  You’re gonna pay.”

 

At this, the boy of beauty halted and turned around.  Taking his time, he walked back to where Jung was.  The thud of every step he took echoed through the hallway.  The girl gulped.  Jung’s breathing grew heavy as the sweat on his brow began to accumulate.  Perhaps he finally realized that he had bitten off more than he could chew.  Kim was certainly in no mood to be messed around with, it appeared.

 

Finally, the boy was just within the reach of a couple of inches.  Although no one said anything, the silence was communication in itself.  There was an undeniable atmosphere of tension between the two males as they stared one another down, Jung impatient to see Kim crack.  Kim just narrowed his dark eyes and let his mouth whisper in a harsh breath.

 

“Why should I pay for your lack of intelligence?  You should’ve known that blackmailing the younger students would not be tolerated” he coolly responded.

 

“What’s it to you?  Why are you always meddling in my affairs?” Park questioned in his own defense.

 

“And why don’t you ever learn from your mistakes you coward?”  Kim turned his attention to the girl whose face searched his own for help.  It took him a couple of seconds to register the fear in her eyes and the worry in the lines of her cheekbones.   “Let go of her.  Aren’t you ashamed of mistreating a younger classman?”

 

Park took a step back.  Although he didn’t want anything more right now than to be able to bash Kim’s head into a wall, he couldn’t risk it.  He had already been caught in the past for infringing upon an incalculable number of school policies, and another strike would just lead to his eternal expulsion.  He threw the girl’s arm aside and ushered his gang members.

 

“C’mon guys, let’s go. We’ve got stuff to do.  We’ll deal with this scumbag later.”

 

The guys went in the opposite direction and left the hallway.  The girl who had been silent all this time finally let out a sigh of relief.  She bent her arm a couple of times to remove its stiffness.  She was ecstatic to be free from Jung.  Then she noticed the curious look on the face of the boy who had helped her.  He seemed to be deeply immersed in thought.  She felt mesmerized by his glare, but she had to break the silence.

 

“Ah, Kamsahamnida” she sincerely said as she bowed in reverence.  “If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been in big trouble.”

 

The boy named Kim began to the vest that clung unto his body and handed it over to the girl.  She looked up at him in a questioning look, nervously wondering what it was for.  As the seconds ticked, she laughed in a weak attempt to lighten the mood only to be met by a look of annoyance from Kim.  

 

“Stop your useless chatter.  Since you’re new, I’ll let you off for wasting my time today.  If you want to get along with others in this university, you must first learn to wear more sensible clothing” he said, as he glanced down at her shirt disapprovingly.

 

The girl’s forehead grew hot-headed from embarrassment as she lowered her head down to avoid eye contact with the boy.  He merely turned back around to go about on his way.  As he rounded the corner and was no longer in sight, the girl held her head up again and cocked her head to the side, staring at where the boy had just disappeared.  It seemed like his presence was still amidst.  She shook her head and smiled. 

College was definitely going to be interesting.

 

 

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Surprisingly, the rest of the day turned out to be normal.  Although she missed her first class in the course of all the drama that had happened just hours before, the girl was able to recuperate and successfully attend the rest of her classes.  She was also able to explore the rest of the university building and enjoy its enticing scenery:  the cool breeze, the healthy green shrubbery, the cherry blossoms in full bloom, and the voices of young people embracing the concept of youth and their new university life. 

 

She was still wearing the vest that Kim had given her.  Although it was tight on her chubby stomach, she was grateful that it concealed the image of Elmo sleeping.  She felt like the vest embraced her body as a gesture of protection, just like how Kim had protected her that day.  Although he reacted coldly, she couldn’t let go of his words and expression.  Who was that amazing guy? she wondered.  She kept thinking about him and often found herself smiling at random points during the day at flashbacks of his sensitivity to her distress.

 

She sighed a breath of content as she took a seat in her last class for the day.  As she heard the introductions of her fellow classmates, she wondered what she would say for her own introduction.  By the time it was her turn, she stood up and smiled in a slight bow, knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

 

“Ahnyounghasaeyo.  It’s nice to meet you all.  My name is Lee Ae-young and so far, I love university.”

 

♥-♥-♥

 

 

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