"Oh. My. God." Sumi breathed, her words falling into nothingness with all the noise surrounding her.

The bash was completely out of control. Sumi didn't know if this was the usual scale of the event, but the festivities scanned the entirety of the varsity sports field. And that was saying something, since Yanggu bragged its sporting prestige. To still look onto the field and find it nearly packed to the brim, she could only assume the entire student body was present. 

They had just passed the entrance, and at the bend of the field, stood the contraptions of carnivals, game-booths and Sumi was sure she spotted a camel giving rides to merry makers. On the other end, separated by hordes and hordes of people, stood a concert; its lights bright, it sounded like a popular pop group was playing live.

Jongdae stood next to her, his eyes looking about with hardly any less wonder than her own. "I wanna say I told you so, but this is so much bigger than last time."

"I'm probably going to regret saying this," she yelled as they passed a rowdy area, "but I can't believe this is my first time here."

"What's that? A freshman!!!" A voice roared behind her.

Sumi turned just in time to observe a group of guys wearing the Yanggu Uni sky-blue and black jersey approaching her with somewhat mischievous grins. Not having enough time to react, she could only gasp in shock as her wrist was caught in a ring of a handcuff, the other ring clamped over a heavy metal ball with the word 'Fresher' painted badly across it.

"What the hell?" She shouted in alarm as she tried to lift her arm, but the weight of the ball made it impossible.

"Oh no." Jongdae deadpanned, his tone half-amused and half-panicky.

"What's going on?" She demanded, head swiveling to Jongdae with alarm. People were beginning to round up around her, and she didn't like their cheers.

"This is a Fresher's ball." The guy who cuffed her explained over the the noise. "If you can complete Freshman 101, you pass."

"But I'm not a freshman!" She cried out in helpless objection.

"Yeah? Then what was last year's theme?"

Sumi stared blankly at the guy, and then at Jongdae in pure panic, who simply shrugged.

"Sorry, this is tradition." He grinned sheepishly.

"Since you don't know," Yanggu sweater smirked, "you're a freshman. And if you want out, you gotta complete 5 of 10 tasks. Like any other module, you need 50 percent to pass. When you're ready for your first task, find the Yanggu mascot for task 1."

With that, the group left her to her own unwilling devices, probably off to find another unsuspecting freshman to target. Sumi looked ready to explode, eyes glaring holes into their backs.

"I am not doing this." She fumed, hands clenched at her sides, the metal ball on the grass beside her.

"Come on, its fun." Jongdae nudged, and he literally took a step back at the glare she aimed his way. Reclaiming the distance between them with a chuckle, he poked at the handcuffs bonding her to the metal ball. "Either way, it doesn't look like you have a choice. These handcuffs are legit."

With a puff of angry air, she stomped the ground and let out a compressed scream through clamped teeth, sounding very much like a miniature train had gotten stuck in .

After two minutes Jongdae removed his hands from his ears, eyes peeking at her. "Done?"

"Ugh, fine!" She groaned, accepting her fate. Trying to move, she found the ball could be easily dragged on the ground. "Where's this mascot? What is it even?"

"You don't know Yanggu's mascot?" Jongdae's eyebrows rose in judgment.

"Yew donnow Yaaangoose maskoot?" She mocked him as she began stomping away. "Fine, I'll find him myself."

"Well, that kinda is the point." He mumbled, but followed her anyway. "Its a blue lion."

"Of course it is!"

Luckily, there was more than one station with a blue lion. A few tables had been grouped together to make a stage for each mascot, and each had his own posse of hot cheerleaders dancing around him. Sumi made her way up to them, and with the ball dragging after her, she didn't have to explain anything.

"Welcome, Freshman!" The lion bellowed, and the girls cheered after, their blue pom poms shaking in the air. "Are you ready for task 1?"

"Do I have a choice?" She grunted, and was met with a chorus of "boo's."

"You have to cheer." Jongdae's voice spoke in her ear.

With gritted teeth, Sumi jumped in the air, as far as the Fresher's ball would let her, and fist pumped the air, the red cape of her Supergirl consume flying. "Yeah!"

Even though it was obviously fake, a chorus of "yeah's" proceeded.

"Task 1. Find and take a selfie with three different people at the bash; a historical character, anyone wearing blue - but not the Yanggu mascot- and a trap."

"What the is a trap?" She screeched.

"You'll figure it out. Come back to this post when you're done."

"What is the point of this?" She ranted as she half-walked, half-dragged herself into the crowds of costumes, searching for anyone fitting her list of targets.

"I believe its to have fun?"

Sumi turned about to give Jongdae a forced smile. "Noooooooo."

People walking past were snorting and chortling at the ball she'd been lugging after her, but Sumi was too angry to process their amusement.

"Hey, I promise." Jongdae dared to stand right before her, his eyes twinkling. "Just give it a shot. Please."

Sumi pulled a face for a few seconds, then  closed her eyes and counted to ten. Opening her eyes, she released the air in her chest with a resigned "fine."

"Great. Now I think I see a Jack Sparrow behind you. He kinda counts as a historical figure?"

The first task took nearly thirty minutes to complete. Sumi walked up to the lion and shoved her phone into his huge hairy face. "Done!"

After looking at the selfies of Sumi with Jack Sparrow, a blue-finned mermaid and what seemed to be a really pretty Wonder Woman but was actually a Wonder Wo-Man, he nodded.

"Ok, Task 2. You'll need a partner, preferably a guy."

Without thinking, she pointed a finger at Jongdae.

"Me?"

"You're the reason I'm in this mess." 

Without asking any further questions - because she wasn't wrong- Jongdae aquiested and stepped up.

"Task 2 is pretty simple," the lion announced as a cheerleader handed them a red packet, "you need to get 10 skittles thrown in your mouth in a row. No misses or you start from the beginning again."

As Jongdae took the bag, she eyed him.
"How good's your aim?"

"Pretty fair." He murmured noncholantly before eying her in a smiliar fashion. "How good are you at catching things in your mouth?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the ambiguity of his words.

Catching on to his meaning, she scrunched up her face. "Ew."

56 Skittles later, they had finally reached 9 in a row, and had amassed a following of onlookers who had taken it upon themselves to count out loud for the pair.

"Jongdae, I swear I'm gonna puke if I have to eat anymore candy." Sumi laughingly whined inbetween the five feet distance they'd been made to stand. "Please don't miss this!"

"Stop talking and lemme shoot!"

"Nine! Nine! Nine!" Went the crowd.

Jongdae threw, and the green pebble-like candy soared in the air, treading an arc before hitting a tooth in and saying goodbye to the world. A roar of victory erupted from Sumi's mouth and of the people around them.

"Ok, what's next?" She turned back to the mascot, any sign of the previous objection she'd had before gone. It was probably the sugar rush, but she'd forgotten around the thirtieth candy that she was supposed to be angry at her situation.

"Task 3, find a doppleganger or someone remotely related to your costume and get them to do a pose with you without explaining yourself."

"Got it." And like that, she was off, to the point that Jongdae nearly lost her.

"Sumi?"

Sumi turned about to find Yoonmi standing with Baekhyun (who had coincidently dressed up as a doctor), and Jisu with Jongin - a minion - not much far behind. But after looking at their costumes with determined eyes, Sumi threw a "nope" at them and zoomed off into the crowd, the metal ball doing nothing to slow her down.

Jongdae merely shrugged at the group with a "I'll explain later." He did pause a second longer to give Yoonmi and Baekhyun a skeptical face, pointing at his own eyes and then at Baekhyun in a wordless threat before going after his skittle partner.

By the time he found her, Sumi had found a Captain America, who was striking the weirdest of poses next to her. After, the guy laughingly convinced Sumi to take his number in case she needed his help again for any other task. As they began making their way back to the mascot, Jongdae shouted in her ear.

"You do know he was flirting with you, right?"

Sumi turned about to look confusingly at Jongdae, then at her phone in her hand before shaking her head.

"No way." Even as she said it, her cheeks gave off a reddish hue.

"See, you're cuter when you're having fun."

Instead of answering, Sumi sped faster towards her next task, but he didn't miss the silly smile on her face as she zoomed off.

After arguing with the lion that Superwoman and Captain America were related because they were both keepers of peace instead of from different comic franchises, she received her fourth task. And so on, the night went; back and forth they ran, either completing some dumb task that needed a partner or finding a random character.

Sure, it was all fun and games, but she eventually figured out what the tasks meant to the general freshman student. The Fresher's ball stuck to her wrist was the burden that all freshmen carried as they started their varsity career, thinking they'd have to get through all the mind-rattling tasks alone. But that wasn't the case. Freshman 101 got them out of their comfort zones and asking for help, from absolute strangers. She'd met more people in one night than she did in a full year. And everyone was willing to help.

Doing things alone was doable; doing them together was fun.

As they completed the fifth task - which was to steal the left shoe of anyone dressed in all black-, the lion gave her a thumbs up. "And you pass Freshman 101!"

After the cheers broke up, Sumi shook her head vehemently. "No, I only did five tasks."

"Yeah, 50 percent's the pass mark."

"Do I look like a 50 percent pass student?" She persisted. "Gimme all ten tasks, lion!"

"Ok, ok!"

And off they went running about yet again. Jongdae had convinced her to stop around the seventh task to get something to eat, but that was more for his sake than hers. He didn't get how someone could turn having fun into a competition, but Sumi had figured it out, it seemed. And so the night went on.

"C'mon, last one. Probably a partner one again." Without thinking, she grabbed his dinosaur hand and pulled him along back to the task station.

"Last task," the guy dangled the key before her, "for freedom from your freshdom. Kiss your partner."

An "ooooooooooh" ran through the crowd. Sumi's anticipating grin faded as her eyes tore from the blue mascot to Jongdae. The dinosaur clad guy looked just as blank as she did at the task. He gave her a sheepish grin.

"Hey, 90 percent is great mark already. We can call it quits here."

Sumi must have been allergic to the word "quit," because the moment he said it, she visibly flinched. Her face completely red, from embarrassment and exhilaration, Sumi stepped closer, moving delicate fingers up to cup his face.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just like the idea of full marks."

And just like that, their lips were touching. Fast and chaste, the kiss lasted a full span of two seconds. And then her lips were gone and and she was snatching the key from the the mascot, leaving a bewildered Jongdae grinning and yelling in victory with everyone else who had witnessed the event.

"Whoooooooo!"

A/N: I admit, this was not part of the plot. Sumi was just supposed to show up, meet the group, drink a bit and dance around and meet a few new people. But then this happened haha. I remember doing an obstacle course in my first year of varsity, and it really helped me get acquainted with things.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this ^^
Thanks for reading!!!