Maybe it was because the room was so packed and Soojung had the early symptoms of claustrophobia but she felt like she could finally start breathing when Jongin had left her side to join Sehun in the auditorium. It wasn’t particularly about him but whenever someone left the room, she felt better. She never liked crowded places or people invading her space in general but today was intense. There were too many people, just too many students. And their parents too although she couldn’t understand that part because they are going to university not ing kindergarten as Sehun said before. The two could always agree when it was time to slander strangers.

The first day of school at Yonsei started with a packed morning that consisted of a small tour of the facilities the students were going to study in and a long speech from the chairman to welcome the new students. It felt like high school all over again.

The freshmen were done with the tour and were now having a small break before the conference would start. Soojung took a deep breath and excused herself to the people she bumped into before walking to some secluded place of the packed entrance. She thought of joining Sehun and Jongin in the auditorium where there was air conditioner and where Sehun was holding hostage her cold lemonade but she couldn’t just give up now. She had to wait a bit more.

Soojung knew Seulgi would come, Irene said so when she had asked. Seulgi thankfully opted for Yonsei at the last minute.

Where are you Seulgi? she impatiently repeated.

Soojung looked to her side to see portraits of famous alumni that became well known singers, politicians, athletes and the rich owners of some of the biggest companies in the country. She recognized Sehun’s grandfather with his characteristic heavy moustache and a few pictures from there, her own sister’s portrait. She was holding a rolled diploma and a perfect smile that matched her white graduation robe. She looked amazing as usual.

“Valedictorian and successful entrepreneur. Owner of fashion brand Blanc and Eclare,” she read. Soojung rolled her eyes at the rest of the mention. “Jessica Jung.”

It’s Jung Sooyeon.

It was a simple detail but whenever people used her sister’s english name, Soojung was reminded that the latter was stuck in New York and that she would only come back for certain events. Events like fashion weeks and Soojung’s birthday, after that she didn’t know what a Korea was.

Soojung decided she had had enough of this whole introduction day and that she hated how they were supposed to have class in the afternoon as if this whole thing wasn’t already tiring. She scrunched her nose in distaste when she saw someone from her high school wave at her and turned around to pretend to not having seen her. That’s when Seulgi came into her view. Finally.

Soojung rushed to rejoin the smaller girl who was lost trying to read the campus’ map and gave her a bright smile as soon as Seulgi lifted her head up.

“You’re reading it the wrong way,” Soojung said before turning the map upside down. “Now it should be better.”

Seulgi thanked her with an embarrassed smile but didn’t know what to say after that and awkwardly looked back at Soojung.

“How are you?” she started as she put back the map into her bag.

“I’m fine and you?”

“I’m fine too.”

And the conversation ended so easily. Soojung guessed it was only normal since it was the first time they saw each other in two months. The awkwardness that started between them was the simple result of the distance Seulgi starting to put between them since that day. Seulgi always waved at Soojung in the morning during the last few months of high school but that was it. They didn’t talk as much as they did before in the bus, they didn’t go for another ‘date’ at the restaurant, Seulgi certainly didn’t look as cheerful and Soojung noticed all of this within a few days. Seulgi was distancing herself from Soojung.

“How was your summer?” Soojung asked. She was determined to not let the conversation die like that.

“Great.”

“I heard you moved out of your aunt’s place?” she continued. “How is your new home? You like it?”

“Well it’s a nice and pretty small apartment, nothing really impressive,” Seulgi answered with a shy smile. “It’s just because I didn’t want to live too far from Yonsei. Now I can sleep longer in the morning.”

“Won’t you feel lonely? Are you getting used to it? It’s not like you lived alone before,” Soojung asked with concern.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Seulgi chuckled.

There it goes. Soojung felt the butterflies in her stomach fly away and her hands become sweaty. She preferred to say that it was because the temperature made the whole place look like a furnace and that the amount of people in the room made her uncomfortable but reality is that she truly missed Seulgi over the two months of vacation.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Soojung murmured before thinking.

Seulgi looked at her with guilt plastered all over her face and her expression fell. She wasn’t really good at hiding her feelings.

“I’m sorry I had a lot to do,” Seulgi apologetically blurted out. “I had to go back to Busan to get the rest of my things and then move out from my aunt’s place. It was also hard to find an apartment and help Wendy to pack her things to leave for California at the same time. I- I had lots to do.”

“Too busy to even text me?”

Seulgi bit her lip. “I’m so sorry.”

Just say you didn’t want to see me because of Jongin and go.

Soojung knew it was more complicated than that and Seulgi didn’t completely avoid her just because she stole her prince charming from her. But it still hurt. It was probably hard for Seulgi to watch her best friend leave her to study abroad or move out of her family’s house for the second time in less than three years just to be completely left alone now. She had to take on new responsibilities and take care of herself on her own.

But Soojung also knew better. She knew Seulgi tried to forget her own feelings and grieved her broken heart in silence over summer because that’s the only time she had before they would start university and meet again. Forgetting Jongin meant to stay away from him and anything that reminded her of him, including Soojung. Now she wouldn’t be able to avoid them.

“Well it’s fine since now we’ll get back the time we lost over summer, right?” Soojung smiled.

“Yes,” Seulgi nodded more comfortably. She looked a bit less tensed than before.

“How was your tour?” Soojung asked before taking Seulgi’s hand to drag her toward the auditorium. The break was almost over.

“Great but I almost got lost,” Seulgi laughed. “The campus is just too big. It looks like a city in a city.”

“Even the health department is big,” Soojung admitted.

“I was in the wrong group but I only noticed when they brought me into a nursing class,” Seulgi recalled from her embarrassing experience of a few hours ago.

“I figured. You can’t even read a map.”

“They have large humans dolls in that room and beds for every one of them! That was so scary,” Seulgi remembered with a shiver.

“You don’t expect the students to work on real humans, do you?” Soojung chuckled as they stepped into the refreshing and airy auditorium.

Soojung and Seulgi both stopped in their tracks to take in the beauty of the room. It was so big and prestigious as well as old but everything was still well kept.

“It looks like Hogwarts,” Soojung commented completely serious.

“Can you believe this is where we’re going to study for a couple years?” Seulgi said with sparkly eyes. Her eyes were shining bright in front of all this beauty. She felt small in front of all the knowledge and tasks she was about to take on. But Seulgi was eager to learn and become a better version of herself, to make her dreams come true and to finally make herself proud by working hard. She wouldn’t disappoint herself, that was her goal.

Soojung looked to her side and smiled at Seulgi. She could believe it and she was happy to see that she would spend these years with all the important people in her life. Sehun, Jongin and her, Seulgi. Soojung hesitantly let go of Seulgi’s hand as she realized she had been holding it for too long and that it might look suspicious and looked around to see where she and Seulgi could sit. Before she could, a hand gently grabbed her shoulder and made her turn to look his way.