Eighteen years.

Nayeon stood outside her home, admiring the building she grew up in one last time. She might not be going forever, but she still felt emotional leaving the place. She had been in that house for eighteen years and was now moving across the country to live on campus as she got accepted to the college that she wanted to attend. She was new to it and was making her nervous and terrified but at the same time, excited about the new adventure that awaited her. She wanted to take this as a chance to have a fresh start and make new friends.

High school was not something she wanted to remember. The whole hierarchy thing that existed and the stupid conceptions that jocks and cheerleaders were the coolest of them all – who even suggested such a thing? And then… there was that girl in the middle of it all. Nayeon was still confused about what had made her hate her so much in their senior year when she hadn’t done anything to her. But, there was no point in bothering to think about it now. They’d already graduated and were leaving town – she’d never see her again.

Nayeon slammed the boot of her car shut, packing the last of her belongings. It was a long drive to her college, and she was driving there alongside her best friend – who was attending the same place as she was. Just as she got the last of her items in, her mother called her inside, something about a farewell ritual before she left. She simply rolled her eyes, knowing that she was going to bawl her eyes out over their ‘baby’ leaving them for college. Do all parents overexaggerate when their child leaves to go to college?

As soon as she caught Hirai Momo’s teasing look when she walked inside the house, Nayeon knew there was more to it than expected. Her parents engulfed her in a hug, cooing over how fast she’d grown up. Her best friend was trying not to laugh, and Nayeon shot her a glare, getting her to stop with her antics.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll come back during break time.” Nayeon comforted the pair, who left the embrace with much difficulty.

“Momo dear, let us hug you too.”

The teasing smile that was on Momo’s face was long gone as Nayeon’s parents approached her. It was time for Nayeon to laugh behind Momo, struggling to keep a straight face as Momo squirmed slightly as she got hugged.

“Alright, you two. Have fun and make sure you call. Also, I know it’s a new sense of freedom, but please be responsible.”

The girls nodded eagerly, waving to the parents before sitting in the car together.

“You’re so lucky you’re my best friend.” Momo snickered.

“You’re lucky too, or else you’d be stuck driving on your own.” Nayeon retorted, effectively ending arguments.

“Can I at least control the music?” Momo sighed.

“Nope. You were laughing at my misery inside the house.” Nayeon shook her head as she reversed out of her driveway.

“Oh come on, you laughed at me too!” Momo argued.

“No Barbie songs.” Nayeon deadpanned.

“That was ONCE!” Momo groaned, slapping Nayeon’s shoulder.

The two of them continued to bicker, fighting over which songs they should play, before eventually settling for a Spotify playlist. They were both thinking about the change from high school life to college dorm life. Who would be their roommates? Would they find any reasonable people to date? Were the courses enjoyable? Was it the right choice?

Regardless of what either of them thought about their situation, they were grateful that they had the other with them, along for the next stage in their lives. College sounded terrifying, but with friends, it just made it sound a little more bearable.

---

On the other side of their hometown.

Someone was running late for her departure, getting force-fed by her parents so that she would have a safe trip. Minatozaki Sana, being the only child in her household, was constantly doted on by her parents. One person was feeding her toast from one side, while the other was pouring out a glass of orange juice on the opposite. Her bags were fortunately already packed and ready to be thrown into her friend’s car.

As much as she wanted to drive there herself, her parents were against in, worrying about her wellbeing throughout the drive. They were fine with her sitting with her friend, but not doing the driving on her own. The way her parents thought surprised her sometimes.

She scoffed down her breakfast, well, more like brunch – but she wanted to be out of the house as soon as she could. Sana had already told her friend to come later and now, she needed to finish quickly.

“Sweetheart, don’t eat so fast. You’ll choke.”

As if on cue, Sana choked on a piece of toast, gulping down the orange juice to help her. She washed up her plates, kissing her parents’ cheeks before heading towards the front door.

“Did you take your lunch?”

“Yes, I did. Don’t worry. Mina will be here any second now!” Sana replied to the worries of her parents.

“Have a safe trip. Let us know when you get there and get settled inside. We’ll meet up with you a few hours after you get there.”

Right, her parents were making sure Sana was well settled in too. She loved her parents, really – but it wasn’t needed for them to come all the way out to her college to make sure she was okay.

“It’s fine mum, dad. I’ll video call you when I get there so there’s no need to come.” Sana shook her head, hugging her parents.

A horn blared outside and Sana left her parents, grabbing her bags and pulling them towards Mina’s car. She stifled a scoff as she saw her friend with her aviators on, pretending to be cool in front of her parents.

“You do know, they’ve known you for a few years now. Wearing sunglasses won’t make you look cool.” Sana mocked.

“Oh, shush. I think they look good.” Mina stuck out her tongue, hugging her friend. “Ready to leave this place?’

“Yes. Please. The horrors of high school are lingering in my mind, still. I need a fresh start. I hope I have a cute roommate.” Sana groaned.

“I still don’t know why you hated Nayeon so much towards the end.” Mina clucked her tongue.

“I don’t even want to go there. That girl drives me crazy with just the mere mention of her name.” Sana shuddered.

The majority of her high school days were fine, honestly. But once Sana had reached senior year, the girl by the name of Im Nayeon, basically ruined her life and embarrassed her. And on top of that, she never had the audacity to apologise for what she did. Sana was fine with that, really. She would leave her past in her past. The college was what she had to think about now and Im Nayeon can just disappear from her mind.

“What if she becomes your roommate?” Mina asked.

“Oh my god, Mina, don’t say that, please. I hope she’s at some other university, far away from me, thank you.” Sana whined.

“Possibilities are endless.” Mina chuckled, basking in her friend’s misery.

Sana ignored Mina’s comments, deciding to sleep instead. She didn’t want her day to be ruined by the memories of that girl in the first place. Anything would be better than seeing her again in college. Damn Mina for even suggesting it in the first place. She didn’t want to have a nightmare when she slept!

---

Driving into the campus, both Nayeon and Momo were left speechless by the beauty of the buildings. It stretched so far, you could most likely get lost if you had classes in different areas. The girls parked in the student area, stretching as they stepped out of the car. They would check-in but they were currently starving. Momo ate all their snacks on their way to the college and she was still hungry. There was seriously no limit to her hunger.

“You’re not choosing.” Nayeon cut Momo off as soon as so opened .

“What? Hey! That’s not fair.” Momo whined.

“You ate all my snacks. You suffer now.” Nayeon glared, walking around campus to find something good to eat.

Of course, options were limited but they didn’t want to leave the campus grounds when they’d just gotten here. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable place to eat when the college was so large. At this stage, anything would suffice.

Momo grumbled, but didn’t argue, moving to stand by Nayeon’s side as she walked around the campus, offering smiles to students. Without getting lost, they managed to find a nice cafeteria to eat at, sliding into a booth at the back. Nayeon looked around, admiring the cosy feeling that exuded from the place. This was really a nice place to come to, she was glad she chose it.

As quickly as the food came, Momo inhaled it all, failing to surprise Nayeon. God, how did she eat so fast and so much, yet never gain a single kilogram.

“Are you a human or a vacuum cleaner?” Nayeon snickered, chucking a tissue at Momo to get her to wipe her face.

“Let me eat in peace. Why are you always nit-picking on everything that I’m doing?” Momo whined.

“If I don’t do it, who will? There’s yet to be someone who can get you to turn back into a human.” Nayeon muttered. “You pay.”

Nayeon left Momo in the café, leaving the place to sit outside in the sun. She would be starting classes soon, and this freedom would not last long. She’d heard all about the hell season, which was exam week. She hoped, her roommate wouldn’t be some -crazed person or a loud mouth. She needed to be at peace when she studied. She became nervous at the thought of what type of person they could be. It was a random person – someone she’d never met before. Would they be open to getting to know the other?

She was brought out of her thoughts when Momo collided her shoulders with her own. Her best friend shot her a glare, but Nayeon smiled sweetly, wrapping her arm around Momo’s neck and holding in a lock.

“Come on, let’s settle you in first.” Nayeon pulled Momo, ignoring her protests to let her go.

---

A gruelling hour later, Momo was settled into her dorm room. Her roommate had yet to come in, so the girl was waiting nervously. Admittedly, Nayeon was in the same situation even though it didn’t seem like it. She was trying to calm Momo down, but it wasn’t helping her either. A knock on the door and the two girls jolted off the bed. Nayeon moved to open the door quickly, glaring at Momo who remained frozen in place.

She was so shocked by how beautiful the girl was that she couldn’t even move. Nayeon’s patience was growing thin though. She could clearly see that the girl was struggling but Momo was the stronger one of the two.

“Momo, help.” Nayeon whispered harshly, gaining her attention.

She rushed to help the girl, who was flustered with how easily Momo had lifted up her baggage and placed it inside.

“I’m just going to drop my friend to her dorm and I’ll be back. I’m Hirai Momo.” Momo greeted, shaking the girl’s hand.

She just nodded, and Nayeon waved goodbye before pulling Momo out with her. “I can’t believe how gay you are sometimes.”

“Excuse me, she’s stunning. You can’t blame me.” Momo shrugged.

A short ten minutes later, they found themselves outside of Nayeon’s room. She knocked, nervously biting on her nails as she waited. She couldn’t help herself as she saw the girl who opened the door, revealing her roommate.

“You?!”