The morning air is crisp and light, it carries the sound of early bird calls and the smell of coffee. The dried-up tree leaves scattered on the ground crunch under sneakers and skateboard wheels, the owners of which are in a rush to reach their destination. Early (Monday morning) classes were always the hardest for students, especially those who valued their last-minute Sunday night plans.

The peaceful harmony in which every body awake at this hour works, is art, Lisa thinks. Or at least she would if she were awake. The curtains of her dorm window block the most minimal amount of light out, casting a warm orange hue over the beige walls. The artworks pinned on the various corkboards that litter the walls express new meaning, their subtle colours blending ever so perfectly with the morning sun.

The tiny succulents sitting upon the bookshelf, placed perfectly in the corner of the dormitory, struggle to make themselves known, the shadows of preceding shelves hiding their beauty. Their pots however, simple and yellow, make the statement for them. The books that usually sit upon those shelves lay scattered across the desk next to the bookshelf. The hardback covers lay closed, bookmarks in almost each one, indicating books that were never finished and ones that have just been started.

The trail leads across the floor, covered by paint-soaked t-shirts and jeans, to a soft duvet that moves in shallow breaths. The block of wood beside the bed, a makeshift night table as Jisoo calls it, holds a simple night light, a phone and a round pair of gold frames. Their owner always forgoes cleaning them, the transparent glass covered in grey fingerprints and dried up raindrops.

The brown duvet covers the mattress, although tresses of obsidian flow from its head. The locks fan out across the pillow, drowning the white material in their thickness. The faint movement of some of the locks clears a space on the pillows, and the face of a sleeping girl emerges.

Her eyelashes flutter, the brightness of the room finally too much to keep her eyes shut from. stretches wide open, a yawn making its way out of . An urgent hand shoots out to grab the phone lying upon her bedside table, checking for the time.

9:37 a.m.

“.” Longs legs fly out from under the covers, throwing it haphazardly over the side of frame. Tugging on the jeans that were lying on the floor, Lisa flies to the bathroom of her dorm. The fluorescent tubes that line the bathroom’s ceiling are nothing compared to the warmth of colour of her room, and Lisa finds herself squinting into the bathroom mirror. Splashing water on her face, she blindly squeezes her toothpaste onto her brush, scrubbing her teeth while taming her bangs. The foam drips all over the basin, washed away by the surge of water from the tap.

Running out of the bathroom, she grabs the multi coloured sweater lying upon her chair and tugs it on. The leather book bag that contains her new reads, as well as a palette of paint, her brushes and sketchbook, hangs behind her door. She picks her glasses off her night table, opting to go another day without cleaning them because she simply does not have the time.

”Jisoo is going to kill me. I am deceased. This is the end.” She opens her curtains, casting her room with a bright white light. She picks the duvet off the floor, throwing it onto her bed once more. She’ll be back in three hours anyway. Grabbing the door handle, she yanks it open, before shutting it again. Turning around to grab a coat, it might be chilly, she pulls her door shut and runs to the staircase of her dorm building.

Flying down the six flights of stairs, she finds herself at the lobby entrance. She waves good morning to Sunmi, one of the college professors who seemed to be chatting with a student, Jeongyeon, about one of the notices on the board.

The walk (run) to the café near her dorm building takes her three minutes, and she’s panting hard and heavy as she opens its glass doors. The bell chimes above her head, and the cashier raises her head to look her way.

Momo casts her a wide smile, signalling her a thumbs up with her left hand, the right already punching Lisa’s order into the machine. Lisa notices the girl has been a lot brighter lately.

(She thinks it might have something to do with a certain pink-head she spots stealing kisses from Momo when they think no one is looking)

She promises herself to treat the girl to cake sometime. Scanning the café, Lisa spots her friend sitting with her head buried in a book. As she approaches the table, she spots a cup of tea and a teapot, that looks like it was almost half empty.

.

“Hey Jisoo!” Lisa says, a bit too enthusiastically for someone who was-

“You’re an hour late Lalisa! Three people came up to me asking if I’d been stood up! Three!” Jisoo drops the book on the table, dramatically raising her hands in the air. A few heads of the few customers the café had at this time turned towards the pair, but turned away as quickly when they realised the commotion was none out of the ordinary.

“I’m so sorry!” Lisa blurts out, sitting down in front of Jisoo. “I promise you I kept an alarm. Several actually! I just… slept through all of them…” She pulls her book out of her bag, casting her eyes at the cover.

“You brought the wrong book too? Lisa when are you going to start going to bed at a normal hour?” Jisoo pours herself another cup of tea, massaging her temples. The black sweater the girl was wearing contrasted highly with her brigh