‘A fresh start.’

That’s what Seulgi initially expected when she first stepped foot onto campus at Seoul University. She thought she was finally going to be on the road to self-discovery and nirvana when she went off to college, but instead she was met with a mountain of school work, sleep deprivation and confusion. She was supposed to be making new friends, bettering herself and living the best years of her life yet, nothing was going as planned.

First things first, she was conflicted on what to major in. Should she do the rational thing and go pre-med where she could have a stable future, but also a career where she might never be fully content or does she choose graphic art where she would be allowed to explore her creativity and passion, but possibly die as a starving artist. The answer seemed obvious as she began taking her pre-requisite classes for medical school and putting her desire to design on the back burner.

Things were easy in the beginning. She was able to stay on top of her schoolwork and go to all her classes. It was just biology, chemistry, calculus and an English class to balance out the heavy science courses. Things were going well, that is...until they weren’t. The exams started to pile up and then came the late nights in the library cramming for test after test. She started to fall behind, and it felt like nothing she did was working.

And as for new friends, the only acquaintances she made was with her resident assistant, Irene and a girl named Joy who was her lab partner in chemistry. If she were being honest, she wasn’t even sure if they were close enough to be considered friends. Not that it mattered anyways. Seulgi barely had time for herself, let alone others.

Finally to top it all off, when she was finally able to get some rest, she couldn’t. Her neighbor would start playing the guitar in the middle of the night for hours on end. In the month and a half she has lived here, she had yet to meet the stranger next door and truth be told, Seulgi hoped she never did.

Anyone that inconsiderate didn’t belong in her life anyways.

--

"Don't forget your paper on To Kill a Mockingbird is due in three weeks."

Seulgi writes down the due date in her planner and quickly packs up her bag and heads to the local cafe. 

The smell of coffee invades her senses the moment she steps in. Every morning she needed coffee to just get her through the day. At this rate, she was sure her body was more coffee than blood.

She looks around and sees several students sitting at tables with their books laid out, but their attention was elsewhere. She listens to the laughter and Seulgi is envious at how carefree they all looked. How she yearned to live her life the same way, but instead her mind was clouded with self doubt and feelings of uncertainty. All she could do right now was figure out her coffee order.

“Next.”

“Seulgi turns and realizes that there’s no one in front of her. She could have sworn there were 6 other people just a minute ago.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

“Medium cold brew.”

“Do you want any milk or sugar in it?”

“No.”

“That will be 2.53”

Seulgi hands over her card and waits for a receipt. She looks at the barista and doesn’t recognize her. ‘Must be new’

“Here. Your order will be ready soon Seulgi.”

She hesitates, wondering how the barista knew her name then realizes the girl must have looked at the name written on the card.

Seulgi mumbles a small ‘thank you’ as she steps to the side to wait for her drink. She’s scrolling through her phone and pauses when she sees a photo and instantly frowns.

“Cold brew for Seulgi.”

She lets out a heavy sigh and locks the screen while walking to the counter. She picks up the drink and sees her name with a small drawing of what looks like a teddy bear next to it and the words, 'Himnae' on the sleeve.

She doesn’t give it too much thought as she exits the café.

--

“Don’t forget the glycolytic and krebs cycle are all going to be on your test next week.”

Seulgi internally groans at the thought of another exam and closes her laptop. She takes her time picking up her books and packing up as the other students run out of the classroom. She picks up her coffee cup and takes one final sip, reveling at the dark flavor that coats her tongue. She’s about to throw away the cup when she sees the bear drawing again. She considers keeping the sleeve, but decides against it as she tosses it into the trash can and makes her way back to the dorm to study.

--

Seulgi sighs for the umpteenth time as she turns to her nightstand to see the clock flashing 2 A.M. She groans knowing that this was going to be another sleepless night just like all the others since she started college. It stemmed from a mix of anxiety brought on by her and her relationship with ex-girlfriend. The picture she saw earlier with her new partner didn’t exactly help either. They say time heals, but she wishes time didn't pass as slowly as it did.

She flips her pillow over hoping the coolness would help her sleep better when she hears the strings of a guitar being strummed. Like clockwork, the person who lives next door would start playing around this time every single night for the past month and every night Seulgi considers banging on the wall. She wonders if the person living next door realizes that someone is listening or if that's what they wanted.

The strumming starts as it normally does, relatively light and upbeat. She assumes they're warming up and she's right when the tempo shifts after a few minutes. The melody suddenly slows down and someone starts to sing. Seulgi freezes at the sound of the voice. It's soft, sweet and -- broken.

She hears the slight quiver as the song es and feels her own chest ache.

She later falls asleep thinking it was no wonder the girl never sang before -- it pulls you in and Seulgi wasn't sure if she wanted to find her way out.

--

When she wakes up the next morning, she feels groggy and feels around for her phone. She shoots up when she sees the time and realizes that she’s late. She quickly gets dressed and rushes to her first class. She curses at herself for snoozing her alarm and her neighbor for keeping her up all night.

But, as much as she’s complaining, a part of her hopes it’s not the last time she’ll hear her voice.

--

When class is over she feels more dead than alive and walks to the café. Luckily there isn’t a line as she right up to the barista.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

“Medium cold brew.”

“Do you want any milk or sugar in it?”

“No.”

“That will be 2.53”

Seulgi hands over the card and waits for her name to be called.

“Cold brew for Seulgi.”

Seulgi grabs her drink and notices a different drawing this time…the drawing of a hamster and the words 'Fighting!' on the sleeve as she turns to look at the barista who is busy wiping down the espresso machine.

She wonders if the girl did this for everyone and if so, why? As someone who sketches, it wasn’t the best drawing, but there was definitely something endearing about it. As for the words -- she didn't know what to think of them. She wants to ask, but decides against it and grabs a few napkins off the counter and walks to her next class instead.

--

When she gets ready for bed later that night, she hopes the girl next door will sing again. She waits, but it doesn't come. When the clock flashes 3, Seulgi knows the girl isn’t going to be playing tonight. She wonders if she is alright and almost wants to knock on the wall to ask, but knows she shouldn’t.

So…she waits.

She waits the next night and the night after that. She lays awake waiting for the girl to sing again, but she never does.

Seulgi thinks maybe it’s a good thing that the girl stopped. At least now she can finally sleep without being woken up. She thinks maybe the girl has gotten complaints from other people in the building and finally called it quits. She convinces herself that it’s probably for the best. 

Yet -- there is this longing in her chest to hear the voice again.

--

Seulgi lets out an exasperated sigh as she looks at the 76 circled on her biology exam. After studying for hours on end, she still managed to bomb her test.

She crumbles up the test and throws it across the room. She thinks about throwing her textbook as well, but opts for punching her pillow instead. She runs her fingers through her hair and feels her chest tightening. She blinks away the tears that are threatening to fall and wonders how she got here.

How is it that one year she was the happiest she had ever been in her life and the next, she was the most miserable she had ever been. She decides to call it a night and crawls under her covers and hopes for sleep to come.

But it doesn’t.

Just as she starts to doze off, she hears her.

Thi