Walking into the gates of university was something that Renjun had never done before and it was uncanny for someone like him to be this nervous.

He had been in countless interviews to obtain that high school exchange program to Korea to pursue his dream of becoming an animator despite the language barrier.

He had been in numerous cram schools to achieve the marks necessary to study overseas and to study the art of animating despite the language barrier.

He had been in gruelling adversities that revolved around his quiet nature and questions targeted to why he never seemed to hear them calling for him in the halls despite the language barrier..

He had been through so much and yet…those gates that were looming in front of him and casting a shadow over his tiny form was the scariest thing that he had ever been seen. 

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his stupor, a tall male with hair the same shade as caramel, a smile on his lips that stretched so wide it had Renjun staring mesmerised and completely forgetting the necessary procedure to make it seem like he wasn’t, for a lack of a better word, a freak. The concern that flitted across the other boy’s face made him forcibly rip his mind out of the gutter and focus on the space between the other’s brows, right above the bridge of his nose, while peeking at the shape of his lips as they moved. Slowly, he was able to piece together the words ‘are you lost’ coupled with yet another concerned expression and nodded, laughing sheepishly.

“I am looking for the administration building,” He replied, hoping that his intonations and pronunciation in Korean were satisfactory. “I don’t know where it is.” Once again, he watched intently and letting his eyes slip down to the other boy’s lips, the words ‘it’s just this way, follow me’ forming and he mentally patted himself on the back for the brilliant act. He could tell that the other was talking as he blindly followed him, his mouth moving up and down but since they were walking, Renjun had no hopes of analysing the shape of the other’s boy’s lips to figure out what he was saying. Instead, he hummed from time to time, eyes scanning the area in his silent world. Students were all laughing and shouting at one another, their mouths wide open and forming profanities or expressions of joy that Renjun wasn’t able to share with them. He only stopped admiring them when he bumped into the back of the other boy, apologising quickly and bowing his head only to raise in time to see the other boy smile at him. ‘Here we are’ were the words that his lips formed, prompting Renjun to look behind him to see the large building that read ‘Administration’ on the relatively large label above the door. 

“Thank you,” He said as sincerely as he could, seeing the boy’s smile widen even more before his lips were moving again and forming the words ‘it’s not a problem’. Just to be sure, Renjun bowed once more and walked up to the door, opening it and entering the building. 

If the other boy had called for him, he wouldn’t have known for the other didn’t touch him or wave a hand in his face so Renjun assumed that everything would be fine.

However, he knew it would not be so if he were to cross paths with the caramel haired boy again.

The interior of the building was simple - it was an office-like environment, multiple members of the university’s faculty bustling about with files in their hands and tired expressions on their faces. In the back of his mind, Renjun decided that it would be good if he were to finally use the language that he was comfortable using in the shadows that the eyes of students usually overlooked. Walking up to the desk that was right in front of the door on the other side of the area, he cleared his throat and saw the girl behind the desk look at him with a small tired smile. 

“I’m Huang Renjun and I’m here for my provisions,” He said while signing, as if the girl couldn’t tell who he was when she had probably been waiting for him with his special timetable and permission slips that would allow him to sit in the front row of all of his lectures and classes so he could read lips instead of hearing words. The girl whose name tag read ‘Luna’ didn’t seem to bothered by the way he stared at her lips, reading their positions and furrowing his eyebrows when he realised that she was not as articulate at speaking as the boy from earlier. It wasn’t long before the girl had grabbed her phone and typed, kindly showing the screen after with the same small smile. ‘We are still waiting for some of the forms to be approved but in order for them to be, we need to know if you have cochlear implants, Renjun’ was what was written on the screen and Renjun frowned, knowing that he hadn’t been able to afford cochlear implants due to his family’s financial struggles back in China.

“Sorry, I don’t have the implants,” He apologised and dropping the signing, sudden fear coursing through his body at the thought of not being able to attend his classes due to not knowing what his lecturer was saying. “I cannot afford them right now.” He saw sympathy flash across the girl’s face, her energy levels dropping alongside her sagging shoulders before she typed on her phone screen once more. ‘The university has a scheme where we’ll pay for them but they will get added to your school fees. However, you won’t be able to get the implants for another, say, six to eight months due to the waiting list of other special provision students’ was what was written on the screen now, a sad face following in the next line as Renjun shook his head.

“As long as I can sit in the front of the classroom and see my teacher’s lips, I will be fine,” He answered, pausing as he thought of a less effective but desperate alternative. “Or I can always run my program for the entirety of class, the speech diction one.” He saw the girl chuckle at him, her eyes disappearing into crescents before she typed on the screen and showed it to him once more. ‘It’s a speech DICTATION program but yeah, I can grab your permission slips for sign in’ was now the last message on the phone and being polite, he bowed his head slightly to thank the girl who probably laughed at him even more, judging from the way her shoulders shook up and down. ‘I hope you’ll have fun studying here at SM University’read the last message before the girl stood up and walked over to a cabinet, taking out several pieces of paper that were probably his permission slips. It wasn’t long before the girl typed some more on her phone and showed him the message ’I have arranged for another student to be your sign translator in case you can’t read the sign in person’s lips’. 

“Thank you,” He replied as she laughed, eyes lighting up when she saw someone behind him. Confused he glanced behind him to see a boy whose hair was as dark as night, firm build that made him insecure about his own wiry frame and a face that seemed like it belonged to a magazine. There was another male with the guy that had enamoured Renjun, he was a bit leaner and skinnier but still handsome with his equally dark hair and cute round glasses. He felt a tap on his shoulder and hurriedly read the message on the phone that was being slid towards him. ‘The one with the glasses is Mark Lee and he knows KSL. He’ll be translating anything for you during sign in’.

“Ma…Mak Lee?” He asked, looking at the girl behind the desk who furrowed her eyebrows in evaluation at his pronunciation before typing and showing a message that read ‘curl your ‘r’ a bit more’. “M-Mark Lee?” He tried again, seeing her face light up as she nodded at him in approval before the male with the glasses named ‘Mark Lee’ strolled up to the desk with his friend in tow. He stared at the taller and read as much as he could of his lips, gathering that he was there for a sign in appointment but didn’t know who it was he was helping. In the meantime, Renjun let his eyes stray from Mark’s rapidly moving mouth to the guy behind him, the one who was a little shorter but also a little more built. He seemed disinterested, as if he was forced by his friend to be there, shoulders a little slack as he waited for his friend to be done. Renjun watched as the other’s eyes moved from around the room to where he should, jaw going slack when the other’s eyes landed on him. Suddenly, a hand was waving itself in his face and Mark Lee was smiling warmly at him, hands moving as he talked. 

“I’m Mark Lee and I’m from Canada! One of my relatives is mute so I know quite a bit of KSL,” The other greeted and Renjun found himself sighing happily at not having to worry about his pronunciation for a while. “Sorry, I don’t know how to say your name yet…”

“Huang Renjun,” He signed, clearing his throat before saying it with his voice that he barely used. “Sorry, I don’t know you’re saying it right since I’m deaf but my Korean name is ‘Hwang Injun’. Hopefully that’s easier,” He signed, getting carried away before slowing down. “You can’t read KSL that fast, can you?”

“We’ll take it slow,” Mark signed, laughing at the end in what Renjun assumed was shyness or embarrassment. “Let’s sign you into our system, yeah?”

“Thank you for helping me,” He thanked with his voice rather than his hands, bowing slightly and glancing at the other boy who was still behind Mark Lee and staring at his form when he stood up straight. He didn’t notice Mark glancing between them before the other was smiling devilishly and signing again while keeping that same devilish smile.

“Oh, I see what’s going on here.” Renjun scowled when Mark finished signing, rolling his eyes and glaring at the taller male in front of him.

“Can I just sign in peacefully?” He signed, putting on a begging expression as Mark laughed visibly and grabbed his arm to lead him to an office where he would have to sign in to be on the university’s database as a student. “What now?”

“Now, we wait until you actually can sign in,” Mark signed, smiling gently at him as they sat on some chairs and waited patiently for the office door to open.

This year is going to be tough. Especially with my disability.

Should Renjun [engage in conversation with Mark Lee] or [stay silent] while he waits to sign into the university?

If you chose [engage in conversation with Mark Lee], please continue reading Chapter 2.

If you chose [stay silent], please continue reading Chapter 3.

Chapters 2 and 3 will be updated within the next week.