United World University for Space, United Korea Branch

Seoul, South Korea, United Earth Alliance

[Time Frame: ‘97 line just graduated, Vivi has 1 ½ year of field experience]

/

It wasn’t like Son Hyejoo didn’t like people. She just had a realistic mindset about them. She’s seen her fair share of tv dramas.

Her high school life was anti-climatic though.

She was sure of it. She didn’t need a hundred friends or whatever.

Even her moms agreed. Her dad said the same thing, stating that there was a clear difference between school friends and friends who would drop anything for you. He said that she’d find her life buddies soon enough.

And she was fine with that.

/

Her Dad was an Alliance Mechanic. Her Mom was an Alliance Captain. And her other Ma was an Alliance Fighter Pilot, part of the 7th Fleet.

Hyejoo wanted to follow in their footsteps.

It was to be expected, really. Her Dad always took her to the mechanic’s garage, teaching her about the vintage Earth vehicles and the new space-age ships. Even so, they never pressured her to follow their military careers.

On her 18th birthday, they got her a vintage Earth-tech motorcycle. Gasoline powered and all that jazz.

(She named her Olivia.)

During the summer, her Ma taught her how to hotwire. They ended up taking an old Alliance drop-shuttle out for a joy ride.

Shortly after, she registered for the United World University for Space.

(When her acceptance package arrived, her dad cried, which made her moms cry, which made her cry too.)

/

“Ok, sweetie! You’re sure you got everything?”

“Yeah, Dad. Made sure to double check.”

Hyejoo shut her eyes as her dad ruffled her hair.

“Have fun, kiddo! We love you!”

“If any one messes with you, you have my permission to kick their !”

“Honey!”

Hyejoo smiled. Her parents were endearing, even if they were a bit dramatic.

She waved goodbye and watched their shuttle take off. She turned to face the impressive buildings of the University, looking up as she gripped the straps of her backpack.

“Well... here’s to the next 4 years, I guess.”

/

Freshman year was going smooth so far.

The topics in her classes were easy to grasp. The more physical combat stuff was grueling but what else did she expect from a military school.

The engineering and mechanical classes were a breeze for her. The lessons from her parents ended up being the majority of the curriculum.

(She hasn’t found anybody closely resembling ‘life buddies’ yet. Just classmates so far.)

/

It’s just a semester in when Hyejoo finally meets someone interesting.

Im Yeojin.

A 16 year old who managed to get accepted into Seoul’s UWUS and skip her last two high school years.

Despite her young age, Yeojin was accepted in for her exceptional flight ability. Her flight simulator scores were always near the top of the ranks, matching Hyejoo’s.

Of course, there were some older cadets who were jealous of her. There were two of them right now and they reminded Hyejoo of the dumb bullies in those tv dramas.

Two male cadets were picking on Yeojin, holding some of her stuff over her head.

“Hey! I said give it back!”

The thing about Yeojin, that Hyejoo noticed, was that she always seemed ready to fight at any given moment. Hyejoo found it admirable, in a weird way.

Looking at the scene, Hyejoo found that it irked her. She never liked bullies.

It was between classes and there was barely anybody in the halls except for the four of them.

Hyejoo made her way over to the commotion, she had to bite back a growl at the boys’ behavior.

“Hey! Quit it. What’s wrong with you.”

Her tone came out quite aggressive but she didn’t care. 

The boys attention were directed at her now.

“What’s it matter to you?”

Hyejoo narrowed her eyes. Maybe Yeojin was on to something the way she wanted to fight everyone. “I said quit it. You really think the Alliance or the University tolerates this kind of stuff?”

Yeojin quietly observed the scene in front of her.

The cadet scoffed, “ Tch . And who do you think you are?”

“BACK OFF. I’m not gonna say it again.” She didn’t bother biting back her growl this time.

It was a tense couple seconds of silence before the cadet relented, still with a scowl on his face.

Hyejoo was about to take a step back when the cadet suddenly threw a punch.

Luckily for her, Yeojin was watching and reacted in time. She was faster and landed her fist on the bully’s face before he even got near Hyejoo. The force threw him back against the wall.

The other cadet was about to make a move towards Yeojin. Hyejoo stepped in and judo-flipped him before he could attempt anything. He let out a terrible groan as he was slammed on the floor.

“Serves ‘em right.”

Yeojin grabbed her stuff off the floor. She grabbed Hyejoo’s hand and ran.

“C’mon, let’s get outta here!”

The two left the scene, leaving behind the cadets in pain.

/

“Why were they picking on you?” Hyejoo turned to Yeojin.

“They were jealous of my flight scores,” Yeojin fiddled with something in her hands, “So they tried to harass me and steal my stuff.”

Now that Hyejoo was up close, she saw what Yeojin had in her hand. It was… cat food?

“They were trying to steal your… cat food?”

Yeojin let out something a mix of laughter and a snort. “It’s not for me silly.”

“C’mon, I wanna show you something.” She lead Hyejoo outside, near some bushes behind the lecture hall they were previously in.

Yeojin was quiet as she squatted down. Hyejoo shrugged to herself before mimicking her.

It was silent until… a meow rang out.

Yeojin placed the cat food down in front of them. The two watched as a small orange cat emerged from the bushes. It meowed at them before eating the food.

Hyejoo noticed the smile on Yeojin’s face. Her eyes slid back to watch the cat.

“You should let me know if anyone else messes with you.”

The two kept their gaze on the cat. Neither bothered to comment on their matching smiles.

“Sure.”

/

The rest of Freshman year went like this.

Hyejoo found a friend in Yeojin, and vice versa. They would regularly train together, study together, feed stray cats together, and fight ugly bullies together.

The two became an unlikely duo; Yeojin helped Hyejoo come out of her reserved shell a bit, and Hyejoo helped Yeojin turn her overabundant energy into a razor sharp focus. They were good for each other.

The two’s flight ability skyrocketed, easily overthrowing the University’s previous flight records and achievements.

By the end of Freshman year, Hyejoo and Yeojin ended up rooming together.

(They also took in the orange cat and named him Tabi.)

/