Unbetad, all mistakes are mine.

//

Yuri has come to a conclusion— college was not like how they portrayed it in movies. She thought it would be better (read: easier) than high school but apparently not? Whichever fantasy Yuri had of university life vanished and it was only her first week at school.

So this was why her older brother decided not to enroll. Other than the fact that they weren’t financially capable back then which forced her brother to jump into work right after graduating high school while Yuri took off to Police Academy.

And yet Yuri couldn’t hate her current situation just yet. She was still fulfilling a part of her dream after all. Yuri would finish this college thing even if circumstances revealed she wasn’t so fit for it.

But it became increasingly difficult to up her morale when she was lugging a still asleep Taeyeon, bridal style, around the hallways trying to reach their first class of the day. She dismissed the looks of shock and awe from other students milling around. Her focus was to not get another late mark if they didn’t want to get dropped out of class.

Yuri silently cursed a certain Kwon Boa for enrolling them in the earliest class possible. How did their captain not know how much of an anti-morning person Taeyeon was?

The partners finally rounded the last corner, only a short distance away from the classroom’s door. Yuri ran faster once she heard their professor taking attendance.

“Kwon Taeyeon,” Professor Kang called out. Hearing no response he repeated the name one last time before officially marking the student absent, “Kwon Taeyeon.”

“Here!” Yuri panted still carrying an unconscious Taeyeon. “We’re here, I mean she’s here. Kwon Taeyeon.” Even after a week, Yuri still hasn’t gotten used to sharing the same last name as her partner.

“And Kwon Yuri,” she added as an afterthought.

Their professor eyed them skeptically before dismissing the odd entrance and carried on. Yuri sighed in relief before moving towards their usual desk and ungraciously dropping Taeyeon on her own seat. The older girl automatically leaned her head on Yuri’s shoulder once she herself settled down.

Yuri tried to catch her breath when she hears a giggle from her opposite side. “It’s not funny Tiffany.”

“Oh but it is Yuri,” Tiffany says her name with a certain accent. “Congrats, you two weren’t late today. I think it’s safe to say you guys won’t be dropping out just yet.”

Yuri chuckled in response before glancing to Tiffany’s seatmate who was undoubtedly fast asleep just like her own friend. “I see Jessica made it to class as well.”

Tiffany groaned after giving her own best friend a fond eye roll. “I barely survived the beating and thrashing she decided to bring upon this morning when I was just doing what a good friend would do. HellSica is the worst!”

“They don’t deserve us.”

“Agreed.”

The quartet got acquainted during the first day of class when Tiffany similarly dragged in a groggy Jessica through the door, Yuri and Taeyeon already inside seated ahead of time. Yuri recognized Jessica right away. Her best friend would have done the same if she was actually awake to witness the same thing.

To Yuri’s surprise, Tiffany took the empty seat next to her also discharging a nearly knocked out Jessica beside. Yuri immediately introduced herself and her best friend. Once she mentioned the name Taeyeon, Tiffany’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Is she perhaps the same Taeyeon my dear roommate has been babbling about for the past few days?”

“So I was right! Jessica does have a thing for Taeyeon.”

“Oh my god!” Tiffany exclaimed in English.

And that was the start of a new camaraderie between Yuri and Tiffany. It helped that they both had similar complaints with their significant best friends, who by the way still have not realized they shared the same class. Jessica and Taeyeon have yet to wake up from their comas.

Yuri shook her head, she could imagine the amount of disbelief and fluster Taeyeon would bear once she finds out she’s been sitting in close proximity to her crush for nearly a week now. But Yuri couldn’t blame her friend for being the sleepyhead she was right now.

What with Taeyeon staying up every single night trying to piece every intel they’ve gathered so far— which by the way was close to non-existent. But that didn’t stop her partner from wracking her brain trying to connect the dots with the little info they had.

Taeyeon would make a really great detective one day.

Investigation aside, Yuri and Taeyeon also had to juggle their academic life. Meaning Yuri had to try her best in each class even when she understood zero things from every lecture. Thankfully, Taeyeon was always there to grind her every night with tutoring. Yuri would have failed three days in if it weren’t for her best friend.

Yuri sighed as she diligently took down notes. “Man, I thought college was full of partying and getting wasted, not books and boring professors,” she muttered softly, simply thinking out loud.

Apparently not as quiet as she thought as Tiffany leaned closer to her whispering, “It’s a mix of both Yuri-ah.” An eye smile was thrown her way. “But if you’re so interested about partying, the Zeta’s are throwing one tomorrow night. You and Taetae should come!”

Yuri snickered at Tiffany’s choice of nickname. Taeyeon would be so confused once she hears about this. She didn’t have to think twice before accepting Tiffany’s invitation. They needed to unwind after all and who knows? They might find the clues they’ve been looking for in that party.

Taeyeon would be so happy to hear about this.

“Uhm… a party you said?” Taeyeon asked, looking slightly unnerved.

Yuri’s spirit faltered, already sensing Taeyeon’s hesitancy with her plan. “What’s wrong? Don’t you wanna go?”

That seemed to have hit the bullseye as Taeyeon’s shoulders dropped. How could Yuri have forgotten how much Taeyeon avoided events like these. She only remember now how these made the older girl uncomfortable and now Yuri could only kick herself internally for forgetting such a critical aspect.

Some kind of best friend you are, she bitterly thought to herself.

Taeyeon seemed to have caught onto Yuri’s inner turmoil and gave out a resigned sigh. “I’ll go.”

Yuri snapped her head up in surprise, her eyes trying to read Taeyeon’s own brown ones. “Are you sure?”

Taeyeon nodded resolutely. “We’re not moving forward with our investigation at all. I think there’s a good chance we would find something in this party,” she shrugged.