It’s the first day of school and Eunji can’t help but finger her necklace nervously. The soothing feeling of the metal ring escaping between her fingers only to pull down on the thin chain was comforting and familiar; warmth rushed through her in knowing that she had something safe to hold onto. The towering buildings and quiet courtyard before her does not help to stop her mind from buzzing with thoughts as she searches for anyone to help her find her dorm. Being her first year of college, Eunji had not been around campus before even for a tour and only recently decided on dorm life despite her parent's skeptical views on the idea. She loved having new challenges and meeting people though her consistent worries about failing all her classes remained ingrained in the back of her brain. After what seemed like much difficulty and help from a random passerby, Eunji located the brick building tucked away in the corner of the school and peered into the entrance in hopes of seeking an attempt to socialize. Her first hour in school and she was already searching for new friends and adventures. Eunji had always been like that. There was a hushed screech against the floor as Eunji swung her feet across the ground, halting in front of her dorm door. She could hear the subtle sounds of a person setting up their items already and a natural smile spread about her face at the thought of the friendship to blossom. Eunji coughed into her hand gently and pushed open the door, beaming confidently to make her first impression. To her surprise, the room was far larger than expected and it took Eunji a couple seconds to find her roommate sitting on a bed in her own separate room. She was a strikingly beautiful girl: small with long, brown hair that glistened in the dim light.

                    “Hey! I’m Jung Eunji.” Eunji said cheerfully, waving enthusiastically. The girl looked up at her with curious eyes, setting down her phone to greet her new companion.

                    “Nice to meet you,” her voice was raspy yet sweet, “I’m Park Chorong.” The two awkwardly shook hands and Eunji backed away before Chorong could feel more uncomfortable in their current positions. There were so many questions to be asked but Eunji knew that the first step was to unpack. She did so quite smoothly, chatting peacefully with Chorong while also making sure not to overwhelm her with pressing questions. They seemed to hit it off well despite Chorong's shy responses that Eunji always found a way to twist. Chorong eventually decided that Eunji was amicable and found pleasure in being in the company with someone of bright personality; it had been a long time since she had met someone like that.

                    “Did you say you were majoring in music?” Chorong asked tentatively, fiddling with the zipper of her suitcase after neatly laying out all of her clothes.

Eunji nodded at her firmly, grinning jauntily at the remark before tending to her own clothes. “What about you?”

                    “Me too. I’m more about producing music though.”

“Producing? I hear that’s really difficult.”

                    “It is but it’s getting easier since it’s my third year now.”

Eunji paused, her ears perking up at the mention of Chorong's time in college. “Third?” Wouldn’t that would mean Chorong was older than her?

                    Chorong chuckled at Eunji's obvious shock and nodded, “You don’t have to treat me like I’m older though. It’s only a two year difference.” Chorong ran her fingers through her hair out of habit though Eunji was quick to recover from the surprising facts about her roommate. They ventured out of the building for a while after Eunji suggested they grab lunch, hopeful that they would become fast friends. Indeed, Eunji reached the goal quickly and was comfortable with her two year older friend before she knew it. They settled in a quiet cafe, sipping their drinks as they looked outside the tinted windows.

                    “Don’t you love coming to these kinds of places?” Eunji's eyes glistened with awe, the golden sun dipping down below the horizon right before their eyes. Chorong seemed to doze off in the blinding light, but she snapped awake at the sound of Eunji's voice. There was a low hum in as she pondered on the question.

                    “Not really.” Chorong paused to tuck her chin between her hands, slipping the straw into for the refreshing dose of coffee. Eunji waited patiently, her brows furrowed with confusion. “I never liked going out… You’d be surprised at how well trouble always finds me.” Chorong said. Eunji nodded as if she understood, looking as though she wanted to say something. She hesitated, but dove into it before she could stop herself.

“Trouble?”

                    “It’s not something I feel comfortable saying out loud.” Chorong said carefully, “But I think you’ll start to see what I mean soon enough. I guess I should apologize in advance.”

.....

                    It was a Friday when Eunji decided that something had to be done to patch up the problem, even if it was temporary. Though Eunji was not particularly studious and spent most of her time staring at her phone instead of looking over her notes, she began to find her daily life full of unnecessary distractions. And for Chorong, it was worse. As a third year, Chorong worked long and tedious hours, staying up all night to finish up her essays and produce small playlists for her classes. Eunji admired her elder’s dedication but also felt sorrowful when watching her sitting in the dim light of their dorm room. She recalled asking her why she didn’t choose to study elsewhere a couple weeks before.

                    “Why don’t you study in the library?”

Chorong looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ve tried going.”

                    “Was it bad?”

“I just couldn’t get any work done.”

                    The next week, Eunji had found out why Chorong was so uncomfortable with being in the public atmosphere. It was not a particularly shocking reason, but it was interesting to say at the very least.

                    It was a Thursday night when Chorong and Eunji were walking back to their dorm after a night class. Their steps were quick and light, but without even turning Chorong could tell that someone was tracing them. She halted suddenly, signaling to Eunji to slow down. Eunji peered curiously at her, then traced her eyes toward where Chorong was staring. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slim boy jogging his way to them.

“Chorong! Wait up, Park Chorong!”

                    Eunji watched as Chorong's face fell and she turned back around to keep walking. “I have no business with you Alex.” Chorong said coldly, tugging at Eunji's arm to get her to move with her. Eunji caught up with her roommate’s steps which were speeding up to a jog even when the boy that was supposedly named Alex was already next to them.

                    “You know I’m supposed to treat you to a meal someday.” Alex paused, his head tilted toward Eunji, “You can drop your friend off and we can get going.”

“No thank you. Go buy someone else that meal.” Chorong cut him off before he could say more and Eunji looked away from the two to avoid interfering with their relationship. Her mind was swirling with the possibilities. Could it be an ex? Or was he just a friend? Something else? By the time they were in their dorm, Chorong answered the question on her own.

                    “Just an admirer. He asked me out a month ago.”

Eunji gazed up at her excitedly. “You must get a lot of admirers.”

                    “You say that like it’s a good thing” Chorong said with a tired look on her face.

                    For Chorong, admirers were never a good sign. She was mobbed by them everyday and Eunji could barely imagine the little focus Chorong could have during class when her “admirers” would appear with trinkets and drinks to refresh the pretty girl. It had almost become a game to see who could win over the beautiful girl that would not look up from her book. As Eunji spent more time with Chorong, she began to see not only Alex, but many, many more boys on a daily basis; Sometimes they would be hanging out in front of their dorm room and other times they would try to butter Eunji up in hopes of some connection. Which explained why Chorong had so little friends to begin with. Her "boyfriends" were never helpful in allowing the people around her have their own space. But, eventually, Eunji formulated a flickering plan in the back of her brain. It was wild and would definitely involve risks but Eunji was always up for a new adventure. After running it by her close friend Bomi, Eunji decided that it was worth bringing it up to Chorong. Chorong was already aware of Eunji’s playful schemes and immature plots by then and embraced it as much as she could. Much to Eunji’s shock, Chorong merely shrugged at the suggestion and commented that she was willing to try anything at that point.

                    “But if you want that to work then you can’t tell any of your friends.” Chorong drawled, sticking her pen in between her teeth. “You basically know the entire school and once it spreads, the act is over.”

Eunji whined at the restriction, pointing out that it was her plan in the first place. Yet, in the back of her brain, she knew Chorong was right. Chorong was always right but Eunji was always stubborn.

                    “Fine. But can’t we tell a few people that we know we can trust?” Eunji pressed, poking Chorong with a pouted look on her face. Chorong sighed, smiled softly at her and nodded. She didn't have time to argue with the headstrong girl and her studies were too urgent to lose time on.

                    “We’ll pick two people each to tell and meet up tonight at our dorm.” Eunji said firmly and closed the door on Chorong before she could protest. Sighing heavily, Chorong pulled out her phone and went to her text messages. She had a handful of numbers saved on her phone and due to the lack of social effort she had, it didn’t take her long to locate the person she was looking for.

Chorong: Can you come to my dorm at 5?

Naeun: Sure. Why?

                    Chorong’s mouth twisted as she tried to think about how to word the situation.

Chorong: I want you to meet my roommate.