Bora was hurrying to the university. She checked the time on her wrist; she wasn’t late yet, everything was under control. She still had some details to take care of regarding her enrollment and administration had asked her to come personally. It was the first time she set foot on campus and even following her GPS, she almost got lost. Almost. Or rather, she hadn’t expected to cross it entirely to get to her destination. The suffocating and humid heat of August didn’t help her case, it felt entirely different from the dry and more reasonable warmth she had enjoyed just a few days ago and she just wasn’t used to it anymore That’s why she was relieved to finally find the right building and the comfort of air conditioning.

Two people were already waiting by the office doors. The first was a boy and Bora was surprised to see a high-school student in the corridors of the main administration building. His uniform plainly gave it away, and if school outings to discover the universities Seoul had to offer were frequent, rarely did student stray from the group, much less to wait in front of an office. She deducted he was accompanying the second person, for now hidden from view by the height of the young man.

Bora got closer, acknowledging the duo with a slight nod when they noticed her presence. She was surprised once more seeing a girl her age with intimidating eyes. Not because the way she stood, head held up high, with a detached stance, as if nothing could reach her, accentuated the impression, but rather because her leg circled with a splint and the crutches she leaned on then appeared completely secondary. The boy looked like her somehow, she noticed. Their hair was the same shade of dark brown and a similar firm gaze, except his emitted something more benevolent. The girl seemed caught up in her own world, and didn’t care much about what her companion could tell her at that moment because all she did was nodding from time to time.

Bora found her own reaction ridiculous. Was she gone that long that she had to be astonished at every single thing? She’s pretty sure she even stared at pigeons earlier because they were Seoul’s pigeons. A bad fall could happen to anybody and there was nothing to make a big deal of. Thankfully, there were enough elevators to not suffer from staircases. She only hope the girl didn’t take classes in different department. If she herself had taken fifteen minutes to cross campus after she arrived, how long had she taken?

Her thoughts were cut short when the supervisor finally called for them and they quickly settled their enrollment. The other student, Lee Siyeon, was also enrolling mid-year, but in another department. Maybe they would run into each other, as Bora should also have some classes at the Business School. She would at least know someone from her batch. She didn’t really know how classes were at uni, but her best friend Minji had told her enough to know they were a place of extreme socialization.

She usually wasn’t one having troubles making friends, but arriving six months after everyone else, missing the first membership trainings and being one year older than other students her grade, she feared an invisible barrier between her classmates and her. Paradoxical for a new student of the Media and Communication department. Good news were, Minji was studying in the same department. They could still meet during breaks if she wanted.

A few days later, passed the stress of course selection and the relentless competition to get the best professors in the seconds following the opening of that damned website, the semester started. As someone who had just spent a year and a half abroad, she had almost forgotten it. The experience was a bit overwhelming - so was entering a PC bang again - but she didn’t do too badly. She liked the classes she got for the most part. As for the rest, she’d try to change them, but wouldn’t be overly disappointed if she didn’t manage to do so, since the way her class schedule fit, arranged in mornings only, was so to speak perfect.

She had arrived early to avoid the embarrassment of arriving after the others, or worse, late, if she made the mistake of getting lost, and getting noticed. She discovered with awe the Business School building she had classes in. Modern, aesthetic and obviously sponsored by a big group, wide windows crossing the walls from bottom to top. When she got closer to the edge of the floor she was at, she noticed several patios where armchairs and sofas enabled students to study comfortably in wide open spaces, as well as catch up on sleep. On the side closer to the walls, conference rooms with office chairs offered a privileged meeting spaces. Seeing this, Bora felt she might spend more time there than she thought initially. Her department seemed to have some money of their own, but nothing like this.

The classroom looked like a small lecture hall that could host around a hundred people. Each seat could enjoy presentations without problems thanks to the two projectors at each side of the room. Seats weren’t mere wooden fold-up seats, but were closer to theatre chairs rather than school ones.

A few people were already settled, either studying or sprawled over their desk to finish the night. Bora had planned to seat in a corner where she could be at peace, when she noticed a familiar face on the further side of the room, buried in a book. They had crossed path earlier than she’d have thought. Thankfully, her choice of sitting matched with Bora’s plans, so she got closer. In the relative silence of the lecture room, she could make out the rock music blasting through the earbuds of the girl, a style that suited her image quite well. When Siyeon noticed her presence, she raised her head, taking one of the earbuds off in the process. Bora gathered her inner strength.

“Can I sit here?” She smiled at the student, gesturing to the seat next to her. “I don’t know anyone in here.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“I’m Kim Bora.”

The syllables flowed in appropriate rhythm as she slightly bowed her head like when they first met. Technically, they knew each other’s name already and if even if she didn’t look like it, Siyeon was probably younger than her, but it would have been impolite to be too informal without making sure of it first. Right? How did social rules worked already? It was all fuzzy in her mind, making her scr