Fourth year.

If Minnie thought her life couldn’t get any better than the previous year, she was wrong. After she met Yuqi, she slowly came out of her stern and shy shell; her soft sides were usually only reserved for the Korean, Cho Miyeon.

The three of them began to hang out often, but Yuqi usually only joins them during weekends for the group study and sometimes during lunch at the rooftop, too, if her schedule permits her. Lunchtime often meant a family call for Yuqi, staying in a private room to join a video call with her parents as they all ate. Despite Yuqi’s bitter attitude towards their family traditions, she loves most of them, especially their philosophies and beliefs about family. However, if it’s about business, she often wonders how easily their minds shift from being ethical to corrupt; their loyalty is often mixed with lies and greed, changing from being down-to-earth selfless humans to wickedly selfish beings.

Nevertheless, Yuqi prioritizes her family above anything else. If following their traditions and sacrificing her own decisions meant happiness for them, then, in all honesty, Yuqi would willingly offer it. She was too loyal to a default, after all. But that was until she met Shuhua, the fighter Taiwanese who never backs down and would always prioritize herself above others. A freshman who barely understood Korean, but courageously went to Korea to follow her own dreams and pave her own path to success despite her family’s objections.

The two met in a language class; Shuhua barely spoke a word and often had her nose buried under the thick dictionary books. Only when the teacher called her to introduce herself in Korean did Yuqi understood why she was so silent. Shuhua’s pronunciation was a mess, and she was often teased for it. But Shuhua never understood most of it, so she always continued speaking, even if she had an idea what most of the students were laughing about. Yuqi pitied her, so she befriended Shuhua and helped her most of the time during their classes.

The Chinese girl never expected for the Taiwanese to be very chaotic, and honestly, she thought she herself was already loud, but Shuhua was on another level! They became close immediately because of their matching personalities, and Shuhua quickly learned to speak Korean, eventually thanks to Yuqi, but she still had her accent with her. Nonetheless, her accent was really quite addictive and unique, making her stand out among the freshmen.

However, since her accent was still quite thick and sometimes unclear, she often had difficulty communicating with native Koreans. At one point, she could only order ramen at the cafeteria because she couldn’t seem to understand the menu, much more pronounce and read it out loud. That was when Soojin came into her life, and the Korean, despite having this intimidating aura, barely scared the Taiwanese at all. In fact, it only made Shuhua awestricken, admiring the bold and fierce vibes the girl was radiating. Added to that was the dark, red lipstick she always wore.

When Yuqi met with Shuhua, she was very much confused with the girl's dreamy and almost drooling expression. Only when Shuhua finally mentioned Soojin’s name that Yuqi almost shouted in surprise.

“Seo Soojin did that? The SEO SOOJIN? The famous Red Fox? Third-year heartthrob? Holy !” Yuqi fangirled, still not believing Shuhua’s story.

“Is she that popular?” Shuhua asked, but she never really cared anyway. As Soojin should. The girl was undoubtedly oozing lots of appeal, even if she looked cute with her round face.

“That popular? Oh my god! You’re underestimating her!” Yuqi flailed her arms exaggeratedly. “She’s the Queen of the juniors! I swear, a single touch or look from her, the crowd goes crazy!”

“Oh, wow, that’s nice.” Shuhua downplayed. It only made her more competitive to gain Soojin’s attention.

“Are you even listening?!”

Shuhua shrugged. “Where’s her classroom?”

“Shuhua, what the ? Are you serious? Did you hear what I just said? She got lots of fanboys and girls—, and might I add crazy and toxic fans? Almost going violent someti—”

“Do I look like I care?” Shuhua cuts her off immediately, raising a brow at the Beijing puppy inquisitively. “Why are you so scared?” She then asked genuinely when she saw the panic in Yuqi’s eyes.

Yuqi was slightly taken aback. Situations like these often make her wonder, too. She’s a complete perfectionist, and she knew that too well. Anything that displays a threat to failure or the possibility of losing control scares her a lot. And frequently, she was unaware how she’s already lashing out, babbling nonsense, or just making herself a complete idiot while she spits out gibberish words.

“I— I, uhm, I’m not scared!” She defended. Her pride would always win between fear and acceptance. She is, after all, a people pleaser.

Shuhua squinted her eyes at Yuqi, and if looks could judge the entirety of a human’s soul, Yuqi was definitely shaking with the Taiwanese’s piercing gaze.

“I never thought you’re like this,” Shuhua said a bit disappointingly.

“Like what?” Yuqi’s responded with a raised tone, slightly offended.

“You know, what I hate most are liars.” Shuhua then patted Yuqi’s shoulder. “Especially if you’re lying to yourself.”

There was a long silence between them, but Shuhua watched Yuqi patiently as the Chinese girl lowered her head. The usually bright and cheerful aura of the girl suddenly vanished and was replaced with a dark and gloomy one.

“Fourth floor. Section G.” Yuqi suddenly blurted out.

“Huh?”

“That’s her classroom.”

Shuhua nodded. She was about to walk past Yuqi to see her beloved when she suddenly turned to face the Chinese girl, reaching out a hand for her before she beamed a smile.

“Wanna join me?” She offered. “C’mon, don’t be afraid! Maybe I can meet your favorite seniors, too! They’re just on the same floor, right?”

Upon hearing that, Yuqi’s eyes lit up, and she nodded her head enthusiastically, taking Shuhua’s hand and practically dragged the Taiwanese. She’s missing Minnie recently, Miyeon, too, and she’s confident that as much as both of them love her, they would probably love Shuhua, too! Especially Minnie! The two share the same courageous personality, after all.

“So, you got yourself another crazy fan, huh?” Soyeon teased, placing her notebooks inside her Totoro bag pack before looking at the older girl, who was already pouting in her seat.

“Shut up, Soyeon.”

“You should stop being so kind, Soojin. You’re collecting them.”

“It’s not even that much. I just helped the new foreigner order food, that’s all.”

“Exactly, Soojin. Exactly. Now look.” Soyeon suddenly pointed at the door. The same Taiwanese they encountered a few days ago in the cafeteria and the same Taiwanese who’s been following Soojin bashfully after stood proudly at the exit and waved at the girl.

Soojin practically groaned. Still, she doesn’t really have a choice since the foreigner was already blocking the exit when she tried to walk past her.

“Excuse me?” Soojin sassed.

“Hi.” Shuhua ignored it.

“Let me pass?”

“You already did. A perfect score in my heart!”

‘Oh, god! Now she’s bringing cringey lines!’ Soojin thought as she rolled her eyes.

Soyeon, on the other hand, just stood behind Soojin, trying her best not to laugh. She then noticed another anxious foreigner not too far from the Taiwanese, and for a moment, they locked gazes before the foreigner quickly diverted it away. Soyeon smirked inwardly. The foreigner wasn’t all too good with hiding her blush.

“I’m sorry—”

“Shuhua. The name’s Shuhua!” Shuhua proudly introduced herself, but Soojin was anything but amused.

“Shuhua. Well, I’m sorry, but you’re blocking our way. I have another class.” Soojin was getting annoyed now, but Shuhua didn’t back out.

“Can I walk you there?”

“What!?”

“You heard me! Or is my heart calling your name too loud that you barely hear anything aside from it?”

‘Where did this girl get her courage?’ Soojin thought unbelievably. And for the nth time that time, she rolled her eyes, shoving Shuhua out of her way, and finally walked to the next room.

Shuhua was staring at Soojin’s figure dreamily, quickly following like a puppy despite Soojin’s death glares. If anything, it only attracted the Taiwanese more. On the other hand, Soyeon just shook her head. This scenario wasn’t all too uncommon for her already, but what’s refreshing was someone who’s very persistent, barely taking consideration of Soojin’s warnings or high walls. And maybe that’s something good. Despite being best friends with the older girl for quite a long time now, Soojin still rarely opens up to her.

As she was catching up with Soojin, she noticed that the same foreigner was doing the same, and eventually, they were walking side by side to each other.

“You’re not following Soojin, too, are you?” She suddenly asked, causing the Chinese to yelp in surprise.

“Uhm, no, no. You got the wrong idea. I’m not following her. I am with my friend. That, uh, the foreigner who’s like, head-over-heels with the Red fox, and like, really crazy about her…” Yuqi continued babbling, eyes anxiously looking around for any pranks that might be suddenly pulled to them after Shuhua fawns over Soojin.

Soyeon clicked her tongue in annoyance. “You talk too much.”

“Excuse me?” Yuqi blinked her eyes in disbelief.

“I said,” Soyeon stopped walking and looked at her dead in the eyes. “You talk too much.”

Yuqi suddenly froze on her spot. Despite the girl’s short and adorable height, she was incredibly intimidating. She never expected that the rumors about the genius producer Jeon Soyeon were real and too accurate. She only sees her in the hallways sometimes, and she always thought the girl was cute. But now she’s taking all of it back. Well, maybe half of it. Looking closely, the girl was charming, indeed.

“Can’t talk suddenly?” Soyeon raised a brow.

‘Yeah, cute. If only she’ll be nice!' Yuqi thought.

“If you don’t have anything to say, then get out of my way.” Soyeon rolled her eyes and followed Soojin inside the classroom, ignoring the gawking Taiwanese at the door.

“How was it?” Soyeon asked, dropping her bag beside her seat before she looked at the frowning Soojin.

“Unbelievable!” Soojin exclaimed softly, rolling her eyes again when she saw that the Taiwanese were still at the door, staring at her.

“At least you got her name.” Soyeon teased further. She’s really enjoying Soojin’s annoyed expressions; the older girl was normally unbothered with her crazy fans, but Shuhua was somehow getting into Soojin’s nerves.

“Oh, please!” Soojin cried out. “She’s…”

“She’s what?” Soyeon asked curiously.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Just drop it, Soyeon.” Soojin held her hand up when Soyeon was about to argue but quickly placed it down when, thankfully, the professor entered the room.

Once the professor entered, Shuhua had no choice but to let go of her Soojin, waving farewell at the girl before she skipped her way towards Yuqi, who seemed to be frozen at her spot.

“She’s scary,” Yuqi mumbled, eyes looking at the floor.

“Is she? But she’s really kind and sweet and y, and did you see how she held my shoulders earlier? God, I think I’ve ascended!” Shuhua