Success

Minju put on her best smile and looked over at Hitomi as the lab ended. “Honda-san, do you want to go with us to the new corn dog place that just opened up?”

“Hmm? Corn dogs?” Hitomi’s eyes lit up like Minju hoped they would. “I shouldn’t though. I made plans to meet up with a friend of mine tonight.”

“See, I told you she was going to snub like she always does,” Yuri muttered while she got up and packed up her things.

“Oh, it’s just four o’clock right now. Are you sure you can’t go out with us? We’ve wanted to get to know you better,” Nako said from the other side of her as she overheard their conversation.

Minju smiled at Nako, thankful for the assist. “It’s already been a few weeks since university started and we haven’t really gotten to know each other that well. It would be nice if you joined us since we share math class and lab together. I think everyone else has formed a study group.”

“Well, I was just saying to my friend that I hadn’t made many friends yet. Thank you for the offer,” Hitomi finally agreed to Minju’s delight. “But, please call me Hitomi.”

“Yay,” Nako cheered. “Hitomi-chan, please call me Nako too.”

“Nako-chan, Minju-chan, and Yuri-chan,” Hitomi said with a slight bow. Minju could tell that she was the type that abided by certain formalities. “Please take care of me this year.”

“Can we go now? I’m starving,” Yuri said abruptly.

Minju could see that her friend’s ears were pink. Yuri was clearly flustered being called by her first name all of a sudden. The girl was a softie at heart. While she might be upset that Kwangbae paid more attention to Hitomi than her, she was also weak to niceties. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” Minju agreed.

“Are you sure you don’t want to split one of them with me?” Nako asked Yuri as she moved to walk in step with the girl.

“Just break your diet. I’m not sharing mine with anyone,” Yuri said irritably.

“I’ll split one with you,” Hitomi said as she moved to walk beside Minju so that they could walk in pairs.

“Really? They also have dessert there. I’ll share an ice cream with you after,” Nako said obvious glee.

Minju grinned when she saw Nako’s eye smile. She felt her heart fill as she walked beside Hitomi. She’d been trying to get Hitomi to join their group for over a week, but hadn’t had much success until now. “Thanks,” she said to the girl. “But I thought that you loved cheese corn dogs.”

“I do really like them. How do you know that?’ Hitomi asked, looking puzzled.

“I’ve seen you around the campus sometimes. I saw you with a corn dog in your hand a few times and you always look mesmerized by it,” Minju said, feeling embarrassed that was basically admitting to stalking, but happy that she was finally able to strike up a more meaningful conversation with the girl.

A Hero of Justice

Minju wrung at her hands as she handed in her homework at the end of class. Hyewon nodded and put it in the ‘late’ pile. She would deduct her for not handing it in at the start of class.

Minju sighed as went to pick up her things and exited the classroom. It really was her own fault. She had gotten to the lab early but had misunderstood the instructions in the email so had been confused when she saw everyone drop their papers in the basket at the start of class.

She’d only managed to walk for a minute before she stopped herself. She had sworn that she would be different in university and not just be a doormat anymore. She would just explain everything to the TA. The worst that could happen would be that Hyewon would say no.

When she got back to the door, she saw the girl, who sat beside her, speaking with Hyewon heatedly. Her natural instinct was to immediately stop and wait before going back into the class. It seemed that she had come at a bad time.

“I don’t think it’s fair. We were here at the beginning of class and the both of us weren’t working on it during the lab. We shouldn’t be docked because the instructions weren’t totally clear.” The girl, Hitomi, though shorter than the TA and herself, seemed to be the one doing the stare down.

“I don’t make the rules,” Hyewon said shaking her head apologetically. “People have cheated before; they’ve used the lab time to work on their previous homework. If I let it go for you, it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else that handed it in late. It’s also not really worth that much when you compare it to your overall lab mark.”

“That’s not the point. It’s the principle that matters. Look, even if you don’t trust my word about myself, you can trust my word for her, right? I don’t even know her. Why would I lie for her?” Hitomi put her hands on her hips and made as if she wouldn’t move until the TA relented.

Hyewon shook her head again. “There could be a number of reasons why you might lie for her. Also, I have no idea if you two know each other or not. You two do sit next to each other.”

Minju had been about to knock and interrupt the pair, but stopped when she heard Hyewon’s comment. If she stepped in now, it would look even more like they knew each other. She winced, bit her lip and stepped back. Besides, Hitomi looked like she was about to explode.

“Don’t you think we should be given the benefit of the doubt?” Hitomi was clearly seething. Minju had never seen anyone so angry and yet still so cute before. It was endearing how she stepped up for someone she didn’t even know.

“Trust is something earned,” Hyewon said simply. Minju could almost swear that the TA was now deliberately being difficult.

“I see. Thanks for your time,” Hitomi said with a disturbingly quiet voice and stormed out of the room.

“Uh, wait,” Minju tried to say when Hitomi flew past her. The girl was too angry to even hear anything. Minju felt her heart beat fast as she watched Hitomi’s tiny form disappear.

All Bark

“You’re so lucky,” Yuri moaned. She took a bite out of her corn dog angrily as she looked at Hitomi.

“You have a weird definition of lucky,” Hitomi said with a grimace. She was surprised to find that Yuri turned out to be all bark and no bite. “What’s so great about Kang?”

“Kwangbae’s so cool!” Yuri exclaimed. “I bumped into her at the start of the semester. I was so lost and everyone around me seemed too busy to help. But she saw how upset I was and stopped to help me. She asked me about all my classes that day and took me to find each of them.”

“That’s it?” Hitomi asked. But she wasn’t really one to talk as she fell for Chaewon because of her laugh.

“No, that’s not all of it. When I found out I signed up for the wrong class, she took me to the registrar’s office and spoke to them about my mistake. She went above and beyond what a nice person would do,” Yuri explained as she looked at Hitomi crossly.

“Really? She seems pretty cold to me,” Hitomi said doubtfully.

“She… is, yeah,” Yuri admitted with a defeated tone. “I was so happy when I found out she was the TA for our lab. But she acts like she doesn’t know me.”

“It’s better that way. You’re the lucky one. If you’re in her radar, you get more homework and picked on. I swear she has eyes in the back of her head. She always catches me at the worst times and then calls me to answer questions.” Hitomi seethed as she remembered today’s instance when Kang asked her to answer a question when she was in mid-yawn. It was so embarrassing.

“Stop boasting. You’re clearly her favorite. The way her face softens whenever she looks at you would make anyone just melt.” Yuri’s voice dripped with envy.

Hitomi gawked at the other girl. Nako and Minju had mentioned that they too thought she was Kang’s favorite. She just couldn’t see it. Was everyone blind? Did Kang fool everyone but her?

“Anyway, I’m sorry if I was being a pain in the to you,” Yuri apologized.

Hitomi smiled and shook her head. “That’s okay. I know what it’s like to like a girl more than they like you. It makes me irritable just to think about it.”

Yuri’s eyes widened at Hitomi’s admission. “Ooh, really? Who’s the lucky girl?”

Nako and Minju who had been sitting across from them turned their heads towards Hitomi in unison. “What are you two talking about?” Nako asked.

“Yeah, I want to hear this too,” Minju nodded while looking at Hitomi in askance.

“She’s just a friend that I knew before I entered the university. She’s in the second year here, but she doesn’t know that I like her in that way.” Although it felt like she was under the microscope as three pairs of eyes watched her closely, she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her at her admission. It was nice to have same-aged friends that she could talk about it with.

Why Same?

Nako knew that she’d sensed a similar soul in Hitomi. Aside from the obvious with the two of them being Japanese and short girls, their stories were similar too. “Have you tried telling her?”

“Yeah, I have, but she just sees me as a younger sister. When I tell her that I like her, she doesn’t seem to get it. She’s also been in a relationship with someone or interested in someone else most of the time that I’ve known her, so it’s been difficult for me to tell her my feelings sometimes.” Hitomi had a resigned look on her face that Nako could understand very well.

“That’s terrible,” Minju said in consoling voice.

Nako looked over at Yuri who looked back at her. Together they kicked at Minju’s leg under the table at the same time.

“Ouch, what is it?” Minju asked as she moved her hand below the table to rub at her shins. She had a hurt look on her face.

Nako rolled her eyes. The girl was slow on the uptake sometimes. It had been obvious to both her and Yuri that their friend had a bit of a crush towards Hitomi. “Ah, sorry, my leg cramped up.”

Minju smiled angelically at Nako, making her feel slightly guilty. “Ah, that’s okay. Actually, Nako, you’re a lot like Hitomi and Yuri.”

“Yeah, you can add me to the ‘Pining for someone who doesn’t like you back’ club,” Nako said sheepishly. Minju would be the fourth member, but the poor girl herself didn’t seem to realize it.

“Okay, spill,” Hitomi said, inching up closer to hear Nako’s situation.

“There’s not much to say,” Nako said, shrugging. “She’s my host sister. I came here in my first year of high school and her family hosted me. She’s a few years older than me, so she’s known me since I was kid, which makes it a little awkward. I’m pretty sure she still thinks I’m a baby.”

“Wow! That is the same as me. We haven’t known each other as long as you, but she definitely still sees me as a high school kid. Does your host sister go to university here too?” Hitomi asked.

“Yeah, she still goes here. She’s taken forever to graduate though. She’s always trying different jobs in real life.” Nako smiled when Hitomi reached across the table to pat her on the hand. It was a small gesture, but it filled her with warmth.

“I’m sure things will work out. You’re so cute, after all,” Hitomi said.

“I’m not really that happy to hear that. Cute means babyish,” Nako said wryly. “If I were pretty instead of cute, I think she’d see as more than a sister. Anyways, you’re one to talk. You’re the cute one!”

“I think that’s probably my problem too,” Hitomi agreed. “She thinks of me as a cute kid still.”

“Oh my god. Do you hear these two?” Yuri asked Minju while making a retching sound.

“What’s wrong with what they’re saying? They’re both super cute,” Minju said with a straight face.

Meet the Roommates

Hitomi knocked on the door with trepidation. She brought out her compact from her purse so that she could look at herself again. She pursed her lips and puffed out her cheeks the way that she knew Chaewon loved. She supposed she looked okay, but she didn’t really see the appeal. Her cheeks were not her favorite feature of herself, but she knew that her friend utterly adored them.

“Hitomi!” Chaewon shouted with glee as she opened the door to her apartment. “Come in. We’re just getting ready for movie night.”

Hitomi’s eyes widened and she blushed as she took in Chaewon’s appearance. The girl was dressed comfortably in PJs and had that beautiful bare-faced look that was just attractive as hell to her. “Ok,” she answered meekly as she gave Chaewon a quick hug. The intoxicating scent of soap wafted up to her nose and she felt that she might have passed out if she hadn’t steeled herself earlier.

“Hey, girls. This is Hii-chan,” Chaewon announced as she dragged a dizzy Hitomi into the cozy apartment. “Hitomi, that’s my roommate Yena. And the one that’s raiding our fridge is Hyewon.”

“Yo,” Yena said from the small kitchen table. Like Chaewon, she was also in her PJs, though her set looked quite worn and lived in.

“Hi, Yena-san,” Hitomi said politely.

“You don’t need to be so formal. Just call me Yena,” the girl said with a shrug.

“Yena-unnie.” Hitomi wasn’t the type to drop all honorifics when she talked with someone she just met and compromised with ‘unnie.’ She looked over at the figure whose head was in the fridge. “Hye…”

“Hmm,” the familiar looking girl said as she pulled her head from the fridge. “Honda-san?”

“Kang-san,” Hitomi’s voice immediately went from warm and inviting to frost in less than a second as she stared at her TA.

“Oh, you two know each other already? You don’t need to be so formal with her either,” Chaewon said as she looked between her and Hyewon. The girl looked positively giddy at the idea that her friends were possibly friends already. Hitomi’s heart sunk at the thought of disappointing her.

Hyewon closed the fridge and to Hitomi’s surprise, she had a smile on her face. “Chaewon, she’s one of the students in one of my labs. Isn’t that right, Honda?”

“Right, Kang,” Hitomi said with a forced smile at the girl dropping ‘san’ from her name. She grudgingly felt grateful that she was able to call Hyewon by her last name. It would have killed her to call the girl by her given name. They were and would never be that close if Hitomi had her way.

“You’re really lucky, Hii-chan. Hyewon’s really good at math. She’s helped me and Yena a lot,” Chaewon said while giving Hyewon a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, lucky me,” Hitomi nearly choked on her words as she agreed. She could swear on her life that Hyewon smirked at her as she answered Chaewon.

Author’s Note

O1z line never fails to make me grin like an idiot when I watch them. I’m thankful that we have Vlive and Enozi cams to keep us fed with their interactions. I hope you enjoyed it!