The whole morning was a blur, between flying to Jeju and the hell that was finding a taxi Inha was already exhausted and it was barely noon. They say music can change your mood, but hearing Bruno Mars enthusiastically sing about Uptown Funking her up with her skin practically cooking under the heat of the sun, it only made her more drained. She stopped at the top of the slight hill looking around where to go and let out a big yawn, mouth open as far as it could go and eyes closed enjoying that one moment of rest. When she opened her eyes a volunteer was in front of her with a bright smile. Inha jumped back a bit at the sudden presence, “-“ she muttered to herself holding her chest at the mini heart attack she was just given. The woman mouthed something to her but with Bruno hitting all the high notes he could think of Inha couldn’t hear, she took out an airpod and the girl repeated, “do you need a dolly?”

“Oh yeah that would be great!” She smiled back, the volunteer in question got her a nearby dolly and helped her load her luggage onto it. Inha pushed the dolly all the way to the room passing a few struggling students who could use one themselves, if hers wasn’t full she would’ve offered for them to share. But she shrugged the thoughts off and made her way down the hall to her room as Taylor Swift accompanied her with a smooth acoustic melody that matched her mood better.

She attempted to open the door but it wouldn’t budge, shaking the door knob a few times then facepalming herself at the realization. The key. She looked around and groaned, head tossed back in frustration at the fact that she had to go back out in that heat again.

“You can leave your stuff here.”

Inha’s head shot back, a startled reaction to the sudden voice. It was the same volunteer from before that gave her the dolly.

“Oh,” was all that she managed to say, still a bit freaked out how she ended up behind her without making a sound. Inha just nodded and smiled thanking the girl before deciding to take the stairs that was located right next to her room.

“What's up with that girl...” she mumbled to herself as she took a second on the top of the staircase to change her music to something more upbeat for motivation. This would’ve been a perfect time for Bruno Mars to Uptown Funk her up but she didn’t feel like repeating it, instead opting for something smoother, Bbibbi by IU, then slipping her other airpod into her ear.

She made her way downstairs and strolled outside people watching as she walked to the students center. As she saw the faces of fellow freshmen passing her by, she couldn’t help but wonder who was on her floor and who her RA was. Would anyone that she passed by possibly be her friend? Or…maybe even like her? She shook her head like she was trying to erase her own thought, no way, she wasn’t ready yet. To distract herself she looked around at the beautiful scenery, whoever was in charge of keeping the landscape in check was doing an amazing job. She wasn’t even at one of the many well known gardens and she was impressed by how pretty the plants and flowers were kept. Even the trees were a healthy shade of green that was almost therapeutic.

“Ack-“

Well there goes the free therapy, Inha thought. She landed on her bum after getting bumped into quite hard, her left ear no longer being serenaded by IU.

“I’m so sorry,” a male voice said, Inha didn’t look his way, instead she was looking for her airpod. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she dismissed him. Surprisingly not as upset as she should’ve been about being on the floor. After being on her feet for so long it kind of felt nice, despite the sharp pain on her bone. In the distance she saw her airpod and smiled, but before she could crawl her way to it someone stepped on it only leaving broken pieces in its wake.

“Oh -“ the same guy said. He ran to the now bits and pieces left of her AirPod and picked them all up. It was her first time getting a glimpse of him, he had short blonde hair with shades on, the epitome of street style. She wasn’t a fashion major but she knew his clothes were expensive; definitely more colorful than all of Korea put together, and despite wearing mainstream brands he wore none of the mainstream items.

He handed her the remnants of her airpod, “rest in pieces little dude,” he said before holding out his hand and helping her up. “I can fix that if you want.”

“Oh are you an engineering major or something?” Inha assumed. 

“No I was just gonna look up one of those phone repair places. But you can use my headphones until I buy you a new one,” he took the sticker decorated Airpods Max headphones off from around his neck and put it on hers instead making her cheeks tint a light shade of pink. 

“Oh- no, it’s ok, you really don’t ha-“ she pleaded as she took them off to hand them to him but was interrupted.

“Oh I gotta go, I’m like 2 hours late. See you later,” he said as he got his bags and skateboarded away. She followed him with her eyes, still trying to figure out what just happened as she stood there with a total strangers headphones in her hand. It took her a minute before she could keep walking again but she eventually got to the students center where she did boring administrative stuff like sign paperwork, get a few packets, her key card, and finally her room key.

She made her way back to Chungsam Hall, PTSD from just being unintentionally knocked over and the fact that only her right ear was able to tune out the rest of the world made her more aware of her surroundings. When she got back to her room, the dolly was placed against the wall beside her door. She pushed the key in to open her room door and finally sighed in relief at her room. Staring back at her was a minimally furnished undecorated single bed room just waiting to be Inhafied. She placed the strangers headphones on her desk and moved in her bags on her own, letting out a few groans as she did so.

The air conditioner gave her enough rejuvenation to start decorating. She took the remnants of her Airpod out of her pocket and sighed, decorating with one ear of music was definitely not the vibe but it had to do. Decorating went easily enough, it didn’t take long for the room to start feeling homey. She changed the layout a bit to fit her preferences and was even able to start placing her art on the wall. After a while the blasting air conditioner couldn’t even stop her sweat. She turned to go back in her suitcase when her soul almost levitated out of her body. The same volunteer from before was standing outside her door.

“I know you're a volunteer but popping up everywhere like this is giving serious stalker vibes,“ Inha blurted out.

“Oh no no no, I’m not a stalker, silly. I’m your RA! My name is Do Younggi, I just wanted to make sure that you're settled in okay,” she smiled the same bright smile from before. Inha sighed, “sorry I guess I’ve had a bit of a rough day, I’m Yeon Inha.”

“It’s okay, that’s why I’m here to help as much as I can to make your life nice and smooth. In the meantime I have this for you to sign, it basically says you agree to respect the room and an inspection will be held at the end of the year to access any damages. In the case that there are any then you’d have to pay for them.”

Inha nodded, made sense, if she made a mess the least she could do is paid for destroyed property. She took the clipboard and signed it.

Younggi nosily peaked her head in the room, “Woah did you make all that? That’s amazing!”

“Yeah I did, thank you,” Inha handed her back the clipboard.

“Are you an art major?”

“I am actually.”

“Wow, I hear being an artist is super hard. You’d think they’d make more money for all the work they put towards it. I mean you have to be like dead for your art to be worth something, right?”

Inha’s heart sank, that was probably the last thing she needed to hear as an aspiring artist. “yeah…dead…the starving artist troupe is definitely real,” she sighed into a halfhearted smiled, shoulders shriveling up and arms crossed over her chest.

“Well I hope your art makes a lot of money while you’re alive. Oh! Before I go I just want to say that I hope you read the rules of the dorm, all the general rules are in your packet. I don’t have any floor specific rules since I do believe in freedom of choice, just keep in mind that this is a shared space so try to respect that. Also as your RA you can talk to me about anything, my door is always open and right down the hall. Well, down and across. You can also check the bulletin board for any upcoming events, celebrations, or voting opportunities. Anyways, now that all the boring stuff is out the way, cookie? I made these myself, I wasn’t sure about possible allergies so I made four types, oatmeal, chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar. Feel free to take more than one,” all of it flowed out of Younggi like she memorized a script.

Voting? Inha thought but decided not to question it. She took a cookie and thanked her before closing the door. She loved free desserts as much as the next person but had a feeling that her RA wasn’t as easygoing as she let on. Inha plopped on her nicely made bed, eating her cookie while laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. She sighed and glanced at the headphones on her desk. “It’s gonna be a loooong year.”

Sooae sighed in content as she backed away from her creation. She was one of the first students to arrive in the building, even striking a conversation with Younggi, managing to take 3 cookies despite only being offered one. Her move-in time wasn’t until 10am but she arrived two hours beforehand. Her side of the room was almost fully decorated, an impressive accomplishment for a two-hour time frame. Decked out in vintage decor, a maximalist approach filled with ruffle and lace details, intricately designed mirror and picture frames, a candelabrum, classic books that the average person most likely hasn't read, and other accessories that tied the whole place together. Even her bed managed to look like it came straight out of an antique store with the sea of throw pillows, dust ruffles, and thick bedding that made it seems way bigger than it was. A Victorian-inspired wonderland, though now most would refer to it as cottagecore. A term that irked Sooae the most.

The cassette player on her desk played “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, low enough so she wouldn’t disturb anyone but loud enough that she could hear it. Dancing around the room and humming as she made final touches to her side of the room.

There was a knock on the door, it creaked open and a girl with brownish-blonde hair peaked her head through before coming in. Both bowed at each other, letting out soft hellos as Sooae turned down the music. Aubrey’s mouth dropped at the fully decorated side of the room, it stood out even more in contrast to the rest of the room that was practically bare. Her eyes made her way down to the tiny girl standing in front of her with a smile, she didn’t even look old enough to be in college. She was at least 10cm shorter than her and her outfit matched the decorations, different eras but a blast from the past nonetheless.

“How long have you been here?” Was the only question Aubrey managed to ask as she was still trying to digest it all. “Technically my move-in time was 10 but I got here at 8. Our RA was nice enough to not let me wait outside, by the way did you get a cookie? They’re pretty good. Apparently she made them herself too. If we get free desserts all the time I think it’ll be a good year,” Sooae responded, her voice was soft, it matched her delicate stature. She walked past Aubrey and dragged her second bag that was still at the door without her even having to ask.

“I hope you don’t mind I took the bed closest to the door, I’m a morning person so I thought it would make the most sense,” she continued, “Oh! And my name is Kim Sooae, it’s nice to meet you.”

Aubrey stood there eyes following the tiny girl as she talked, trying to keep up with it all. “My Korean name is Park Sihyeon but I prefer to be called Aubrey-”

“Oh my god! This must be fate or something!” Sooae suddenly raised her voice, startling the other. She stood up on her bed and pointed to the poster on her wall, “Aubrey Hepburn? She’s like my favorite actress ever! I can already tell we’ll get along fabulously!” Sooae went over and hugged her now roommate who couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation she was in. Sooae was cute though, a little strange, but nice.

“I’m at my room, I’ll talk to you later okay? I love you,” Eunhui said as she entered the room, using her feet to take off her shoes at the entrance. She made kissy noises to the person on the other side of the phone before hanging up.

“Welcome to the Soobrey household!” Sooae cheered throwing her arms in the air, grabbing Aubrey’s hand making her lift her arm up too as she calmly obliged going along with her roommates amusing antics.

Eunhui chuckled, “Soobrey?”

“I’m Sooae and this is Aubrey, hence Soobrey. And you are?”

“Bang Eunhui.”

“So now we’re Soobreyhui? Eunsoobrey!” Sooae thought out loud, “don’t just stand at the door, come in, come in,” Sooae instructed, she went and took Eunhui’s bags dragging them to the only available bed both next to the window and across from Aubreys. “Oh- thank you, you didn’t have to do that.”

“You don’t have to thank me, we’re roommates now so we should help each other.” Sooae smiled, some people would do nice things with a self-gaining purpose behind the action but Sooae was just a genuinely helpful person.

“Are you a foreigner Aubrey? I never heard that name before, it sounds pretty though,” Eunhui commented as she started to unpack.

“We’ll kind of, I was born in America but moved here when I was 12 so my English is a bit rusty actually,” Aubrey explained.

“Wait- you’ve never heard the name Aubrey before? Do you not know Aubrey Hepburn? She’s like one of the best actresses of all time,” Sooae stood on her bed once again to point at her poster. Eunhui scratched her head, “no, I can’t say I’m familiar with her.”

“That has to be the saddest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” Sooae started. She went on to explain the origins of her favorite actress and name some of her most popular movies. Both Aubrey and Eunhui sat on their respective beds listening to the tiny girl rant, surprisingly neither of them minded it. Somehow it turned into discussing their likes, dislikes and hobbies. They were all different yet were already getting along effortlessly which definitely diminished the worry that they all had in the back of their minds.

“Oh! I know, let’s play never have I never. That’s a good game to get to know each other,” Sooae suggested. Aubrey explained to an unfamiliar Eunhui the rules of the game: put 5 fingers up and each person says a statement starting with never have I never, if you’ve done it then you put a finger down and the last person to be eliminated wins.

The game had the girls laughing at their ridiculous stories and answers. Sooae was down three fingers, Aubrey two and Eunhui one.

“Never have I ever been to a club,” Sooae asked on her turn. “Like a school club or a nightclub?” Eunhui asked, her inexperience showing loud and clear.

“Of course a nightclub! But if you feel like putting a finger down for being in a school club feel free to do so,” Sooae teased.

It was only Aubrey who put a finger down that time, letting out a sigh as she did so. Her competitive streak starting to get the best of her though she still kept her composure. “Wah really? How was it?” Sooae asked curiously, Eunhui leaned in, obviously just as eager to hear the juicy details. Aubrey shifted uncomfortably, her heart beat a little faster at the sudden attention on her though on the outside she remained as calm as ever. She shrugged, “it was okay I guess, honestly kind of overrated.”

Sooae scrunched her nose in disappointment, she’d never been cool or rebellious enough to go to a club underaged and now that she was legal she wanted to experience it all. “Can we all go to the club together at least once?”

Aubrey wanted to decline, she hasn’t stepped foot in a club in a while and had no intentions to either. But then she’d have to explain why and she didn’t feel like dealing with the burden at the moment. Instead she gave a nod of approval followed by Eunhui who agreed with her. “I actually plan on going home every weekend so as long as it’s on a weekday I can.”

“Didn’t you say you’re from Mokpo? Why would you go all the way back there every weekend? That’s going to get expensive after a while. Unless… are you secretly apart of a Chaebol family and not telling us?” Sooae asked, somehow coming to her own outlandish conclusion that had Eunhui laughing. “I wish, but no, my daughter is staying with my parents back home and I just want to spend time with her on the weekends. It’s hard being away from her,” Eunhui confessed. She didn’t think she’d say the news so quickly though it’s not like she was embarrassed. She was proud to talk about her daughter, just thinking about the little girl brought her joy. She was expecting some kind of passive aggressive response, it’s what she usually got when she said she was a mom at such a young age. But their reactions were actually different.

“Awww you have a daughter? That’s so cute! What’s her name? Can we see her?” Sooae replied to much of Eunhui’s relief. The two roommates sat on Eunhui’s bed as she showed them pictures of her three year old daughter Hayeong. Both cooing or making endearing comments at photos of the adorable child.

“Wait, you guys we should totally savor this moment,” Sooae started as she made her way to her drawer and took out a Polaroid camera. “Let’s take a picture now and on the last day of the semester to see how much we’ve changed.”

Both girls agreed and Sooae turned the camera to them as she sat next to Eunhui. “Say Kimchi~”

“Kimchi~” they all said. Capturing the beginning of a budding friendship and one of many memories to come.

Soobin carried the lightest bag she had, the rest were being lugged by her two older brothers that were currently acting as chauffeurs. While only one was of blood relation the other one might as well have been at this rate. Soobin was used to the whispers from other girls and sometimes men when she traveled with them, their looks often drew unwanted attention and by how some of them acted Soobin still couldn’t believe how desperate some girls could be.

“You didn’t have to carry everything for me you know,” Soobin said as she unlocked and entered her room, a double that was practically split down the middle, the bed, desk, closet and drawer for each resident against either side of the wall with the only walkway being between the two furnished areas. Soobin claimed the left side, neither mattered since it was identical anyways. Wonbin and her brother Sejoon entered plopping her stuff on the floor. “There’s no way Sejoon’s weak could’ve done this on his own,” Wonbin teased getting a side eye from Sejoon who grabbed the pillow from the bed on the right and smacked him with it. “Don’t you have a floor to manage,” Sejoon retaliated.

“Oh yeah, I gotta go see what fresh meat JJU has for me this year. If you need me I’m on the top floor, Bin,” Wonbin gave Soobin a hair ruffle before quickly taking the other pillow and smacking Sejoon back hard then running out the room.

“That little - he’s lucky he got away,” Sejoon snarled making Soobin laugh and shake her head knowing her brother was harmless. She picked up her suitcase and placed it on her bed, unpacking the clothes and putting them in the closet. Sejoon sat across from her on the other bed just watching. “What’s the point of being here if you won’t help?”

“Hey I drove you here, and I brought up your humongous bag. I deserve a break too,” he said as he laidback on the bed. “Are you nervous to find out who your roommate is?”

“Not really, I mean she’ll be here soon anyways. By the way I don’t think you should be laying on her bed like that.”

“Why not?” Sejoon started until a high pitch scream was heard, both of them shot their gaze to the doorway where a tall yet slim girl was standing. She was pretty, her features fit together perfectly to give her an elegant vibe that matched her chanel co-ord all too well. “Please don’t tell me this is a gender neutral floor,” she said.

Sejoon burst out laughing and Soobin chuckled as well, “it’s not, I’m a girl, don’t worry. That’s just my brother Sejoon.” It wasn’t the first time Soobin got mistaken for a boy, her hair was above her shoulders and she did prefer to dress more masculine than feminine.

“Oh…and he’s on my bed because…?” the tall girl trailed off, still trying to digest the whole situation. Sejoon quickly got up and bowed at her, “my bad, I just needed a bit of a break. I’ll let you two get acquainted. I’m gonna go find Wonbin and get him back,” Sejoon told Soobin before exiting the room. The tall girl bowed back with a slight smile as he left, finally making her way into the room.

“So what’s your name? I’m Soobin by the way, I don’t think I said it before,” Soobin sat on her bed facing her roommate, her luggage open beside her and a few clothes were hanging in the opened closet. Joey wheeled her pink suitcases to the side of her bed as she sat across from Soobin, one leg crossed over the other with her hands resting on her lap.

“I’m Joey, Baek Joey.”

“Oh are you a foreigner?”

“No, I get that all the time though. Are you a dance major?” Joey had a hopeful twinkle in her eye that was dimmed by Soobin’s response. “No, my major is English language and lit with a minor in photography. But I do like jazz though,” Soobin scratched her head at her awkward attempt at being optimistic.

“Oh,” Soobin could tell Joey was disappointed, with her brother and now this she was already failing the good roommate exam.

“Is your brother a student here too? My sister goes here, she’s basically JJU royalty so I’m sure you’ve heard of her. Her name is Baek Hayan, she’s also a dance major but in her 4th year.”

Sejoon and Wonbin talked about so many girls that Soobin no longer tried to keep up. Both boys in their own right, she just felt bad for anyone that came across them. “Yeah he does, he’s in his last year too. I can’t say I recognize the name but I can ask him.”

Joey nodded slowly, “I guess we have a lot to live up to then,” her eyes scanned Soobin, taking in every single intricate detail from the texture of her recently dyed hair to the state of her nails, all sizing her up to see how she faired against the other. Though her slight smile remained, probably due to the fact that she was winning this one-sided competition.

“Excuse me?”

“I just mean that since we both have siblings here, it’ll be a lot to get out of their shadow. They’ve built a name for themselves already so we have to work harder to make an identity for ourselves than anyone else.”

Soobin blinked a few times rapidly as she contemplated, every sibling has a bit of a rivalry going on no matter how close they were but she never thought of it like that. An identity that she had to reclaim or else she’d always just be Sejoon’s little sister. Probably even little brother to some. “Oh… yeah I guess. I mean I’m not really worried about that.”

“Maybe you should be, second place isn’t fun,” the smile that followed didn’t match the statement Joey had made. Something about her seemed so calculating, almost to the point of being robotic. Like she was programmed to smile after every sentence to seem more…relatable? Friendly? Like she wasn’t an alien disguised as a person to learn more about the human race and possibly take over? Soobin couldn’t decide which one it was yet but something was off. Instead she just changed the subject.

“Where’s your sister anyways? If she goes here why didn’t she help you up?”

Joey was now unpacking her bags, Soobin hadn’t noticed just how long she had been lost in thought.

Joey shrugged, “she left a few days earlier than me to practice, she spends a lot of time in the studio. She’s a really good dancer, I hope to be half as good as her someday.”

Soobin couldn’t tell if Joey admired or hated her sister, it was probably somewhere in between though Soobin couldn’t say that she couldn’t related. To escape from the awkward silence that followed, Soobin got up and made her way to the door, “I’ll go check on my brother, I’ll be back.”

Joey gave a smile her way as she watched the other leave. Her smile immediately disappearing once she was gone. 

Outside Kanalia and Joobin made their way to the building, both dragging large suitcases full of necessities for the year. Joobin’s suitcase was modest compared to Kanalia’s who practically brought her whole closet with her.

Their surroundings were chaotic, despite everyone getting a time slot to move-in it was still crowded. You had crying parents, struggling students, upperclassmen volunteers greeting cars that pulled up and answering questions about the school year, and of course the annoying people who stood in the most inconvenient spot to have a conversation. But even with all that happening, her eyes still landed on him. The mystery man who came bursting through the doors of Chungsam Hall. Kanalia stopped in her tracks, watching the beautiful boy jog down the block in slow motion. The wind blowing perfectly through his hair, his chizzled jawline, his muscular and tall build, it was like he was straight out of a kdrama. No, he wasn’t even human, he was as beautiful as a perfectly drawn manhwa character that had every teenage girl in a chokehold.

“Woah…” Kanalia exclaimed softly.

“What do you think Lia?” Joobin said in the distance. She was already a few feet away from Kanalia who was still standing in place watching the man run until he disappeared in the distance.

“Are you even listening to me?” Joobin looked back to see Kanalia way behind and sighed standing with her hands on her hips.

“Binbin, I think I’m in love.”

Joobin rolled her eyes, she loved her friends but sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder how their friendship lasted so long when they were complete opposites. The sentiment opposites attract must have had some validity to it. “Oh geez we were barely here for 5 minutes and you already have a crush?”

“He’s seriously the most beautiful man I have ever seen and I don’t say that often!” Kanalia said as she caught up to Joobin who kept walking.

“Yes you do.”

“Well I mean it this time! Think of… Cha Eunwoo but better!”

“Impossible,” Joobin retaliated. Joobin didn’t care much about Kanalia’s love at first sight encounter, more like she was just doing her best friend duties by entertaining it. But hearing her claim someone was better looking than Cha Eunwoo even offended her.

“I’m serious! He’s like an angel or something.”

Joobin shrugged, “Maybe JJU has ghosts.”

Even Joobin’s sarcastic comments couldn’t break Kanalia’s heart-eyed trance. As the two girls entered the elevator, Kanalia let out a satisfied sigh. “I’m going to like it here~”

Joobin gave her friend an unimpressed look, highly aware that her sudden excitement wasn’t coming from the fact that she’d be roommates with her best friend for the next year but instead a guy that she had a 2 second glimpse at.

In the room, Sara and Gion were holding hands swinging them back and forth as they talked. “You should go, you have to meet your roommates too,” Sara said.

“No no, I told you I’ll wait until your roommates come first. I can't leave my guppy here alone, besides I’ll miss you too much if I leave now,” her boyfriend replied. Sara squealed and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck squeezing him into a hug. “You will? Really?”

Gion nodded firmly and Sara almost burst with happiness, she squished his cheeks with her hands making his lips pucker up like a fish. “Why are you so cute~” she whined in her cutesy voice that was slight higher than her actual one then gave him an Eskimo kiss, brushing noses together back and forth before giving him a peck on the lips.

“Awwwww, you guys are adorable!” Kanalia gushed causing the couple to quickly split up a bit embarrassed at the fact that they got caught. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was there,” Sara said shyly with a slight bow.

“You left the door wide open and you’re standing in the middle of the room. I’d tell you to get a room but it seems like we’re roommates,” Joobin said dryly, she had enough puppy love for the day, anymore and she’d throw up. Kanalia elbowed her friends side and stepped forward to introduce herself. “I’m Kanalia and this is Joobin. I'm a vocal major with a theatre minor and she’s a grumpy comp sci major that needs more sunlight.”

Sara laughed a little too hard for Joobin’s taste, she gave Kanalia a look but the other gave her a little head shake for her not to say anything. “It’s nice to meet you guys, I’m Sara and this is my boyfriend Gion. He’s a freshman here too actually, his major is composition so maybe you’ll see him around often Kanalia. I’m a Marine and Earth Science major though.”

They all greeted each other with Joobin giving half hearted bows in the back.

“If you guys need anything just let me know, I’m on the fifth floor but I’ll run down the stairs if I have to to protect my guppy,” Gion said. Kanalia smiled, her expression hopeful that she too will have a love so strong someday while Joobin just looked him up and down, unsure how someone looking like a lanky wet noodle would protect them from anything.

“Awww you’re so sweet Squishy,” Sara pinched his cheek with a giggle. The couple shared one more peck before Gion made his way out the room. Joobin was already unpacking, claiming the single bed on the right. Despite being there first, Sara didn’t choose a bed yet, she thought it should be discussed with her roommates before hand instead of a first-come-first-served basis. The only bed left was a bunkbed on the left side of the room, “I can sleep on the top bunk if you want the bottom,” Sara said first.

Kanalia agreed and sat on her bed while Sara threw the plushies from her bag up to her bed on top. Joobin was already on her computer despite not fully unpacking yet, taking advantage of the desk next to her bed to help straighten her back. The other two girls engaged in a cheerful conversation over music and Joobin just hoped that they wouldn’t be so loud all year round.

Wonhui looked at the boxes upon boxes packed on top of each other on the dolly beside them then at the view surrounding her. All her senses were stimulated at once and it was all too much. The volunteers going back and forth helping students and parents, someone bumping into her every two seconds, the random smells that lingered whether it was food or body odor from the heat that day. As she took all the chaos in, she was just standing there blankly. 

“Are you okay kiddo?” Hyejeong asked, Wonhui looked up at her aunt and smiled with a nod. 

“Good, now if you need anything I’m only one call away. I don’t care if it’s 4am I’ll drive here if I have to. Alright?” Wonhui chucked and nodded once more, she was happy to have someone like Hyejeong that showed her unconditional love. Even though she was her aunt she did way more motherly duties than her own mother. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go upstairs with you?” 

Wonhui shook her head this time, she wasn’t embarrassed of her aunt, more like she didn’t want to be a burden. She already did enough by driving her there, let alone load the dolly with her heavy boxes. “You don’t have to, I’ll be fine.” 

Hyejeong sighed into a smile, “I love you kiddo.” She pulled Wonhui into a tight hug and pecked the top of her head, part of her wondering when her niece got big enough to go to college. 

“I love you too. Now go, you have to teach,” Wonhui reminded her lingering relative.

“Oh right!” Hyejeong made her way back to her car. “Have fun, but not too much fun!” She screamed at Wonhui who just waved her away. Once her aunt was gone she looked at the mountain of boxes on the dolly and sighed. She somehow managed to push the heavy load all the way to the elevator and down the hall to her room. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for that. Staring at the door in front of her she took a deep breath, all the possibilities of who her roommate could be and how this first meeting could shape the rest of their year together. Nervous was an understatement to the knot that she felt in her stomach, a few butterflies was nothing compared to the zoo that was roaring in her gut. As she was about to twist the door with shaky hands it its own and pulled open showing a black haired girl standing in front of her looking just as shocked as she was.

"Is this your room?"

Wonhui nodded then got startled at the girls excitement. "We're roommates! Oh my god I was so curious who you were going to be, I swear I was waiting here for like an hour for you to show up. Come, let me give you a tour of our cute little set up," the girl moved out the doorway allowing for Wonhui to walk in. She gave her a room tour that was short and sweet given the fact that the room was as bare as a piece of paper, just two beds on the opposite sides of each other with a desk and a drawer beside them. The only decoration so far were a few succulent plants on the windowsill.

"I'm Himari by the way, yes I'm from Japan and yes I can speak Korean. I got asked that like 10 times already today," she said. Wonhui was relieved that she was a foreigner, the idea of having a Korean roommate terrified her a few minutes ago. The news really lifted a weight off her shoulders. "And your name?" Himari asked, Wonhui was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot to answer.

"W-Wonhui...Yeong Wonhui," she said softly. Great, my first words to her and I'm already stuttering, she thought.

"That's a cute name, you're really pretty by the way. What's your major?" Himari said casually, though a curveball thrown at the awkward girl who couldn't talk to a piece of toast if she had to. Too many compliments in one sentence had her blushing like a red tomato. "Uhm, art.. thanks.. and you too." She mentally smacked herself for the horrendously awkward response.

Why didn't I say thanks first? Gosh what is wrong with me.

"Me too? Like what's my major? It's pre-vet. I like animals better than people so helping them seems more fun," she chuckled, seemingly unphased by Wonhui's slip up. "Oh cool uhm.. but I meant you're pretty too."

"Awww thanks!" Himari flipped her hair giving off a comedically confident vibe. Wonhui smiled, a genuine one this time, Himari was a lot more open than she expected. "So tell me, do you have any habits I should know about? Snoring? Sleepwalking? Leaving your clothes on the floor?"

Wonhui thought for a second, diligently going through any life habits that might get in the way of being a desirable roommate. She shook her head. 

"How about just a fun fact? Like what are your hobbies?"

Wonhui hated this line of questioning that was happening, it was weird to talk about herself so much but she knew it was necessary since they would be living together for the next year. "I like cooking... and... hm... watching cat videos?"

Himari gasped, "Oh my gosh I loooove cats too, we should totally get one!"

"Isn't that against the rules?" Wonhui looked at the rules packet sitting next to Himari on her bed. The other picked it up, "oh this thing? If we don't get caught technically we're not breaking any rules."

Wonhui bit her lip at her roommates logic, already feeling anxious about the possible consequences. 'Two Students Get Kicked Out Of Jeju University For Adopting A Cat', she could see the headlines already. A familiar shame swelled up in her chest.

A knock at the door cut off her thoughts, "come in," Himari said before she could speak up.

Younggi opened the door with a big smile, "Hiiiiii, I'm Younggi, your RA," she went through her usual introduction about being a cool RA and not having any rules before mentioning to stick to the rules in the packet, casually mentioning voting for student government and offering cookies. The two girls signed any necessary documents and took a cookie before closing the door back once Younggi left.

"Yeah we're totally getting a cat, there's no way she'd bust us if she wants our vote," Himari said. Before Wonhui could respond she changed the subject and helped Wonhui unload her boxes from the dolly. Wonhui wasn't quite sure how to break it to her that she was allergic to cats yet, instead she wondered how her year would go with such an outgoing roommate like Himari. She didn't know what was to come but she was looking forward to the new beginning.