RA BEGINNINGS: a much needed explaination
teaser two — "what made you choose them out of all the candidates?"

The sound of heels clacking against the marble floor echoed in the hallway, the speed picking up to a jog as Miyoon made her way to the crowded elevator and squeezed her way in the front. In one hand she held a coffee and in the other her phone which kept vibrating every two seconds. She let out a deep sigh, obviously annoyed at something as her eyes stayed glued on the numbers going up on the screen indicating which floor they were on. Once she reached her floor she turned the corner and opened the door to her destination, Donggyu’s office.

His office was messy, in more of a cluttered than a disorganized way. She placed the coffee on top of a pile of papers on his desk, “I can’t believe you have me doing coffee runs like I’m an intern,” she said bitterly, it’s a good thing her and Donggyu were friends or that tone would’ve gotten her fired. Not that she would use it for anyone else besides him in the first place. “I’m sorry, I knew being a residence director was going to be hard but the fall semester didn’t even start yet and I’m barely getting any sleep,” he replied in a whiny manner then plopped in his chair taking a sip of his coffee with a sulky face. Donggyu gestured for Miyoon to sit in the seat across from him, he continued “so how is Chungsam Hall doing? Are all the chosen RA’s on board?”

Miyoon sat down and nodded, “yes.”

“Ugh thank god,” Donggyu sighed out loud in relief leaning back on his chair and slouching, every ounce of professionalism leaving his body. “I’m so tired of making phone calls. Why don’t young people answer their phones anyways? Aren’t they always on it?”

“Tell me about it,” Miyoon sympathized, her phone vibrating a few times once again. She got so used to the vibrations that she almost didn’t feel it at this point. “But I’m just curious, what made you choose them out of all the candidates? I personally looked through the applicants myself before the interview and I must say I didn’t expect those six to be chosen, with the exception of one.” Her confession surprised Donggyu, as someone who valued her opinion he took her claims seriously and it showed by how he leaned forward for more. “Why? Did something happen?”

She quickly shook her head and her hand to match, “No, nothing in particular, just curious is all. Was there any specific criteria you were looking for?” Miyoon asked trying to understand what was going through his head during those interviews.

Donggyu visibly perked up, he isn’t the type to brag but talking about his job always gave him a sense of pride. “Oh Miyoon, being an RA is more than just being responsible for a few freshmen, it can serve as a learning experience. See Oh Taekwon for example, that kid is a genius. He told me his goal is to take over SpaceX, do you know who owns SpaceX? Mark Zuckerberg.”

“It’s Elon Musk,” Miyoon intervened.

“Elon Musk,” Donggyu repeated as if he didn’t mess up in the first place before continuing, “but you know what he lacks, people skills. He has no social skills whatsoever. Being an RA can help him develop that before going out into the real world. And if he does take over SpaceX he can thank us for helping him out, maybe even give a generous donation, do some lectures, and we’ll name the physics building after him.” Donggyu explained as he put his feet on his desk and leaned back into his seat once again occasionally sipping on his coffee.

Miyoon nodded slowly, “so you chose him because of the possible benefit it could have for the school–”

“No! It’s for his own benefit!” Donggyu quickly replied almost offended that she even interpreted it that way. He sighed and scratched his forehead, “Ok Nam Kyunghee is another good example, a very shy and soft spoken girl right? During the interview she confided in me about having some privacy struggles with her former roommate. Now her family doesn’t have enough money to afford a single room so she wants to be an RA. By giving her the job aren’t we providing her with financial benefits and personal development opportunities? It’ll get her out of her comfort zone!”

“Okay well that one makes sense,” Miyoon was a bit more convinced than before but there are still a few chosen students that she just couldn’t wrap her head around. “What about Ha Haerim? Some students call her a practicing witch, and Lee Wonbin doesn’t have the best reputation either.”

“Oh– I didn’t know you were into student drama Ms. Kim~” Donggyu gave her a mischievous smile that made her regret her life choices. Miyoon didn’t care for gossip but Donggyu was JJU’s king of tea and she definitely wasn’t there for it. “I’m not, I think it’s just good to know who you’re hiring so I did some digging.”

“Well, everyone has a past Miyoon. I’m sure you have some kind of past that you regret too but we can’t let it define us. Wonbin is a good kid he just needs some guidance. This could be a great opportunity for him to mature. Besides, he told me that his parents cut him off, I can’t let him live on the street. And people might call Haerim a witch but her predictions are fairly accurate. She told me that I will be wearing green shoes when I get asked out on a date so every day I wore those green shoes even if it didn’t match my outfit. And lo and behold I got a date two weeks later. What are the odds of that? Imagine how many freshmen she could help and give hope to with her gift!” Miyoon wanted to crush his dreams and tell him that wearing green shoes every day defeated the whole purpose of the prediction in the first place because of course it would happen eventually but even she remembered those tragic looking green shoes and thought it would be best to not put him in a depressive state when they have so many other things to worry about. Instead she held her tongue, kind of. “So you feel bad for Wonbin and you owe Haerim for what she did for you. Next thing know you’re going to tell me that you took a bribe.“

Donggyu gasped, in disbelief that she would even say such a thing. “Ms. Kim I would never take a bribe. The cookies that Younggi made for me were a gift, not a bribe,” he said as he let his feet down and took out a box of cookies from inside his desk, taking a big bite out of one he pulled out. “She is perfectly qualified for the position. Besides, how can I say no to Korea’s future president? Want one?” Donggyu continued with his mouth full of cookie as he held the box out towards Miyoon. Miyoon rejected his offer clearly getting irritated by the conversation. Even after hearing his reasonings she still wasn’t convinced that he made the right decision. The only person that she was fully confident in was Anthony but with all of Donggyu’s explanations she was afraid to even ask why he chose him.

“Oh yeah and that Anthony kid,” he started with a full mouth splashing bits of crumbs on his desk as if he read her mind. “He’s a nice kid isn’t he? Good looking too. I thought it would be good to have a foreigner since there are quite a few international students this year. Maybe it’ll help them feel at home knowing he’s there.”

“I agree,” Miyoon said. For once it seemed like he had made sense, at least they could agree on something. “You see, I made a good decision right? Chungsam Hall is in good hands Ms. Kim. This year will be a breeze.”

If Miyoon could shoot lasers out of her eyes she would with how intense of a side eye she gave Donggyu at that moment. If only he saw the chaos that was happening in that groupchat he wouldn’t be so confident in his decision anymore. Actually, knowing him he would probably join in on the antics. But this was her job and he was the boss, at that point the only thing she could do was buckle her seatbelt and get ready for the bumpy ride.

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