Panting, and with beads of sweat running down from her forehead, Jimin tried catching her breath as she took the last sip from her bottle. Peeking from the window, she grimaced as she already saw the professor inside. Roaming her eyes to look for her friends, and smiling to herself when she could see Giselle discreetly waving at her - already seated at the last row.

 

Taking a deep breath, she slid the door open, successfully getting the attention of almost everyone. And without hesitation, Jimin smiled at the professor - that charming smile of hers that would always work on her parents. Keyword being parents.

 

“Hi ma’am, sorry for being late. I tried to help the stray kitten I saw on the way here to find its mother.” She greeted and bowed to the professor in front, words just slipping away from . Though it was not a lie, she honestly did just that - but prior to that, she woke up 45 minutes late already.

 

But of course, that’s irrelevant now.

 

The professor simply raised her eyebrow, “I see,” the unamused tone could be heard by everyone, “I do hope they’re alright but I’m still writing you…” the professor paused looking at Jimin - obviously asking her name.

 

“Jimin,” she answered with a small smile, “Yoo Jimin.”

 

The professor simply nodded, “Yoo Jimin, okay. Just a warning given this is the first day of class after holidays. You can take your seat now.” she said and turned around, already starting the discussion.

 

Jimin immediately sat beside Giselle, quietly dropping her bag as she threw her friend a huge smile. “Missed me?”

 

“You were just late, Jimin.” Giselle deadpanned and let out a short laugh, “how can you smile like that?”

 

“Better late than never?” Jimin shrugs, “so, what did I miss?”

 

“Nothing much, other than the fact that some students from another course will join some of our classes,” Giselle answered, she’s pretty sure that Jimin didn’t know that yet since her friend is usually unaware of everything. “Enough about that, what happened to you and the New Year’s party?”

 

Jimin quietly groaned, “I seriously don’t have any idea,” she whispered to Giselle as she noticed the professor looking around. "Who even spiked the drinks there?”

 

Giselle rolled her eyes, “Obviously anyone who wants to get hammered,” she answered and looked at Jimin, laughing silently. “And you obviously got hammered.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Jimin and Giselle have been friends since they could even remember - well technically, they can. But if people asked them when they actually became friends, they would get different answers. For Giselle it would be around 7 years while for JImin it would be 8 years. It’s because Jimin already considered Giselle as her friend when she simply introduced herself to the girl during their 7th grade - in which they didn’t talk for a whole year.

 

But as Jimin’s matra in life - who cares? Semantics.

 

And in their friendship, Giselle is obviously the more put together compared to Jimin. Well the latter is really out there. Jimin is just that normal university student - people would know her because they had a group together in one of her subjects, or just because they talked. She’s not the popular type, but people do know her because of her attitude - in a good way.

 

Giselle on the other hand is almost the same, yet she leans more on the quieter side. But when she’s with Jimin, she can be chaotic as well if she wants to be. So yeah, people would sometimes tell her that she’s like babysitting Jimin - well, it’s not like it’s a lie though.

 

And there they are, talking about the party that went down a few weeks ago. It was a party that was organized by some senior and basically, everyone was invited - and that included Jimin. She basically begged Giselle to come with her, so yeah. That’s basically what Giselle was asking her about - but for all Jimin could remember, it was too hazy for her.

 

She knows that she was a lightweight, so she never touched any alcohol during that party. But what she didn’t expect was that the juice there - the oh so mouth-watering juice that she drank the whole night, was spiked. The first few hours were just them and some of the students they knew enjoying the party, and then soon enough, Jimin could feel everything spinning.

 

The last thing she could remember was the feel of the sand on her feet and then blank. Which made her frustrated the following weeks, until she just decided to move. Since there’s no news or any rumor about her being stupid that night, she probably handled herself well. Well, hopefully she did or else, she wouldn’t know what to do.

 

Glancing at Gisele, who was obviously diligently writing notes - Jimin could see the clean handwriting of her friend. She then looked at her own notebook, giggling to herself as she looked at her doodles. It’s not like she didn’t want to study, but she’s just too lazy since it’s still the first day of classes after the holidays. It’s not her fault that her brain cells are still in vacation mode.

 

“Alright,” the professor said loudly, which successfully got the attention of everyone. “As I've said earlier, the other course will join this class due to some conflict or technical problems with the schedules.”

 

Jimin glanced at Giselle, the latter simply nodding her head. Oh, this is what she was talking about earlier.

 

“I think this would also happen to some of your classes as well,” the professor said and continued, “anyhow, I just want to announce beforehand that I’ll put you into groups. At least 2 of the lower years will be in a single group, so that they won’t feel left out.”

 

A series of groans could be heard, deep sighs, and some just nodded their heads. The professor simply ignored the class, and continued with her discussion. Jimin looked at Giselle again, “Well, I hope we’ll be in a group together.”

 

“I hope not.”

 

Jimin faked a quiet gasp, holding a hand to her chest. “You hurt me, Gi.”

 

“Shut up or I’ll personally request not to be grouped with you.” Giselle said jokingly, making Jimin squint her eyes at the girl.

 

“Oh, your year will be too boring without me,” Jimin said as she flipped her hair, “I know that you can’t live without me.” she grinned, and earned a pinch from Giselle. Jimin couldn’t help but to make a face and quickly grabbed her friend’s hand to stop her from pinching.

 

“Ouch, ouch,” Jimin whispered, “what did I do to you?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Just say I’m the best, Gi,” Jimin said jokingly, quickly earning a pointed look from her friend, making her stop. “Okay, I’ll stop.”

 

Giselle simply chuckled at the pout of her friend, “As you should.”

 

“But seriously talking, I hope the groupings will be good,” Jimin said with an excited smile, “Maybe we can be friends with them!”

 

Giselle simply looked at the childish smile from Jimin, shaking her head in amusement. “Sure, Jimin. You do what you usually do.”

 

Jimin smiled widely, “Of course, people can’t resist my charms. Look where you are right now. Still with me after 8 years.”

 

“7 years.”

 

“Semantics.” Jimin rolled her eyes.

 

And when Jimin looked at her watch, she couldn’t wait for the 3-hour class to end. Because who in their right mind gets a 3-hour class straight with no breaks? Yeah, that would be Giselle, and Jimin just wanted to have the class with her friend since she feels like it would be too boring for her liking.

 

Watching the second hand from her watch, she could somehow hear the time ticking despite the loud voice of their professor. She could only sigh to see that it was moving slower than she expected, looking at her notebook. She stared at her doodle, a very sorry looking beach - apologies for her lack of artistic skills - but it’s all about perspective.

 

Shaking her head, Jimin just leaned her face against her hand as she looked at the presentation in front. She simply listened, suppressing a yawn, and yet her mind wandered around - specifically to that hazy night and party that, as Giselle’s words, she was hammered.

 

 

 

 

Jimin was basically dragging Giselle, pushing through the crowd as she giddily walked to the cafeteria. Giselle just released a sigh, mumbling apologies to the people that Jimin was bumping. She could only bow her head in embarrassment and as well in apology. Not bothering to question the taller girl on why she’s in a hurry to go to the cafeteria.

 

Being Jimin’s friend for years, she knows the girl too well. It’s only because of one thing, and one thing only.

 

“Come on, Gi! I can’t let myself be deprived of the cheesecake here!” Jimin exclaimed as she held Giselle’s arm, “It’s on you if I can't get that cheesecake!” Jimin threatened.

 

Grabbing two trays, Jimin quickly passed it to Giselle which the latter gladly accepted with a smile. There was definitely a queue, and Jimin couldn’t help but to take a peek if there are still cheesecakes left available. Squinting her eyes hoping to get a better view, she gasped and turned to Giselle.

 

“There are only 5 left, Gi!” Jimin exclaimed, and mentally counted the number of students in front of them, “And there6 students in front of us.”

 

Giselle just laughed at the girl’s silliness. “Nice, you know your math.”

 

“Gi!” Jimin glared at the girl playfully earning an eye roll from Giselle.

 

“Calm down, Jimin. It’s not like everyone would buy it,” Giselle simply said, urging Jimin to walk forward since the queue was moving. “And why are you so addicted to the cheesecake here? We can buy that in any other coffee shop, you know?”

 

“No, you don’t understand. They have this perfect consistency and sweetness for me,” Jimin explained passionately, and Giselle just listened. It was obvious that she’s so used to Jimin’s shenanigans that something like this is a usual thing for them. Jimin, after all, is the most random person she met.

 

And that’s saying something since Giselle did meet many other people in her whole existence.

 

“Uh huh, and then?” Giselle hummed and gently pushed Jimin, also glancing at the cheesecake. Smirking to herself since there were only two left, and 3 other people were in front of them.

 

“I was even surprised that this cafeteria has that kind of cheesecake,” Jimin said, completely distracted from the number of cheesecakes left, “Oh, and it’s much cheaper.” she chuckled with a huge grin.

 

And Giselle already knew that that was the main reason why Jimin kept on insisting on getting that cheesecake. Well, it’s not like Jimin doesn’t have money but the girl is really practical, and no, it wasn’t a bad thing. Soon enough, they were up in the line and Giselle watched how Jimin’s face morphed into a grimace.

 

It took Jimin a few seconds before she processed how the lady handling the bar was already grabbing the very empty tray of cheesecake. Jimin had open, not knowing what to do which earned a nudge from Giselle.

 

“Come on, you’re holding the line.” Giselle whispered, glancing at the students behind them who are, thankfully, busy conversing with their friends.

 

“But Gi, there’s no cheesecakes left!” Jimin exclaimed, pointing at the empty space of the bar. “I don’t know what to choose.”

 

“Choose something else, don’t tell me that’s the only thing you went for here?”

 

Jimin didn’t answer, instead she grabbed the attention of the lady in front of the bar. “Excuse me, but will there be another batch of cheesecake?” she asked, with a huge smile. A huge expecting smile that soon went down the drain when the lady shook her head.

 

“Sorry, that was the last batch.” she said apologetically.

 

“What? But it’s just,” she frowned, looking at her watch, “12:15, it’s not even lunch for most students. What do you mea - “

 

Giselle quickly pushed Jimin to the side, grabbing a random lunch and putting it on Jimin’s tray. The girl was so busy ranting about the cheesecake that Giselle couldn’t take it anymore. She smiled apologetically, “Sorry about her, she’s too passionate with your cheesecake.”

 

The lady smiled awkwardly, glancing at Jimin who was still busy ranting about the cheesecake. “I could see that.”

 

Giselle just smiled back, quickly nudging Jimin. “Hey, just get something sweet and go look for a table.” she harshly whispered.

 

Jimin pouted, grabbing a cookie. “But I want my cheesecake.” she sulked quietly.

 

Taking one last look at the empty space of cheesecake, Jimin sighed and was about to grab her tray when a hand suddenly appeared and left a cheesecake - untouched and looking very delicious. Jimin quickly looked at the owner of the hand, only to be welcomed by a blank stare and a short bob.

 

“Here, you can have mine.”

 

Jimin barely heard it with all the chattering from their surroundings, but she was close enough to catch it. It was a soft and quiet voice, and Jimin could only nod her head, “Ah, thank you. But you don’t have to, it’s fine.” she said and was about to return the cheesecake when the girl just shook her head.

 

“You can have it.” She simply said, with finality in her tone. And Jimin just watched her retreating figure, not being able to utter a word.

 

Giselle cleared , and looked at Jimin. “Was that Minjeong?” Asking for a confirmation from her friend, even though she saw the whole interaction.

 

Jimin blinked and nodded her head, “Yeah, that was bob girl.”

 

Giselle smiled at the nickname, “Bob girl?”

 

Jimin shrugged her shoulders, “You know, her hair.” she said, stating the very obvious. “She gave me her cheesecake.”

 

Shaking her head, “You really don’t know Minjeong?”

 

Jimin scoffed, following her friend who quickly saw an empty table. Settling everything in front of them, Jimin answered. “I know her, she’s part of that band right?”

 

“Oh, so you do know her?”

 

Jimin looked at Giselle weirdly, taking a bite from the pasta that Giselle randomly got her earlier. “Well, she’s from that band? Is there anything I need to know about her?”

 

Giselle just shook her head, of course. Jimin would know the most basic information about someone and wouldn’t even bother knowing more. Well, it’s not like it would have any benefit for Jimin. But Giselle knows Minjeong, well she knows of her - given that the students tend to talk about her. Other than the fact that she’s in the band of their university, the girl was quite popular.

 

There wouldn’t even be a day that she wouldn’t receive a confession, but Minjeong was always straight to the point - rejecting them, though she was polite about it. Also, it’s quite known that Minjeong has good grades, probably one of the best from their course. So, why was Giselle surprised earlier?

 

Well, other than the fact that Minjeong is part of a band, famous not only for her looks but also for her brains and talent - she knows that the girl tends to be cold. Heck, she never sees the girl talk to other people without her friends. So, it was really random of Minjeong to just give Jimin her cheesecake.

 

Not even a sight of her friends was seen earlier.

 

“It’s just weird that she talked to you.” Giselle pointed out.

 

“Ouch, Gi. Am I not worth talking to?” Jimin jokes, and Giselle simply kicks the girl under the table earning a loud cackle from Jimin. “You seriously hurt me, Gi.”

 

Giselle just groaned, and took a bite from her sandwich. “I seriously hope that I won’t get grouped with you.”

 

Jimin widened her eyes, surprised with the serious tone of Giselle. “Hey, take that back! Gi, come on! I know you don’t mean that!”

 

And their lunch was full of rants and jokes, all courtesy of Jimin who was constantly throwing tantrums to Giselle who kept on teasing her. Jimin then went on with her cheesecake, a huge grin on her lips as she took a bite from it. “God, this is so amazing!”

 

“You’ve eaten that countless times already, Jimin.”

 

“And so?” Jimin glared, pointing her fork at Giselle, “No cheesecake slander here on this table!”

 

And somehow, Jimin glanced at the direction of where Minjeong walked earlier. She couldn’t utter any word to the girl since she was too surprised to even react. Looking over only to see Minjeong, already looking at her direction - Jimin was surprised for a moment. She thought Minjeong would avert her gaze but it seems like the latter was still staring.

 

Making sure that Minjeong was actually staring at her direction, Jimin looked behind her and it seemed like the students were busy with their own table. Returning her gaze to Minjeong with the latter already raising her eyebrows questioningly. Jimin didn’t hesitate, throwing a huge smile at Minjeong, and she was about to wave at the girl when Minjeong suddenly frowned and looked away.

 

What’s with her? Jimin thinks, shrugging her shoulders to herself when it seems like the girl wouldn’t look again at her direction.

 

“Hey, what were you smiling about?”

 

Jimin mischievously looked at Giselle, “Why, can’t I be happy spending time with you?”

 

Giselle just stared at her, “Forget that I’ve asked. Are you done?”

 

Jimin quickly laughed, taking the last bite from her cheesecake. Nodding her head as she takes a huge gulp from her water. “Yeah, you have class after this?”

 

Giselle nodded her head, fixing her things and their trays. Jimin did the same as she stood up, “Right, see you later.”

 

“Jimin,” Giselle said, weirded out by her friend. “We have the same class.”

 

And JImin beamed as if she didn’t just forget her schedule, “Well, that’s better!” and Giselle could only facepalm herself.

 

“Come on, Gi. What are you waiting for?”

 

“Wow, that’s so ironic coming from you.”

 

“Semantics.” Jimin grinned and walked with Giselle, going to their next class. Obviously not noticing a pair of eyes watching her every move.

 

 

 

 

Already seated and waiting for the professor to just enter the room, Jimin was simply looking around - hoping that she could already go home and rest. Glancing at Giselle, the girl was just busy reading her book, and Jimin knows that she shouldn’t bother the latter since she’s probably too tired earlier. Well, she couldn’t blame Giselle since classes after lunch are an extreme battle of fighting off sleep.

 

Having nothing to do, Jimin just fished out her phone to scroll through whatever she deemed interesting. Nodding her head to the song that she played in her earphones as she continued scrolling, she quietly hummed to herself and glanced at Giselle, the latter nodded at her and they both continued with their own thing.

 

Jimin knows that she’s too hyperactive for her own good but of course, there would be times that she would also keep quiet and do her own thing. People tend to be drained with how she shares the most random stuff, and it’s not like Jimin could help herself. Yeah, sure she has friends other than Giselle - but if she were to be completely honest, she knows that she’s not that close to those people compared to Giselle.

 

And no, it’s not about how long they have been friends. But it’s more of how Giselle simply handles her in a much better way - the girl would from time to time, but yet would be honest with her. Giselle also never tries to keep up with Jimin, it’s like she’ll show Jimin if she’s too exhausted to even interact - and Jimin would just know when to stop.

 

Just as Jimin was about to be lulled into a deep sleep by the soft music playing from her earphones, she suddenly felt like the atmosphere became too quiet. She noticed how some of the students were looking at the entrance, and it seems like Giselle noticed it as well. Jimin could see the girl closing her book, and assuming that the professor already entered, Jimin removed her earphones and looked at the entrance.

 

That’s when she heard the murmurs coming from the other students.

 

“Hey, isn’t that Kim Minjeong?”

 

“Yeah, also Ning Yizhuo.”

 

“Wow, she looks so cool.”

 

“And cold.”

 

“I’ve heard that she has good grades as well.”

 

“Did you hear that she rejected a senior?”

 

“Yeah, wasn’t that during the party?”

 

And just like the talk, Jimin could see the person they’re talking about. She looked at the other students weirdly because Jimin might like to talk but she would never gossip about anyone. “Why are they here?” she asked Giselle.

 

The latter shrugged, “Do I look like the director of this university?” she joked.

 

Jimin smiled and smacked the girl, “Hate you.”

 

“No, you don’t.” Giselle said quickly, “but maybe it’s one of the classes where we’ll be joined by other courses?”

 

Jimin formed an ‘oh’ nodding her head at Giselle’s words, she then watched how some of the students scrambled from their seats as they grab Minjeong’s attention. She laughed to herself at how cold the girl looked at some guys hitting on her, and as she was about to continue scrolling through her phone, her eyes coincidentally connected with the girl.

 

And it may have been Jimin’s imagination but it seems like the girl paused in her tracks.

 

Jimin tilted her head, and maybe it was a few seconds of staring between them because she could see the other students looking at her as well. She glanced at Giselle questioningly but the girl shrugged her shoulders, also confused just like her.

 

They were then approached by another girl that was with Minjeong, and surprisingly Giselle seemed to be familiar with her. “Oh, Ningning. Hey!”

 

“Hi, unnie! We were wondering if it’s okay to sit behind you?” The girl, which Jimin couldn’t deny looked so adorable and innocent, smiled at them. Jimin then looked behind at the vacant seats, not really minding if they would sit there.

 

“Oh, yeah sure.” Giselle said and nodded her head, smiling at Jimin - probably weirded out by the question.

 

“It’s a free country anyway.” Jimin stated with a hint of a joke, “but yeah. I’m Jimin by the way.” She introduced herself to the two.

 

“Hi Jimin-unnie! My name is - “

 

“Ning,” Jimin cut her off with a smile, already assuming the girl’s nickname, “I heard Gi said your name.” She then looked at Minjeong, the girl was still quiet, standing a step behind Ning.

 

“Right, and this girl is - “

 

“Minjeong.” Jimin said, weirded out with how she said that name - somehow she felt familiar with it. “Yeah, the other students have been talking about you.” she smiled.

 

Somehow, Jimin noticed how Minjeong deflated from something - and Jimin wondered if she said something wrong. Then there it was again, the cold look from Minjeong and yet when Jimin looked at her, she felt a sense of familiarity.

 

Just then, the professor entered the room making everyone take a seat - which included the two girls. It wasn’t that long that the discussion started and again, Jimin’s mind started to wander around, pulling out some of her sticky notes just to do something. That’s when she remembered Minjeong and the cheesecake.

 

With a smile, she quickly drew something that was on her mind - it was a mini Minjeong holding a cheesecake. Though somehow, Minjeong almost resembled a maltese - it’s not like the girl didn’t resemble one. Smiling to herself, Jimin watched the professor first and turned around when the professor seemed too busy discussing their lesson.

 

She was surprised to see Minjeong already looking at her, making Jimin pause with her actions. The former raised an eyebrow again, and Jimin looked at what she was holding. With a huge smile, she put the sticky note on Minjeong’s opened notebook.

 

“A thank you for the cheesecake earlier,” Jimin whispered, and she could see Ningning glancing at them. “I’ll make it up to you.” Jimin declared with a huge smile, and somehow, the cold look on Minjeong’s face vanished with a small smile.

 

Too small for people to see, but Jimin could somehow feel that the girl was smiling.

 

“Really, now?”

 

Jimin frowned, the words felt familiar to her. She looked at Minjeong, and there was something in her gaze that just - it’s like the girl was pulling Jimin. Shaking her head, Jimin smiled. “Of course, I’ll let you even group with us, if you’d like.” she whispered and pointed at herself and Giselle. The latter is completely oblivious to the favor.

 

“Well, that would be great.” Minjeong smiled, pulling the sticky note from her notebook. “You really have a cute doodle here.”

 

And oh, was she making a conversation? Jimin tilted her head, and before she could respond she felt Giselle pulling her. That’s when she realized that their professor was already looking at the class, and thankfully, didn’t notice Jimin.

 

And before she could somehow listen to the professor, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Minjeong, holding her sticky notes out. “We don’t want you forgetting your cute notes.” she said quietly.

 

And Jimin smiled at the girl, mouthing a thank you. She then looked at her sticky note only to smile again, because right there is a new doodle that Jimin obviously didn’t draw by herself. It seems to be a Mini Jimin devouring a cheesecake. It’s weird for Jimin, because she’s heard that the girl behind her is cold and wouldn’t even talk to other people if not needed.

 

But it seems like Minjeong wasn