♚- SherryChan -♚

"Ugh." A gasp, desperately seeking air, escaped from Cheol Yong's mouth as he tried to climb up the stairway leading to the residence hall.

Actually, walking up the stairs wasn't exactly the hardest task for him. Though, having to drag a suitcase mostly packed with textbooks — well anything the school needed him to buy — and his clothes behind him was the real deal. Somewhere along the way towards the top, the somewhat heavy rectangular-shaped bag had found itself being lugging up by shaky arms at every few stairs.

"Almost there..." Cheol Yong muttered under his breath, hoping to cheer him up.

Reaching the last stony stair, the student literally jumped up in a childish way.

"Yay!" He joyfully screamed, throwing his arms in the air as his feet touched the ground.

Bringing his forearm to his head, he wiped away the few beads of sweat that had peeped out on his temples because of the physical effort under a blazing sun. Along with them, Cheol Yong had wiped away the sadness from his earlier failure as well. Crying won't get him anywhere. He needed to stay strong if he truly wanted to grow closer to Chang Sun.

At least, we're now attending the same school and living in the same dorm, Cheol Yong reminded himself as he grasped the handle of his trolley case, pulling it closer.

With his other hand, he adjusted his cross body’s strap, resting the bag on his side. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the towering building, a blaze of determination burning in his pupils. That was it. This will officially be the start of his new university life. He won't back out now. Feeling a surge of confidence growing within him, Cheol Yong walked in, casually drawing his luggages with him.

**********

"Room 216." Cheol Yong mumbled as he found his room’s number printed in the corner of his schedule sheet.

Still holding on the piece of paper, he stared up, blinking a few times at the row of rooms before him.

It should be here.

The other hand having a loosened grip on the handle, he headed forward, a monotonous muffled sound caused by the contact between the tiny wheels and the carpet-lined floor following him.

Room 210. Room 212.

Upon realizing, Cheol Yong had started to hum a cheerful melody as he neared his assigned room. If he could, he would surely be frolicking in the hall at the moment. Though, he had to refrain himself from doing anything considered too child-like.

Room 214.

He puffed his cheeks, becoming awfully aware of his nervousness.

Room 216.

Standing in front of a wooden door, Cheol Yong mentally prepared a self-introduction. He sincerely wished to have a nice roommate who would hopefully become his first friend here — not that he had one elsewhere. Shaking his head, he tossed this last thought in the back of his mind. He didn't need anything that would shatter his mood.

Taking a deep breath, Cheol Yong raised a balled hand and gently knocked on the door with the back. He hardly gulped.

When he'll open the door, I'll bow. I'll introduce myself. I'll—

Unfortunately, none of the things above happened since no one bothered to open the door. The slightly confused boy tilted his head to the left, wondering either he should go in or not. He frowned when no one came after a few minutes. He let out a sigh as his hand squeezed the knob and gave it a try. A faint "click" was heard, hinting that it worked out.

What? He left the door unlocked!?

Cheol Yong made a self note to have a word out of it with his roommate. It was a matter of security and privacy. It wasn't for nothing that the school board would hand each student a card for their assigned dorm room.

"Sorry for intruding..." He whispered as he stepped in, trailing his belongings.

The door automatically closed behind him. Lost in admiration of the spacious room, even Cheol Yong had forgotten to properly lock it. His small bedroom back home was nothing next to his dorm room. There were two beds — one at the floor level and the other one above the latter which you needed to climb up a spiraled staircase to access it. Though, the one beneath seemed occupied. Cheol Yong assumed since there were clothes — designer ones — scattered over it. He wanted to jump in utter joy. A wardrobe, drawers, bookshelves, a nightstand, and a writing desk just for himself! And the more than enough remaining space... It was heaven!   

A "click" from a door before him snapped him out of his dreamy trance. He straightened up and bowed.

"Hello! I'm Bang Cheol Yong. I'll be your roommate..." He lifted up his head in order to face the stranger. "From..." He widened his eyes in shock. "Now..." It wasn't actually a stranger. "On..." His voice had drastically dropped to a mumble at the last word.

Cheol Yong could picture himself staring at the other man with his jaw hanging on the floor.

It was Lee Chang Sun!

I-I’m not dreaming, right?

In the distressing silence that followed where neither of them dared to move, Cheol Yong didn't know if he should either scream or faint. The second option seemed awfully enticing when he realized that Chang Sun had just come out of the bathroom, meaning he was simply wearing a towel around his waist and having drops of water dripping from his hairs. 

That was when the innocent-minded student felt the blood rush to his face. He hastily covered his burning cheeks with his hands, letting his suitcase loudly hit the floor in the process. A shrill scream broke out from his throat as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Wh-wha-what are you doing—Gyah!" Cheol Yong stammered before clumsily tripping backwards on his trolley case.

His back painfully collided with the stiff surface with his lungs sprawled in an inelegant manner, his limbs resting on the hard plastic. He coughed, astounded with his unmanly fall.

"Taking a shower?" Chang Sun rolled his eyes before glaring at the boy lying on the floor. "But, that's not the point." He stomped towards Cheol Yong, fuming.

The latter had managed to lift himself up on his elbows. He groaned in pain at his sore muscles, pulling a face. Before he could properly move, someone harshly grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up. Cheol Yong let out a yelp of surprise as he found himself back on his shaky feet. Scared, he hesitantly looked up, meeting with Chang Sun's angered eyes. Cheol Yong swallowed down a lump of saliva that had remained stuck in his throat. His legs suddenly felt weak as Chang Sun coldly shoved the poor boy closer.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here!" Chang Sun raged, making Cheol Yong shiver as he let go of his grip on the shirt.

"I-I-I'm your roommate—"

"Bull!" Chang Sun yelled before scoffing a laugh. "Do you think I'm crazy enough to have a sick stalker as my roommate?"

"N-no, b-but I'm n-not—" Cheol Yong battled with his words, wanting to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Get out!" Chang Sun pointed at the room's door.

"W-what?" Cheol Yong shrieked, his eyes bulging out of the skin.

"Are you ing deaf?" He grumbled exasperatedly as he grabbed Cheol Yong's arm and forcefully pulled him outside, making stagger. "Get. Out!" He snapped, throwing Cheol Yong's belongings out as well.

"Chang Sun-sshi, I—" Cheol Yong startled at the door loudly slamming before his face.

He sighed, giving up in making himself heard. Spinning around, he blankly stared at his suitcase messily lying on the carpet. Something damp started to well up at the corner of his crescent eyes. The worst day ever. He had been turned down twice in one single day by the same person. Not just anyone, but the one he had tacitly loved for years.

"Are you alright?" A worried voice sounded on his left.

Swallowing back his unshed tears, he forced on putting a smile and turned to face the owner of the voice. The young man standing before him had his short hairs dyed in a caramel tint. He showed him a shy smile, causing cute dimples to appear that made him look younger. He looked friendly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cheol Yong scratched the back of his neck, waving the matter off as if it was nothing.

"Oh, are you Chang Sun's roommate?" He inquired.

Cheol Yong nodded. Well, he was.

"Don't take it personally. He's always been like that." The other one explained, comforting him. "Oh, I'm Park Sang Hyun by the way." He smiled as he extended his hand in greeting.

"Bang Cheol Yong." He replied, gleefully smiling as he shook hands with Sang Hyun.

Maybe it wasn't the worst day after all.

joonismiracle: That was so good, wasn't it? :D seems like SherryChan is bashing her own work too... tsssss... Oh well, we'll be back soon :D

SherryChan: The way you say it makes me feel like we're ninjas ;D 

♚- A SherryChan & joonismiracle storyline -♚