***

She stood at the balcony and watched the campus covered in snow from afar. They were shimmering in the sunlight and her heart danced.

Her life was so perfect, no that was an understatement. It is extremely perfect, she thought to herself. The seniors adored her enthusiasm and love for the Arts, and yes, what better news than a Vice President position at the Drama club? She lived her dreams well.

Mom will be proud of her, she was sure of that. And dad… Well, he was kind of far away, but there wasn’t any reason for him to not be…

“Daddy.” She whispered trying to remember the way her heart felt when she last said it. The word feels so foreign now, it’s been years since she last saw the man who forgot her very existence.

A pink fairy cupcake suddenly appeared in front of her, breaking her away from her train of thoughts.

“I heard somebody’s really famous right now. I heard that my roommate failed to share a piece of good news with me. Tell me, am I the last to know? I heard…that’s the first time a Year Three student got through one of the most stringent selections ever. Unnie, I’m gonna punish you with a cupcake. Eat it and you’ll see how much weight you’ll put on.”

The elder girl knocked her knuckles on her junior’s head and smiled at the cute fairy girl dressed in a ballet suit on top of the cupcake.

“Seohyun, what nonsense are you spouting! I was about to tell you, I’m dead serious but you were nowhere to be found. By the way, it’s only nine in the morning, I’m surprised you are actually out of bed. Why, our dear little sleepyhead got up so early to get me this?” Sooyoung said with a chuckle.

She cleared softly and waved her hands wildly at her senior. “Aniyo! What “sleepyhead”? Unnie, please stop calling me that. Don’t taint my perfect goddess-like image in campus”, she said and flashed her white toothy grin.

“And one day, I’m gonna learn how to bake!”, she retorted.

“Oh yes, you better do. Your future husband’s gonna suffer if you don’t!”

Seohyun pouted and stuck her tongue out of like a petulant child.

Sooyoung laughed and took a huge indulgent bite in the pink goodness. Of course, she was a sleepyhead. Nothing fits her better than that word. Seohyun and her crazy sleeping habits. Ever since she’s been bunking in with her for the past four months, she did nothing but attend school lectures and taking long feline-like naps during noontime. It is a wonder how much sleep her body needs.

Sometimes it gets annoying when she needs help with housework… Sooyoung could list every single time she found her sleeping whenever household chores were pilling up. Like that time when she needed help with the laundry, no amount of calling would wake Seohyun the sleeping princess. Not to mention how her love for naps made her skipped numerous lunches.

This girl is ridiculous at times, and very very queer to begin with.

But still, how could anyone not love Seohyun?

Boys were thrilled to be in the same class as her, offering her goguma snacks in varied forms-biscuits, cakes, crackers- and tried their best to please her. All they ever had in return was a shy smile, or a slight nod of the head. No one had the guts to ask her out on a date, they admired her from afar, maintaining a respectful distance and hoping for the day she might say hi to them. And even the girls loved her so much.

Including Sooyoung herself.

Yet nobody had the keys to her heart. Nobody knew how.

It seemed locked for a good amount of time. Sooyoung often wondered if there was anyone at all who knew the way through that labyrinth of hers.

“Can you believe it? Prof Jung got me a new internship offer! I’m guessing it’s way better than that job I had been assigned to. He told me it’s gonna be good and he said to never give up on this one. I’m so lucky to have...”

Sooyoung shot a puzzled look as her own thoughts overpowered Seohyun’s voice at the back of head.

“Prof Jung? I’ve never heard of a Prof Jung for the past two years…” she said matter-of-factly, wiping the excess cream off her lips with the back of her hands. For a second, her mind couldn’t find a face which was connected with that family name Seohyun just mentioned.

She slipped her feet into the fluffy bunny slippers and entered the heated living room, making a mental note to herself to ask her friends about this Professor whom her junior was so grateful of. Shouldn’t they have more of “Professor Jungs” in her faculty?

“You haven’t heard? Well, yeah that’s not surprising. The School of Performance and the Arts is located at the other end of the campus. But I’m hoping that this one turns out fine. Just. Crossing. Fingers. I’m excited! ”

“You’ll do okay I’m sure. When you get to your third year, you’ll be so pissed that there’s this compulsory internship every student has to fulfil during vacation time”

"Unnie, it's not restricted to vacation time only...You can do it whenever you're free!"

Walking towards the shoe cabinet, she grabbed a pair of rolled up white socks.

 “Got to go sweetie, I’ll cook tonight. Don’t eat out all right? It’s unhealthy.”