Every good story has a beginning, middle and an end—not always necessarily in that order.

Kang Seulgi’s story, she always believed, ended around two years ago, when she was forced to pull out of university due to monetary issues. Her father left them— herself, her mother, her older brother— which left them financially unable to support both Seulgi and her brother to be able to go to school.

There she was two years later, though, dragging around a (most probably) overstuffed gym bag around the university dorm grounds.

Not a very pretty sight for what she’d like to label her beginning, but she had to admit that it was like that very day was her starting point all over again. She was a three hour bus ride away from home, and every face she came across that day— may it be someone she asked for directions, or a mere passerby that she guessed was a student of the university as well— was a new one. They were all either beaming at her or laughing boisterously with their friends in their own small factions.

So far, so good.

She finally finishes treading across the long yet wide walkway that lead to the main entrance of the women’s dormitories. She receives more glances, more friendly than anything else, which she could only reciprocate in awkward smiles. It’s been a long time since she’s been around this much people.

She recalls being told that her room was on the fifth floor and, on normal days, she would probably choose to take the elevator. But not today, not when there was that much people queued up to take the lift. Stairs it was, then.

She lifted the gym bag from the floor, instead hanging the strap on her shoulder as she made her way up the flights of stairs.

Once she finally landed on the fifth floor, she was pretty much a panting mess. A bead of sweat trickled down the round of her face as she drops the bag onto the floor again, proceeding to drag it along as her eyes started to look around for room 504— the number of her room, if she remembered correctly.

She continued moving along the hallway, eyes alternating from left to right to read the room number on each door: 502, 503, and eventually 504.

As she reaches for the door knob, she remembers what she’s been told during orientation; she’ll be having a roommate which was picked in random. Inevitably, she was anxious as to how that person will be like— they were going to live together, after all.

Choosing not keep herself uneasy for any longer, she quickly pushed open the door, mindlessly holding her breath in as she did.

She was greeted with an empty apartment-like room. Cautiously, she stepped in, closing the door behind her.

She could only presume, due to the silence, that her roommate hasn’t arrived yet. She heaved a sigh, relieved. She knew she’d deal better with the pleasantries after she got herself settled.

Seulgi scanned the room, left then right. There was a room on the left, and another on the far right. She didn’t really care whatever room she was given, so she followed her gut and went for the room on the right (without checking the room on the left at all).

When she opened the door, she saw that the room wasn’t anything special— the size was just right, and the windows that were sans curtains for now provided a great view of the university which was just across the street.

She kicked her bag onto the side of what was now her bed then proceeded to sit down on the edge of the bed. Her child-like gaze looked around the room a second time around before she tiredly lay back onto the soft mattress. She closed her eyes and swore that she’d only fall asleep for a few minutes, but of course that didn’t happen as planned.

▲▼▲▼

Seulgi woke up to the sound of humming— really loud humming that it pierced through the walls in between her room and the main room of the dorm. Moments thereafter, the sound of an instrument… a guitar, she concluded.

She was still groggy, but she was quick to sit up, realizing that the only possible person to have been the one outside was her roommate. It so happened that she came while Seulgi was fast asleep, and most probably a snoring mess.

She stood up, raising her arm to wipe on the thin layer of saliva that spilled from while she was napping, making her way towards the door. She opened the door very slowly and rather carefully, as if making a sound with it would lead to her demise. Once there was a small opening, she leaned in and caught sight of a girl sitting on the floor, guitar (as she guessed correctly) at hand.

“Wow,” Seulgi thought, while a slow, very soft tune could be heard emitting from when her fingers gently strummed against the guitar strings. This was later accompanied by the unknown girl’s voice, perhaps just as sweet.

Seulgi was taken aback, though, when the girl came to a sudden stop, knocking her head against the top part of the guitar, along with a groan. She could only wonder what was wrong, since on her end everything was sounding a-