“We’ll miss you.”

Aerin’s parents sniffled from the couch across from her's. Aerin quietly nodded her head to express her mutual feelings and grabbed a cookie from the coffee table. The loud sound of her crunching on the treat was nothing compared to her mother's wheezing of a cry.

Aerin was moving to Seoul for college, and to celebrate, her parents held a small get-together for her and her friends. The living room was adorned with blue and gold balloons, streamers hung from the ceiling, and a melancholic 1970's song played from the TV's speakers. The only people that were present were her parents, and Aerin didn't mind that at all.

“Would you like to go now, sweetie?” Her dad offered, probably due to the fact that he couldn’t stand the cries of his distressed wife for any longer. Aerin mouthed 'finally' and stood up from her seat. She kissed her mother on the forehead and muttered softly, "Please stop crying, mom. I'll call everytime I'm free and I'll video chat you every night. Don't worry about me, ok?"

Her mother took a tissue and gently patted her eyes; patches of tan foundation stuck to the paper. “I'll just miss you a lot. Go on, college is waiting for you.” Her mom was able to say between her loud breaths and squeezed her daughter’s hand one last time before she saw her heading out the door.

--

“."

Aerin blew upwards, shifting a few strands of hair out of her eyes-- the rest clung to her forehead with sweat. Settling her aching hands on her hips, Aerin let out a loud sigh.

Everything before the car ride to the airport was smooth sailing; it just started to go downhill when she accidently overslept in the waiting area of the airport, missing her flight. With her bitter mood, she grew agitated each minute that went by while she waited for the next plane. The problem now was that she was way behind her initial schedule, and she despised being off track.

Now, here she was: drenched in sweat in the middle of Seoul National University with no clue where to go. Aerin swore at herself for not grabbing a map at orientation; telling herself 'I'll be able to get around' obviously didn't work out. It was nearing midnight, and as expected, the campus was absolutely vacant. Aerin remembered she needed to find the student help center for her room key and was now foraging the entire square for it.

Her eyesight magnified to a tall male, the only person in sight, that was ambling near the school fountain. Aerin contemplated whether or not she would confront him; it was late as hell, so for what reason would a guy be walking around on school grounds at this hour? Aerin recklessly gave in, completely desperate.

Aerin bolted towards him, and lightly tapped on his shoulder with her index finger.

The male instantly turned around. He looked at her top to bottom, from her wet fringe to the sides of her shoes that were practically had grass blades and mud glued to it.

“I’m sorry, but do you know where the help center is at? I’m really, really lost.” Aerin asked, fiddling with fingers nervously.

“Oh, I just ended my shift there.. What do you need?” The male replied, his voice literally 2 octaves lower than an average man’s.

“Just the keys to my room.”

“Dormroom keys are given out at the dorm postal office. That’s located on the first floor of your dorm. It’s open 24 hours.” The guy answered, followed with a smile. Aerin took notice of how he had the shiniest set of teeth she’s ever seen.

“Oh, wow. Thanks so much for the help.” Aerin exhaled in relief and started to pick up her belongings.

“Don’t mention it. Do you need any help?” The kind guy offered, holding out his hands to grab her bags. Aerin waved her hand in the air, declining the offer. “You’ve helped me enough. It’s fine, I can pick these up by myself.”

“Alright, then. Good luck going up to your room. I’ll be going now.” Aerin thanked him once more, and watched as the male’s figure began to diminish in the dark.

--
 

"Turn up the music!" Baekhyun roared, clinking his plastic red cup with Kai's. He gulped down the thing as if it was his own medication, burping up suds of the carbonated liquid.

Grabbing the bottle of Grey Goose vodka, he refilled it up halfway and reeled himself in the dancing crowd. "To college!" Baekhyun exclaimed, lifting his cup up. "To college!", the group repeated concurrently, and joined their bottles and cups together before downing the alcohol.

“Baekhyun hyung, play a round of beer pong with me!” Sehun called from the dining area, and Baekhyun couldn’t refuse the offer. Handing him the three red balls, Sehun went to the other side and picked up his set.

Baekhyun went into correct stance, holding up the white ball in his hand. He squinted one eye to get a better focus. After content with the hand’s position, Baekhyun flicked his hand with a sharp movement. He watched keenly as the ball bounced off of two red cups, then plunging into a cup in the last row.

“Now that’s how you play! Drink up, Sehunnie!” Baekhyun exclaimed. Sehun downed the alcohol, crushed it, then threw the cup away somewhere in the other room.

“Are you kidding me? Pick that up, it’s not your room to be messing up!” Baekhyun lectured Sehun, who grumbled at his commands. Sehun left the area, obviously upset, and got swallowed into the dancing crowd in the living room.

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