Chapter Text

"Should I be considered selfish for I know that there will only be you in me though there's none of me in you?"

.....

CHAPTER 1

Reminiscence

-Start of 1st Semester of the year at Hyonsei University-

Cold winter breeze brushed the already freezing hands of Shin Minrae as she struggles to open the iron gate of their apartment. It was already that time of the year where the Spring Semester starts, though ironically it was still cold for it was still early March. She breathed a heavy sigh which came out as small-sized-clouds through the freezing weather. She locked the gate and started straddling her way to school.

At the end of the street a man dressed warmly in a light blue sweater partnered with a dark green scarf was waiting for her. He was standing still staring at the pavement with a blank face.

As soon the man noticed the girl's presence, he turned his head to look at her, his face lit up in a warm smile as he ran towards her in an abrupt but playful manner.

"Hey behave yourself jeez "

The man caught the girl in his arms. He twirled her around till the world seems like it was spinning- though only for the poor girl's perspective.

The man's chuckle chimed throughout the cold street which made the very scene warm even though ironically it was a very cold day.

The girl stood unstable. The guy noticing this quickly held her by the shoulders. If it weren't for him she would fall and roll down the curved streets as her new-found-way of transportation to the university.

He then decided to wrap his green scarf carefully around the girl's delicate neck. First he removed his scarf, then he gathered her long wavy hair tossing it to the other side, next he tied the scarf securely as if it's a bow of a present and lastly he smiled proudly while admiring his work.

The girl who was looking down the whole time looked at him adjusting her sight as she held her head while frowning. "Ha the world's spinning hold on...", she mumbled.

The man who seems to be enjoying himself curved his lips. It was as if his smile was struggling in between keeping it closed since his was very close to bursting out laughing. His right hand left her shoulders while his left hand were still holding her.

He playfully showed a peace sign and asked teasingly "How many fingers ?"

The girl annoyed, slightly pushed him to the side then showed his right knuckles and afterwards she revealed her middle finger. "How many fingers?" she grinned.

The man pouted then pulled the end of the green scarf he just wrapped on her as if it was a dog's leash. He started walking first, the girl hit his hands so he let go of the end of the scarf. And just like that they walked their way to the university.

"Minmin-ah, can't you at least be nicer to me? It's my first day at Hyonsei University you know? Why are you acting like this... maybe Hailey influenced you.." He said as he pull up with a sad face and imaginary crocodile tears.

"It's a warning Jeonwoo" Minrae walked faster,

"University life is very different from high school life. You may be someone who can easily make a lot of friends the moment you open your mouth... but still, choose who to befriend with wisely" she warned

"Highschool? Eh come on I served the military for 3 years after finishing high school, at least compare it to that... Well university life is surely much better than my military service experience." The man frowned remembering his hard days at the military.

He walked faster so he could match the girl's speed. He reached for the end of the girl's scarf and started fidgeting on it as they walk side by side.

Minrae then suddenly turned her head and to look at him for a second. She started giggling at her thoughts as if she was imagining something funny inside her head.

"What? " Jeonwoo was confused

"No... it's just that you're pretty lucky your military service ended a few months before your 1st year starts. It would be such a nice sight at the university if only you have kept that cute haircut you had you know" The girl who's been trying so hard not to laugh ended up giggling, she stopped walking and just stood there as her laughter intensifies.

The boy stopped walking and frowned he pulled her hair teasingly. " It's because I really am lucky do you remember how our classmates in high school use to call me lucky all the time

" Yeah the lucky student Seo Jeonwoo from 1-A or whatever" Minrae rolled her eyes and finally stopped laughing. And so they both continued walking.

Minrae's POV

Jeonwoo is finally back after choosing to serve 3 years of military service first before college... I reminisced how I cried back then when he left for his military service.

[Flashback]

"You stupid dimwit look how weak your arms are, how are you even gonna do a hundred push ups if ever you get caught eating noodles in the middle of the night?!" I bickered as I help him pack his things.

Jeonwoo was sitting on the opposite side of me, we were both sitting on the floor with his opened suitcase placed in between the two of us.

His room felt so empty, the closet that was opened widely that is used to be filled with his clothes were now empty. Hailey who was standing at the bedside is unplugging all the lamp and air humidifier.

Tears swelled up as I continue to fold a bunch of things that I insist him to bring till it became a tall tower on my lap.

"That's easy, just don't get caught in the first place" Hailey said, she was busy tidying up the wires of the things she unplugged.

She might not show it but I know that she was just as sad as me... Since the moment we both arrived at Jeonwoo's room she started doing whatever she's doing. She's not even showing her face to us... all this time all we could see is her back while she's doing whatever she could get her hands on so she could kept her self busy doing something while we bid Jeonwoo our goodbyes.

"Hailey look at him compare him to those man you imagine when you mention the word 'soldier'" I pointed my index finger on Jeonwoo who keeps grabbing the things I'm holding, and after he grabbed it from me he puts it beside him.

He then stood up and sat beside me and started to also grab the tower of things I folded in my lap, placing it in his lap instead. He held the hand that was pointing at him.

"Hailey's right Minmin.... you know how I was known as the luckiest student back in high school right? Don't worry too much, I'll be fine."

He held my hand tighter and said " I'll call you when I can."

The hand that was grabbing me turned into a pinky finger interlocking with mine

"I promise"

[End of flashback]

'Till now I still don't understand how he was nicknamed as the luckiest student back in high school... Well he did won the Student Council Election when we were in high school because the only contender he rivals with had withdrawn. According to the rumors he needs to transfer to another school due to family problems... but still, I think he would've won even if it weren't for that....

He worked hard for it, he deserved that position nonetheless.'

'Hmm well I think it might also because of how he always win whatever raffle he partakes in....

but he also worked hard for it, just secretly. He worked hard to have a lot of entries.'

I reminisced the days I always caught him getting home very late at night from my window view.

I would open my window and shout his name and in order for me to shut up, he always have to have banana milk when he gets home very late at night. He would throw the banana milk to my window to shut me up and to not disturb his grandparents sleep by shouting their grandchild's name who suspiciously always went home very late at night for some reason.

'Sometimes I'm worried that he might work too hard after high school that he'll aim to be the president of Korea but instead he decided to serve the military for 3 years first.'

'I don't know if it is a good thing though...'

Now that he's back.....I slowly observed Jeonwoo from head to toes. His bangs still needs to grow a bit more length for it to reach his eyebrows. He Face became much more slimmer and sculpted, his nose bridge taller his neck ...his adams apple were very prominent and his shoulders were broader.... also he grew a bit i guess but apart from these changes his eyes and smile never changed.

I stared at him for too long that I hadn't notice how he is also staring back back at me and smiling at me...

"Minmin-ah... I think you grew shorter"

I face palmed and replied " His braincells forgot to reproduce though.."

"hmm?"

"hah if only Hailey's back... we would've tour you around the campus"

After s few minutes of walking, we finally arrived in front of the campus. Students were also starting to come inside the University. We continued our conversation as we entered the campus' ground.

"Speaking of her... where on Earth did she went this time?" he paused walking and rested his right hand on his left chin.

"don't ask me, I have no clue either" I shrugged off

"she often goes out of the country even when the semester's still ongoing, according to her it was inevitable...I can't even count with my fingers how many times she begged the professors to let her take prelim exams even when she missed most of the classes due to what she calls as "personal and inevitable family issue",

" Well maybe it really was that important" Jeonwoo thought out loud

The harsh cold winds once again blew. I hid my freezing hands inside my pocket.

"Damn this cold.." I annoyingly let out shivering

"I guess my scarf's not enough, here " Jeonwoo put a heat pack inside my pocket

I immediately was about to shove it back to him when he raised two more heat packs in his hands. " I have a lot ! "

"ok, thanks" I put the heat pack he gave me inside my pocket

" After all these years in Korea you're still not use to the harsh winter.." he grinned and added " You hate cold but love Korea how ironic"

"Well if you love something I guess you ought to love all the things that come along with it" I mumbled

"yeah I guess.."

"uh so don't you have any morning classes? I don't want you to end up late because of me." Jeonwoo asked

" For your first day I decided I'll tour you myself... well you can actually go to your department's faculty and ask for a student assistant there for a tour... since I am one I personally volunteer as your tour guide" I said cheeringly

"You're lucky, every year slots are usually full for it haha" I teased

"Mmm"

" I guess another one of my best friend's gonna be at the same university as me but again in another department, you don't know how hard it was... Whenever me and Hailey go to school we sulk every time we need to part ways because she's in the Business administration department while I'm an English major her department's really far from mine. We're like the modern Romeo and Juliet " I ranted

"Pffft let's look at it positively Minmin? The Filming major department also beside your department. Oh and if you weren't in the English Major department you wouldn't have met him"

"...."

"yeah..." I replied shortly

" Well Ms. tour guide, can we start the tour now?"

" alright alright "

-An hour later...-

After an hour of going around the filming major department we and looking at classrooms we finally finished looking around.

"I was right on on how you should arrive 1 hour before your first class Jeonwoo, look it's 10 minutes before your class and now you know where to navigate your classes and how many minutes it would take you to go from one room to another just like how you like to know" I proudly said purposely bumping my shoulder on Jeonwoo's arm which he miserably fail on dodging each time.

"Oh take this brochure with you it has the school map and more info" I shoved the brochure in his hands and added "Well the tour's only within your department for now since if I tour you around the campus it will take up too much time"

It's Jeonwoo's first day I'd love to tour him around by lunchtime but since it's his first day I'm pretty sure he will make friends with a lot of people in his class and they will also probably know more about each other when they hang out later on lunch time- that's how it usually goes. I'm not too worried bout him since he's like a crowd magnet whenever he goes, he gets along well with a lot of people and is surprisingly also good at leading them.

Just like on middle-school he was really popular back then and ironically compared to when we were elementary he was the most quiet kid I've ever encountered and back then I was the most loudest one.

Jeonwoo pulled my scarf as if it's my leash. He found a vending machine and some bench to sit on. I sat on the bench and he gave me banana milk and we both drink some.

"Are you worried..?" Jeonwoo asked

"Why should I?" I scoffed

"You're very good at socializing ever since when we were at high school... just do what you usually do back then" I added as I leaned my back on the bench and gazed upon the school field in front of us.

"How about you? How's university life so far here" Jeonwoo asked as he also leaned his back on the bench and continue sipping on his banana milk

The students chatter from behind slowly became louder and louder telling us that the classroom near us were slowly being filled.

I breathed deep and watched as little white clouds formed in the air " Are you kidding me, you know every little shenanigans happening in my life... you always call me whenever you have break time in your military service you already know everything that I don't even have anything to tell you now" I pouted unknowingly

"Well you could say that..." Jeonwoo looked at me and added "You don't tell me how you do whenever Hailey is not around though..."

"I do just fine even when she's not around, I learned how to be independent now so don't fret over it that much "

"I guess our Minmin's no longer a child now aww" Jeonwoo said as he curved his lips and pats my head to the point that my hair got a bit tangled.

" In a few minutes classes will start finish that quickly !" I said to Jeonwoo who's still drinking banana milk

"What how are you finished already-"

"You should come to your room now so you can talk to your classmates and introduce yourself before the teacher comes in"

"Alright alright"

He got up from his sit and left his banana milk to me

"Goodluck !" I cheered

Jeonwoo who was sprinting in the hallway stopped and turned around to look at me. He stretched out both his arms and formed a big heart while grinning.

"You too Minmin! Oh and brush your hair it's a mess!"

I turned my back at him because of second hand embarrassment from what I just saw, then walked away as if I didn't know him... sometimes he exaggerates things too much especially the way he expresses things.

I finished both the banana milks and so I could throw it in the trash. I sat there for quite some time to tidy up my hair and once my already freezing cheeks felt the harsh breeze once again I decided to walk towards the English department and spend my idle time inside the library.

I rummaged my pocket to find my mini notepad and phone but was surprised to have grabbed two warm pack from my hoodie's jacket.

"Did he gave me two..? Huh I thought he handed me just one of it..." I brushed off my thoughts and held the warm pack. I opened my phone and checked for any messages from Hailey.

"Still no reply..." I mumbled and added "Where the hell is she this time.... She's starting to worry me"

[Flashback]

-3 days before the spring semester starts...

Third person's POV

A girl dressed in a trench coat holding a luggage and a girl dressed in a pink sweater and jeans found themselves pointing at each other and asking each other

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"I thought you're still asleep? Where are you going this early in the morning?" Hailey questioned

Minrae face palmed and answered "The teachers were calling for student assistants 3 days before the semester starts, they need people to help printing brochures for freshmen this year....and you? Where are you going and what's with the luggage?" Minrae said attacking her back with more questions

"Hailey it's literally two days before the Semester starts...don't tell me you're heading to the airport?!"

"No of course haha, I'm heading for an overnight trip vacation at Jeju Island"

"Jeju island?! Its early march you're probably gonna freeze there" Minrae raised an eyebrow

"I'm running late hah" Minrae added to the already anxious looking Hailey "Just make sure you'll be back before the Semester starts"

Minrae rushed outside and went for the run.

Hailey breathed out a sigh and continued dragging her luggage and locking up their apartment's gate.

[End of flashback]

Since my first class will start after lunch and since it's still too early to have lunch I decided to check on my Youtube channel. I am not so famous and is considered as a small account who's doing pretty well here. Three years ago when I started doing covers which evolved into me composing songs....I was not expecting that much. But since I discovered that I get to receive a decent amount of money here I decided that I'll continue to post songs and covers as my side line. Who would've thought someone who's very shy when it comes to singing and playing guitar would someday be posting vids on Youtube.

I started writing lyrics on my small pink notepad. My mind wandered off , thinking about a certain person. "I wonder where he is right now... I haven't seen him since the last semester" I mumbled

I haven't seen him since last semester I started scribbling out lyrics in my note pad. I suddenly thought of a melody so I rummaged through my bag and grabbed my wired earphones.

Since the library is pretty big and the table I chose to sit on was far away in the corner of the room, no one would look at me weirdly for whispering hums to my earphones' mic.

I stared out at the window beside me as I hummed as melodic rhythm. "That's what I'll use for the chorus part I think that would fit pretty nicely" I grinned

I brought out a tablet from inside my bag. And started looking at my commission order schedule. Another side hustle I have is that I'm an artist who draws emoji for twitch streamers. I started this way before I even started my Youtube account and my part time cafe job after school. Since I have a lot of part tine jobs already I don't accept anymore complicated art commissions, I now just accept emotes or chibis.

Time passed by and lunch time was near I put my things inside my bag and stretched my back a bit "Ah that feels much better"

I stared out the window and watched students pass by I annoyingly thought of Hailey again "She still haven't contacted me" I rested my chin on my left hand and leaned closer to the window.

Students formed a crowd at the open field near the building where I'm at. Probably because it's almost lunch time... and there's a cafeteria beside this building.

Out of the blurred faces I saw outside the window one familiar face stood out. A man tall, slender and is laughing heartily amongst the crowd. He was surrounded by a lot of people.

I moved my chair closer to the window and rubbed it a bit with my sweater so I could see him clearly. It was my first time seeing him this semester. Maybe Jeonwoo's luck rubbed on me or something.

I continued to observe him from a far.. 'He stands out a lot in a good way' I thought to myself.

Park Seunghan suddenly looked at the sky and his gaze fell upon the window of the library that happens to be the same window I was observing him from.

We locked eyes for a second and when realization came in I quickly shoved my head on the table to hide.

*THUD*

- end of Chapter 1 -