A sigh escapes her lips. "Five years are long."
Cladded in an idoneous crimson knitted coat that hugged her petite frame and a purple silk skirt that reached her ankle, the girl has a round porcelain face and a small mouth, and her bangs are shaped like crooked fingers on her forehead; long dark tresses tucked neatly inside her black hat. The tip of her nose is round like a button and pale pink that often made people wonder if she had a cold.
She stares at the gate with a large banner on the top. The condition of the university is rather... broke.
Countless thoughts run through her mind as she clutches onto the handle of her suitcase.
But there's no alternative. She's already here.
D University is not one of the prestigious University of the country. It's probably a bad idea to enrol in a university that's younger than her. However, her situation is precarious. If she hasn't been selected for the scholarship, she wouldn't have come here.
She lowers her head and drags her suitcase toward the nearest building. On the stairs, some girls and boys are chatting and laughing. A few of them glance at her and whispers something among themselves.
Are they talking about her? Nervous and jittery, she scurries away from them. She has no idea where to go.
Should she leave and come back another time? Maybe she should go to the dorm and leave her luggage in the room before coming here for registration.
And where did she come from? Was it the left entrance or the right one?
"Hello."
She turns around and looks at the man in his late twenties. He is watching her with warm brown eyes and a smile on his face.
Chang Seol widens her dark eyes in a daze. A bubbly feeling rises in the bottom of her belly. She can't name this feeling. His gentle voice reminds her of the cool breeze in the peak of summer.
The noise of the world is growing silent. Her heart is drumming against her chest, making a loud rhythmic melody that reminds her of spring. She blinks her eyes before she shrugs away the sticky feeling in her chest and takes a step back.
The rhythmic melody of spring? Why did she think of that? She must have lost her mind.
"Are you a new student?" The man asks her with a kind voice. She doesn't look him in the eyes. Her gaze falls to his hands. He's carrying a book in his right hand. Is he a student?
She gives him a stiff nod. "I have to register."
"The office is that way." He points to the left. "Go straight. Then, you will come across the management department building. Don't enter that one. Turn left and walk for five minutes. You will see the language department building. Don't enter that one either. Turn left again and then…"
Her brain refuses to process the rest of his words. She has always been bad with directions. Her internal compass is a little screwed. Besides, the man is speaking too fast.
And there's something in his hair.
When he finishes giving her the directions, he looks straight at her. "Did you memorize it? You should have registered online. There's not much time left."
"Mister…" She straightens her back and points at his head. "There... There is…"
He bends his waist and leans toward her. "There is what? Your voice is low. Can you speak louder?"
"Student..." He winces in pain. "What are you doing?"
Chang Seol stands on her toes and looks into his hair until she finds the feather. She pulls it out of his messy hair and shows it to him. "Here."
"Huh?" He blinks his eyes. She takes his hand and places the feather on his palm. "Mister, you had this in your hair."
The man stares at her with his dark eyes. "Thank you!"
"Ah... I..." Her face flushes red. "Thank you, Sir. "
And then she hurries in the other direction, wanting to go as far as possible.
While she's running away, she hears him laughing. Chang Seol realizes her mistake. "I have done it again! I shouldn't have touched his hair."
Let's pray that she doesn't meet him again. It's too embarrassing. What if he tells someone?
After two hours, she's sitting on the steps with a pale face. It's cold but she's sweating as if it's the peak of the summer. Dragging suitcase around the university is tiring indeed. However, she has succeeded in doing the registration in time.
"I should have registered online." She leans back, panting for air. "Then again, I didn't know that I would come here until last night."
She wants to sleep.
Chang Seol walks toward the exit of the university. She has to look for a dorm too. It would have been better if she had left her home a day earlier and found a place to live first.
Are her parents missing her?
She gets into a taxi and shows the address of the dorm to the taxi driver.
Since her voice is low, she always has to repeat her words. Why can't she speak louder or look straight at people when they are talking?
It's snowing. The roads are covered with a layer of snow. Since the university is located in the suburban area, the location is greener than the area around her home. However, she misses the scent of the sea. Her home is so far away.
"We are here."
She gets out of the taxi and heads toward the five-storey building In the reception area, she looks around with a lost look on her face. A woman approaches her. "You are…?"
"Is there a room available?" Chang Seol asks quietly. "I am going to attend D University from tomorrow."
"You are a little late." The woman smiles at her apologetically. "All the rooms are taken."
"But I called yesterday and asked if there are empty rooms." Chang Seol furrows her brows. "I was told that there were rooms available."
"That was yesterday." The woman sighs. "The students for the new semester arrived today. It's full now."
"Damn!" Chang Seol curses under her breath. What should she do now? "Is there any other place for students?"
"This is the only dorm in this area." The woman looks at her with pity in her eyes. "You might find a room in Z City."
Chang Seol lets out a heavy sigh. D University is two hours away from Z city. Renting a room would cost a lot. Then, there's a security deposit. She doesn't have that much money.
"You are a freshman, aren't you?" The woman returns to her desk and pulls the drawer. "You should contact this place. It's cheap and friendly."
Chang Seol takes the leaflet from the woman. "A share house?"
The price is cheap, but it will take two hours to come to the university and two hours to return to the city. She would be spending four hours in travel alone. She can study in the bus for the civil exam. It's not like she has a choice here.
After all, she can't go back home and marry a complete stranger.