"You're tall for your age." the woman says.
"Many people say that too." although it's only Anne.
"Only if you're 10 years older."
Hmm? "What is it?"
She puts her left hand on the waist. "Nothing."
We stop on the sidewalk outside the campus gate. She extends her hand to the road, and the next thing I see is a white taxi cab in front of us. So extending your hand to the road is a norm here.
"We're going to have a ride because the dormitories are quite far from here."
"Ok, ma'am."
The window of the car rolls down.
"Good morning ma'am, sir."
"Good morning. Mr. Driver, can you please open the compartment?"
Why do I feel I'm forgetting something. I know Anne told me something. What is that again?
An object, rather cold, touches my left arm. The woman is gazing at me, and the sensation I'm feeling is from her hand.
"Aiah!" she calls out as if she's longing for me.
Hmm, Aiah?
"I've called you three times, but you're not answering. Are you alright?"
"I apologize. What did you say?"
"I said you can put your baggage in the compartment."
"Ah." shaking my thoughts, I pick my things and place them inside the compartment.
Somehow, I know there is a boring gaze on the back of my head.
She licks her lips and smiles at me. "You're so manly."
Don't tell me she's flirting.
"Alright. Now, shall we ride inside?"
"Uh, sure."
Entering the cab, she takes the backseat. This means that I should sit beside the driver.
"Where are you going?" she asks.
"To my seat."
"No. No. No. You'll be sitting here." she pats the empty space beside her. "Join me here."
"No thank you. My bad if I have motion sickness at the backseat."
"Is that so? Well, ok. If you say."
I fall beside the driver. He glances at me occasionally as if he wants to tell me something. I try my best to ignore him.
*Ting!*
A sharp sound resounds. I take my phone from the backpack. Turning it on appear a message from Anne.
"How are you?" Anne has sent.
Ah. I remember it now. Before checking in, she said...
Anne pulled me in a tight hug. Since I'm not sure of what I should do, I ended returning the gesture to her just to avoid being awkward.
"I'm going to miss you," she said.
"Me, too," I said.
Many people looked in our direction. If I have to say, it's not to me they're attracted at. It's because of Anne. Her dress had a backless strap.
She pushed me, making her hands rest on my forearms. "Be careful there. Don't trust strangers."
I chuckled.
"Look, I know you're already capable of doing things on your own, but please, don't hesitate to speak if there's something bothering you."
"Of course. I will call you from time to time."
"And call me when you've arrived there, ok?"
Her eyes glistened with tears.
I patted her shoulders. "Yeah. I will. Don't worry. I can do this."
She had her lavender floral handkerchief from her pouch and dried her eyes from the tears she's shedding. I noticed that some of the passersby were glaring at me. No. I didn't make her cry.
"B-bye." her lips quivered.
"One more thing," I said.
"What is it? Do you need anything? You didn't forget something right?"
"No. No. Nothing like that. Actually, it's about father."
Her eyes widened. However, they quickly returned to her previous expression. Only without the tears that were starting to dry.
"Please take care of him. Avoid fighting with each other."
"You don't need to tell me."
I nodded. "Alright. Goodbye."
I left her and paved my way to the people in the airport.
The current time is 11:36 am. It's already past an hour and a half since I landed here. I didn't notice.
"I'm sorry I forgot to call. Actually, I'm on my way to the dormitory right now." I send my message.
*Ting!*
"Your girlfriend?" the woman asks.
I'm not playing her game so I don't respond.
"That's great! How's the environment there? Are there floating cars or invisible roads? How about robots?" Anne asks.
"No. It's very far from what fiction tried to portray. Vex City, it's modern and organized just how a first-world country should be. But actually, its modernness doesn't exactly mean robots or complicated machineries."
"Tell me more."
"So far, everything is good."
"Will you be alright? He forced you to study there."
"I don't know."
I look to the window. The scene keeps on changing as we pass different establishments. There's also a big quadrangular building, furnished with glass in different shades of blue.
*Ting!*
"But you can continue your art freely compared when you're here."
"Yeah. I just don't have any materials with me."
"You can use the money in the credit card to buy."
"If I did, father will find out I'm spending money on art again. For sure, he'll be angry."
"Don't worry. I'll make way."
The cab stops and two gates appear in front of us. Both of them have black railings. Inside, there are two different statues. The one on the left is a male statue that holds a long blade in hand while wearing traditional Korean wear. On the other hand, the one on the right is a female statue reading an open book.
"We're here, Aiah."
Ok.
"Anne, I need to go because we're already at the dormitory. I'll talk to you later."
The woman pays the fare to the driver. Meanwhile, I walk to the back of the car to grab my baggage. Suddenly, I feel a light touch against my lower back.
"You can do it, Aiah."
A static begins to crawl. I drop the baggage on the ground. Creep. I need to get out of here as soon as possible.
She starts walking, and I maintain distance.
"Aia—"
"Both of these are dormitories?" I stop her.
"Yes. The one on the right is for girls, and the one on the left is for boys. We'll be going in there."
"I see."
We enter through the side gate. Then, what I see is a group of boys playing soccer on the grass.
"Hello boys!" the woman says.
They turn their heads in our direction. All of them have slanted eyes, but other than that, their appearances are very different from each other.
"Oh, it's the teacher." says a student in a crew cut. "Good morning teacher!"
Wait, what?! She's a teacher here?
She smiles. "Aww. You're so cute! Out for some fresh air?"
"Yep!" a student says while he's jumping in circles.
"No." a frail student says. "Hwan dragged me here."
"Come on!" the student who's jumping earlier slaps the frail student on his back. "Your body needs sunshine. Look at you, you're white as a sheet!"
The frail student crosses his arms. "Shut up, Mr. Sunshine."
"Aren't they adorable?" the woman asks me.
"Yeah?"
"But you're more likable than them because you're the man."
No thanks.
"What are you doing here, teacher?" the one in a crew cut asks.
"I'm escorting a new student to the dormitory."
"Eh?" the boy who's jumping earlier says. "He can't go by himself?"
"Well, maybe he can, but he's a foreigner. And he doesn't know much Korean, so I'm escorting him here."
"Ah..."
"Alright. Just continue what you're doing. Have fun! Also, don't forget lunch. Your body needs to be strong. And big." she winks.
"Yes teacher!"
We head to the dormitory. Its facade still got the porch and the porch column just like the main building. The wall is different though. It isn't red brick. Instead, it is made up of what I think is white plaster.
Continuing inside, an interior similar to the school building's what is here. There are 3 hallways in total. One in the front and one on each side. The flooring is covered with a dark bloody red carpet, and a mahogany staircase leads to the interior balcony that has wooden balustrades to the distance.
She walks straight to the staircase. I don't know why, but the carpeting here feels a lot nicer than the one when we visited the President.
Suddenly, she turns to the door on the right. Taking a closer look, I notice a sign is fixed in the middle. Wait, isn't this a restroom?
"What are we doing here, ma'am?" I ask.
She places her index finger on the tip of her nose. "Don't speak. Just move in there."
"But I'm not urging to use it now."
"Then just watch me inside or come inside me." she licks her lips. "Oops. I mean come with me. But, I'll let you do that if you wanted to."
What the?
"Don't tell me that you don't know what I'm talking about."
I stare at her. Then, she grabs my right arm.
"I guess I have to show it to you then."
The smell of cherry with the prominent scent of flowers creeps into my nose. In a moment, our bodies become pressed against each other. Hers rests against the wall while mine's in front of her.
"Do you understand it now?"
I pull from myself. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
She snickers a smile. "Playing hard to get, eh?"
This is really annoying. So I raise the hand she's holding to and swing it to the side.
*Thump*
With the loud sound, she's fallen on the floor in a cross-legged position.
I bow my head. "I-i'm sorry!" but I'm not sorry.
A grin appears on her face.
"Oh. So you want to take control? I like it rough too. You can throw me a—"
"No!"
Like a needle, my voice echoes sharply throughout the room. Her eyes turn wide, but her position remains unchanged from the fall.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I can't. I shouldn't."
She furrows her eyebrows. "Fine. Get out of the way."
I move to the side, and she walks past me while mumbling.
"We're not done yet."
"I'm really sorry, ma'am."
"Tsk. Go find your own room."
*Click clack click clack click clack*
Her heels resonate.
Great. It's only my first day, and I'm already doing a great impression. Now what? I look around the hall. It's huge, and also empty. Only if she isn't being flirty.
Should I go to the left? Maybe to the right Oh. I wonder what's up on the balcony.
I lift my gaze. There is nothing on the balcony except for the elevator in the middle and a flash of ornamental plants.
"It's lunchtime already." the intrusive voice makes me look to my right.
Two boys are in maroon suits and trousers, which are the very same clothes the boys outside are wearing. On their left chests is pinned an emblem in the shape of a shield.
One of them stretches his arm above.
"I want to eat."
"Me too. I hope they have my favorite."
They go to the door along the staircase. I guess I'll follow them for now.