Minjun and I talked about different things, ranging from the stupidest ideas to the topics that touched our souls. However, we ended the talk as we finished our meal. Since I was the one who prepared the meal, Minjun offered his hands and did the dishes. Even though we ate from a paper plate, he still insisted on checking everything.
I took his offer and went straight back to my room. I felt like a changed girl after exchanging words with Minjun. He was my roommate. Of course, it was inevitable for us to talk. But I didn't expect that conversation would lead us for almost an hour.
I wished that our discussion would last longer than it should've. But then again, we had a school for tomorrow. As soon as the next sun comes out, I will become a first-year student. And within four years, people from Seoul would call me a journalist.
The morning finally came, with my alarm clock waking me up. Fortunately, I already prepared all of my things beforehand to avoid panic early on. My efforts paid me handsomely, as I got out of my bed and took my bag with me.
I went outside of my room and entered the bathroom. I expected Minjun to be here inside or waiting for me to finish, since I used it as a shrine. Minjun didn't have any makeup, but I had on my face.
However, my roommate was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he vanished inside this apartment and fled; even the school bell could even ring. I shrugged my shoulders, thinking that Minjun was just an early bird. I didn't want to check on his room, since I already barged in yesterday.
After doing my morning ritual, I donned my uniform and prepared everything I needed. The documents were already inside their envelopes, and I had organised my notes. It was time for me to go.
My eyes caught sight of the paper clip on the table, begging for me to see. It had some scribbles in it. But I didn't know whom it belonged to. I took the paper from the board and read the contents, which had a name on the bottom-left.
"I already went to school. I made lunch for the two of us. Minjun."
Minjun, the guy next room, made me a lunch box. The guy I knew little cared about me and my first day of school. He was a handsome man who wished to become a scientist that could help people. However, I didn't stray on my path just yet. My heart became interested in this brave man, but I needed more time.
I had a war against the school for this day. Love can come later.
I placed the note inside my bag and kept it as a priceless gift. It was inside my notebook. There would be a time that I would look for Minjun's message and stare at it for the rest of the night. But not right now. I needed to do far more important things, like going into class.
"Goodbye, Mister Caretaker!"
"Good luck on your first day of school."
The receptionist was still on his desk, browsing the newspaper from today's article. He gave me directions towards my school and oriented me. I had a hard time dealing with directions, so this guy helped me a lot. That guy told me to take a few turns and follow the shops and other stalls.
"You can never get lost in that place! Follow the building and then enter inside of it. Once you come out of that, you will be in the university." the man added. God bless me.
It was the same as always. The news was all about the superhero fighting crime around the streets. Steel. He had made a name for himself and protected the city as long as he could. But there was another portion of the article that caught my eyes.
Kingpin. It was just a rumour. The news came from a small company that wished to unravel the truth.
But I had no time to read any of that. After waving, I raced outside my apartment and travelled towards my university. It was just around the corner. I wouldn't be lost, even if I tried.
However, luck wasn't on my side, and they played games with me on my first day. I kept running, running, running, running, running, and ran some more until I bumped out a traffic post. The place filled itself with stalls that I barely knew of and uncharted parks. There were also dozens of cars racing left and right. They almost hit me. I was so excited about my school that I didn't know where I was and the current time.
I immediately checked my watch and shivered in fear. A series of curses escaped from my mouth as I wiped off the sweat cascading down my face. How could I get lost in the city when the receptionist guy already taught me the directions?
But within a moment, I finally realised my mistakes. There was a building that I passed by a couple of times, sitting there and mocking me. Luckily, unluckily for him, there was a student who was also late as I. I rushed towards the guy about to enter the building and called out for his attention.
He was like an angel in disguise.
"You're a student from Yong University, am I right?" I asked.
The boy nodded. "Are you, perhaps, asking me for an interview? You're a student as well, judging by the uniform you're wearing."
"No, silly! I'm late, just like you!"
"Oh, I see."
Without a hint, I followed the guy towards the university. As we passed by the hallway that looked more like a mall than a university, I finally saw my school. It was what the receptionist had mentioned a while back.
The school was just like any other academy found in the city. However, somehow, things were different. This place had an entire hospital, field, mall, and even the dorm, not far from here. It had everything but the students. Well, they were already there in their classrooms or in the hall, attending the grand orientation.
By the time this guy and I went to the front gates, a robotic voice startled us. It came from the speakers hung from above. It specifically called our attention and names.
"Seok Park and Chul-Moo Kim, late students. Please proceed to the dean's office, not in the auditorium."
Chul-moo was the name that Minjun told me about. This guy was the superhero's best friend, also a scientist. He didn't look like one, with his slick, well-groomed hair and his body. He ranked slightly lower than Minjun in terms of appearance.
So why the hell was he also late for class and carefree about it? That man wasn't even worrying about it and just continued walking straight down the hallway.
"Hey, Seok! Are you coming or what?" Chul-moo called out.
"Y-Yes!"
I hurried onwards and went along with Chul-moo to the dean's office. It was my first time visiting the university's office because of a punishment. The best thing to do was to keep this event for me and never tell my mom about it. That sounded like a good plan.
As soon as I arrived at our destination, a couple of students lined up and made a line. These people were also late from the assembly. But my eyes widened when Minjun was one of them, stationed at the line's latter part. When I met his eyes, he blinked a million times.
"Minjun, I thought you went ahead. Why are you here?" I said.
"You know…. Responsibilities."
I immediately knew what Minjun wanted to say. Since he was a superhero, Minjun probably saved someone on the streets on his way here. Even though he left early, that guy still had a lot of things on his plate.
"The one that surprises me is Chul-moo. He's always early, right, buddy? This is the first time that you're late, man," Minjun uttered, but got immediately interrupted by Chul-moo. I was invisible in their eyes.
"Bad news, Minjun. The doctor told me I have less than six months to…. I can feel it, Minjun. My legs are getting weaker every day. We need to make the serum now before…." Chul-moo whispered, but I heard it. "I'm sorry, Minjun, for taking up your time."
"No…. no. You shouldn't be. Of course, I'll do everything to help you."
Chul-moo nodded at Minjun's declarations and tapped his shoulders. These two had an inseparable bond, which almost made me shed a tear. I had no idea what the two meant, but I heard everything. Despite listening to their conversation, I didn't butt in and continued silently watching them from afar.
But afterward, the real trial began. It wasn't from our punishment for late students attending our university. It was something else, or even more. It involved Minjun.