Spotting the The Seoul University wasn't as hard as reaching it
Not to the young lad
Not at all
He had to go through hell to get to the place
He didn't know his way around the city and the citizens were definitely not helping at all
He couldn't spot a single human whose face wasn't buried in their mobile phone things
At a certain point in time he even had to dodge them to prevent them from bumping into him without them even realizing
He would have asked them for directions only if they hadn't ignored him
He couldn't find a single resting cab to board or at least ask for directions
And the few ones he either tried to stop or stopped themselves when passengers were alighting told him they were reserved and drove off
The streets were getting empty, the sky was getting darker and the night was getting colder by the minute
He felt all alone in such a new and different environment and to say he was terrified would have been an understatement
It was already night time and he was drained physically, mentally and emotionally
He was runned out of ideas to get him to his destination
With teary eyes, he slumped down beside a wall
His gaze fell on the scenery of the dark sky
There were no stars in them unlike the ones back in back in Busan
Back in Busan, there were bright twinkling stars in the night sky
He used to gaze at it with his family while they cackle up at their mother's funny jokes and stories
Now he was sitting alone in the middle of the streets with nothing and no body
Was this how he was going to end up?
Homeless?
In the streets?
At least he had some money left
He wasn't completely broken
On instincts, he snapped his head to his left with no particular reason
But he clearly understood why when he saw a man who seemed to be in his early twenties staring back at him
He also had the mobile phone in his hand
It made him question to himself if they were glued to their hands or something
Everyone seemed to be having one
When their eyes met the other immediately turned around to leave
But the young lad wasn't letting that opportunity go
Finally, someone acknowledged his presence as a living thing
He couldn't let it slide
Suddenly, out of nowhere he felt a new rush of energy erupt in him
He jolted up and sprinted to the man and blocked his way
The man looked up at him from his phone and observed his face for a bit more
He had tear stains on his puffy cheeks
His eyes and the tip of his nose were red
He looked at him like all his hope was buried in him
He had his arms spread in attempts to stop him from taking further steps
He let out a heavy sigh
"Buzz off, I don't have money"
He said and tried to move around the other
"No, no I-I don't want money
I-I have money
I promise"
The lad was near to bursting into tears
He even knelt and bow down to beg the other
"Please"
He begged while choking on his sobs
"Hey, hey don't do that"
The man tried to bring the younger man up from his knees
But the younger clutched his left leg as if there would be no tomorrow if he let go
"Hey
please
get off
please"
The man tried and tried but all to no anvil
The younger only held tighter
"Help me
Help me
Please"
It came out muffled but he still heard the younger man's pleads
He had no choice, did he?
He placed his phone into his black overcoat
Seriously, why him?
"Fine
I'll help you
now get up from there"
He subconsciously looked around on the look out for pedestrians
Not that they would speak ill about him or anything
But because he knew
He knew the kinds of looks they gave
The looks they threw actually spoke louder than their unspoken words
"Y-You'll help me?"
The young lad peeped to look at the other while he sniffed to prevent mucus from dripping on to his white shoes
"Yes
Now up"
Still on the look out he hastily responded
Why wasn't this coconut head getting up
"You promise?"
"Yes I do "
Through his peripheral vision he spotted a woman approaching them
His frustration was excavating
Why wasn't he up
"Say it
Say you promise me"
"I promise you"
"That?"
Jesus Christ the other was already annoying him
How could he help him if he was that annoying
"I promise you that I'll help you with whatever you want
Now please get up from there"
He grabbed the boy and lifted him up when he noticed the woman was about to look up from her phone screen in her hand
He flushed a forced smile at the woman who awkwardly passed away and obviously didn't return the smile
Creeps
she said to herself
The young man stopped smiling as soon as the woman passed by
At least he didn't get 'the look'
"What. Do. You. Want"
The aggravation was evident in his voice but the young lad refused to let that intimidate him
He wasn't ready to sleep on the streets
"Umm..well"
The young man tried to find his last patience he had stored in a tiny jar on the top shelf of his heart to listen to their younger
"I need to go to The Seoul University"
He looked up to the seemingly older man with his doe eyes
"Well then go there
Why do you need my help?"
He responded and tried to leave
But the younger held onto his arms
"You promised me you'd help me"
The kid didn't look like he was gonna let him go any second soon
"I would have helped you if it was something worth helping kid
Now let me go"
He tried to move away but the younger only circled both his legs around his and clenched himself around him like a koala
"Help me
You said you would
I don't know my way there"
He pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration
What a day
"Well then use a GPS or something"
"I don't know what that is"
"You don't know what a GPS is?
How old are you?
Five?"
"I'm seventeen
please help me"
"Give me your phone"
"I don't have one"
"What?!
Are you for real?"
"Yes"
He sighed heavily
Very heavily
"Explains everything"
A moment of silence passed
"Get off me"
You'll help me?"
"Yes I will"
"Promi-"
"I swear to God kid"
The man had his fists clenched already
"Sorry"
The young lad mumbled and detached himself from the other
He began to walk ahead and the younger began to panic
"Follow me"
He said
Moments of walking later they approached a black motorcycle beside a wall
To say he was fascinated would be an understatement
Don't get him wrong
Not like he hadn't seen one before
He had seen one before but not this close
And he was sure he would to ride on it soon since the other handed him a huge black helmet
"Put it on"
He said while putting his on
He hopped on the bike and motioned for the other to follow
Hesitantly, the young lad also hopped on the bike
So this is how it feels like?
He thought while he adjusted himself
"Hold on tight"
He tightly circled his arms around the older
He felt a spark of adrenaline rush through his body when the older started the engine of the motorcycle
The ride was quiet and comfortable and fun
Very fun
At least for the young lad
The younger almost fell asleep on the older's back
After about an hour the motorcycle came to a halt
"We're here"
he heard the other say
"Huh?"
"We're here
You can get off now"
He slowly got off the motorcycle and the other followed
"You wanna help me?"
He asked the other when he noticed he also got off the bike
"No.....
I just happen to live here"
He watched as the older adjusted his motorcycle and just left after that
He looked around
There was no one else around
The place looked very vast
The buildings were huge and tall
He wouldn't survive without the other's help
He just knew it
"You live in the dorms?"
He couldn't stop himself but jogged after the other
"Yeah"
It really pained him to worry the other that way but he had no other choice
It was either he asked him for help or he slept outside
And he didn't come this far to sleep outside in the cold
It just sounded dumb
"Hey!"
He crossed the other and spread his arms just like how he did an hour ago
"Hey!
Help me!
I promise I'll repay you full time
Please"
He stared at the other with his irresistible doe eyes
"No"
"please"
"No"
He realized the other wasn't having his sh..
So he did the only thing that came to his mind
He laid on the floor and clutched the other's leg
"Please
Please
Please"
"What the...
Do you want me to say it in Spanish?
I said noh"
Silence
The younger wasn't moving
And the older knew he wasn't moving anytime soon
"What do you want now"
"You see.... I'm a transfer student on scholarship here-"
"You?"
The older asked with a judgemental finger pointing at him
"Yes
I just got here
I don't know how things work here and I'm supposed to be in my dorm by now
I just got here
Please help me"
He let out a heavy sigh of the tenth time that day
"Fine
But if you're lying
I promise you kid-"
"I'm not!"
"Just get up"
Honestly the other didn't know why he believed the younger
What he told he was impossible
If his memory served him right
And trust me it always does
The younger was only seventeen
How could he manage to get a scholarship to this university
Not any other university
Not this
This was impossible
The older headed towards somewhere in the building and the lad hurriedly followed suit
After a long walk, they entered into a room which seemed to be someone's office
He saw a man who seemed to be in his late thirties sitting behind his desk busily typing
It made the young lad question himself if he wasn't tired
The man looked up and said to them with a forced smile
"Welcome
How may I help you"
"We're here to check a student in"
"Name?"
The older nudged the side of the younger
"Umm... Jeon Jungkook"
"Just a second"
After some minutes which felt like hours
"Here
That's your room number
Your roommate is already there"
He handed it to the older man
The older couldn't stop himself but took a slick peek at the room number and .... oh
The younger was just sent to him to torment his life
"What?!
This is my room number"
"Oh
You're kim Namjoon
The smart ass?"
The older pointed a finger at the other while adjusted his head to look above his glasses which rested on his nose
"Yes I am
But why is he my roommate"
"Don't ask me
Ask the algorithm"