Yeosang and Danni sit on one of the many benches scattered throughout the college campus. They chat with one another, as they munch on snacks. Danni is waiting for Rina to finish her last class of the day, so they can study at the boarding house. Yeosang is hanging out with Danni before this seminar he has to go to for his English class.
"I don't want to go this seminar, it sounds boring," Yeosang groans. "Go to it for me." He shoves his friend.
Danni shakes her head. "I'm not being graded on that, so no. I have to study for my chemistry exam anyway."
Yeosang rolls his eyes at her. "So, you can still go to the seminar."
Danni shakes her head again. "No, I need to struggle at understanding chemistry."
Yeosang flicks Danni's forehead in annoyance. "You're the worst friend ever."
Danni shrugs. "Oh well." She rubs the spot he flicked.
Danni gets a text from Rina asking where she is. The black haired girl looks over at dirty blond. "Where are we?"
"Outside of the Art building," Yeosang answers, as he munches on some chips.
Danni nods and sends their location to Rina. The girl walks over to the childhood friends on the bench. Rina waves to her friend from the previous class and rushes over to Danni. The two girls hug each other as a greeting.
"Have you two met before?" Danni asks Rina. She gestures over to the snacking boy.
"Yeon-seok?"
"Yeosang," he corrects.
"Right! Sorry," she apologizes.
"It's okay." Yeosang shrugs. He gets up from the bench, checks the time and bids a farewell to the girls. "I must go to this seminar now."
"Have fun!" Danni calls to him.
Yeosang looks back and flips her off. Danni chuckles and looks to Rina. "Are you ready to leave?" Danni wonders.
Rina nods and they head off to the boarding house. The two girls chat and laugh at each other's stories. Rina looks at Danni. "So, what is your relationship with Yeosang?" Rina wonders.
"Childhood friends. That's it," she replies. "Why?"
"You guys seem very close and I was just wondering," she explains.
"Oh. Well, it's been years since we've seen each other because I grew up in America-"
"Wait. You're from America as well," Rina interrupts the girl.
The two girls stop walking and stare at one another. A bright smile appears on both of the girls' faces. They begin to happily jump around, finally finding someone else from America.
"Where are you from?" Danni asks.
"Los Angeles," Rina says.
"Same!"
"What part?"
"Calabasas."
Rina stares at Danni in surprise. "What?"
"Where did you grow up?" Danni inquires, trying to change the topic.
"Pasadena," Rina answers, still confused. "You grew up in Calabasas?"
"Yeah, I'll explain it more as we walk to my place."
Rina nods. They walk to the house and Danni explains what Rina was confused about. Once she digests this information, Danni asks Rina if she has an English name.
"Yeah, it's Katarina or just Rina for short," the girl answers.
Danni glances away feeling a little foolish for not knowing. "Oh."
"Don't feel bad, I don't usually tell people my full name," Rina says. "Anyway, I prefer to be called Rina."
Danni nods. "I guess that makes it a little better."
They arrive at Danni's house. Rina reads the sign outside of the building and is a little confused by it. She assumed that Danni comes from a wealthy family and that they would be going to a fancy apartment. Danni looks at the girl who has stopped walking.
"What's wrong? Afraid of boarding houses," Danni jokes.
Rina shakes her head. "No, I assumed that we would be going to an apartment," she explains. "I'm shocked that you live here."
"So was Yeosang. I needed a place to live and fast. I found this place and applied."
Rina nods and the two girls go inside. They go into Danni's room, passing by Jinkyung drawing in the living room. Rina stops to introduce herself to the laser focused girl, but Danni pushes her along lightly. Danni shuts the door and sits down on her bed.
"I was going to introduce myself to your roommate," Rina states.
"Oh, I know. I would've let you, but that one is a little feisty. You can do it later if she's there." Danni grabs her chemistry books and pats the empty spot across from her.
Rina sits down and takes out her textbook and notes. "Are all your roommates girls?"
"No, two of them are and five of them are boys. Are you done asking questions now? We should study as much as we can."
Rina nods and the two students begin their study session. They ask each other questions to answer. Danni would ask Rina to explain a concept that she doesn't really get, jot down Rina's easy to understand explanation and continue to study.
***
Wooyoung glances over to his roommate. "Is Danni home?" He asks, after pausing the video he's watching.
Yunho thinks back to when he came home. He heard two female voices coming from her room. Yunho looks at his friend and nods. "I heard her and one of her friends talking in her room."
Wooyoung sits up in his bed. "How intriguing. Do you know what they're talking about?"
Yunho shrugs. "I think they're studying for a test."
"What subject?"
"I don't know. I'm talking to you, not them."
Wooyoung huffs. "Useless."
"I gave you so much information!" Yunho defends himself. "If you want to know what subject, go down and ask them."
Wooyoung shakes his head. "How can I look cool in front of them, if they are studying for one of the classes I'm not good at?"
"Which is all of the subjects, so just stay up here," Yunho quips back.
Wooyoung leers at his roommate and tosses one of the many crumpled up pieces of paper on the ground at Yunho. Yunho flinches as the paper ball hits him and then returns to his studies. Wooyoung goes back to watch this video. A silence settles over them once more.
Yunho goes downstairs during a small break from his work and runs into Danni and her friend. The small girl looks at him with these piercing blue eyes, an unusual sight in Korea. His breath hitches his throat for a moment, before he returns to his senses.
"Yunho, when did you get home?" Danni wonders.
"A couple of hours ago," he answers.
"Oh! By the way, this is my friend Rina. We are suffering through chemistry together," Danni says. She glances over to her friend, whom is staring at the ground. Danni furrow her brows at this sight.
"Hello," Rina whispers.
Danni's eyes bounce between the tall boy in front of her and the now shy girl beside her. "Rina, this is one of my roommates Yunho. He's a first year like us."
Yunho waves at the girl sweetly. A smile makes its way to his face. "It's nice to meet you, Rina," he hums.
Rina bows to him. Without a moment of hesitation, she scurries off to Danni's bedroom. Yunho and Danni stare at Danni's closed door, both of them confused as to what happened.
"She wasn't like that before," Danni comments. "I guess she's shy in front of new people." Danni shrugs and walks over to her bedroom.
"Wait," Yunho calls out.
Danni looks over to the blond. "What?"
"What's her major?" Yunho inquires.
"Why?"
"I want to know."
"She's a Psychology major like Jongho and I."
Yunho nods.
"Why?"
The tall boy shrugs. He just felt like knowing a little bit more about the girl. "Have fun studying." He waves to Danni and goes into the kitchen.
Danni squints in confusion at Yunho's back, before going into her room. She is met with the small girl in a ball on her bed. "What's wrong?" Danni asks. "Do you know Yunho? Was he terrible to you when you guys were younger?"
Rina sits up straight and shakes her head. "I'm so awkward around boys."
Danni sits down in her spot. "You weren't like that earlier around Yeosang. What's different with Yunho?"
"I thought you and Yeosang were dating earlier, so I felt like it was alright to talk to him."
Danni hums as she understands. "Let's forget about Yunho and return to our chemistry notes."
Rina agrees, gets comfortable on Danni's bed and the two of them return to talking about atom numbers and whatnot.
***
Rina and Danni pack up their studying material, as it is now ten. They exit Danni's room and slip on their shoes. Yunho is sitting in the living room with Jinkyung and Jongho. His eyes float over to Rina putting on her shoes. They stay on the unique looking girl until she leaves the house.
Danni walks Rina out to the sidewalk. "Are you sure you'll be okay going home at this hour? You can always spend the night and go home tomorrow morning," Danni suggests.
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll text you when I get home, if that will make you feel better," Rina says.
Danni nods at her words. "Please." The two girls hug one last time. "See you later. Don't forget to text me."
"I won't. See you later." Then Rina begins her short journey home.
