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I blink my exhaustion away and focus my eyes to the steaming hot supposedly French press brew that is being poured into my squeaky styrofoam cup. The machine rumbles and rattles as it forces the liquid into the cup, the coffee that had already made it in sloshing inside from the shaking as well. It looks like it’s squeezing out all that it can, all that is possible while trembling for another five seconds before suddenly coming to a stop.
I sigh,
How am I going to get through this damn day, now?
I take the cup off of the machine and tilt the liquid around, grimacing at how little there is in the cup. I tip the cup back as I gulp it down, all the coffee rushing down my throat and slightly burning my taste buds. I lick my lips in a fruitless attempt to soothe my flaring tongue from the hot coffee.
On ordinary days, I don’t bother to wake up early or wake up at all. I’m the type of person you’d rarely see in class, but when they’re there, while the professor would be lecturing in front, they’d be slouching in their seat, on the verge of falling asleep, if not already. At the end of class, I don’t bother to ask for anyone’s notes, because one: who would even lend me their notes?, two: I don’t know anybody to be that close with them, and three: it just takes too much effort and energy to go up and ask sometimes. Why did I choose the major? I don’t know, I think I just wanted to at least have something as a placeholder for the time being. Except that placeholder has become what I’ve been studying for the past three semesters. Business is absolutely, mind-numbingly, boring to me. I just don’t get the concept, maybe that’s it. Or I just don’t want to be there at all.
On supposed special days such as these, a small field trip had been organized by the student council annually, or to be more exact, a day of torture and actual hell, including bonding exercises between students and their fellow peers, and as a bonus, it’s an overnight trip. Wow, what a great catch! Only $49.99 for processing and handling, without the addition of tax.
I’ve already gotten settled into the hotel, today being the first day of the trip. I’ve been informed that I would be having a roommate, and here’s to hoping he or she won’t be a complete asshole. That’s asking for a lot though, as I realize now.
I give up on my coffee crusade and stuff my hands into the pockets of my hoodie. It’s a sweltering ninety-five degrees outside, so why the hell am I wearing a hoodie? Because I can, and I also feel quite exposed without the fabric covering my pale arms.
I toss away the discarded cup; it bounces on the rims of the small trash can before finally falling in with a soft clunk. I turn my back on the coffee machine but stop in my steps, contemplating where to go next after the disappointment of a wholesome breakfast, coffee included. Outside, they, the student council volunteers, are still setting up the first activity of the day. If I went out there, I would surely be forced to join and help out, and that’s not really in my nonexistent agenda for the day.
Maybe I could go for a little walk around the hotel to pass time? Rather not, the flaring sun’s going to burn my flesh.
Should I stay in the hotel, then? Surprisingly, it offers many activities inside, such as a gym and mini-library, but I don’t like either of those options.
After racking my indecisive brain for a straight minute, I settle with just going back to my hotel room. I take the rickety old elevator, the only outdated thing inside the well-modernized hotel, clicking the button for the twelfth floor and waiting for the doors to close. The elevator shakes throughout the entire trip up, and when its doors finally open, I rush out in a panic and head straight to my hotel room.
I open the door and look around my room. It’s exactly the way I left it when I went down earlier, a telltale sign that my roommate hasn’t settled in yet. I stretch out my sore limbs, hearing numerous cracks elicit from the movement. I walk to my suitcase, which still has some things inside it, and empty them out, one by one. I take those things, including clothes and hygiene products, and sort them into where they’re supposed to be, whether it be the dusty closet or the small bathroom.
Once I finish, I lay back onto the bed, my head supported by the headboard, feeling my eyes droop down. I’m about to fall asleep until I hear an announcement coming on the intercom and yes, my university practically rented out this entire hotel, so regrettably, they’re able to do these sorts of things. The gravelly and rough sound of the voice makes me flinch, and I listen to the announcement with a half-asleep brain.
“Students, everyone who has come on the field trip hosted by our lovely Student Council, please report down to the lobby in five minutes for a day of fun, excitement, and bonding!”
I cringe at how animated the voice is, and even if the poor sound system can’t capture most of the enunciation, the tone that the person has taken on is very clear. I glance out the clean window of the room and smile at the dark, gloomy clouds near the horizon. Fantastic, a sure signal that it’ll be raining soon. Nothing better to disrupt your day of ‘fun’ than a good ol’ summer storm.
I get off the bed anyway, just hoping to check into the festivities before I silently ditch the place in turn for my soft, comfortable bed. I grab my keycard, marked #231 as a label for my room and what I’ll be classified as during my time here. Apparently, we were to be teaming up with our randomly selected roommate to compete in games, which I really wasn’t up for. Apologies to my invisible roommate.
The thunder outside suddenly booms and I turn around to check the environment outside. Fair enough, my previous prediction was correct and the sky took a complete grey, shielding the sun from penetrating its clouds. I’m very close to just ignoring the announcement based on the weather conditions right now but in the end, I decide to go anyway. I flick my hood over the top of my head and exit my room.
I warily approach the old elevator and once inside, I push the button to go down and wait for the elevator to reach my floor. A sudden ding indicates its arrival, and the doors wobbly split apart.
I hop in, and as the doors are about to close, someone jumps in at the last minute. I look up from the ground to eye the quick stranger, only to find out that the person isn’t a stranger at all.
“Hey,” Jung Hoseok starts, running fingers through his bedridden, dark locks.
My eyes take in his whole image and figure. Jung Hoseok, popular and assumed prince of campus, has just put his cocky ass in the same elevator as me.
Lord, what have I done to deserve this?
It takes all of me to not throw up right then and there, at the stare that Hoseok’s giving me. I shut my mouth in case any words that I’ll later regret come out, because as they say, ‘It’s better to keep something to yourself if it’s not nice.’
To my disbelief, Hoseok comes even closer to me, and of all the areas in the large elevator to stand in, he decides to stay next to me.
His hand ghosts the button panel and he glances at me, “Are we going up or down?”
I scoff at him, “We’re on the highest floor possible right now, what would you think?”
A moment of silence passes us and Hoseok finally gets it through his thick head, “I would think down.”
“Fantastic choice,” I deadpan.
“I know right?”
I hold in a sigh and cross my arms across my hoodie.
“Say, why are you wearing that? It’s really hot outside,” he makes a show of fanning himself.
“Because I can.”
“If you say so.”
“It’s not so hot anymore,” I say after a moment’s notice.
“Why’s that?”
“The storm.”
“What storm?”
The one that’s about to rage outside and if you actually checked outside instead of checking yourself out, you would’ve seen it, I was about to say. I bite my tongue and answer back, “The weather’s gonna go downhill pretty soon.”
Hoseok furrows his eyebrows and looks at me, “Why’d you do that?”
I’m confused, “What do you mean?”
“You were about to say something but then stopped yourself.”
“What if I were?”
“Well, what were you going to say?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Seeing as we’re the only two people riding this elevator, I have every right to ask.”
“Do you?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
I raise my eyebrows, he’s not that dull after all. Gotta step up my game, then.
“Look, as far as I know, you’re not majoring in psychology, so could you please just screw off?”
“Yeah, you’re right about one part,” he backs up, “I’m in dance,” He does a little b-boy trick that’s supposed to impress me, I assume. It doesn’t.
I’m about to fire back a snarky reply when the elevator begins to rumble. I grab the armhold in surprise, the lights inside the elevator flickering on and off. The current situation seems to have brought Hoseok back to reality, the one where the world doesn’t revolve around him? Life hurts, babe.
“W-what was that?” Hoseok sputters out.
I stare at him with a look of pure surprise, “What were you previously showing me, now?” I say with a teasing lilt in my voice.
“I-I was-” The elevator tilts to the left side then back to the right as if it’s trying to stabilize itself. Hoseok shrieks a high shriek, doubling up on octaves I thought were impossible to reach.
I would’ve laughed.
I should’ve.
But I didn’t.
Because I was harmonizing with him as well.
The elevator stops shaking for a second before a deep clang resonates throughout the large elevator. The flickering lights have decided on whether they would be on or off, and I bid you to guess which one it is.
I look around in the pitch black box, trying to scan my surroundings. It’s so dark that I can’t even see Hoseok, which sounds like a bad thing, but it’s what I’m eternally grateful for.
Ten seconds in the darkness and my eyes have already adjusted. I can see Hoseok, regrettably, and he seems to be frozen in place, in fear, his expression completely terrified of what is to come next.
The lights have now decided to come back on, but this time only in a dimmer state. I conclude that it’s probably the emergency lights for situations where there are people trapped inside the elevator. At least you guys have actually planned for that. Whoever you guys are.
Hoseok lets out a sigh of relief and he slumps his shoulders like a heavy burden has just been lifted off of him, “Oh, wow, okay then.”
“You good there, tiger?” I ask with mock worry.
He nods vigorously, and his eyes look like they’re about to pop out completely from his sockets, “Just fine, just fine, you?” He seems to be rushing through his words, and I have to strain to hear each individual syllable.
“Couldn’t be better,” I meant for it to come out sarcastically, but it comes out monotone and forced.
“Okay, alright.” Hoseok has calmed down significantly and has straightened his posture, “Guessing that’s the storm you were talking about.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize,” I roll my eyes at him, “Did you think I was lying?”
“No, I just didn’t believe you at first given the weather about twenty minutes or so ago.”
“Have you never heard of a summer storm?”
Hoseok shrugs at me and throws me a playful grin. I try to smile back at him but instead, my nose scrunches up and I look disgusted. Which is exactly what I’m going for.
He scratches the back of his neck and turns to me, still smiling, and offers his hand up for a shake, “So, introductions… the name’s Jung Hos-”
“I know your name,” I interrupt abruptly. I stare down at his hand with no intention whatsoever to shake it.
“Oh, you do?” Hoseok slowly retracts his hand and brushes it off on his jeans when he realizes I wasn’t going to shake his hand any time soon.
“What else do you know?”
“Eh?”
“What else do you know about me, then? Are you here for the trip too?”
“Yes, I am here for the wretched trip. What would you like me to say about you?”
“Only good things, I suppose.”
“Unlucky for you, bud, I’m out of stock on compliments to give people like you.”
“People like me?”
“Yes.” I quirk a smile in confidence.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Wow, you’re filled to the brim with questions, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I would like for them to be answered.”
“Too bad, would I have to?”
Hoseok blinks, “I would hope you do.”
I smile back at him, “You put your hope in the wrong place, then.”
His grin wavers a bit until it springs right back, “Are you excited?”
“For what?” I uncross my arms.
“The activities!” He smiles wider.
“The activities? The ones planned by the Student Council, which I may remind you, is comprised of some of the most boring people ever to be elected?”
Hoseok frowns, “I have friends in the council.”
“Why, of course you would, Mr. Popular,” I didn’t mean for it to come out as spiteful but it did.
“I’d say they’re not boring, they know how to have a good time.”
“Like everyone else in your little gang?”
“My gang?”
“Don’t act oblivious, you practically strut through campus with your minions by your side.”
“I… I do?”
“Yeah, and they essentially are either always drunk or high.”
Hoseok looks taken aback, “Hey, I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but you don’t get to drag my friends into this.”
“Your friends.”
“Yes?”
“How many people do you have in your little group?”
“I don’t know? Do you expect me to count?”
“Ah, I’m getting the feeling they’re more like drinking bros and partying hoes rather than what you’d call ‘friends.’”
Hoseok glances down at his feet for a split-second, and I almost didn’t catch it except for the fact that I’m still eyeing him curiously. I pull out my phone in annoyance.
“What’re you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I snap back.
“It looks like you aren’t gonna get any service.”
I grunt when I realize he’s right, the service bar was blank and empty, looking like it’s mocking me. I click my tongue and with a sigh, put my phone back into the front pocket of my hoodie. The emergency lights flicker above us, and I wonder how long they’ll be on for before they go out again.
Hoseok is running his fingers across the button pad of the elevator, feeling for the emergency button.
“No use,” I finally say.
“Huh? Why?” He looks at me with confused doe-like eyes.
“I’ve already tried. It’s pretty much non-responsive.” I lament, pulling my sleeves up to cover my clammy hands.
Hoseok slumps down onto the floor, getting into a comfortable position, “Yep, we’re definitely going to be here for a while,” He pats the space next to him, “Care to join…?” He knits his eyebrows together when he realizes I’ve never introduced myself yet.
“Yoongi, Min Yoongi,” I say, “And no thanks,” I back away farther from him.
“Oh, Yoongi from Class B? I’ve seen you around the halls before!” He grins widely.
“Yeah, I don’t come very often.”
“That’s why I don’t see you very often,” He pouts, “Roam around campus more often, Min Yoongi.”
“Why should I?” The beginnings of a smile prick the corners of my lips.
“Because I want to see you,” His eyes crinkle from his smile.
I bite my lip to hold a scoff from escaping, “You’ll have to try harder than that, Jung Hoseok,” However, a small simper does escape me.
“No worries, I intend to anyway.” He looks down at the empty spot next to him and then back at me.
I give in and sit down, albeit still far from him. I bring my knees closer to my chest and hug them loosely.
“What’s your major?” Hoseok suddenly asks.
“What?” I look at him confused at the inquiry, “Business.”
He frowns at that, “I don’t think you seem like a business person.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
I sigh, “It’s because I don’t know what else to do.”
“You do seem like a music major.”
“Hm, how’d you know?” I glance at him in astonishment, only to be greeted with that same idiotic grin… it seems slightly more bearable this time though.
“Know what?” He combs his fingers through his floppy hair, directing his line of sight away from me.
I turn to him only to see his eyes trained on the bare patch of the wall of the elevator, “Forget it.” I say coldly.
“N-no! Continue!” He stutters, rapidly motioning with his hands in a panic. He leans in, but his eyes look actually apologetic, mirroring his movements.
I close my eyes, battling internally whether or not to punch or hug this guy, “How did you know I was interested in music?”
His answer is curt and direct, “I just had a feeling.”
“You just had a feeling…” I repeat quietly to myself, the short answer bringing a smile to my face.
“So why didn’t you pursue it,” Hoseok asks softly, “if you had an interest in it?”
“I don’t know… I guess I thought I’d lose the passion I had for music through the years of studying it.” I reply sullenly.
“Well, did you?”
“Did you what?”
He scoots over closer, but this time I don’t retract, “Did you ever lose that passion?”
I let the question sink in, slowly and heavily. I think to myself, did I ever lose it? If I did, would I still be writing down whenever lyrics came to my mind on the margin of my copybooks? Or would I be humming a new melody I created during my Business lecture?
A long silence engulfs us until I finally respond, “No.”
He looks up from twiddling his thumbs and patiently waiting for my answer, “No?”
“No,” I say with more assurance lacing my words, “Never lost it.”
The ends of his lips tug up, “That’s more like it,” He crosses his arms and gawks at me with an expression of proudness.
I roll my eyes at him and turn away, “Whatever.”
“You know, sometime you could compose a little something for me to dance to,” He playfully remarks, poking my shoulder.
“Why should I do that?” I chuckle.
He guffaws, “Because I’m your bestest friend ever?”
I glance at him pointedly, “Okay, yeah, a little too far, sorry. But I did help you realize your calling!”
“My calling? You make it sound like I’m gonna become a monk or something,”
He eyes me up and down, “You wouldn’t make a bad monk, I mean…”
At this point, I’m at a loss for words, for the first time. I let out a long sigh and just look at him with a confirmed bewilderment.
“I wonder what the others are doing,” Hoseok points out. Damn, this guy is really useful for starting conversations.
“They’re probably all holed up in their hotel rooms,” I comment.
Hoseok shrugs, “Probably. We’ve got it better, right?”
My eyebrows shoot up, “How so?”
“I mean, I could be stuck with the guys and forced to take more shots and grab girls or whatever.” He reveals.
I blink, “Are you saying that you’re not doing all of that because you want to?”
Hoseok nods, a mirthless laugh comes out of him, “The things you do for popularity, really.”
I stay silent, not knowing what to say.
“Speechless, eh? I don’t blame you, I’m surprised I’d stuck to this myself,” He mumbles.
“That wasn’t really you though,” I blurt out before my words get the chance to process through my brain.
“How so?” Hoseok mimics my previous movements.
“We’ve all craved popularity at some point… there are just different ways for one to gain it, I guess,” I cringe at my lame explanation but quietly hope it gets through to him.
“I’d assume so, mine was just a little harder to achieve.”
“Well, at least you’ve got the thing you first wanted now,” I try to find the brightness in the abyss.
“But… at what cost?” He murmurs under his breath, and I can see his festive spirit breaking apart.
I feel a pang somewhere in my chest at this defeated state… I just don’t know why though. I pull myself closer to his side. Where our shoulders are touching, I place a hand on his right shoulder, my thumb trying to rub reassuring circles onto the thin cloth of the shirt. I can’t really answer his question, because what did he lose to get this? I don’t even know this guy, but I feel so guilty about seeing this.
“Why am I telling you this? I barely know you,” Hoseok utters, taking my thoughts and verbalizing them completely.
“I feel like it’s easier to open up about yourself to strangers,” I remark, “They don’t know a single thing about you.”
“And they’d have no basis to judge you on, yeah,” Hoseok turns his face to look at me, the broken eyes slowly repairing themselves.
“I really only know your name and reputation around campus, Jung Hoseok,” I confirm, quirking an eyebrow.
“Let’s not be strangers, then.”
“What?”
“You heard me right,” Hoseok laughs, the soft, breathy sound echoing throughout the empty elevator, “If it’s easier to open up to strangers, I wanna experience what it’d be like if we got to know each other, you know?”
I roll my eyes for the nth time today, “Am I supposed to agree to this?”
He pouts, heart-shaped lips forming into a little bottom curve, “Pretty please? I’ll actually be your best friend this time?”
“I can’t say no to that,” I whisper to myself, blissfully unaware of the close proximity we’re sharing right now.
He hears me loud and clear, “Then don’t say no to it, silly!”
“Fine,” I say feigning reluctance.
“You won’t regret it,” Hoseok sends me a wink.
“Too late, already do,” I recoil from him, a smile beginning to form.
The moment I back away is also the moment the elevator chooses to rattle us from the outside. I’m able to hear the mechanisms whirring to life as the elevator buzzes and begins to finally move down, after what seemed like an eternity (in reality, it was probably only about half an hour, but I’m not about to say that.)
I’m drowning in my gratefulness so much to the extent that I don’t see a rejoicing, yet terrified Hoseok gripping my side tightly. I stifle a chuckle when I see him clamping his eyes shut, like he’s about to descend a high drop on a rollercoaster.
The normal lights come on, replacing the dim emergency ones, and this time I can see Hoseok very clearly, how he juts out his defined jaw slightly, giving him a pouty look. I don’t have it in me to shake him off, so I let him rest on my shoulder, both hands around my slender arm in a death grip.
The elevator dings as we arrive on the floor of the lobby, a smooth landing accompanying us. We’re still seated criss-cross on our bums on the floor, and I make a move to stand up. I unintentionally pull Hoseok along up with me, his form completely leaning onto mine. He tucks his face into the crook of my neck as if he’s scared of whatever’s in front of him. A warmness spreads to my cheeks at the simple action.
“A-are you okay?” I curse myself for stuttering but I couldn’t stop myself from doing so.
Reality hits Hoseok hard, and he releases himself from me. He clears his throat, “Yeah, sorry, I’m all good.” I feel a bit disappointed by our loss of contact.
“Afraid of heights, are we now?” I say teasingly.
“Deathly,” Hoseok affirms.
“We learn new things every day, huh?” I tuck both hands into my hoodie.
Hoseok hums and reaches out for the button that’ll open the elevator doors. We share a knowing smirk and with a click, the doors start to evenly divide.
It opens and we’re greeted with the sight of the normally pristine lobby, but this time it’s like I’m looking at it through rose-colored lenses. Something feels off when I’m with Hoseok but in a good way. I’m not complaining about it, anyway.
Hoseok conspicuously links our arms together, with mine still stuffed into the pocket. I glance down at our hold and smile. I could get used to this.
I start off ahead of him, but he quickly unties our arms and reaches down for something on the floor, “Wait!”
I turn back at him and see him crouched on the floor, “You dropped this,” He says, stretching out his hand with my keycard in it. I hadn’t even noticed it had fallen out of my back jean pocket.
“Thanks…” I reach out for the card, but he holds it a little longer in his grasp. He studies the keycard very carefully.
“Is there anything wrong?” I say worriedly.
He looks at me with a blank expression. He rummages in his pocket and takes out supposedly his keycard, and examines the two of them in both of his hands. I’m confused as to why he’s doing all of this until he flips the cards so I can see them side by side.
A gasp escapes me as I see the #231 gracing both of the keycards, shining brightly against the dark plastic.
“Hey, roomie,” Hoseok grins.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and pretend to be exasperated, “No, not again.”
He puts both of the cards in his pocket and links our arms again, “Yes, again.”
“Come on, Min Yoongi, let’s not be late for the activities. They must be expecting our pair to show up soon!”
I stare at him with a look of pure amusement.
“What’s wrong?” Hoseok asks.
I shake my head, “Nothing. I’m just glad the elevator let us down safely.”
“Same here. But I do you wanna know what I also think?”
I drag myself a bit closer and sigh, “Ugh, what now, Jung Hoseok?”
“Not only do I think that we’ve come down, I think we’re definitely headed up too,” He beams at me.
And this time, this one time, I just have to agree with him.
“Yeah? I think so too,” I say walking forward and out, but not alone, and definitely not unhappy, because I have Hoseok clinging to my side.