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“What's your name?”
“Bae Su-Ji. Nice to meet you.” She grabs your hand in a firm handshake and tucks a loose strand behind her ear. “You can sit by me if you want.”
“T-thanks.” You catch yourself staring at the cute girl before you sit down. Her delicate features, soft porcelain skin, and slightly pink lips make your heart skip a beat. The white dress shirt and black tie seemed a little too formal for the first outing with a school organization but still complimented her complexion beautifully. A deep breath prepares you to sit down before suddenly her hand grasps your wrist, and she pulls you into the seat, scooting closer.
She smiles and “accidentally” grazes her elbow against yours before saying, “You were taking too long to sit down, and I promise. I don’t bite.”
You scoff but fail to hold back a smile as she passes you a menu. “Thank you.”
“Mhm.” She watches while you flip through the menu for something to eat. Nothing caught your eye, it was just an array of sushi and lots of rolls, but you just couldn’t seem to decide on one. “Don't know what to get?”
“There are just too ma–”
“Hello. I noticed that you just got here, so I can take your order now, and hopefully, it'll arrive with the rest of the table.” He wipes off his wet hands on his apron before taking out a notepad.
“Um, sure.” You scan through the menu again, looking for something special, only to see the basic: tuna, salmon, yellowtail sushi, and then some specialty rolls.
“Just in case you wanted to know. My favorite is tuna,” Suzy smiles and points at the bluefin tuna on the menu.
You shake your head and continue looking through. After another few page turns, you sigh and hand the waiter your menu. “Could I have the bluefin tuna, please?”
“Of course,” he smiles, scribbles your order onto his notepad, and grabs the menu. “I’ll have that out for you in a bit.”
Once he disappears into the kitchen, you look down the long table to see a few classmates engaged in an arm-wrestling match, others on their phones. Suzy, meanwhile, leans over the table, her eyes trained on your hands. “Is something wrong?”
“Hm.” Her eyes meet yours for a moment before moving back down. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just— I don’t know, looking at something.”
“Well.” You move your hand until her eyes meet yours. “If you want to talk to me, at least look at me. I'm not that hideous.”
“I didn't say you were hideous.” Her hand traces down your arm. “Actually, if you were to ask me. I think you're pretty cute.”
A crimson blush rises onto your cheeks, and your heart races inside your chest as you scramble for something to say.
“You seem flustered,” she laughs and nudges your foot underneath the table. You open your mouth to say something. “Don't tell me I’m cute either. I've had like twenty different guys tell me that already,” she sighs and looks down the table. “Basically, all of them have. How about you, though? The magical twenty-one. Are you gonna be different?”
“You didn't even let me finish what I was going to say before making an assumption.” You click your tongue and shake your head, watching as she stares at you more intently with a curious expression. “I was going to say… the uniform is pretty cute. It does wonders on you.”
“This?” She looks down at the white dress shirt and loosens her tie. “I came from a uniform school, so it seemed like a cute outfit to wear on the first day.”
“Ah. I like the colors. They’re–”
“Hufflepuff.” Both of you say it simultaneously and burst into a fit of laughter, Suzy leaning onto your shoulder to cover her face.
“There you are!” A voice comes from behind you, and you turn around to see your classmate Fei. “Seems like Suzy’s been keeping you company.”
“Oh, yeah. We’ve just been talking.”
Fei nods her head before softly sighing, a flash of annoyance appearing on her face before she smiles. “Come over to our table. Mark and Lucas are taking everyone to the party later today, and you should come along.”
You scratch your head and look at Suzy, her expression now sullen and lips pursed as she stares at her glass of water. “I think I'll pass today. I've got some work from Professor Campbell that I need to do.”
“Okay then. I'll see you both next week.” Fei leaves to head back to the other table.
Once she's out of earshot, Suzy nudges you with her finger. “How do you have work from Professor Campbell when it's just week one?”
“I’m his research assistant, so there's a little work as we start getting ready for labs. It's just a survey about his class so far,” you smile.
“So you're saying that a ten-minute survey is going to keep you from going to a party?”
“Well… parties aren't really my scene, so I was just gonna come tonight and then leave.” You take a sip of your water. “What about you? I thought you would go with Fei.”
She shakes her head, staring at the water in her glass. “I don’t like parties that much either. Too many annoying boys.” Her expression sours as she sees one of the boys from Fei’s table come towards you. “Speaking of annoying boys.”
“Aw, come on, Suzy. Don't do me like that.” He gives her a weak smile before extending his hand out to you. “Dong-Hyuk. Nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure.” You grasp his hand in a firm handshake and slightly smile. “You’re Biz-Econ?”
“How could you tell?”
“There's a certain energy you all give off.” As you let go of his hand, lines to reject his invitation to a party run through your head.
I’m busy tonight, so I can’t go.
Sorry, bro. I’ve got homework.
Parties just aren’t m–
“So, do you want to go?” Dong-Hyuk pushes you on the shoulder to get your attention. “I can’t get that many people in, but you seem pretty cool, and….” He comes closer until he’s right against your ear. “Fei thought you were pretty cute, so she wants you to be her plus one.”
You let out a sigh and glance at Fei. Her eyes are trained on you as she waits for your response, but when your eyes meet, she quickly looks away, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Yeah, um. I think I’ll pass. Have some work to do and—” You look around for another good excuse. “I think me and Suzy were going to do something after this.”
There’s a stifled laugh beside you as Suzy jams an elbow into your ribs before smiling at Dong-Hyuk. “Yeah, we were gonna go watch the football match together.”
“The football match.” His gaze shifts between the two of you before he sighs and shakes his head. “Next time then.” He squeezes your shoulder.
“The football match?” you smile. “I didn't pin you as a football fan.”
“I only really follow one player, so I don’t know if that qualifies as being a football fan.”
“Let me guess. Son’s your favorite player, so you follow Spurs?”
She takes another sip of water and nods. “I guess you're just able to read right through me, aren't you?”
“Lucky guess.” A satisfied smile forms on your lips, and you glance down at your hands. Your fingers move along the small calluses formed from mornings spent in the gym.
Then there's a clang to your right, and you look up to find the waiter setting down plates of sushi to be passed down the table. “One salmon, six tuna, one bluefin, two yellowtail, one dragon roll, one caterpillar, and one udon.”
“Thanks.” You give the waiter a polite nod once he sets down all the dishes and disappears back into the kitchen before you feel a soft nudge.
“Give me the dishes,” Suzy mouths and grabs the salmon plate. “Who got the salmon!” A hand raises further down the table.
“Who gets salmon?!”
“Yah! Salmon’s better than tuna!”
Suzy smiles to herself and slides the plate to the boy sitting beside her. “Min-Hyuk. This one is Ji-A’s, the girl in the white blouse.”
“Sure.” He takes the plate from her and continues sending it down the line.
“Next! Tuna!” Five hands go up, and Suzy passes it to each of them.
Eventually, she's left with just one plate of bluefin left, which she slides between the two of you. “And this one is for us,” she smiles and takes one piece off your dish, setting it on her plate.
“Us?” You look at your small plate of sushi, now a quarter gone already. The tuna has a slight sheen on top with a few slices of onion that contrast with the vibrant red of the fish.
“Are you going to eat, or am I just going to stare at you all night?”
“Maybe I’m okay with just having you stare at me all night,” you tease before picking up a piece of sushi.
“Cheers!” Suzy dinks her piece with yours before placing it into her mouth. “Mmmmm.” Her shoulders move up and down in a cute dance while she closes her eyes and slowly chews the fish.
You almost forget to eat your piece, content with watching her eat. Once she finishes, she grabs another piece from your plate and raises it towards your mouth. “I can feed myself.” You bring your chopsticks to your lips only to have them moved aside.
An amused sigh leaves your lips, and you let her place the piece onto your tongue. It’s soft, succulent, and different from anything else you’ve ever had.
“Well?” Suzy stares at you as you finish the last of your sushi, her chin resting on her hand, back turned to the rest of the table. “How was it?”
“Not too bad,” you smile and take a piece from her plate. It’s not quite as meaty and is a little saltier. “No wonder you took one of mine. That’s not nearly as good.”
“Yeah, I know, and I don’t have to pay twice as much for it.” She snatches another piece from your dish, emptying the plate. “And… now it seems like we’re done before everyone else.” There’s a coy smile on her face before she spots Fei’s table leaving together, and she breathes out an annoyed sigh.
“Guess we’re going to watch the football game tonight, aren’t we?”
Suzy glances down at her phone. “If you want to make it in time, we’d better get going. The game starts in half an hour.” Climbing out of her seat, she taps Dong-Hyuk beside her and waves goodbye to him before the rest of the table starts waving and saying goodbye to both of you. “It was nice meeting you all!” Before you know it, she grabs onto your wrist and drags you to the cashier. “We were at the large table, but we have to leave early, so we’ll pay first.”
“Sure. What did you have?”
“One bluefin and one tuna.” Suzy goes through her purse and takes out her wallet, but you calmly pull her away from the card reader and insert your card into the slot.
“I’ve got it,” you whisper in her ear and nod at the cashier. There are a few mechanical clicking noises as the receipt prints out before the cashier rips it from the machine and passes you a pen to sign.
“Have a good night, then,” he says with a smile once you pass him the receipt.
‘Thank youuu.” Suzy grabs onto your hand and drags you out the door. Once you step outside, she glances down at her phone and shows you the time. “We have twenty minutes left. Any ideas?”
The air is slightly cold outside on a lovely spring night. Students walk around in small packs, moving through the college town on a Friday evening en route to a party or the basketball game. Suzy looks up at you, her beautiful doe eyes undoubtedly entrancing. You notice her take a deep breath as she begins to shiver. “I have a friend who works in the local bar. If you don’t mind the smell of alcohol, we can watch there,” you say, slipping off your coat before draping it over her shoulders. “Wear this. You’re shivering.”
“Thanks.” She holds onto the inside of the coat with her hands, bringing it closer to her body. Her cheeks are flushed a rosy red, and she huddles closer as you lead her to the bar.
The bar bustles with people, older students, some TAs, and a few that looked mysteriously like some of your classmates. Your friend stands in the front and notices you right away.
“Ji-Hoon!” You grab his hand and pat him on the back. “Can we go in? We’re kind of in a rush right now.”
“Sure, bro.” His eyes follow Suzy as she walks inside, but he stops you for a second. “Already on week one?” he whispers, a cheeky grin on his face.
“Just a new friend,” you say, giving him a pat on the back before you follow after Suzy.
“I’m here!” Her voice rings from across the bar, and you find her in a small booth with a good view of the TV. “We made it just in time,” she says, pointing at the screen as the lineups are introduced.
“Just barely.” A sigh leaves your lips as you sit down beside her. “Your favorite player is playing.” Your eyes follow the number seven in white as he runs up and down the pitch. Both sides have a unique style of play, fluid, graceful attacking football from Spurs and defensively consolidated football from Arsenal.
After a few changes in possession, Arsenal steal the ball from midfield and launch a run down edge of the pitch. It only takes a few moments for them to move the ball into the feet of their lone midfield. A sharp breath comes from your side, and Suzy’s hand grabs onto yours as Ozil gets one-on-one with the goalkeeper before curling a shot to Lloris’s right. When the ball hits the back of the net, you can feel Suzy's head against your shoulder, a frustrated sigh leaving her lips.
“Why didn’t I support a team with an actual defense?” she mumbles, content with not watching the celebration. Spurs kick off the ball again, but Suzy continues to lean against you, her hand still holding onto yours.
“It'll be okay. You still have the best attackers in the league.” After a short run of play, you move her off your shoulder and whisper, “Let me go get a soju or something.”
“Yeah, sure.” Her fingers unlace themselves from yours. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Your heart beats nervously as you approach the bartender, his attention focused on another patron before he looks towards you. “What can I get for you?”
“A bottle of soju.” He opens the fridge behind him. “The lychee flavor, please.”
The bottle clinks down onto the wooden countertop along with two small shot glasses. “It'll be ten dollars.”
You can feel your heart race as you slide your card across the bar. It slowly gets faster and faster when he rotates the card between his fingers. “You just turned 21?”
“Ye-yeah, just a few days ago.”
He nods and glances toward Suzy sitting by herself at the small table. She’s staring at both of you, obviously wondering what's taking you so long to get back. “Your girlfriend?”
“No. I just met her a few hours ago,” you smile shyly and glance towards her.
“Hurry back!” she mouths, motioning for you to sit back down.
“Well… you’d better get back to her.” He hands you back your card and gives you a quick wink before moving to another patron.
You let out a relieved sigh and grab the bottle between your fingers. “Sorry that it took so long.”
“Hurry up and sit down! We’re on the counter!” She doesn't even wait for you to set the bottle on the table before she pulls you down beside her and leans against your shoulder. “Oh, wait, a cross! Yes!!!!!” Her hand grabs onto your shirt, yanking you up as half the bar erupts in celebration. “We’re tied! We tied it!!!”
“Yeah, they di–” You feel her arms wrap around your waist. Each beat of your heart becomes more apparent with every passing moment. “Su-j–”
“O-Oh… sorry. I got too excited.” She quickly lets go of you, her lips in a slight pout, before sitting back down as kick-off begins again.
You nod and slide her a drink. “Care for a shot?”
“Yes, please,” she smiles and holds the glass with both hands as you fill it to half full.
“Cheers!” Your glasses dink together before you down them in one go.
“Another one?”
“Sure.” You patiently wait as she fills your glasses to the brim. “Isn't this a bit muc–”
“Cheers!” She holds her glass up and eyes you expectantly.
An amused sigh leaves your lips, and you fail to hide your smile as you take another shot with her. “No.” You grab onto her wrist before she pours another glass. “We can have as much as we want if Spurs win.”
“Deal.” Her cheeks are flushed, the smell of alcohol mixing with her scent of lilacs as she pulls you down and leans on your shoulder. “Don't even think about taking back that bet.”
“Sure.”
The game continues the same as before halftime, a defensively solid Arsenal side repelling constant attacks.
The clock ticks past the 85th minute, and you stack the shot glasses, confident you could leave without having another drop of alcohol. Suddenly, Arsenal turnover the ball at the halfway line, and Kane gets the ball at the edge of the box.
With a pleased smile, Suzy unstacks the glasses and opens the bottle, not even looking at the screen as the ball rifles into the top corner, and the bar erupts for the second time.
“Godda–”
“First of many.” She slides the glass towards you. “That was a good game.”
“Yeah.”
Her empty glass slams back down on the table. “I just realized that we haven't done the regular introductions yet, so what's your major?”
“Undeclared at the moment.”
She laughs and refills both glasses. “I'm a finance major, so I'm taking classes with Dong-Hyuk and all of them.”
“So that's how you know them.”
“Mhm.” Another shot down. Her cheeks are a bright red as she sifts through her purse for her phone before she quickly opens it and pulls up Instagram. “Do you have Insta?”
“Yeah.” You quickly type in your username and follow yourself as a notification instantly pings your phone.
She starts to scroll through your page. “You only take nature shots. Actually, I really like this one.” It's a photo you took from a small island in the center of a lake that you swam out to. There's a beautiful cool hue that accentuates the blue of the water and the brilliant sky while darkening the mountains in the backdrop.
“That's one of my favorites too.” You take your phone and open up her Instagram. Skuukzky. There are various photos of her with her friends back in Seoul and a few more recent photoshoots, with the photographers and magazines tagged. “You model?”
“Yeah. I used to do commercials back home, so my agency booked me for a few shoots while I’m in school.” She eyes you as you continue scrolling through her account. “And you’re the first person I’ve given my Insta to!”
“What?”
“I don’t give my social out to anyone.” She points at her low following count. “I try and keep it a secret from people around me, so please...” Her finger goes over your lips. “Don’t tell anyone about it. Please.”
“Yeah, sure.” You grab the bottle of soju to pour yourself another glass but turn it over only to find it empty. “How much did you drink?”
“I must’ve finished the bottle by accident,” she pouts. “Sorry.”
You shake your head and stack the shot glasses on top of each other before standing up. “Let me take you back to your room.”
Suzy slides to the edge of the booth and holds onto the table as she shakily stands up. “I must’ve had a bit too much to dr–” You grab onto her once she takes a few steps and loses her balance. “It’s fine. I can walk by myself.” She pushes you away and tries to take a few more steps, only to lose her balance again.
“I’ll help you back.”
A cold breeze blows past as you step outside, more than cold enough for your breath to form a cloud whenever you exhale. “D-damn, it’s s-so c-cold,” Suzy shivers, holding her yellow cardigan closer.
“Just keep my coat for tonight.” You tremble and wrap your arms around your body, the air feeling far chillier without the extra layer. “What dorm do you live in?”
“Haines, so it’s pretty far. You don’t ha—”
“It’s not a big deal. I can walk you up there.”
After a few tense moments, Suzy sighs. “If you really want to….”
Not knowing how to respond, you just nod and let the conversation descend into silence.
The moon looks beautiful tonight. It was already higher than the city skyline, full and a brilliant white, the only source of light in an otherwise starless sky.
It wasn’t much different in the city around you. The black streetlights that wound on the path up the hill were dim, a few ominously blinking on and off. There wasn’t much color either. The patches of grass were a drab green from lack of rain, and all the flowers had begun to wither from the unusual cold.
Once you step underneath the brightest streetlight, Suzy suddenly stops and grabs onto your sleeve. “Am I hard to talk to?”
“No.” You look at her, slightly puzzled. “Where’d you get that idea?”
“It’s just… we’ve walked half a mile, and you haven’t even looked at me, let alone spoken to me,” she says nervously, her eyes locked to the ground.
“No, it’s just….” You run your hands through your hair and nervously suck in the air between your teeth. “I’m not the best at talking to people. Sorry.”
“No. No.” She waves her hands and shakes her head. “That’s not what I meant. I just thought I was hard to talk to.”
“Don’t worry about that. I actually really like talking with you.”
Suzy freezes and cups her face before mouthing something to herself. “Yeah. I like y— talking to you too.”
“Perfect.” You quickly tuck her arm into your and tug her up the hill. “Let’s just get back first. I’m freezing to death.”
“Let’s run!”.
“Wha—” You’re caught off guard as she removes her arm from yours and grabs your hand. “Su-j—”
“Hurry up!” she laughs.
The sight of her takes your breath away. How her hair blows to the side whenever she looks back, her brilliant smile whenever she laughs, the slight rosy tone of her complexion accentuated by the moon’s white light.
Once you’re about halfway up the hill, she suddenly stops and leans on your shoulder. “Maybe, we shouldn’t have run.”
“A little early to be out of breath,” you chuckle, pulling her forward. “Come on. We have to get you to bed.”
She shakes her head and slips her hand out of yours before running off the path.
“Where are you going?!” You follow after her through the small paths of your dimly lit school.
The moonlight shines off the tall brick buildings while the white roses perfume the path with their lovely aroma. It feels magical in some sense, almost like a fairytale. The charming prince chases after his future bride underneath the brilliant light of the moon through a maze of roses. Even the faint sound of her laughter as she dashes just out of reach sounds melodic.
Then as you run past the school of music, the sound of her beautiful laugh dies out and turning the corner into the sculpture garden, you’re left breathless.
Her hair flows over one shoulder as she stares at her reflection in the fountain. The moonlight reflecting off the water gives her an aura of light emanating from the pool. There’s a slight smile on her lips as she drags her hand through the water, her eyes totally focused on the reflection beside her.
“Stopped running?”
She just nods and waits for you to sit down before taking her hand out of the water. “Maybe the alcohol’s finally getting to me.” Her voice is soft, barely louder than a whisper. “Sorry for making you run so much. Now it’ll be even more tiring to get back.”
“Nah, it’s fine.”
You place your hand into the water, the cold doing little to wake any more of your senses, but drawing lines feels awfully amusing. Her hand follows behind yours, tracing the exact star shape you’re drawing. Suddenly, you feel a few droplets of water on the tip of your nose and look up to see a gleeful smile, her finger just barely touching your nose. “Boink.”
Her cute laugh fills the night air again when you push against her finger again. “Boink. Boink.”
“What was that?” she laughs before closing her eyes as your wet hand touches her nose.
“Come on then. Make the sound.” Your fingers lightly pinch her nose, occasionally pulling her from side to side.
“Oink!” Her voice is nasally and comedically pig-like, making you burst into a fit of laughter as you let go of her nose.
She has a slight pout on her face once she opens her eyes. “Yah! You annoying jer—!” Her hands push on your chest as hard as she can.
It wasn’t a hard shove, just unexpected, so all you see as you fall back are her wide eyes as she tries to grab your hands before feeling the cold fountain water soak your back.
“I’m sorry!” She pulls you out of the water and pats her hands over your shirt. “It’s so wet.”
That’s what she said. “It’s not that cold.” You start unbuttoning your shirt.
“What are you doing!” Her hand quickly covers her eyes, and she turns away.
“I have a T-shirt underneath,” you laugh and take off your outer shirt. “Could you get my coat?” She hands you the coat which had been sitting beside her the entire time. “This should be fine,” you say, putting on the coat before quickly glancing at your phone. “It’s almost one already. Let’s go back.”
“Yeah.”
She doesn’t say anything else and dusts off her skirt. Her eyes are glued to the ground, and she avoids your gaze.
You take a deep breath, and your heart starts to beat faster at the thought of what you want to do. After a few moments of silence where she continues to avoid looking at you, you grab onto her wrist and pull her towards the dorms. When she feels your hand, she stares at your hand wrapped around her wrist before looking up at you. “Just so you don’t run off.”
“S-Sure,” she stammers, a crimson blush appearing on her cheeks, accentuated by the white light of the moon as you lead her back through the school.
From there, it’s a few minutes before you reach the buildings at the top of the hill. A few students are still wandering about, returning home in their party outfits, reeking of alcohol. No one seems to bat an eye as you drag her up the hill to her dorm.
Eventually, after a few flights of stairs and a few close calls with her almost tripping, you make it to the roundabout in front of her building. You then quickly let go of her hand but don’t move from her side. “You should go in then.”
“Don’t you have something you want to ask me first?”
You meet her eyes, an expectant look on her face. “I don’t think so.….”
A long sigh leaves her lips, and she rubs her temples. “Give me your phone.” She holds out her hand. When you don’t put it in right away, she grabs it from your pocket. “Must I do everything? Passcode?”
“0-1-0-2-0-3.”
There’s a slight smile on her face as she enters the code. She then quickly pulls up the dial pad and enters her number. A short ringtone to the tune of Fur Elise confirms it’s the right number before she starts entering in her contact information. Bae Su-Ji. New Best Friend. “Typically, when you have a good date with a girl. You get her number. Why?” She hands you back your phone. “It’s so she remembers to go on a second date.”
“Than—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, dummy. Chemistry. I’ll be in the second row to the right. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” She has a cheeky smile as she stands there for another moment, looking up at the sky. Her foot taps against the ground to the fast rhythm of your heart. Suddenly, you feel her lips press against your cheek and your heart beating out of your chest before she pulls away and dashes into the building.