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It was stupid.
Yu Jimin never thought her parents would be the type to ship her off to some random, fancy, “boarding” school after being caught in a compromising position with a friend from summer camp.
They would reassure her. “It’s not because your friend is a girl. We just think this would be a great learning experience for you!”
It wasn’t exactly adding up, especially with the timing of it all. Nonetheless, who is she to deny a fancy boarding school experience in Europe? She just hoped the people were cool.
After being in the car for what felt like hours and hours through the high mountains, the road narrowed into a windy, gravel driveway. Her jaw dropped at the sight that met her eyes.
There, at the very end of the driveway, was a castle.
Jimin was still in awe, even when the driver opened the door for her to get out. “Your parent’s send their well wishes.” He helps unload her bags and promptly leaves after a curt bow.
Before she could figure out what her next step would be, two girls around her age emerge from the double doors. Wearing bright and practiced smiles, they stop right in front of her. Jimin shifts awkwardly under their attention.
Pretty girls always made her a little bit nervous.
“Yu Jimin? We are your welcome committee!” The taller of the two exclaims with her arms open wide. “I’m Yunjin. You’re going to have a blast here.”
The other girl scoffs, but it’s clearly playful. “And I’m Aeri. We were told to give you the tour of the facility since our resident advisor is preoccupied with other duties at the moment.”
Jimin watches the two snicker like there was some sort of inside joke she was missing out on. “Oh, okay. Nice to meet you guys.”
She follow them inside, sticking close by even though the place was pretty empty. “Classes start at ten o’clock sharp.” That explains the lack of people, it was only eight o’clock in the morning.
For such a large building, the hallways and stairwells were pretty old and narrow, but so beautifully rustic. Yunjin points to a hall to their left. “That’s where we have morning classes, and down around the corner is where we have our afternoon classes.”
Jimin tried her best not to be overwhelmed by everything. She took in every bit of information Yunjin and Aeri fed her and hoped it would get filed away in her brain somewhere easily accessible. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself the first week there.
They ride an elevator up a few stories and Jimin wonders how old this elevator must be when it rattles at the arrival to their floor. “You’ll get used to it.” Yunjin pats her shoulder.
“This is the floor for the dorms. Usually, they allow people to choose roommates, but since you’re the last one—“
“Your roommate is Ningning. She’s super chill, don’t worry.”
Aeri gives Yunjin a look. “Bro, don’t interrupt me.” They walk her to the end of the hallway and stop in front of a door that had a drawing of a butterfly taped to the front. Jimin held her breathe. She was about to meet the person whom she would be sharing a room with for the entire school year.
After a struggle with the keys, Aeri manages to get the door open. “That concludes the tour! Feel free to reach out to either of us or the resident advisor if you ever have any problems.”
Jimin nods. “Thank you.”
Yunjin offers her a goofy salute and Aeri gives her a polite wave goodbye. Jimin sucks in another breath and bumbles into her new dorm room. The lights were off, but enough morning light peeked through the closed blinds for her to be able to navigate through the unknown territory.
Besides, she did not want to wake her roommate up by switching on the lights.
She rolls her luggage to set it quietly besides the foot of the empty bed. Jimin still hasn’t let her eyes completely wander over to the other side of the room, but when she hears a person stir in their sleep, her head whips around in fear.
Jimin sees the outline of a body under the covers and a pillow covering a head. This was such an awkward way to meet someone.
Seeing as it would be pointless to stick around in the dorm if she wasn’t going back to bed, Jimin makes the decision to introduce herself to her roommate later, and scurries back out the door.
Just as she was carefully closing her door, she hears the sound of another door opening on the other end of the hall. Jimin freezes, not only realizing she forgot to ask the girls for the key to her room, but at the possibility of having to interact with somebody.
“Hey, you.” The voice grew closer. Without thinking, Jimin turns towards the wall. She couldn’t bear to handle this stranger witnessing the embarrassment written all over her face. “Hello?” The voice was now right behind her.
“Hi?” She manages to squeak out.
“What’s your name?”
“Yu Jimin?”
The girl laughs, and it tickles Jimin’s ears in a specific way. In a good way. “Are you sure about that?” She shuts her eyes tight when she feels a soft hand on her shoulder.
Jimin clumsily twirls around, bumping into the other girl, not realizing just how close she was. Her eyes burst open and all she sees is a smaller girl tumbling backwards.
Without a second thought, she reaches forward to save her from falling. But, Jimin being Jimin, they end up falling to the floor together. With Jimin right on top of the poor stranger.
“Oof!”
Jimin opts to shriek. “I’m so sorry!” She manages to scramble off of her. Praying that the other girl hadn’t been hurt, she does a quick scan. Of course. Another breathtakingly, gorgeous girl.
“Wow, you know how to do first impressions, huh?”
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Jimin gets to her feet and warily extends a hand to help, but she could see the hesitance in the stranger’s eyes.
“I’m good. I’ll just sit here for a second.”
Jimin starts to shake with nerves, holding herself back from flailing her arms like she always does in a panicked state. “Are you hurt? Should I go ask for help? I’m so sorry.”
The stranger must have sensed her rising worry. “Look, it’s alright! Come join me back on the ground if you’d like.” And ever so casually, she shot Jimin the most magical smile she’s ever seen.
In a trance, she lowers herself back onto the ground. The stranger sticks out her hand. “I’m Minjeong, the resident advisor. It’s nice to meet you, Jimin. I apologize for not being there to give you the tour myself.”
Jimin stares at Minjeong’s outstretched hand, feeling a force pull her. She slides her hand in hers. Jimin gulps, feeling her palm begin to tingle.
This was terrible. It hadn’t even been an hour here and Jimin was already falling for someone. Quite literally.
“I’m so sorry.” She whispers, still in a daze. Minjeong’s eyes were mesmerizing, hypnotizing her.
“You’re going to have to start giving me a dollar every time you say sorry.”
This brings Jimin back. “W-What?”
Minjeong smiles that magical smile again, and Jimin’s stomach flips.