Chapter Text
Staring out of the car window at the trees passing by Sullyoon couldn't help but smile, today was finally the day, today she'd be starting college. High school hadn't been the easiest for Sullyoon, she moved to a new school her junior year and was never really able to fit in, preestablished groups forced her into an isolation that led to a challenging time in her life. But that all changes now, a fresh start is awaiting her, just the thought of a chance at a new start has Sullyoon smiling uncontrollably. A serene sigh escapes her lips as the car glides across the highway, the sun rising in the distance, representing her new beginning.
After a few more hours of driving Sullyoon finally catches a glimpse of the campus in the distance, buildings upon buildings strewn about like sprinkles on a cake. The promise of her future held within the grounds in front of her.
"Ok we're at your dorm building sweetheart" her mother calls from the drivers seat. The car stops in front of a quaint brick three story building that's now going to be home for Sullyoon. With excitement flowing through her Sullyoon leaps out of the car and pops open the trunk where her luggage is. Given the fact that Sullyoon had never had a very big closet she only had a few bags. So she and her mom are able to get all of them without having to make multiple trips. Outside of the dorm entrance a welcome table is set up with two friendly looking students giving new students their room number and keys. Sullyoon walks up to the girl on the left side of the desk "Hi there! Welcome to your new home, can I please get your name?" Sullyoon cant help but feel comforted by the warm welcome, glancing at the girls nametag it reads Chaewon, with a smile Sullyoon responds "Hi, my name is Seol Yoona". "Seol Yoona" Chaewon scans the sheet in front of her until she eventually finds her name "Perfect, youre in room 225, that'll be on the second floor, here's your key, I also believe your roommate already checked in earlier". Hearing this Sullyoons ears perked up, she was so excited to have a roommate, an opportunity for a new friend thrilled her beyond belief. "Awesome thank you so much!" Chaewon flashed a smile and began helping the girl behind Sullyoon. With her key in hand Sullyoon and her mother stood in the elevator as a gentle ding signaled the start of her new life, the doors opened to the second floor, the hallway was admittedly plain and long but that wasn't necessarily a big deal. Walking down the hallways and scanning the walls Sullyoon eventually spotted her room number, 225. A wide smiled formed as she reached for her key and set it in the lock, twisting it with a shaky hand she hears it click, with one more deep breath she finally pushes the door open.
One glance and Sullyoon quickly realized that her perfect picture she had in her head of university life was unbelievably naive. What greeted her could only be described as chaos, bags were strewn everywhere, clothes littering the floor, and horrific music pumping out of a speaker. And in the middle of it all stood her roommate. Off first glance the girl radiated chaos, Sullyoon gauged that she was probably a little taller than her, with short blonde hair, sharp hazel eyes, pale skin, and a quirky smile. There was no denying that the girl was beautiful, but in a troublemaker type of way, like a poisonous frog, beautiful but dangerous. Her roommate glanced at Sullyoon for a few seconds before her lips dropped the smile and pressed into a thin frown, she stared at sullyoon with a calculating glance, awkward silence filled the room only dispersed by the music from the speaker in the corner. After what felt like an eternity but was really only a few seconds her roommate finally spoke "Hey... I'm Bae, Bae Jinsol." The words came out with almost zero energy or emotion, Sullyoon didn't really understand Bae's mood but she introduced herself anyways "Hi Bae, my name is Seol Yoona, but people just call me Sullyoon." Bae just nodded slightly and turned to her bags and continued unpacking without another word, Sullyoon didn't understand why Bae was being so rude, and the fear of isolation crept into Sullyoon once more. "Sullyoon, all your bags are in the room so I'm going to head back home" her mothers voice snapped Sullyoon out of her thoughts, she walked to her mom and gave her a big hug "Thanks for bringing me mom, I love you." Her mom returned the hug and smiled down at her daughter "good luck this semester sweetheart, I'll call you all the time." "I'd like that Mom", With one final hug her mom turned around, shut the door and left.
“Hey yoona” Sullyoon head snaps to the side hearing her real name. Bae is looking at her with a slight scowl.
“Um please don’t call me Yoona”
“Why not”
“Because I’m asking you not to?”.
Bae gives a loud scoff “whatever then Sullyoon.” Bae’s tone is a level of bitter that makes almost zero since for two people just meeting
“Why’d you say my name anyways” Sullyoon says with a sigh, there’s no point even trying to understand Bae’s attitude towards her at this point.
“I was just going to let you know that our orientation is in an hour at the union hall”
Sullyoon was floored by the simple fact that Bae gave even the slightest bit of kindness towards her “oh, uh well thank you.” Bae gave a tsk and that was it.
For the next hour Bae and Sullyoon unpacked in dead silence, Bae didn't care to organize her side and it was a disaster, but given the fact that she was lounging on her bed watching YouTube she clearly felt she had unpacked well enough.
Sullyoon however was meticulously organized, clothes put away and sorted neatly, her bed made pristinely, and her desk organized with supplies and her computer.
Eventually it was time to head to orientation, Sullyoon was excited to meet new people and start building relationships, Bae on the other hand was asleep on her bed snoring softly.
Sullyoon glanced over to Bae sleeping and had a choice too make, does she wake her up and risk annoying her, or does she let her sleep and risk Bae being annoyed at her for not waking her up. A brutal situation for the socially awkward Sullyoon, especially considering Baes attitude towards her so far. After a moment of consideration she decided to take the risk and wake Bae up, knowing she shouldn't miss orientation. So with a shaky hand Sullyoon gently shakes Bae's shoulder "Psst, Bae, Wake up". Bae shoots up instantly in an almost creepy way, looking like dracula. She has a irked expression on her face so Sullyoon quickly explains.
"Sorry to wake you, I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss orientation since its about to start." Sullyoon kicks herself mentally for sounding so frail and intimidated.
Baes face grows softer and she sighs out "Thanks".
Sullyoon cant help but have a little smile, it was clear that waking Bae up was the right choice. Sullyoon glances at the time on her phone its 15 minutes to orientation. but Sullyoon wants to get there a little early so she calls out "I'm going to leave now so I'll see you there." Bae just nods her head and frowns, which is about the most acknowledgement Sullyoon was really expecting. With a sigh Sullyoon grabs her backpack and leaves the room.
-
When Sullyoon finally leaves the room Bae drops the mean girl act and lets out a loud sigh. "This is gonna be a long year".
-
It took Sullyoon a little while to find the union hall but eventually she did, it was pretty easy once she saw the building with a big "Orientation" sign and dozens of students mingling in front. Sullyoon takes in a deep breath, this is her chance, she can finally meet new people who aren't already in longstanding friend groups, new people who wont shut her out.
Sullyoon looks around to see if there's anybody she should approach, first she sees a group of five girls in a little semicircle laughing and chatting, deciding that's way to many people to approach she looks for somebody else, that's when she spots a short girl with long brown hair staring up into the sky with a smile on her face. Seeing her alone Sullyoon immediately takes her shot and approaches her.
The girl notices her walking over and a huge smile appears on her face, she skips over too Sullyoon cutting the gap between them. Once she's in range she holds out her hand expectantly and says excitedly "hey there my name is Kim Jiwoo, that's J i w o o, Jiwoo Jiwoo Jiwoo!". Sullyoon is taken aback by the girls energy but can't deny that its infectious so with a small laugh she shakes Jiwoos hand an introduces herself "Hi Jiwoo, my names Seol Yoona, but people call me Sullyoon".
"Ah Sullyoon what a pretty name, it's a pleasure to meet you!".
"You as well Jiwoo".
Sullyoon can't believe how kind and welcoming this girl is, nothing like the people she's been used to over the last few years.
"Oh! Sullyoon a few other girls I was talking with earlier are saving me a spot in the auditorium, do you want to join us?". Jiwoo looks at her expectantly with a smile on her face. Sullyoon can't believe the opportunity she's getting right away to meet new friends so with the biggest smile she's given all day she responds "I'd love too!". Jiwoos face lights up and she snatches Sullyoons hand and practically drags her inside.
The union auditorium is huge and slightly intimidating for Sullyoon, luckily with Jiwoo dragging her by the hand she doesnt need to worry about getting lost. After walking through the maze of chairs Jiwoo finally stops in front of 3 girls all sitting near the front of the auditorium. The girls notice Jiwoo and give her a wave, then they all notice Sullyoon standing awkwardly behind Jiwoo. Jiwoo quickly catches on to the tone shift and saves it "Guys this is my new friend, I just met her and asked her to join us, why don't you introduce yourself."
The three girls stare up at Sullyoon expectantly, Sullyoon swallows back her nerves and speaks "Hello, my name is Seol Yoona, but people call me Sullyoon, I hope we can get to know each other this semester." Sullyoon internally kicks herself for sounding so shaky and quiet. At first none of the three girls say anything, they just look at each other for a moment, then as if they all agreed on something telepathically they nod.
"You are just adorable!!!!" Sullyoon perks up hearing the first girl excitedly shout that out.
"Seriously just the cutest," the second girl agrees. Sullyoon cant help but flush from the girls forwardness.
"Well Sullyoon, don't just stand there, sit down lets get to know each other." The last girl is much more calm and sullyoon can finally breath a sigh of relief, these people are much kinder than what she's been used too.
Sullyoon sits next to Jiwoo on the edge of the row, and for the first time she takes a good look at the three girls, the first girl who called her adorable has longer blonde hair, and almost has a pixie like look to her face, Sullyoon gauges her to be the excited type by how her leg hasn't stopped bouncing. The second girl who called her the "cutest" kind of looks like Jiwoo with darker hair, and the last girl who she gauged as calm has a confident aura about her, which slightly intimidates her.
Sullyoon finally speaks up, "Uh may I ask your guys' names?" The three girls smile and introduce themselves.
The blonde girl goes first "My name is Lily Morrow" Sullyoon realizes this girl has a strong accent that is extremely charming
The Jiwoo lookalike speaks next "You can call me Kyujin!"
The last girl introduces herself "Hey, I'm Haewon." Sullyoon smiles at the three of them, realizing these could end up being her close friends soon.
-
It's been about 10 minutes and Sullyoon can't stop smiling, even after just 10 minutes with these 4 girls she can just tell they're gonna be great friends, Lily is a ball of joy, Kyujin is the sweetest, Haewon is so cool, and Jiwoo is liveliness personified. Staring at the four new phone numbers saved on her phone she has to catch herself from getting to happy, she just never had this type of chance in high school so having 4 new friends this fast was a miracle. Sullyoon didn't think anything could ruin her great mood until she saw her, standing idly off to the side talking to two girls was Bae. Seeing her reminded Sullyoon of the poor start they got off to, and considering she was her roommate for the next year that scared her. Bae glanced over to a staring Sullyoon and she quickly darted her glance away. But she knows Bae saw her staring, this awkwardness was gonna be the death of her.
"Who's the girl you're staring at?" Sullyoon is snapped out her thoughts by Haewon. Sullyoon lets out a loud sigh "My roommate." All 4 girls are very intrigued by this information. "Why are you looking at her with so much animosity?" Lily asks.
"Well she's been super rude too me ever since I walked into our room, I don't even know her so I don't really understand what's up with her attitude, and I'm concerned that we got off to a bad start, especially since we're going to be living with each other for the next 9 months." The other girls take a moment to digest the info until finally Jiwoo pops up from her chair "I'm gonna go talk to her"
"No Jiwoo don-" but it's too late, Sullyoon stares in horror as Jiwoo walks over quickly too Bae.
---
Bae is having a conversation with some people when she feels a tap on her shoulder, she flinches a little and then looks to see a short girl with brown hair and a frown staring up at her. "um can I help you?" Bae tries to start off polite but the girl doesn't stop with the frown, she takes a deep breathe before speaking "listen here you bi--" before the girl can say anything a blonde girl covers her mouth from behind. "Sorry about her, she's just really excited." And then the blonde drags the other girl away, Bae can't even process what just happened, it feels straight out of a comedy show, but then she notices it, a little bit in the distance is her. She's trying to talk to the brown hair girl, who's still ranting about something. Bae quickly catches on, she must be one of Sullyoons friends, and Sullyoon probably told her about Bae's attitude. "This sucks" Bae sighs out.
----
After the Jiwoo incident the rest of orientation was a success, Sullyoon was thrilled to learn that Kyujin had the same major as her so they would probably have some classes together, the rest of the girls had different schedules, but it was fine as long as they stayed connected. She also learned that Lily lived in the same dorm building just on the 1st floor, so that was another connection she could easily have. After orientation everybody went their separate ways since it was getting late, that meant Sullyoon was currently walking back to her dorm. Lily is walking with her and they're having a casual conversation. Turns out Lily is from Australia, so Sullyoon had tons of questions about that. But then it hit Sullyoon, she's gonna have to be in a room with Bae for an entire night. Lily catches on to Sullyoons shift in mood, "hey, maybe she's just having a bad day or something, it is stressful starting college, just give her some time, and try to be as nice as possible." Sullyoon knows Lily is probably right but she can't shake the bad feeling about Bae. After a while Lily separates on the 1st floor with a wave, meaning it's do or die time for Sullyoon.
With a heavy breath Sullyoon slides her key into the lock and opens the door, Bae is sitting on her bed typing away at her computer, but when she see's Sullyoon she closes her computer.
Bae looks at her for a long pause and finally says "We need to talk"
--
Sullyoon can only stare blankly at the short haired girl, after a bit of a staring contest Bae lets out a loud groan "Listen, I don't exactly appreciate being approached by one of your friends to be yelled at, try and keep her under control." Sullyoon can only stare mouth agape, is she seriously that annoyed over a little thing, its not even that big of a deal. Sullyoon lets out a bitter laugh "well maybe she wouldn't have been angry with you if you were a little nicer." Sullyoon quickly clasps a hand over her mouth, that just slipped out before she could even think about what she was saying, Lily's voice echoed in her head "give it time, be as nice as possible" and Sullyoon immediately failed that. Bae raises an eyebrow and frowns "whatever, just keep your weirdo friends away from me, she embarrassed me in front of some upperclassmen." Sullyoon is beside herself "hey! You can be rude to me, but don't call my friends weird. And I'm glad you got embarrassed before you could embarrass yourself with your nasty attitude." Upon hearing this Bae shoots up from her bed and walks right to Sullyoon, she stops face to face, just inches from Sullyoon. Sullyoon can smell her floral perfume, and see the specks of gold in her eyes, even in the high tension situation the only thing on her mind is how beautiful this mean girl is up close.
After a beat of silence Bae finally speaks "the only one embarrassing themself here is you, that shy and quaint attitude you have, give me a break, you act like a little kid, it's pitiful to watch." Sullyoon is flabbergasted, this girl is an absolute bitch!
Sullyoon in a fit of anger gets even closer, at this rate their noses are basically touching, if it had any affect on Bae she didn't show it because she kept the exact same scowl "Alright Bae Jinsol, I'm not quite sure what the hell your problem is, but if this is how you're going to talk to me I'm not even gonna bother keeping a nice act towards you, because frankly you are a mean bitch, I haven't done anything to you but from the moment you saw me you've been rude, if you won't at least tell me why I don't see a need for us to speak anymore this year." For the first time Bae gives a smile, but it's not a nice one "nothing would make me happier then not having to talk to you anymore"
"Fine"
"Fine!"
And with that Bae gently shoves Sullyoon back throws on headphones and jumps back into her bed. Sullyoon cannot believe what just happened, when was the last time she spoke like that to somebody, Ever? After a few moments she manages to drag herself to bed and lay down, knowing she has a long day of classes ahead of her she sighs and turns off the light and goes to bed,
--
Bae is quite literally shaking, why on earth is this girl having such a strong affect on her, from the second she laid her eyes on her new roommate walking through the door she was enthralled. Bae wasn't sure she'd ever seen somebody so beautiful in her life, with her long hair, adorable face, and the cute smile she had when she walked into the room for the first time. Bae couldn't help but get nervous and when Bae gets nervous, she get's rude as a defense mechanism. It's truly impressive she messed up her relationship with a cute girl that fast, but hey she did. During their argument it took all her composure to stay blank faced when Sullyoon pushed nose to nose with her, internally she was freaking out but externally she kept her cool. Either way it doesn't matter, their relationship is trashed already, with a long sigh Bae tries to sleep, images of her roommates face clouding her dreams.