As if we were waiting
We bloom until we ache

After the assembly in the main auditorium, you and Samantha left Brendon to go back to your cars to park at the Yura Mudong Residence.

The boys' residence is another section in the same building from your residence entrance. Each floor has its common area, which is always buzzing. It seems most of the first years found a place in the residence.

Some are there with their families. You can see lots of luggage, bedding, boxes of foodstuff, etc. They are very excited to begin their young adult life at university.

Every floor has four units for two roomies, four single rooms (excl. For final years, 4th or graduate years), and four double rooms. 2 for first years, x2 for 2nd and 3rd).
Only four first-year students can get a place on each floor. 1st come, first served bases.

Boys and girls are separate. Your common area is on floor eight, and all are painted in citrus colours of orange and lime green. There are lots of eating places. Tv lounge. Where you can relax during your free time, read in the afternoon, or watch the news or something. You can go outside and enjoy the rooftop lounge area. Sitting and enjoying the sun or having a Barbie (BBQ) with friends.

The seniors on the 8th floor had welcoming snacks for the first year and their families.

The committee entertains the four new faces, those who transferred to your floor and the other girls on the floor.

You need to inform your house leaders before inviting friends like males over, but they are not allowed in the room or apartment hallways, which are closed with glass security doors. It can only be opened with security codes. A kitchen to heat up or cook something for those girls who are part of the cooking club.

The girls on your dorm floor came together and contributed a certain amount of money each month.
Cold beverages and hot drinks are always in the fridge and cupboards. A committee runs it.

Your dorm floor always has fun activities like midnight parties, movie nights (organised by 1st years), sports competitions with the other floors (managed by seniors), spa nights fundraising by the (2nd and 3rd years), and your annual Miss and Mr. Freshette (1st-year girls from all floors), enter and its held in the main auditorium of the Yura residence, where boys and girls can attend co-ed events.

You won Miss UTS Freshette in your first year, Samantha came in third, and another rival of both came in second from floor ten. Since then, floor eight has always had a winner in the top three. You hope when you leave they"'ll keep up the tradition. Your floor proudly had x3 Miss UTS Freshettes, x4 first runner-ups, and x3 second runner-ups, with your photos adorning your lounge and study areas.

This is called floor 8th. The Flotties...Floor with the campus hotties. Which you hate. All the first-year students' first choice is usually floor eight on their recruitment forms.

Now, your rival hated you from school days cause she had an obsessed crush on Greg since you started to date.

She is one of the girls so delighted that he broke up with you after five years of dating. She spread rumours online about you, and she even got in trouble for cyberbullying. Still, because her family got big bickies and were great donors to the university, she was pardoned as if you were bothered by that now. You moved on. He isn't your soulmate.

If she knew that you had a fling with a now-famous superstar, she'd be mad as a cut snake ...(go crazy) or willing to jump into the ocean of shock.

You were so glad you and Samantha opted for the unit. This year, you decided to room together. She felt very lonely in her single room last year.

You chose a great unit. It was a little pricey, but your scholarship provided one shared bathroom, a kitchenette/lounge area, and two bedrooms with your private study area. Samantha brought the kitchenware and all the decor for your lounge.

You told your floor, eight committee leaders, that you could not hang out. You need to complete a pre-written assignment for the programming class.

You and Samantha were also busy decorating your rooms. You decided both that this year your bedroom themes will be nectarine orange and white.

You hang your fairy lights on the wall. Becky got it for you as a Christmas prezzie, you bought extra plush pillows for your bed, and your mom got you a thick duvet for the chilly winter months.

Your desk area is near the window. It was adorned with colourful Chinese hanging lamps, your cup, and a digital photo frame. Two glass containers with some stationary, your colourful notebooks and your tablet. Samantha put the alarm on the desk, far from your bed. She bought it for you three years ago, and the whole floor is surprised that you still have it. Samantha told you it belonged to her late mother. So you cherish it, but you still wonder if it's true.

You opt for orange tones this term.

You have already done even unpacking your bags.
Samantha had her playlist in a loop. Strange songs-you don't even understand most of the words.

You know exactly whose songs it was, but you told yourself you didn't want anything to do with that part of your past that no one knows. You want to keep that autumn-uni holiday a deep secret.

Samantha only knows specific details. You wanted her to know, and the rest is hidden in the far back of your mind. She doesn't even know it's him. She became a devoted Aussie ARMY. She and Brendon even went to their concert.

After the incident, They advised you not to go near. Which you gladly obliged.

You quickly peek into her room. She changed into tight denim shorts and a tank top. Her hair is loose. And she is dancing to the beat of DNA, sung by BTS. You grimace at the sound of 'his 'voice.

You still couldn't believe you were so stupid to fall so hard for a flirt like that. You'll give it to him; he is sexy, and he was so adorable-his eyes, his smile, and that cute little pinky finger you loved so much.

You quickly shook your head as if the memories would vanish. I was not going to go there.

"Hey, how are you going?" you say, checking out the pile of clothes scattered across chairs and the bed and all her sneakers strewn about the floor, looking like they need a bit of sorting.

She chuckles and nods at the mess on her bed. "Not bad, mate."

Raising your eyebrows, you give her a look of surprise. "Seriously, do you need a hand?" Offering some help, she'll be at it until midnight at the rate she's going. And you still have your assignment to deal with.

"No worries," she grins while hanging a few jackets. But it seems like she's struggling to get her room organized. Sam's a bit of a mess when it comes to her clothes.

"No sweat... I'll give you a hand." You start grabbing hangers, quickly pitching in to help her sort things out. Before long, her room looked decent, with sneakers tucked under the bed and her new leather bag stowed away.

"Awesome!" She gives you a grateful hug. "Oh, let me charge up my phone."

Your living space is tiny but snug. I'm lucky to nab a unit with a balcony. You enjoy chilling outside, reading, or trying out game tests.

"Keen for a cuppa?" Samantha heads to the little kitchen to whip up some hot drinks.

"I'll have a flat white... and Mum chucked in some lamingtons with 'em drinks," you share your preferences.

Samantha squeals; she's dead keen on those small sponge cake squares soaked in chocolate and coated in coconut flakes.

"Ta' thank you." She opens up the containers filled with sweet treats.

She's bustling, whipping hot drinks while you laze on the sofa, feeling knackered. Thoughts wander to your old man and his sudden urge to reconnect. He hadn't given a toss about you and your siblings for almost 14 years. Heck, Becky wasn't even five when he walked out on Mum. Sad times at the Wallace house.

Samantha serves up coffee and cakes. Your mum's a top-notch baker.

Flipping through Samantha's latest Esquire mag, you're visibly shocked by an article about "the no-go." "Your heartthrob."

You give it a brief look, slam the mag shut, and chuck it angrily onto the sofa beside you.

"What's with the mag? You look a bit aggro... what's the story?" Samantha eyes you questioningly.

"Nothing," you dismissively mutter. But Samantha's not buying it.

"It can't be nothing? You can't just toss the mag around... it's Ellis's. She wanted me to read something on pages 37-38," she sips her tea, peering at you curiously.

"Oh, great," you say sarcastically. "These blokes are everywhere after their global concerts."

Samantha giggles, picks up the mag beside her, and flips to the page. She leaps up in excitement. "Crikey!

"OMG! Ruby... BTS's Park Jimin won the most popular South Korean idol for the second year running. Holy Doley! No wonder all the dating scandals will be splashed across an exclusive mag spread. They bought the rights from newspapers to use their pics over the years. Golly, it will spill the beans on our adorable Chim Chim. Loads of ARMYs are dying to see the girls he's been linked to... that's going to be unreal... amazing!" She squeals with delight while ogling over the shots of "yours truly."

You're shocked, spitting out your coffee all over the carpet. Oh, no! You thought the past was supposed to be buried and forgotten, but it looks like they're unearthing everything about Jimin, and your face is right in the middle of it.

Feeling queasy, you mutter, "Why... why reveal it to the world?"

"He's a celeb, and his dating dramas sell papers and gossip mags; have a squiz... have a look. I'm fair, dinkum," Samantha grins, tossing her hair.

Nervously shaking your head, you head to the kitchen for cleaning gear to tackle the coffee mess. Samantha's chatting excitedly about how charming Chimmy has become and how cool he looks with his different hair colours. Your hands shake as you scrub the spill with force. But for her, Taehyung and Jimin are top-notch.

You wonder if their management can intervene this time. You hope so, or you'll be in strife. You can't afford that exposure for the intensity you had with him.

"Isn't it dodgy to write about this... Bighit might sue," you ask, hopeful.

"Tabloids don't give a toss... Journalists are relentless. I feel bad for these K-pop stars. No privacy," she rants on, but your thoughts are in a spin.

"How do you know all this? Sounds like insider info..." You eye her sharply.

She giggles, "Megan? I forgot she interned. She worked at Esquire. Ring a bell?"

Your heart races erratically. You hope you're not among the many flings that'll get exposed. I can't afford that kind of attention here on campus. Aussie ARMYs will tear you apart. They're protective of those boys and vice versa. It's a no-go zone.

Girls are mega jealous, and the Aussie Paparazzi won't let you be.

By 1 pm, you and Samantha have finished decorating your rooms. You decided to tackle assignments later tonight, opting for a new Netflix show instead. Samantha's been deep into K-dramas since the K-pop wave hit Australia.

You throw on a fresh grey tee and black skinny jeans, sporting a natural face without makeup.

"Ruby, let's go check on the new Sheilas! I need to give them their welcome gift bag. I hope they are cute enough to win our beauty contest. I'm starting tomorrow night with their training."

Even if your soul still feels unsettled, you smile:" Sweet, Let's meet them. We still need to get our schedules. I need to plan my study days."

You lock your apartment and walk down the busy hallway with girls laughing and sitting around or decorating their rooms.

Some parents left already to let their young girls settle into their dorms.

Samantha knocks on the 1st first-year dorm.

A cute girl opens up the door with a big smile. You grin as Samantha greets her cheerily. "Howdy, girl...I'm Samantha or Sam, and this is Y/n...we are the seniors at the end of the hallway around the corner on the left."

" G'day, my name is Lydia Clark, and this is Holly Mcmillin. We are also game designing majors. We're both doing our BA of Science in Game Design and Development." She is so cute with wide hazel green and brownish shoulder-length hair.

Lydia opens the door wider for you to enter. You looked at their excited faces and thought back about your first day. They are very friendly and enthusiastic.

You beam at them."We had the same majors. We'll hand you all our textbooks; don't buy any, ok? Floor 8 is a family. Here, we help each other succeed. We have fun, but we also study hard."

Holly smiled at you and said, "Ruby, you have the most beautiful red hair colour...You are both so pretty".

You thank her for the nice compliment.

Holly is a beautiful African Australian with thick raven hair and chocolate brown eyes. She is a little more reserved than the bubbly Lydia.

Their dorm room looks pretty cool. It has baby pink walls, with charcoal black curtains. The walls were adorned with posters of inspirational words in black, white and grey. They even have an interesting wire heart with their cute picture pins around it. Their beds were placed in an L-shape with fluffy pillows in grey, black, pink and white. One bed has a thick grey duvet, and the other has a dull pink duvet. On their floor was a fluffy silver-grey rug in front of both beds. A small dresser stood between the beds with a lampshade, pink candles and cute trinkets.

"Holy Dooley! Your room is seriously deadly (awesome), Lydia!"

"Cheers, thanks," Holly quietly uttered.

"Ta' very much...I had only pink decor, and Holly loves black and grey, so we combined our pillows and mixed and matched...I'm from Melbourne, a born Melbs and Holly from Brisbane; a real Brizzie ." Lydia gushed.

"It's pretty cute here... this is a gift for you...enjoy." Samantha, hand it over to Holly.

"Would you like a glass of juice?" Lydia offered.

"No, thank you... we just wanted to meet our new flotties." Samantha waved at them.

"Hooroo... (bye)," you greeted and left the two firsties.

Across from their room is the other first-year dorm room. It was open with two girls sitting on their beds laughing with one of the older girls, a 2nd year by the name of Cathy Rowlings. Samantha knocked and gestured for you to come in.

"G'day girls, just checking on our fresh faces..." The two firsties jump from the beds and enthusiastically greet you.

"Howdy...I'm Jenna, and this is Candice. I'm a fashion design student, and Candice is a fine arts student.' She introduced herself to you.

"Welcome; I hope you enjoy your years with us. Here is your welcome prezzie. Hi Cathy!" Cathy waves with a bright smile.

Candice has an open face with huge silver framed glasses. She is a plain Asian Australian. White dad and Japanese mom. She called herself a proud book nerd. Her blondish brown hair is in a curly bob hairstyle and she has cute dark brown almond shaped eyes.

She is knowledgeable and loves nothing but Webtoons, anime, and manga.
Jenna is very stunning with azure blue eyes. The uni-guys will be falling all over her. She has long, straight,brown waist-length hair and smooth skin. You already feel somewhat ugly next to the younger girl. Like your old insecurities re-emerge. But you quickly shook off those depressing thoughts.

Sam was beaming because you sure have a great chance of winning the title this year.

After meeting your first years, you and Samantha head to the Academic Building to get your schedules.

It's within walking distance from your residence. Brendon called Sam and wanted to spend some time with her. You told her you would get the schedules and student cards. You could kick yourself for not getting it this morning.

You want to get into your room and drown in your loneliness. Or soak up all the happy juices around you.

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

A/n: Wow, another update for my Jimin-stans. I hope you enjoy the Chapter about you in your residence and how you interact with the other girls.

What are your thoughts about you and the new faces on their floor?
Thanks to the new readers and my faithful, committed readers.

Thanks for every vote, kind comment, or account follower, and add the book to your readers' list.