Looking up at the person, a small smile formed on Jun-seo's face. "Oh, it's you, Minji," he said before patting the empty spot beside him while nodding. "Sure, have a seat," he continued while watching Minji adjust her backpack's strap on her shoulder before sitting down.

Minji thanked him quietly, adjusting her top before leaning against the bench. "So... why are you sitting alone?" she asked, looking at the guy beside her with a small smile. "Your next class is in three hours, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," confirmed Jun-seo, meeting Minji's eyes briefly before looking around again, scanning the students that walked past them. "You don't have any classes after this, right?" he asked in return, looking at Minji again with a smile.

"Yeah, I already took most of this semester's subjects before transferring here," said Minji, pushing herself slightly on the bench. Jun-seo nodded at her answer, and with that, their conversation died out, and they sat comfortably in silence.

Fifteen minutes passed, and still, no further words were exchanged between them. Yet, it didn't feel awkward—in fact, they found solace in each other's quiet presence. Although, it didn't last long before someone else approached them.

Jun-seo didn't take long to recognize the man as In-tak, with his familiar dirty blonde two block haircut. Jun-seo sighed softly and looked at Minji, "come on, let's go somewhere else," he told her before pushing himself up from the bench.

Minji didn't even get to process what was going on when she saw the guy beside her get up. "What..." she stopped herself from talking when he saw In-tak approach them and placed a hand on Jun-seo's shoulder, trying to stop him from walking away.

"Dude, don't walk away, please," said In-tak, his hand squeezing Jun-seo's shoulder slightly.

Jun-seo shook his head and sighed, "no, man, I don't want to hear whatever it is you have to say," he refused while trying to take In-tak's hand off his shoulder. Minji sat on the bench while watching the two, studying the exchange quietly. Her observation brought her to the conclusion that this wasn't the first time this In-tak guy bothered Jun-seo.

Meanwhile, Jake, who had just finished his class, stepped out of the lecture hall and saw Jun-seo and In-tak in the distance. He didn't waste a second before approaching them, quickly pulling them apart and standing in between them. "Leave him alone, dude," he warned In-tak with a cold face.

In-tak sighed and looked down briefly, "look, guys... I didn't come here to fight, okay? I just wanted to talk to Jun-seo," he said, but it was pointless. Even though he sounded sincere, his words weren't able to convince neither of them to let him say what he wanted. "I swear, I don't want to have any..."

"Dude, one more time," Jake seethed. "You said the exact same thing last semester, it almost felt like deja vu right now," he added and pushed In-tak's shoulder lightly, "I know what you are going to say; you are going to say that you are sorry, and you didn't mean what you did."

Jake crossed his arms and shook his head, "you are predictable at this point, dude. Just... just give it up," he sighed and looked at In-tak with a look that was asking him to stop bothering his friend. "Go away," he finished with a calmer voice, gesturing for In-tak to go.

In-tak clicked his tongue and looked at Jake, and then at Jun-seo before reluctantly turning on his heels and walking away. Minji, Jake, and Jun-seo watched him walk away, and when he was out of sight, Jun-seo heaved a heavy sigh and looked at Jake.

"Thanks," he said, giving his friend a light punch on the shoulder.

Jake smiled softly and shook his head, "hey, don't mention it," he replied and glanced over his shoulder after feeling a presence other than theirs. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Minji before looking back at Jun-seo.

He then looked at Minji again, staring at her for a few seconds, in which the latter returned his gaze while smiling, waving awkwardly at Jake. Jake returned the smile before leaning closer to Jun-seo, "is this the girl that you talked about?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Jun-seo raised an eyebrow and looked at his friend, and then at Minji before smiling. "Yeah, she is the one," he confirmed before sitting beside her again. He cleared his throat and looked at Minji, "Minji, this is my roommate, Jake. Jake, Minji," he introduced them to each other.

"Hi," Jake said, smiling while waving at her.

Minji returned the smile, "hi, Jake."

The three of them smiled at each other awkwardly for the next five minutes. It felt like Jun-seo's first meeting with Jake and Jungwon all over again with how awkward they were and how they let the silence fill their dorm back when they lived in the campus' dormitory. Back then, it was Jungwon who broke the ice by talking about something that they were interested in: video games.

Jun-seo closed his eyes and shook his head, clearing his throat. He decided to take the initiative this time to break the ice. "So um... when is your next class, Jake?" he asked, looking at Jake who was pacing back and forth in front of them with his hands behind his back.

"In an hour," answered Jake, looking at Jun-seo. "Do you want me to wait for you to finish class today?"

"I mean," Jun-seo shrugged, "if you don't mind, then sure," he said and looked at Minji, who was sitting beside him. It was only then that he remembered something. "Speaking of which, the bus stopped by the apartment complex you lived in this morning, Minji, but I didn't see you on the bus," he remarked, tilting his head slightly.

Jun-seo's brows furrowed, "how did you get to the campus?"

Minji looked at him with raised eyebrows, "hmm? Oh, right, I uh..." she slid her backpack off and opened it before rummaging through it for something. After a few seconds, she pulled something out of it. It was a bunch of keys, and one of them Jun-seo recognized as a car key. "I used my car," she explained.

"Well, I mean, it's not exactly my car, but like... you know, I drive it around, so..." she slowed down on her explanation when she saw the look on Jun-seo and Jake's faces. "You guys get what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get you," said Jun-seo while nodding. Jake nodded as well. "Well, at least you won't experience the hassle of having to race for a seat in the bus," added Jun-seo jokingly, laughing dryly at his joke before looking at Jake.

Minji, watching him, chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, at least I won't have to experience that," she said and put the keys back in her backpack. She leaned against the bench again and looked around, taking a deep breath before exhaling, "it's nice," she exclaimed, "I mean the campus."

Jake looked at her and smiled, "yeah? You should see it in Spring," he said and crossed his arms. "It looks ten times better then," he added, his tone laced with pride while talking about the look of the campus during the flowers' season.

"Nah, I still think it looks the best during the Fall season," Jun-seo chimed in, leaning against the bench. "With the wind and the leaves falling—it is just a feast for the eyes," he added.

—

For the next thirty minutes, they talked about a lot of things, and needless to say, the three of them got closer and became more comfortable with each other. Jake was the most comfortable as he wasn't afraid of finally showing his usual behavior when he was around Jun-seo and Jungwon.

Thirty minutes—that was how long it takes for him to start sharing stories—the ones that Jun-seo would've preferred not to share with anyone else. Like that one time when the three of them went out and Jun-seo hit the glass door while trying to walk out of a shop...he was convinced by Jungwon that the door was automatic and could detect people coming in and out through it.

After that though, Jake had to go to class, so he excused himself and left Jun-seo and Minji alone. "He is a nice guy," commented Minji, watching Jake walk toward his friends that were waiting for him.

Jun-seo looked at her, and then at Jake before nodding. "Yeah, he really is," he said in agreement. They sat in silence for a bit more before Minji got up from the bench.

"I'm going home now," she said softly before looking at Jun-seo. "I will see you around," she smiled at him and waved before walking away.

It felt a bit sad that Jun-seo had to let her go home too soon, but he didn't want to be a nuisance by asking her to stay until at least thirty minutes before his next class either. "Drive safe," he said to her as she walked away.

Minji looked over her shoulder with a soft smile before nodding, waving at Jun-seo again.

Once she was out of sight, Jun-seo got up from the bench and headed to a nearby vending machine again, wanting to get himself a can of soft drink. He stopped midway when his phone vibrated, and he checked the text he received.

Jun-seo's smile couldn't get bigger at the news he had just received from his professor. It was only the first week, and the professor already canceled his class—nothing is better for a uni student than having their class canceled when they are not in the mood for it.