CHAPTER 4: A Reality Check

WOOYOUNG
•••

Chemistry class was much easier than I expected, making me already enjoy it more. Not only did I share the class with my best friend, but Professor Jin made me laugh more times than I could count within the short hour class. She was the true definition of a teacher that I aspired to be, a teacher who loved their job and loved making students comfortable while learning.

"Remember Wooyoung, the advisor's office is the next building over, on the first floor. You can't miss it, I promise." Professor Jin smiled. "I'll see you on Wednesday.

I bowed with a smile. "Thank you Professor."

Yeosang and I walked out of class, him striking up a conversation as soon as we were a good distance away. "Do you want me to come with you? I don't have any classes until three this afternoon."

"No, I think I'll be alright. My last class is at one and it's only noon now."

"I'll just walk with you then. But, tell me about how San almost made you late? What exactly happened?"

I sighed. "I share Biology class with him, and unfortunately, I ignored him when leaving the class. Long story short, he cornered me in the stairwell... it seemed as though he was trying to kiss me..."

Yeosang's eyes grew wide. "Woah, really?"

"Yes, really. Now, I have to face him later in our room and I don't know what to do." I muttered.

"Maybe it was a one-time thing? Like a scare attempt or a prank?"

Pushing the building doors open, I nodded. "I can only hope so. It was really weird, but enough about that. Tell me about your cute roommate." I teased, wiggling my eyebrow.

Yeosang blushed deeply. "His name is Jongho, and he's an Art and Music major. We've been roommates since the beginning of summer...He's so strong, like he can break apples with bare hands! The only thing is that he's just really quiet and reserved..."

"Do you think he's...you know?"

"I'm not sure..." He sighed. "There are times where I think he might be, but then other times I don't see any signs... I'm comfortable enough just being his friend."

I smiled, realizing that we reached the Advisor room. "Well, as long as you're okay with that. I support you."

"Thanks, Youngie. Go on inside, I'll talk to you later."

Waving each other goodbye, I gently knocked on the door and waited for a response. The door opened and revealed what looked like to be a male graduate student, one who had red hair and hazel eyes.

"Wooyoung, correct?"

I nodded. "A-Are you my advisor?"

He smiled. "I am indeed, please come in."

Stepping inside the room, I looked around and took in everything. The walls were painted a light blue with different artwork paintings hanging on both sides of the wall, with a wooden desk, desktop computer, and two chairs to sit on. Taking my seat, I watched the red-haired male walk behind the desk to take his own.

"My name is Lee Ho-seok, and I'm a recent graduate of this university. I am going to be your advisor for this school year. Please feel free to call me Hyung, because I'm not one for formalities."

"Sure...can you tell me why you asked for me to come here..?"

"Right. Of course!"

He began typing on the keyboard for a few seconds before turning the screen to me to see. "As you can see, you are lacking sufficient funding to pay for the school year, especially this term..."

I am aware...

I nodded. "I know... I'm actually trying to apply to some jobs to work part time and make money to pay it off."

"Well, that's great!" Ho-seok smiled brightly. "Usually when I inform students about this, they don't have any plans to work on fixing it. You are only short about $3500, since your partial scholarship covered a good amount of the total for the year."

"When is the deadline to pay for everything..?" I asked nervously.

"The normal deadline is actually a week...but..." he looked at me with a soft smile, "I'll give you a month, maximum two months. I'm just very happy you were at least proactive before I called you here."

My eyes grew wide and my face broke out in a huge smile. "Thank you so much, hyung! I really appreciate it..."

Ho-seok looked at me sternly. "That doesn't mean you can slack off Wooyoung... the faster you pay off your fees, the better."

"I understand. Don't worry, I'll pay it off as quickly as possible!"

"Sounds good. Alright then, I'm also here if you ever need anything, even if it's just to talk okay? I can't let my Psychology degree to go waste." He chuckled. "That's all for now, you can head to your next class. It's actually in this building on the fourth floor, if you need any help."

Standing up, I bowed before making my departure. "Thank you again, hyung."

Walking out of the office gave me slight feeling of relief, as my window of opportunity was a little bigger than I had anticipated.

"After class, it's time to start applying for more jobs."

Taking the stairwell, I slowly climbed up four flights of stairs and strolled happily to the English classroom.

English class was the one class I dreaded going, and it only got worse I saw San sitting inside with a smirk on his face. There was still about ten minutes until class was supposed to start, so it only made question the reason behind his early arrival.

So he can be early for this class, but not Biology? Tsk

Making my way past him and taking an empty seat behind, I pulled out my laptop and began scrolling for more job opportunities while waiting for class to begin.  While scrolling, I noticed an email from the Retail Company.

"Jung Wooyoung, please come in for an interview this Saturday at noon. The attire is casual, but be sure to be on time!"

"Yes!" I silently cheered, focusing back on the job listings. At this point, I didn't have a choice with being picky, as any job would help my situation.

I knew Yeosang would be willing to help me in regard to finances, as his mother was like a second mother to me. However, this was a problem I had to learn to overcome on my own. I refused to become a burden to anyone, including my own family.

San turned in his seat and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Class hasn't started yet."

"Not like it's any of your business, but I'm trying to work on a personal thing. Time is of the essence." I muttered while typing up another application for a tutoring offer.

"Right...Good luck with whatever it is."

My head peeked up from behind my screen and saw San facing forward once again. I sighed, feeling a little bad for my response. "I'm looking for part-time work."

His ear perked and quickly, he turned back around. "Really? Someone like you wants to work?"

"And what exactly do you mean by 'someone like you'?

"I mean, you dress as if you're loaded with cash and you're way too pretty to be sweating. So yeah, that's what I mean."

Fighting back a blush, I rolled my eyes. "Looks doesn't tell you everything, San..."

"Well..." he paused, noticing students beginning to file inside the room, "what did you apply for so far?"

"Retail associate, a waiter, becoming a tutor, and right now, a front desk receptionist."

He hummed. "I can see the retail one for sure, based on your clothing choices. Like I said, good luck."

Watching him turn back around, a small smile grew on my face.

Maybe he isn't so bad...

•••

San and I walked out of class together, something I didn't expect him to do. There was an awkward tension between us, neither of us wanting to speak first. However, things quickly changed.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" San asked abruptly.

I froze, instantly realizing that I hadn't eaten anything all day. Feeling my stomach, I knew today was a bad day because stress was taking a toll on me. Having the pressure to pay off my school fees was prominently on my mind, causing my stomach to tighten at the mere thought of consuming food.

With a small shake of my head, I smiled softly. "I'm not really hungry..."

He raised an eyebrow curiously. "Are you sure? I can pay if money is something you're concerned about?"

"I'm sure... thanks. I'll see you back in our room?"

"Yeah... see ya." San said quietly.

Not wanting to stall any longer, I turned and walked away from him. My mood went from feeling hopeful to wanting to disappear from the earth. All I could think about was San's face, a mixture of confusion and sadness apparent from just his eyes alone.

I don't need his sympathy or judgement...

It was moments like these where I succumbed to the loneliness, accepting that I was different than most of my counterparts that were around me. The simplest of things could occur, and the idea of eating would make me want to vomit. Either I stuffed myself to full capacity and purge out the contents hours later, or go days without bringing a sliver of food to my lips, barely anything in between.

I didn't expect San to understand, let alone did I even want to explain to him my reasoning for declining free food. He was merely my roommate, and just because things have seemed to be less tense than yesterday, it doesn't guarantee that his temporary kindness was real.

Don't fall for his trap Woo...

Pulling out my phone, I saw that it was only thirty minutes before it would be three in the afternoon, the time Yeosang class was supposed to start. Sending him a quick message to meet me for a few minutes before his class began, I continued my walk back to my dorm room alone, plagued with relentless negative thoughts that only made my mood worse.