K A I

I'm basically drenched in the rain and no one seemed to care.

I walked past the university gate, the security guard on duty barely giving me a glance as he seemed to be engrossed in watching something on his phone. Without really looking or listening, I already know what it is. Porn. I heave a sigh, but not that of disappointment. More of boredom. Of knowing what to expect. I looked at him again and he glared when he caught me staring. What an incompetent piece of sh*t.

To be perfectly honest, I do not know if knowing people's weaknesses is a gift or a curse. It has been nothing but a burden ever since so I managed to train myself in tuning them out whenever I want to. Maybe the Devil gave it to me. To us, the Fallens, just so we could do our 'job' well. I don't really know.

A car honked loudly, speeding through the road and almost hitting me. "Watch where you're going, idiot!" Someone screamed and so I pulled my luggage faster and towards the nearing building.

The university grounds is your typical valley like landscape, with towering buildings here and there. There are fraternity and sorority houses within sight and the largest soccer field I have ever seen. I can't really see much because of the rain and the dark. Lighting struck and the rain fell harder on the pavements. The few students around walk faster with their umbrellas at hand. Okay. Maybe I could save the sightseeing for later.

I pushed open the glass doors of a huge, beige building with the words Office of Student Affairs embossed in steal on its outside walls. I looked around, not really knowing if this is the right place or not, and the pitter-patter of rain from my clothes to the floor the only sound I could hear. On the far wall, however, is an elegant looking counter where a seemingly bored woman is stationed.

She stared at the now wet floor around my sneakers. "Oh Jesus," she rolls her eyes at me. "You're not gonna clean that up, are you?"

I tried so hard not to snap at her so I just started to walk closer to the counter, dragging my luggage. "I'm—" then I stopped because holy f*cking sh*t. I do not know what to say! Who am I in this world now? What personality do I take in this mission? I fumbled for the back pocket of my pants, looking for a wallet or whatever. There's none. I don't even have a bag except for this huge thing I've been pulling along since who knows when.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Name?"

Holy f*ck. What name do I give her? Should I say 'Kai'? Or should I just make something up? I f*cking needed an orientation and the Devil might have been really pissed at me because It obviously didn't give me that much favor.

"Hang on a second," I murmured before reaching for my luggage. There has to be something in here. A document. An ID. ANYTHING. There has to be! The woman started to murmur some things about me being stupid and such but I didn't really care. It's not like I never experienced verbal abuse before.

Thunder clapped outside and the rain felt like it's about to start destroying roofs. I'm running out of time and ideas. Suddenly, there's a booming voice. "There you are!"

I looked back at the door just as I am about to open my luggage. And grinning back at me is an annoyingly familiar face. "Taemin," I hissed, glaring. Another Fallen. What the hell is he doing here?

"I've been looking for you," Taemin smiled wider, it's almost creepy. But he looks kind of different though. Somewhat younger and more carefree. He's wearing this pastel colored shirt, white shorts, and a pair of Nike slip-on, like a typical college guy. He even seemed unbothered by the rain, holding a black umbrella in one hand.

"What the hell?" I whispered and Taemin just smirked at my expression.

"Hey, you," he walked towards me cautiously like I'm some stranger he never met before. "I've been looking all over the place for you, do you know that?"

"Well I obviously don't," I stood up straight, meeting his eyes. What is the meaning of this? Why is another Fallen in my job area? "What do you want?"

Taemin fakes a pout. "I've been meaning to give this back to you," he held up a black leather messenger bag. "You kind of left it somewhere," and his smile suddenly seemed to hold more meaning. So without thinking, I took the bag and started looking inside. And my hunch is right. The bag is full of documents and some IDs. Even a wallet and a phone.

"F*ck," I cursed in relief, holding up my ID. "Kim Jongin," I read my name, familiarizing myself with the sound. "Kim Jongin." Then I turned to look at the woman still waiting for my student details. I slipped my ID on the counter and she took it, input some words onto her computer before giving it back to me.

"Building 8, Room 312," she pulled a university folder from the cabinet and started stuffing some things inside, like a map, my schedule, and some useless freebies. She handed me the folder. "There's an orientation tomorrow at the grand auditorium and you guys better attend that," she muttered, monotone. Like she's been saying the same thing for years now. "It's university policy."

"About house rules?" Taemin asked from behind me.

The woman nodded before returning to her computer, Facebook-ing her way out of real life. "You got it, buddy."

When we exited the building, the rain is a little bit tamer. Taemin opened his umbrella but didn't offer it to me. I didn't expect him to, anyway. But I followed him, because he obviously know where he's going.

"What the f*ck are you doing here?" I can't help asking. "And since when were you here?"

Taemin glanced at me quick. "A few days maybe," he mutters. "I don't really keep track of time."

"I have a mission here."

"Yeah, I know," he nods. "Me, too."

I frowned in confusion. This has never happened before. Two Fallens in the same job area? No. There has got to be some mix-up. Why would the Devil send its two most experienced soldiers in the same battlefield? "I don't like others meddling with my own business," I hissed. "You better not mess anything up, Taemin."

Taemin chuckled as he shakes his head in amusement. My confusion and annoyance seems to entertain him a lot. "This university's an eighty-five hectares land. Probability of us meeting by chance can be really low."

"I wish," I said as I started walking farther, the huge number '8' standing out from another beige building. The walls on the first floor are made of glass and I can see students huddled together in a lounge area. This is probably one of the dorm buildings. I sped past Taemin and his all-knowing smile and when I looked back at him again, he's suddenly gone.

One could note how apathetic students are in this university. No one really cares. No one really gives a damn. A person could be bullied in front of them right now and still, life goes on like a f*cking paradise. At the lounge area, a guy sits alone on a couch reading a book while a group of assholes starts throwing paper trash at him. The other corner features some dudes looking over a laptop screen, laughing over a girl who got groped in public for having huge breasts.

Well, another episode for 'men are trash', I suppose.

My clothes are still dripping wet when I reached my floor. I stepped out of the elevator, dodged some dudes playing soccer in the hallway and kept my mouth shut as they threw me some curses. My room is by the far edge of the building and I used the keys the woman gave to open the damn door.

The inside smells like lavender and the beach, a total contrast from the chaotic world outside. And I don't f*cking know how that happens.

There are two beds along each side of the room and the right one is already obviously occupied. My roommate's shelves are filled with books and some magazines. Nothing dirty. Just things about architecture and design. His table's neat and uncluttered. A jacket hangs from his chair. There's not much to see, actually. There's no posters of girl groups or sh*t on the wall so I guess he doesn't really fan over anything. On his bed, though, is the latest version of iPod with the earphones still stuck in it. I picked it up, just curious. A sonata by Seong-Jin Cho is still playing.

The door opened and I threw the iPod back on the bed, startled.

A guy walked in, holding against his chest three books that seem pretty heavy. I stood there in the middle of the room, frozen and still staring, until he finally caught my eyes. He looks just as simple and plain as a blank sheet of paper. Black hair. Clean cut. Fair skin. No tattoos or piercings. His eyes are wide and his lips pretty even without smiling. He stopped just as the door closed.

Suddenly, there's this awkward silence.

I slowly took a step away from his side of the room. "Hey."

He glanced at me and to his bed. "Do you want to take the right side?"

"Oh?" I paused, frowning. "No. Left's fine with me."

My roommate continues watching me a little curiously before he walked towards his table, placing the book slowly and one-by-one in a bookstand. He doesn't give off much aura so I do not know what kind of person he is. A nerd, maybe, because of all the books? Or just your average student? I don't know.

"The carpet's all wet," he suddenly noted and that's when I noticed that yes. I just f*cking ruined our floor and I'm already freezing cause of the rain. Wow. Been a long time since I actually felt something, huh? It sucks to be human.

"Oh, f*ck," I muttered before reaching for a folded towel on my bed. It smells strongly of detergent and I used it to dry my hair. I walked towards the bathroom, about to remove my wet clothes when I just remembered something. "Oh, hey," I called to my roommate who is already busy browsing through his iPod. He looks up. Unbothered. "I'm Kim Jongin." A Fallen. Sent by the Devil. About to ruin this school for you all.

My roommate gave the faintest of smiles. "Do Kyungsoo," he introduced himself. "Your roommate."