six months later

Eunji stood at the door of Seoul National University's administration building, watching all of the high schoolers file in with their parents. She was a student ambassador about to lead a campus tour. Eunji had only signed up to be one so she could put it on her résumé. Now, she regretted it. Eunji hated college, and now she had to promote the very school she yearned to leave.

Eunji began to pick at her nails, something she did when she was nervous. Eunji had found out about gel nails a couple months ago, and now, her nails were always done. They were a soft, light pink, and shaped into a ballerina style.

"Welcome," she said, once everyone had arrived. "I'm Eunji. I'm an incoming senior, and a computer science major. Today, I'll be showing you the Gwanak campus of Seoul National University. SNU is a very prestigious university, so if you got accepted, congratulations." She smiled. "If you choose to study here, you'll have a very...enjoyable experience. We have many facilities here that will be a great help to your postsecondary education."

Eunji led them around the campus, showing off the numerous buildings and amenities. After, she took questions.

"How large are the dorm rooms?"

Eunji frowned. "The rooms aren't huge, but they're decent. And the bathrooms, if you're wondering, are communal, but they're clean. One bathroom for each floor of the dormitory."

"I'm majoring in computer science too, can you tell me a little bit about your experience?"

"You spend quite a lot of time at your computer, obviously." This elicited a brief laugh. "I chose to specialize in mobile and web development, but your experience is based on what you specialize in."

"How does the meal system work?" asked a girl. 

Eunji made eye contact with her, but she saw something else too. Or rather...someone else. Behind the girl who had asked the question were what Eunji assumed were her parents. One parent was in a wheelchair, and the other parent was struggling to get said wheelchair over the curb and onto the sidewalk. And behind them was someone who'd lent her a much-needed hand during her darkest times, who was the reason she was still here today.

Namjoon.

Eunji felt like crying. Instead, she took in a shaky breath and collected her thoughts. "Um...there are several meal plans you can purchase. The most popular is the 'per meal' plan, where you get a certain number of meal passes each semester. You use a pass for each meal you have, no matter how large or small. That's the plan I use, and I don't know much about the other ones, unfortunately." She barely registered the words as they came out of her mouth. She could only think of Namjoon, standing quietly in the back.

Of course, she could be wrong, and "Namjoon" could just be a lookalike. But Eunji had to find out for herself.

She was on edge during the rest of the Q & A, anxiously waiting for it to finish. Finally, she asked if there were any more questions. There were none, so Eunji dismissed everyone. Most families left, but, thankfully, Namjoon's family stayed to browse.

Eunji took a deep breath and went up to Namjoon. She had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes. "Excuse me, sun-bae, but I feel like I've seen you before." Quickly, she realized her mistake. 

"I'm sorry, you probably—"

"No, no," she said quickly. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." She trailed off. "Um, do you perhaps remember...stopping someone from jumping off the Mapo Bridge about six months ago?"

A multitude of emotions rippled across Namjoon's face—astonishment, disbelief, pity. Finally, he said, "Yes. I do."

"Well," said Eunji, slowly, "That person was me."

Namjoon stared at her, mouth open. She could only imagine what he was thinking.

"Thank you, sun-bae," said Eunji. "I don't think I would've been alive today, if it weren't for you. I guess you came at the right time, huh?" She exhaled out of her nose. "You saved me."

Namjoon continued to stare at her. She couldn't blame him.

"Sir?" said Eunji.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Namjoon abruptly, snapping out of his trance. "I was just..." He shook his head. "You're welcome."

Eunji nodded. She was just about to turn away when he said, "Would you want to go out sometime?"

"On a date?" said Eunji, flashing a smile. To be honest, she was not completely opposed to the idea of a date. Up close, Namjoon was even more handsome. 

"No," he replied, cheeks flushed. "Just...to talk. There's so much I want to ask you, but now—" he glanced at his parents, "—isn't a good time."

"Of course we can chat sometime," said Eunji. "Do you want my number?"

Eunji typed her number into Namjoon's phone. "I'll text you, I guess. We could meet up sometime."

He nodded. "Well, it was nice seeing you again. I never expected..."

"I didn't either," Eunji interjected. "Have a nice day, sun-bae."

And she turned on her heel and left.

a/n: 

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i hope my korean romanization was accurate!! if you're familiar with the korean language and/or korean romanization and you see a mistake in any part of the book, please comment so i can fix it