"Son, make sure you eat properly."
His mother's last bit of nagging continued in front of the terminal.
"Mom, I'm already twenty now."
"So what if you're twenty? In Mom's eyes, you're still a kid."
Myung Jaehyun snorted and grabbed the suitcase handle.
"I'm off."
As the bus door closed, his parents' figures gradually grew farther away outside the window.
It was the first time.
Going to Seoul alone, and living apart from his family.
The college life he'd dreamed of throughout high school.
Staying up all night drinking with friends, going to festivals, joining clubs.
More than anything, he was most excited about meeting new people.
'I'll be okay, right.'
Seoul, which he arrived at after traveling for hours, was much bigger than he expected.
Tall buildings and people constantly coming and going.
Everything was unfamiliar, but for some reason his heart fluttered.
Myung Jaehyun kept checking his phone map over and over as he headed toward the university dormitory.
The area in front of the big building was bustling with freshmen who had come with their parents.
"Are you a freshman? Please check your documents here and then go upstairs."
After getting guidance from the dorm supervisor, he was handed a key with the room number written on it.
Room 306.
'What kind of person will my roommate be?'
I hope they're a nice person.
A friend you can eat late-night snacks with, study all night during exam period, and share your worries over a drink.
With those thoughts, he got on the elevator.
Clunk.
Standing in front of Room 306 while pulling his suitcase, Myung Jaehyun took a deep breath.
"Please take good care of me."
He muttered to himself and opened the door.
Creak.
The room was quiet.
By the window bed, someone's belongings were already neatly put away, and a man was sitting at the desk looking at a laptop.
Black hoodie.
Expressionless face.
He was staring at the screen with one earbud in.
At the sound of the door opening, he slowly lifted his head.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence.
Myung Jaehyun smiled brightly first.
"Hello! I'm Myung Jaehyun, and I'll be sharing this room with you starting today."
The man looked at him for a moment, then spoke briefly.
"Taesan."
That was it.
'...That's it?'
Myung Jaehyun gave an awkward smile and held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you."
Taesan looked down at his hand once, gave him a light handshake, then turned his gaze back to the laptop.
"Ah... yeah."
Myung Jaehyun awkwardly pulled his hand back.
'He's super quiet.'
Trying to change the mood, he forced the conversation onward.
"I heard you're in engineeringโwhat department are you in?"
"Computer engineering."
"Oh, cool."
"..."
"I'm in the College of Arts."
"..."
"Photographic arts major."
"...I see."
The conversation couldn't even make it past five seconds.
Myung Jaehyun fidgeted with his suitcase for no reason.
'So there really are people this quiet.'
As he unpacked, he stole a glance at Taesan.
On the desk, major textbooks were stacked neatly, and the bed was made up like a hotel room.
By contrast, inside his own suitcase, his clothes were tangled into a mess.
"Haha..."
The moment he was laughing awkwardly while taking out clothes.
Thud.
One sock rolled to Taesan's feet.
"...Sorry."
As Myung Jaehyun hurried to pick it up, Taesan got it first.
"You should be a little more organized."
A flat remark.
For a moment, the corners of Myung Jaehyun's lips pouted.
'Wasn't that a bit much for someone you just met?'
"Everyone's like this at first, aren't they."
"I wasn't."
"..."
"..."
The silence came again.
Then it happened.
Grrrllk.
In the quiet room, the sound of his stomach echoed loudly.
Myung Jaehyun's face turned bright red.
"Ah..."
For the first time, Taesan looked at his face properly.
"...You didn't eat?"
"I was too busy since this morning."
After a moment of silence, Taesan stood up from his seat.
"Cafeteria."
"Huh?"
"If you're going to eat the school lunch, go now."
"Together?"
"...I have to eat too."
His words were blunt, but Myung Jaehyun couldn't help smiling.
'Maybe he's not such a bad person after all.'
He quickly grabbed his wallet and followed after Taesan.
The first person he met in Seoul.
Taciturn, barely said a word, and his first impression was the worstโbut.
Myung Jaehyun still didn't know.
That the person he'd end up spending the most time with from here on out would be that very man.
