College Daze

Green lights

"Are you ready for the moment of truth?" Ha Neul asked dramatically, scanning the circle of faces with a cheeky smirk. "Gree— ouch!"

The former power forward yelped in pain when his girlfriend gave him a measured smack on the head, adding a death glare for good measure.

"Of course it's red for me!" He sheepishly announced, rubbing the sore spot on his head as the other members of their orientation group chuckled and whispered among themselves.

In between their orientation programs, the freshmen were being asked to share more about their relationship status using the traffic light colors.

Green meant single and ready to mingle, yellow represented a more complicated situation and red was pretty self-explanatory.

According to the seniors, a dirty green would be someone who was actually attached but claimed to be available, and evergreen stood for someone who has never dated before.

Seated with her best friend in another circle, Yejin watched with a twinge of envy as Hyojin proudly walked back from proclaiming Ha Neul as hers.

The game in their respective circles went on, until it came to her turn.

"Yejin! So what is it for you?" Her group orientation leader asked, smiling encouragingly.

There were so many pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Green."

Hyojin rolled her eyes upon hearing her best friend's answer, probably far back enough to see her own brain.

Now, it wasn't as if Yejin wasn't proud of what they shared, but being the private person she was by nature, she didn't wish for others to define her by her relationship.

Her heart was still pounding harder than it should, but somehow, instinct led her to steal a glance in a particular direction.

His boyishly handsome features housed an unreadable expression which looked a lot like disappointment, one that left her feeling horrible.

It only got worse when it came to Hyun Bin's turn in his circle, and Yejin could have sworn she heard squeals and cheers when he said, "Green."

She would have to talk to him, she thought.

But about what? About her own stupidity in suggesting that they pretended to be friends and nothing more?

It was her decision and she should own it, shouldn't she?

The rest of the day went by in a flurry of orientation games and introductory talks; some activities were pretty fun, some were boring. She remembered some faces and could match names to them, but everything else remained an exhausting blur.

Then they were led to their respective dormitory rooms, where she and Hyojin had quickly settled into a twin room together.

It wasn't until after 8pm did she finally hear from the boy who had been occupying her thoughts.

"Come to the window when you can." The message read.

Holding the phone to her chest, Yejin briskly made her way to the window, pulling the curtains apart.

It was only too fortunate that she was sharing a room with Hyojin, who basically knew everything about Hyun Bin and herself.

Her best friend was currently in the shower. That was a good thing; she was bound to get an earful from Hyojin over her decision to pretend she and Hyun Bin were merely friends.

From where she was on level three, she could see a very familiar figure leaning against a lamp post by the side of a path, his hands stuffed in his pockets.