"So, what did you think?" Seolhee asked as they exited class together. She glanced over at Mikyung's phone, peeking at her schedule. "Wow, you took all morning classes. This is your last class? This was my first one," she mumbled, blowing at her bangs. "Are you going to have lunch now?"
"I guess so," Mikyung said, checking the time on her phone. She had some time before she had to run off to work.
Seolhee grinned at her, leading the way to the cafeteria. She told Mikyung all the helpful tips, like which one of the many cafeterias on campus gave the best food, and all of her recommendations. She was a bundle of energy, happy to help Mikyung with anything she needed.
After they got their plates Seolhee led the way to a table with four boys, three of which she recognized from earlier.
"Everyone, this is our new friend, Mikyung," Seolhee announced, setting her plate down next to Sunwoo. "Mikyung, you hopefully remember Sunwoo, and that's Hyunjun," she said, pointing to the black-haired boy beside Sunwoo. "And then there's Eric and Haknyeon," she continued, pointing to the other two boys. Eric was the redhead, and Haknyeon's hair was brown. Mikyung quickly tried to commit everyone's name to memory as she sat beside Haknyeon, across from Seolhee.
"What's your major?" Seolhee asked curiously, taking a bite of her pasta. Her eyes widened and she looked at Sunwoo happily. "This is actually really good, try it," she said excitedly, feeding him a spoonful.
A ghost of a smile played on Mikyung's lips, watching them.
"Stop making us all be third wheels," Eric groaned dramatically.
"Yeah," Haknyeon said, rolling his eyes. "Plus, you asked her a question and then completely changed the subject. What's your major?" he asked, turning to Mikyung.
"Math," she said, her voice soft. She suddenly felt uncomfortable as all eyes were on her.
"Woah, you like math?" Seolhee asked, her eyes wide in shock. "I hate it. So much. I can't imagine possibly liking it, but that's amazing for you," she said, nodding appreciatively. "Math is hard," she mumbled, almost to herself.
"I like it," Mikyung said, though she didn't tell them why.
Her life was already a mess. It was already unstable. But math was stable. It didn't change. It was just numbers. Somehow, it made her feel safe.
"What are your majors?" she asked after a moment, looking around the table.
"We're all business majors," Hyunjun said. "Unfortunately," he added after a moment, frowning at the table.
"Unfortunately?" she questioned. "Why? Didn't you pick that major?"
Seolhee laughed, covering her mouth with one hand to stop her giggles, but it didn't work and she just leaned against Sunwoo, shaking with barely contained laughter.
"We don't choose our majors," Sunwoo explained, putting an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Our parents do. They're business people, and we're going to inherit the companies, so we have to be business majors."
Mikyung tried to hide her shock as she looked down at her food, now eating in silence.
These kids... they were her age. And yet they were already set to inherit their parent's companies.
What would she inherit? Debt, perhaps.
She sighed internally, realizing that her life was very, very different from theirs. When she looked back up, Eric and Sunwoo were joking around.
"Maybe you should just try being head of school," Eric was saying playfully.
Sunwoo leaned back in his chair lazily. "Should I?" he mumbled. "I doubt my dad will just give me the position. I gotta prove myself first."
"Maybe if you went to some classes once in a while..." Seolhee mumbled, looking at him pointedly.
"Why should I go to classes?" Sunwoo joked. "I own the place. And so will you, one day," he added, winking at Seolhee, making the girl blush and hide her face in his shoulder.
Sunwoo... owned the school? Or his father did?
Mikyung felt like her brain was being overloaded with way too much information. She stood up, checking the time on her phone. It was time to go to work because unlike these kids, she was not rich. She was poor, very poor. Especially now, which college and with... with...
She blinked rapidly, trying not to think about it.
"I'll be leaving first," she said softly, her voice sounding a bit choked up. No one really seemed to notice, no one except Haknyeon, who looked up at her worriedly. She opened his mouth as though he were about to ask her something, but she quickly turned away and left.
Mikyung made the decision to keep her personal information to herself. They didn't need to know about her situation.
They didn't need to know anything about her.
***
A/N
Starting off with two chapters so we can get things going a bit. I feel like this story is a bit more of a slow-burn than some of my other ones. I hope you'll like it!!
