A Bond |BTS Fanfiction|

2

The above song is called 'Like' by BTS. It is a track from their debut single album, '2 COOL 4 SCHOOL' released in 2013. It recently became a trend on social media which the members followed too!  Do give it a listen while reading!

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Cafeteria was the busiest place on campus Areum knew, especially during the time it was open to high schoolers. It was also the largest indoor-space on the campus, right after the all-student auditorium. 

It was a large room sectioned into five different spaces. Right after entering through the push-pull glass doors, the first thing one saw was two canteen attendance machines set up against the wall, which printed out tickets for the self-service counter after scanning the allocated student cards. The card colors changed each year and as a result it was easy to distinguish between the students, year-wise.

Next was the self-serve counter, which was usually manned by two staff members who collected the tickets, handed off plates and served Chef's special for the day. The plat du jour was usually a dessert or sometimes some sort of juice. Areum knew most of the staff by now, and one kind woman even snuck extras in her plate sometimes if the dish of the day was something that made her eyes sparkle in childish excitement.

Between the large ceiling to floor windows and the self-serve counter was an array of square and circular benches. Laminate from most of them was chipping off or torn by wandering, destructive hands. Some had designs scratched by a compass, usually spelling profanity or nonsense that no one other than the artist could decipher. Areum once stumbled upon a doodle so intricate, it could put design students to shame.

Beyond the bench-area were long tables and chairs, the tables white and chair seats red in color. It was an unwritten rule that the tables were only used by huge friend groups, students with physically gigantic projects and college students. Once in a while, professors brought in important people to have lunch and they occupied those tables, away from most of the crowd. Whenever this happened, there would be a 'RESERVED' plaque so students knew to leave the area alone.

The last section was the order counter against the same wall as the self-serve counter. There, one could place order for anything from the menu of stalls on it's left and pay using the same student card that they used for self-serve. Areum was satisfied with the food in the cafeteria and had only ordered twice; once when she was late and self-serve was closed for the day; next time for a parcel to take home, because she'd loved the chilli noodles she ordered the previous day and Ms. Hwang was curious the noodles that impressed her daughter so much that she did not stop talking about them. 

The University students were allowed inside the cafeteria whenever they wanted before the last class of the day finished. Flexible entrance timings were provided for them because of the variations in time tables for different courses. The Central Library too was open till late, around eleven p.m., while department specific libraries closed by 7 in the evening.

College students liked to use the place like a meeting spot for clubs or as a third library when exam season made the actual libraries as packed as the 21st Century Girl store on Hope Street for an annual sale day.

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Given how long she had hogged the once-white round bench near the far right windows, she expected the bell to go off anytime and the not-so-clean-but-somehow-see-through cafeteria gates open for hoards of hungry high schoolers in mid-student-life crisis.