19 | minsung

1

the ringing of the alarm clock echoed through the room, prompting the sleeping figure underneath the sheet to groan as they reached to turn it off.

minho rose from his bed with a scowl on his face, dreading the day ahead. today marked his first day at a new university, a prospect that made most students cringe. what made it even worse for minho was that he was transferring in the middle of the year, and he found himself labeled as an irregular student despite being in his third year, due to some of his subjects not being credited.

he harshly pulled the covers off and trudged his way to the bathroom for a quick shower, grumbling all the while.

after his shower, he dressed in decent clothes and made his way downstairs, where his parents were happily conversing with each other. as soon as they noticed minho's presence, they turned to him with warm smiles.

"minho, are you ready for your first day?" his mom greeted.

"do i even have a choice?" minho grumbled, doing his best to remain respectful. the combination of being rudely awakened by his annoying alarm clock and having to move to a new university midyear was making it difficult for him to maintain a positive attitude.

minho's dad let out a sigh and replied, "i thought you understood, minho. we moved here not by choice, but because of our work demands."

minho sat at the dining table, and his mom handed him his breakfast with a sad smile. "your dad's right, honey. i know adjusting will be hard for you, but we're here to support you! we even transferred you to a private university so you can have the best education, unlike your old uni in gimpo."

minho let out a sigh. it was true; his old university in gimpo wasn't really the best. but the problem with moving here was that he had to take on more classes as an irregular student.

he wanted to complain, but he didn't want to sound ungrateful to his parents. so he decided to stay quiet and nodded his head, indicating that he understood, all the while continuing to eat his breakfast.

"is your luggage ready?" mr. lee asked, already on his way upstairs to load minho's luggage into the car.

"yep, they're by the closet," minho replied, not taking his eyes off his breakfast.

with that, his dad made his way upstairs to fetch his luggage.

"we're going to drop you off at your dorm on our way to work, honey," minho's mom said sweetly, rubbing minho's back as he ate.

minho hummed in acknowledgment. "as much as we don't want you to stay in a dorm, your school is two hours away from here, and it's going to be hard for you to go to school every day," mrs. lee continued.

despite being in seoul, the university minho was enrolled in was far from their new home, making a dorm necessary.

"are you finished, minho?" mr. lee asked as he came downstairs with minho's luggage.

mrs. lee helped her husband load minho's belongings into the car, and minho didn't have a choice but to hurry and finish his breakfast. he didn't want to be the reason his parents were late for work.

-----

currently, minho leaned against the car door, idly gazing at the passing scenery outside.

"we've put some money into your account for groceries, min. we don't have time to buy them for you because your father and i have a flight overseas this afternoon," mrs. lee said, looking back at minho from the passenger seat.

minho replied absentmindedly, "mhm, thank you."

throughout the ride, minho was preoccupied with thoughts about what his new school would be like and how stressful the rest of the year was going to be for him.

-----

"we're here," mr. lee announced, stepping out of the driver's seat to unload minho's luggage from the trunk.

minho followed suit, helping his dad with his luggage.

"i trust you can handle it from here?" his dad asked, giving minho an encouraging smile.

"yes, thank you, dad," minho replied, giving his dad a quick embrace.

mrs. lee also left the car, approaching minho and enveloping him in a tight hug. "good luck with your school, honey. i'll miss you so much," his mom cooed.

minho couldn't help but giggle; his mother had always babied him since he was an only child. "i will, mom. stay safe on your flight later," he responded.

they stayed locked in an embrace for a few more minutes before minho pulled away, waving his parents goodbye as he entered the school campus and headed to the area where the dorms were located.

-----

as minho approached the dorms, he couldn't help but open his mouth in shock at how huge and immaculate the buildings looked, just as he had expected from a private school.

he then headed inside, pulling his luggage alongside him as he made his way to the reception.

"what can i help you with?" the receptionist greeted with a smile.

"uh, i'm lee minho. i'm here to get my room key," minho responded, nervousness evident in his tone.

the receptionist's eyes widened in realization, clapping her hands as she did. "oh, yes, of course. i'll get your key quickly. just wait here," they said, heading to the backroom to retrieve minho's key.

minho waited, letting his eyes roam around the interior of the lobby. in the middle of the room, there was a chandelier that emitted a soft yellow glow, as well as some couches and tables where students could lounge.

the lobby reminded him of a hotel lobby or a condo lobby, and minho couldn't help but feel really grateful to his parents for enrolling him in such a prestigious university.

before long, the receptionist returned from the backroom, handing minho his keycard. "good luck and have fun during your stay here," they said. minho mumbled a small 'thank you' in response before making his way to his room.

minho entered the elevator that would take him to the floor where his room was located. as the elevator came to a stop on the fourth floor, he stepped out and began looking for his room.

"414... 414," minho repeated to himself, eyeing the numbers on the door, hoping it was the one he was searching for.

after some time of searching, he finally located the door that matched the number on his keycard. "finally!" he exclaimed, opening the door using the keycard in his hand.

as he swung the door open, his eyes lit up in surprise and joy; the room was much larger than he had imagined. there was a living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. the living room and kitchen were partially furnished, with just a few items missing that he'd need to purchase himself.

"two separate rooms, just what i needed," he muttered to himself happily, stepping into the room.

as he did so, he felt a shiver run down his spine; the temperature in the room was unusually cold.

"why is it so fucking cold?!" minho exclaimed, scanning the room to find the source of the chilling air.

at that moment, minho noticed that the air conditioner in the living room was actually running. he made his way there, shivering, and began searching for the AC remote.

"ah!" minho exclaimed, finally finding the remote. he turned the temperature down and, after that, he resumed his examination of the room.

'do i have a roommate? there's no way they would just leave the AC on when the room is unoccupied, right?' he pondered as he scrutinized the room.

"but it feels so empty," he mumbled aloud.

"ah, i should probably unpack before worrying about this," he reasoned, returning to his luggage and bringing it to the living room where he intended to unpack.

as he started unpacking his belongings, he suddenly heard the front door open, accompanied by footsteps. minho was about to turn around to see who it was and greet them, in case it was his roommate, but when he did, all he saw was the bedroom door closing, preventing him from getting a look at the newcomer.

"so, i do have a roommate," he mumbled to himself with a shrug, resuming his unpacking.