Black Lotus

Ch 1 Light

Light.

It was the first thing that she noticed when her eyes opened. She tried to blink several times and realized she was still in her room. Exhaling her breath, she dragged her feet and moved her body. Still dazed, from the corner of her eyes, she eyed the calendar today. The girl raised her eyebrow when she noticed a particular subject interested her. Perhaps today could be exciting.

She rushed into the tiny bathroom in her little flat and turned on the shower. Cold water instantly welcomed her. She washed while freezing due to the water temperature. Sometimes, she regretted not renting a flat with a water heater, but the cost was too much, and she needed to save her pocket money from the scholarship. In the end, this little flat was something that she could afford, at least for now.

Rolling herself with a big towel, she stepped out of the bathroom and immediately ran for her clothes. She was excited for today and could not wait to go to her University soon. The raven-haired girl grabbed her favorite clothes: a black shirt with a hoodie and jeans. She preferred to dress comfortably instead of wearing too much.

The girl stared and then combed her hair while staring at her reflection in the mirror. She realized her hair had grown so long, almost reaching past her shoulder. Maybe she needed a haircut soon; she mentally took note to go to her favorite saloon, a cheap saloon downtown with a middle-aged woman as a hairdresser.

"Maybe I need to cut my hair short like before," she mumbled softly. She wore her trademark black cap like usual to avoid unnecessary attention.

"Ryujin, I need to go to work. Breakfast is on the table, don't forget to eat!" Her roommate shouted from outside.

"Yes, thank you, Nayeon." The girl named Ryujin shouted back.

Nayeon, her roommate who shares a room with her in their tiny flat, works as a waitress at a restaurant. She met her when Ryujin was searching for a flat because the university dorm was only for first-year students. Being a sophomore means she needs to move out quickly. Luckily, the woman had also been looking for a new living place. The two decided to try to share the rent since they needed to be frugal.

Living with Nayeon was not that bad. The older woman could cook, even with limited ingredients, thanks to Nayeon, who got used to being frugal. At least she could eat healthy food, not instant noodles or frozen food like before. The only unfortunate thing was that maybe Nayeon was a lazy person. So, Ryujin was in charge of chores, such as when Nayeon left dirty kitchen utensils and dishes after cooking.

"Well, thanks to her, I can eat decent food." Ryujin puffed when she saw the familiar dirty dishes in front of her.

"Yeah, it's not that bad." She rolled her eyes when she realized Nayeon had not emptied the trash. "Wrong, maybe it's bad."

"Nayeon, you forgot to take out the trash again!" Ryujin yelled in annoyance. 

***

Girls around her age may have thought that college was a new opportunity to explore many things. She might have the same thought. However, Ryujin had a clear goal of what she wanted to do in college. She must graduate early with a high GPA to get a decent job.

She majored in law and studied hard to become a lawyer. The raven-haired girl drowned herself in books even when she had no assignments. Her ambitious habit made her an outsider among her peers—not that she cared about that. She thought her classmates were just colleagues who could help her with a group project.

However, some people couldn't mind their business, for example, this girl. "Ryujin! How could you leave me to read in chat? I was waiting for your answer!"