The cold breeze of the autumn was gently pleasing the pedestrians and those who were outside for different reasons.
Around Tokyo, Park Jinyoung strolled, especially around one of the most crowded places, near the market. It was his day off, and placing his cold hands inside the side pockets of his jacket, he took pleasure in walking along the pavement and gazing around at the city.
He stopped in front of one of the small diners along the street, as his mind weighed up whether he should finish the dinner here. But knowing that there was nothing prepared for dinner at home, he chose to settle down here for the dinner.
"Sushi and Kare raisu, please."
"Sit down, sir. You'll be served soon."
Jinyoung chose a table at the corner, which was now unoccupied after a couple had left.
For these years, it was his usual routine to have meals at his rented apartment or outside, at some restaurants. Everytime, however, it was all alone.
Trying to be independent, he had become used to being alone and burying his thoughts mostly to himself.
"Let's take that table! You go ahead, I'll order the food. As usual?"
A girl urged her friends to go to the said table and she herself went to the food section.
"Aish, many assignments to do. Have you started any one of them?"
Jinyoung listened to one of the girls whining and her friend following that she had no idea where to start, as well.
He could easily guess they were college students, and smiled as he listened to their endless complaints about their stressful college life.
That was just the typical nature of young college students; having been a college student himself, he could sympathise with them.
After a moment, the girls were laughing at their own silly jokes, apparently forgetting how stressed they had been just a while ago.
Friends. They were what added spice to the college life.
After all, all of these thoughts brought him back to his own unpopular college life. And sadness and nostalgia along with that memory.
Jinyoung ran his hand through his hair how many times he lost count of, staring at the blank paper in front of him, which he had placed on the table since fifteen minutes ago.
His head had run out of ideas and it was taking him a lot longer than usual to start this assignment.
Worst, he was distracted when his phone screen lighted up with a message. Giving up, he took the phone and read the message instead.
'Jinyoung, we're at the cafe near your dorm. Come out, we're waiting.'
Jinyoung groaned; it was his highschool friends, who were at the different universities, and who he could not meet often nowadays.
'I can't. I have assignments to work on. Besides, I can't leave the dorm now.'
It was already ten to nine and it was allowed to go out of the dorm only until 8pm.
'Why not? It won't take long and you can just sneak out.'
Jinyoung was about to refuse again but he could sneak out if he wanted. He had never done that before but he knew some of his dormmates sometimes did that.
'Okay. Wait for me.'
There was no hall tutors on the way, to his luck; and all he needed to do was climbing over the fence wall in the darkness. Afterwards, he was safely outside.
It took longer than he had expected, however, at the cafe, catching up on his friends. When he walked back to the dorm, it was nearly ten; nervously he prayed that he could make his way through without alerting anyone.
Taking the heavy breath, he made to the top of the fence wall. But when he jumped down inside, the bright flashlight was directed straight at his face.
"Hey that student, come here at once!" It was the voice of the hall tutor, Minsuk, and Jinyoung made his way there, covering his face from the piercing light.
"You all are the same. Happy when violating the rules?"
Only then Jinyoung noticed that there were other two students beside the hall tutor, and apparently they also seemed to have been caught from sneaking out.
"Sorry, Sir, it was only because-"
"I don't want excuses. The fact is that you broke the rules."
"W-What should we do then?" One of the two boys asked, nervously.
"It's late now. So tonight is impossible. But the first thing tomorrow morning, you have to go meet the warden. All three of you, hear?"
"Yes, Sir!" All three of them said in unison.
"Now go back to your rooms."
Bidding the quiet good-nights to the hall tutor, all three of them walked back to their rooms. In the darkness, Jinyoung couldn't see the two students quite well. But seeing them talking along the way, he assumed they must be friends.
As the hall tutor had said, Jinyoung took a quick shower to go and meet the warden, as soon as he woke up. However, not in the good mood, as he had had to stay late doing the assignments last night and then had to wake up early.
The office room of the warden was on the top floor, and when Jinyoung made it there, the door was slightly ajar and he could already hear the stern voice of Mr. Jung, lecturing or more like scolding.
He knocked at the door and waited.
"Come in."
Jinyoung saw the other two students were already in front of Mr. Jung, hanging their heads low.
"You're also one of them who slipped out of the dorm last night?"
"Ah, yes, sir."
Now in the daylight, Jinyoung could see the other students, and to his surprise, they were actually his classmates, Mark Tuan and Dae HoonJun.
The painful lecture of Mr. Jung went on, and they listened to it in silence for about fifteen minutes.
When they were dismissed, they walked out of the room quietly.
"Ah, I thought it would never end," Jinyoung muttered, somehow relieved that they were his classmates, although they had never talked to Jinyoung longer than necessary.
"Yeah, why did you go out anyway?" Hoon asked Jinyoung, while Mark was silently walking along with them.
"Nothing important. To meet my friends. What about you? You're the obedient students as far as I know."
"That was all because of him," Mark said pointing at Hoon, "He wanted to see his favourite band's concert last night."
"Hey didn't you want to see it as well?"
"Ok, guys, no bickering. I'm already frustrated enough."
It was just a small, trivial matter but somehow, after that incident, they had gotten close in the class.
Who would have guessed that by and by, they would become best friends and then for the rest of their college life?
Jinyoung paid for his food and left the restaurant. His mind and heart, however, were still in the past.
Sometimes, he thought, it could have been better for him if that friendship had not started at all. Because most of what he had got from it, was suffering. But it would be selfish of him to say that. After all, he loved his friends and valued that friendship. And that would never change.
