Venom & Oblivion

Chapter 8

Spring breeze welcomed a bunch of students, who were wandering around the campus of Yonsei University and taking in the closet view of the campus buildings. One of them was Jinyoung; he toured the campus on his own before finally heading back for the classroom he was supposed to be in.

After the college entrance exam, the break had been long and given nothing special to Jinyoung. He was glad to get again into the routines of attending classes and be among other fellow students.

Everything here was new and much better than high school. The classroom he was to attend his classes was no more spacious than his previous high school classroom, but everything here made him feel more refreshed and independent.

More and more students arrived at the classroom and Jinyoung chatted with some of them, mostly about how they felt to be here. And their dreams.

"Okay, everyone," a female teacher's voice boomed out, causing all the students in the room turn their attention to her, "So this is your first day here. Well, welcome to Yonsei. I saw you were conversing with each other a moment ago. Now already know about each other?"

When the students gave an affirmative answer, she continued, "Anyway, care to introduce yourselves to the whole class? Let's start from this row."

It was quite enjoyable to look at the classmates one by one, and learn their names, although it was difficult for Jinyoung to memorise all of them.

When it was his turn, Jinyoung stood up, and with a bow at the others, introduced himself and gave a brief explanation of why he chose this business administration major.

The teacher nodded at him and he was about to sit down again, when something caught his attention. The sight made his mouth fall open; something he had never expected.

"Sorry, I'm late." Now all the students' attention turned to the voice. "May I come in?"

"Of course," the teacher replied, "You are?"

"Mark Tuan. Thanks."

Mark occupied an empty seat near the entrance and ran his eyes over the classmates for a brief moment. Jinyoung was not sure if he was noticed or not, as his seat was far from Mark's and he was somehow shielded by the other students.

The introduction section went on but all Jinyoung could pay attention on now was only the person, who had avoided him for the whole high school year.

Jinyoung would have to admit that Mark had got more handsome than before; his body was in shape and had got a bit more built. No more a confined, uncomfortable high school student. Jinyoung was glad for him and hoped Mark would enjoy his college years, unlike his high school.

After everyone had introduced themselves, the teacher took her turn, introducing herself and explaining the rules, and do's and don'ts in this university.

The morning went on with the teachers introducing the subject and the outline of the course for this semester.

When it was lunch break, it was no more possible for Jinyoung to hide himself as most of the students left the classroom for the canteen and only a few remained in the room.

For certain, Mark looked more than shocked to find Jinyoung in the same room with him. The moment their eyes met, Jinyoung smiled and made a little wave.

His heart felt tight when Mark's eyes turned to coldness and he turned his attention somewhere else from Jinyoung.

So that was it then. Once again he was ignored; although it was not surprising, Jinyoung still felt upset and hopeless. Suddenly he felt out of place to be here; more than certain, his heart was going to ache everytime Mark gave him cold shoulders.

If it was fate to meet each other again, Jinyoung wished it would not be a cruel one.

"You're Mark Tuan?" two of the guys in the room, approached and one asked Mark. Jinyoung turned his eyes away but pricked up his ears at their conversation.

"Yes?"

"Nice. I'm Jong Min, call me Jong. Here's my friend, Seung Bo. Seung, in short. We're from from the same high school. You know that private school, Whimoon?"

"Sorry, I don't know. I'm just a foreigner here."

"Oh, where are you from, then?"

"LA."

"Cool! I've been to the States once. You know..."

Jinyoung took a quick glance at them and tried to observe Mark's potential friends. Both of them were muscular and tall and seemed to be rich kids. One of them was bragging about his experiences in America and the other was judging Mark in silence.

Feeling out of place continued for Jinyoung for the rest of the day. Mark would not spare him a glance and he did not like the aura of Mark's new friends. They looked daring and full of conceit in Jinyoung's eyes.

As soon as the teacher called it a day and left the classroom, the students' chatter erupted and no one seemed to be leaving the class so soon.

But Jinyoung had no desire to stay longer; after putting everything back to his bag, he slung it over his shoulders and made his way to the door.

Mark was talking with his new friends and they seemed to be exchanging their numbers. After taking a final glance at Mark, Jinyoung left the room.

Mark's gaze followed Jinyoung's back, till the latter could no longer be seen.

"Do you know him?" Seung asked, following Mark's gaze.

A moment paused before Mark found the answer, "No. Do you?"

"Don't remember his name. But doesn't he look weird? Looks like a timid type."

"Yeah," Jong smirked, "Seems like we're going to have fun here. Don't you think so, Mark?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, don't play innocent. To be superior, there always needs to be someone inferior. He looks like just the right guy for this role."

Mark's eyes blazed and glared at them, with fury. If it had not been his first day here, he wouldn't have minded starting a fight.

But then, their words made him muse and something other than fury flickered across his eyes. His heart was steeled again and his love ignored. Sorry, Jinyoung.