Within These Shadows || Park Chanyeol/Do Kyungsoo || Book 1

6

The cafeteria bustled with university students during the lunch hour. Almost every table was occupied by groups of people, talking away about their daily lives, studies, future goals, and so on. Likewise, Jayline and Seung Mae sat at their usual table, joined by Jung Yang Mi. The younger girl was more than happy to join her sunbaes instead of her classmates. She got along with her classmates pretty well, but at the moment, she wanted to learn Jay's ways of university life.

"Yah, why are you sitting here with us? Do you not have friends?" Jay asked Yang Mi.

"Jay!" Mae kicked her best friend lightly under the table.

"Ow! What?" Jay gave Mae a bewildered look. "I wasn't being rude!"

"It's okay Seung Mae unnie. I like how Jayline unnie talks to me!" Yang Mi smiled. "I do have friends. But I like hanging out with you. I'm trying to learn how to be like you, Jayline sunbae-nim!"

The look of determination on Yang Mi's face made Mae laugh. The younger girl was so small and cute that when she was serious, it made her look even cuter. It was hard for anyone to take her seriously. It made Mae wonder how could such an adorable person become a Lawyer, and how would the Judge or the opposition party even take her seriously.

"Yang Mi-ya, I don't think you will need to fight any cases. The Judge will let you win just by seeing your cuteness. Perform some aegyeo for him and the case is all yours." Mae laughed.

"Which lame turtle have you been hanging out with, recently?" Jay looked at Mae with a look of horror. "Why would you even say such bullshit?"

Mae's laughter stopped; she looked at Jay with a poker face for a couple of seconds before speaking up. "Since the only turtle I hang out with is you, it must be you who I learned such lame jokes from."

Jay laughed in disbelief, put down her chopsticks and looked hard at Mae. "You're really getting smart these days, aren't you?"

"Or maybe you're getting dumber," Mae continued to eat, not sparing her best friend a glance.

"Wah!" Jay continued looking at the girl beside her, tongue poking on the insides of her cheek; Ahn Seung Mae, her best friend since birth, just tried to outwit her in a conversation. The girl who used to cry at the smallest things that went wrong in childhood, was now making witty comments with a straight face. It was news, for the whole Ahn family and for Jay; she might just give a call to Mae's mom and congratulate her. Her daughter was finally growing up.

"Yah, you-" Jay was on the verge of a comeback but was interrupted by someone placing their food tray on the table.

"Can I join you lot?" Said a man's voice, grabbing the three girls' attention.

It was none other than Oh Dae Hyun, the Economics professor. All three girls looked confused for a while; why would a Professor, despite having access to the professor's cafe, join them in the student's cafe? The confused look on the girls' faces made Oh Dae Hyun confused, in turn.

"Can I not?" He asked, unsure of his actions.

"Of course, you can!" Mae said, breaking out of her thoughts.

"Thank you," Oh Dae Hyun smiled at Mae, who reciprocated the action, while Jay simply went back to eating her lunch.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Gyusu-nim (Hello, Professor), I'm Jung Yang Mi." Yang Mi stood up to bow to Dae Hyun, who had taken the seat next to hers.

"Annyeonghaseyo," Dae hyun replied. "Please, you don't need to stand up. Have your lunch. It's okay!" He was a very polite person. Yang Mi took her seat and focused on her lunch again. "How have you been, Jayline?" Dae Hyun shifted his focus over to Jay.