Earn it

Fitting in

Chapter 2

Ryujin

I was still flushed from running towards the dorms because of the impending heavy rain when I noticed an unfamiliar girl trying to open our unit's door.

"Hey, what are you doing??" I rushed to take a look at her.

When she looked up at me, my mouth formed an O shape, trying to figure out how someone can be this pretty even in the middle of panic.

She jumped and put a distance between us. Eyebrows crossed, "Who are you? I'm trying to open my unit's door." She stammered, clearly surprised by my sudden attack.

"Your unit? This is my unit." I said, confused, with a little more control in my voice now.

She stared at me for a minute when a realization seemed to hit her. "Oh, you must be Ryujin? I'm your new roommate, Yeji." She extended a hand.

"I am. Hi", I shook her hand, still confused.

"Would you help me? I'm still confused how a key like this works. I can explain everything inside", she gave me a sheepish smile and I swear if I wasn't giving out a baffled vibe, I'd be arrested for how hard I've been staring at her during the whole conversation.

We went inside and no one's home yet. Language classes end at around 6PM and it's just a little over 5 o'clock.

"So..." I started.

"Oh, sorry." She looked at me, flustered. "I'm Yeji. I'm a new student and it's my first day here. I was assigned to this dorm and I met Chaer, Yuna and Lia a while ago."

"New student? Cool. I didn't know they accept late enrollees. Let me guess, you're in the performing arts dorms and you're dressed quite differently. Is modeling your major?" I tried to prolong the conversation as I can't seem to shake off how striking her eyes are.

She looked a bit offended by my comment.

"I'm a double major - dancing and singing. I have never modeled in my life. Do I look like someone who doesn't have any talent?" She said, a little high in volume this time.

Shit.

"No, no. Not at all, Yeji. It's just that you're...'' gorgeous as hell. But I didn't say. "You look like someone who models. You're tall, and your fashion seems high end."

"Oh. Thank you." She said, flustered. "I dressed up for the day but this is the best I can pull off."

I tried to steer the conversation away from how she looks or I won't be able to help myself. "So, double major? That's impressive. I'm surprised Lia hasn't attempted to kill you yet."

That earned a subtle chuckle from her.

"She actually did, multiple times. I swear I can tell if she's around as she spends 80% of the time shooting daggers at me with her eyes."

"Don't worry about her. She can get a little competitive and protective. Well, it's nice to meet you. I'll head over to my room and change. See you around?" I ended the conversation, hoping that I can still save a tiny bit of my sanity.

God, she's gorgeous.

*

I woke up, hearing noises from the other room. I realized it's where Yeji has moved in. She must've been arranging her things. I rolled over and crashed into a sleeping body next to me.

Lia.

I didn't hear her come in. I checked the time and it's 8PM.

"Hey", I gently shook her to wake her up. "It's time for dinner. Wake up."

"Hmm. 5 more minutes, Ryuuu", she mumbled.

"Come on, the others must've been waiting for us."

A little after 5 minutes, we left my room. Lia is still groggy having just woken up so she almost stumbled upon Yeji, who's also walking towards the living room. She seems a little surprised to see us. Eyes traveling from me to Lia.

"Hey", I tried to strike up a conversation. She nodded and walked past us.

We followed her to the living room where Chaer and Yuna were discussing what food to buy.

"You're finally up", Chaer said, noticing my arrival. I didn't miss the slight rise of her eyebrows, questioning me why Lia slept in my room again. I shrugged and sat beside her, Lia following me.

"Oh, Ryu. Have you met Yeji?" Chaer asked, probably assuming it's the first time we'll see each other today.

"We have. I came home earlier and she was here." I looked over at Yeji but she's busy checking out the menu on Yuna's phone.

"Dinner, then?" Yuna supplied. "I'm starving."

We ordered Pizza and started to catch up.

"So Yeji. Tell us more about your story. How did you feel about moving? It must've been a hard process." Chaer opened the conversation.

Yeji nodded. "Yeah, it's hard being away from my hometown. I've been there all my life. And I never had the guts to travel. But, here I am. Hopefully, this gets me somewhere", she laughed nervously.

"So were you also in the performing arts program at home?", I asked.

"I was actually studying Chemistry", she glanced at me for the first time tonight. Upon meeting her gaze, my mind suddenly formed an image of Yeji wearing glasses, trying to read through whatever chemical is in the bottle she's holding.

"So how did you get in here, then?" Lia pulled me out of my reverie.

Yeji seemed to shrink a little with the tone of Lia's questions. I glared at her and quietly told her to be nice.

"I was recruited", Yeji answered. "They took care of my Visa and transportation expenses. My contract says I have to take standard classes for the sophomore level, then by the end of it, we'll have another meeting on how we'll go on. They didn't really offer much explanation so I'll just go with the classes for now." She took a bite of her pizza like it was not a big deal.

"They took care of your Visa and issued you a contract??" Chaer responded, amazed. "It must be something big, then? Maybe they have a different path for you and having you take classes is just a part of it?" Chaer perked up.

"It must be. Recruiting happens once or twice every year but the agency usually pools juniors and seniors and only pays attention to them. So it's pretty much a no-go for the freshmen and sophomores", Yuna added.

"Unless you're really good", I added, looking straight at Yeji now. She cocks an eyebrow, seemingly questioning what I meant by that.

"Of course. That's why I'm working extra hard this year", Lia answered and leaned her head on my shoulders.

"I guess we all have to work extra hard this year. We all know only 10% debuts under the agency. Everyone else is either scouted by other groups, participates on survival shows or... i don't know... give up?" Yuna said, a tinge of fear in her tone.

"Well, we sure as hell won't achieve that by staying up late on a school day. I'm heading back to bed." I said, breaking the silence. I stood up and left Lia on the couch.

"Good night, everyone." I said as I started to walk towards my room, thinking only about Yeji and her aloofness the whole night.