Karma ━━ Jake Sim

𝟬𝟵 ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀Give It a Chance

"It's kind of, like, the school's only personality trait." He continues with a laugh, "Shows in the name, actually. Dari - bridge. San - mountain. They say the town and school have been referred to as Seoul's bridge to the mountains since... practically forever."

Bridge to the mountains, Sujin repeats in her head. It has a nice ring to it.

"You'll see, they take that title crazy seriously." Jay says, "It's also the reason you've probably come across eagles plastered around everywhere - not to mention the big ass fountain in the entrance." Sujin nods lightly, remembering the grand stone statue she'd passed the day before. "They're an extinct species now, I think. But there used to be a whole lot of them flying around back in the day, mostly up in the mountains. They say Darisan's eagles were a special shade of brown - rich, almost red in the sun. It's why our uniforms are maroon too."

Sujin silently ponders this information. For some reason, she finds it thousands of times more interesting than anything Jay's already mentioned about the size of the swimming pool, or the cost of the gym's most recent renovation.

This place carries a whole lot more history, she thinks; a whole lot more heart than she'd originally given it credit for.

After a few more minutes of walking, the pair come to a stop in front of a small building. Jay explains in passing that the area they're in is referred to as the Plaza - a compact, but by no means insufficient, assortment of shops and restaurants for students to visit on their time off. Aside from the sushi restaurant, there's also a cafe, pizza parlor, and dessert bar. She also spots a busy supermarket and cozy little bookstore on the other side of the street.

"Aaand that brings us to the end of our little excursion!" Jay beams, raising a hand to his forehead in some sort of salute, "Tour guide Jjong signing off."

Sujin breathes a half-hearted chuckle, "Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome," The boy teasingly mirrors her closed-off mannerisms, "I guess."

Jay swings the door open and leads the way inside, holding up a hand - "Table for four, please!" - to a waiter who situates the pair in a booth right by the sushi train. He hungrily eyes the conveyor belt of food, wasting no time in piling up an assortment of salmon, shrimp and teriyaki chicken dishes before them in record time.

"Oh my god, finally." He rejoices dramatically, shoveling a piece of tempura in his mouth without so much as a 'Don't mind if I do!', "This always hits. You've gotta try some."

Sujin rolls her eyes. Boys and their unnaturally strong affinity for food.

"I'm good." She states, leaning back in her chair and proceeding to scroll through her phone. As much as the grilled salmon is calling to her empty stomach right now, she just wants to hurry back to the comfort of her own dorm as soon as possible. And if that means silently watching Jay eat an absurd amount of food for the next half hour, then so be it.

He studies her curiously, "One bite's not gonna kill you, you know."

"I know." Sujin replies, eyes not leaving her phone screen for even a second, "I just don't really have an appetite right now."

Liar.

An uneasy silence falls between them, and Jay doesn't know what to do. He's tried his best - played the part of friendly tour guide; gone so far as to weave stupid little jokes (which are usually crowd pleasers) into their previous conversations; and taken her to the best eating spot on campus. Yet here she is, colder than ever as she doesn't even give him the luxury of something as simple as an acknowledgement. She's on her phone, for crying out loud. The corner of his lip twitches, and the easygoing facade he's worked so hard to uphold for his mother's satisfaction begins to crack.