3rd Point of View

Part 15

"Hello, what can I help you with dear?" The old lady on the reception desk greeted her as soon as she walked through the admin's front door.

Niki looked down at the old lady's name tag, Mrs Nim, head of the admin office. Oh..she didn't know that the boss would be sitting at the front desk. She looked like a strict discipline teacher from her old school with her white hair tied in a small bun. Her steely eyes stared hard at her unblinking. That cold stare could seriously rival Jennie's. Though when she gave her a smile, it did give her a small comfort that she was in the right place.  

"Erm..I was just wondering what is the process for me to withdraw from this Uni? Something came up and I don't think I could afford to pay for the fees anymore." Niki explained in a hesitant voice.

"Well dear, first I need your full name."

"Sorry about that. My name is.." 

"Niki?" Jisoo's voice suddenly piped up from behind her.

"You know her?" Mrs Nim asked.

"Yeah. This is the girl Jennie thought...." Jisoo stopped and instead she turned back to Niki. "So… what are you doing here?"

Niki didn't miss the way Jisoo stopped finishing her sentence. What does Jennie think about her?

"Oh? Well this girl here said she's leaving our Uni and asking me how to proceed with it." Mrs Nim explained on her behalf.

Jisoo frowned. "Why?"

"Erm..I don’t think I can afford to pay the fees anymore."

"But I remembered Lisa told us you're under Bae’s scholarship programme." Jisoo retorted back.

"Oh yeah..that's true."

"Do you encounter issues with the programme? I could talk to Irene for you?" 

"NO!..No..I mean you don't have too. Actually I'm quitting because I need to find jobs to help my parents. They are getting older and tend to get sick more nowadays. I don't want to burden them anymore." Niki lied.

"Are you sure about that dear? You could help your parents more if you have better jobs. And you'll certainly have that if you finish your studies and graduate from here." Mrs Nim interjected.

Niki nodded her head. "It’s the only option I have now. Once we've settled down, I'll continue my studies again." 

"Okay then Mrs Nim, please proceed with her request. It's good to see you, Niki. I hope we'll meet again after this." Jisoo offered her hand.

Niki took it and watched as Jisoo walked towards the door behind Mrs Nim's office. I guessed she did most of her work here instead on the 10th floor where the whole floor is reserved for the members only. After she filled up whatever forms Mrs Nim passed her she left the office looking glum. Mrs Nim told her to come back early the next day as she needed to get approval for her request.

To be honest, at the far far tiny pieces of her heart she was hoping that Jisoo will ask more about her situation and eventually she will confess everything. She imagined after hearing it all, Jisoo would be so shocked that she offered to help her clear her parents' debt and she could continue studying here for free. Alas, it's all just wishful thinking on her part and she felt slightly ashamed of it. This is not a Kdrama or a fairytale movie. This is real life. There's no one who will help you other than yourself.

The next day she skipped her morning class instead choosing to sit at the booth area at the back of the cafe. It's a quiet area as most students usually prefer to sit at the table in front with their laptop and books. Since she didn't plan to do any study today, the booth is the perfect spot for her to have a coffee while waiting to go to the admin office. She was browsing the adverts in the newspaper for a job offer when she felt a presence from behind her.