Yuqi's POV
"Ah shit, I'm late!" I cursed under my breath. It was only the second day of college. I looked through my timetable; Biology was first period, with Chemistry a few hours later.
I knew this was a bad idea. I thought. I had decided to wake up extra early to shower and get a good breakfast from outside campus, but I had taken too long to shower, and by the time I got my food it was already 7.55am. I had gulped down my food and rushed to class afterwards. My phone buzzed.
Minnie: Hey, where are you? Class is starting in 5 minutes!
Yuqi: I'm like, running there right now! Save a spot for me pleaseeee
Minnie: ...fine
15 minutes later
I pushed open the door to the lecture hall and immediately bowed to the professor, apologising for being late. Surprisingly, the professor didn't seem to care and just waved me off, mumbling, "Your loss for being late. Find a seat."
I saw Minnie waving her hand up high, and I saw an empty seat next to her. I rushed over, ignoring the many pairs of eyes on me, and sat down, panting. "Thanks, Minnie." I nodded in appreciation. "You're welcome. Now hurry up and get ready for lesson already!" She said. I pulled out my required materials and started to jot down notes.
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"What the hell is this shit?" I whispered to myself. I began rubbing my temples, trying to relieve myself of a massive headache. The words were way too complicated to understand, and the equation did not make any sense to me.
"Am I in the wrong class? I don't understand shit." I looked over to my right, wanting to clarify my doubts with Minnie and Miyeon. "Hey-" I stopped. They were both sound asleep. "Seriously? I felt miserable, when suddenly someone tapped my left shoulder.
"You okay?" Came a voice. I turned to my left and saw a boy looking at me with concern. For the first half of the lesson, I was so immersed into the lesson that I did not notice there was a boy next to me. He had brown eyes, a fairly sharp nose with neat hair.
"I can help you if you want." He smiled shyly.
"...uh yeah. I don't really understand this, could you please explain it to me? I hope I'm not troubling you." I looked at my paper, nervous. I was embarrassed to seek help from a complete stranger, as that meant showing my vulnerability. But I knew that I could not refuse, as I would not be able to understand the rest of the chapter if I did not get things right now.
"Of course not! Now, this word means..." He began explaining everything to me immediately.
"Oh, I get it now!" I grinned. "Thank you! Oh, I'm Yuqi by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself first. You are?"
"You're welcome! I'm Taehyung." He reached his hand out for a handshake. I shook his hand with a huge smile on my face, having finally understood the lesson content.
"I really can't thank you enough for helping me. How about I treat you to some coffee today?"
"Oh, there's no need to treat me. We can just study together at a cafe today. What about 3pm today? I have chemistry class later on." Taehyung replied.
"Hey, I do too! What a coincidence!" I smiled. And that's how we became friends.
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After chemistry class, I said goodbye to Minnie and Miyeon, then made my way to my locker. I grabbed whatever I had planned to study later on with Taehyung, then closed the locker door.
"Boo!" A man towered over me with hands outstretched, scaring the living daylights out of me.
"AHH!" I screamed. The man started laughing at me.
"...Lucas? What are you doing here? And stop laughing at me, I got shocked that's all!" I crossed my arms.
"Ooh, how intimidating." Lucas chuckled. "Relax, Yuqi. I'm just here to ask you out." I choked on my own saliva.
"A-ask me out? What the hell? You're crazy." I scoffed. We were attracting the attention of people in the hallway. They were either looking at Lucas with admiration, or glaring at me. I looked around.
"Geez, relax guys. I'm not trying to steal your idol." I muttered under my breath.
"So, what do you say Yuqi? Want to have dinner together tonight? My treat." He winked at me. I wanted to gag.
"No thanks. I'm busy. Now, if you could excuse me," I turned on my heel and walked away.
"Just you wait, Yuqi!" He called after me. Whatever. I thought.
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"Hey Yuqi, over here!" Taehyung called out. I turned towards his voice and saw him waving his hands excitedly. I trotted over and put my books down.
"Sorry for being late, I was held up by some idiot." I apologised. "I'll tell you all about it later, I'm going to go get some coffee first." I told him.
"Sure!" He nodded.
15 minutes later
"...yeah, I don't know why so many girls swoon over him. He's so annoying!" I told Taehyung about the encounter with Lucas earlier.
"He's good looking, sure, but his attitude is so bad. Maybe I would consider going out with him if he was more respectful to people. But it's probably never going to happen." I rolled my eyes. Taehyung nodded slowly.
"Y-yeah... He has a bad attitude... You know what? Let's just start studying shall we?" He lets out a smile, which seemed very forced. I picked it up, and asked Taehyung.
"Is there something wrong?" He shook his head.
"Nothing. Okay, I'm going to study some chemistry first, what about you?" He dismisses my question.
"Uh... okay. I'm studying some chemistry too, what chapter are you starting on?" I ask. I flipped open my textbook and started to study with Taehyung.
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"Yeah, that's right. Only Zinc will react this way, because..." Taehyung was explaining to me an important concept when suddenly, my phone rang.
"Excuse me," I told Taehyung apologetically and went outside to pick up the call.
"Yuqi, where are you? I hope you haven't forgotten about our important family dinner with the Wong family tonight! Get home soon alright? I've already picked an outfit for you." I grimaced. I completely forgot about the family dinner! Great.
"Okay mom, I'll come home now." I hung up the phone and went back inside.
"Uh.. Taehyung? I need to go home right now. I forgot about an important family event I have to attend tonight." I told Taehyung, embarrassed.
"Oh, no worries! I'll just see you tomorrow then?" He smiled.
"Of course! I'm really sorry for having to leave so suddenly, I hope I can make it up to you tomorrow or something." I said, packing up all my books.
"Okay, I really got to go now, bye!" I rushed out of the cafe.
"Bye!" I heard Taehyung call after me.
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I put on the dress my mother had prepared for me, just a simple black dress. I walked down to the main living room, which my mother had cleaned multiple times. The dining table was set with our most expensive cutlery.
"They should be here anytime soon!" My mother gestured me to walk with her to the door to welcome the guests. Before long, the doorbell rang. My father opened the door, and bowed immediately.
"Welcome, welcome! Please, do come in." My mother and I bowed repeatedly to the family as well, receiving bows in return. It was a family of three, with all of them dressed formally. Everyone was dressed in suits or in dresses, as it was quite a formal dinner. Just then, when the last person had walked in, I felt my breath get caught in my throat. Before I could stop myself, I exclaimed,
"What are you doing here?"