She looked… kind of familiar. Suho tried to get a better look at her, but with all the freshmen crowding around, it was almost impossible. The only thing he could make out in the chaos was a black tracksuit and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. A few strands had come loose and were falling over her face, making it hard to see her properly.
The freshmen had surrounded her completely, all eyes on her.
"Wow, so she's actually going to be studying here," someone from the side called out.
"And here I thought it was just a rumor."
"Come on, even celebrities go to college these days," another guy added knowingly.
Suho glanced at his friends, confused.
"So… who is she?"
They exchanged looks.
"Dude, have you been living under a rock for the past two weeks? The whole university's been talking about Yoon Jia getting in. Yoon Jia. Seriously, you've never heard of her?"
The name didn't ring a bell. Disappointed by his reaction, his friends had already pulled up a news site and found the post. Suho took the phone and recognized the face in a split second. No joke - this girl had been staring at him from across his bedroom window since the start of summer. On a giant billboard advertising some luxury perfume. He stared at the photo, blinking. The familiar mole on her cheek, the shape of her eyes. It was definitely her.
"Billboard girl" - that's what he'd been calling her in his head when he looked out the window in the mornings, still lying in bed. Was she really sitting just a couple of tables away?
It took Suho a moment to process. He'd lived in Seoul his whole life, in a pretty decent neighborhood, but he'd never actually met a celebrity before. And now, someone who'd always seemed totally out of reach was right there, just a few meters away.
Before he knew it, he was stealing glances at the freshmen's table, tuning out half of what the basketball guys were saying. Someone poured him more beer. Someone accidentally kicked his foot under the table and started apologizing.
But Suho's mind was stuck on the fact that "billboard girl" looked kind of… fragile in real life. She'd rolled up the sleeves of her black jacket, showing off her thin wrists, and was poking at her salad with her chopsticks. The freshmen were all staring at her from every angle, and judging by the look of things, they were firing questions at her nonstop, not even letting her eat.
She had such a expressive face. Suho didn't even notice himself smiling when she laughed. Catching himself, he quickly looked away.
He stared down at his salad, but he couldn't get that image out of his head — that vision with the cute ponytail. Slowly, something inside him started to stir.
He exchanged a few words with Minseok, took a couple sips of beer, trying to calm his heart down for some reason. Then, gathering his courage, he looked back toward the freshmen. He had to grip his napkin to keep from looking away when he noticed that some of the new students, including Jia, were now looking curiously in their direction.
"And over there are the upperclassmen. See those buff guys? They play basketball for the university," the girl with the low-cut top sitting next to Jia announced, loud enough for pretty much everyone to hear.
Suho's eyes met Jia's. For a split second, when their gazes locked, he held his breath. He smiled wide. She smiled back, gave a small nod, and then calmly looked away.
"See that guy in the gray shirt? He was captain last year!" the girl added, even louder. She was definitely already a bit drunk.
Suho saw Jia flinch and whisper something to her, after which the girl dramatically switched to a whisper, putting a finger to her lips.
Jia glanced at Suho, looking embarrassed.
He just nodded at her, then watched her awkwardly tuck her hair behind her ear and quickly turn back to the others.
Time passed, but Jia didn't look his way again. Suho finished his beer, finished his meat, and leaned back in his chair, tracing the rim of his plate with his finger. He was thinking about whether he should go over to "billboard girl." For some reason, he really wanted to, but he didn't know why. And what would he even say?
A fresh wave of dull pain in his knee made the decision for him, keeping him stuck in his seat. He couldn't take any painkillers now, and limping around in front of everyone was the last thing he wanted. About an hour later, the freshmen started talking about moving to a noraebang. Some of the upperclassmen, already pretty drunk, enthusiastically agreed and started getting ready.
"You going with them?" Suho asked Minseok, keeping an eye on the slender silhouette out of the corner of his eye. Jia was standing up with the rest.
"I need to keep an eye on Sewon. His mom won't be happy if she finds out I let him go by himself," Minseok sighed quietly.
His parents were close with the kid's family. Suho got it.
"What about you? Taking a taxi?"
Suho nodded, hoping Minseok wouldn't start worrying.
"Go on, they'll leave without you," he said, waving toward the exit.
People were already gathering by the door.
It was kind of amazing how a hundred drunk students could all move together like that, so eager to keep the party going. Suho watched as the place emptied out and got quieter. After the main group left for the noraebang, the rest started saying their goodbyes and calling taxis. One of the last to leave was the girl who'd helped organize the party. She paid for the food, then said goodbye to Suho.
When the hall was empty and the waiters started clearing the tables, Suho slowly got up, gritting his teeth against a sharp jolt of pain, and made his way toward the exit.
In the silence, his heart felt heavier. As he crossed the room, Suho found himself thinking about a lot of things. About how just last year, he would've been one of those people singing their lungs out at the noraebang for three hours. About how most of the guys he used to hang out with probably wouldn't even notice he wasn't there.
He wished things could go back to how they were, but all he could do was limp to his taxi and hope it would come fast so he didn't have to stand around too long.
He also felt a pang of regret that he'd lost sight of Jia in all the chaos. Honestly, he'd never be able to look at that billboard near his house the same way again.
The stairs down to the first floor were absolute hell. He'd managed to get up with Minseok's help, but going down alone was a different story. His knee barely bent, sending waves of pain up his thigh.
By the time Choi made it outside and breathed in the night air, there was sweat on his forehead and his mood had hit rock bottom. A deep sense of hopelessness was spreading through his chest, threatening to spill out at any moment.
Don't give up. Pull yourself together, Suho. Just call Dr. Min tomorrow and start the second round of rehab, he told himself, trying not to let it get to him.
Outside, the air was cool and it was easier to breathe. Suho looked around for his taxi, but it hadn't arrived yet. Instead, he spotted a familiar figure standing alone about twenty meters away.
Why hasn't she left?