Chapter 8: When Opportunities Come, Take Them
Welcome to Touchstone
Letting out a loud yawn, Yiseul leans up against the counter in the kitchen. Looking at the time on her phone and realizing it should only be a few more seconds before he arrives–,
On cue, Mino sprints inside and comes to a stop before Yiseul.
Shifting his eyes away from her, he searches the counter to find it empty. The week Yiseul shared her cereal has conditioned him to this extent.
“I always clean the bowls, like you said to…,” he breaks the silence.
“Yeah, I know.” Reaching her hand out, she hands him a granola bar. “But, if you do that again today, you won’t show up to class on time.”
Hesitantly, he looks down at the on-the-go breakfast and then back to her. “Seungyoon said you helped me in last night.”
“I only accompanied you.”
“You set my alarm too?”
Yiseul nods her head.
“I usually wake up at 7:20… 7 AM is too early.”
His response surprisingly earns him a small quirk of her lips. “I’ll remember for next time.”
Taking his time, he opens the granola bar.
“If you leave now, you’ll get there in time,” Yiseul subtly urges him.
“Right.”
Mino spins around and leaves. Yiseul also grabs her backpack off the counter to get going.
***
Stepping out into the cold, the sight before her causes her feet to abruptly stop. From one face to another, she automatically realizes that they were up to their mischievous ways again… and so early in the morning.
Hanbin, Junhoe, and Bobby all stood before her. Their gloved hands busy rolling snow into perfect white balls.
“Good morning,” they greeted her with smiles. Smiles that aren’t as innocent as they appear.
She then realizes that the pranks aren’t going to stop but she didn’t expect them to start so early. “Are you all straight-A students?” she wonders aloud.
They suddenly burst out laughing before offering a unison, “No.”
“If you guys redirect all of this effort towards studying, it’s definitely possible,” she comments innocently but also in all seriousness.
While the three are focused on Yiseul, they didn’t notice the other person just now leaving the dorm building.
“Yiseul, for that remark, you’re going to get some snow in your face.”
“Why–,” before she could finish her question, Junhoe chucks the snowball… except, it flies past her cheek and completely misses her.
What happened next filled Yiseul with confusion. The three froze in their movements with their eyes dead set to the left of her. Looking beside her, Yiseul finds Jinhwan– Jinhwan with a face full of white. The four watch on cautiously as he lifts his hand to brush away the snow and when that doesn’t work, he gives his head a little shake.
Junhoe slowly backs away first. “Jinhwan– my man–,”
Jinhwan stares back at him, unamused.
“Please don’t break me.”
Looking away from the boy, Jinhwan’s eyes fall on Yiseul standing beside him.
She gently points at his neck. “The snow is going to get your shirt underneath all wet.”
Walking away, he opens up his jacket in order to get rid of all the snow and while the three others clear out of his path.
Watching his retreating back, Bobby notices something strange. “He’s never up this early,” he comments.
Hanbin looks at Junhoe and shoves him lightly. “What’s with your aim?”
“It’s early,” Junhoe quickly offers an excuse. “My condition is usually better in the afternoon.”
Bobby snickers. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Stupider than the time you said Dabooty is a real country?” Junhoe retorts.
“It’s Djibouti and it is real,” Bobby’s smile disappears as he argues back.
While they are distracted by their own argument, Yiseul notices something else out of the ordinary. Behind her, a male student walks out of the dorm’s entrance and stops at the side of the building. He presses his palm up against the structure before stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat and walking away.
“Good morning, dorm head,” he greets as he passes.
Hanbin walks forward while she tears her eyes away from the student.
“Look at your face.” He chuckles. “What is it?”
“I’m just trying to figure out which resident he is.” And the reason why he had done that.
“Donghyuk,” Hanbin reveals. “When he first moved in, some kid in his class convinced him that since this is Touchstone dorms, he needed to touch the building before entering and leaving… he has yet to catch on.”
Oh, the reminder is enough to help her remember Jennie’s trivia.
Suddenly, an urge brings her to look at the time to find she is going to be late. Without saying another word to Hanbin, she takes off.
“She’s impolite to someone older than her,” he comments to himself with a point of his finger.
“Hanbin, let’s
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