3rd Point of View

Part 1

Niki took a deep breath to calm herself down. She looked up at the intimidating tall building in front of her with dread. There was a bold black letter embossed on the front spelling YG university. She wiped her hands on the side of her pants when she felt it start to sweat. It's a total opposite of her reaction a few weeks ago when she received the acceptance letter with full scholarship. She shouted and jumped in joy knowing that it's just the start of her journey to improve her life.

YG university is owned by YG Inc. is the place you go to get a start in your career. They are the best of the best. As one of the 3 top universities in Korea, this is where they created the top CEOs and famous entertainers in the country.

There were some rumors that YG market share covers 50% of the whole country's economy. That's why even for those who don't make it they will still be rest assured that they will get a job once they graduate and she is determined to do so in 3 years time. And to do that she needs to pluck her courage and make her way to her class.

As soon as she walked past the door, she saw how vast the lobby area was. Yes, this University has a lobby at their building. But instead of a reception area, there were lounge chairs and tables surrounding it. The walls were lined up with full bookshelves and at one corner there's an expensive looking 2 storey cafe. It was like YG just brought the whole shop into the lobby.

She was surprised with how modern and futuristic the design is. High ceilings and window glasses, the centerpiece is the see-through lift that seemed to bring it to another place altogether. There was another normal looking lift at both sides of the building and escalator equipped to help the student to bring to their classes. There was a big revolving door at the back which seemed to direct to a big town hall.

She felt lost suddenly. How the heck will she find her class here? She really wished her 2 new roommates Minnie and Sorn were with her right now but unfortunately even though they're on the same scholarship as her, they had different classes from her.

She needs to ask someone for directions. She looked around the area but surprisingly it was mostly empty. I guess everyone is already in class. She thought to herself.

Suddenly she heard the chimes of the cafe door as it opened and a girl with dark blonde hair walked out holding a cup of ice coffee in both of her hands. Niki's eyes widened at the beauty in front of her.

Is she a model? She wore a blue cap with letter C and a simple boy shirt and jeans but her beauty still shines through. When she took a sip on one of the coffee, her eyes lit up and she smiled happily. The girl seemed to be preoccupied with the ice coffees in her hands. However, she suddenly frowned and turned back toward the cafe door.

Scared of losing her, Niki quickly shouted out "Hey!" and ran towards her while at the same time waving her hand.

"Hello.." She started as soon as she neared the girl.

The girl turned back around when she heard Niki's voice and tilted her head while looking at her curiously before letting out a big smile and slowly waving back her right hand carefully to avoid spilling her coffee. "Hello!"

Wow..she looks more beautiful up close.

"Erm sorry to bother you..But I think I'm lost. I need to find ethics 101 at 32A but I'm not sure where to go." She stammered out.

The taller girls let out small chuckles. Her clear gray eyes stared back at her kindly. She put down one of the drinks on the table and offered her right hand. "Hi..I'm Lisa. Are you new here?"

Niki nodded her head. "Oh sorry. Silly me. My name is Niki. Yes, I'm new." She replied back.

As she took Lisa's hand, Niki could feel Lisa's hand was slightly wet and cold. As she took back her hands she wiped her hands at the side of her pants again.

Lisa blushed when she saw Niki's reaction. "Sorry about that. I forgot the napkins."

Niki just shrugged her shoulders and let out a small smile. "It's okay..see it's dry already."

Lisa smiled back happily. She then pointed to the escalator on the right. "The first number is for the floor and the 2nd one refers to the room number. So yours will be on the third floor. Once you reach there, just search for room number 2A."

"Oh wow. Thanks! I owe you one. I think I'll use the lift instead because that will be faster. I'm already late."

But before she could move, Lisa shook her head before she added. "No. You can't use the lift."

"Oh..okay. Why can't I use it? Is it broken?" Niki asked curiously.

"Nope. The middle lift is only for YG members and the other two is just for final year students and admin staff only. The rest need to use escalators." Lisa replied nonchalantly.

"That's stupid."

Lisa raised her eyebrows at that. "Why do you say that? It's just an extra privilege given to the seniors and staff. Finishing their final year and working here is already tough enough. I think it's good that our Uni gave them these special privileges so they can just focus on their studies and work. Saving minutes going to classes and places helps a lot too. Others can use it as soon as they reach seniors level too."

"Well..what if there's an emergency? What if the other student has to use a wheelchair to get by? What then? Asked them to get up and pull themselves on the escalator still?"

"But we never heard anyone complaining before. Besides, we don't have anyone using wheelchairs here." Lisa explained.

"Maybe they were afraid to speak up. But what if someday that person needs it? Or when the Uni accepts new students that need to use some kind of aid moving around. The facilities should address all respective persons' needs and not just what the Uni thinks is best for them." Niki replied back passionately.

"Hmm..that's a good point. I never think of that." Lisa tapped her finger on her chin.

Niki internally feels proud of herself. She's happy that Lisa looked interested rather than bored. Usually when she starts her rants like this, the other person will just start to find excuses and leave but apparently Lisa is different.

But before she can continue with her rants about equal opportunity, a loud voice suddenly piped up from behind her.