𝒂𝒎 𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆? ! 𝗒𝖾𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗒𝗎

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲

With a final turn of the key, the door opened wide. The two bodies passed through the threshold, stopping a few steps away.

"Beomgyu, this is the room we talked about. May seem small, but rest assured, it's as clean as it can be." The dormitory admin, in his early twenties, maybe even twenty-eight, began, before raising his hand to gesture. "That's your bed." He points to the right side of the room.

Beomgyu's eyes scanned the cramped room, his visual range encompassing two parallel beds, a single desk perched, fortunately on its side, an empty bookshelf positioned near the window, and a closet on either side for clothes and other necessities.

You might think that this dorm room was nothing more than a matchbox, but for a student who was going to spend his nights studying in a corner and dozing off from time to time when his eyes gave out, it was more than enough.

It was... freedom.

"The common showers are right at the end of the hall. Each floor has its own common shower." Specified the brown-haired guy with the reserved smile, as friendly as could be, while occasionally glancing over at Beomgyu when the student was far too busy inspecting the place.

It was something about his features... about that delicate face of his that drew others' attention. He was all and had a well-defined silhouette. Beomgyu could be easily mistaken for a famous model on a daily basis. Natural beauty flowed in his and his family's genes.

"If there are any misunderstandings, you'll find me two floors below in the administrative room."

Administrative room. Such a formal name for the purpose this room actually served. It was a room like any other, where he and his colleague played video games from time to time, when he wasn't too busy dealing with registration forms and room assignments.

"Uh, sure. Thanks." Beomgyu spoke to him formally and thanked him with a bow, ready to finally be alone after a tiring day.

"I'll leave you then, unpack and settle in and... welcome to the new year, newbie!" The man patted him lightly on the shoulder, before turning on his heels, ready to leave.

Just then, however, Beomgyu glanced over at the empty bed, and a curiosity rose through the thoughts in his mind.

"Excuse me, about my roommate..." he began, slightly restrained, but the admin was of a far more outgoing nature than Beomgyu could ever be, so he beat him to it.

"Ah, don't worry. I heard he's a filthy rich kid. I doubt he'd come to use this room." He explains with a smile. "Usually, these kinds of students occupy places with their names only, not with the presence, to please their parents in their new 'independent life', so, you can rest assured. I think you'll have the room all to yourself."

"Ah, I see..." the brown-haired male had no idea how much relief he could bring inside Gyu with this piece of information in particular, but he could certainly be convinced by the bright smile he displayed.

Afterwards, they said a polite goodbye to each other, and as soon as the door closed behind the man, Beomgyu breathed a sigh of relief, then took a deep breath of the room air, which to him was the same as the air of freedom.

He had made the wise decision to move out on his own, as living under the same roof with his family had become too much for a young man with his lofty aspirations to bear. Beomgyu wanted to become a successful pediatrician. He loved children, he loved his younger relatives, but he loved helping people in general, and the exact sciences had always been his strong point, no matter how much the subject got worse and hard to keep up with from year to year.

Now he was finally free. And if the administrator was right about what he had said, no filthy rich asshole was going to make his life an ordeal during the year.

It seemed the planets had finally aligned in his favor. And he was going to take advantage of that completely.

He left his luggage at the edge of his bed and, as soon as he got off, stretched out on the surface of his bed, releasing a breath meant to attest to how reassured he was now that he had found a safe and stable place here.

A happy smile played on his lips as his exhausted body adjusted all too quickly to the softness of the bedding, inducing a state of laziness and drowsiness at the same time.

"I'll just close my eyes for a bit..." he mutters to himself, before a yawn leaves his lips. He stretched like a kitten lounging in the sun, then rolled over onto his back and peered at his own luggage. He'd taped a colorful note to the metal handle reminding himself that as soon as he arrived, he'd have to head out and buy a few more things he'd need for a complete move.

"I'll do that in a few minutes." He murmurs again, feeling his eyes already closing and the drowsy state finally overtaking him. He had to enjoy this free time while he still had it. He knew that before long, when classes started and the stress unfolded, it would be all taken away from him.

Maybe this year would be different. Maybe he'll finally get to experience the dream student life he deserved, after so many failures and false attempts of trying to adapt to miserable conditions.