Sweet love (Kim Seungmin)

Chapter 1

- Don't forget to send me your work by next Thursday! And, before I you leave, at the request of the school's mobility association, I must tell you about the opening of the registration deadline for the exchange program next semester – our statistics teacher informs us – you will have the whole month of November to register and, at the beginning of December, the placements will be published. Therefore, it is best to start thinking about where you want to go and see what the entry requirements are for each university. On the school's website you can see all of this, including the universities available for each course. And that's it. See you in the next class – he says, as he picks up his things and walks towards the door.

FINALLY, classes are over. Just for today, but they're done. One more second sitting in that chair and I would go crazy. My mental health must have reached negative numbers by now.

We're in the first week of classes! FIRST WEEK! And we already have a ton of work and presentations to do, test and exams scheduled... How am I supposed to survive a whole year of this?

You know, the idea of ​​participating in that exchange program doesn't seem too bad now. I have heard that in those foreign universities, like in France or Germany, there is not so much theoretical teaching. It's more practical and supposedly gives you way more free time. And, in addition to acquiring a lot of experience, it also appears on your CV. Most companies consider it very attractive when they go to hire someone. It only has pros.

However, knowing myself, I don't believe I can survive long in another country. It means I have to be independent and responsible. In other words, stopping being lazy, which is simply impossible. I can't survive without watching at least three episodes of my series per day, or spending an entire afternoon listening to music, reading or writing. Impossible.

But even worse... having to meet and SOCIALIZE with new people?

That's my death right there!

I actually think of myself as nice person and I don't mind spending my time with the people I like the most. I mean, since I started university, I spend most of my time at the "Sweet" Bakery (but not as much as at home, with the love of my life who is my dear bed, obviously). The girls and I are always there either to study or to talk and eat. And it doesn't help that Bea works there.

But having to talk to someone I've never met in my life, and, on top of that, I'm most likely going to have to start the conversation, it's not for me! My social battery likes to be selective, we're really sorry.

I feel much more comfortable being with those I already get along with. I don't feel the need for more. And speaking of that....

- Sofi, do you want to come to the bakery with me? Bea has a shift now and Anna's stopping there later.

I don't think you know who Sofia is. You're lucky. She is an interesting person to know. When you start talking to her the first few times, she seems like a very nice, sweet girl, with no malice in her soul. Then, she starts to feel comfortable around you and you start to be bullied every single day.

Okay. I may be exaggerating. It's just that her way of showing affection and love is by attacking others, in short. And if I can say so! Every goddam day I suffer! Mainly because of my size, as she is about ten centimeters taller than me. But deep down (really, really deep down) she really likes us, even if she doesn't admit it. She's a softie at the end of the day (but don't tell her I told you that or she'll kill me).

In Bea's case, she is the complete opposite. She's very dramatic in her way of being. Literally. If you hear a really loud type of laughter, it's probably her laughing at the end of the street. I'm not exaggerating! You can be miles away from her and still hear her talking. Another interesting aspect, and completely different from Sofia, is the fact that, if she could, she would live on hugs alone. She LOVES hugs. To sum her up, she is a very lovable person that easily opens up to others.

As for Anna, I can describe her as a mix of both Sofia and Bea. She opens up easily to people, likes to show others that she likes them and is very sociable, just like Bea. These two seem to know everything and everyone. As you can probably imagine, they are the gossips of the group. Something happens to someone and that same day we know everything. Better than journalists.

However, Anna can also be a difficult flower to smell, like Sofia. She's very direct. The most direct person I know. She will tell you what she is thinking without filter and if she doesn't like something, she won't keep quiet, even if you don't like to hear what she has to say. And don't even think about messing with her. She may be small, but she can bite. I'm joking (but, I won't deny it, sometimes I really think she's going to literally do it).

Since I talked about these three, I also want you to meet Iris. She is the athlete of our group. She plays basketball (she's the tallest of the group), loves handball (her father is a referee) and hates football (she says it's overrated). I will never understand her in that aspect, which may be related to the fact that I am a zero when it comes to any type of physical activity. She, like Sofia, doesn't show much affection to others and, like Ana, she's too direct. Fun fact, she can't hear 25% of her left ear, which is a very (not) important information. You're going to hear this a lot, just letting you know.

We've all been friends since high school. We were all in the same class and, luckily, got to stay in the same university. Sofia and I are taking a bachelor in economics, Anna and Bea in business and Iris in mathematics, all of us in our second year. We are practically inseparable, we even share apartments and everything, me with both Anna and Iris, and Sofia with Bea.

With the presentations over, let's return to the present. Ana has swimming lessons after school (couldn't be me, not even dead you'll see me doing any kind of physical activity on my own free will) and we usually go home together, so I'm supposed to wait for her at the bakery and keep Bea company. It is also an excuse to spend the extra time writing a little, listen to music and have a snack (in the bakery there are some croissants to die for!).

I wouldn't mind having some company on the way there, but I guess I did not think carefully on who I was asking it to. Do you wanna guess what Sofia answered me?

- And having to put up with people, especially Beas, voluntarily? No thanks.

Don't worry. It's a typical response coming from her. I'm used to it.

Guess I have to walk there alone.

Oh well.

It's life.

Next chapter...