across - NCT NA JAEMIN FF

one

KIM YUN

"Bye house," I mutter into the empty space as I close the door to the apartment and lock it securely with my keys. I adjust the strap of my school bag and stuff the jingling keys into my pocket. The corridor, as usual, is still quiet. I look left and right at the multiple identical doors that are lined up perfectly, not a sound coming from any. You'd think no one lived here.

With a last look of distaste at the door in front of mine, I set off.

Out of habit, I count the usual twenty-three steps to the stairs and shake my legs lightly before descending the next 20 flights, making sure not to miss a count or break my pace. By the time I'm down, it's exactly 7:23 am.

On time.

My moment of satisfaction is cut short, however, when the elevator bell dings. Not even needing to look, I know exactly what that means and like every other morning, it makes me rush out the building.

Without one look behind, I put on my earphones and resume my daily routine.

I descend the stairs to the subway and allow muscle memory to take me to where I need to be. At exactly 7:30, the train arrives the same time I get off the escalator. I enter the closest carriage and take the seat closest to the door. I wait patiently as the train allows a few more passengers to board before leaving the terminal station.

As the train moves and stops through stations, the seats begin to fill up. At the 5th station, there are no more empty seats and those that enter from there on are left to stand.

The 7th stop is finally announced on the intercom and I slowly get up and weave through the people, apologizing and excusing myself as I pass through. Once the train stops and the doors opens, I step out the train, along with many other students wearing my school uniform.

I adjust my earphones into a more secure position and continue moving.

The closer I get to the school the more my feet start to drag themselves. When I reach the entrance, there's only 5 minutes till class starts and almost all students are in campus already. I stop outside the large gates and eye the school while my stomach churns.

I hesitate. The feeling of dread I have now gotten used to occupies my head and I have a strong sense of urgency that tells me to go home. Not even the freezing air of late-January is enough to make me think about entering the heater-equipped buildings.

"Hey, you! Female student!" A voice barks. I slowly turn to the guard house where a man in uniform motions for me to hurry in with a scowl on his face. Whether or not his face just looks like that or he's upset with me, I couldn't care less.

I bow politely with a small apology and force myself to go through the gates. As soon as I've set foot inside, the gates behind me close and I stare longingly through the grills one last time before the school bell brings me back to reality.

I ball my fists in the insides of the pockets of the large hoodie I wear and finally finish the trip to my classroom.

"It's a new year and you were almost late. Again," my seat mate, Choi Beomgyu says when our mid-morning break arrives. After my lack of response he sighs and closes the textbook I am pretending to be focused on. "I'm talking to you."

I don't reply and instead take out another textbook and do the same. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't stop him.

"Kim Yun," he says seriously.

I clench my jaw. "I'm trying to study." He groans and starts stomping on the ground like a baby. We get a few strange looks and I slap his arm. "Beom can you stop it! People are looking."