Chapter Text
A quick two day drive shouldn’t be too bad, at least that's what he thought. To put it shortly it was hell.
All because his family didn’t wanna do a straight drive. It was only a 14 hour drive but no, it had to be split up.
Now, at the end of those quick 2 days of hell, Beomgyu is standing in front of a tall, menacing building on his college campus and feeling like he might pass out.
"Why do you look so pale?" His sister Sullyoon asks from beside him.
"He's nervous, sweetheart." Their mom says from behind them, dragging his suitcase from the tightly-packed trunk of the car. She sets down the suitcase next to her son. "Can you two help me get these out?"
The air in Oregon is nicer than in Los Angeles, Beomgyu observes. It's sweeter, honestly. There are also a lot more conifers everywhere, with pine trees and cedars scattered across the campus, and Beomgyu wonders why they don't have more of them back in La.
"Are you gonna die?" Sullyoon asks, grabbing his chin to make them look at each other.
"No, get your hands off me." Beomgyu twists out of his sister's grip and looks back to the building in front of him. "I'm just- you know- I hate change."
"You could've just gone to UCLA and stayed close," Sullyoon replies with a fake yawn.
"No, I..."
"Calloway is a good change for you," His mama says, dragging another bag from the car. "Beomie, what else is yours?"
"Shouldn't we keep this all here until we know what room I'm going to?" he asks, eyeing the uncomfortably tall stack of the essentials he'll need to live. "I don't want to carry everything around."
The ominous building he's been staring at is the dorm hall he's going to be staying in. It's called "Oppurtunity Hall", reserved for freshmen in the Bishop Honors College, and it's terrifying to look at, all dark bricks and gray windows.
The air is cold inside. Beomgyu feels a deep pit of anxiety in his stomach as he looks around at the unfamiliar lobby area.
There's also a table set up with two young ladies sitting behind it. A sign hangs from the table. It reads "WELCOME FRESHMEN" in big green and black letters.
"Name?" One of the ladies says when Beomgyu approaches the table. She's maybe a few years older than he is with black hair tied into a bun and kind-looking eyes.
"Beomgyu Choi," he cracks his thumb knuckle on impulse. His mom stands beside him, close enough that she's a comforting presence.
"Many students with the same last name this year," the second lady comments as the one who spoke digs through the crate on the table. Unlike her companion, Lady 2 has shiny blonde hair that's curled and styled to look almost like a Barbie doll. She's very pretty.
"Maybe we’re all related," he’s looking at his shoes, both because he doesn't want to stare and he kind of hates how common his last name is.
"Here you go, beomgyu," Lady 1 says, holding up a green folder and handing it to him. "You're up on the third floor, room 426, and I think your roommate has already moved in. All the info you need is in here," she taps the folder in his hand, "along with your room key, your schedule, and your temporary ID card until you get your picture taken. Sound good?"
"Yeah," he nods, feeling very overwhelmed by this whole situation but plastering a smile on his face. "Thank you."
"No problem, it's what I'm here for. I'm NingNing, by the way," she holds out her hand and Dream shakes it, "and I'm kind of the unofficial manager of this building. If you have any questions about rules or something, you can come to me, alright?"
"Yes, thank you," Dream says with a weaker smile.
"This is Winter," Ningning says, referring to the pretty blonde girl.
"Hi." he blushes as winter looks him up and down.
"Hi," Winter says.
He wonders if she has a boyfriend.
"Let's go get your stuff?" His mama says whilst snapping Beomgyu out of the trance he's in.
They retrieve a lot of stuff from the car and head up to the fourth floor via the elevator (an elevator that doesn't make Beomgyu feel like he's going to die at any second) and find the correct dorm. A boy is already in there, sitting on one of the beds and playing something on a bright yellow Switch.
"Hello?" Beomgyu says tentatively.
"Hey!" The boy looks up with a grin. He's got shaggy black hair tied into space buns and a huge grin that he feels like he can trust. "You must be beomgyu!"
"I am! And you are…?”
"Oh right I'm Huening Kai, but you can just call me Kai." He slides off his bed and shakes Beomgyu’s hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too."
"I'll leave you in peace so you can get unpacked! Good to be living with you!" Kai grabs his Switch and leaves, giving a nod to Beomgyu’s mom and Sullyoon as he does so.
Beomgyu... Beomgyu likes him so far. He seems respectful and confident, and based on the current state of the room, he doesn't seem to be too awful. There's a Panic! at the Disco poster above his bed and a little cactus on the windowsill and his water bottle has a pride flag on it.
His mom helps him set up (Sullyoon doesn't really help much, just looks over Kai’s side of the room and complains), putting clothes away in the closet and the foldable dresser drawers Beomgyu got for the room. His favorite pair of gray square sheets go on the bed, his pencils go on the desk, and his own little house plant, a jade plant he's had for a decade, goes on the windowsill behind his own bed.
"So, now that you're all moved in here, I get your room at home, right?" Sullyoon says when they're finished. She's lounged on his new office chair, spinning around and around.
"No! I'm still gonna come back eventually, especially for Christmas break, and I would still need a place to sleep." Beomgyu finishes putting his socks into the correct drawer. "Besides, you have your own room."
"Nobody is moving around in the house," his mom says. "Now come on, let's take Beomie to dinner and head out."
As they're walking back down the hall, they pass Kai again. He and beomgyu share a high five, one that Kai initiates, and it's a nice gesture.
They also pass...
Well, to describe him as "pissed off" might be an understatement. It's a man with dark black and angry eyes behind round, round glasses. He looks way too put-together for being a college student, and the contrast between Beomgyu’s Calloway sweatshirt and the beige button-down he has on.
He's attractive, Beomgyu can tell.
He doesn't like having that thought. The man seems mean and he definitely doesn't like guys like that.
The man stalks off in the opposite direction of the Choi’s, obviously with somewhere to go and a goal of getting there without distractions.
Beomgyu wonders if he'll ever see the guy again.
*****************
Sullyoon complains all through dinner, but in the way that means she's going to miss Beomgyu when they leave to drive back to LA.
They separate after dinner. His mom doesn't cry, she never does, but Beomgyu does and Sullyoon does. Many hugs are shared, and then they leave and Beomgyu is officially alone.
On the walk back to the dorms, Beomgyu sees a pond with geese floating lazily in it. They're big white birds, obviously feral ones rather than some kind of wild species, and there's a sign next to the pond.
"The Calloway campus has long taken pride in its natural greenery. Local plants are grown and cared for without the use of harsh chemicals. This pond, built in 1953 under the watch of George Calloway's grandaughter, Veronica Calloway, houses local birds year-round, including ducks, geese, herons, wading birds, and, most notably, the breeding pair of white geese that live in the house across the pond from this sign. George and Allison, named for the college founder and his wife, are a popular attraction for Calloway and have parented many broods of goslings since they landed in 2013."
The geese are plump and pretty, obviously very at-home in the pond. Beomgyu hopes to soon be as comfortable as they look.
Note to self: be a campus goose.
Kai is playing his Switch again when Beomgyu gets back to the dorm room. He sets it down when Beomgyu enters, though, and sits up with a smile. "Hi."
"Hi."
"You go to dinner?"
"Yeah. There's a pizza place a few blocks from here."
"Good?"
"Yeah." Beomgyu sits down on his bed. Their beds are on opposite sides of the room so Beomgyu is sitting facing Kai. "So, hello."
"Hi."
"I feel like we should get to know each other a little bit, if we're going to be living with each other for a year.
"I can do that. Hi, my name is Kai, I moved here from Honolulu and I'm majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Computer Science."
"Hi, my name is Beomgyu, I moved here from Los Angeles and I'm majoring in Creative Writing with a minor in Computer Science."
"So we'll have classes together maybe," Kai beams. "Nice to meet you, Beomgyu."
"Nice to meet you, Kai."
They talk for a long time. Beomgyu feels immediately comfortable around Kai, and Kai seems confident enough with himself that he doesn't make Beomgyu feel out of place.
By midnight, they decide to stop talking and do their own things. Kai plays on his Switch (Animal Crossing, he showed his island to Beomgyu) and Beomgyu pulls out his journal.
Day 1
It is not horrible here so far. The campus is pretty and the food at the pizza place nearby was delicious.
I already miss Mom and Sullyoon. Sullyoon has claimed that I am no longer allowed back in the house now that I've left, but I hope Mom will overrule her on that.
I passed a man in the hallway today. He looked remarkably angry about something. He seemed young enough to be a student so I think I'll run into him again, I kinda hope I do. I'd like to know what he was mad about. His hair was dark brown or black maybe and it looked soft. I don't know why I think that, but I do.
There was also a girl, Winter, who gave me my room key. She's very pretty and I'd like to talk to her more.
There are geese on the campus, a pair named George and Allison. They seemed very comfortable in their habitat, and I think I would like to try and be a campus goose.
I am ready to see what this semester holds.