=University=

@Bom Seolhyun held her tongue between her teeth as she scribbled away on her paper, appearing both focused and concentrated. Those who were more familiar with her however, knew that Kim Seolhyun was neither of these things. She was busy doodling a masterpiece as the professor spoke, clearly too fixated on her flying turtle to be absorbing any actual information. Seolhyun had checked out of the lecture ages ago, so his words were travelling through one ear and out the other. It wasn’t so much the fact that /he/ was boring, just that /she/ got bored easily. If Seolhyun could sum it up with one statement, it would be, ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ Her attention span didn’t really allow her to stay focused in class for longer than fifteen minutes. Most people have found it amazing that she’s made it this far without dropping out. Her success, despite her questionable study habits, had even generated a nasty bout of rumors concerning Seolhyun and the professor. It didn’t really help either when she did nothing to dispel said gossip. Students outside of Seolhyun’s friend circle often had poor impressions of her, so she really disliked class discussions and group activities. Those things meant having to play at being civil with people whom she /knew/ weren’t fond of her. An audible sigh escaped her lips once Seolhyun heard her name. She had caught bits and pieces of something about a project, so it was safe to assume that she was just assigned a partner for one.

Park Bom? Seolhyun didn’t have the slightest clue who that was, which didn’t bode well, since this Park Bom probably thought she was a good-for-nothing tramp like the majority of the class. Once lecture ended, Seolhyun lingered behind, packing her belongings back in her shoulder bag as slowly as she could. If she was lucky then Bom would have already left and the two of them could simply communicate via email. When it came to group assignments and projects, Seolhyun was usually given a minimal amount of work. Her partners often assigned her as little as possible out of fear that she might not do her share. She figured that Bom was going to follow the same pattern as her previous partners; the same ones who dismissed her intelligence and treated her like a useless bum. It was a bit of a surprise when she found the other girl waiting for her by the exit, hand extending in what seemed to be a friendly greeting. That meant that her plans to crash in her room and wait for the email just flew out the window. But Seolhyun had good faith in her ability to repel her classmates when it came to all things academic.

“Hi. Were we really?” The corners of lifted into a grin. It wouldn’t hurt to test the waters a bit with a little joke. Seolhyun clapped her palm against the other’s open hand and gave it a firm shake. Goodness. This girl wanted to start immediately? That was unheard of in Seolhyun’s book. “Actually, I was on my way to the cafeteria. I’m always /starving/ after this lecture.” She pursed her lips and rubbed her belly for good measure. “He’s so boring!” A smile replaced the pout. “Why don’t I meet you later? Or you can email me the parts you want me to do if that’s easier for you.”

@Seolhyun Projects. Bom hated projects, especially when they were joint projects. She hated the long nights spent poring over details, the headache of figuring out what concepts to use, and, when it involved other people, the frustration of trying to get them to listen to her. Or to communicate at all.

This particular project involved writing a twelve-page collaborative essay on the influences of Durkheim and Weber on social sciences, and the changes incited by the German schools on the overall shapes of economics, sociology, and history. Due tomorrow, meaning it would take several hours tonight in the school library, without any dinner, most likely. Which sounded absolutely delightful. Not that Bom didn't like writing, she just wasn't very enthused by the thought of this much of it.

"Park Bom and Kim Seolhyun."

She glanced over, then back, gaping. This would be her partner? This girl she barely knew? If it had been a friend, she would've been okay. Seolhyun, on the other hand, was a name she'd heard vaguely around the local cafe, a delivery girl or something like that. Make that headache double what shed been estimating.

After class, she sighed, stopped in the doorway, reluctant to go without at least talking to her partner and finding out how annoying her voice was. She waited for the girl, saw her at the end of the line of students; not bad looking, she thought grudgingly, though that opinion would probably change once she got to know her better. She stuck out a hand as the girl approached.

"Hey," she said, doing her best to look friendly. Probably failing. "Park Bom. I guess we've been paired for that assignment, so...we should probably go. It'll take several hours." Oh, but the learning experiences would be worth it, she reminded herself bitterly, echoing her teacher. Try it, Bom. You'll like it. As if.