Sitting Next to You
Was there a seat available?
Min-ah and I had gone to different universities.
The commuting directions were different too.
It was the first lecture day of the semester.
While searching for the classroom I accidentally entered two completely wrong buildings.
The hallways were filled with faces I had never seen before.
In high school I knew most faces even if I didn't remember every name.
Here everyone was a complete stranger.
About half the classroom seats were already taken.
A few groups huddled together in the front discussing something.
I set my bag down in an empty seat at the back.
When I turned on my phone the lock screen appeared first.
It was a photo of Min-ah and me sitting on a bench in front of the pension.
She was leaning her head on my shoulder and laughing.
A message notification popped up right on top of it.
[Lecture Room Entered?]
[Yeah]
[Don't sit next to the girl]
A little chuckle escaped me.
That was the moment I was about to reply.
“Is there a seat here?”
I looked up.
A girl I had never seen before was staring down at me.
Her hair was long and her makeup a bit heavy.
It was the kind of vibe I hadn’t seen in high school much.
“No.”
The girl set her bag down right beside me.
[Already late]
I sent Min-ah a quick reply.
Almost immediately the answer came back.
[What?]
[Lecture starts soon. Contact me later]
I turned my phone face down.
The girl sitting next to me asked, “Girlfriend?”
“Hm?”
“You were smiling while texting.”
“Ah.”
When I entered university I figured I would naturally drop the honorifics.
But the moment I met someone I had never seen before, the polite form slipped out again.
“Yeah.”
“How long have you been together?”
“Since high school.”
“Then it’s been a while.”
The girl nodded.
That was all she said.
No surprise, no disappointment.
A little later the lecture started.
The professor introduced himself and explained the class format.
The girl beside me, still rummaging in her bag, asked, “Do you have a pen by any chance?”
I handed her one.
“Thanks.”
It was just a small conversation.
I had sat beside a stranger for more than an hour.
Before I would have been hyper-aware of every move.
Not now.
I had a girlfriend.
And talking to her felt strangely familiar now.
Until that point the girl beside me had just been the usual classmate from the same department.
When the lecture ended several students from the department naturally gathered.
Most of them were strangers to one another.
Someone asked, “Anyone want to grab lunch?”
I hesitated.
Eating alone was easier but it felt weird to skip on my first day.
The girl beside me looked at me while packing her bag.
“Want to come along?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Or are you planning to eat alone?”
People had already left the room and were waiting for us by the hallway.
In the end five of us headed to the student cafeteria.
As we walked I learned their names.
The girl beside me was Seoyeon.
We were both new students and the same age.
“Then let’s drop the honorifics.”
Seoyeon spoke first.
“Okay.”
“I’m Seoyeon.”
“Junho.”
“Just Junho.”
Seoyeon repeated my name once, nodded, and said, “Easy to remember.”
We arrived at the student cafeteria and took seats together.
Seoyeon sat directly across from me.
She chatted easily with the others.
She asked everyone’s name first and then naturally joined conversations even with people who were quiet.
When someone mentioned their high school she answered and immediately asked where they went to high school.
Whenever a conversation started to lag she would speak to the quietest person first.
She wasn’t especially nice to me alone.
She just had a way of making everyone feel comfortable.
While eating, Seoyeon asked, “You’re not very talkative, are you?”
“Not really.”
“You haven’t said much since earlier.”
“It’s my first day.”
“Shy, huh?”
“A little.”
Seoyeon smiled.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Thought what?”
“You answer when asked but don’t start conversations.”
“No reason to talk.”
“Then I can keep talking.”
“Go ahead.”
Seoyeon picked up her chopsticks.
“You talk like that too.”
It was just a light tease but it wasn’t awkward.
Min-ah used to say I was frustratingly quiet at first.
But their styles were different.
Min-ah would wait with a smile.
Seoyeon wouldn’t give me a second to get quiet.
After we finished eating people dispersed toward their next classes.
Seoyeon and I were going in the same general direction.
“You commute?”
“Yeah.”
“Where from?”
When I told her my neighborhood she nodded.
“Longer than I thought.”
“How about you?”
“Two subway stops.”
“Not far.”
“But I probably oversleep a lot.”
At the intersection Seoyeon stopped.
“See you next lecture.”
“Yeah.”
She walked off toward another building.
Only then did I remember I hadn’t replied to Min-ah yet.
That evening Min-ah sent a message.
[Have you started dating anyone?]
[A few people]
[Girls too?]
[Same department]
[Should get along lol]
[You told me not to sit next to the girl yesterday]
[That was just practice]
A moment later another message came.
[Still don’t get too close to me]
[Won’t happen]
Min-ah sent a laughing emoji.
I really didn’t think anything like that would ever happen.
The lock screen still showed the photo from the pension.
For the next lecture I arrived a little earlier too.
I sat in the same back seat as last time.
When I took out my laptop a bag appeared on the desk beside me.
I looked up.
It was Seoyeon.
“You’re early too.”
“You too.”
“Can I sit here?”
“I already put my bag down.”
“If you don’t like it I’ll move it.”
Seoyeon pretended to lift her bag again.
“It’s fine.”
“Then you’re telling me to sit?”
Seoyeon smiled and sat right beside me.
She pulled a pen from her pencil case.
It was the one I had lent her.
“You still have that pen?”
“I brought it to give it back.”
Seoyeon slid the pen toward me.
“You can just use it.”
“Really?”
“It’s just one pen.”
“Then I’ll use it well.”
Seoyeon put the pen back in her case and turned on her laptop.
A moment later she pointed at my screen.
“Did you save the materials from last lecture?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you send them to me too?”
“Where?”
Seoyeon held out her phone.
“Write your number.”
I entered it and sent the file.
Almost immediately my phone rang.
[Seoyeon]
The message was only two words.
The screen lit up and the pension photo appeared.
Seoyeon’s gaze lingered on it for a second.
“Girlfriend?”
“I told you last time.”
“I hadn’t seen the photo yet.”
Seoyeon looked at the screen once more.
“She’s pretty.”
“Yeah.”
“Your replies are fast.”
“Because she’s pretty.”
Seoyeon looked at me and laughed.
“We get along well.”
“What?”
“Just saying.”
Seoyeon didn’t ask more and put her phone down.
[Yeah]
I replied and Seoyeon asked from beside me, “That’s all?”
“What more do you want?”
“Like ‘please take care’ or something.”
“It’s just one file.”
“You’re no fun.”
She said it but she was smiling.
I sent the materials to Seoyeon when I got home.
A short while later she replied.
[Received the materials well]
[Yeah]
[Your notes are really good]
[I just wrote them]
[I couldn’t follow from the middle]
[Ask me next time]
There was a short pause.
Then one more message came.
[Then I’ll