Chapter 3

"Is this all you could find? Is it the best?"

"It's the cheapest!"

Lucy listened to her friends arguing while looking at apartment listings near the university.

"I still don't work, what will I do?" Kimi complained, pouting.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this." Lucy apologized, feeling guilty.

"No, this was our plan a year ago, right?" Jaesun looked at her. "Nothing has changed. You pay for the dormitory and food and hygiene fees, what will change? Maybe it'll just be a little more expensive."

"But the thing is, my mom pays for it. What if she complains?"

Lucy sighed, looking down at her phone as Yugjae sent her a message.

A light bulb lit up over her head.

"What if I could get you into modeling? You're pretty, spontaneous. Maybe Chief Know can fit you in."

"Do you think you can?" Kimi looked at her, excited.

"Aren't you ashamed?" Jaesun laughed.

"What shame! I'll even take pictures in lingerie if he pays well. I'm beautiful, imagine how much a brand could sell?"

Lucy laughed, getting excited about that idea too. She sent a message to Yugjae, discussing the topic.

"Look at this one." Jaesun turned the screen for both of them to see. "It has four rooms, but one could be turned into a studio. What do you think, Lu?"

"And how much does it cost?"

"Do I not need a studio?"

"Not yet, when you grow up, we'll think about it."

Kimi protested upon hearing that and pinched Jaesun's nipple, making him jump and laugh.

"I'm not going to grow anymore!"

"You can have the biggest room, saeng." Lucy reassured her. "That is, if the price allows us to pay comfortably."

"Of course it does. It's five hundred thousand won, divided by three, that's..." Jaesun hesitated while counting on his fingers. In the end, he pulled out his phone's calculator. "One hundred sixty-six point six-six-six, six-six-six..."

"One hundred seventy thousand won each." Lucy simplified. "With food, we can make it three hundred thousand won per month."

"Wow..." Kimi focused on an invisible spot, lost in thought. "How much do they pay for photos?"

"Well, I'm going to start shooting again now, it's a contract, so it's much more than that."

"Do you think I can do it?"

"Even if you don't get a contract, individual photos pay well."

"Yes, but having a fixed income would be much better. That way, I wouldn't be stressing about how to pay rent."

Lucy looked at her friend. Once again, she felt sorry.

"Kimi, you can stay in the dormitory if you want. I really don't want to make you worry about money because of me."

"Your fault? This isn't your fault, and I don't want to stay here alone."

"But you'll see us every day, we'll still be studying together, did you forget?"

"In any case, I don't want to. Do you guys want to go without me? Is that it?"

"Of course not, my little baby." Jaesun hugged her, covering her completely. "We just don't want to burden you with something you're dealing with peacefully now."

"That's true. But what about you, can you afford it?"

"Of course I can. I'll let my dad know, and he'll increase the monthly deposit."

"It's great to have divorced parents who marry again." Kimi laughed.

"Yeah, he accepts everything so easily now, maybe he feels guilty about some minor traumas he caused me. But besides that, he knows I value my future, so I can come up with something like not being able to study well with Eunwoo in the room and not because I want a place where my boyfriend can come every weekend. He'll agree."

"Oh my god, that's true! If we rent a place, it means our boyfriends can come visit us."

"Okay then, let's try it." Kimi said. "How many deposits do they ask for in advance?"

Jaesun looked back at the listing.

"Three months."

"Alright, we'll get that amount and secure it."

"How are we going to get it?" Lucy looked at them. "I think I only get paid at the end of the month, I don't know how it works yet."

"I know how to get it." Jaesun raised his hand, smiling.

"With Yugjae?" Kimi seemed to have the same thought.

Jaesun smiled and nodded.

"I'll send a message to him." Lucy informed.

"In the meantime, I'll call the landlord. We might as well check it out today."

Lucy nodded, loving having friends who were up for these crazy ideas.

"It's ringing." Jaesun said, holding the phone to his ear.

***

"Only in three days?" Lucy pouted.

"Yeah, it seems he's out of town, but he said we can check it out in three days."

"And Yugjae, Lu?" Kimi asked.

Lucy turned her phone's screen towards both of them, showing the bank notification.

"He's already lent the necessary amount and said there's no rush to pay it back."

"Ugh, it's so good to be rich... wish I were." Kimi commented, making them laugh.

"One day we'll get there, little Cho." Jaesun said, sighing, feeling a bit relieved. "But then, what's the plan for today? Are you staying here tonight?"

"Yeah, there's no students, so I'll be okay."

"Are you sure? I can come sleep with you if you want."

"Hmm, it's alright, don't want to bother you more."

"You never bother me, my sweetheart. But if that's what you want, that's fine. Now I have to go, take a shower and get rid of this unpleasant smell of prejudice. That woman was rotten."

"Your goofball!" Lucy laughed, lightly pushing him. "Shall we meet at eight to grab something to eat?"

"Sure," Jaesun nodded, looking for Kimi. "Let's go, little stinker."

"I'll hit you!" Kimi grumbled but waved to Lucy. "See you tonight."

"See you..." Lucy waved back, glad that at least this seemed to be working out for her and the others.

***

It was past seven and Lucy was still under the shower. She had spent a good amount of time exchanging messages with Ryeon and apologizing for forgetting to call him when she arrived. The confusion had left her quite upset and unsettled.

But at that moment, she was showering and being careful not to wet her hair as she wouldn't have time to dry it again. Living with Yugjae in that small space had made her used to taking what she'd wear to the bathroom for privacy. So, after the shower, Lucy put on the underwear she had laid out along with the short yellow dress she loved. She dried the damp ends of her hair with the towel and paid attention when she heard a noise in the room.

"Jaesun? Is that you?" She asked, still focused on her reflection in the mirror.

She didn't receive an answer, which made her uneasy.

She stepped out of the bathroom, alert, and was startled when she saw a man crouched near her suitcase.

"What are you doing there?!" She asked loudly, seeing him stand up.

Her eyes widened.

"Oh, I was just looking..." The man's brow furrowed as he looked at Lucy. "A woman? Here?"

Lucy's heart tightened, sped up, and felt like it wanted to jump out of her mouth, all at once.

"Wait... I know you, don't I?"

Her breathing became irregular. Her hands searched for the doorknob behind her, but her nervousness didn't even allow her to act wisely.

"Woojin?" The man leaned forward. "Oh my God, it's really you! Do you remember me? It's me, Sungwon!"

The moment he took three steps forward, enough to stand in front of Lucy, she panicked. Her hands stopped in front of her body, pushing Sungwon to the side, giving him room to pass by. Her eyes searched for her sandals, but her mind was clouded with memories of that boy at the prom. Of him touching her body.

"What?" Sungwon laughed, quickly walking towards the door. "Are you still afraid of me? Was it because of the kiss I asked for at the prom?"

"You didn't ask..." Lucy said, terrified as she turned around. Her throat pushed the lump that had formed there down when she swallowed. "You tried to force me. You have to leave now."

"Leave? Are you crazy? This is my room now. I took my time, but I finally got into university, I'm majoring in business administration now."

"I don't care, I don't want to hear your voice," Lucy thought, but she was afraid to speak and show even more fear.

"You've changed." Sungwon took two steps forward, startling her. He held her wrists, using force to keep her still, and smiled. "You look beautiful like this. You really look like a woman."

"Let me go," Lucy asked, unable to look at him. "Let me go!" She asked louder.

"Shut up, what a pain! You always had a way of making a scene out of nothing. That's why your... I don't know, friend, boyfriend, I don't care, that's why he hit me like that."

"You deserved it," Lucy declared, forcing herself to get rid of the man's grip, but he squeezed harder, leaving his mark there.

"Deserved it?! I didn't report it because I liked you, you know? In fact, you owe me a favor!"

"No!" Lucy tried to hit him with her knee, but the man just stepped back, laughing, still holding her.

"How brave." He said, pushing Lucy's body onto her own bed. His body was close to hers, which frightened her even more. "I can call in that favor now, you know? And you'd keep quiet because you know I'm right..."

Lucy widened her eyes as Sungwon leaned even closer, lowering his face towards hers, as if he wanted to kiss her.

Her body struggled fiercely. With all her might.

Sungwon tried to hold her even harder, leaving bruises where his fingers exerted pressure, but Lucy, in the peak of her desperation, pushed him, making him fall backwards.

Before Sungwon could get up, Lucy reached for the pepper spray that was in the open pocket beside her backpack and sprayed it in his eyes.

The man was trying to get up at that moment, but he fell again when he felt the burning sensation.

That was the moment for Lucy.

Lucy didn't even care about her sandals.

She screamed for help as she ran as fast as she could. Some students came out of their rooms, others in the hallway looked at her. Sungwon appeared leaning against the door, seeing Lucy at the end of the hallway. He tried to run, but his eyes burned, causing him to stagger and fall next to the hallway trash can.

Lucy was still screaming, panicking.

Jaesun heard her cry for help before Lucy even reached his door, but as soon as he opened it, Lucy appeared there, seeking protection from him.

"Hey, calm down. Calm down... what happened?"

Lucy was trembling, crying compulsively.

Her eyes landed on the finger marks on her wrists and arms, her anger manifesting in her body almost instantly.

"What...?" Eunwoo, who was on the bed and saw everything without understanding, thought about asking. But he looked into Jaesun's eyes, understanding he should stay quiet. "I'll get her some water."

Jaesun nodded, pulling Lucy onto his bed, sitting her down calmly, still keeping her wrapped in his arms.

"It's over now..." he said, sighing.

Lucy trembled and sniffled, but her tears didn't stop flowing.

"No... it's not over. He's here. He... he tried again."

"Who?" He stroked her dark hair. "Who tried what?"

"It was Sungwon. He..."

Lucy didn't even need to finish the sentence for Jaesun to finally understand.

For Jaesun to feel, the anger from a year ago resurface.