~~Two Months Later… August, UC Berkeley~~

“Da-bin! Get up already! We’re gonna be late!”

Groaning in irritation, Da-bin slightly opened his eyes and watched as Woo-jae scoured through the angel’s closet. Why was Woo-jae waking him up so damn early? Jesus, it was barely 7:30 am. Rolling his eyes, Da-bin hauled himself out of bed before gripping Woo-jae’s shoulder in annoyance. This thief…!

“Who said you can wear my limited edition Valenciaga shoes, huh? Hand it over.”

“Dude, let me borrow it! You were only able to get it ’cause I told you about the flea market one of my sunbaes was hosting!” Woo-jae tightly clutched the shoes against his chest, ready to flee the scene.

“And? I bought that with my hard-earned money! You already have a ton of designer clothes from your sponsors; why are you trying to steal the only valuable thing from my closet?!”

“Wait. What happened to all the clothes I bought you last time?! Did you sell them off on ThreadCart again?!” Woo-jae yelled as he shuffled through Da-bin’s sparse closet.

Ignoring Woo-jae’s question, Da-bin quickly took back his shoes before carefully stowing them inside his closet. Geez, why couldn’t he do what he wanted with those clothes? It wasn’t like he could *magically* make money out of thin air! 

“Da-bin–”

“AHEM! Didn’t you say that we’re gonna be late?”

“Don’t try to change the subject–” Woo-jae started as Da-bin pushed his nosy friend out of the bedroom and into the living room/ kitchen area of their tiny two-bedroom apartment. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. By the way, what’s the rush, though?”

Woo-jae stared at Da-bin with a deadpan expression, who was now nonchalantly munching on a toasted croissant. Was this dude for real? How could he already forget when he was the one who volunteered to help out?! 

“Bro. You forgot? You promised Ji-eun noona that we’ll help with freshmen orientation and man the table for the club!” Woo-jae scowled, taking a seat on the wooden stool of their tiny kitchen.

“Oh shit, that was today?! Well, I better get ready then! And don’t you dare touch my shoes, got it?!” Da-bin yelled, grabbing another croissant before running to their shared bathroom for a quick shower.

“Ugh. Hurry up before we are late!” Woo-jae waved Da-bin off, helping himself to a croissant as he whipped out his phone from his back pocket. 

What was the schedule going to be again…? Scanning the pdf file that Ji-eun had sent to all the volunteers, Woo-jae groaned in disappointment. Damn, was freshman orientation usually that long? For some reason, he had thought it would be over in a day, but it was for three whole days?! Woo-jae had wanted to use the last week of summer break to relax– not fill in as a volunteer for freshman orientation last minute!

“Freaking Da-bin… Why the hell would he want to volunteer for this stupid thing?! Dammit.”

Shoving his phone into his pocket again, Woo-jae sighed as he rested his head on his arms. Tapping his finger on his forearm, the actor gazed out the window blankly. Even after two months of keeping busy with promotions for his new drama, Woo-jae couldn’t stop wondering about “Egghead.” That kid reminded him of someone for some reason, but he honestly couldn’t recall who. With a grunt, the actor scratched his head in frustration. What was the use of thinking about some random kid he saw over the break? It wasn’t like they’ll ever see each other again.

Skidding back into the kitchen/ living room, Da-bin clonked Woo-jae on the head, “I’m ready!!! Let’s go, man!” 

“... Right.”

~~~

Squinting his eyes in the sweltering heat, Woo-jae groaned as he checked the time. It was barely 12:30 pm…? Why the hell did it feel like he’s been here for the entire day already? Bringing the small, electric fan to his face, Woo-jae tried his best to cool down in the summer heat. Compared to the summer in Korea, northern California was a lot less sticky and muggy… But the damn heat was killing him just the same. 

“Woo-jae, want anything from Brown’s?” his friend, Steve, asked as he got up from his seat with the other volunteers going on their lunch break.

“Just some more cold drinks… Like an energy drink or something. I’m gonna get lunch with Da-bin when Chelsea and the others come back, so go ahead and get something to eat, guys.”

“All right, I’ll put them in the cooler, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks, dude.”

With a loud yawn, Woo-jae stretched his limbs as he stood up from the uncomfortable plastic chair. Glancing around the area, he looked for Da-bin and spotted the mint-haired college student helping the orientation leaders set up for another icebreaker game. Damn, how was that dude not even sweating? 

“No one’s gonna be coming by the table anyway… Maybe I’ll just walk over to the cafeteria–”

“We’re back~!”

“Oh, hey, Chelsea. You guys are back early.” Woo-jae smiled at the group as Chelsea plopped down on her chair again.

“Yeah, there’s nothing to do on campus, haha. You should go on your lunch break; you’ve been helping out non-stop since this morning.”

“Will do. See you guys later.”

Putting on his black baseball cap, Woo-jae waved at Da-bin, who was still busy setting up the umbrellas on the field. Feeling slightly guilty, Woo-jae jogged over to give the group a helping hand. Surprised, Da-bin looked up to see Woo-jae holding up the  huge umbrella.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Just helping out so we can get lunch a bit faster.”

“...Oh. Uh… I already ate, though….”

“Bro, what.”

Dumbfounded, Woo-jae glared at Da-bin, who awkwardly glanced away. This a-hole! He waited to get lunch with him, and this traitor already ate?! Shoving the umbrella into Da-bin’s hands, Woo-jae 'hmphed’ and began to walk away from his sheepish friend.

“Sorry, dude! But like… can you help me before you go?!” Da-bin called out as he clutched the gigantic umbrella with both hands.

“No! Do it on your own, you traitor!” Woo-jae shouted back, stomping away from his pitiful friend who stared after him. 

“Man…”

~~~

“Ugh, I can’t wait to go home and take a shower. I can’t freaking do this for another two days…! Dammit, this is so annoying!”

Grumbling under his breath, Woo-jae sipped on his boba drink while glancing up at the clear blue skies. After his short lunch break, the college student was on his way back to the plaza when he noticed a familiar silhouette in the distance, pacing around like a lost puppy. Raising an eyebrow, Woo-jae didn’t think much of it. Maybe they were waiting for someone? Taking out his phone, he was texting his friends that he was almost there when a timid, meek voice called out to him.

“Er… U-um… E-Excuse me?”

“Huh?” Glancing up from his phone, Woo-jae nearly dropped his phone and boba as he stared at the teen in front of him. 

“Egghead?!”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**