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KAP 15
Even during her days as an elite athlete, Kora's persistence was well-known to everyone around her.
During her junior years, she would practice on the ice for five hours a day until she successfully landed a jump.
The grit that led her to the Ivy League was forged by sacrificing her dawns and weekends, and sticking to a diet that resembled that of a monk.
In fact, IB, which valued physical stamina and persistence, occasionally recruited former athletes. Considering the nature of the industry, it was a strategy with a high chance of success.
Making a lot of money, exiting, and then opening a Korean restaurant in warm California to run with her mother—that was the future Kora dreamed of.
‘Then this wretched poverty will finally be over.’
After struggling with a Lagrangian function problem for a long while, she took a short break and gulped down water from her tumbler.
Then, her gaze happened to fall on a Post-it note attached to her binder. It was the note Professor Stevenson had given her.
“.......”
Setting down her tumbler, she let out a deep sigh.
Why was she so displeased about being paired with Tristan for the group project?
Was it because he was busy with hockey practice and might free-ride? Well, perhaps?
But on second thought, someone capable of being in the founders scholar program didn't seem like the type to be insincere about an assignment.
In truth, there was another reason she wanted to avoid him.
‘I just feel uncomfortable around him.’
Whenever he was near, her body reacted first. Her nerves grew taut, and her stomach fluttered.
Facing that smooth face, whose inner thoughts were so hard to read, made her uncomfortable, as if her own flaws were being read plain as day.
Come to think of it, it was the same at the pub last time.
While talking to Luca, her entire focus had shifted toward Tristan with strange intensity.
The magnetic field emanating from him was so powerful that simply stepping into the same space made her feel like a compass needle, shaking wildly without direction.
‘Regardless of that, he's just an arrogant jerk. But I have to contact him to do the assignment. Sigh.’
Reluctantly, Kora opened her phone and launched the university's course management application.
She went to the inbox tab at the bottom, pressed the compose button, and searched for ‘Tristan’ in the recipient field. His profile picture, taken in his hockey team uniform, popped up.
“.......”
After staring at the photo for a moment, Kora tapped the screen to write a message.
「Hello, Tristan. I am Kora Han from the Economics department, your group project partner for THEA 101. I didn't see you during class, so I'm contacting you through the app. We need to coordinate our schedules for the assignment, so please contact me at ‘607-555-23XX’ once you see this message.」
Since he might have forgotten her existence in the meantime, she sent the message in the most professional tone possible.
‘Emails take time to check, but the app sends a notification...’
Setting her phone aside, Kora focused on her studies again.
The library was silent, save for the sound of pages turning.
By the time Kora's notebook was filled with scribbled formulas from her silent work, she set her pen down with a clack and stared at her silent phone.
Sighing, Kora picked up the phone and accessed the Canvas app again. The inbox was still empty.
Any student at Chatsworth would check this app several times a day, so he must have had notifications turned on...
She checked her text messages to see if he had texted her after seeing her number, but there were no new messages there either.
‘Is he unable to check messages because of hockey practice? Let's wait a bit longer.’
She didn't know why she was feeling so anxious, which was unlike her usual self.
Kora shook her head and buried herself back in her major textbook.
There was still no reply from him by 9 PM when she left the library.
At this point, Kora began to feel a sense of stubbornness.
‘...I mean, who does hockey practice for four hours? Surely he didn't just ghost my message?’
Crossing the campus in the chilly evening breeze, Kora arrived at the stone building used as a dormitory.
As she stepped through the arched entrance where an old bronze plaque reading ‘Liberty Hall’ hung, the smell of old carpet hit her nostrils.
The dormitory Kora lived in looked like a grand and magnificent Gothic building from the outside, but the interior was quite outdated.
The paint on the wooden doors was peeling, and the hallways, lit by orange incandescent bulbs, were dim.
Passing through the hallway that smelled of mac and cheese, she opened the door and entered her room, where a familiar silence lingered.
The bed next to Kora's was empty, as usual.
Her roommate was Anita, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, who hadn't spent a single day in the room since she and Kora had a huge fight.
Anita was truly a rude and brazen girl.
Born into the upper class of India, she seemed to have spent her childhood calling servants for every little thing without lifting a finger. Perhaps that was why a princess mentality was ingrained in her very bones. Naturally, there was no such thing as consideration for her roommate.
Kora had tried to understand and overlook her encroaching on her space and using her things without permission.
However, she could not tolerate Anita's habit of keeping someone on speakerphone twenty-four hours a day.
Anita would FaceTime her family in Mumbai or Delhi until dawn, claiming she had to talk to them.
One day, unable to take it anymore, Kora finally spoke up.
“Anita. It’s three in the morning. Can’t you see people are sleeping? If you’re going to talk, go outside.”
“If it’s too noisy, you leave. Why do I need your permission to call my family? And do you think you're the only one putting up with things? I'm putting up with that weird garlic smell coming from your bed drawer every day!”
“What? I don't even eat garlic, what nonsense is that? If anything, I feel like I'm living on the first floor of a department store because of that strong perfume you spray. You know that?”
“Then pay more and go live in a single room! Oh, I saw the mail on your desk the other day, and it looks like you're attending school on financial aid. I guess you don't have the money for that?”
“I see you haven't fixed those nasty habits from calling servants in Mumbai. Just so you know, I'm reporting everything you've done, including that racist comment just now, to the housing office tomorrow.”
“A ‘Kimchi Eater’ who gets a pittance of a scholarship. Report me if you want!”
“You should be proud that you only got into college because your parents paved the lawn with their money to wash your academic record!”
Anita, who had started the fight, ended up losing.
Overwhelmed by Kora's momentum after the argument, Anita eventually burst into tears. Finding it uncomfortable to live while walking on eggshells around Kora, she rented a room outside of campus a few weeks later.
However, she kept her dormitory contract to avoid violating the mandatory residency regulations.
‘Well, thanks to that, it's like I have a single room, so it's a win for me.’
The chance to share a deep and meaningful friendship with a roommate, like in the dramas, had vanished, but Kora didn't regret it much.
After all, she was exhausted after a busy day and didn't even have the strength to utter a word.
As she took off her coat and organized her belongings, her phone in her pocket finally vibrated. She quickly pulled it out and saw a message from an unsaved number.
607-555-79XX
「Why the introductions between us? I'm hurt.」 9:17 PM
「And you don't have to use the group project as an excuse. I'd be happy to make time for you.」 9:17 PM
Kora was appalled by the messages, which were clearly from Tristan.
Did he actually think she was trying to flirt with him? It was absurd.
「What... I actually contacted you because of the group project. Stop praising yourself so much.」
「Fine, I'll believe you.」
“Wow...”
It seemed that women often sent him messages while hiding their ulterior motives.
「Sure, sure. Actually, I'm stalking you. Happy now?」
As Kora's sarcastic message was sent, the ‘Typing...’ indicator appeared on the screen. However, the indicator soon disappeared, and the message window became deathly silent.
He couldn't have taken that seriously, could he?
Not wanting to be misunderstood, Kora quickly sent another text.
「You know I'm joking, right?」
But when there was no reply for over ten minutes after that, she began to feel anxious.
‘...Did he actually ghost me?’
He wouldn't actually misunderstand and think she contacted him because she was interested in him, would he?
Just as she was debating whether to call him and explain the situation, buzz, the phone vibrated.
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