nine

Courtesy to the very gifted Mun Hee, Min's first lecture at University went well.

The professor didn't stay for long and they were dismissed nearly with half the time of the class left.

Park Mun Hee, Min's new friend had gained his full respect in this small amount of time. Mun Hee, even her name meant 'literate scholar'. Min was stunned to find that Mun Hee carried a vast amount of literal knowledge. Her English was exceedingly good.

Min tugged Mun Hee out with him from the lecture hall, jabbering endlessly on his own.

Mun Hee on the other hand felt particularly happy about making friends with Min.

From her childhood itself, Mun Hee's short height and average looks stood as a setback and deterred her from being sociable.

But now, Mun Hee especially felt grateful to whoever decides the fates, for making her meet Min.

Coming out of the building, Min squinted his eyes at the bright sunlight falling upon his face. He took his phone, casting a shadow on the screen by covering it with his palm, and checked the current time.

10:30 am.

Mun Hee too wiped a single drop of sweat that trickled down her neck.

Min was lost on what he should do now. The gym would open around twelve in the noon and he had one and a half hour free before that.

"Mun Hee, do you have anything to do next?" Min turned and asked Mun Hee, who silently stayed behind Min.

To Min's answer, Mun Hee shook her head from side to side.

Min hummed then began. "Oh didn't you say that you'll go for lunch? Let me accompany you."

Similar to Min, Mun Hee too was a freshman with no awareness of where what was located. The map given along with the prospectus wasn't easy to read, so Mun Hee gave up on using the map and decided to attempt to count on her exploring capability.

Although Min joined a week later than the actual period when the semester began, he won't have any trouble. Mun Hee too had quietly blended in the crowd, till she met him today.

"Why don't we go to the vending machine booth?"

"Okay." Mun Hee agreed, interested in seeing the famous vending machine booth that she heard about.

Thanks to Min's satisfactory senses of direction, the pair were in front of the booth in no time.

Mun Hee had mentioned earlier that she didn't live on campus and had to take a bus for more than an hour to reach the campus. For that, she skipped her breakfast and took a hefty lunch to compensate for it.

The booth was fairly empty. It should be. Most of the students have classes to attend now. As for their lucky dismissal, it was purely by chance.

Mun Hee followed Min's cheerful explanations on how to use the vending machine and ordered a medium-sized bibimpap. [Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish consisting of rice, a mixture of vegetables, an egg, and sometimes meat, often served in a hot stone bowl. It’s typically served with sauce. The term "bibim" means mixing various ingredients, while the "bap" noun refers to rice. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) or kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and chilli pepper paste, soy sauce, or doenjang (a fermented soybean paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating]

Contrary to her expectations, the serving was plentiful, hot, and non-greasy. Min copied Mun Hee and bought a bibimpap for himself.

But in the end, Min couldn't stomach the whole bowl. He just had his breakfast at nine and eating lunch with Mun Hee just sometime after was difficult. Min overestimated his ability.

Therefore, Min had to shoulder the embarrassment of not being able to finish a quarter of the bibimpap bowl he bought.

Mun Hee giggled pleasantly at Min's pouting expression.

Min was like a dazzling light suddenly dropping in her boring and pointless life. From the moment Min initiated his welcome in her space, he hadn't failed to amaze Mun Hee.

Mun Hee didn't have any siblings and her cousins preferred to not connect with her. In other sense, Min was like a little dongsaeng to her. [This term means both little sister and little brother, though if we want to put more emphasis on the gender of the (dongsaeng) we are talking about, we can add (yeo) for girls and (nam) for boys. However, usually, these gender markers are used only when talking about our actual blood-related siblings]

After they finished the early lunch, with Min regrettably throwing the food he couldn't eat, they made way towards the square, chatting.

Mun Hee was more of a timid girl and didn't like partaking in conversations. One of the reasons for this could be getting isolated from her peers since her adolescence. She only hawed and hee-ed to Min's chattering, secretly joyous in her heart.

Reaching the square, Min had to quell his garrulous self because he spotted his object of admiration, his Donghyuck Sunbae walking towards a horde of students.

"Donghyuck Sunbae!!" Min shouted, running to the direction of the horde.

Mun Hee was dumbfounded at the number of people crowding in the square but seeing Min call out to someone, who seemed like someone he knew, Mun Hee decided to go after him.

Min's shout was successfully caught by Donghyuck, who stopped and waited for Min to reach him.

"Min-ah?"

Min's flushed cheeks for breathlessness made his appearance look more endearing. "S-Sunbae.."

Donghyuck smiled at Min. "What's up?"

Min gaped at the crowd and asked Donghyuck. "Does Sunbae know what's happening here?"

Donghyuck understood Min's query and slowly clarified the situation. "Oh, your Danny Sunbae is participating in an eating challenge hosted by our University's Club of Mukbangers. [Mukbang is usually defined as a live-streamed eating show where the host binge-eats. Mukbang means “eating broadcast.” It’s a YouTube trend from South Korea that started around 2010. In a mukbang video, the YouTuber or BJ (“Broadcast Jockey,” a unique-to-Korea term for a vlogger) eats loads of food while narrating and interacting with their audience. Mukbangers are referred to the group of people who does Mukbang]

"Ah, what?" Min was utterly confused. He did understand the eating challenge thing, which sounded so amazing. But the Mukbangers, he was very curious to know.

Donghyuck didn't describe it to Min right away and only asked him to follow Donghyuck between the crowds and help cheer for Danny.

Min grabbed Mun Hee's hand and entered the crowd, totally trusting Donghyuck.

Another door seemed to have opened for Min to explore.