Ambivalence.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

The luggage wheels made a "kara kara" sound while being dragged along the path leading up to the residence hall.

Falling leaves. A slightly chilly breeze. The land covered in gold.

It's fall already, she thought. The place is going to turn colder soon; it sure is sensible to start putting a scarf on at this time of year.

The entirety of the dormitory began to come into view. A white, clean building, with neatly trimmed grass on both sides of the path. Trees line the perimeter of the place...

The one in the light blue jacket made her way into the entrance of the hall.

Quick, heavy footsteps could be faintly heard from the stairwell at the left as she entered. She pulled her luggage towards the counter and set it down on the ground, with the handle still sticking out.

"Yes, I'm a student of this school starting this year...Kaizawa Sou...hmm? Last name....you mean my family name? Kaizawa....Yes, it's quite confusing sometimes, I know...So what's your name?...Really, that's interesting! You know what, I'm really looking forward to this new school year, meeting new friends and all...mhmm. To the right. Okay, thank you so much!"

After much conversation, she accepted the key with a smile, bowed and thanked the person at the counter, and headed for the lift at the center of the floor.

Third floor, first room at the right from the lift. Entering the room, she closes the door behind her, locks it, and threw herself on the bed.

Her smile had long faded.

I can't stay sad like this forever, she thought. The reason why I came to this school was so that I could get a new environment, away and safe from that person, so that I could forget.

That person. The cause of this melancholy.

Yet, I still couldn't get myself to forget...

It was not until a long while later that she finally stopped looking out from the window in a lying position and started unpacking.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

After a long while, as if by magic, her mood changed for the better.

Maybe it was due to the hoo-ha in the corridor dying down, or that the habitual staring at the trees was doing its therapeutic work again. Whatever the cause was, she did relax.

Sou got up from her bed. Reaching for her luggage, she began to unpack.

Not that she had a lot to store away. She was, at the same time, making note of the appliances available in the room.

"The electric kettle is over here, next to the radio set..." She would say, while setting her schoolbooks on a corner of the table.

"Ah, the radio has an alarm clock function as well!"

After storing her clothes in the cabinet drawers, she stowed her empty luggage case in the bottom compartment (where at the same time she found a mini-fridge).

"Is this really a school!" She remarked. "Aside from having no television here, the things here rival that hotel back in Biei!"

Proud of her accomplishment of unpacking, she took the electric kettle to the bathroom, washed the insides throughly, and filled it up with water.

Making her way back to the table, she set down the kettle on the induction heater and switched it on.

In that moment, there was no other sound in the room apart from the bubbling water in the kettle.

It's quite late already, she thought. I should go get some dinner soon.

Later at night, when everyone's free, I should also go greet the others.

Leaving the kettle to bubble, Sou went to the door and unlocked it.

I must be strong, she thought as she pulled the door open.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

It was not until Sou returned to her room, took a drink of water, undressed and stepped into the shower that the loudspeakers started blaring.

Assemble at the lobby by eight?

After showering, she thought, I'd have taken a nice long dip in the bath. But it looks like that was not possible tonight.

She turned off the water, lathered up some shampoo, and started to spread the foam evenly through her hair.

It was not the announcement of the lobby gathering that bothered her. It was the blatant disturbance of quietness through such medium that did.

The woman on the loudspeaker didn't sound nice at all. And judging by her way of action, isn't very likable to begin with.

Well, let's hope we don't meet each other very often, she thought, reaching for the tap.

Bathtime was always a time that she could think things out. Somehow, things just went through her mind better if her hands were moving rather than doing nothing at all.

What a coincidence that I saw nobody on my way up, she would think. And how many doors I would have to knock on and give my greetings later.

Of course, I have to greet everyone, lest someone felt excluded and thought of me as impolite.

But still, I'll have to greet them after the entire gathering at the main lobby is over...

She momentarily stopped lathering the soap.

Of course, I could greet each group immediately after the gathering. Everyone has to be present there, isn't it.

All this while, only the sounds of the shower head starting and stopping could be heard. The mirror had already fogged up, and the scent of soap lingered in the air.

At the back of her mind, she still wanted to take that long bath after her shower.