DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mystic Messenger, it's universe, or it's characters. All credit goes to Cheritz. Naya Park does belong to me though.
SPOILER ALERT for Zen's route, as well as minor spoilers for other character's routes and the Secret Ends. A lot might end up different due to the fact that it's a College AU, but still read at you're own discretion!
Also, this story might get kind of dark (hence the rating), with some language as well as hints to physical abuse and torture.
It's a new semester – a rare time that happens only twice a year. It's a time for new beginnings, and Suhee had arrived at the largest university in South Korea, hoping that she had a chance to start anew.
Suhee Yun is twenty-three, half American-half Korean, and stands at five feet and four inches tall. Due to her small stature, she was very petit and slim, but had hardly any curves or chest to speak of. What she couldn't make up in height or body definition, she made up for in her appearance and caring nature. She was still pretty average though; light peachy pink skin, straight as a rod chestnut brown locks with equally straight bangs that hung over her clear blue irises. The one feature that was still quite unique was the two beauty marks that adorned her face just under the corner of her right eye.
Gazing at the various large buildings before her anxiously, she began to fix her clothing to make sure that she was presentable. She went with a simple outfit today; a white button up shirt under a slightly loose fitting light dusty rose sweater that she rolled the sleeves up of, with a mid-thigh length brown skirt and dusty rose flats.
She was lucky to be able to attend this college, but she had a lot to live up to. Her sister had gone to this college before her, and despite the fact that she was only going to further her talent in art, her family was expecting great things to come from participating in her classes.
'I'm not going to let that fear get to me though!' she thought, steeling herself after shaking out her nerves. 'Let's go in with our head held high!'
Just as she was about to take her first step towards her future though, Suhee heard the sound of a motorcycle revving nearby. She found him immediately after turning to the source, mounted on his black "stallion". He parked it effortlessly, lowered the kickstand, and then turned off the engine before dismounting and removing his helmet.
Suhee could've sworn the man beneath it was an absolute masterpiece that had come to life, with his alabaster skin carved into the perfect appealing shape. And she couldn't forget his long silvery white locks bound in a low ponytail or his ruby red almond shaped eyes, which only added to his statuesque appearance. She couldn't help but stare at this very unnatural but handsome human being, letting her artist's mind wonder that if she drew him, would her piece ever hold a candle to the real thing. Unfortunately that moment was short lived, as he turned and noticed her staring.
Their eyes met, and it was his turn to take in her appearance as she watched his eyes study her. Suhee froze when their eyes met once more, this time seeing an approving smirk play on his lips. Once she saw that look, a fierce red color found its way to her cheeks and she turned tail and ran into the building to evade his attention and her further embarrassment.
She took a quick breather just inside by the doors, and then continued on her way to the offices, as she was a late arrival a few weeks into the semester. As she walked through the hallways, she took in all appearances of the students, but apart from the cyclist, only three others caught her artistic eye for some reason.
First there was a very tall equally handsome man in a suit with feathery black hair and stone grey eyes. He looked serious and unapproachable compared to the social flirty cyclist. As they passed by each other, she saw him deep in conversation with a female as tall as Suhee herself with wavy brown shoulder length hair and caramel brown colored eyes who wore a simple white button up shirt and dark grey skirt.
Later on she brushed shoulders with another unusual person with dark circles under his golden yellow colored eyes that all hid behind a set of large rounded square shaped yellow and black striped glasses. Suhee determined that he wasn't quite drawing material, but admired the color of the unkempt mop of hair upon his head, which was a nice bright vermillion. He didn't seem to notice her though, as he had his orange headphones on and plugged into his phone which he poured all of his attention into. Remarkably as she watched him continue on his way, he managed to narrowly avoid the other students in his path while his eyes remained glued to his phone. Once he disappeared out of sight, Suhee continued on her way to the office. She found it without any trouble and entered.
"Excuse me…I'm Suhee Yun, the late arrival?" she said hesitantly to the friendly male at the front desk.
"Yes, of course!" the male replied with a warm smile. "It'll be a while before we can get things sorted for you, so please take a seat over there."
He gestured to the row of chairs against the opposite wall and Suhee turned but refrained from taking one, because her compulsive shyness took over. You see, there was a young man sitting in one of them, snoozing away without a care in the world. He looked very young, too young to even be in college and had fluffy blonde hair, most of which was held back by a couple of brown hair clips.
Instead she turned to the billboard which was littered with various colorful fliers. She read them all while she waited…
A rather queer invitation to a group called 'Mint Eye', another invitation to partake in being 'waited on by handsome cat and rabbit eared men at the Dandelion Host Club', and a super bright orange flyer claiming that a 'Defender of Justice 707 will repair and/or hack your electronic devices for a small fee' caught her eye the most, but she wasn't too sure about that Mint Eye one…
She was in the middle of reading one that was asking for hired help in the university café, when a door suddenly opened and what Suhee assumed was the counselor emerge from the office within.
"Yoosung Kim!" he announced in a strict tone, stirring the young blonde from his sleep, revealing bright violet colored eyes. He was a little slow on the uptake, glancing around for the source of the voice. His eyes met Suhee's for a brief moment, and he flashed a sheepish smile at her before unwillingly following the elder man into the office.
After that happened, the friendly male returned with some introductory papers and pamphlets and handed them to Suhee while saying, "Now I formally welcome you to SKY University. In these papers I've handed you are some helpful pointers for new arrivals like you, as well as your schedule and a list of clubs you might be interested in. Your guide should be here any second n-."
"Hey there, my neighbor!" a female interrupted excitedly as she entered, causing all heads to turn towards her.
The ecstatic female looked to be at least twenty four, part Hispanic-part Korean, and was about five feet seven inches tall. She was a little more heavy set with an average sized chest and she was tan – which was how they could tell she was part Hispanic. She had very dark purple-red colored eyes and very light aqua hair. It was parted on the right side of her head, and unevenly cut, with the right side touching her ear, and the left angling down to her collarbone. She didn't seem to be wearing a whole lot of makeup, just some dusty rose lipstick and heavily lined eyeliner with thick wings.
She wore a plum colored sweatshirt crop top with the sleeves rolled up her arms a little, revealing at least three tattoos. The one seen on her right inner wrist looked to be an audio bar and playing options along with the words 'Music is Life'. One of the tattoos on her left arm on the inside was a pair of headphones where the cord coming from them mad a sound pattern with a heart in the middle of it. The other on the outer side was a colorful tattoo of a golden orange gazania flower paired with a blue anemone flower along with other small purple berries and some long green leaves. Over the sweatshirt she wore dark denim overall shorts, and on her feet were mid-calf socks that matched the color of her top, and dark greyish green lace up boots.
"Naya, what are you doing here?" the male commented with surprise, almost scolding her. "Suhee's guide was supposed be from the Art department…" – he trailed off and shock replaced his scolding tone – "Surely you didn't…"
"I've taken her place." The female called Naya confessed shamelessly. "But only because she was busy finishing a project and I really wanted to meet my dorm neighbor!" – she was pouting by now – "So will you get off my case? You sound like my Grandpapi!"
The young man sighed and then turned to Suhee. "This is Naya Park. Apparently now she's your guide." – he cleared his throat and lightened his tone – "You don't have to worry about attending classes today, so take the time to get settled. Enjoy the rest of your day!"
And with that, the two set off after they introduced themselves formally. Naya showed her around most of the university, adding her own little fun facts to spice things up. Suhee rather enjoyed it, despite being shy at first. Finally the two set foot in their own department; Fine Arts.
"So you must be a painter, if you're majoring in art." Naya casually commented.
"Yes, but my strong suit is sketching," she replied. "I also dabble a bit in photography, but I feel like I can't improve any more on my own, so I came here to learn more to hone my skills." – there was a thoughtful pause – "What do you do, Naya?"
"I play violin in the orchestra here. I'm thinking of going solo though. Kind of finding my own flow." Naya trailed off, and as they approached a set of lonely double doors, she got all excited again. "You're gonna like this!"
She approached the doors with a curious Suhee in tow and before opening one of them she announced, "This…is the theater department's largest practice stage – only used for the best of the best productions with the most talented majoring actors! Would you like to witness the magic that happens within?"
Suhee merely nodded silently, and the door was open for her so she could see what was going on. Naya might've exaggerated a bit, because beyond the door wasn't really a true stage, but just a third of the floor raised a foot to emulate a stage. The rest was rather clear except for a couple rows of chairs, and the even more chairs were stacked up against the walls.
But that wasn't what Suhee had her gaze trained on because the cyclist she encountered earlier was currently center stage. He looked so dedicated to the part he played, with his graceful gestures and his well carried smooth voice it was as if the character he was playing had come to life in the real world. Suhee couldn't help but be enamored once more with this man, but it was short lived (again) when the door was closed suddenly. She turned a questioning gaze to Naya and wanted to ask, but remained silent. Naya of course picked up on this and explained.
"I saw you making goo-goo eyes at him just now." She said, suddenly uncharacteristically serious. "Unfortunately that guy in there is unreachable."
"Why?" Suhee was even more curious now. "Who is he?"
"You don't know? I thought you would know…" Naya was a little befuddled, but she explained anyway. "That guy you were just ogling is Zen. He's very well known in and outside this university, as well as on the internet for his deadly good looks and talent in theater, dance, and music."
The chestnut haired female's eyes widened with concern. "Deadly…?"
"If you're a fan, then yes. He's his fans' shareware and heaven forbid if you try and claim him for yourself. A guy like him would be done in the show business if he was caught in a scandal." Naya explained. "Unfortunately even the chance of a fan hooking up with him will become impossible; because Echo Girl has enrolled and is starting this semester too…No doubt it's because of Zen…"
"Echo Girl…?"
"Geez girl, you really do live under a rock, don't you? C'mon. I'll explain on the way to the dorms…"
And so Suhee was guided to her room, where the two females started to unpack her things. At first Suhee was against it, but Naya was very insistent and so she gave in. It took up pretty much the rest of the day (Suhee didn't really pack all that much to send over), and when evening came, the two had dinner in the cafeteria and then Naya bid her neighbor goodnight.
Suhee was finally alone.
She sat on her bed, phone in hand and debated with herself on whether or not to call her parents. But at that moment the events that had happened earlier that day flashed through her mind and she became tired. So she lay down and stared at the ceiling, wondering how her new life was going to be and if she had made the right choice to come here when she was so compulsively shy…
I'm feeling a little charitable, so today you get two chapters! Enjoy!