Haerin stared at the blank sheet of lyrics in front of her, stress weighing down her shoulders.

It was her first year at Yonsei University, where she’d enrolled in the music program with dreams of becoming an artist.

Born into a classical music household, Haerin had been a piano prodigy by the time she was ten—thanks to her parents’ relentless expectations. But over time, the classical world had started to feel suffocating, even toxic. So she branched out. Slowly, she taught herself guitar, making lyrics, bass, and singing. The violin came earlier, back when she was still knee-deep in competitions and recitals.

Despite all this, people from high school never saw her passion. When they found out how many instruments she could play, they’d label her a show-off. Like she was flaunting it. But that couldn’t be further from the truth—Haerin had never been that kind of person.

In fact, she thought she was only average at everything besides piano. Everyone around her seemed so focused, so brilliant at one thing, while she spread herself thin across many.

“Haerin! I got us something!” Hanni’s cheerful voice cut through her spiral of thoughts.

Snapping out of her daze, Haerin turned to see her new roommate grinning as she entered the dorm room.

They’d only met a few hours ago, but it already felt like they’d been friends forever. Maybe it was because they were both in the music program. Or because they shared almost every class.

“Thanks, Hanni,” Haerin said with a small smile. “We should probably start getting ready for class, though.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Hanni groaned dramatically, flopping onto her bed before dragging herself up again.

Later, they made their way to their first lecture—Music Theory. Hanni practically pulled Haerin through the doors and into the middle row of the lecture hall, claiming two open seats.

“I’m so stoked for this year,” Hanni beamed, eyes scanning the room. “I’m gonna make so many friends.”

Haerin chuckled. “Perfect. You can drag me along so I don’t have to talk to anyone myself.”

Hanni rolled her eyes and gave her a playful swat on the arm.

Just as Haerin was settling into her seat, someone approached. A dark red velvet tumbler thunked gently onto the table beside her.

“Oh, sorry—” a girl with a surprisingly deep voice said. “Is this seat taken?”

Haerin stiffened. She couldn’t even look up—too nervous.

“N-No, you can sit,” she mumbled, eyes fixed on the tumbler as the girl settled beside her.

Hanni’s eyes lit up at the possibility of a new friend. She leaned in and whispered, “Haerin, go say hi to her.”

Haerin’s eyes widened in horror. “No! I’m too scared!” she whisper-yelled back.

With an exaggerated sigh, Hanni reached across Haerin, offering a hand to the new girl.

“Hi! I’m Hanni, and this is Haerin,” she said brightly, pointing at her shell-shocked roommate. “What’s your name?”