On this vast campus, I often feel like I'm lost.
Amidst the crowds moving between lecture halls, everyone seems to be heading toward their own destination with purpose, while I feel like the only one standing still in a state of helplessness.
University looks glamorous and free on the surface, but if you look inside, the fierce competition, invisible hierarchies, and individual stories create a suffocating atmosphere.
I was the type to hover on the periphery, never quite blending into that flow.
Seo Yuri, she seemed similar to me. No, perhaps she was submerged in an even deeper abyss.
The first time I truly noticed her was at the end of a hallway in the Old Wing, the oldest building in the humanities department that students rarely visit.
A deep red sunset was pouring in through the large west-facing window, and she stood there like a painting in that faded golden light.
Her orange ponytail seemed to catch fire in the setting sun, and her translucent white skin was stained red. She appeared to be looking at the sunset sky, but her gaze was fixed somewhere in the empty air.
As I approached, her shoulders jerked up as if she sensed someone's presence.
When she turned around, her face was etched with unmistakable wariness and anxiety. Her green eyes wavered like a startled deer's. I found myself holding my breath.
It felt as if there was always a thin glass film surrounding her. A fragile, transparent wall that no one could easily approach, and that she herself refused to step out of.