Chapter 13 — The Scent of Something New
910 Words
Nearly six weeks had passed since the scandal on campus.
Life at Seoul International University had settled into a comfortable rhythm.
Classes.
Study sessions.
Late afternoon walks around the courtyard.
And almost every day, Alicia and Min-ji could be found somewhere on campus laughing about something small and silly.
For Alicia, the university finally felt less like a battlefield and more like a place she could belong.
But that week, something about her appearance began to change.
Her braids had started getting old.
The neat style she had arrived with from Uganda was slowly loosening, small strands curling out at the edges.
One evening inside the dorm room, Min-ji noticed immediately.
She sat cross-legged on the floor watching Alicia struggle in the mirror.
“Your braids are tired,” Min-ji announced dramatically.
Alicia sighed.
“I know. I just haven’t had time to redo them.”
Min-ji stood up suddenly.
“Sit down.”
Alicia blinked.
“What?”
“I’m helping you take them out.”
Alicia laughed.
“You know how long that takes?”
Min-ji grabbed a comb anyway.
“We have snacks and gossip. We’ll survive.”
So the two girls sat on the dorm floor for hours.
Music played quietly from Alicia’s phone.
They talked about classes, professors, and ridiculous things students had said that week.
Piece by piece, Min-ji helped undo the braids.
When the last one finally came loose, Alicia shook her head slightly.
Her thick natural curls fell around her shoulders.
Min-ji’s eyes widened.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You’re hiding this?”
Alicia touched her hair shyly.
“This is just my natural hair.”
“It’s beautiful.”
Min-ji grabbed a small bottle from Alicia’s desk.
“What’s this?”
“Hair oil,” Alicia said. “My aunt sent it from home.”
Min-ji opened it and immediately smiled.
“It smells amazing.”
After washing her hair Alicia rubbed a small amount into her hair, gently separating the curls.
The soft scent filled the room — warm, natural, slightly sweet.
Min-ji leaned back on the bed.
“You’re going to cause problems tomorrow.”
Alicia laughed.
“What problems?”
“Boy problems.”
The next day on campus, Alicia didn’t think much about the change.
She tied part of her hair back loosely and headed to class with Min-ji.
But people noticed.
Students glanced at her more often.
Her curls bounced slightly when she walked.
Min-ji leaned closer while they walked across the courtyard.
“I told you,” she whispered. “People are staring.”
“They’re not.”
“They are.”
Inside the lecture hall, Alicia slid into her usual seat.
A minute later, someone sat beside her.
Min-ho.
She looked up in mild surprise.
He usually sat a few rows behind.
“Good morning,” he said calmly.
“Morning.”
Alicia opened her notebook as the professor began the lecture.
For most of the class, Min-ho tried to focus on the lesson.
But something kept distracting him.
A faint scent drifted toward him every time Alicia moved slightly.
He noticed it again when she turned a page.
It was subtle.
Warm.
Comforting.
Min-ho glanced at her.
Her braids were gone.
Her natural curls framed her face now.
The soft texture caught the sunlight from the window beside them.
For a moment, Min-ho completely forgot what the professor was saying.
He looked away quickly.
Why am I noticing this?
Across the room, Jae-hyun sat two rows behind them.
He had also noticed something.
Not Alicia’s hair.
But where Min-ho was sitting.
Interesting.
After class ended, Alicia packed her books.
Min-ho stood beside her.
“You changed your hair.”
Alicia touched it instinctively.
“Oh… yeah.”
Min-ji grinned beside them.
“It looks better, right?”
Min-ho hesitated for half a second.
Then he nodded once.
“It suits you.”
The compliment was simple.
But something about the way he said it made Alicia smile.
As they walked out of the classroom together, Jae-hyun joined them casually.
“Well well,” he said.
Min-ji groaned.
“What now?”
Jae-hyun tilted his head slightly while studying Alicia.
“Something’s different.”
“My hair,” Alicia said.
“Ah,” he nodded.
Then he glanced sideways at Min-ho.
“And apparently it changed seating arrangements too.”
Min-ho ignored him.
But Jae-hyun noticed the tiny reaction anyway.
Very interesting.
Over the next few days, a small pattern began forming.
Whenever Alicia arrived early to class…
Min-ho somehow ended up sitting beside her.
If she studied in the library…
Min-ho would appear a few minutes later with a book.
If she worked in the café…
The chair next to her often became occupied.
Alicia didn’t think much of it.
But Min-ji definitely did.
One afternoon she leaned toward Alicia and whispered,
“You have a shadow.”
“What?”
Min-ji nodded toward Min-ho sitting beside them reading.
“That one.”
Alicia laughed quietly.
“He’s just studying.”
Min-ji smirked.
“Sure.”
Across the table, Jae-hyun watched the whole scene unfold.
He leaned back in his chair, smiling slightly.
Min-ho wasn’t even realizing what he was doing.
But Jae-hyun did.
Min-ho was slowly orbiting around Alicia like gravity had changed.
And the funny part?
He looked completely unaware of it.
Jae-hyun tapped his pen lightly against the table.
This was getting more interesting every day.
- Writer
