Chapter Text
Rumi sat at her kitchen table, working on a crossword puzzle from the morning newspaper and trying her best to ignore the buzzing anxiety that pulsed through her veins. She knew it was only natural to be nervous- it was her first day of law school, after all- but Rumi was better than that. She was Rumi fucking Ryu- she didn’t get nervous- and she never, under any circumstances, allowed herself to be anything less than perfect.
It would’ve been much easier to calm her nerves if she could leave the house when she wanted to, but Celine just had to make her a full-ass breakfast at home. Not that she was going to be late- Celine had assured her that she’d be out the door with more than enough time to get to her classes early- but Rumi always felt like there was more work to be done, and that Celine was just standing in her way.
She’d practiced her commute to and from campus three times, and had memorized her class schedule and locations the moment she got them, but a little more familiarization wouldn’t kill her, right?
Rumi was fine.
Celine just worried too much.
Still, Rumi ate the breakfast Celine cooked for her, and didn’t put up a fight when Celine inevitably started fussing over her a little bit that morning.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive you today?” She asked for what had to be the eightieth time. “It’s just on the way to the office- and we can even get coffee on the way if you want.”
Rumi shook her head.“I’m sure. Besides, I like taking the train,” she said, offering Celine her most convincing smile as she pulled her(probably overpacked) tote bag onto one shoulder.
“Okay,” Celine sighed, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Rumi’s head. “Have a good first day, I love you!”
“Love you, too,” Rumi called in reply, slipping out the front door and into the crisp autumn air.
Rumi’s commute flew by quickly and, with her headphones on, it was actually kind of fun. She hadn’t been lying, she did like riding the train, especially when each step she took was accompanied by Olivia Rodrigo and Blackpink(not to mention the spectacular cold brew that she snagged from the little cafe just a block from her station). She arrived at her classroom twenty minutes early, exactly as planned.
The door was still closed, and a small window at Rumi’s eye level revealed a dim, empty room. No other students had gathered around the door, so Rumi took a few steps back. She sat down on a bench a few yards down the corridor and pulled out her phone, pretending to look busy(even if she was just playing sudoku). Rumi was alright with being known as a try-hard, but entering the room before her professor was definitely doing too much, even for her.
Honmoon School of Law hadn’t been Rumi’s top choice, but it was a good choice. It had an excellent focus on work experience and apprenticeships, a fantastic alumni network, and would look amazing on her resume. It was also close to home, which was, unfortunately, an important consideration.
She’d done so well in college, and Rumi had really thought that she was ready to take on the world on her own. Back then, she’d had a degree from a good school, no student loans, a killer resume, a dream-worthy job offer, and a boyfriend that she adored; Rumi had been on top of the world.
And then it all came crashing down.
Less than six months into her new position as a secretary at one of the top law firms in her state, Rumi’s position was cut. The firm’s profits were down, and they’d had to downsize, leaving Rumi high and dry. Then, Jinu cheated on her. After three years together, an apartment, a plan for the future, and a cat- he just fucking cheated on her.
She wanted to try again, and they tried to start over, but it didn’t work. Rumi couldn’t shake the feeling that the man she’d fallen in love with didn’t really exist, and that Jinu would just go and betray her again.
Her life felt out of her control, and she fell into a downward spiral that she couldn’t climb out of. Every single unhealthy habit she’d ever had came back to the surface, and Rumi almost drowned in them.
She couldn’t heal on her own.
So, she moved home- her life plans delayed by a year and mental health smashed to pieces- and she tried to pull her life back together. She turned her pain into fuel, and threw all that she had into prepping for the LSAT and her law school applications.
Celine, who was a well-respected lawyer throughout their city, was also able to get Rumi a job as a receptionist at her firm. But, while Rumi appreciated that Celine would go out of her way to do something like that for her, and she definitely needed a job to keep herself from going insane, it was a huge blow to her self esteem. Living with her stepmom in her twenties was one thing, but to be a nepo baby on top of that was just… well… yikes.
Starting all over again was terrifying, and it was the most difficult thing Rumi had ever done, but it felt so good. Rumi had been through hell and back, and she was finally ready as she could ever be to begin anew, and to take hold of her future once more.
Humanoid figures began passing through Rumi’s peripheral vision, and she looked up from her phone to see that the classroom door had opened, and a few people were filing inside. She hopped up and, summoning all her strength, walked through the door.
The lecture hall was fairly big, and only two or three people had taken their seats thus far, meaning she had her pick of the lot. She grabbed a seat in the second row from the front- far back enough that she wouldn’t look like a teacher’s pet but close enough to feel engaged in the class. It was perfect.
As Rumi took her seat, her eyes drifted towards the front of the room, where a man with dark hair and a gray blazer was setting up a projector. She assumed it must be her professor, Robert Jeong. Rumi was nothing if not prepared, and had looked into each one of her professors for the year the second she got her class schedule. She didn’t think she’d ever met any of them- or at least, none of the names rang a bell- but she knew enough about them to get herself through the first week.
But, to her surprise, the moment she sat down, the professor turned to look at her, and his face split into a wide grin. He waved to her, before motioning for her to come over to him. Rumi was taken aback- she didn’t know this guy! But, unsure of what else to do, she got up, leaving behind her bag and jacket on her chair.
“Rumi!” he said brightly once she reached the front of the room. “I haven’t seen you in forever, my goodness you’ve gotten tall!”
Rumi was grateful that he wasn’t speaking too loudly, and that his words were drowned out by the sound of chairs sliding against the tile floor and students talking to one another as they walked in because, while her professor clearly knew her, she had no idea how, and her confusion must’ve shown on her face.
“Oh, you must not remember me,” the professor said, still smiling. “It’s me, Bobby! Celine’s old friend.”
Memories came flooding through instantly, and Rumi smiled wide as she remembered the old family friend who used to watch over her when Celine had to travel for work
“Bobby!” she grinned. “I didn’t even recognize you, how are you?”
“I’m doing great- how are you? How’s Celine?”
Before Rumi could answer, Bobby’s phone buzzed, and his eyes went wide at the time on the screen. She promised to resume their conversation after class finished, and went back to retake her seat, nerves almost completely settled by memories of coloring books, kites, and trips to the local zoo with her old friend.
When she got back to her chair, she noticed that another person had taken the seat next to it. She looked about Rumi’s age, and was dressed in a black leather jacket and ripped jeans. She was a strange combination of gorgeous and scary-looking, with long pink hair, high cheekbones, and sharp chestnut eyes, leaning back in her chair and scrolling through her phone like the rest of the world wasn’t even cool enough for her to notice it.
The rest of the lecture hall had filled up, and Rumi doubted she’d be able to find another seat before class started without drawing an insane amount of attention to herself, so she decided not to be intimidated. She just sat down next to the girl, and pulled her laptop and textbook out of her bag.
But, just when she thought she was in the clear, Scary Girl turned her head at just the wrong time, and their eyes met. Rumi wasn’t great at eye contact- never had been- so she quickly averted her gaze. When her eyes flitted back to her a moment later, Rumi realized that Scary Girl was glaring at her- her eyes narrowed and brow furrowed in unmistakable disdain.
Great, Rumi thought. Class hadn’t even started and she’d already pissed off the girl next to her- just what she needed! She looked around the room(as inconspicuously as possible) for another empty seat, but to no avail. Every single chair in the lecture hall was occupied, meaning Rumi was stuck here, with Scary Girl, for god knows how long. Thankfully, that god took mercy on her, and Bobby quickly called the class to attention.
“Good morning everyone!” he announced. “I’m Robert Jeong, but you can call me Bobby, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you all to your first day of constitutional law! Now, I’d like you all to familiarize yourself with your seats, because that is where you will be for the rest of the semester. I know assigned seating is a little trivial, but it helps me to get to know all of your names, so I ask you to bear with me here.”
Okay, so Rumi was stuck with Scary Girl for the semester. That might be a minor setback, but Rumi was here to learn, not to make friends. This was a law class, she and Scary Girl never even had to talk to one another.
“Since we’re all new to one another, I’d like you all to turn to the person next to you and introduce yourselves.”
Well, apparently Rumi and Scary Girl did have to talk to one another, what a fun turn of events! Since there was no getting out of it, Rumi turned towards Scary Girl, slapped on her best smile, and held out her hand.
“Hello, I’m Rumi Ryu,” she said. “What’s your name?”
Scary Girl raised an eyebrow but, by the grace of all that was holy, shook Rumi’s hand.
“Mira Kang,” she deadpanned.
Ah, Kang, Rumi thought. She must be Korean, too. It wasn’t an instant connection, but it meant they had at least one thing in common!
Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as Rumi thought!
Or maybe it would, because despite Rumi’s award-winning smile and her polite, but firm and confident handshake, Mira didn’t seem interested in making conversation, and simply turned her attention back to her laptop the second Rumi released her hand.
Still, Rumi brushed it aside, and tried to focus on her notes as Bobby began his lecture.
“Today, we’ll discuss judicial precedent and review, and take a moment to understand the role that the judicial system plays in the American government, which means we’re going to go all the way back in time to Marbury v Madison. Now, there’s no pressure here, and I want everyone in this room to feel comfortable with not knowing something yet, but I’d also like to know where you’re at. So, would anyone like to kick us off, and briefly summarize the precedent set by this ruling?”
Rumi was just about to raise her hand- she could write a whole paper on this case in her sleep- when, to her surprise, Mira’s hand shot up next to her.
“Yes, Miss Kang?” Bobby called, glancing briefly at his class roster.
Mira cleared her throat. “It established judicial supremacy in the United States.”
“You’re close, but not quite, would anyone else like to give this one a try?”
This was Rumi’s chance, and she eagerly threw her hand up into the air.
“Yes, Miss Ryu?”
“Marbury v. Madison established judicial review, which gave courts the power to strike down laws that they found to be unconstitutional,” Rumi stated proudly.
“Correct! Now, everyone please open your books to…”
Rumi glanced briefly to her side, which turned out to be a grave mistake. Mira was glaring at her- an unmistakeable, full-on death glare- and it pissed Rumi off.
What the hell was her problem? Rumi hadn’t even said ten words to her yet, so why had Mira already decided that she hated her? But, it didn’t matter, Rumi wasn’t going to let this knock her down, not even one bit. She’d worked too hard to pull her life back together, and she wasn’t going to let all of her progress go just because of some hot mean girl.
No, Mira wasn’t going to bother Rumi at all.
Not even a little.
“Alright everyone, unless anyone has any more questions, then that's our time for today!” Bobby announced, shutting off his projector as a flurry of laptops and textbooks closed up around the room. Rumi was about to put her own away, but paused when Bobby called out, “Oh, and one last thing!”
“My firm always hires two 1L interns for the spring semester, and I encourage you all to apply. But please note that students from all of my classes apply, and there are only two slots, so get your applications in quickly and let me know if you have any questions. See you all on Wednesday!”
The cogs in Rumi’s head began to turn, and she smiled as another piece of her plan fell within arm’s reach. Bobby worked for the best criminal defense firm in the city; this was just the opportunity she’d been looking for! If she could get this internship, then she could forget all about working for Celine. Bobby was a family friend, but he wouldn’t be the one hiring her. This could be something that she actually earned.
“Excuse me, are you gonna move?” A cold voice broke through Rumi’s daydreaming, causing Rumi to notice that she was blocking Mira’s exit from their row of desks, and that Mira was staring absolute daggers at her for it.
“I don’t have all day, princess.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rumi said, quickly shoving her own things into her bag and hurrying to get out of Mira’s warpath, almost sighing in relief when the other girl brushed by her without another word.
Well, at least Rumi only had this class twice a week.
Thankfully, Rumi’s conversation with Bobby was much more pleasant, and he’d been overjoyed to hear that Rumi would be applying for his internship. He’d even promised her, unprompted, that he’d make sure their connection wouldn’t affect her application process in either direction, and she’d promised to have Celine invite him over for dinner sometime soon.
She left the lecture hall feeling lighter than air. Her next class wasn’t for another two hours, so Rumi had a little time to kill, and decided to find somewhere to read while she waited. She found a peaceful spot in the library, a large table bathed in sunlight, colored by stained glass windows, and all to herself. She settled in, pulled her headphones back on, and pulled out her laptop.
None of her syllabi said anything about homework during the first week- but it never hurt to get ahead on readings. She fell quickly into a comfortable rhythm, heart beating in time with the lo-fi playlist that had carried her through assignment after assignment since sophomore year of high school. Rumi had never been a fan of torts, but the library’s atmosphere was so perfect that she almost felt relaxed as she read.
Well, until some girl fell face-first into Rumi’s table, and then to the floor beside it
“Oh my god! Are you okay?!" Rumi gasped, whipping off her headphones and rushing to help the girl up.
The girl looked up at Rumi with a smile, gratefully accepting Rumi’s help and laughing as she got to her feet.
“Thanks,” the girl laughed. “I’m alright- just tripped over my own feet is all.” Her grin, despite having just fallen flat on her face in public, reached all the way to her dark brown eyes, surrounded by constellations of freckles. She had dark hair pulled into two low buns and a soft, heart-shaped face, and dressed in a seafoam green hoodie, denim overalls, and beat-up black converse, and carrying a yellow backpack slung over one shoulder. She was also very pretty, Rumi noticed.
Rumi seemed to notice that about a lot of women these days.
“I’m Zoey,” the girl said, offering Rumi a bright smile, one that Rumi gratefully returned.
“Rumi,” she said. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here. Mind if I sit?” Zoey asked, much to Rumi’s surprise, gesturing to the table she’d just crashed into.
“Uh, no! Not at all. Um… not mind, I mean. I don’t mind,” Rumi all but bleated, praying that she didn’t look nearly as nerdy as she felt, already knee-deep in scribbled notes and textbooks in the library on the first day of class.
“Thanks!” Zoey chirped, plopping down into the seat across from Rumi and rummaging through her backpack. “I’ve got some time to kill before my next class, so I hope it’s okay if I eat lunch here.”
“Of course it’s okay, and I should probably do the same,” Rumi assured, digging through her oversized tote bag to grab her lunch, a decision she quickly regretted when she remembered just what lunchbox she had packed that morning.
Sure enough, it was the same lunchbox Rumi had brought with her on her first day of kindergarten- an orange fabric bag with black stripes, sporting a stupidly adorable tiger face on the front. It even had little ears sticking out from the top- which Rumi had loved when she picked it out. But that was when she was five- not twenty-four!
She looked up to Zoey in embarrassment, and was just about to make up some story about grabbing her little brother’s lunch by mistake (she didn’t have a brother- but no one else needed to know that), when she quickly realized that her tiger lunchbox was, surprisingly enough, in good company.
Zoey had set a retro-style metal lunch tin on the table, pastel pink and decorated with Sanrio characters that Rumi would normally pretend not to know the names of, but maybe this girl was someone she didn’t need to pretend around.
Maybe it was the way that she’d literally fallen into Rumi’s lap, but something about this new girl- something about Zoey- felt almost serendipitous, and Rumi wanted to do something about it
Rumi had never been very good at making friends, and she’d grown comfortable with her solitude over the years. Sure, people broke through her atmosphere on occasion, becoming recurring characters in her life, but those instances were rare, and usually caused by the other person, forcing their way past Rumi’s defenses.
Jinu had been the last person to break through her walls, and he barely qualified as a friend anymore after… everything, but he had been the one to initiate their connection. Rumi couldn’t even remember the last time she actually tried to make a friend.
Maybe it was time to change that.
“I… um… I like your lunch box,” Rumi said, smiling cautiously at Zoey from across from her.
“Oh, thanks!” Zoey beamed, eyes sparkling as she happily brandished a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. “I found it at a thrift store a few years ago- I’m pretty sure it’s from the 90s! Isn't that cool?”
Rumi’s lunch with Zoey was… chattier than Rumi had planned for, but not in a bad way. She normally abhorred small talk but, to Rumi’s surprise, she found it rather comforting to listen to her new companion practically filibuster on about some new horror movie that Rumi hadn’t seen yet while Rumi ate her kimbap and nodded along.
Rumi almost felt sad when early afternoon rolled around, and she realized she had to leave if she was going to be fashionably early to her next class. If she’d had it her way, she’d have stayed right where she was, listening to this strange, wonderful girl talk about nothing and everything until the universe itself ceased to exist.
“Sorry to cut this short,” Rumi said as she gathered her things. “But I’ve got to get to class. It was nice having lunch with you, though.”
Zoey perked up, almost as if she’d completely forgotten that they were both there to kill time. “Ah, shit- me too! Where’re you headed?” she asked.
“Oh, uh- contracts.”
“With Stevens?” Rumi nodded, and the girl smiled excitedly.
“Me too! Hang on a second- I’ll walk with you.”
So, Rumi followed Zoey to class, watching her skip lightly down the hallowed halls Rumi had dreamed of for so long. To see someone so bright, so full of life in a place known for breaking students down and building them into something (allegedly) stronger was strange- an almost dissonant juxtaposition that somehow made Rumi question herself once again.
Rumi embraced her identity as an overachiever a long time ago, but she always felt like she’d missed the “over” part a little bit. It didn’t matter how many perfect report cards she brought home, how many times her teachers referred to her as a “pleasure to have in class” and used Rumi’s work as an example, or how many medals and trophies and certificates Celine displayed on the bookshelf in the living room, because Rumi would never feel like they were enough, even if she’d never say so out loud.
It caused Rumi’s mind to wander as she and Zoey took their seats for contracts(side-by-side, at Zoey’s insistence).
How did Zoey do it? How did she remain so bright and vibrant while on such a demanding and soul-crushing path? Was she just faking it, too- praying that she might one day invent a version of herself that was actually capable of succeeding in the field that Rumi had craved and admired her entire life?
She tried to put the issue to rest, at least for a moment, and did her best to focus on the professor’s introduction and explanation of the syllabus, knowing that she’d kick herself for it later if she screwed herself over just because she couldn’t get out of her own head.
Rumi succeeded temporarily, but her focus was broken when a notebook slid across the desk in her peripheral vision, and her eyes caught the words scribbled across the top of the page.
ur cool :P
Rumi looked up at Zoey incredulously, and almost fell out of her seat when she noticed the twinkle in her classmate’s eyes, and the playful smile on her lips.
What the hell was she even doing and, more importantly, why were Rumi’s hands moving to write a response?
Thank you. So are you, she wrote.
Zoey smiled at Rumi, and quickly scribbled something else down.
wanna hang out this weekend?
Rumi blinked a few times, feeling blood rush to her cheeks when she realized that she wasn’t hallucinating, and that Zoey had, in fact, asked Rumi to hang out with her.
That Rumi’s efforts had worked.
She had just made herself a friend.