The bus doors folded open with a hiss like the morning itself was exhaling.
Students surged forward in messy lines, dragging luggage that scraped the pavement, hugging backpacks like they held their whole personalities inside. A staff member with a clipboard shouted directions like a drill instructor.
"Health track, male bus on the left!""Engineering, second row buses!""Business major, third!""Computing, don't block the entrance!""Female bus on the right, keep moving, keep moving!"
XH stood near the front of the crowd with his group, watching everything with a strange mix of excitement and tension. The cold still bit, but the movement had warmed his blood. His shoulders felt lighter, like something about leaving the tower even for a few days made the campus pressure loosen.
TZ bounced on his toes, eyes scanning for anything worth laughing at. JP was still red in the face from earlier teasing, but now his energy had shifted into a serious "leader mode," like he was responsible for everyone's safety. NS looked resigned to his fate, medium backpack on, hoodie up, pretending he wasn't freezing.
HS and Andrew hovered nearby like reinforcements, calm and supportive, as if their presence alone could prevent chaos.
Kitty stood in the girls' cluster with June and the others, hair neat, expression composed. June looked bright despite the hour, scarf tucked perfectly, eyes sharp as if she was already cataloging everything.
The staff shouted again.
"Separate buses! Male only, female only! Don't argue!"
JP turned to XH and TZ, mouth opening as if to protest purely out of stubbornness, then shut it again. Even he knew some battles were not worth dying for at five in the morning.
TZ leaned in and whispered, "Bro, the universe denied JP his dream."
JP glared. "Shut up."
Kitty's eyes flicked over, catching their whispering, and she smiled like she could tell exactly what was happening without hearing a word.
June leaned closer to Kitty and murmured something. Kitty's smile widened.
XH didn't hear it, but he didn't need to.
He could feel the amusement from where he stood.
The buses were arranged like a small army lineup. Male-only buses on one side, female-only on the other. Between them was a thin strip of space where staff and teachers moved like traffic controllers.
XH watched the girls start boarding.
For some reason, watching them go onto a separate bus made something in his chest pinch.
Not sadness.
Just… a strange, sudden distance.
Like being separated by glass.
He didn't like it.
The Split
"Alright," TZ said, clapping his hands together. "Boys. Time to suffer in silence."
NS muttered, "I already am."
They moved toward the male bus with their luggage. The bus smelled like warm plastic and old air conditioning. The heater was on full blast, which felt like a mercy.
JP immediately took a seat in the middle row, straight posture, pretending this was a professional trip and not a teenage adventure.
TZ flopped into the back row. "Back seat is king seat."
HS sat a few seats ahead, leaning back, looking relaxed. Andrew sat near the aisle, calm, eyes scanning, like he was always slightly prepared.
NS sat by the window, pulling his hoodie tighter like it would become a blanket through sheer hope.
XH took the seat behind NS, dropping his bag to the floor.
The bus rumbled.
Outside, the female bus doors closed too. XH saw Kitty through the window of the other bus, sitting near the middle, turning her head slightly as if she could sense him looking.
June sat near her, talking quietly.
Jihye sat a few seats away, bright expression even at this hour. Anna leaned by the window. NC sat with steady calm. Cherry sat with crossed arms, already looking like she was judging everything around her.
A soft buzz of excitement moved through both buses.
The teachers walked past, counting students, checking lists.
THKM boarded briefly, gave the male bus a quick sharp glance, then stepped off again. Lola did the same for the female bus.
Then the Headmaster arrived.
Luxury car parked smoothly.
He stepped out like he was entering a different scene entirely. His coat looked expensive. His posture was effortless.
"Meeting Man," someone whispered again.
Because even now, as he spoke to the staff, his voice carried:
"I just came from another meeting," he said calmly, as if it was a funny tragedy. "Let's keep this on time."
XH watched him.
The Headmaster didn't look tired.
He looked… busy.
Busy in the way people looked when they had too many problems behind their eyes.
June, across the gap, was watching too. XH saw the slight narrowing of her gaze.
She noticed things.
That was June's habit.
And sometimes, it made XH nervous, because he realized she saw truths he was still trying to ignore.
At 5:00 exactly, the buses moved.
No waiting.
No apology.
Utopia Tower slid away behind them like the end of a scene.
The Male Bus: Loneliness on Wheels
At first, the boys were loud.
Too loud.
Because excitement needed a place to escape.
TZ started narrating the ride like a sports commentator.
"On your left, we see absolutely nothing because it's dark," he announced. "On your right, we see JP pretending he's not nervous."
JP snapped, "I'm not nervous."
NS muttered, "He's nervous."
HS laughed softly. Andrew watched with quiet amusement.
XH leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, letting the vibration of the road settle into him.
The highway opened up.
Streetlights stretched into long glowing lines.
The city became smaller behind them.
And then the loneliness hit.
Not the sad kind.
The quiet kind.
A sudden awareness that half their world was now in another bus.
JP looked at his phone, then at the window, then at his phone again.
TZ noticed. "You miss them already?"
JP's face reddened. "Shut up."
NS said quietly, "It does feel weird."
XH nodded without meaning to. "Yeah."
It wasn't about romance.
It was about balance.
Their group felt incomplete.
TZ tried to fix it with chaos. "Alright, since we're separated, we do check-ins. Every thirty minutes, we ask if the girls are okay."
JP nodded seriously. "Yes."
NS frowned. "That's excessive."
JP pointed at him. "You don't understand duty."
NS muttered, "You don't understand normal."
XH laughed softly. "We can check in sometimes."
And they did.
XH typed a simple message:
XH: you good on your bus?
A few minutes passed.
Then Kitty replied:
Kitty: warm. comfortable. your bus okay?
XH smiled.
June replied separately to XH as well, shorter:
June: yes. don't overthink. enjoy.
That was June.
Simple.
Direct.
Still somehow comforting.
TZ leaned over. "What'd they say?"
XH didn't answer immediately.
JP leaned in too, eyes bright with curiosity.
NS watched quietly, pretending he didn't care.
XH said, "They're fine."
TZ groaned. "Bro give us details. We're bored."
JP nodded eagerly. "Yes. Details."
XH shook his head. "No."
TZ leaned back dramatically. "This is oppression."
Crypto Talk Like Naive Kings
After the first hour, the boys got restless.
Someone pulled out snacks.
Someone started playing music softly.
And then, like all groups of young guys who thought they were smarter than they were, the conversation drifted into money.
"Bro," TZ said, "imagine if we buy shitcoins now and become rich before graduation."
JP's eyes lit up instantly. "I've been thinking about that."
NS sighed. "Of course you have."
JP leaned forward, suddenly animated. "Listen. There are these coins—"
XH laughed. "You're about to ruin our lives."
JP ignored him. "We invest small. Small. Then if it pumps, we win."
TZ nodded eagerly. "Exactly. Like a tournament draft."
NS shook his head. "That is not how money works."
HS chimed in, amused. "You all talk like you're already rich."
Andrew spoke for the first time in a while, calm voice cutting through. "If you want real money, you need patience."
JP blinked. "Patience is boring."
TZ pointed at Andrew. "That's why he's the calm supportive character."
Andrew smirked slightly. "Good."
They laughed.
The conversation turned into wild fantasies.
"How much would you buy if you got rich?" TZ asked.
JP immediately said, "A sports car."
NS muttered, "You would crash it."
JP glared. "No."
TZ said, "I'd buy a penthouse."
XH said quietly, "I'd buy peace."
They all paused.
TZ pointed at him. "Bro just got poetic."
JP laughed. "He's thinking about the girls."
NS shook his head but smiled faintly.
Even in teasing, there was truth.
The Female Bus: Quick Glimpses
XH didn't see inside the female bus much, but through the windows when they drove side by side briefly, he caught small scenes:
Kitty laughing at something Jihye said.June watching the road like she was mapping it.Cherry leaning back, arms crossed, looking like she'd rather be on a private jet.NC adjusting someone's scarf gently.Anna resting her forehead against the glass.
The girl dynamics were forming.
Quietly.
A different kind of bonding.
A different kind of strength.
And XH realized something strange:
The girls didn't look lonely.
They looked… stable.
It made him admire them.
And it made him feel childish for how much the boys were checking their phones.
Rumors That Travel Faster Than Buses
Somewhere around the third hour, the bus stopped at a rest stop.
Everyone spilled out like restless animals.
Bathrooms. Snacks. Hot drinks.
XH stepped outside and the cold hit again. Snow still lingered in the air, lighter now but persistent.
He spotted the Headmaster's luxury car parked nearby.
The Headmaster stood with THKM and Lola, speaking quietly. Not arguing. Not smiling either.
June passed by with the female group and slowed slightly, eyes flicking toward them.
She didn't stare.
But she noticed.
XH noticed her noticing.
A staff member walked past, murmuring to another, "Another review meeting when we return."
The word meeting landed like a dull thud.
June's expression tightened for a fraction of a second, then smoothed over.
XH felt a small unease rise.
Not panic.
Not yet.
Just the sense that something heavy was traveling with them, invisible in the luggage.
Back on the male bus, someone behind them talked about something they'd seen online.
"A fever outbreak overseas," a guy said casually. "They say it's spreading."
Another laughed. "Bro, every year there's something."
"Yeah but they're calling it serious."
JP scoffed. "They call everything serious. People like attention."
TZ shrugged. "Still. Weird."
NS listened quietly.
XH didn't comment.
But the phrase stuck:
fever outbreak overseas.
Like a shadow at the edge of the frame.
And in XH's mind, another hint layered itself beneath it, something older and uglier, something he'd heard people whisper about back home:
National instability.
Coup rumors.
The kind of fear adults spoke about in low voices.
He shoved it away.
Not today.
Not on a reward trip.
Not while the bus carried laughter and snacks and stupid conversations about shitcoins.
Arrival Approaches
As the afternoon light finally softened, the landscape changed.
More trees.
More open space.
The smell of smoke and earth returned.
The villages were closer now.
TZ pressed his forehead to the window like a kid. "Bro. We're actually leaving the city."
JP yawned dramatically. "I miss warmth."
NS muttered, "I miss blankets."
Everyone laughed again.
XH typed another check-in:
XH: we're about to arrive. you all okay?
Kitty replied fast:
Kitty: yes. june is acting like a tour guide already.
June followed with one line:
June: focus on not getting lost.
XH smiled.
The bus slowed.
The road narrowed.
And ahead, the first signs of the urban village appeared.
A simple gate.
A wooden sign.
A few villagers watching the buses arrive like they were a traveling circus.
The male bus fell quiet for a moment.
Even JP stopped talking.
Even TZ stopped joking.
Because something about arriving somewhere unfamiliar made them aware of themselves again.
Their youth.
Their closeness.
Their luck.
XH looked out the window, heart steady.
They had made it.
And Volume 2 was officially moving forward now, not in theory, not in outline, but in reality.
The trip was no longer a promise.
It was happening.
And with it came laughter, memories… and the faintest sense that something was waiting at the edge of all this warmth.
Something they couldn't name yet.
But would, eventually.