I was starting to get suspicious.
Maybe this campus really did have a personal grudge against me.
Or maybe, from the moment I first set foot here, the god of bad luck had officially made me his favorite college student.
That morning, I stood in front of the mirror and examined my appearance.
Neat.
My shirt was tucked in.
My hair was combed.
My bag had been checked.
Books? All there.
Pens? There.
Wallet? There.
Phone? There.
I even deliberately checked my shoelaces three times.
"Nothing weird is allowed to happen today," I muttered to myself.
I nodded firmly.
"Today has to be normal."
Fifteen minutes later, I slipped in front of the house.
"OH MY GOD!"
Luckily, I didn't fall.
I immediately stood up and eyed the ground suspiciously.
"I just said that."
Apparently, the universe really had heard my prayer.
It had simply chosen to answer it in a different way.
When I reached campus, I walked as quickly as I could toward class.
I couldn't be late.
I couldn't run into anyone.
I couldn't drop anything.
I couldn't—
THUD!
I ran into someone.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
There was no need to look.
I already knew.
"Sorry..."
When I opened my eyes, I saw a college student standing in front of me, with several sheets of paper scattered across the floor.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
Then he sighed.
"You again?"
I frowned.
"Have we met?"
He pointed at me.
"You're the one who almost knocked me over yesterday because you were running while carrying a lunch box."
"Oh..."
I finally remembered.
So it was him.
"Sorry."
I quickly crouched down to help pick up his papers.
That's when a voice came from behind me.
"Oh my God. It's barely morning, and you're already causing trouble."
I turned around.
The girl who had kept showing up in my life over the past few days stood there holding two cups of drinks.
She gave me a small smile.
"Good morning, troublemaker."
I snorted.
"Don't call me that."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not a troublemaker."
She looked at the papers scattered across the floor.
Then she looked at me.
Then she looked back at the papers.
"You sure?"
I didn't answer.
The student from before finally picked up the last sheet of paper.
"All done. I'll get going."
He walked away from us.
I stood up with a sigh.
My friend held one of her drinks out to me.
"Drink."
I stared at the cup.
"What for?"
"So you won't run into anyone else."
"Does drinking really keep me from running into people?"
"No."
"Then?"
"At least it'll keep your mouth busy."
I shot her a sharp look.
She laughed.
I took the drink.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, troublemaker."
I shook my head.
The day had barely started, and my patience was already being tested.
Inside the classroom, the professor hadn't arrived yet.
I sat in my usual spot.
A few minutes later, the class president came in looking panicked.
"Guys! Our professor assigned us a group project today."
The mood in the classroom changed instantly.
"A group project?"
"What kind of group?"
"What's the assignment?"
I immediately got a bad feeling.
I hated group projects.
Not because I disliked working with other people.
But usually, whenever there was a group project, my bad luck doubled.
The class president handed out sheets of paper.
"Each group will have three people."
I swallowed hard.
Please, no.
Not me.
Not me.
"Group three..."
I started praying silently.
"...with the following members..."
My name was called.
I closed my eyes.
Just one more name.
And it turned out to be—
That girl.
I opened my eyes.
She immediately turned to me with a huge smile.
"We're in the same group."
I sighed.
"Of course we are."
"Why do you look like you're about to be punished?"
"Because I know this is going to end badly."
"Don't be so pessimistic."
I looked at her.
"Since I started college, when has anything involving me ever ended well?"
She fell silent.
Then she laughed.
"You have a point."
I rubbed my face.
But it didn't end there.
The third member of our group turned out to be the student I'd run into earlier.
He walked over to us.
The moment he saw me, he stopped.
"Seriously?"
All I could do was give him a stiff smile.
"Looks like it."
He sighed.
"This is going to take a while."
I nodded.
"A very long while."
For the first time that day, the three of us laughed.
Somehow, even though my life was full of unfortunate incidents, something felt different.
I was starting to make friends.
Friends who might make my days even more chaotic.
Or maybe...
would make my bad luck feel a little lighter.
I smiled faintly.
But when I opened my bag to take out my notebook—
A water bottle fell out.
THUD!
The three of us fell silent.
The girl stared at me.
"Don't tell me..."
I picked up the bottle with a resigned expression.
"I think my bad luck isn't over yet."
She laughed so hard, she smacked the desk.
"Welcome to college life!"
All I could do was shake my head.
She was probably right.
College wasn't just about studying.
It was also about figuring out how to survive the bad luck that came without warning.