Day vs Night

Chapter 1 The Untouchable Senpai

There were exactly three types of people in the university.

The loud ones.

The invisible ones.

And Bam Saralee.

Oom Eisaya belonged to the second category.

Unfortunately for her sanity, she was currently staring at the third.

"...stop looking."

Oom flinched so hard she nearly dropped her rolled-up architectural blueprint. She hadn't even realized the thought had escaped her lips.

"I'm not- I mean-I wasn't-"

"Your eyes have been on me for the last three minutes and seventeen seconds."

Oom froze.

Slowly, carefully, like a malfunctioning robot, she turned her head away.

Abort mission. Abort mission. I have been perceived.

The university's multipurpose hall buzzed with chatter as different student organizations set up booths. Banners, flyers, overly enthusiastic seniors-everything was loud, chaotic, and overwhelming.

Which was exactly why Oom had planned to grab her required club registration and leave in under five minutes.

It had been fifteen.

Because Bam Saralee existed.

Standing behind the Psychology Wellness Club booth, Bam looked like she had been personally handcrafted by a very biased god. Long brown hair cascaded neatly over her shoulders, her posture straight, her expression calm to the point of intimidating.

She wasn't smiling.

She didn't need to.

People were still lining up.

"Senpai, can you sign this?"

"Senpai, is this club beginner-friendly?"

"Senpai, do you think I need therapy?"

Bam answered each one with the same composed tone.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

No extra words. No unnecessary warmth.

Efficient. Elegant. Untouchable.

Oom, on the other hand, was sweating through her oversized shirt.

Why did I even come here? she thought miserably. I could've joined the Architecture Society. They don't have people. They barely have chairs.

"Still staring."

Oom inhaled sharply.

"I'm not staring," she whispered, still facing the opposite direction.

"Then you won't mind if I move."

Wait.

Move?

Before Oom could process that, a shadow fell over her.

Her soul left her body.

"Excuse me."

The voice was closer now. Lower. Clearer.

Oom turned her head-and immediately regretted having eyes.

Bam Saralee was standing right in front of her.

Up close, it was worse.

Her skin was flawless. Her gaze steady. Her presence... overwhelming.

Oom forgot how to breathe.

"You're blocking the sign-up sheet."

Oom looked down.

She was, in fact, standing directly in front of the clipboard.

"Oh."

Brilliant response. Truly groundbreaking.

"I-I didn't realize-"

"You didn't."

"...right."

There was a pause.

A long, painful, existence-questioning pause.

Oom could feel her brain short-circuiting under Bam's gaze.

Say something normal. Say something casual. Say something that doesn't make you sound like you've never interacted with a human being before.

"...nice weather?"

Oom wanted to throw herself into the sun.

Bam blinked once.

"It's indoors."

"Right."

Silence again.

Somewhere in the distance, someone laughed. It felt personal.

"I'll just-" Oom gestured vaguely, stepping aside so quickly she nearly tripped over her own shoe.

Bam didn't move immediately. She simply watched Oom regain her balance with what could only be described as quiet judgment.

Then, without another word, she picked up the clipboard and handed it to her.

"If you're joining, write your name clearly."

Oom stared at it like it was a life-or-death contract.

"I-uh-yeah. Joining. Yes."

Why am I joining? I don't even know what this club does. Do they just... emotionally observe people? Am I the experiment?

Her hand trembled slightly as she took the pen.

Name: Oom Eisaya

Course: Architecture

Year: 2nd Year

Her handwriting, usually neat, looked like it had gone through emotional trauma.

She handed the clipboard back.

Bam glanced at it briefly, then nodded.

"Orientation is on Friday. Don't be late."

"Yes, senpai."

"And-"

Oom's heart stopped.

"And try not to stare so obviously next time."

Oom's face combusted.

"I wasn't-!"

Bam had already turned away, addressing the next student as if Oom had ceased to exist.

"Next."

And just like that, she was dismissed.

Oom stood there for a full five seconds.

Then ten.

Then she turned around and walked away like someone who had just survived a near-death experience.

---

"YOU'RE IN LOVE."

"I am not in love."

Oom slammed her face into the table.

Across from her, Yada Eisaya, her cousin and best friend who's a second year architecture student too, grinned like she had just uncovered the greatest scandal of the century.

"You joined a club because of a girl."

"I joined a club because I need extracurricular credits."

"You don't even like people."

"I tolerate people."

"You don't even tolerate me."

"I endure you."

Yada gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. "And yet, for her... you suffer willingly."

Oom groaned into the wood.

It was later that afternoon, and the two of them were sitting at a small café just outside campus. Yada had insisted on meeting after receiving Oom's single, regrettable message:

I think I accidentally joined a club.

Which, to Yada, translated to:

I met a girl.

"So," Yada leaned forward, eyes sparkling, "tell me everything about this mysterious woman who has clearly destabilized your entire existence."

Oom lifted her head slowly.

"She told me to stop staring."

Yada blinked.

"That's it?"

"She said it with eye contact."

"...oh."

"Direct eye contact."

"Okay, now I understand."

Oom pointed accusingly. "See?! It's terrifying!"

"It's hot."

"It's terrifying!"

"It's both."

Oom dropped her head back down.

"I made a fool of myself."

"Did you at least get her name?"

Oom hesitated.

"...Bam Saralee."

Yada froze.

Then, very slowly, a grin spread across her face.

"Oh, you're done for."

Oom narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"That," Yada said, sipping her drink like she was about to deliver devastating news, "is the Bam Saralee."

"...the?"

"Top psychology student. Highest GPA in her department. Doesn't date. Doesn't socialize. Rejects people politely but completely."

Oom's soul began ascending.

"She's basically untouchable."

"Great," Oom muttered. "I joined a club led by an ice queen."

"Correction," Yada said cheerfully. "You joined a club because you have a crush on an ice queen."

"I do not have a crush."

"You described her for five minutes straight."

"I was explaining a situation."

"You called her 'elegantly terrifying.'"

"That was observational!"

Yada leaned back, crossing her arms. "So what's the plan?"

"There is no plan."

"You're just going to attend the club and act normal?"

"Yes."

"Can you act normal?"

"...no."

"Perfect."

Oom groaned again.

"This is a mistake."

"No," Yada said, standing up and grabbing her bag, "this is entertainment."

"For you."

"For me," Yada agreed happily.

---

That night, Oom lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Her room was quiet, save for the faint hum of the electric fan and the distant noise of the city.

She should have been working on her design plates.

Instead, her mind replayed the same moment over and over again.

"You're blocking the sign-up sheet."

Her voice.

Her face.

The way she looked at her like she could see straight through her.

Oom buried her face into her pillow.

This is bad.

She turned to her side.

This is very bad.

She turned again.

I am absolutely not going to think about her again.

A pause.

"...her hair was really nice."

Oom sat up abruptly.

"No."

She pointed at herself.

"No. Stop it. We are not doing this."

She lay back down.

Closed her eyes.

Opened them again.

"...Friday orientation."

Her heart did something weird.

Oom grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

---

Somewhere else on campus, in a quiet dorm room lit only by a desk lamp, Bam Saralee sat at her desk, flipping through a notebook.

Her expression was the same as always-calm, composed, unreadable.

But her pen paused mid-sentence.

For a brief moment, something flickered across her face.

A thought.

A memory.

A girl standing too close to the sign-up sheet.

"...Oom Eisaya."

She said the name softly, as if testing how it felt.

Then, just as quickly, her expression returned to neutral.

She closed the notebook.

Turned off the lamp.

And went to bed.