Chapter 1:
'One two three, neon nareul tteonatjiman, eodingaeseo neoui sumsoriga deullyeowa...'
I groaned as my alarm sounded, CL's voice coming from my phone to wake me up. With eyes half closed, I reached across and grabbed my phone, pressing the screen to silence it before laying back down properly. My face scrunched up as I looked up at the ceiling, a thin strip of light coming through a gap in my curtains. "Aigoo... I'm so tired, damn university." I groaned once more, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I tried to wake up. I sat there for a few minutes before mumbling to myself to move my lazy butt. I glanced down at my phone, checking the time before clambering out of bed and going towards my bathroom, my feet dragging as I half walked, half stumbled in my stupor.
Once reaching my bathroom, my eyes widened as I saw my reflection, taking in the birds nest hair style created in my sleep and the dark circles under my eyes. Muttering under my breath as I turned on the shower, I grabbed my face wash and body wash before pulling my hair into a messy bun.
Once out of the shower I checked the time once again, dancing along to Drip Drop, mouthing the lyrics as I made my way over to my vanity table. "I better hurry up... Gahh, I need to hide these dark circles" I sighed and shook my phone to shuffle the songs again before beginning to apply my makeup, thanking the creators of my BB compact. Before long I was singing along to Call Me Baby, careful not to move around too much as I put on my eyeliner, finally happy with the result of my makeup. Looking down at my phone, a string of curses escaped my lips as I noticed the time. I only had ten minutes left before I had to leave. Abandoning my makeup on my vanity I ran over to my wardrobe, grabbing my pair of ripped, grey skinny jeans, my large white shirt and a thin,long black jacket to wear. Once I was dressed I looked at myself in the mirror before nodding my approval. I grabbed my handbag, my portable charger, phone and earphones before running into my kitchen, grabbing a bottle of sparkling water and a fruit pot. I hesitated on wether I should get more food for the day before shaking my head and going to put my slightly platformed sandals on.
I was out of my apartment just as my alarm went off to warn me that I needed to leave. A smile played on my lips, pleased I wasn't running late as I walked down the stairs towards the main door of my complex.
The streets were busy as I stepped out, immediately I was bombarded by the sounds of the traffic. I grimaced and then put my earphones in, happy when I heard the soft strains of Rose by Lee Hi. I smiled as I saw my friend Jiman leaning out of the hole-in-the-wall window part of his family coffee shop, I waved and quickened my pace. "Oppa! I was earlier today, how did you know to have my coffee and bagel ready?!" He laughed as I stopped at the window, and sure enough my coffee and bagel were waiting for me. "I just had a feeling that you would dongsaeng, now hurry you don't want to be late! Come by later, Oh-ma is making Bibim-naengmyeon." He smiled and waved his hand to usher me along. I rolled my eyes and laughed, nodding as I picked up my drink and the bag with my bagel. "Ne, I'll call when my classes are over! Annyeong Oppa!" I waved goodbye awkwardly as I held my bagel, turning on my heel and setting on my way.
It took me twenty minutes in total to reach campus, by that time I had demolished my bagel and my coffee had cooled enough that it didn't burn my tongue when I drank it. I had a spring in my step as my music played in my right ear, my left ear open in case someone tried to call my attention. I sighed, this time in contempt, the sun was warm and the air was fresh as I walked to my morning classes, glad I had none for the afternoon.
My first lesson dragged by, I felt so sleepy despite the buzz of caffeine in my veins. My conversational Korean and my reading was good enough to get me by, however my writing was terrible, hence why my lecturer made me practice simple sentences over and over again.
Five pages jam packed with simple sentences later, I was free for a fifteen minute break before my next lesson. I yawned and stretched before packing my stuff away and getting up, making sure to grab everything before leaving. Just as I was coming out of the door I slammed into a hard chest which almost made me fall backwards. Luckily the stranger grabbed my arm before I could. "Ahh I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, sorry, sorry, sorry." I realised I was rambling and promptly shut up. I looked up at the guy, unable to make out most of his face thanks to his fringe and a face mask. I stepped back slightly as he dropped the hold he had on my arm. "It's fine... Sorry I wasn't looking, it's my fault I rushed in here." I shook my head, stepping back slightly, giving him enough room to move into the room. That's when I realised some of my makeup had rubbed off into his jacket. "Aigoo, I'm so sorry, I got makeup on your jacket." I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a wet wipe, moving forward to see if it would come off properly. Just as I was about to wipe at the mark he caught my wrist and stopped me, he had pulled off his mask and was smiling at me. That caught me off guard and my cheeks flushed pink. "It's fine, I'll clean it up." He held my wrist for a moment longer before letting go, immediately rubbing at the mark on his jacket. "I-if it doesn't come off I'll buy you that same jacket, I'm really sorry." I rummaged in my bag yet again and pulled out my purse and offered out a card with my name and number on held between both hands. He smiled and took the card, looking at it for a moment before slipping it into his pocket. "I'm sure it'll be fine Lydia-ssi, you can call me Dae." I nodded, my left hand immediately moving to the crook of my arm as I offered out my right for him to shake. "I'm sorry for being so rude, I tend to become slightly informal when I'm nervous, a bad habit of mine." As he took my hand I bowed, glad my hair hid my face. As I straightened up I noticed that he was looking down at me, a slight frown on his face before he smiled. A silence stretched out between us, both of us seemingly too shy to speak. Suddenly as though my phone detected the awkwardness my alarm began to ring. We both jumped in surprise as I scrambled to turn off the alarm. "S-sorry, I have a lesson now Dae-ssi. Please contact me if the mark doesn't come off." I quickly bowed and rushed out of the door, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment.