year 2012

          Those, who have not experienced life out of a suitcase will never know, how difficult it is to become attached to anyone, to anything.
How indifferent a person becomes, to new experiences.
Everyone thinks, that traveling is something wonderful, that visiting new places and meeting people would seem like a dream come true. The reality, however, is completely different.
Leaving your friends, family home, memories behind you - it's like someone suddenly tearing a piece of your heart out of your chest. Of course, the heart will meld, but it won't be the same.
You can say, that we are not a tree to put down roots in one place for a lifetime. However, tearing someone out of a place, that was an oasis of peace and a sense of security for them - is terrible. And the lack of possibility to just go back to our place, makes us no longer confident, causing that stabbing pain in our chest, and trust me, every memory of home is like a splinter.

          Ten years ago, you - Choi Y/N had to leave Korea for Europe. You were forced to do so by your family situation, and more precisely by financial situation.
Parents had huge debts and you got the chance to get a very well-paid job. It was an extremely difficult experience. You were very young, only sixteen.
You spent four years at school and on preparatory courses, and at the age of twenty you started working as the ambassador's personal translator. You were amazing at your job, you always did your best, the ambassadors changed three times, but they always wanted to work exclusively with you.
In the sheer volume of duties, you began diplomatic studies and graduated with honors.

You were mostly absorbed in the whirlwind of work, but you've made great friends and for ten long years you were totally permeated with Western culture.
Over time, the terrible sadness and homesickness faded away.
Parents and older brother Dae-hyun were visiting you in Berlin once a year. However, you could never afford to come to Korea.
But it wasn't only your family, that connected you with Korea. You left your childhood best friend Lee Sang-hee there. You have always been inseparable, but after your departure to Germany, life unfortunately did not spoil you. Of course, Sang-hee visited you twice, and then you had a really wonderful time exploring and trying everything that Sang-hee could not experience in her country ... but what are just two meetings, for soulmates?

***

ten years later - year 2022

          Thoughts about returning home started appearing more and more often in your head.
It was difficult for you to understand why the longing for the old place suddenly returned after ten years. It was hard to start implementing such a plan, but the news from your parents about the sudden engagement of your older brother Dae, outweighed the scales of uncertainty.
It was as if you suddenly realized, that time has not stopped for anyone. That your brother is no longer 20, that your parents are ten years older than on the day of your departure. The thought of the years flying through your fingers was like a stab in chest.

Without any doubts, the same evening you started your job search in Seoul.

Dear Mrs. Choi Y / N.
We are very pleased to announce that you have just received the position of a translator at the South Korean Government Agency.
We would like to meet you as soon as possible to discuss the details of our cooperation. Please bring your testimonials from the Korean Embassy in Berlin.

You nearly doused yourself with coffee - at the same time you opened an email from a Korean employer. You couldn't believe your own eyes.

"It's happening..."- you whispered. "I'm coming back home!"

          You sank into the armchair and closed eyes. Big changes await you. The heart was beating as fast as the beating heart of a teenager, who fell in love for the first time. You were excited and stressed at the same time. From that moment on, you couldn't concentrate on anything anymore. Your mind was only on the thought of the impending return to the country, which, despite the fact that it had faded quite strongly in your memory, nevertheless called you in a quiet voice and attracted you with its invisible hand.

2 weeks later

          It was a very hectic day. You've been running around the office since the morning and collecting your things. Every now and then someone would come to you and - as if that would change anything - he would ask if you really have to leave and quit your job. However, your decision was adamant.

| Y/N's POV |

"Guys, I have worked with you for six years. Some of you know me from the beginning, and some of you I met recently. However, I love you all equally. I felt with you like family and we spent our working hours joking and endlessly talking together. You made me feel at home. I was eager to come to the office and I was even more willing to spend my free time with you after work. Time in Europe was extremely valuable for me, I learned and got to know a lot of new things. But it's time to go home. I left my family there, for whom I miss so much and to whom my presence and time is also really important.
I hope we will keep in touch, and I also hope, that you might come visit me someday."

I laughed, but my eyes burned with tears. I didn't want to cry like a little girl, but I couldn't fool myself ...
I loved that bunch of people, and it was hard to leave it all behind me. I felt a bit like the day I left Korea behind me. Irony isn't it? I missed home, and now I will miss a foreign country.
But how long can you be an immigrant? I paid off my parents' debts a long time ago, put a large sum of money aside, and now I am getting a job in my own country.
Ah, time to head back Y/N ... this ship has to unfurl and go back to its own port.

2 days later

          You just got off the plane. There was a feeling, that was hard to describe. Probably the easiest way to call it would be just simply - happiness. But that's the happiness a little child feels when receives a piece of candy and shows a whole row of his teeth in thanks.

You didn't tell your family or Sang-hee about your flight home. You wanted to enjoy the solitude, that first evening when your feet would return to a country you were away from for many years. You weren't sure what kind of feelings would torment you, so you preferred to face it alone. After 14 hours of flight, you dreamed only of a warm bath and a proper rest.

So you jumped into the first taxi you found after leaving the airport.

"Where are we going, miss?" the driver smiled kindly

"Yongsan-gu, The Hill, Dokseodang-ro 115" you replied after checking the address you've received from your new employer.

Along with the job, you also received an apartment paid for by the government. What more could you ask for?

What you did not know yet, was the standard of both: the apartment itself and the area in which it is located.

|Y/N's POV|

I must look comical with that face glued to the cab window. I have never thought about the feelings growing in a person which returns to her country. And now I am happy like a little girl, smiling even for the street light of Seoul. Every place with Korean food brings a smile to my mouth, the smell of spices in the air makes me dizzy. Is this what happiness tastes like? Was too much oxygen going to my head or am I losing my rationality? And where did that tear on the cheek come from?

"We are here" - the driver's voice I heard from a distance, woke me up from a slight lethargy.

|Author's POV|

After paying for the ride, you finally looked around.

"Umm ... am I in the right place?" you sighed and parted your lips slightly in surprise.

         The building complex in front of you resembled those of the Korean series you were watching in the evenings after work. As if you were at one of the business meetings in a luxurious five-star location.
You hurriedly took out the handle of the suitcase and dragged it along with you towards the main entrance to the complex. There was perfect silence all around, only the rattling sound of your luggage rings disturbed the peace. At the main entrance, you typed the code you've received on the message and the gate opened with a mechanical sound. It was even more beautiful inside. Lanterns illuminated paths leading to individual apartment buildings. You thought you've ended up in an enchanted garden.

After checking the exact address, you entered apartment building. There weren't many flats in it, but you had to take an elevator to get to yours. The interior of the building screamed: l u x u r y, you were afraid of what you would find after opening the door to your own apartment.

You stood in front of the door. On the second floor, apart from your suite, there was one more, on the other side of the corridor.

"intimate, lots of privacy" - you felt a kind of relief, but still hesitantly turned the key in the lock.

The apartment was dim, it was late and only the lights of the city shone through the window.
You were so enchanted by the view, that you didn't even close the door behind you. You left it wide open as you headed out onto the terrace.

You sighed, admiring the shimmering city spread out before you. Seoul at night looked like the fairy-tale towns you've seen as a child. Hurriedly, you took out phone and began photographing the city landscape. You would probably have been standing there for a long time, inhaling the pleasant scent of flowers planted in the garden surrounding the complex, if not for the sudden sound that reached you.
You turned suddenly, scared. In the doorway, there was a man leaning against the doorframe, watching you curiously, turning his head to one side.

|Y/N's POV|

Why can't I even say a word? Who is he? What's he doing here?

The man spoke first, as if he noticed that I was struggling with something.

"Are you my new neighbor? Finally someone has moved in here. It was getting boring."

A melodic voice echoed in the apartment.

He took a step forward and now stood in the small trickle of light.

These are probably the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my life, as if I were looking at the reflecting stars in a lake at night.
Aaaah Y/N! Focus ... you must look like an idiot. And a mute idiot.

|Author's POV |

Your gaze traveled over the face - half-hidden in the dark. You instantly noticed the sharp cheekbones, a slight rakish smile and shiny piercing on his lips, but you focused mostly on his doe eyes.
Despite the darkness, they reflected light within themselves. Like two diamonds. You were staring at him without speaking, mouth slightly parted as if ready to talk, only the words would not fall out.

"I am Jungkook."

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

The first chapter is long.
Everything had to be clarified to make it easier to understand the point of view.
Let me know, if you prefer shorter chapters. In fact, let me know what you think about the whole story. I hope you enjoyed.