Beginning

With a sigh of relief, I sit down in my desk chair.

Finally, I'm done unpacking.

Somehow I ended up with a single room—a privilege for only very lucky international students as they are assigned based on a lottery system. It seems almost comical for me of all people to be labelled lucky. However, the drawback is that the room is much tinier than a double. Despite it I'd much rather be living in a shoebox alone than a bigger place with someone I don't know.

I sit around for a while, unsure of what to do. The act of being sedentary eventually allows for my thoughts to darken.

I want to talk to my mom. I want to explain to her how different everything is, how hot it is outside, how there are buildings absolutely everywhere in Seoul with very little green space. But maybe she already knows all of this.

I sit for a while, staring at my desk. There's nothing for me to do. I've unpacked, I don't have any readings yet since classes only commence in four days, and I don't have the right voltage adaptor to be able to use my laptop yet. Who knew you can't just plug in your laptop into any old plug in any country? Stupid Summer.

I guess I should go buy one.

I reluctantly get up from the white plastic desk chair and grab my room card and purse. I have to take a big breath before opening the door. Just like I thought, the dorm hall is swarmed with students, some with their parents, some with their friends, all excitedly moving things into their rooms. I quickly glance away and make my way downstairs and out of the dormitory. It is better for me to keep moving rather than stay stagnant. My unwanted thoughts could come back to haunt me at any moment.

Hot summer air mixed with an inhumane level of humidity hits me like a brick wall. Why is it so damn wet here? As soon as I go outside I feel like I've sweated through a marathon race.

I pull out a small folded map that I had put in my purse; a map of the campus and the shops around.

Would a convenience store have an adaptor?

I make my way across the pedestrian road, searching for the right directions. My university at home was so different. Here there are trees everywhere, making it hard to tell where I am. A small river even cascades its way through the campus, and there are tiny little shops all over the place for student convenience. I'm grateful for the nature encompassing the space though since it is sparse once outside of campus.

Maybe I'll never need to go off of campus.

I dodge past a few students to make my way into the cramped little store. The place is almost emptied of everything, little chip bags and toilet paper packages thrown all over the place. The chaos makes me nervous, causing me to sheepishly cross my arms over my chest and lower my head.

I find a section of black cords and plugs and look for a voltage adaptor. I find one that has NORTH AMERICA written on it, and indeed it has the familiar three prong holes. From what I can tell, it's the last one. I quickly snatch it before this tall guy with an American accent has time to register that it's the last one. I hear him exasperatedly sigh behind me as I fast-walk to the cashier. I drop the plug onto the counter and get my wallet prepared.

The lady says something in Korean, but I ignore her and keep my eyes peeled on the electronic screen in front of me, which says 12,000 won. That seems like a lot doesn't it? Then again, I haven't gotten used to the currency yet, so who knows. I pull out three bills from my wallet and hand it to her. I quickly grab the item and hastily turn towards the door, which is very sharply to my left.

My feet shuffle to a stop when I almost run into someone. I bow my head saying sorry in English out of habit. Then I look up to see a pair of familiar dark brown eyes looking at me, somewhat shocked.

It's that guy. The one with the intimidating puppy eyes and the beautiful lips.

I stutter out another sorry before side-stepping around him. I see him turn around to watch me leave.

"Hey!" A familiar voice calls out, but surely not for me. I keep walking somewhat frantically as the possibility of that person following me grows.

A hand lightly touches my upper arm and I hesitantly turn around. My eyes meet with the friendly ones of that guy's friend. His little smile is still there as if it never left his face.

"I have something." He stumbles over the English a bit, in an admittedly adorable way. A small grin makes its way onto my face. I haven't smiled in a while.

"Uh," he thinks about it for a moment,
"Schedule?" He uses his hands to create the rectangular shape of a paper. My smile grows a bit more.

"Yeah. It's okay, I don't need it." I say, brushing him off.

"It's okay..." he repeats what I say, not entirely grasping what I've said. After a pause, he says, "Come, come with me." He gestures at me and begins walking down the street, past the store.

"Yah," the other guy calls out from within the store. The cute one yells something back and keeps walking.

"Uh," I don't know what to say to him. I nervously look to the side to see him focused on the road ahead of us.

Such nice skin. How is his skin so smooth looking? Poreless even.

I turn my head away before he catches me staring.

"What is your name?" He asks me in that cute accent.

"Summer," I mutter. "Or, I guess, Sohee." I assume it will be easier for him to call me by a Korean name.

"Oh? You are Korean?" His face puzzles.

"No, no. Half. But I don't speak it."

It seems he understands because he adverts his rounded eyes forward again. I then look out at my surroundings and realize we are on a part of campus that I haven't seen yet. In fact, we just passed the university gates.

"Uh, where, where are we going?" I look back at university.

He hesitates, probably thinking of how he should respond. "My home. Uh, sharehouse."

"What?" Is this a Korean thing? Do people take you to their house as soon as you meet them? Is that a cultural thing? It can't be.

"Many students," he hesitates, slowing his footsteps momentarily as he fumbles for words. "Live in sharehouse, or goshiwon."

Many thoughts race through my mind as we walk down a busy sidewalk full of small restaurants. We awkwardly walk together and he sometimes asks me easy-to-answer questions. It seems like a better idea to follow this guy than to try and go back on my own, where I'd likely get lost. But I make sure to memorize the route we take just in case I need to make a run for it.

"What's your name?" I force out the words after a stretch of awkward silence.

"*Junwoo—" The Korean sounds float around my head, completely missing my ears. It all sounded too fast, too muddled together.

"Uh, excuse me?" I softly ask in embarrassment.

He looks at my lost face and laughs. "Jun. Woo." He enunciates each syllable. "You say." He gestures for me to repeat, "Junwoo-yah."

"Junwoo-yah?" I awkwardly let out the words.

He laughs again, "귀엽다 [cute]" he says to himself. What does that mean?

"Okay." He stops in front of a building that seems to go up three floors. It's visibly quite tiny and surrounded by what seem to be many more of these sharehouses. Sure enough there are many young people wearing backpacks going to and fro. Seeing them all helps me relax more.

He opens the door, letting me go in first.

"Uh, wait please."

He takes off his sneakers swiftly then proceeds to walk in and climb up the stairs. I awkwardly wait in this small entrance way. I take notice of the shoes lined up against the bottom of a small step, all stereotypically male shoes, including a pair of black converse that match my own.

The building seems quite old and dated with peeling paper on the walls. However there is something about it that feels homey. I turn to look outside, as the door was thankfully left wide open, maybe to ease my anxiety. That's something I've quickly noticed about Junwoo. He seemed to easily pick up on how nervous and unsure I am and adjusted his actions accordingly. Or maybe he's just as nervous as I am.

The sun shines so brightly outside, and things seem quite strangely peaceful despite there being constant noise and activity. Maybe in different circumstances I would actually be excited to live here.

My thoughts disappear when I hear hurried steps coming down the stairs. I turn back around to see him approach me with a heavy breath.

"Here." He hands me a paper, the orientation schedule.

"Ah, thank you." I pause for a second as I prepare myself for possible humiliation. "감사합니다 [thank you]," I carefully sound out each part of the word. While I know a few basic Korean words, I have never actually said them to someone. Junwoo's soft face gave me the confidence to try it out.

His face lights up with this terrific smile, white teeth showing and cheeks popping.

"Oh, good job," he says while putting up two thumbs somewhat awkwardly.

His hands fall back down to his sides while I keep watching him. He seems to be unsure of how to act around me, whether because I am a foreigner or because I'm a girl, I have no idea.

After a strange silence, he begins walking back to the door. I wait for him to put on his sneakers, then we both leave the building, silently walking towards the university together.

***

After a while, Junwoo takes out his phone, texting someone as we make our way through the campus gates. I hear him snicker at the phone, and I again find myself staring at his soft-looking skin.

"Yah!" A deep voice yells out.

"Ah hyung!" Junwoo smiles adorably at the other guy. The friend looks at me as he speaks to Junwoo. I assume he's asking where he went?

I feel Junwoo's arm come around my shoulders, pulling me towards him. He says something excitedly to the other guy, I think about friends? Am I his new friend? The physical contact shocks me and I sheepishly try to pull away, but my feeble efforts are no use. What happened to the shy and sheepish boy I was just with?

The other guy seems a bit upset and motions his head towards his arm around me. Junwoo quickly takes his arm off. I let out the breath I had apparently been holding. Junwoo softly pouts at the other guy. The friend looks back at me with that same serious face he seems to always have.

I bet he'd look lovely if he smiled.

I then realize that Junwoo is calling my name, my other name.

"Sohee, Sohee-yah!" His hand begins to move in front of my face. No one has ever really used my Korean name, so I guess my brain doesn't quite register that Sohee is me.

"Ah, sorry Junwoo-yah." I softly say. The friend raises his eyebrows at me.

His friend eyes us strangely. Did I say something wrong? Are you not supposed to call people by their names here? I read about a formality system they use with elders and people in power, but he's just a student, and probably my age.

"That is *Taeyoung. Ahn Tae-young." Junwoo points in front of us. My eyes are once again glued to the serious face in front of me.

His eyes haven't left mine yet.

Junwoo then says what I assume is, "this is Sohee" to Taeyoung. "Or, ah, Sumi? No Sum—"

"Summer," I say, still looking at Taeyoung.

Junwoo's phone begins to ring. He says something to Taeyoung and they turn to leave. Junwoo waves bye to me and Taeyoung, who is still looking at me with an unreadable expression, slightly bows his head before turning away and leaving.

And I'm left standing here wondering what the hell is going through Taeyoung's head and not knowing why I care.

*Junwoo 준우 pronounced "joon-oo"
*Taeyoung 태영 NOT Taeyong 태용. Yes they are different

. . .

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Love,

Sooaura