Elowen

That day, Johnny was over so that we could work on our project. As we walked casually through the dining hall, him behind me as I led the way, we received quite some stares from people, what was playing in their heads being obvious, good thing he didn't take any notice.

Before taking a right to head up the stairs, I caught a glimpse of Mr. Bornn's narrowed eyes in my direction. I turned to him and rolled my eyes, "It's for a project," I mouthed nonchalantly. He smiled and closed his eyes, nodding in relief as he pay his attention back to the magazine in his hands.

Walking through the halls, Johnny was quiet, head spinning as he took in the beautiful decor of the guesthouse.

"Bruh, you get to live here for a whole year? This is like.. a mansion," He said, astounded before looking at me.

"Yeah, my reaction was something like that when we first got here," I said, smiling genuinely. Kids coming in and out of their rooms wandered the halls, or headed for their distinct destinations. It was like an over-sized family of almost 100.

We stopped at my room door, my ear pressed against the wood as my hand pressed the handle, checking to see if Becky was inside.

"What are you doing?" He asked, pressing his ear against the door as well, looking across at me in question. I became a bit flustered with the tight space we were in and how close he decided to be. Looking into his chocolate orbs sort of left me with a buzzing feeling inside my chest, I couldn't tell if it was uncomfortable or settling.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, a short and husky laugh escaping his lips, his eyebrows puckered. I backed up and coughed, doing anything to break the silence.

"I was spaced out," I responded simply, my eyes flickering.

"Yeah," he said unconvincingly, moving his head from the door also. My eyebrows twitched at his tone of voice.

Why doesn't he believe me? Was I really staring that hard?

I opened the door slowly, walking in with a puzzled expression.

"Why do you have to hesitantly open your own room door?" Johnny inquired quizzically, the same puzzled expression making it's way onto his face.

"I was just being considerate. Um, who are you?" I asked in my strongest Korean voice, looking at the tall frame of the boy who had quickly sat up from Becky's bed, now rocking from side to side while wiping his hands down on his jeans nervously.

"I-I, um.. Becky.. she she.. I mean, I am," he struggled to speak under Johnny and I's heavy glare of bewilderment. I softened my expression, his anxious state giving away that me meant no harm. His face was blindingly handsome and his clothing neat and clean. Someone that good looking wasn't out to get people, it was the other way around.

"Just speak Korean," I said as humbly as I possibly could. The boy's eyes widened, and so did Johnny's who now turned his attention to me, causing me to look back at him in confusion.

"Damn girl," he muttered, smiling and shaking his head, "what are you doing in Prof Kim's class anyway?"

"You're Su Li's roommate, right?" He spoke, causing me to turn back.

"Yes," I nodded slowly, Johnny and I still standing in front of the door way.

"Well, I'm-"

"My friend, Nam Joo Hyuk," Becky hummed to break the ice, slipping through the space between Johnny and I, snaking an arm around the boy, looking back at me with a toothy grin.

I instantly smiled and began to laugh excitedly. The boy sighed in relief, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, why didn't he just say so!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

"What was he supposed to say, 'Hi I'm the Barista that Becky told you about' I forgot to tell him you knew," she spoke in a laid-back tone, the two boys looking back and forth at us as we forgot about their presences.

"And who is this?" Becky said in a prying matter, looking Johnny up and down in approval. Johnny, taken aback and unaware of how to act in the situation, looked at me for answers.

"Oh um, this is my friend Johnny. Johnny this is my best friend Becky, and I'm guessing this iss her friend Joo Hyuk?" I said composed, my voice raising a bit towards the end of the sentence.

"Hey," Johnny said clearly, giving a small wave.

Becky's eyes darted towards me.

"Joo Hyuk this is my best friend Elowen, and her friend Johnny," she said, returning the action.

"Hello, nice to meet you," he said with a little bow. The two of us following and doing the same.

"Well, we can talk about this later," Beck said cunningly under her breath, eyeing me playfully as she exited the room with her friend, closing the door behind them.

"That was so uncomfortable.. What just happened?" Johnny asked completely stupefied.

I just laughed at him, surpassing the situation walking over to my bed, filled with supplies and decorations for the project that I had purchased the night before, including the poster board.

"This is all the stuff. You've got the notebook with our layout in it, right?" I said, taking a seat next to the things.

He nodded, taking his backpack off of his bag and placing it on the floor, sitting below me on the floor as he pulled it out.

"Alright, let's get to work," I said with a clasp of my hands.

. . . . .

Instead of just taking that day to start the project off, we ended up completing the whole assignment effortlessly. Everything written in Hangul neatly, covered in glitter and loud colors, our work was done. In celebration of our success, I brought Johnny back down to the dining hall for a snack. We had some spicy seafood ramen with a soda.

"The cooks here are f- freaking amazing," He remarked, stopping himself from swearing, causing me to laugh to myself. He twirled the remaining broth in the bowl with his chopsticks.

Taking my last bite, I nodded. Taking a sip of my sprite before pushing the bowl to the side, absolutely filled.

"Yeah, they're the reason that I can never successfully go on a diet," I grumbled.

He smiled and shook his head at my silliness. "What time is it? Let's do something fun." He eagerly insisted, scooting his chair a bit closer to me. I kept finding myself astonished with how close he wanted to be today. It was.. different.

An idea instantly clicked in my head, and I grabbed the two of our bowls and placed them in the big sink on the other side of the room since the dining aids were all on vacation.

"C'mon, follow me," I walked past him, beckoning him to follow me.

"Where're we going?" He asked with much curiosity, but not hesitating to follow behind me gladly.

I took him to the last floor of the guesthouse: the roof. I figured that he'd enjoy it as much as I did. The scene, the warm and welcoming air blowing through one's soul, making all worries disappear into the wind. We were encouraged not to go up there during the night, but in my opinion, that was the best time to go.

It was a bit chilly, but the foundation of the air was warm.

"Woah," he said in amazement as he made his way up the last of the latter, taking in all of the scenery at once without any restraint. I held onto his hands, helping him out of the tight space that the latter was placed in.

Our legs dangled off of the edge of the building, sitting up and looking out at the city that was lit up with a number of colors. It was quiet for some time, for the landscape before us was so panoramic and striking that talking was out of the question.

"This is great," he said in a breathy tone, he seemed unable to make out his emotions. I could understand why he couldn't. It was at least my fourth time up there and I still could never bring myself to accept how beautiful it was.

"Tell me about it."

"You know, I didn't know that we were actually going to be friends that first day I met you," he practically blurted out.

I turned to him in question. "What? Why?" I asked eagerly.

He looked down and smiled to himself before looking back up into the landscape.

"I don't know. I just thought that you were going to help me one time, and that was it," he said, shrugging, "but then, you asked me out to lunch. I was so surprised. I never knew girls asked guys out."

"I was just being friendly," I asserted. Was it really that weird?

"It was a good thing Elowen," he affirmed, rolling his eyes into my direction.

My face reddened as my head sunk down below my shoulders, half-embarrassed.

"Oh."

He nodded.

"Well, I thought the same thing. But I didn't allow that to happen, because-" I said, stopping myself as my eyes pasted themselves down on my thighs.

"Because why?" He asked, exhorting me to continue.

"Because," I sighed, "I liked you. Walking around after class the first day of school, I told myself, 'I've got to make this kid my friend. No question about it,'" I said sincerely. I was thankful for Johnny. I had doubted him in the past, seeing him as just a sideline friend from school, nothing more. But the more we laughed together in class, the more we looked into each other's eyes when speaking, the more we shared meals together after class, the more our friendship me as a blessing. Because that's what it was. Someone I would've never found in high school, nonetheless at the university back at home, I came here, and God surprised me with Johnny.

He promptly smiled at my words, a large yet cool smile emerging onto his face. I caught his smile, doing so shyly, looking back into the view of Seoul.

Suddenly I turned to him, wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him aggressively into a tight hug. A keen, short breath escaping his lips, stunned with my actions. Seconds later, I could feel his big warm hands on my back, running up and down. He pierced his eyes close, hugging me back as much as he could.

"So, are we like..best friends?" I asked, I could feel the sound vibrate on his shoulder.

"Mhm," he responded quickly, "we are," he spoke in a blissful timbre.

"Let's take a selfie," I released my grip on him, reaching for my phone in my back pocket.

"A selfie?"

"Yep," I said, holding the front camera before us. He scooted closer to me, my stomach stirring a bit, his chin almost touching my shoulder.

"But it's so dark," He said, turning to look at me. If I would''ve turned, I was sure our noses would touch, so I kept my eyes on the phone.

"Don't worry, I've got flash." I chuckled.

. . . . . .

"Please please please! I'll stay away from the other members and, I'll barely talk to anyone!" I exclaimed, sensible begging him over the phone. I could here him laughing under his breath.

"But what if you get caught! It'll all be over," he said, trying to sound stern.

"Exactly, I won't get caught! I promise! Please Wonwoo!"

"Haha, I love hearing you beg," his voice sounded deeper than usual, catching me by surprise, and forcing vile thoughts into my head.

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