"Why are you watching the news?" asked Youngchul to his friend, Kai. "I mean, you invited me over here. I figured we would hang out, not watch about rising gas prices." Youngchul sarcastically joked, walking over to the couch where Kai was intently watching the television, his eyes unmoving.

 

     "I'm not watching about rising gas prices nor the news, though. I'm watching about..." Kai began, but trailed off as they showed some pictures of what looked to Youngchul like fancy rocks from close to ancient times. He tilted his head in confusion before sitting down next to his memorized friend. 

 

     "You're watching a show about pretty, old rocks. If you want rocks, I'll go downstairs and get some. Did you know that they're everywhere?" Youngchul mocked, nodding. Kai laughed a bit and shook his head. 

 

     "No, stupid. They're not just old rocks. They're rocks from ancient civilizations." Kai began, but quickly shook his head, cutting his sentence off. "Just watch." he demanded. Youngchul groaned but complied, listening in on the show. 

 

     "...has been found that these symbols have appeared in many eras of our worlds history. Multiple civilizations had used this symbol..." A narrators voice spoke monotonously over the video. A symbol of a phoenix was shown, first a carving on a rock, then a digital covering. "...this symbol to represent rebirth and immortality for their people." 

 

     "Well, looks like that didn't work." Picked Youngchul. Kai looked at him with confusion. Youngchul just shrugged. "What? It's true. None of them are alive today. Aztecs, Egyptians. None if it is left." He stated. 

 

     "Doesn't mean they haven't left their marks on today’s society." Kai said, picking up a remote and turning off the TV to avoid further confrontation. 

"I don't see it." Youngchul said, shaking his head. Kai stood up an stretched, walking over to his dorm window. Outside was the city of Seoul, bright and lively. 

 

     "You've heard of the Mayan calendar, right?" He asked, tapping his finger on the marble window sill. Youngchul nodded. 

 

     "Of course. Doomsday at the end of this year and all that. I don't believe it, though." Youngchul said, shrugging. Kai nodded. 

 

     "But look at how many people do. The Mayans must have done something right to get future generations to be scared. And Rome. They practically invented a ton of today's languages." Kai stated again, a smirk on his face. 

 

     Youngchul rolled his eyes at Kai, waving off what he had said. Kai was right; there were plenty of things today that were influenced by the past, now dead civilizations. Could we live without them, though? The answer was yes. Or, at least Youngchul thought today’s society could. 

 

     "Okay, you're right. I won't deny that." Youngchul was beginning to try and defend his argument, when a loud ringing buzzed through the dorm living room. Youngchul, knowing the sound wasn't from his cell phone, looked at Kai expectingly. Kai shrugged his shoulders before glancing over at a table next to the couch, where his phone loudly played music. Youngchul, being nosy, picked up the phone before glancing over the name then throwing it to Kai, who barely caught it. 

 

     "It's Suho!" Youngchul said. Without double checking, Kai answered. 

 

     "Yobeoseyo?" He asked, turning back towards the window. 

 

     "Kai! Where are you?" Suho asked, the sound of Exo K's Mama playing in the background. 

 

     "At my dorm. Why?" Kai asked. Youngchul awkwardly walked around Kai's dorm, picking at random items.

 

     "Did you forget? We have practice today. There's a comeback stage tomorrow." Suho said. The reminder worked in Kai's head like cogs, causing him to gasp. Suho was right; the manager had told everyone to NOT be late, but the TV had distracted him. 

 

     "Dammit, I did forget. Is the manager pissed?" Kai asked, not even bothering to deal with Youngchul as he ran to the door where is shoes were lying.

 

     "He's not here yet. Hurry and get down here before he does, because I have no idea how close he is to the practice area." Suho demanded. 

 

     "Alright. Be there soon." Kai said, hanging up his phone without saying goodbye. "Why the hell do I not dorm with the rest of the group..."  

 

     "Late?" Youngchul asked, putting down a small vase he had been playing with. 

 

     "How'd you know?" Kai asked as he tied his shoes and stood up, looking for his coat. 

 

     "Just a lucky guess." Youngchul mocked, but Kai didn't pay attention, not wanting to deal with an angry manager. He threw on his coat and ripped his keys off the coat rack. Youngchul was already walking towards the door, ready to leave. He'd be stuck walking home, but it didn't bother him. He knew Seoul better than anyone. 

 

     Youngchul opened the dorm door an walked outside into the hall, patiently waiting for Kai, who stormed out almost immediately. Locking the door, he jogged down the hall, almost forgetting Youngchul's existence. He stopped, turned around, and waved. 

 

     "Sorry! You're on your own!" Kai shouted before walking towards the elevator, stabbing the button multiple times as if it would speed up the machine any more. "Damn top floor..." He muttered under his breath as the door opened. He ran in and gave another wave to Youngchul before the door closed, cutting the two off. Youngchul gave a loud groan of relief before walking towards the elevator, knowing it would only be a moment before its return. 

 

     He had known Kai for a long time, but he was so weird. Especially after debuting with that Exo group. Kai had always been a kind of shy kid, not getting involved in much. But since his debut, he had become something of a god. The thought amused Youngchul, actually, as he knew that each time Kai had to take his shirt off or something, he secretly felt awkward. Even though it wasn't his thing, though, he always pulled it off so well. 

 

     There was a ping as the elevator doors flung open to reveal an empty compartment. Youngchul stepped in and pushed the first floor, the elevator jolting a bit before gliding towards the ground. The doors opened again to reveal the lobby, which was empty save for a few decorative plants and furniture. Youngchul stepped through the empty space and to the outside, busy streets of Seoul. The day was young, and as he thought about it more, he didn't want to go home just yet. 

 

     He looked around the area in front of him; an area stuck between the city and the suburbs, so it wasn't too busy. People hurriedly walked up and down the streets, cars moving around like worker bees. It was what you would expect from a Monday; busy and slow. 

 

     Another thought lead him to a better idea than going home. The library. The library wasn't really his place, but it sure was the place of another person of interested; Allegra. She had been in Korea the past two years, but he had known her even longer than that from his days of living in the USA. When he heard she was coming to South Korea, he couldn't contain his excitement. She had been his first and best friend in the US, even when he hardly spoke English. 

 

     He didn't need any more thoughts to convince himself he should go to the library. It was where she worked and was almost always at. It was a near walk, so it wasn't hard to get to. The only problem would be the streets, which were overflowing with people; tourists and natives alike, both hurrying along on the roads and sidewalks. 

 

     He jogged his way to the building of the Gangnam Municipal Library. For a Monday, it wasn't as busy as expected. A few college students roamed the front area, but that was about it. Youngchul made his way into the building and glanced around, not sure where to expect Allegra. He did, however, see another worker; SooHwa. She was sitting at the front desk stamping books. 

 

     "SooHwa-ssi!" He said a little too loudly as he was glared down by the few people in the library. He shrunk down a bit as SooHwa glanced up from her work. Her face remained emotionless, yet her voice sounded happy. 

 

     "Yes, Youngchul?" She asked, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. 

 

     Youngchul inched closer to the desk before speaking, not wanting to interrupt anyone else. 

 

     "Uh, is Allegra here?" he whispered, leaning in towards SooHwa She giggled at how ridiculous he was acting, and pointed towards the history section of the library. Youngchul awkwardly looked around before nodding his thanks. He quietly stepped across the tile of the library towards the section where Allegra hopefully was at. 

 

     As he entered the area, he easily caught his friend sitting at a table, furiously reading over a book. Not wanting to disturb anyone else, he tiptoed over to her, glancing over her shoulder to see what piece of literature had caught her mind today. 

 

     As if by instinct, Allegra turned around to face him, scaring him. Her green eyes glared at him through glasses. Her short, black hair hugged around her face. Her expression was puzzled at first, but lightened when she recognized Youngchul. Instinctively, she patted the chair next to her for him to sit down, in which he took the invitation.

 

     "What's that?" He asked, his eyes fixed on the book. 

 

     "Mwo? This?" She asked, accidentally using a nice mix of Konglish. Although Youngchul spoke both English and Korean, Allegra insisted to try and speak Korean with him, though she always ended up reverting back to English.

 

     She put a bookmark on her page and closed the book, revealing a cover that looked quite boring. 

 

     "Connections Throughout History." She said, tracing along the title as she spoke the words. She opened the book back up and began reading. 

 

     "Well, what's it about?" He asked, hovering over her side. 

 

     "Does the title not explain it?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the book. Youngchul opened his mouth in a bit of a disbelieving state. 

 

     "Yes, smart . But what exactly?" He asked again, trying to pry the book from the girl's hands. She slapped his hand and shut the book, making sure some form of bookmark kept her spot. 

 

     "It's mostly ironic connections between civilizations that never met; never had anything to do with each other. Like the Mayans and the Mesopotamians." She said, opening the book back up another time, but to a different page from the bookmark. After some page flipping, she stopped on a page that had a few black and white pictures dotted on it. He couldn't believe what he was staring at. 

 

     "Oh my god, it's those stupid rocks again." He said, looking at a rock with a similar design to the phoenix he had watched on TV earlier. This one was an hourglass. Allegra looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wide in disbelief. 

 

     "Do you know about them?" She asked, hope in her voice. Youngchul shook his head. 

 

     "No, but Kai sure as hell does. The guy was late to practice today because was watching some stupid show about those old rocks." He said. 

 

     "They're not just old rocks. Do you ever watch the news, dumb ? For the past month this stuff has been all over TV, a lot of it about the Mayans, since it's 2012 and whatnot." She tried to explain, but Youngchul had began entertaining himself with a pencil that was left on the table. Once Allegra finished her speech, Youngchul looked up at her with an unentertained expression. 

 

     "Are you and Kai secretly plotting together or something? He talked about that earlier as well." Youngchul asked, feeling uneasy at how ironic it was that Allegra and Kai both had spoken about the same things. 

 

     "No. I hardly speak to Kai, actually. Only when he's with you. But if he's interested in this stuff as well, I need to get to know him better. No one else seems to give a damn about this. All they care about is the end of the world. They won't look at the details." Complained Allegra. Youngchul scowled, not liking the thought of the two becoming best friends. He didn't really like Allegra, but he definitely didn't want Kai around her. He might have had he not debuted yet, but since he had, Youngchul would rather Kai not be introduced. 

 

     "If he gets a day off from practice in the next week, I'll bring him up here." Youngchul said, trying to humor Allegra for now. 

 

     "Please do." She asked, nodding her approval at Youngchul's idea. She shut the book and stood up, picking up her belongings. Youngchul stood up next to her. She was always slightly intimidating when she stood, being extremely tall for a girl at 5'10. Youngchul was still taller at 6'1, but that didn't make her less scary. Especially when she wore her work clothes, which were suits and dress clothes. A strange sense of power emitted from her. 

 

     The two walked towards the front desk where SooHwa was still working away at stamping books with details. She glanced up at the two and smiled. Tsh, I didn't get a smile when it was just me. Thought Youngchul almost immaturely. He shook off the thought, as he was becoming distracted from what he actually came to the library for. 

 

     "Oh, Allegra. When are you off work? Since Kai has practice today, I'm have no one to hang out with." He whined .

 

     "So I'm your last resort?" She questioned, adjusting her glasses in a cliche fashion. 

 

     "Yes!" stated Youngchul proudly. She really wasn't, but he enjoyed bugging her. 

 

     "Well, too bad. I don't get off until seven tonight. Why not stick around and read a book?  Or is that too much for your brain to deal with in one setting?" Allegra picked. SooHwa silently laughed behind her. 

 

     "I think you're too much for my mind to handle." Youngchul said, smiling triumphantly at his comeback. He was surprised when even Allegra laughed at the joke, giving a nod. 

 

     "Okay, fine." She admitted. "Go home. Nobody wants you here." She said, waving towards the door. 

 

     "I bet SooHwa does." He joked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

 

     "SooHwa isn't in to dogs, Youngchul." Allegra retorted, giving her own confident-filled smile. Youngchul just groaned and waved her off.

"I'd rather leave than be here, anyways!" He said, turning towards the door and walking away. He stopped in mid step and turned around momentarily. "But you better call when you get off work!" Without waiting for an answer, he walked out of the library and back to the streets of Seoul. With nothing left to do, he decided to go home, his mind filled with the thoughts of the day. 

 

     Wow. My two best friends are obsessed with some old rocks with pretty patterns. Is my taste in friends really that bad?