"Oh! I-I'm so sorry!"

I bumped into a guy who had light brown hair. He brushed off his shoulder, where I had bumped him. He didn't look like he accepted my apology and gave me a cold glare. What a scary guy. I looked around and realized that everyone was staring at me.

What the heck? Is it a sin to accidentally bump into someone at this school?!

__________________________________________

What is exactly happening?

Well, I am an exchange student from the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. I am a naive seventeen year old girl, who is interested in the Korean language and culture, except the entertainment industry, including music. I know a few Korean pop groups, but that's pretty much it. I'm more interested in the traditional stuff. I've spent a lot of money just to learn Korean, and I think it's safe to say that I am now fluent in Korean. I applied for the 'Exchange Student Program' to be able to attend a Korean school for 3 weeks, and now, my wish came true. I even got a uniform!

Yesterday was my first day as an exchange student at Seoul Arts High School. I heard that it was a prestigious school and famous people went to that school, but I probably don't know who they are. I entered the classroom, and a nice teacher welcomed me inside. She told me to face the class and introduce myself.

"H-hello, e-every-yone." I said nervously, in Korean. "I a-am _____ _____ from Japan." I hated myself for stuttering. I sounded like I had a hard time speaking in Korean.

Everyone was silent and seemed serious.

"Don't worry," the teacher smiled. "These kids are just shy, but they're usually nice and polite."

Then, she looked around the classroom, looking for a place for me to sit.

"Miss _____, you can go sit over there for the meantime." She pointed at a desk at the back of the classroom.

I nodded my head and walked towards the desk.

"But teacher, that's Sehun's desk!" A student exclaimed.

I suddenly stopped walking and looked at the teacher. I felt very unwelcomed and uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's completely fine. Sehun is not even here today. Miss _____, go ahead and take that spot."

I took a sit and the class finally started, but I could hear people around me, and they were obviously talking about me.

"Yah, she doesn't understand Korean, right?" The girl in front of me whispered to the girl next to her.

Excuse me?! I can understand Korean perfectly!

I wanted to tell them that I knew Korean, but I was too shy, so I just ignored them. The only person who knew that I understood Korean was the teacher.

"She's cute, isn't she?" The guy next to me whispered to the guy in front of him.

My eyes grew wide, surprised by what the guy said. The guy in front of him made eye contact with me, but I looked away. I could still hear their conversation, though.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute, but I'm too shy to talk to her. I only know a little Japanese from the mangas I read."

Throughout the class period, I avoided eye contact with those guys.

I sighed. This is going to be a long day.

___________________________________________

After bumping into that scary guy, I felt embarrassed. Who was he exactly? It was an accident bumping into him. I didn't mean it. I wanted to talk to someone, but I was too shy, and everyone thought I couldn't speak Korean.

I entered the classroom, feeling blue. I looked over at my desk, but someone was sitting there, and he was surrounded by a few people.

I tried to look at him carefully. Wait... he's familiar... He's... he's the guy that I bumped into! Oh no. What am I going to do? Where am I supposed to sit? I look so stupid right now, standing in the middle of the classroom. And I think that guy hates me. Maybe I should just get out of this classroom.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and everyone sat on their assigned seats. I didn't know where to go, so I stood outside the classroom and waited for the teacher.

She finally came with a bunch of paper work. "Miss _____, what's wrong?" She asked me.

"Uhhh, well, teacher, I think someone is sitting on my desk."

The teacher peeked inside the classroom.

"Oh, that is Mr. Oh Sehun. He was absent yesterday, so I let you sit on his desk. But you know what? No one is sitting next to him right now. That student is out for vacation, so why don't you go sit next to Mr. Oh Sehun?" She smiled.

"O-okay. Thank you." I bowed to her and followed her inside the classroom.

She pointed at the desk next to Sehun. "You may sit over there. Mr. Oh Sehun is actually a very nice student."

I walked nervously and sat down. I took a quick glance at "Mr. Oh Sehun", who looked arrogant and cold as ever.

Ugghh, man, of all the people at this school, why do I have to sit next to this guy? He looks annoyed because of what I did.

Suddenly, the teacher started speaking. "Who can speak Japanese here?" She asked the class.

The guy from yesterday, who said that he could only speak a little Japanese, raised his hand, and so did "Mr. Oh Sehun".

"Ah, Min Kyu, is your Japanese good?" The teacher asked the guy.

"Well, I only know it just a little bit." He answered.

"What about you, Sehun?" The teacher asked.

"My talent agency had Japanese classes and I had to take it. I'm still learning right now, actually."

"Is that so? Well, I am assigning you to assist our exchange student, Miss _____. Not just you, but everyone in this class. Please be kind and hospitable to our exchange student."

___________________________________________

During lunch, I stayed inside the classroom. I didn't feel like getting lunch. I watched everyone leave the classroom, until the girl from yesterday, the one who thought I couldn't speak Korean, went up to me.

"Konnichiwa!" She smiled and waved at me.

I smiled back. She greeted me in my own language, and I appreciated it. She was trying to be friendly and make me feel comfortable.

"Annyeong haseyo!" I said.

"Oh, you can speak Korean?"

I chuckled. "Yes, I studied Korean for years."

"That's great! Because I really wanted to talk to you. I am Choi Jin Hee, by the way."

"I am _____ _____." I introduced myself.

"Do you want to get lunch with me at the cafeteria?"

I want to go with you but... I don't feel like getting lunch. I don't want to seem rude or anything, though.

"Uhh, well, I'm not really hungry, so..."

"Oh, that's okay. I'll just eat lunch really quick and come back here. See you later!"

She waved goodbye and left the room. Now, I had nothing to do. I was bored, so I stood up from my seat and looked outside the window. Suddenly, a person behind me cleared his throat. I looked behind me, and it turned out to be "Mr. Oh Sehun".

I felt intimidated, so I ignored him and continued looking outside the window.

Ugghhh, why does he have to be here? What does he want?

"Aren't you going to get lunch or something?" He asked.

Oh, does he know I can speak Korean?

"I know you can speak Korean," he added. "The teacher told me during break. So what? Are you getting lunch?"

This guy seems really... mean.

I sighed. "No, thank you. I'm not hungry. I'll just stay here."

"You can't stay here inside the classroom while everyone's gone."

That's it. I'm done talking to him. He's getting too annoying.

"Is that so? I'll just get out right now, then." I responded in a cold manner.

I headed to the door and left the room. I walked slowly in the hallway, as if I was taking a stroll at a park. I had no idea where to go.

"Hey, wait-"

I looked behind me and saw "Mr. Oh Sehun", trying to catch up to me.

"Do you wanna go to the rooftop and share these with me?" He held out two chocolate breads, wrapped nicely in plastic.

Oh, so he's being nice now? Fine, whatever.

"Sure." I said.

_________________________________________

I munched on the chocolate bread while leaning on the railings. It felt nice being up at the rooftop. It wasn't too windy, it wasn't too cold.

Sehun looked at me, also leaning on the railings. "I thought you said you weren't hungry?"

"It's because this bread is really good."

We stayed silent until we finished our bread. I tried to break the silence because it was getting way too awkward. "So, are we friends now?"

He chuckled. "Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know. I just feel like nobody wants to be friends with me, except for that girl, Choi Jin Hee."

"People here are really shy. They think you can't speak Korean, so they're shy to talk to you. Plus, our class never had an exchange student. Exchange students usually get placed in that classroom next to my classroom, so people in my class aren't used to seeing exchange students."

"I see. So that's why."

"I'm Oh Sehun by the way. You can just call me Sehun."

"I'm ____ ____. Nice to meet you, Mr. Oh Sehun!"

"Mr. Oh Sehun? Why Mr.?" He laughed.

"The teacher called you Mr. Oh Sehun!"

He laughed again, then changed the topic. "Do you know EXO-K?"

I thought for a second. "EXO-K? What's that?"

He chuckled. "Never mind. I think it's best if you don't know."

"Okay, I guess. But Sehun, did you get mad at me when I bumped into you?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Because you looked annoyed." I pouted.

"I did? I'm sorry. I just really look like a cold person."

"Ahh, but you should smile more!"

I stood in front of him and puffed my cheeks. Then, I poked them, which made him laugh and smile.

"See? You're smiling!" I said.

"That's because you looked so funny and cute."

F-funny and... c-cute? He just called me cute?

He called me cute. He's probably just being friendly, but it felt different to me. Someone called me cute yesterday, but I didn't feel anything weird, unlike right now.

"Mr. Oh Sehun is cute too!" I poked his cheeks.

He laughed and looked down shyly.

"Hey, can you go with me to Myeongdong next week? I have no one to go with." I asked him, hoping that he wouldn't think of it the wrong way.

"Myeongdong? Well, let me look at my schedule." He took out his phone and scanned it. "How about Saturday?"

"Yeah, sure! Wow. You seem like a really busy person."

"Not really. I just... uhh... I just have to study. That's it."

Then, the bell suddenly rang, ending our conversation.