Ji Young

I awoke the next morning to the sound of laughter coming from downstairs. I glanced at my alarm clock. 

10:26 am

"Oh !" I cursed. I shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get ready. I had a meeting today with my professor at 11 am. I threw on whatever I could find that was decent and grabbed my phone and backpack and headed downstairs. 

I descended down the stairs towards the laughter. I looked up and saw before me a group of guys sitting in the living room playing video games and eating. I snuck my way past their stares and exited. As I speedwalked to the gate I ran into a figure. I glanced up. 

"Mianhae." The voice apologized. I stared at the familiar face.

"Jongin?" I asked. He stared at me wide eyed. 

"...Ji Young?" He asked. We both laughed. 

"Yah! What are you doing here?" He asked. 

"I should be asking the same thing!" I laughed. 

"I came to hang out with my friends." He chuckled. 

"Ah. hahaha I live here now." I smiled. I checked my watch. 

"Oh dang it! I'll catch up with you later Jongin! I have to meet someone." I grinned and zoomed past him. 

I arrived at the meeting with 5 minutes to spare. I sat in the waiting room while the professor finished up her first meeting. As they exited the room I looked up at the professor. 

She was young, maybe in her early 30's. She smiled at me. 

"Ah, you must be Gae Ji Young." She said. I nodded. She welcomed me into her office. I stared at the pictures on her wall. 

"Did you take these yourself?" I asked in awe. 

"Yeah, haha do you like them?" 

"Like? I love it. I wish I was this good." I stared at the pictures. 

"Which one is your favorite?" She asked. I glanced around the room, but there was one painting I couldn't pull myself away from. It was a child playing in a stream while holding onto a yellow balloon. 

"That one." I pointed at the picture. She laughed.

"That's one of my favorites too." I grinned at her. 

"Sit down Ji Young. So what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked. 

I sat down. I observed her desk. It was somewhat neat, with stray peices of paper sprawled across the desk, and several pictures sprawled here and there. My eyes came across her nameplate. 

Professor Yoon.

I looked up at her.

"I wanted to discuss my schedule for this coming semester." I stated. She nodded. 

"I want to enroll in your class, I heard that it was full this coming semester. I was wondering if there was a way you could fit me in." I asked. She sat there thinking for a while. Her face intense. Suddenly she spoke up. 

"I would love to help you, but there isn't much I can do. It's up to the headmaster and administration. I'm sorry." She broke the news to me. I stared down at my hands and nodded. 

"But, I do have mentor program that I do. If you want you could compete for that spot and I could mentor you." She said. My face lit up. 

"Really? Oh that'd be awesome! How can I sign up?" I asked excitedly. She pulled out a manilla folder and handed the contents inside to me. 

"You just need to read over the qualifications, send in a portfolio of your work, and sign the permission slip. It's quite simple, but there's many others who are doing it, so it's very competative. I wish you luck Ji Young." She smiled at me. It was a genuine smile. I could feel how much faith she had in me. I smiled at her. 

"Thank you so much Professer Yoon. Thank You." I bowed and left. I stared at the manilla folder. I just had to tell Soo Jin. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. 

"Helloooo?!" Soo Jin screamed into the phone. 

"Yah, why are you so loud?" I asked. 

"Oh, mian... hehehe, I had too much coffee." Soo Jin giggled. 

"Let's meet up, I have something to tell you." I said. 

"Mmmkay, Arasso. Coffe Shop in 10?" She said. With that we hung up. On my way to the coffee shop I began thinking of Jongin and our little run in this morning. It's been years since I've seen the kid. It made me feel better to know that he was here in Seoul. 

I opened the door to the coffee shop and the smell of coffee beans and sugar greeted my nose. I looked around for an empty seat and sat down. A few minutes later I saw Soo Jin's head pop through the door. She glanced around and saw me. 

I grinned when I saw her. 

"So, what happened? What was so important that you pulled me away from my new sculpture." She asked while fixing her hair. 

"I'll tell you after we get our coffee.. What'd you want? It's on me." I grinned.

"You're buying me coffee?! Ouuuu it must be good news then." Soo Jin smiled. 

"I want a Soy Latte please."

"Okay, Soy Latte it is." I stood up and walked to the line. When it was my turn I walked up to the counter. 

"Hi, what can I get you today?" The girl asked. I observed her, the way I observe everyone. She had warm and welcoming big brown eyes and a very soft yet melodic voice. Her name tag read "Ji Eun".

"I'd like a medium Soy Latte and a medium Iced Mocha please." I smiled at her. 

"One medium Soy Latte and one medium Iced Mocha coming right up. That'd be $8.50." She said as she punched the order into the machine. I gave her the money and retreated to the end of the counter. I glanced at her as she picked up a book and began reading. 

"One medium Soy Latte, and one medium Iced Mocha!" The other worker called out. I grabbed my drinks and retreated to my table. I desperately wished I had my camera as I glanced down at my coffee.. It was made so beautifully. Then I glanced at Soo Jin's Soy Latte. It was 10 times better looking than mine. I stared at her drink with envy. She grinned a cheesy smile and thanked me. 

"Babo." I teased. 

 

Ji Eun

I picked up my book and began reading after ringing up the last customer. The book I was reading had gotten extremely interesting right in the middle. I was so indulged in the book that I didn't realize there was a customer. 

"Ji Eun!" I heard my co worker shout. I looked up and greeted the customer. 

"Oh, sorry. Hi what can I get you today?" I asked him. He grinned a large and cheesy grin. His red hair peeking out from underneath his black snapback.

"I'd like an medium Iced Mocha please." He said. 

"One medium Iced Mocha coming right up, that'd be $4.30." I smiled. I took the money and put it in the register. I looked up at him and thanked him then returned to my book. 

 

Chanyeol

I walked into the coffee shop, excited to see Ji Eun again. She was into her book, like usual. I stared at her waiting for her to look up. He co worker called her name and she finally looked up. I grinned. After recieving my order she smiled at me. She actually smiled at me! I was so happy I could've died right there and then. I could feel my heart beat accelerating. I walked to the end of the counter and admired her from where I stood. Trying not to stare at her too much. She lifted up her book and began reading it again. I saw that it was an American book.

"The Great Gatsby" I mumbled to myself. 

"Medium Iced Mocha." The worker called out. I took my drink and walked to a nearby table. I pulled out my phone and began looking up the nearest library in the area. 

 

Ji Young

I was sipping on my coffee and listening to Soo Jin ramble on about her the new hot Teacher Assistent in her sculpting class. I had told her about the mentor opportunity my professor told me about, but she didn't care much. I was pretending to listen, when suddenly I felt Soo Jin tugging on my sleeve. I looked at her. 

"What?" I asked. 

"Isn't that your new roommmate." She asked while pointing to someone behind me. I turned around, and sure enough it was Chanyeol. He was staring at the cashier then back at his phone. He then began grinning. I observed his actions. He took another glance at the cashier, grinned then back at his phone. As if he could feel eyes on him he looked up, but I turned around before he noticed that I had been staring. 

"Whew, that was close." I said under my breath. 

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Soo Jin asked while she sipped on her Soy Latte. 

"Just keep drinking your latte." I stuck my tongue out at her. She glared at me then returned to her latte. I stole a quick glance at Chanyeol, but he was gone.

 

Chanyeol

I let myself admire Ji Eun a little more before I grabbed my coffee and headed to the nearest library. I walked in the bookstore and was greeted by the aroma of books that welcomed me. I walked over to the American book isle and looked for "The Great Gatsby" I skimmed the walls and finally I found it. 

I pulled it out and began reading the synopsis. 

"Ahh, so it's a classic." I mummbled. I took the copy and walked up to the counter to check it out.