"Come on man, smile. You look like you've just swallowed a whole lemon and trust me, it ain't pretty."

Eric, my friend, was trying his best to bring out my enthusiasm for the double date he had set up for me and himself. I looked around the place and wondered why I even bothered in the first place. If I were him, I wouldn't have picked the zoo as the most romantic place for a date but he said that the girl he was bringing wanted to become a veterinarian and was a major animal lover.

Oh the things I do for my friend. 

The girl he had set me up with was pretty, but I was sure that I wasn't attracted to her. Heck, I couldn't even remember her name. Was it Kathleen? Katherine? Kyla?

"Minho!" I saw her wave her hands at me, telling me to snap a picture of her standing next to the elephant. I sighed and did as she wanted. After, she pranced up to my side, poking her head in to look at the result of her modeling. I tilted my camera's small screen displaying the photo into her vision.

"Here you go.. umm.. Kathy?"

"Carissa." She huffed, annoyed.

Close enough.

I excused myself from the trio and went off to hunt for pictures. I could hear Eric being bombarded with subtle complaints from the girls but I couldn't care less. Hey, atleast I showed up, right?

As I passed the zebras and some other animals I couldn't remember, my feet stopped infront of one animal attraction. It brought back so many memories of Korea, of my old school, my friends.. and her.

I found myself staring at the exotic creatures and I lifted my camera up to capture a few shots- for some reason. 

More people started crowding in and later it became too populated for me to take good pictures, so I gave up on my attempt on photographing the camels. Instead, I took my chance to obtain some candid snapshots on the merry people surrounding me.

My eyes darted around the place to observe some people, trying to find inspiration. My lens gradually fell on a family walking by, a chipper group of students, and occasionally, couples. I suddenly caught sight of a woman and a child. A single mother?

I placed my attention on them since the scene reminded me alot of my own mother. When dad and her divorced, she became a single mother and stayed strong for me, even though I was such a brat. I can never ask for a better parent.

"Sweetie, do you want to know a story about a camel?" I heard the lady say.

The little girl nodded and her mother continued. "When I was still in highschool, there was a Camel who loved torturing students. She was the evil-ist thing I ever came across-"

A laugh came from the small child. "I don't believe you. Camels don't go to schools."

"Yes, but you see, this one even managed to get a PhD in Biology. Although, I still wonder how she got it. I have to say, she at teaching- but who knows.. maybe she was a good student."

"Wait.. What is a PhD?" the girl interrupted, confused. "And- the Camel was a teacher?"

My eyes widened at her statement. Everything seemed a bit too famiiliar.

The older woman laughed and ruffled the child's hair. "It's kind of a long story." She chuckled."But in the end, I am happy I was taught by The Camel, or else, I wouldn't have met him." 

"Who is him?"

"Another long story. I'll tell you later." She stated as they sauntered away towards the icecream stand.

I blinked my eyes several times before searching for the woman again. It couldn't be..

Why was she here? And she spoke German.. and the Camel.. What??

Before I knew it, I was  already pushing myself through the crowd of people and tourists, searching for her.

Not long after, I found them sitting on a bench near the souvenir shop, laughing and talking together. Holding vanilla Icecreams.

Now, I am dead sure.

What on Earth is Kim Saehyun doing here.. with her daughter?

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She still looked beautiful, as always, but she changed.

Her hair was dyed in a reddish-chocolate colour and it flowed down in soft curls to her collar-bones. Her features remained similar but I could see that it became more defined over the years.

To my surprise, she wasn't wearing some random pants, t-shirts or shorts. Instead, she rocked a black leather blazer with jeans and high-heeled boots to match. Looking at her now, I'm starting to have doubts whether if it was the Saehyun I know.

"Stella. Can I get another one?" The girl begged, pulling out her puppy eyes for persuasion.

The woman shook her head, "Your mom will kill me if she found out.. so, no."

I massaged my temples. Stella? Her mom? So that means she's not a single-mom? What is happening.. Though confused, I let out a somewhat relieved sigh.

But then again, who the heck is Stella?

I observed her again, trying to make sure that she wasn't Saehyun. She suddenly reached in her pocket and pulled out her smartphone that was ringing quite loudly.

"Aunt Cam? Yeah.. we're going to head home now. Bye." She hung up from the call.

As they left, I started to feel a headache rushing in. I must be insane. Is that how much I have missed her? Maybe I shouldn't have let her go. Perhaps I could've tried salvaging our relationship.

But we know how long-distance works. 

I don't want to tie her down with me, since I wouldn't come back to Korea and that I'll continue med-school here, which will take.. what? 4-5 years to finish? 

I can't be selfish anymore. I have to let go; for both of our sakes. And besides, it seemed like the most logical thing. Who would want a boyfriend that lives halfway around the world, who is too busy to respond back to your messages, and wouldn't be able to meet you even once for more or less- a decade? (including my highschool years and internship.. and more college. Who said being a doctor was going to be easy?)

Did that woman actually look like her? Or was it just me being delusional again? 

Kim Saehyun is no longer a part of my life yet she is still driving me crazy.

I scratched my head and turned back to reunite with my friends. As I scrolled through the photos I took from my camera, I paused my movements when I saw a photo of the camels, and beside them, a woman holding a little girl's hand.

I zoomed in on her smiling face and stared. 

That face. I knew it too well to miss it. "Saehyun?" I breathed.

I could never be mistaken. This was Saehyun, I just knew it. I turned my heels around and started sprinting pass people to head to the exit. 

When I arrived, I could see no lady with red locks, neither a little girl who was with her. "." I swore out of desperation. 

"Who the is Stella?!" I yelled to no one, throwing a silent tantrum.

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"Stella- Come down! We've got pasta for dinner!"

I heard my aunt's yelling from downstairs and quickly shook my wet hair through a towel. I stepped out lightly and went down the narrow stairs of Uncle Joohyun's house. Or as people here normally adress him- Jerry.

As soon as I entered the dining room, I was met with three briming faces of my family. "Hey, well look who showed up! My favourite niece! C'mere hon, the pasta's getting cold." he exclaimed heartily.

I giggled, "I'm your only niece, uncle."

"That makes you all the more special, then." he countered. My uncle has always been the one good in talking, and teasing, in that case.

Aunt Cam shook her head as she stiffled a small laugh. "Ignore him. He's had too much food, therefore, extra hyper."

"Extra." Alexis copied.

I pulled out a chair next to my little cousin and accepted a plate full of a scrumptious amount of meal prepared my oh-so-lovable auntie. Obeying my stomach's wishes, I dug in the food, savouring each bite of it. Taking a toddler to the zoo has proven to be quite a handful, and I needed to restore my energy.

When I felt like I had enough pasta in my system, I sighed happily and sunk a little into my chair.

"Saehyun. I went to check out the apartment you're going to stay in. It's clean, spacious and it's only a few blocks away from your campus!" Aunt Camille reported. "Oh- and I've settled things with your mom and the land-lady, so don't worry your little head, darling. I've also met your roomate- although very briefly. She seems very nice-"

"It's a girl?" I asked inquiringly.

She nodded, "Yes- a very pretty one too. Although, she does seem a little bit tomboy with how she dresses, but pretty otherwise. Did I mention that she's also an asian?"

"Really?" I was surprised at how excited I sounded.

Alexis butted in, "Was she prettier than me, mommy?"

Her parents shared a laugh before Uncle Jerry answered, "That's impossible! How can anyone be prettier than my daughter?"

After joking about the matter for some time, I decided to ask further about my soon-to-be living quarters. "So, when am I going to move there?" With reflex, Alex held the sleeve of my shirt, hugging my arm afterwards. I kissed the top of her head, touched by her little attachment to me.

"You can start living there on Wednesday- that is- 2 days from now." She spoke softly, noticing how her daughter had glued herself to my one arm.

I nodded and pat Alexis's head, "It's okay, Kim Aera, you can come visit me anytime."

Her head shot up to meet mine, bumping a little in the process. She rubbed her forehead and asked, "Aera?"

"I let you pick a western name for me, right?" I winked, "Well now I just named you in Korean."

She beamed, "Thanks Stella."

"Anytime, Aera-yah."

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When I arrived at my apartment, I was greeted by Edna, the owner of the building. She welcomed me warmly and toured me around the place. She also gave me some information about the neighbourhood and explained all the basics. Handing me my keys, she told me to search for room number 12 on the second floor. The middle-aged lady also instructed me to introduce myself to my roomate- who will be waiting for me in our room by now.

I smiled and thanked her before going off on my little quest.

At the end of the 2nd floor's hallway, I spotted a number '12' on one of the white, wooden doors and made a quick bee-line for it. But before I could turn the handle, I froze.

This would be the first time I am ever going to live with somebody outside of my family. Would I be able to get used to it?

Feeling a bit jittery. I pressed on the doorbell instead, waiting for my long-awaited roomy to open it- since I couldn't muster-up the courage to unlock the door myself. Seconds later, I heard the door creaking open from within.

Beyond it, was a tall girl with short blonde hair and big, doe eyes. She was certainly pretty, but it kind of felt like something was off.

"Are you Stella Kim?" my roomate voiced out. The sound wasn't deep, but it certainly did not belong to a girl. I could feel my eyes widening in shock.

"Y-you're a guy!" I yelped.

She He smiled impishly at me, "And you are a girl."

Feeling embarrassed, I looked down at my feet. I should've known. Maybe Aunt Camille wasn't used to seeing asian men to tell the difference between the genders. It wasn't her fault too for not knowing about how prettily deceiving they could appear. The guy infront of me also had me fooled for a second, with his milky skin and pixy-like features. "I'm sorry- it's just that.. never mind."

I heard him chuckle lowly and then say, "It's okay." he paused, "Should we start with proper introductions?"

I nodded awkwardly.

"Hi, Stella. My name is Luhan and I am, indeed, a guy." he stated as the corners of his mouth twisted into a playful grin.

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Author's note: Ahh- no text messages! I feel so empty inside...     ( ._.)