People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

~ Author Unknown ~

Seohyun is on her way to her class when she heard her phone beep.  Opening her bag while walking to check her phone, she read the message from an unknown number. 

“Hi.  I’m Jung Yonghwa. I hope I am not disturbing you.  I’m the one your friend was telling you about.”

Seohyun stopped walking when she read the message, wondering whether she should reply or not.  Suddenly, she felt a tap in her arm and looked up.  It was her classmate, Choi Kyuhyun.  He was asking if they could walk together in their room and she agreed.  She dismissed Kyuhyun’s presence and started replying to the message.

“Hi there!  Seo Joo Hyun-imnida.  Yes, Juniel mentioned you already.  I am on my way to my class right now.  Can I get back with you later after class if it’s okay with you?  Are you in Seoul right now or in Busan?”

She sent the message before Kyuhyun ask her who is it.  She knew Kyuhyun from last semester and has been friends with him since then.  It was obvious to her and to their group of friends that he likes her, but Seohyun is not interested.  She doesn’t date friends.

Meanwhile in Busan, a certain young man could not concentrate in his work and is anxiously waiting for his phone to signal an incoming message.  When it does, he hastily grabbed it and because of his clumsiness the phone fell.  As he retrieved it, he banged his head in his table and wincing due to pain he read the message.  His pain forgotten and his signature cheek-bursting smile appeared in his face when he read the message, conveying that he liked what he read.

“Hi there!  Seo Joo Hyun-imnida.  Yes, Juniel mentioned you already.  I am on my way to my class right now.  Can I get back with you later after class if it’s okay with you?  Are you in Seoul right now or in Busan?”

Yonghwa thought “Hmm…she’s studying in graduate school.  I like that.  It means she is career oriented.  She’s sweet and thoughtful…interesting.”

“Oh! You’re in grad school?  That’s great.  What are you taking up?  I’m in Busan right now.  Please attend to your class first, then let me know the most convenient time for me to call you up, maybe after you get home?”

Seohyun is in the class and is listening to her professor’s lecture when she felt her phone vibrate.  She tried to ignore it but failed.  She slipped her hands into her bag and pretends getting something from it.  She reads the message and unconsciously a smile crept up in her face.  She quickly sends a message saying that she’ll text him on her break time.  Unbeknownst to her, somebody is observing her actions and is not happy with what he is seeing.

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Time passed by and the two kept on exchanging messages and phone calls.  Yonghwa would always send a message to Seohyun greeting her good morning and to tell her that he is on his way to work.  Same goes with Seohyun, she will reply back telling him that she is in the bus on the way to school already.   One time during lunch break, she received a text from him.

“It’s been a while since we exchanged messages and me calling you.  Little by little, we are getting to know each other.  I’m coming to Seoul this weekend.  Would it be possible for us to finally meet?”

Seohyun was surprised.  She doesn’t know if she is ready to meet this person who makes her morning brighter.  She is afraid.  She is scared.  She is content to let this “thing” be as it is.  She feels that Yonghwa might be disappointed when they finally meet.  Those were the thoughts that are running through her mind.  She does not want to get her hopes up and her expectations shattered.  For the first time since the exchange of phone calls and messages, Seohyun did not reply to him.

Meanwhile, Yonghwa also has some insecurity.  She makes him smile without any reason, just thinking about their conversations he knew that she is an intelligent person, a person he knows he can talk to, but is he ready to take the leap?  He called up Jonghyun to tell him his plan and to ask his girlfriend whether it is a good idea or not to meet up with Seohyun.  He told his dongsaeng that Seohyun has not replied yet to his message, so he does not know whether she is interested or not.  Waiting is nerve racking for him.  He hates waiting.

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Still apprehensive, Seohyun went home early thinking of the message from Yonghwa.  It’s giving her a headache and the only person she knows who can help her decide is her best friend.  When she got home, she changed into casual clothes and went out again to go to her best friend’s house.  She knocked on the door and heard the lock being unlatched and saw a familiar face.

“Unnie!” Seohyun cried and embraced her best friend.  “I miss you.  It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

Her best friend was puzzled as to why she was crying, so she asked Seohyun “Joohyun-ah, kwenchana?”

“Hyo Unnie! I’m doomed!”

Looking more perplexed and confused, Hyoyeon pulled Seohyun in and led her to the couch knowing from experience that it’s going to be a long night for them.  Sitting down, Hyoyeon asked her what happened to make her feel doomed.  Seohyun then disclosed to her best friend the exchange of phone calls and messages with a certain guy named Jung Yonghwa, how she had come to know him through her student/friend and now arriving to the situation where Yonghwa wants to meet her already.  She asked Hyoyeon what she should do as she is afraid and whether or not she should agree to the meeting.  She also shared with her the emotions she is experiencing, the fear of not meeting the so called “expectations” and eventually being crushed again.

Understanding where her best friend is coming from, Hyoyeon carefully choose her words before saying anything to Seohyun.  Seohyun went through so much these past years that Hyoyeon feels so much for her.  She wants Seohyun to be happy and with the way she spoke about this guy, Hyoyeon feels that Seohyun is slowly falling and acknowledges this feeling that is why she is scared right now.  Having two failed relationships in the past, the recent one more painful because the guy cheated on her, it is only natural for Seohyun to be cautious and feel paranoid when it comes to guys.  But on the other hand, Hyoyeon wants her to find “The Right One,” one who would cherish her and value her for all her worth, be there for her always…somebody who would stick no matter what.

Hyoyeon looked at her best friend who seemed so lost in her own world.  She had read the exchange of messages from these two and from the looks of it, she feels that the guy is decent and is more mature than the two jerks who broke her friend’s heart to million pieces.

“Joohyun-ah, tell me something…what do you feel about this guy?”

“Unnie…”

“Come on, tell me…do you think you’re falling?  Is that what scares you right now?  That you think it’s love already… too soon, too fast?”

“Unnie…”

“What scares you? That it’ll be another failed relationship?”

As Seohyun’s opening , Hyoyeon interrupted her “Are you going to say unnie again???” making Seohyun close .

“Seo Joo Hyun…”

Making Hyoyeon calling her in her full name, she knew that her unnie is on the verge of getting angry.  Taking a deep breath, Seohyun started answering her unnie’s questions.

“Unnie, I’m sorry…it’s just that I’m so lost.  I’m here to ask for advice…not for a sermon.  I know, I know…you’ll tell me that I’m the counselor, that I’m supposed to know the answer to all of these, but I’m only human, unnie…I need other people’s perspective to validate my reason.  My heart and my mind are having an argument at the moment…nobody wants to be in the losing end.  It’