Over the next few weeks, you began meeting with Heechul for his 'lessons' daily. You noticed that your Korean had greatly improved, but the only time you had even suggested that the lessons be discontinued, he had thrown a fit. He told you that your progress had put you on an elementary level and not any farther than that, and that if you quit now, your Korean would be disgraceful if you had ever needed to use it properly. After that, you never hinted at it again.

Heechul had begun to show up when you were with Jimin, or even by yourself, around campus. Sometimes you would spot each other in passing, as you were headed to your classes, but sometimes he just appeared in a place that you hadn't expected him. Most of the time he would be with Donghae and Eunhyuk, and ever since Jimin's date with Eunhyuk after the first lesson in the library, the two had begun to date. 

Eunhyuk was rarely anywhere except beside Jimin, and Donghae liked to join you when you hung out. The guys had become like brothers to you. They were always around and constantly picking on you no matter what. Most of the time, you found yourself wishing that you could get rid of them for a while, but they just kept coming back like bad pennies. You knew in your heart, though, that you wouldn't give that time up for anything.

You felt closer to all three of the guys, and even though Heechul could be relentless with the lessons, you now looked forward to the hour the two of you spent in the library. On occasion, he would bring something for you to snack on, but when you offered to return the favor, he would get angry.

One day, you had said something in Korean and he started laughing. You had been trying to ask him for something when you messed up. From what you ended up saying, he thought you had tried to ask him on a date. You were extremely embarrassed because of that, and thanked him for correcting you so that you wouldn't make a fool out of yourself later.

Oppa had been texting you more lately, too. The messages had turned from formal, detached feeling texts to comfortable chatter about your time spent around campus, how you got along with your new friends, and what your plans were for Christmas.

Christmas...

You had nearly forgotten about that now. Prince had told you to be happy at Christmas time, but you still told him that you would be sad without him. He still messaged every day, and would call when he thought you were having a hard time. He constantly reminded you that you should spend the holiday with your family since they were ready to leave. You had finally made your decision to remain in Korea while they moved to Argentina without you. This would be the last Christmas you would spend together.

Jimin was going home to her family, and Donghae and Eunhyuk were going to theirs. When you had asked Heechul, he said that there was a friend in Seoul who needed him to be there because they were having a rough time so he wasn't going anywhere. You lived in Seoul with your family, but you decided that moving your things out of the dorms was too much of a hassle to go across the city. You would commute to see them from where you were. Prince had refused to tell you about his plans for the holiday when you asked him, and eventually you just dropped the subject.

Today was the day that everyone left. You said goodbye to Jimin, Donghae, and Eunhyuk when their families picked them up. It was a bittersweet farewell, but you were glad that they would have a lot of time with their families. The only time they would be back was for the holiday party that was held on December 31st. The school called it holiday because they didn't want to make the students come back for two parties, so they combined the Christmas celebration and New Year's parties.

"We should keep working on your Korean since we'll both be here."

You turned to see Heechul leaning against the low wall behind you. You had gotten used to him randomly appearing by now. "Is the library even open during the break?" 

"No, but the entire campus should be empty. I'm sure we can find somewhere to hold your lessons."

You laughed lightly. "Alright. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep going. Classes are suspended anyways." You walked over to lean on the wall beside him. 

"Do you have any assignments over break?" He asked. You shook your head. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to read. I have a lot of books that I didn't have time to read yet, and this seems like the perfect time."

"What language are they in?"

You glance at him. "What?"

He chuckled. "With your skill level, I doubt the books you want to read are in Korean. What language are the books in?"

"Some are in Mandarin while some are in French. I only have one Russian book, and dad keeps buying Italian cookbooks for me. I'm not sure why he wants me to learn to cook so badly." You mused.

Heechul smiled and shook his head. "Come on, we should get inside before you freeze."

You absentmindedly followed him back toward the dorms.

"I'll meet you here at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning. Don't be late."

"Alright." You agree as he walked away. Turning, you ran up to your room to get started on reading your first book.

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HUGE Thank you to Sushi-monster for the upvote!
Hope you enjoy the story!
StarlightFever