Anna Danielle Sabine

"My baby! Oh you've grown so much!" The middle-aged woman shouted the moment we entered. Everyone lost their ability to stay calm the moment they realized who just walked through the door. She swatted some of the arms who dared touch Chanyeol. "Omo! No, this won't do!" She hurriedly pushed both of us to the back of the restaurant where there were no highly hormonal fans. There was a small, cramped meeting hall past the kitchen. "I'll bring your food for you. The usual is okay?" Chanyeol nodded and smiled gratefully. The woman then looked at me. It was an extremely awkward staredown. I feel like I've smuggled drugs into a country and am about to get caught. "Oh my, oh my.."  Then she smiled. "What about you dear? What would you like?" 

Talk about a complete 360. "Uhm...I haven't been here before...Anything is fine," I said shyly. I tugged at Chanyeol's sleeves. 

"She'll have the same as mine," he said.

With that, she quickly went back to the kitchen leaving the two of us to get settled.

"Of all places, Chanyeol, why here? With all these people?" I looked at him deliriously. 

"Because it's free here," he said smugly.

"You cheapskate!" I exclaimed. "Wait- what did you-?" 

He put his hands on the sides of my face. They were rough but surprisingly, they felt comfortable against my cheeks. It may be a psychological thing but it is as if a strong, sturdy man suddenly supported you. Once my attention shifted from his hands to his face, I felt blood rush to my cheeks. Chanyeol was staring at me. I am positive that it wasn't my s this time because his eyes were looking directly into mine. This was the first time I realized how good-looking he was. His features were distinct but made a handsome harmony when looked at all together. He was regal. I like looking into people's eyes but only if I've known them for long. But Chanyeol confidently held his gaze while I, the miserable lump of flesh that I am, was melting.

"Me" was all he said during this time. We stayed like this for a few seconds before he suddenly turned my head towards the kitchen using his hands.

"and her," he then said. I focused my eyes on the middle-aged woman from a while ago as she moved busily. What does he mean? Are they.... dating? She's his sugar mommy? I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest. It couldn't be since it would be disrespectful to bring a girl over if they were dating. But still. Maybe he had reassured her of his feelings that a girl like me would never get his attention. Well, I am in no position to get jealous. But why do I feel so? His hands felt heavier.

When he recognized the look of confusion on my face, he once again turned my head from her to him and back again. It took three cycles of this for me to snap at him. "I get it, damn it!" 

"Finally," he laughed loudly. "But why are you so angry?"

Truthfully, I don't know why I feel so passionately about this but of course I made a brilliant excuse. "Because, aside from you continually looking at my s, you bring me here! How disrespectful you are to your girlfriend!"

He choked on his spit. "My what?" 

"Your girlfriend, airhead!"

Chanyeol looked as confused as an alpaca. "You're pertaining to her?" He asked then motioned towards the woman. 

"Yes, obviously!" 

He laughed so loudly. When he calmed down a bit, he raised an eyebrow. "What gave you the idea the she's my girlfriend?"

So she's not? Honestly, I felt relieved. "I- I don't know... You might like older women more..." I said shyly. 

He continued laughing. I seriously do not get what's funny. 

"Do you not see the resemblance between me and her?" He looked at me like he was amused at the situation. I just stared at him. "She's my mother! She owns this restaurant! My goodness! The thoughts in your head are wild! Me dating my own mother...!" He was laughing so hard tears were forming in his eyes. 

I punched his chest but he continued laughing. He suddenly stopped. "Wait- were you that angry because you- you're jealous?"

"!" Tears soon formed in my eyes. I am clueless as to what came over me. There really is no need to be angry nor jealous. But I felt that way just a while ago. And the relief I felt when he said she was his mother was incomparable. How did this guy, whom I met a mere few hours ago, make me feel all these things? The confusion made me more angry. For years, I was used to myself being so sure but now, I'm not. 

All of a sudden, I felt his body embrace me. The tears stopped. He made me feel the warm comfort hot chocolate would give on a snowy day. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be an ....and about your s, I'll learn to control my male instincts. I promise." Chanyeol spoke with such sincerity. 

Someone coughed from behind us. It was his mom. Now, I can see the resemblance. 

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything serious," she said happily. I think sincerity runs in the family because she didn't seem to fake it. It didn't seem like she was plotting to skin me alive underneath that smile. Chanyeol released me from his hug leaving me feeling like I have a gaping hole in body. "Kimchi arabiatta for both of you and green tea for me," she said as she put down the plates of food on the table.

It looked really yummy that I panicked. "Thank you. I'll eat it well!" Saying something like that is a norm but I said it awkwardly. 

She laughed. "No need to be worked up, dear. If you want a second serving, just tell me, okay? It's all free."

"No, no. Please I'm just a normal customer. I'll pay."

Chanyeol lightly flicked my forehead. A warning to shut up, maybe? 

"Really, dear, it's okay! In fact, we should have a small celebration!" She was ecstatic. "You're the first-ever girl he's introduced to me! Oh I have been waiting for this for so long! Let's take a picture eh?" 

Chanyeol and I were incredulous and in panic. Turns out his mother has wild thoughts too. 

"Omma, she's not my girlfriend," Chanyeol said sternly. In my mind, I was slow-clapping Chanyeol for being so honorable but at the same time, I felt sorry for his mother. Her smile immediately turned sour after.

"Dating then?" She clinged on to some hope.

"We just met each other today," he said.

"That fast?!" Her eyes opened so widely.

"No! I meant I couldn't have dated her since I only met her today!" He clarified. 

She looked so sullen. "Ah, my son, why must you make your mother's heart ache?" For her to have an entertainer as a son, she was pretty bad at acting helpless.

"Would you have liked it better if I lied to you now and break your heart more in the future?" Chanyeol asked. She squinted her eyes at him for a second and then raised both her arms in surrender. So they have a friendly relationship after all. 

"Fine, fine," she sighed. "Would you at least introduce her to me?"

He put his arm on my shoulder and proceeded, "Omma, this is..." He looked like he was recollecting but after a while, it looks like he came up blank. Incredible. I almost became his girlfriend today and he doesn't remember my name. The temptation to call him an again was unbearable but I manged not to because of his mother. If my eyes could shoot lasers, Chanyeol would have turned to ashes by now.

"My name is Anna Danielle Sabine de Montailles." I managed to take hold of the situation. "I'm Chanyeol's partner in English. It's nice to meet you!" 

"Such a pretty name! French names sure are long, eh? We Koreans have only three syllables in our names so please understand. I'll just call you Anna for now but I promise to have it memorized soon. You can call me Omma!" She beamed at me then turned to Chanyeol. "And you, Chanyeol. You dare disrespect our guest by forgetting her name?!"

I'm starting to like her. 

"I don't need to remember her name. Her face is already unforgettable." 

At that second, I forgot how to breathe. Okay, so he was making an excuse- an extremely sly one at that. It can even be rephrased to 'her s are unforgettable' if he wanted to say the truth. But his words tugged on my heart's strings. 

"Aigoo...You men and your words. I can see you inherited something from your father!" She chuckled. "But you're right," she said now looking at me. "Her face is unforgettable."

Maybe because my face is foreign, I thought. She continued, "anyway, apologize to her later and Anna, tell me if he doesn't! You're free to come here any time, okay?" She smiled at me which made me miss my mother back home. For the next few years, I'll only be living with my roommates. I wouldn't get to see both my parents. I suppose it wasn't such a bad idea to have some parental figure while I stay in Seoul. I smiled back. "All right, let's eat, let's eat. The food is getting cold," she exclaimed.

I tasted the dish and was amazed at how good it was. Since I arrived in Seoul just recently, I haven't really gotten used to the general taste of the food but this kimchi arabiatta was spectacular. I complimented her on the food. 

"I'm beginning to like you already, Anna!.. Chanyeol, you take good care of her, okay?" Amidst the many stories she told one of Chanyeol's name. "Ah speaking of food, do you know Chanyeol is a fruit?"

I choked on the orange juice. She chuckled. "'Al-Chan-Yeol-Mae' translates to a 'ripe fruit' or a 'mature fruit', you know? Aigoo... I remember that day clearly. The nurses finally allowed him to stay in my room! Gosh, he was a cute and small baby then. He hadn't always been this big, of course! Chanyeol was sleeping when his dad suddenly came barging in, carrying a basket of fruits. My husband was crying! Apparently, he was more emotional than me at that time since he had missed Yoora's birth and had only seen me in labor with Chanyeol. I saying he was immature and all that. Then he wished that Chanyeol would not be like him in the future, that he would be able to watch his wife give birth to their child and not cry, that he'd be mature enough before he's faced with situations that will force him to become mature. So we took the basket of fruits as a sign and here he is, our precious Chanyeol!" She then sighed. "But it looks like he's still just an unripe fruit, don't you think?" She laughed once more and I joined her. 

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On the way back to Kyung Hee University, Chanyeol explained to me my role as his partner.

"Mr. Lee will give an oral test as the final examination. He said it's going to be an interview type so I need really good guidance. Hence, this partner system. That's where you come in," he said.

"Naturally. But what about me? Don't I need really good guidance too?" I asked.

"I have no knowledge in English to offer you that you don't already know and for crying out loud, you've lived in America your entire life right? So let's get back to me, shall we?" The light turned green. He gradually stepped on the pedal. "My schedule is hard to deal with so I just want to know if you're really up for it. I mean, I've had three partners and all of them couldn't handle it. No one in that class wants to be my partner."

"I don't believe that. Every girl in that class a while ago looked at you like you were their prey."

He sighed, "they like my princely looks only."

"What I would give to crush your huge ego," I said.

Chanyeol chuckled. "So is that a 'yes'? Are you really up for the challenge of teaching me English?"

"Well, there'd be more chances to knock some sense into you if I meet you outside of class right?"

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We arrived ten minutes early for my next class. He got out of the car the moment he had parked his Mercedes. I was alone inside making sure I don't forget anything. It dawned upon me that the car smelled like him- like an expensive man? He opened the door for me and the cold air flew in and took away the smell.

"Give me your number," he said once he'd closed the door behind me. 

I panicked. It's not everyday that Park Chanyeol asks for my number. It rarely even happens with other guys so it stirred me quite a bit. "WHA-"

"I'll forward it to my manager so he can text you my schedule," he said.

"Oh..." I was disappointed, who am I kidding? Did I think he and I would now be texting each other sweet 'good night' messages with matching heart and kiss emoticons? Well yes I thought about it. "Of course..."

"YA! Don't make it so obvious that you're disappointed!" He laughed. I punched him on the chest the second time today. 

"Idiot," I murmured. 

"Hey, can I-" he stopped for a moment, hesitant to continue, "can I text you too?" He suddenly panicked. "I mean I-! I want us to be friends! And my mom likes you and all!... B-but I'm not imposing anything, okay?! It's up to you." Chanyeol scratched the back of his neck when he realized he sounded way too defensive. 

I laughed loudly at how cheeky he is (and also because I'm glad that he doesn't want us to just be acquaintances). "Eh, friends with you? In this fan girl infested campus? You want to get me killed right?" I was only joking but it looked like I hit a sensitive spot. 

His head hung low. "You're right. It's impossible," he uttered under his breath. He fixed his backpack and started walking away. I didn't expect him to react so sadly but now that I think about it, it is quite difficult for him to just trust anybody. Sure everybody knows him. But to Chanyeol, they're not friends. Just acquaintances. Just drifting bodies. To him, they were just stops a train would make daily but they were never the destination. There's always that possibility that they're friendly to him because of his looks or his popularity. I didn't consider that he might actually be taking a risk with me. To think that I'd hurt someone this badly on the first day of my stay, well, I need to reflect on some things tonight.

I never liked running but he had gotten quite far. I mentally cursed his long legs. Without thinking, I hugged him from behind once I'd gotten close enough. He stopped to support my weight since I was about to topple over. Once I regained my balance, I realize how awkward this was. But I wont let go now. It's too late for another witty excuse. I let instinct take over for the first time in my life.

"I'd love to be friends with you, fruity boy," I said loud enough for the both of us to hear. "And I'm sorry for being an insensitive ."

He shuddered. From what exactly, I cannot guarantee. Surprise? Anger? Disbelief? 

"You dare call me 'fruity boy'?" His voice was scary deep. I was still attached to his back via a tight backhug. For the first time in a while, I felt stubborn. I've decided to not let him go until we become friends. 

"YES FRUITY BOY!" I managed to say with around 27% confidence. 

He turned around so he now enveloped me completely. Having a six-foot tall man embrace my five-foot flat frame would've been suffocating unless that man was Chanyeol. In which case, it would feel like having a lean, warm body give you the comfort of hugging your beloved stuffed toy. Chanyeol chuckled. The low sound waves caused my heart to beat loudly. 

He partially let go of me so I could see his face clearly. Chanyeol's eyes were red but he smiled brightly. "Then let's be friends, Anna Danielle Sabine de Montailles."

 

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A/N: I am extremely sorry for making this chapter so long. Longer than usual, I suppose. In the first modern chapter, I realized I didn't establish the same connection between Chanyeol and Anna as I did in the first Joseon chapter so I had to do it here TT