Caden made two wrong turns before finally arriving at the right street on Saturday night, per Daeho’s directions.  One thing that had become quite clear the longer she lived in Korea was how easily she had managed to get lost on that first day in Seoul all those weeks back.  Finding your way to a pre-designated spot wasn’t a simple matter of turning one way or the other down clearly labeled street the way you would back home.

Many streets crossed and transected with nameless alleyways that followed tiny roads to dead ends.  Plus, one building may contain up to half a dozen different businesses, all stacked up on top of each other.  Finding your way around most cities in Korea wasn’t taking a quick drive straight to your destination, but identifying the proper stops on public transit, then following the (constantly changing) landmarks until your location was finally reached.

Caden, herself, had turned down a couple unfamiliar alleys before she finally reached the street that (she was fairly certain) was the correct one.  She craned her neck, reading the various neon signs that covered the face of the buildings, looking for the name of the bar that Daeho had told her.

Halfway up the street, she finally spotted it - a little sign, three floors up, blinking invitingly with an arrow that pointed down to the entrance.  She pulled out her phone to check the time as she made her way toward the building in question, navigating around the small crowd that was walking past.  It was a little after 9:30pm - extremely early by Korean nightlife standards, but a little late per the time she was supposed to meet her friends.

Just as she made to put her phone back into her bag, it began to ring.  Caden glanced down at it, first in surprise, then with a knowing grin as Daeho’s name flashed across the screen.

“Uhn, hello?” she answered, trying to suppress her grin.

“Hey,” came her friend’s cheerful voice from the other end.  She could hear people talking and laughing loudly in the background as she started up the stairs toward the third floor. “Did you managed to find the place?  Where are you?”

“Oh… I got lost a few times,” she replied casually, being purposefully vague with her whereabouts. “I turned down the wrong streets…”

“Oh, really?” he asked, sounding a bit concerned.  She heard shuffling as Daeho switched his phone from one ear to the other. “Are you still lost?  What street did you turn down?”

“Hmmm,” Caden replied noncommittally as she rounded the second floor landing, still trying hard to keep from laughing. “Well, I went from the bus stop up the street, past the department store and the movie theater like you said…”

“Then you took the street across from the university?” he asked.  She heard a loud dragging before the background noise changed, fading significantly.

“Yes,” Caden answered honestly, accurately describing her failed attempts from earlier.  If that just so happened to lead Daeho to believe that she was still out wandering around Hongdae, well then so be it. “And then I turned down the road directly across from the coffee shop like you told me…”

“The Sunrise Coffee Shop?” he prompted.

“Oh, what to do?  I think it was the Sunshine coffee shop that I turned at,” she griped in feigned surprise, making up the first name she could think of.  Although she hadn’t noticed if there had actually been a shop called ‘Sunshine’, there just as easily could be.  The city was totally overrun with coffee shops and cafes - chains and indie stores alike, each with it’s own concept or theme.  It wasn’t at all unusual for one city block to hold anyway from a handful to over a dozen different shops.

“, really?” Daeho asked, sighing as he contemplated her conundrum (which she sense was in a manner more concerned than annoyed). “Should I come down and try to find you?”

“No, no - no need,” Caden assured him breezily.  She had reached the third floor, and was walking down the short hallway to the bar’s entrance. “I think I can manage…”

“Are you sure?” Daeho asked earnestly. “It might be easier for you that way…”  Caden could see him now through the bar’s open door.  He was standing with his back to her, just inside the entrance, one hand on his hip as he listened carefully for her reply.

“No… I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she responded quietly, trying not to let him hear her voice behind him as she snuck up until she was almost touching him.

“Jjajan!” she cried, grasping his shoulders roughly, causing Daeho to jump in surprise.

“Jeez!  Really?  You scared the out of me,” he cried, grasping his chest and breathing deeply as he turned to face her.

“You’ve been swearing an awful lot tonight,” she teased, skillfully avoiding being swatted by Daeho in his annoyance.

“All because of you!” he accused, before adding in English, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”  Caden only giggled, unabashedly proud of her accomplishment.

“Maybe,” she responded teasingly.  Then she glanced past him, taking in her surroundings for the first time.

‘Oowah, daebak!’ was all she could think as she absorbed the bar’s atmosphere, then she took a moment to celebrate unintentionally thinking in Korean, which she had been working extra hard to get into the habit of doing lately.

If she hadn’t just come from the streets of Hongdae and walked up three flights of stairs to get there, she would swear that she had just been magically transported back to her college hangout back home in California.  It was unlike anything she’d seen since moving to Asia - a real legitimate pizza parlor - complete with fake-wood laminated tables, vinyl chairs, hanging lamps, arcade games, and even a sticky, matted down worn carpeted floor.  There was a salad bar with sneeze-guard included!  The smell of pizza sauce and grease mixed with the faint aroma of heavy duty industrial cleaning product wafted through the place.  Booths lined the walls, and rows of tables occupied the center of the room.

In the corner, someone was blinging and bleeping away on what appeared to be an 80’s movie themed pinball machine.

“Daeho-yah,” she breathed, reaching out for him blindly as she continued to stare around the room, “was I just transported home somehow?”

Daeho chuckled heartily as she grasped his arm with one hand.

“Does it really remind you of home?” he asked, sounding satisfied.

“Yes!” she exclaimed, finally turning to look at him, eyes sparkling with excitement.  Then something else caught her eye once more.

“They even have those cheese and red pepper shakers!” she cried, giving his arm a few excited yanks as her other hand flew to her face as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.  Daeho rolled his eyes at her overly dramatic reaction, but couldn’t help but to laugh.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said, trying not to look too pleased with himself. “This place has been our regular Saturday night hangout ever since before we joined English club - Soonbok and I were the ones who introduced the club to this place.”

“Speaking of which,” Caden pronounced, finally tearing her attention away from the comforting familiarity of the restaurant at the mention of this elusive friend, “is she here?  You made me swear up and down to come tonight because I’d finally meet Soonbok.”

She scanned the faces of the happily chattering crowd- the club members alone took up several tables (nearly a quarter of the room) by themselves- looking for a presumably adorable, unfamiliar one.

“She and Jung Su aren’t here yet,” Daeho declared somewhat sheepishly, confirming her suspicion, “but they’re on their way now - or so she claims.”

“Uhn,” Caden responded thoughtfully.  She glanced over the sea of college students once more before returning her gaze to her friend.

“And I’m guessing that Mikyung isn’t here yet either,” she deduced, having recognized all of the girls present from previous meetings.

“Really?” Daeho asked, sounding surprised.  He looked for himself, shaking his head in mild disbelief. “I guess you’re right… She promised she’d be here.  I figured she might have snuck past me.  She  does that sometimes…”

Caden had to suppress a grin as she watched him scratch his head in earnest confusion.

“Well I hope for your sake that they show up,” she teased in English. “You promised me a meeting, and to be perfectly honest, I need more awesome girls in my life.”  Daeho snorted.

“Oh really?  And is this a jab against us guys?” he demanded teasingly.

“What?  Nooo…” she replied, feigning shock. “You guys are… fine…”  Daeho snorted once more, rolling his eyes at her silliness.

“Ah, just ‘fine’.  I get it.  I see how it is,” he declared with a hint of defeat that had her grinning cheekily.  He tsked at her, but couldn’t hide the broad smile that was plastered across his face as he put an arm around her shoulder, leading her gently toward the tables that held his club mates for a seat.

“Come on,” he said happily, “I’d imagine you’re hungry by now.  No point in waiting on those slackers.”  She giggled as they approached the group.  Daeho called out a greeting, inquiring in Korean,

“Everyone remembers Caden, right?”

“Nae!  Hello Caden ssi,” they replied amiably, bowing their heads toward her.

“Hello everyone,” she responded, making several small bows in each direction before being herded over to one of the benches where Daeho picked out a seat, grinning as he shooed a few of his clubmates to make room for her by his side.

Just as she was about to take her seat, the Club President, Joong Ki, stood to greet her.

“Caden Teacher, good to see you again,” he pronounced, offering an enthusiastic hand to shake.  She suppressed a smile at the young man’s ever mildly business-casual enthusiasm toward her, shaking his hand politely,

“And you as well.  Everything with the club is going well, I hope?”

“Ah yes, yes - thanks so much for asking,” he replied jovially. “We’ve got a good batch this year, as you’ve likely noticed.  And I’ve been doing a decent job of keeping these rascals under control, if I do say so myself.”

Caden had to force herself to keep from laughing at the Club President’s constant self-important proclamations.  She could already see some of the club members begin to exchange knowing looks.  Daeho, for his part, couldn’t contain himself,

“Oh come on, Prez - you can barely keep your head above water with Mikyung’s help.  You’d be drowning if not for her.”  Several of the younger girls giggled appreciatively.  The President scoffed dramatically at this.

“Mikyung?  You’re kidding,” he sniffed dismissively. “That girl splits her time between a million activities- what use is she?  I give you all my complete and undivided attention.  That’s true dedication in my book!”

Caden watched with amusement as the club members all subtly rolled their eyes and shook their heads as a unit.

“Ah, speak of the devil,” Daeho proclaimed, looking over toward the entrance. “Were you sneezing just now?”  

Caden followed his gaze to find a stunningly gorgeous college-age Korean girl walking purposely toward them.  Unlike many college students (including Daeho), Mikyung’s hair appeared to be completely undyed.  She kept her jet black locks trimmed short in a blunt a-line, which matched her dramatic, somewhat angular features perfectly.  She looked more like a high fashion model than she did like most of the girls around her age, including several inches of height.

Caden was in heaven - she had to force a look of giddy, starstruck excitement off her face before anyone noticed the sudden, intense elation bubbling out of her.

“Oh, why?” Mikyung inquired as she approached the table. “Was someone -talking again?”  She glanced over, apparently noticing the Club President for the first time,

“Ah, Joong Ki sunbaenim- greetings.”

Daeho and most of the others within hearing distance snickered quietly at this, while the President looked her over with a rather sour expression.

“Yes, hello Mikyung-ah,” he allowed rather dismissively, but left it at that.

The rest of the club member greeted her with noticeably more enthusiasm, to which she waved and smiled obligingly before making her way over to where Daeho was sitting.

“Glad to see you made it,” he called out as she approached. “It seems like I never see your face outside of school anymore.”

“I think so too,” she agreed amiably, making to sit between Daeho and Caden when she finally seemed to notice the unfamiliar presence.

“Ah, sunbae - this is Caden noona,” Daeho introduced happily. “She’s been waiting almost a month straight to meet you.  At least it seems that way…”

“Noona?” Mikyung repeated sharply.  She looked from her friend to the pint-sized foreigner beside him. “You don’t strike me as a ‘noona’ of ours.”

“That’s what I’ve been told… quite a few times actually,” Caden replied rather bashfully before adding. “It’s nice to meet you!  I’ve heard your name so much from Daeho and the club members- I’ve been looking forward to meeting you so much!  Especially after we missed each other on the city tour.”

Mikyung looked slightly quizzical for a moment, before seeming to come to a realization.

“Ah… the teacher who had just moved to town,” she recalled, nodding slowly.  She chuckled slightly to herself.  “Daeho has been mentioning his new foreigner, teacher friend since then.  I didn’t even put the two together.”  She shot a quick, sly glance at Daeho, who was all but beaming over at the two of them.  Her expression softened slightly and her focus returned to Caden,

“Well it’s quite nice to finally meet you.  I- I’m very sorry that I missed our first meeting.”  Caden immediately batted her apology away, wanting to appear as nonchalant about the matter as possible.

“Please don’t worry about it!  You’re so busy and motivated all the time!  I’d never hold it against you.  We managed without you just fine!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.  Mikyung gaze turned momentarily sharp, probing the newcomer with sudden intensity before returning to her previous polite look.

“Still…” Mikyung murmured - more to herself than Caden.  She quickly shook herself out of this mild reverie, instead smiling brightly,

“We’ll have to take the opportunity to get to know each other better now.”

She made to sit once more, this time to the left of both Caden and Daeho, but was almost immediately halted by a blur of motion which culminated in a near tackle of love.

“Mikyung unniiiiiiiieeeeeee!” the figure squealed, enveloping her alarmed but somehow still standing victim in a passionate hug.

“Get off of me, you crazy dwarf!” Mikyung cried just as soon as she’d regained her composure.  This set Daeho laughing hysterically and quickly caught the attention of the remainder of the group.

“Soonbok unnie!” a few of the younger girls cried excitedly.

The tiny newcomer, who had been fiercely resisting Mikyung’s attempts to remove her, finally released her prisoner with a happy flourish.  She turned her attention to the underclassmen at the end of the table, waving genially.

“Hello everyone!  Did you miss me?”  The girls who had greeted her suddenly became bashful, giggling appreciatively.

Caden chuckled as well, catching a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye.  She turned her attention to the Club President who was sitting diagonally across from her.  He had become somewhat flushed, covering his mouth firmly with the side of his hand as he seemed to watch Soonbok and Mikyung from the corner of his eye.  Before Caden had time to really process this, behind her, Soonbok’s attention shifted.  The girl spotted an unfamiliar profile beside Daeho, coming to an instant, if obvious, realization.

“Pink!” she gasped, grabbing a lock of Caden’s hair gently between her fingers.  This quickly drew the attention of said hair’s owner, but before Caden could even turn back to the newcomer, Soonbok had her cheeks firmly grasped between her two palms.

Faster than Caden could blink, Soonbok had their faces so close together that their noses almost touched.  She stared imploringly into Caden’s eyes for a moment, gaze flickering back and forth between them, before finally breaking into an enormous grin.

“Caden unnie~!” she crooned, righting herself before gathering Caden’s head in a fierce hug to her chest. “We finally meet!”

Momentarily stunned by this sudden and intense affection, Caden found that it took a moment to regain her voice.

“Soonbok ssi,” she said weakly, “it’s so nice to meet you.”  The other girl gave her one final squeeze before releasing her with a satisfied sigh.  She then immediately took a step back with her hands on her hips, turning serious.

“There’s none of that now,” she scolded matter of factly, shaking her finger at the older girl.  “Be sure to greet us casually from now on.  Jung Su as well-”  She briefly switched to English, adding, “We’re all friends, you know?”

Caden couldn’t help but laugh at this cute outburst.

Now that Soonbok was holding relatively still for the first time since she’d arrived, Caden had the chance to give her a once over.  She was extremely petite - even slightly shorter than Caden and probably half her weight (not really - that would make her a child, but it almost seemed like it).

Where Mikyung was dark and dramatic, Soonbok was bright and soft.  Her reddish brown hair was long and flowing, and her features were round and sweet.

Caden’s expression softened further.  She was so cute!  Between Mikyung and Soonbok, she felt like she had the beginnings of the world’s most gorgeous friend collection.

She was finally able to turn her attention away from the dazzling girl long enough to catch Mikyung rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her friend, Daeho literally crying from laughter (as in actual tears rolling down his face), and finally - thus far safely removed from all the commotion - Jung Su stood, casually leaning his weight on one leg with his arms crossed comfortably across his chest, watching the two girls interact with an amused smirk.

“Ah, Jung Su ssi, hi!” Caden greeted with a wave.  Soonbok immediately reclaimed her attention with a sharp flick to the forehead.

“What did I say about formal greetings?” she chastised with a frown as Caden looked up at her, hand pressed to the spot that had been flicked, somewhat scandalized.

“Fine,” she murmured fearfully, glancing back at Jung Su, whose grin was steadily widening. “Jung Su...yah?”

“Perfect!” Soonbok declared, clapping her hands together, looking pleased.  Then, just as quick as she’d arrived, something at the other end of the table caught her eye.

“Oh, Hara-yah!  I didn’t see you there,” she called out, disappearing to chat with the rest of the club members.

Caden blinked several times, looking slowly between her three remaining friends.

“Wow, Soonbok sure knows how to make a first impression,” mumbled Daeho, who had finally calmed down enough to speak.  He rubbed the hysterical tears from his eyes with the back of his hands.

“And an entrance,” Mikyung muttered in agreement, shaking her head as she finally managed to seat herself on Caden’s left.

Caden glanced back at Jung Su once more and saw that he was still standing off by himself, but his gaze was now directed at his girlfriend as she bounced around between various groups of friends, wearing a small smile.

“I still haven’t properly greeted you, Jung Su ssi,” she called out, raising slightly from her seat to bow in greeting.

Jung Su’s attention snapped back to her at this pronouncement, smile retreating from his features.  Somewhat alarmed by his sudden change in demeanor, Caden remained hovering slightly above her seat as he mosied over to her, gazing down at her rather seriously.

Then he reached out and flicked her lightly right in the middle of her forehead.

“Hey,” he said, face totally void of emotion. “You’re older than us.  Didn’t you hear what Soonbok said?  Address us casually.”

Once again, Caden’s hand flew right to the spot that he’d hit in surprise.  Somehow she was receiving more abuse today than she had in months.

“Jung Su... yah?” she guessed weakly.  

He gave her an affirmative nod, still completely straight faced.  Before she knew what was happening, he scooped her face up gently in the palms of his hands, bringing his own face close enough to hers tha their noses actually did touch.

“Hello.  Nice to see you.  It’s been a while,” he deadpanned, looking straight into her eyes without blinking just as Soonbok had done.  Suddenly he was yanked roughly away with a small cry of pain.

“Hyung- aish, really?” Daeho demanded, releasing his friend’s hair once he’d managed to pull him back a few steps.

“She said that I hadn’t greeted her properly,” Jung Su complained, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

“She said that she hadn’t yet greeted you properly and you know it,” Daeho shot back, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“Oh, was that what it was?” Jung Su mused thoughtfully as his usual smirk began to work it’s way back across his face. “I must have misunderstood…”

Caden couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.

“Are you making fun of my pronunciation or something?” she demanded jokingly. “Give me a break, okay?  Korean is hard!  I’m trying!”  Daeho shot her an encouraging grin while Jung Su looked down at her reproachfully.

“It’s not very nice to accuse people of such inconsideration,” he scolded, quickly breaking when Caden only laughed.

“Anyway, I was just making fun of Her Royal Drunk-ness over there,” he continued, nodding toward the girlfriend in question. “I sincerely apologize for her past and future behavior tonight - we drank at the park before we came.”  He shot Caden a smile, which she returned before glancing at Soonbok over her shoulder.

“Yes, I am so very surprised.  I never would have guessed that she arrived already drunk.  Blew me away,” Daeho retorted sarcastically. “Oh, and look!  There she goes ordering more alcohol!  Right on cue!”  Caden giggled at this and Jung Su shot her another grin.

“Does this mean I’ll be stuck dragging you both home tonight?” Daeho inquired sunnily.

“Naw, I only had one drink at the park.  I’ll take it easy and keep an eye on her,” Jung Su responded evenly, crossing his arms again.

“Aw, what a good boyfriend,” Caden teased, smiling cheekily.  Jung Su shot her shot her a final look of amusement before slouching off to trail after his happy and extremely active girlfriend as she greeted each of her friends.

Daeho rolled his eyes with a chuckle before turning his attention back to the two girls on his left.

“At least you can say they were excited to meet you,” he offered Caden with a grin.

“I love it!” she responded only somewhat jokingly. “What a total ego boost!  I think we’ll all get along well.”

Daeho nodded enthusiastically in agreement.  Then he glanced behind her somewhat quizzically.

“Sunbae, are you alright?  You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet,” he asked Mikyung, who was staring after Soonbok and Jung Su with apparent amazement.  At the sound of her friend’s voice, her attention snapped back and her head whipped around.  She stared between Daeho and Caden for a moment.

“He’s nice to her.  Actually nice.  He joked with her and touched her through his own free will,” she muttered, more to herself than to her friends. “Did I really just see that?”  Daeho nudged Caden playfully,

“See what I mean?  Jung Su actually likes you.  It’s that surprising to people.”  He nodded at Mikyung, who was still muttering to herself- even quieter now.  Caden only caught a few words, like “‘Jung Su-yah’??”, “Noona? Noona he calls her?”, and “How did I miss all this?”

Mikyung finally managed to pull herself out of her funk, looking Caden over carefully before breaking into a weak smile.

“Daeho did warn me,” she said, shaking her head with a small smile. “I should have known that a new friend who makes him gush nonstop would be interesting.”

“Thank… you?” Caden replied laughingly, not sure if that was actually a compliment.

“Aw jeez Sunbae, who gushes, huh?” Daeho demanded with a scoff, becoming somewhat flustered.

“You do!  At every club meeting!  No- more than that.  Every time I see you,” Mikyung shot back, which caused Caden to immediately burst out laughing. “Maybe now that I’ve met her, you’ll calm down a little...”

“Who wants food?” Daeho asked suddenly, working hard to change the subject.  He quickly stood and made his way toward the counter. “We still don’t have food, why?  We came here to eat, so we need food, right?  Of course we do.”  

Both Caden and Mikyung chuckled knowingly at his complete awkwardness, much to their friend’s displeasure and their own amusement.

As the remainder of the club members arrived and the food and drinks began to be consumed in earnest, everyone began laughing and talking amongst themselves.  Though Daeho quickly returned with their food, his presence was often requested on all sides of the room, and he had a tendency to disappear from his seat fairly frequently.  This didn’t seem to matter too much though, because as time went on, the rest of the members became less reserved about engaging Mikyung and even Caden in conversation without the aid of Daeho.

Caden finally began to feel that she was making real progress in getting to know more of the members, and that she was beginning to be accepted as a consistent addition to their outings.

She got the chance to talk with Mikyung in great detail about her packed schedule - all of her activities and schoolwork, and even a little about what she hoped to accomplish upon graduation.  Hoping to contribute slightly to this idea, Caden spoke a bit about her own (far less hectic) college days, then a little more about her overseas teaching career that followed.  Mikyung found her experiences in Japan to be very interesting, and proceeded to grill her with a barrage of questions about everything from the culture to the intricacies of professional life.  Caden was happy to oblige, although discussion of her career inevitably lead to inquiries into her present career prospects, which she had to be quite careful wording in order to answer truthfully, while still not revealing the reality of her unusual arrangement.

Eventually Mikyung’s attention was captured elsewhere, leaving Caden to heave an internal sigh of relief at managing to avoid any awkwardness, although she quite enjoyed chatting with her beautiful new friend.

She continued to eat and chat happily, cheerfully greeting Daeho each time he popped back over to check on her and Mikyung.

But pizza was only the first stop of the night.

===========================================================================================================================

A/N

Sorry for cutting off so suddenly ^^ Woo!  Fun with attractive college kids ^^  Now that I'm getting older and older (much faster than my story) the idea of me hanging out with first and second year college students seems a bit weird... (even my youngest sister is almost a 3rd year).  But!  Caden is still only three years out of college.  Not too creepy or  awkward ^^

Just kidding - you can be friends with anyone, no matter the age!  Especially attractive people, haha.

It's been a long time since we focused on some of the other OCs in the story.  The next few chapters will cover the rest of this fun outing, and then back to some Big Bang action.  But honetly, I really like all the characters.  I hope you guys do too!

Since we haven't focused on Caden's OC friends in a while, I kind of wanted to give some examples of how I picture them.  Now, this doesn't mean that if you picture them differently, you're wrong.  Here are just some famous people who capture the feel of each of the four friends ^^

​Nakashima Mika as Mikyung

 IU as Soonbok <3

​ Song Jae Rim (I think?) as Jung Su

 Seo Kang Joon as Daeho

I always liked the idea of Mikyung being totally badass, and looking totally badass, then on the other hand Soonbok looking totally cute and innocent, and then being all crazy badass and feared by her colleagues and peers when she's mad ^^

As for the boys, I already compared Jung Su to Kim Jae Wook's character in Coffee Prince (people still watch Coffee Prince, right? XD I know it's old, but it's classic!), and I think I described Daeho as shorter, reddish hair and an has an innocent look that helps him get away with mischief ^^

So basically the dynamic is as follows:

Looks like they could kill you, is actually cinnamon roll: Jung Su

Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you: Soonbok

Looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually cinnamon roll: Daeho

Looks like they could kill you, could actually kill you: Mikyung

There you have it!  I hope this helps you enjoy all the character that much more ^^

Sorry for the long Author's Note.  I promise to calm down in the future.  I just get excited sometimes, kekeke

Please subscribe and comment!  I love feedback!  (Don't be like a huge jerk though.  Constructive critique is fine, just... politely ^^)  Thanks guys!  <3<3<3