"Jiyoon! There's a letter for you!" her mother called from the kitchen.

In her bedroom, Jiyoon's ears perked up. Maybe this was the letter she was waiting for. Perhaps this was it.

"I'm coming now!" she called out and scooted down the stairs for the (maybe) fateful letter. Racing into the kitchen, Jiyoon saw the pale beige envelope stamped with the offical seal of the St. Francis Academy. Now fully excited, she gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and snatched the letter from her parent's hands.

"Well, aren't you excited?" her mom laughed lightly. Jiyoon gave her mom a pout. "Mom~ this could be it, I could be going to the best culinary school ever." 

Her mother shook her head lightly and went on with cooking dinner. 

Jiyoon sat at the dining table. She prayed so dilligently for the letter to come and now here it was. With shaking hands, she broke the seal and carefully read the extensive letter. 

Jiyoon blinked. She gave the letter a skim, not sure whether she read the right thing or if she was dreaming. 

She pinched herself. She wasn't dreaming.

She slapped herself lightly on the cheek. Her mother turned around and gave her a concerned look.

"Jiyoo-" her mother started.

Jiyoon let out a shriek of delight as she jumped up from the chair and hugged her mother tightly.

"Mom! I got accepted!" she waved the now precious paper in front of her mother's eyes. 

Ms. Kim, who had now recovered from the shock of Jiyoon's sudden outburst, smiled widely and hugged her daughter back.

"I knew you could do this sweetie! Congratulations! When does the semester start?" she peered at the paper, silently reading the acceptance letter.

Jiyoon detached herself from her mother as she replied breathlessly, "Tomorrow I go to the school and they give me my dorm number." Her cheeks were a rosy pink from happiness and her brown orbs sparkled under the kitchen lights.

"Well," her mother gave her a stern look. "What are you doing? Start getting ready!" Jiyoon's mother shooed her daughter out of the kitchen with a slight smile on her lips.

"Yes ma'am!" Jiyoon saluted her mother and skipped up the stairs.

Jiyoon's mom turned back to the pan with the meat she was cooking. The smell of soy sauce and other herbs fragranced the kitchen nicely. Mrs. Kim sighed as she stirred the pan around. My little girl's finally leaving the nest she thought and gave the cooking food a good look. "If she's leaving tomorrow, I might as well make this the best meal of her life." 

And Mrs. Kim got to work.

The next morning, Jiyoon stood in front of her bedroom mirror, adjusting her clothes. 

She had decided that a simple skirt and blouse would conver the occasion. After throwing a pale pink jacket on, she had decided on a quick brush of her dark wavy hair and had sat in front of her vanity.

"Bold lips or bold eyes?" she asked herself as she rummaged through her makeup bag. After a moment or two, she decided that neither would suit the event. A light BB cream followed by a little blush completed the base. With some brown eyeliner and a rosy lip tint, she stood up, gave her hair a few shakes and walked out her bedroom with her lugagge. 

"Mom! I have to go now." Jiyoon tried sounding cheerful, but her voice caught in and her words became a thick mess. 

Her mom turned around, facing her daughter. As she saw that her daughter was tearing up slightly, her heart broke a little. "Oh sweetie," she embraced her daughter tightly. "You'll do great." she pulled away. "I'll always be thinking about you ok? And you send me letters." Mrs. Kim smiled through her tears and gave her daughter one last hug and a kiss on the forehead before waving goodbye.

"Bye mom! I love you!" Jiyoon wiped her tears and smiled widely. Although she was leaving her mom and going off somewhere new, she knew that she'd only return as a more improved patissiere. Jiyoon walked outside with her bags and gave her mom one last hug. She stepped on the bus and scanned her bus card. As the bus pulled away, she watched her apartment fade away to a small dot before plugging in her headphones and looking at the scenery next to her.

After a couple hours, the bus stopped and let a young boy in. 

Jiyoon took a quick look at the boy. 

His mostly short hair was black, covering most of his forehead. Cute under eye bags, she noted. And a slightly big nose. 

He worked a creme-colored sweater pretty well along with a pair of dark wash jeans.

The boy greeted the driver with a smile and sat across the lane from Jiyoon. 

He turned to Jiyoon and smiled. 

"Hey." he waved.

Jiyoon jumped, startled.

"Oh, hey." she said and pulled her earphones off. 

"What's your name and where're you going?" he asked, leaning back on his seat.

"My name's Kim Jiyoon, and I'm going to St. Francis Academy." Jiyoon replied, turning her body so she faced him.

His eyes widened a bit. "Oh, I'm going there too!" he smiled widely. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh yeah, my name's Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook."