I stabbed my chopsticks into my chicken, frustrated for a reason I couldn't understand. Perhaps it was the fact that I'd only had four hours of sleep last night, or maybe it was because a stranger had invaded my thoughts that entire time I lay awake. 
"Fei what are you getting worked up about?" My friend Lina asked looking at me in confusion. 
I took a sip of water and cleared my throat, "The new lodger. I can't quite put my finger on it but something about him annoys me," I said in a matter-of-fact way. 
She laughed "I remember you telling me your dad was looking for one. Is he greasy and disgusting?" 
"Worse...he's cute and annoying," I sighed. 
Lina's eyes widened, "Cute?! He's cute?" 
I pointed the spoon I was using to scoop up a watery broth at my friend, "You've got a boyfriend, his name is Younghyun."
"So? I still want to know what this guy looks like." 
I thought for a moment, his face already in my mind and making my face suddenly feel warm all over. "Well...he has these goofy glasses that he wears, and blonde hair and he's pretty tall I guess. Not really really cute, in fact, he isn't even that cute. There's nothing really to say about him actually." My friend laughed as I backtracked on what I had said. 
"It's not funny Lina," I whined, "You don't understand that it's been one day and I've already made a fool of myself. He's already seen me in Finding Nemo pajamas.  I can tell he's going to enjoy my suffering"
"Who will?" I heard a voice saying coming from behind me. I turned around to see my best friend Sungjin standing there. 
Sungjin and I had been friends since we were 10. We had been through school and admittedly knew each other better than we knew ourselves. 
I hit his arm playfully and tugged at his shirt sleeve, pulling him to sit down in the empty seat beside me. 
"Fei's new boyfriend," Lina smirked. I shot her a warning look. Relationships and friendships didn't mix where my friendship group was involved. When Sungjin had a girlfriend back when we were 16, we went through a month period of not speaking to each other because his girlfriend disliked me and vice versa. 
"Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend?" Sungjin asked looking at me with wide eyes. 
"He's not my boyfriend! He's just the new lodger my dad chose."
"Details details! But Fei likes him. She could write a book about him...soft blonde hair, tall, dreamy eyes," Lina mimicked.
"Shut up, Lina," I huffed.
"I'm tall," Sungjin pointed out, "Kind of..." 
"You also have that girl over there who likes you," Lina pointed over to the girl on the other table- a popular girl called Sue. She spotted Sungjin looking at her and waved, before fixing her bangs slightly. Sungjin waved back before turning back to the table and rolling his eyes. 
"She is pretty," I admitted. 
"But she's not my type," Sungjin scrunched up his nose cutely. 
"What exactly is your type then?" Lina questioned, resting her head on her hand. 
"I don't know...you like who you like and things carry on from there," Sungjin simply said, scooping up some sticky noodles and proceeding to eat them. 
 
Near towards the end of lunch Sungjin and I were walking to our next lesson. "So what does this guy do?" He inquired.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what does he work as?" 
"Oh right!" I said suddenly understanding the question, "I'm not entirely sure, but he must be earning a wage to have the ability to pay my father each month."
Sungjin looked at me, "He could get the money given to him by family members."
"Then why wouldn't he be with his family members instead of living with total strangers?" I asked in curiosity. 
"Maybe because there's a cute girl at the place he's lodging," Sungjin smiled. I blushed violently. As a close friend of mine, Sungjin hadn't complimented me seriously in a long time. You don't feel an obligation to when your friends with someone, they're basically just the annoying sibling you never had or an addition to it. 
"Hey! I might not have been talking about you, your mother is cute," Sungjin chuckled, noticing the blush appearing on my face, "Such confidence Fei"." I gave him a glare which made him attempt to mask his laughter.
"Moving on..our exams are coming up and I'm in serious need of that Biology tuition you volunteered for," I stated.
"Right, then come to my house tomorrow, I've got all the books. We'll get you into that veterinary school, don't worry your little head," Sungjin chuckled. 
I moved away from his petting hand, "Bring the books to my house, I can't be bothered to walk back from your house," I pleaded and Sungjin simply nodded, acknowledging my lazy side. 
We got to the school gates, just as Sungjin's other friends-Dowoon, Wonpil and Younghyun approached him and continued to walk with us. It must have been raining when we were in class because the smell of fresh rain filled the air and the clouds in the sky were just separating, being replaced by a blanket of blue.  
"Hi," Younghyun chimed with a bright smile,Dowoon and Wonpil also smiled, but without saying anything. 
"Hey," I replied back.Dowoon, Wonpil, Younghyun and Sungjin were all in the school band together, although they hadn't had a public performance since the summer of last year. 
"Still up for the Han river bike ride, huh?" Younghyun asked, adjusting his bike gears. 
Sungjin nodded, "Let's go. Fei, I'll see you tomorrow at your house then!" He called behind him as he continued to walk with his friends. I was going to say bye, but they were already walking in the direction of the bike shed. 
 

 
After a late dinner I was getting ready for bed when Jae made an appearance. I hadn't seen him since the first awkward encounter yesterday. He wore a gray hoodie and a pair of Chicken Little pajama bottoms. So I'm not the only Walt Disney fan I thought to myself. It was the first time I had seen him without glasses, and he rubbed at his eyes like that of a young, startled child. His hair stuck up at angles which indicated that he had been sleeping. 
"Hi."
"Hey," Jae responded. His voice sounded so husky compared to the bright tone I had heard when he introduced himself in front of my parents.
"Have you been sleeping?" I questioned before I had time to think.
"Yeah, how did you know?" he asked, smiling sleepily. 
"Uh, I, uh...your hair," I stuttered. 
Jae laughed and raked his fingers through his fair hair. "Good thing I'm getting a shower."
"There is a bathroom downstairs, you know?" I said slowly.
He cocked his head to one side playfully "It's fun to say hello to you."
I smiled and nodded. Although I wasn't in full agreement. 'Fun' wouldn't exactly be the word I'd use for