Hana sighed in happiness as she watched the beautiful scenery of Seoul unfold before her eyes. It was her first time back in the city since the Seol family had moved down south to Busan when she was 8 years old. Hana's parents had finally agreed on letting her study in Seoul for her last two years as a high-schooler upon the realization that Hana wasn't a normal teenager.

For the past few years, the Seol family had noticed that Hana's grades were slowly dropping and her interest in music was increasing rapidly. Noticing the sudden changes in their only child, Hana's parents made the decision of sending her off to one of the most prestigious music schools in Korea, School of Performing Arts (SOPA). However, the only condition was that Hana would get a part-time job in Seoul to pay for her apartment rent. Otherwise, her parents agreed to pay for everything--living expenses (food, clothes & allowance), school fees, school enrollment, hagwon, and music lessons. Thus began Seol Hana's life in Seoul....well, sorta. 

After another half an hour had passed, the bus finally pulled into the station at City Hall. Hana dashed off the bus in excitement and ran to retrieve her luggage from the storage compartment at the bottom back of the bus. Once she had all of her belongings, she hailed a taxi to get to Guro-gu, the district where her apartment and school was located. Adrenaline coursed through Hana's veins as the blurry lights transformed into sharp skyscrapers and aesthetic little shops. Her eyes absorbed the views of the busy streets of Seoul and the hustling bustling crowds of people everywhere.

"Excuse me, miss? We're here. That will be ₩8,000. Thank you and have a nice day." the taxi driver's voice broke Hana out of her fantasies of Seoul for a split second.

Quickly paying the cab driver, Hana rushed out of the cab with her luggage and looked up at the apartment complex that loomed over her, casting a long shadow that fell on to the building across the street. She took a deep breath, as to compose herself, before skipping into her soon-to-be-home. 

"Hello! I'm Seol Hana! I'm supposed to move in to Apartment Complex...." Hana stole a quick glance at the Kakao message her parents had sent her earlier. "1004?"

"Ahhh~ You're the girl who's moving here today, correct?" the receptionist asked as he typed her name into the system. His eyes quickly scanned the computer screen before he spoke again. "Yes. You will be living in Aparment Complex 1004. Here are your keys. There are a couple of rules that you must follow here. One, you are not allowed to own pets here. Two, you must not host a party with over 10 people. That will be a disturbance to your neighbors. Three, you must keep the noise level under 95 decibels. That is all, have a nice day." 

"Thank you! Have a nice day~" Hana grabbed her keys and dragged her luggage in to the waiting elevator.

"Which floor, miss?" a man with a friendly smile asked her. 

"10 please." Hana grinned. She was finally going to be living in Seoul again! She repositioned the bag on her shoulder before noticing the toddler who was hiding behind the man.

"Hi there! Awww~ You're so cute!!!" Rummaging in her bag, Hana produced a lollipop, causing the child's face to light up. He snatched it greedily and his eyes shone in delight.

"What do you say, Yoogeun?" the man said gently to the toddler.

"Dank you, nice lady!" Yoogeun beamed.

"You're welcome!" Hana smiled as the elevator pulled up to the tenth floor. "Nice meeting you! You too Yoogeun~" 

"What was your name? I don't think I caught it." the man said holding the elevator doors open as Hana rolled her suitcases out.

"Seol Hana. What was yours? Sorry. I don't think I caught it either." 

"Lee Taemin. Well, it was nice meeting you! I hope we can see you around!" 

"Bye!" Hana rolled her suitcases down the hall looking for her apartment room. 1010....1009....1008....1012? Were the numbers mixed up? Turning around, Hana went down the other side of the hallway to see if Apartment Complex 1004 would be there. 1017....1003.....1006.....Ah hah! There it was! Hana's reflection in the shining golden 1004 beamed triumphantly at her as she unlocked the door, revealing the cute apartment.

Taking her shoes off, she instantly went and wandered around her new home. It was huge compared to how she had imagined it. Her parents must have spent a fortune to find such a good quality place to live! Not to mention the fact that they also paid to have for all the furnishings. The kitchenette was a pristine white with a cute little fawn-coloured table and four matching chairs with white cushions. Opening the cabinets, Hana discovered that she needed to make a list of things to buy. Pots, pans, plates, utensils, sponges, FOOD. 

The living room had a flat screen TV hanging off the wall with a white modern entertainment center below it. Off to the right, there was a wide bay window with white curtains & cushions that displayed a beautiful view of the city below. A cute white couch sat in the back of the room with motivational pastel coloured wall hangings above it. A fluffy white carpet stretched out over the floor with a large glass coffee table in the middle of it. A light brown swing chair with white cushions sat in another corner of the room. Hana marveled at how her parents knew exactly how she would have decorated everything.

Climbing up the spiral stairs that led to the upstairs half of her new home, Hana was met with more aestheticly decorated rooms.

The first guest room was painted white and was furnished with a pastel pink wardrobe, a matching desk, bed, and nightstand. Pale pink curtains adorned the windows and a white coat hanger with little branches sat in the corner of the room.

A tiny pink circle carpet sat at the foot of the bed with a pair of adorable teddy bears. The second guest room was painted a pale blue and was furnished with an off white vanity table with drawers, a matching desk, nightstand, and bed with drawers underneath. Sheer white curtains adorned the windows with a mini-balcony that overlooked the city. Little pictures of the sea were hung on the walls and little teddy bears were placed in random areas of the room. Shades of light pink were placed strategically around the room to give it an oceanic vibe.

The third room blew Hana's mind completely. A low bay window sat on the left wall, casting sunshine into the spacious room. On the wall directly opposite of the door, FOUR beds were placed into the wall, each with a window as the source of light. The room was painted a sky blue with dark blue stripes. A white shelf sat on the other side of the room along with a high bay window that sat above a white desk with a sky blue desk lamp. There were shelves placed in the walls of the beds and bay windows as to store clothes or knick-knacks.

Upon seeing the fourth room, Hana's heart leaped for joy knowing that this would be her room. The room was painted white, excluding one wall which had been painted a pale turquoise, Hana's favourite colour. A large white house-shaped loft bed sat in the corner of the room along with a shelf, two white plush chairs, and a turquoise box to store clothes underneath it. A blue and white carpet decorated the floor and a white desk sat at the other side of the room under a high bay window that was adorned with sheer turquoise curtains. A matching wardrobe stood in a corner with a white bunny plushie that had a turquoise ribbon tied on its ear. 

By the time that Hana had finished exploring her new home, two hours had passed by and not a single article of clothing had been removed from either suitcase that Hana had left in the foyer. In her excitement to explore the apartment, she had even forgotten to contact her parents to let them know that she had arrived safely in Seoul and was enjoying her new home! Climbing up the ladder that led to her bed, Hana collapsed on to the cushiony mattress and pulled out her phone to Kakao her parents. 

Hi Umma & Abba! I arrived in Seoul safely and am currently in the beautiful apartment that you rented out for me. Thank you so muchhh~ AhhhhH~ I love it!!!!! I miss you guys already. I love you~

Pressing the send button, Hana sighed and rolled over on to her stomach. It was time to start unpacking. Making a face, she made her way back downstairs and lugged up the heavy suitcases to her room. Just unpacking all of her clothes took an hour, and it took another half an hour to bring her shoes down back in to the foyer to put away in the shoe closet. Hearing her stomach grumble, Hana sighed and climbed down the stairs again. Who would have thought that unpacking would drain so much energy from the hyper-energetic girl that had left Busan several hours earlier?

Grabbing her go-out bag, Hana shoved on her turquoise Converse and grabbed her lavender wallet and keys to the apartment. Double checking to make sure she had everything, Hana locked the door and was on her way to find something to satisfy the ugly monster that made disgusting noises in her stomach--Hun Grr. Skipping down the streets of Guro-gu, Hana noticed several cute little cafes and restaurants. However, she didn't think that either of those would be good for her wallet--restaurants were too expensive while cafe foods wouldn't satisfy Mr. Hun Grr. Hearing another growl from the monster in her belly, Hana gave in and ahjumma-walked to the nearest cafe in her line of vision when a flyer caught her attention.

HELP WANTED : PLEASE ASK CASHIER IF INTERESTED

Opening the door to the cafe with the flyer, Hana was welcomed with the intoxicating smells of baked goods and coffee. Standing in line, she read the menu and decided to order a ham panini and a mango smoothie with lychee jelly along with a couple of macarons. Grinning to herself, she pulled out her phone to check if her parents had replied yet. The line moved up until finally it was Hana's turn to order. She ordered the items she had chosen and proceeded to ask about the job opening at the cafe.

"Oh! You're interested? Praise the LORD! We've had that sign in for MONTHS and nobody seems to want a jobㅠㅠ There are always so many customers here, but not enough workers." the girl behind the cash register said shaking her head and clucking her tongue. "I'm Hyun Mi! My break's in five minutes, so I can join you while you eat your lunch to tell you about the details." 

"Oh...sure! But....aren't I supposed to speak with the manager....?" Hana asked unsurely as Hyun Mi handed her the cute macarons and a ham panini. 

"I AM the manager." Hyun Mi giggled as she finished making the mango smoothie with lychee jelly. "This is my father's shop, but it's going to pass down to me once I graduate college. I'll see you in a few~"

Hana thanked her and found an empty booth to enjoy her lunch in. Just as Hana bit in to her panini, Hyun Mi slid into the booth and sat across from her with two other girls. 

"Maerin, Seulyi, this is the girl who's interested in working here. We're finally going to have another worker~ yeeee~" Hyun Mi squealed in excitement. "And look at her! Isn't she just absolutely adorable? She's perfect! Can we keep her? Please? Please?"

"What's your name?" the girl with long black hair and red highlights asked.

Hana sat up and began to introduce herself the way she did back in Busan.

"Hi! I'm Seol Hana and I'm currently going to be a 3rd year at SOPA. It's nice to meet you~" 

"OMG YOU'RE SO YOUNGGGGG~ AHHHH!!!! You shall be my granddaughter. Maerin, adopt her. PLZ." Hyun Mi fangirled with Maerin as Hana watched, partially-terrorized, while drinking her precious mango smoothie with lychee jelly--the panini long gone.

"I apologize on behalf of those two. Hi~ I'm Seul Yi. I hope you aren't bothered by people like them." the girl in between the fangirling couple said as she tried to un-squish herself from them.

Hana laughed. She was DEFINITELY going to enjoy working there. It's a cafe, there are crazy girls, the SMELLS, what's there not to love? 

"So, when do you wanna start working? You can meet the other workers here this Friday, if you're available." Hyun Mi said trying to regain her business-face after fangirling with Maerin.

"I'm free tomorrow. Or is that too soon?" Hana asked worriedly. She didn't want it to seem like she was desperate for money or anything.

"That's perfect! You can meet everyone then! Ahhh~ You're totally going to love it here! Gimme your phone so that I can get your number." Maerin said making grabby hands for the phone.

Hana relented and watched as the trio attacked the cellular device to exchange numbers.

"We'll text you tonight~ Our shift's about to start againㅠㅠ See ya tomorrow~" Seul Yi waved as the three scampered back to their stations. 

Smiling to herself, Hana disposed of her trash and took the macarons and smoothie with her as she exited the building. 

Day 1 : new friends, adorable apartment, got a job, met Yoogeun *such a cutie~*, met a neighbor(?)

It had definitely been a great day for Seol Hana, but this was only the beginning of her new life in Seoul.