External Dormitory, Room 613 – 2.18 PM

Due to her recent breakdown, Lexi took a few days off. A regretful David made sure to accommodate her every need while she rested at home. He brought her Ahjumma’s menu of the day along with a bowl of bingsu and the old lady’s best wishes.

“Today’s menu is Jajangmyeon, your favorite” David announced as he put the delivery bags on the kitchen counter “And an overdose of Kimbap, greetings of the chef”.

“Ouah, komaweoyo David. I should collapse more often” she carelessly bantered.

“Ya! You should not be joking about things like this” he scolded her, giving her a vexed look.

She calmed him down “Arasseoyo, I won’t say it ever again”.

“That’s a relief” he sighed as he brought lunch to the living room “Are you hungry?”

“Always” she ecstatically responded.

Upon finishing their meal, David handed Lexi her medication. The doctor prescribed her some Xanax to help her relax.

“So, what’s new with you?” she initiated, still curious about his whereabouts on the night of their celebratory hangout.

“You know, the usual. Work, research, conferences, and a lot of travel” he alibied himself.

“Is that why you have been missing my calls and ignoring my texts?” she felt silly “I actually thought you were holding some kind of grudge against me. Ah, it’s a relief” she breathed out as she laid down on the couch, David sat on the armchair beside her.

“Actually” he suddenly muttered with a serious tone, eyes on the ground “There is something that I want to talk to you about”.

“Go ahead, I’m listening” she replied, taking notice of his serious tone.

“You see, I have been a loner my whole life, books were my only companion and I did not mind. I travel a lot so despite not having friends, it never bothered me. And then, I met you. From the moment I first set eyes on you in the busiest section of Seoul, there was something about you that bewitched me. We’ve been in each other’s lives for seven months now, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. Although I haven’t been seeing much of you recently because of your busy schedule, but you keep haunting my thoughts. I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling and I even tried to distance myself to see if I was just making it up in my head or if there is really something worth clinging to. Lexi, what I’m trying to say here is …”

David lifted his head to scan her reaction. To his disappointment, Lexi was napping. Her medication usually knocked her out as soon as she took her daily dose. He grabbed the blanket set on the couch and wrapped her with it. After cleaning up the table, he scrutinized the sleeping trainee one last time “I like you, Lexi Martinez. Jalja”.

A few hours later, Lexi woke up from her nap. It took her a second to realize that she has slept on the couch yet again. Half-asleep, she picked her most recent book that she kept on the table and started going through the pages; reading it helped with her creative writing as she brainstormed through her ideas. Typing her essays, on the other hand, was another issue. Her medication made her fingers numb so she couldn’t advance as much as she used to before.

A couple of knocks on the door brought Lexi back to the real world. She looked around the living room to see if David has forgotten anything since he only visited her once per day, bringing her both lunch and dinner. Barefoot, she slowly walked towards the door, wondering who it could be.

“Nuguseyo?” she interrogated, anticipating.

“Alexandra-ssi, it’s Namjoon” he replied in a husky voice.

Lexi stood in her place, frozen. She couldn’t believe what she just heard so she glimpsed through the peephole; Yep, that’s him in person. Taking a look at her current state, she hesitated whether she should open the door or not: her hair was styled in a messy bun and