Chapter 1

Baby Bear

곰돌이 

It all started back in mid-March—the start of the spring rains. The skies were also grey and gloomy that day, with rain giving no signals of ceasing whatsoever. It was the start of a new season for Joohyun, who had recently found a new part-time job. She was on her way back to the university library before heading home. Unfortunately, she forgot to bring an umbrella that day. Now she was stuck at the very same bus stop, trapped by an enclosure of falling condensation from the sky.

Ugh, why din’t I bring an umbrella? she thought as she stood there. People had come and gone, yet she remained. Should I just run for it an’ get soaked in rainwater? Should I wait longer? The rain might subside a bit if I wait, won’t it? I… I think…?

Bae Joohyun was born and raised in the third largest city in South Korea: Daegu. On the winter before the beginning of her third year in university, she had transferred to Seoul (the capital of South Korea) for better internship opportunities. It was her very first time living in Seoul. Dreams of being an announcer—may it be a newscaster on TV or a DJ on the radio—drove her to chase her dreams all the way up north to the big city. Daegu was a big city as well, but Seoul was even bigger. All the well-known broadcasting companies had their main headquarters in Seoul, so it was a better choice than staying in her hometown down south.

Unfortunately, chasing those dreams came with some consequences. Life was not easy. Sometimes she found that Seoul was too big of a city for her. Prices were higher, so she needed a lineup of part-time jobs here and there to make sure she did not end up broke. She also got confused with transportation often. The difference between the simplicity of Daegu’s subway map and the complexity of Seoul’s subway map was too big. Also, whenever the southerner said something, everyone would stop and look twice because of her strong Daegu accent. No matter how hard she tried to “fix” her accent, people could still tell that she was not a Seoul girl at all, because she wasn’t. She was a daughter of Daegu all her life.

Although she missed her home, she could not turn back now. She needed to push through. She wanted to push through. So up there in the cold city, the lonely dreamer just wanted this gloomy rain to stop and end even just a little bit of her misery, so she can get out of this bus stop, and move on with her life.

How long do I have to wait here? 

It was silent for who knows how long with nothing but the beating of the drops all around the lone girl…

…until a squeal. “Ah, the rain hits hard today!”

At that time, Joohyun had no idea why, but her gaze drifted to a certain young fellow. A younger girl, dressed in what seemed to be a high school uniform underneath her yellow jacket, had just gotten off a bus. She tried to put up her long, blue umbrella but seemed to had gotten into a tiny predicament. Her umbrella appeared to have gotten stuck somehow, so she quickly ran over to Joohyun’s side underneath the shelter of the bus stop. From her side, Joohyun could get a better view of her: the girl had her hair in a loose ponytail; had a slim, athletic figure; and was slightly taller than Joohyun.

“Ugh, it’s stuck,” the high school girl said as she kept tugging on the runner of her umbrella.

Joohyun readjusted her black baseball cap to cast more shadow on her curious eyes. Looking too interested in this child’s little predicament was the last impression she wanted to make.

“Wendy!” the girl with the yellow jacket began talking on her phone. “I think I broke your umbrella… yeah… okay… The weather is no joke today…”
 

Then there was a clap of thunder. Joohyun let out a squeaky sounding shriek and jumped like a little bunny. She had always been the type of person who was sensitive to surprises. Thunder and lightning were especially a personal dislike. Loud noises made her jumpy, horror movies made her tense, and anything else that popped out of nowhere freaked her out. It was like she was on pins and needles every second of her life. Realizing she showed a bit of her true colours to this stranger beside her, Joohyun glanced at the high school girl for a while and immediately looked away. The girl was staring at her now. Her unintentional embarrassment has caused this, and there was no looking back. Then, as if that thunder was not bad enough, there was a sudden tap on Joohyun’s shoulder.

“Excuse me?”

Joohyun felt her body tense up again but realized it was just the high school girl. Oh no.

Dealing with strangers had never been one of Joohyun’s strengths.  For that reason, during the past two months of living in Seoul, she still had not made any friends. She had acquired an irrational fear: “Conversing with Seoul strangers never turn out well.” She did not want to talk for fear that her accent might cause misunderstandings. She thought some might not take her seriously or find it hilarious that she would use unconventional phrases and expressions. To save herself from embarrassment, she would rather not say anything unless required to. Ironically, it was not the best habit to get into for someone who dreams of talking for a living, but for now, maintaining a quiet, mysterious façade made it easier for her to keep her social anxiety to herself.

Unfortunately, the girl standing beside her in the bus stop had already tapped her shoulder. There was no looking back now.

“Yes…?” Joohyun slowly made a stiff turn to face the inevitable. Contrary to her anxious imaginations, it wasn’t so bad after all. She was greeted by a sweet, kind face, with captivating mono-lid eyes, and soft, rounded cheeks—the kind of face that spelt “ADORABLE” in big, capital letters. She was not a Korea’s Top Model type of beauty; she was Korea’s natural, young and carefree beauty, and Joohyun thought it beautiful all the same.

“Are you waiting for a bus?” the girl asked Joohyun, who has breathed out a sigh of relief.

“No…,” Joohyun soullessly replied.

“No?” The girl’s eyebrows went up as she continued staring at Joohyun.

After becoming aware of her awkwardness, Joohyun internally cursed herself in second person. You are at a bus stop. That's where you wait for buses, Joohyun. Then she tried to make up for it by uttering, “I-I-I meant, no—I didn’t bring an umbrella, so…”

Because of her shy personality, Joohyun had unconsciously made up a different voice that she reserved only for strangers and for people she was not close to. It was softer, more cautious, and the words came out slower than her normal manner of speaking. She also tended to stutter when the Daegu accent wanted to come out but she tried too hard to hide it. None of it was helping.

“Oh, my umbrella’s broken too, so I guess we’re both stuck here,” the girl responded with a sheepish chuckle. “The weather forecast says this crazy rain won’t end anytime soon.”

The rain was no laughing situation, but Joohyun awkwardly smiled as well. She noted the high school girl’s genuine smile, for her eyes curved up like crescents, and it looked very cute and charming.

She seems so innocent, Joohyun thought. Here she was grumbling about how she did not have an umbrella, while this bubbly high school kid just laughed off the situation. It was too precious.

Then there was silence between them again. Although Joohyun thought the high school girl was purely a happy-go-lucky baby, she also had bouts of awkward silences. The girl stood there absent-mindedly fumbling with her blue umbrella and shifting her gaze from one direction to the other in boredom. Since the sudden break of awkward silence felt even more painful, Joohyun cleared and said in her soft voice, “Um, a-aren’t you supposed to go home? Your parents might be worried.”

“I’m actually going to the nearby university library to study for college entrance exams. I borrowed my older brother’s ID number so I can get in. Usually, I just walk from here, but it’s not looking good today,” the girl replied, still smiling. Before silence fell again, she went on, “But, Unnie, if you’re not waiting for a bus, where are you going though?” She seemed concerned, even though Joohyun was nothing but a stranger to her.

“I’m goin’ to the same library,” Joohyun told her stiffly. “I go to that university.”

“Really?!” the girl exclaimed. After a while, she looked at the pouring rain and sighed. “What do we do about this rain now…”

“I actually thought of makin’ a run for it.” Joohyun said that as a statement—not a suggestion. She did not want to be the cause of whatever illness this child might contract if she gets soaked in the city’s dirty rain water.

Alas, the lass took it too seriously. “Should we? Let’s go! We don’t really have a choice anyway.” 

Judging by that response, maybe Joohyun was right after all: this kid really was a happy-go-lucky tyke. 

Then the girl went on, “Have you seen the movie Classic? Let’s just do it like the way they did in that movie. When we see a bit of shelter, we’ll rest, and run fast again! That way, we wouldn’t be so soaked. I also have a jacket we can share too, just like that movie!”

The way she childishly said those cheesy movie references with enthusiasm made Joohyun cringe. Shouldn't've given her ideas, Joohyun thought as she bit her lip in regret.

Despite Joohyun’s uneasiness about this whole situation, the next thing that happened was exactly like a cliché movie scene from another romantic chick flick. The teenager grabbed Joohyun’s hand, and together they sprinted, dashing from roof to roof with the yellow jacket as their shield—exactly like that movie. And exactly like that movie, they were both laughing. The puddles were splashing, their white sneakers were all wet and muddy, and they were breathing heavily under the dark gray sky. 

Joohyun had never felt this exhilarated in ages. It was fun—young, stupid fun. She missed being like that. She missed having the audacity to run carefree without being too self-conscious about what other people thought. She used to have fun like that too, before she had hidden too deep in her shell. It was a result of taking her future too seriously, and her desire to do well and be mature. Maybe it was time that she let herself loose a little and stop being so restrained…

After running around the campus, the two finally stepped into the huge building. People came and went, some professors were having a short chat, and some students were inquiring by the information desk. The first floor of the library building was not necessarily a library; it was more of a spacious open lounge with a coffee shop and a snack bar. The books, computer rooms, and study tables were in separate areas of the building.

“That was fun!” Joohyun exclaimed with her raw, exuberant voice, not caring about her Daegu accent echoing throughout the lounge. Grinning from ear to ear made her look and feel younger. This pubescent rush felt like a taste of freedom.

With a big childish laugh, the high-school lass held up her yellow jacket and exclaimed, “It was, right? Look, my jacket’s all wet!”

That day, the happiness on the high school girl’s face while showing off her drenched yellow jacket was forever engraved in Joohyun’s memory. The curves of her eyes, her cheeks, and her smile—all were captured like a photograph for safe-keeping in Joohyun’s head. The way the girl flailed her arms in sheer laughter and the sound of her high-pitched hearty giggles were so animated—like a lovable children’s cartoon. A drenched jacket was not something anyone would usually be happy about, but the girl’s child-like innocence was contagious. She was just so precious. After seeing that smile on her face, how could anyone feel bad about anything? Her clumsy movements and childish expressions reminded Joohyun of something, but she could not put a finger on it.

With her “motherly instincts” kicking in, Joohyun took out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe the girl’s wet cheeks with it. As she was wiping the girl’s face, she thought, Wait, I just met her. Ain't this a bit weird?

Oddly, the girl did not seem to mind Joohyun babying her. She even looked at Joohyun and gave her a little grin, showing off the dimple by the side of her chin.

“There’s a coffee shop here in the library building… Should… Should I buy you a warm drink?” Joohyun asked. She had no idea what went into her mind at that time. She was kind of broke; she could not even buy herself anything from that coffee shop’s overly priced menu. Despite that, she decided to buy the girl a drink anyway. Something about the high school kid just really made her want to treat the girl nicely.

“Oh no, Unnie, it’s okay,” the girl politely refused.

“You sure? I feel bad that your jacket got soaked. Besides, I owe you for helpin’ me get here.”

The girl looked up the ceiling, thinking whether to accept Joohyun’s offer or not. After a moment, she sheepishly grinned and said, “Well, I am kind of a little bit hungry.”

That was when Joohyun finally got it: this girl, she looks like a baby bear! Like Winne the Pooh! The yellow jacket, the happy-go-lucky personality, the hunger for sweet things, the awkward bouts of spacing out—it’s absolutely accurate! Joohyun looked at the baby bear twice and giggled to herself.

After ordering their drinks, the two girls sunk into the comfy leather sofa of the coffee shop. There they sat side by side.

“Hmm… This is nice,” the girl mumbled after sipping a bit of her frappe.

“Nice, right?” Joohyun sweetly looked to the teddy-bear-like girl with a smile, forgetting about her expenses. After a while, she just realized something: she never asked for her young friend’s name. She had been with her all this time, ran under the rain with her, and even bought her a drink, yet she never knew her name! “What’s your name by the way?”

“Oh yeah, my name!” the girl exclaimed, also realizing that they both had not properly introduced themselves to each other yet. “My name is Kang Seulgi. I am currently a senior in high school.”

Kang Seulgi… Saying her name was just like sipping into her cup of hot chocolate: the bubbly sweet softness of the whip cream tickled her lips, and the warmth of the decadent chocolate gave her comfort. Joohyun never thought this day would be any special, but meeting a new friend reignited the joy in her heart. It was like she met the younger sister she never knew existed. “Nice to meet you, Kang Seulgi. I’m Bae Joohyun. You can call me Joohyun Unnie.”

Seulgi chuckled as she continued staring at Joohyun’s face. Then she shyly uttered, “Joohyun Unnie, even after getting soaked in rain, you’re really pretty.”

Joohyun was caught off guard. Seulgi had said it out of nowhere, and for some reason, the compliment flustered her. “Um, thanks?”

Seulgi crouched to place her cup on the coffee table and added, “And I think you’re very nice too. It’s not every day that I get to meet a kind and pretty unnie like you. Thank you for treating me to coffee.”

“You’re welcome, Seulgi.” Joohyun affectionately patted Seulgi’s head. As much as compliments on her appearance were nice, she found compliments on her efforts and personality heart-warming just as well.

Now it would not be fair if she did not compliment the cutie-pie, so Joohyun went ahead and told Seulgi what was on her mind this whole time, “You’re very cute, like a little sister. Has anyone told you that you look like a baby bear?”

“A baby…bear?” Seulgi glanced at Joohyun and blinked once or twice before slowly shaking her head.

“Well, Seulgi, you do!” Joohyun said with a nasal snicker before sipping more of her chocolate. She genuinely felt happy talking to Seulgi. Although they just met, Joohyun already felt a slight kinship with the bear. Seulgi just went along with the older girl’s little comment and awkwardly laughed with her.

For a while, neither of them said anything to each other and just silently sipped their drinks. Then Seulgi started again, “So, what are you studying here in university?”

“Me? I’m a Media and Communications major,” Joohyun replied. “I want to be an announcer someday, but I guess I’ll have to work real hard to do that.”

“Sounds cool,” Seulgi said, nodding her head while swirling her frappe.

“What about you, Seulgi? What do you want to do after graduatin’ high school?” Joohyun asked.

“Hmm… I think I want to be an artist. I’m good at drawing. I really like trying new things too. I’m really not sure yet, but there’s so many things that I want to do,” Seulgi answered after thinking for a while. Then she coyly added with a chuckle, “Maybe I should study for my college entrance exams first, or my midterms, before I think about those things. I’m not the best at studying, but I’ve resolved to try my hardest this last year. It’s not easy for me though.”

Joohyun knew that feeling. She had been in that situation before. The caring unnie ran her hand up and down Seulgi’s back and encouragingly said, “Cheer up. I think you can do well. If you want, maybe I can help you out a little this evenin’.”

“Oh, no, Unnie, you could be busy…,” considerate Seulgi tried to refuse. “Besides, you’ve done a lot for me already.”

“I usually study alone, but you can come study with me. I don’t mind,” Joohyun insisted.

“Can I really?” Seulgi’s fickleness was just too adorable.

“Of course, you little bear,” Joohyun said with a chuckle.

Joohyun and Seulgi studied together for the rest of the afternoon. Whenever Seulgi did not understand anything, she would shyly ask Joohyun for help. The kind and caring Joohyun would patiently read the lessons and explain them to her. Since Seulgi had a difficult time with technical terms, Joohyun got pretty creative with her explanations, making her hidden “mischievous” personality shine. The way baby bear’s eyes adorably lit up every time she understood made Joohyun feel so happy and proud.

“Thank you so much, Joohyun Unnie. You explain everything so well.”

Although she helped Seulgi a lot with her studies that afternoon, Joohyun barely worked on her own set of college assignments. She was so distracted by Seulgi the entire time. Even when Seulgi was quietly reading passages on her own, Joohyun would sit there observing the bear instead of reviewing her notes. 

As Joohyun sat across the bear on the study table, she wondered, I don't really get anythin' out of this—heck, I can't even concentrate on my own studies because of her—but why do I feel so... happy?