001 'new girl'

it was the first day of school after a long, fun summer. most kids were probably bummed out. some might be stressing about getting back into the school environment, and maybe some were trying to convince their parents to let them stay home. but not hyunjin. she was excited, actually. she was excited for a few things. firstly, she got to introduce her friends to her exchange student, and secondly, she got to be with her friends every day again.

"you'll show kahei around, right? i don't want her having a bad day." hyunjin's mother said.

"yep! i bet she'll have a lot of fun." she replied. and as if on queue, kahei walked into the room.

"good morning!" she smiled.

"morning!" hyunjin said brightly as she ate a bite of rice. "are you looking forward to your first day?" kahei nodded before sitting beside hyunjin to eat her own breakfast.

they got to school just before the bell and immediately had to get to classes. they had the same schedule (as hyunjin's mom had requested), so kahei had an easy time getting around the school.

when lunchtime came, hyunjin enthusiastically pulled kahei towards the three girls she recognized so well.

"hi guys!! this is kahei!" hyunjin said. kahei waved shyly. "kahei unnie, these are my friends, heejin, haseul, and yeojin! it's yeojin's first year here too. but that's cause she just got out of middle school. but still! something in common!!"

"it's nice to finally get to meet you all! hyunjin talks of you very well!" kahei said kindly.

"it's great to meet you too! it's so great that you get to be here!" haseul replied.

"yeah, you should totally hang out with us!!" heejin added.

the rest of the day went well. after school ended, the five girls went to a cafe to do homework and get to know each other better. after that, they all returned to their separate homes (well, not all separate, as kahei was hyunjin's exchange student and yeojin was haseul's sister) and ate dinner with their families.

as kahei and hyunjin sat together in hyunjin's room, hyunjin found herself wondering what to say.

"sooo... unnie, what made you decide to come to korea?" she decided to ask, thinking it was the best conversation starter for her to use at this point. plus, she was pretty curious.

"hmm." kahei looked at hyunjin. "well, the people here seemed so nice from what i saw online, and i've always had an interest in korean language, even though i'm not very good." she laughed, quickly followed by hyunjin.

"but you're doing very well!!" hyunjin complimented.

"whoa, thank youu~" kahei giggled. "what do you like doing for fun?"

and so the two stayed up all night talking, despite having school the next morning.