I woke up bright and early in spite of a rather tiring day of shopping.  After turning on the coffee maker and putting toast in the toast I checked my phone for messages. My brother had sent a text letting me know that our mom was driving him crazy with worrying about me and wanted to know if I could just give up being crazy to come home. 

It was getting on my nerves that my family would not support me in this. At times it felt like the only person who had my back was only 11 years old. I just wanted to try, when did that become a crime? The good mood that I had been enjoying the last couple of days had been shattered. Just then I smelled something burning and discovered my toast had become charcoal. Yes indeed, my morning now .

I gulped down my coffee with enough cream and flavoring to hopefully get me through the rest of the day. Then I went to my closet for a change of clothes, I had a half day at the academy scheduled followed by a two hour lesson with Mr. Min. I knew that I was doing rather well in my understanding of the language all thanks to my new friends and Mr. Min, he was an unbelievable teacher. I chose slacks and a silky top that cinched in at the waist. I eyeballed a beautiful pair of heels that Key had picked out to go with my outfit but ended up going with a pair of flats. Thank goodness for that! 

Jinki was heading out at the same time I was so we rode the elevator downstairs together. We just made small talk which was always pleasant. As we got off the elevator my toe snagged the old carpet in the lobby and I went down hard on my hands and knees. So much so that tears burst forth. I felt clumsy and dumb and embarrassed. Jinki had tried to grab me as I started to fall but unfortunately he did not grab me soon enough for me to avoid injury. 

"Oh my gosh! Noona! Will you be okay? Do you need to go to a doctor? I will help you with whatever you need. Please Noona, Don't cry."  I could tell that Jinki was upset, even the older gentleman who works during the day as a sort of security guard came over to help. Since both hands and knees hurt I was having a hard time trying to stand up. The next thing I knew Jinki put an arm underneath my back and arms tilting me backwards then he placed his other arm under my thighs and lifted me up. I was shocked with how effortless he made it seem. I am not a light weight either, not heavy but I'm not a little woman so I was speechless by how easy he made it look. Jinki placed me on a bench by the front entrance then started to look over my hands and legs. I just sat there with drying tears and a shocked expression.

Noticing that I was not talking Jinki assumed that I was in a lot of pain. "Noona, I am so sorry that you got hurt. I can take you to the hospital if you like. Do you think you broke anything?" All the while he was running a comforting pattern on my wrists. The palms of my hands and my knees both felt a sting. I raised my pants' legs to see if I had broken the skin and was thankful to discover that bruises were already shading interesting purples and reds on my knees but no open wounds. The same for my palms, bruising only. I told Jinki that I would be ok and that if he needed to be anywhere he should go and not let me bother him.

"Noona, never think of yourself as a bother to me. I will stay by your side and make sure you get everywhere you need to be today."  I wanted to argue but then that smile that radiated so much warmth came out and I told myself not to raise an argument. I had a crutch to lean on for the day. A handsome, sweet, strong crutch that seemed to cause my heart to beat a bit faster when he was close. I had developed a crush on my neighbor.