"Noona, what did you get for question 11?" 

Rochelle stopped walking and turned to see it was Jungkook, a second year Graphic Design and Photography major. Both shared a History in Graphic Design class together and became friends after the professor paired them off for a partner assignment. 

"It was B – I remember Professor said a similar statement during one of our sessions," she replied. 

Jungkook chewed on his lip as he tried to recall what he picked for his answer. At first he slumped his shoulders, thinking he selected the wrong option. But then he shook his head, mumbling that was another question. "Well I think that's what I picked too, but we'll find out in a few days, right? That's the curse and beauty of scantron quizzes."

Rochelle nodded as she let Jungkook catch up to her and they began walking toward the parking lot. Jungkook dug around in his pockets for his keys and asked if she had more classes today. She shook her head and he nodded, saying that he was going to run home, grab lunch, then get his stuff for soccer practice. 

"You need to come watch us some day," he ordered her. "We're really good."

She nodded and flashed him a thumbs up, promising that she'd come out to a practice or game at some point. They parted ways and Rochelle began walking back to her apartment complex.

She took the walkway leading to the front of the building, pausing when she saw a car nearing the crosswalk area. The driver stopped briefly, her tense expression melting away to a faint smile, followed by a wave of her hand to motion Rochelle on. A quick glance at the young woman behind the wheel showed she was different from the one Rochelle encountered during her first couple of days at the complex, but the attire was similar – form-fitting athleisure clothing and hair tied back in a braid. 

Rochelle shook her head as she crossed the walkway, muttering that she must have a ton of gym rats in her building. She stepped into the front entrance and decided to retrieve her mail. As she neared the mailboxes, she spotted Jimin closing the door to his mailbox, humming as he flipped through the envelopes.

"Hi Jimin," Rochelle greeted. 

Jimin whipped his head around and smiled shyly when he saw who greeted him. He raised his free hand to wave quickly before moving out of the way. 

"How are you liking it here?" he asked as she unlocked her mailbox. 

Rochelle stood on tiptoe to reach her slot, hand digging around for anything. She felt two thin envelopes and a stiff card, which she slid toward the edge of her mailbox, grabbing the ends to pull them out. She nodded as she closed the mailbox door and locked it, saying that classes were okay and her apartment was fine. 

"Sometimes I swear I hear music coming from somewhere, but it's not been a problem yet," Rochelle replied. "I'm always headed out when I hear it."

Jimin shrugged and confessed he never heard the music. "But I have a pretty full schedule," he said. "Most of my days start at 7:30 and I'm home around 20:00."

I think I can hand the 'Workaholic' title over to him, Rochelle thought. Remembering the young man made the offer to spend time together, she switched her mail to the other hand. 

"Is today a bad day to take you up on that offer?"

"Welcome!" the barista called out from the counter. He tilted his head when he saw who it was, raising a hand for a quick wave. "Hey Chim, how's it going?"

Jimin lifted a hand and smiled as he greeted the barista by the name Taemin. The barista passed over a drink to the customer standing at the pick-up window and noticed Rochelle entering behind his friend. 

"So, you finally got a date?" Taemin teased as he leaned forward. 

"Huh? Wha–date?!" Jimin sputtered.

Rochelle rolled her eyes as she stepped closer to the counter and looked the barista in the eye. "Neighbors," she corrected the young man. "Since when did neighbors hanging out equal a date?"

Taemin let out a huge breath and pressed his lips together in an awkward smile. "Um, I stand corrected? Sorry Chim's Neighbor, what should I call you?"

Jimin relaxed slightly after Rochelle clarified their relationship and he watched as the pair talked. At his friend's question, he gestured to Rochelle and introduced her. 

The barista wiped his hands on a towel, before draping it over his shoulder. He extended a hand to shake the young woman's. "Taemin Lee, fourth year Theater major by day, charming flower barista on the side," he replied. 

"Flower what?" Rochelle asked with a blank stare. 

"Oh come on, you know? Flower boys? They always show up in sappy K-dramas!" Taemin protested. 

Rochelle blinked before she recalled something that her sister used to stream on her computer with subtitles. "Um...sorry? I don't watch any," she apologized. "My sister watched one, I think, but I'm not really a TV person."

Taemin frowned as he tilted his head, squinting to get a better look at Rochelle's features. "But aren't you Korean?"

"I'm mixed," Rochelle replied. "Dad's side is Norwegian and Icelandic, while Mom's some Korean and Japanese? We're not 100% sure on the Japanese, because her mom died when she was young, but she knows she has some Korean ancestry. No one in the immediate family speaks Korean."

Jimin blinked and turned his head to look at Rochelle, while Taemin nodded with a curious look. 

"Well, I guess I learned something new," the barista admitted. "Chim, the usual for you?"

Jimin nodded and dug around in his pockets for his wallet.

Taemin moved to the register to key in the order and asked Rochelle what she wanted. 

"I've got her order too," Jimin spoke up.

Rochelle turned to face Jimin and began to protest, saying that she only wanted to get to know him better. The redhead insisted as he prompted her to give the barista her order. 

"Rochelle, just take the free drink," Taemin ordered her with a knowing look. "You can trust him – he's a good guy, albeit a little vanilla most of the time–"

"YAH!" Jimin interjected. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"One mocha please," Rochelle spoke up, trying to diffuse the tension.

Taemin winked at her before he added her drink to the order and read off the total. 

"How long have you known him?"

"Taemin? Oh he was one of the orientation counselors my first year," Jimin recalled. "He was assigned to my group, which was mostly guys. We kept getting a lot of girls from other orientation groups asking us to trade counselors. You know, I sort of forgot how we first bonded, but he's known me since I first came here." He looked over at the counter and nodded in the direction of the older woman who had joined the handsome barista. 

"That's his aunt – she owns the cafe," Jimin added. "I think she keeps hoping he'll give up the theater career and take over the cafe for her. Business has been good since he started working here."

"I'm guessing he's just doing it because she's family and he needs the money?" Rochelle guessed as she sipped her mocha. 

Jimin nodded and explained that Taemin was the first in his family to major in something other than business or marketing. "Well, seeing as both of us were choosing different careers from our families, maybe that's why we get along for the most part," he concluded. 

He took a sip from his mug and sighed, nursing it in his hands. "What about your family?"

"Oh it's the norm," she murmured with a shake of her head. "Mom, Dad, me, and my older sister Bri. Last in the family to go to college and everyone's worrying. Even my sister's nervous." She looked down at her mug, turning it so the handle faced her left hand. "Do you have any siblings?"

Jimin paused, mug resting on his plump lower lip. He held the mug away slightly and shook his head, quickly answering that he was an only child. He took a large sip from his mug, which Rochelle noted as a cue to move on to another topic. 

"So when we first met, were you coming back from a job or an internship?" she asked.

He swallowed and put his mug down, reaching for a napkin to wipe his mouth. "It's both, in a way," he explained. "Started as an internship but now it's a paid job. They liked my work ethic and they'd like me to stay on after I graduate, which is nice."

"You got lucky – always good to have a job in place before graduation," she said. "Sometimes I wonder if things would have been much different if I hadn't done junior college then transferred."

"You probably saved a lot of money," Jimin reasoned. "I considered that route too, but the university offered me a pretty good scholarship with some grants. Combined with some other grants I applied for, tuition is covered." He paused, straining his ears as a hand dug into his pocket for his phone, which was ringing. 

He stood up from his seat and mouthed an apology to Rochelle. 

"I need to take this – you don't have to wait for me," he said. "It was nice chatting with you, Neighbor."