Two months was all it took for Phoebe to liquidate all of her parents’ assets that were left to her, find a job, and disappear to Seoul. Her brother knew nothing of her leaving the country or her turning her phone off. A new sim card and home waited for her in Korea, a new beginning. 

           She could see the city below her as they prepared to land at the airport. Her heart had been in since arriving at the airport roughly thirteen hours ago. Her parents were the only ones keeping their family together and their death from the car accident was the glue dissolving. Phoebe and her brother had a rough past. She still hadn’t forgiven him for the bull he had her keep from mom and dad but, she was away from all of that now. 

           Her new home was in Itaewon. She felt it being close to the U.S. Military base would be a good transition area. Phoebe was fluent in Korean but she was still a little nervous being in a foreign country on her own. The plane landed pretty smoothly on the tarmac. Phoebe took a deep breath as she got up and gathered her things. As she exited the plane and headed towards customs she got together the paperwork with her visa. 

           The gentleman that greeted her seemed nice enough but he also seemed exhausted. Made sense to her though, it was seven in the morning when she landed. 

           “State your reason for being here and how long you will be here.” 

           “Work and I’ll be here for at least a year.” Phoebe’s Korean shocked the man but he quickly moved back to being tired. He marked her visa and directed her to move on to get her luggage. The airport wasn’t really crowded while she was there. She took her time to make sure she was going in the right direction looking for the bus depot. Once she found her bus she hopped on and took a seat with nerves still causing a lump in . 

           The bus took longer than expected to get to her stop. Once she got off she followed the house numbers to her new home. It was easy for her to spot since her packages were being unloaded as she walked up. Phoebe had sold most of her belongings and shipped the rest. Her landlord had said that she would meet her there at eight but Phoebe had a few minutes to kill. Once the delivery driver finished unloading she began to sort through what she could. A letter-sized packet was sitting on top of her new dresser. After opening it she realized that it was her employee handbook from Booksburry Publishing. 

           After spending years learning Korean she was finally able to begin translating Korean books to English and vice versa. When she landed the job it was like a miracle only God could make. She had a few days before her first day enough time to get her apartment in order. Phoebe heard footsteps as she flipped through the handbook. 

           “Phoebe?” She turned to see a woman who looked to be in her late 40s. 

           “Mrs. Kim! So nice to finally speak to you in person.” Phoebe made a slight bow at her new landlord. 

           “Here’s your keycard. I have a copy at the office but don’t lose it. Those locks are a pain to replace.” Phoebe chuckled as she rotated the card in her hands. 

           “Thank you. Guess I’ll get started moving in.”
           “If you need help moving any of this in let me know. My son is off from work today.” 

           “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” After another small bow, she went to open the door. The flat was simple. Just two rooms; the main room for her bedroom and kitchen than a bathroom. Phoebe took a deep breath with a smile and began dragging boxes in. She started with her bed and placed it near the large window that looked out into the courtyard. Box after box was opened and her things put away. When it was all put away it was already dark outside. She looked around to find that her flat still felt empty. 

           “Ugh,” Phoebe sighed, “My first paycheck I’m buying decorations.” Her stomach growled in protest of having nothing in it. “I’m sure there is a convenience store around here.” Making sure her keycard was in hand she ventured out in search of food. After some time wandering around the neighborhood she finally found a convenience store. With a hop in her step, she went in and picked up a ramen bowl. As she turned away from the microwave she was shocked to find a man behind her. Before she could react noddles and broth were on the man’s shirt. 

           “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She panicked at the shocked look on his face and the ramen noodles all over his shirt that she could tell was expensive. 

           “Oh! You speak Korean well for an American.” His voice sounded familiar to her but she couldn’t make out what he looked like with the mask and bucket hat on. 

           “How… how do you know I’m American?” 

           “The accent. Kinda gives it away.” 

           “Oh… Well, again I am so sorry.” She did a slight bow. 

           “Well, then I guess you will just have to give me your number.” Phoebe had a look of shock on her face at the request. 

           “That’s a little bold of you! I don’t even know your name.” Phoebe smirked as she went to throw away her almost empty bowl. Then she remembered that her phone was on the counter but when she looked to see if it was still there it was gone. “Hey!” She yelled at the masked man but he was already entering his number into her phone as a contact. 

           “What are you doing?” She swiped her phone out of his hand as he chuckled. Phoebe stormed out of the convenience store leaving the man behind. He felt his phone ring in his hand. Hoping it was the American he quickly answered but, was immediately disappointed when he heard his friend’s voice. 

           “Hoseok! Where are you?” Yoongi’s voice came through loud and clear over the phone. 

           “I’m out,” Hoseok replied. 

           “Well get back here. Jin made dinner for all of us.” Hoseok got so excited at the thought of homemade food he practically skipped out of the store.