Ugh…there’s this constant throbbing in the back of my head and my visions a tad blurred.

 

A few blinks later, I can open my eyes and the room isn’t spinning. I start looking around the room.

 

Where the heck am I? And who’s that guy sitting in the chair asleep at the side of my bed?

 

I tap the guy’s shoulder.

 

“Hello?” I cautiously say while gently shaking him.

 

“Whaa- “He says in Chinese, while stretching his arms. “Mei, you’re awake. How do you feel?”

 

“Who are you, and how do you know my name? Wait…am I in China?” I asked confused.

 

“I’m Lu Han, remember? We’re in South Korea.” He looks at me desperately trying to understand what’s

going on in my head.

 

“South Korea….Lu Han….oh yeah, the Harvard-South Korea exchange! Are you one of the students? Sorry,

I can’t seem to remember.” I question, gaining back bits and pieces.

 

Before he can answer my question, some other people start rushing into the room. Four of them were guys;

the other was a familiar looking girl. Where have I seen that girl before….? Oh right! Min Young, the

Korean girl I met back in the 2^ndgrade. I wonder why she’s here.

 

“Mei! You’re awake! How do you feel?” Min Young shouts, cheerfully hopping over to sit on the bed.

 

“Umm…I’m fine I guess, but I can’t seem to remember where I am.” I answer.

 

“What do mean? Doesn’t South Korea ring a bell? Harvard? The exchange program?” She nudges my

shoulder with a hopeful smile.

 

“Oh yeah, I remember that part, but what’s up with all these guys?” I say while looking around at the

unfamiliar faces. “Are they your cousins who live here in Korea?”

 

Min Young’s smile disappears and her eyes swell up. “No…Mei….don’t you remember Exo?” She sniffles, now

it’s clear she’s about to cry.

 

I look at her utterly confused. “Exo….?” I slowly shake my head.

 

The guys standing around the bed stare at me dumbfounded.

 

The phone rings downstairs and the baby faced guy, who was sleeping by my bed when I woke up…Lu Han,

was it?, rushes down to answer it.

 

A tall, attractive guy walks over to Min Young and says something in Korean. She nods, and he and the

other guys head downstairs. Min Young turns back to me and begins trying to repair my memory. ..

 

So apparently I’m a Kpop fan and Kdrama lover….or so Min Young says. I just can’t seem to remember

anything about South Korea. I hope Min Young isn’t just making all this up… it sounds pretty truthful

because why else would I have chosen South Korea to go on an exchange?

 

“So do you feel well enough to go to orientation today?” Min Young asks after explaining all that she can to

me. Her eyes are still puffy from crying.

 

“Yeah, I feel fine, just a little confused that’s all.” I try to give her a smile.

 

“Uh…Ok...if you say so…”She answers, clearly still skeptical.

 

We both quickly grab our things and head to the Harvard-Korea Institute.

 

….

 

Orientation was long and boring as usual.  I did get a chance to see Professor Cooper from the Theoretical

Physics Department though, and he told me to get started on my project.

 

“Well, I’m going to take the bus home now.” Min Young informed me. “Be sure to hurry and finish up so you

can come back to the house for dinner. Se Hun’s mom is going to cook for us tonight, since you can’t coo-”

Min Young stops mid-sentence.

 

“Since I can’t what?” I ask confused.

 

“Oh, nevermind. Just hurry!See you later!” She waves as she runs off.

 

I slowly walk back to the physics lab and start thinking of ideas for my project.

 

…

 

A few hours later, I look at my watch. 9:30 pm already!! Wow, time sure flies by!

 

I quickly pack up my stuff and walk out to the hall. It’s dark, and there’s no one around.

 

When I get to the glass doors, it’s pouring outside. Man, I didn’t even bring an umbrella. Now I have to

wait here until the rain lets up.

 

I sit on one of the benches under the roof and wait….

 

I’m watching the cars drive through the rain on the street in front of the building, when one car stops and

the driver gets out holding an umbrella.

 

The rain is so thick I have a hard time seeing who it is, but he’s walking towards me. When he comes up

closer, I realize it’s the baby faced guy from this morning… Lu Han. Hmm, I wonder why he’s here.

 

“Mei, sorry I’m late. I figured you didn’t have an umbrella so I came to pick you up, but I had a hard time

finding this building” Lu Han takes my backpack and slings it over his back. Then he holds the umbrella

over my head.

 

“Uh, thank you” I say, a little unsure how to respond.

 

Lu Han just smiles and opens the car door for me.

 

“You must be hungry, do you like noodles?” He asks as he’s driving. Before I get a chance to respond he

makes a smooth left turn to a small noodle shop. “It’s pretty late so all the fancy places are closed, but

this shop makes really delicious noodles.”Again, he looks at me with a charming smile.

 

In the shop, Lu Han orders a bowl of steamy noodle soup. It smells really tasty, so I dig in before I

remember my table manners. Oops. I look up at Lu Han, who is trying to suppress a laugh.

 

“It’s ok, you don’t have to be polite” He says casually. “So, I heard from Min Young that you’re really into

science.”

 

“Yeah, my dream is to win a Nobel Prize in Physics” I say confidently. “I don’t know why I ended up

choosing to attend Harvard because MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is so much better in

the field of the sciences, but according to Min Young, it’s because I loved South Korea too much.” I

continue to explain.

 

All the while, Lu Han just sits quietly and listens intently. When I’m done talking, Lu Han gazes out the

window clearly deep in thought.

 

He turns back to me and notices that I already finished my noodles.

 

“Are you still hungry?” He asks, almost ready to order more food.

 

I shake my head. “No, I’m full. That was really delicious. Thank you.”

 

His face lights up and he looks so happy it’s almost like he was the one who just ate the noodles.

 

“Well, the rain stopped. Are you ready to go?” He asks.

 

I nod and we walk back out to the car.