When I retrieved my single large rolling suitcase and small duffle bag and made my way back to the food court, Henry was nowhere to be found. Surprise, surprise. I was kinda expecting him to have disappeared with my ramen and eat it himself. I fumed. That was going to be the first food I’ve eaten since stepping foot on that God-forsaken plane, and I was on the verge of passing out, literally! Well, I guess Mr. Korean Idol needed to keep his strength up. Who cares about the tagalong little girl?

Then, amidst the Korean babble, I heard a lone voice call out in English, “TARYN!” I whipped my head in the direction of the voice and saw the disguised idiot called my brother raise a ramen cup in victory. Oh Henry, for your sake there’d better be another cup in your other hand, I mentally threatened as I made my way over to him. Then I berated myself. Taryn, you idiot. Don’t betray yourself. It’s probably not even that healthy. You can't give in now.

He met me halfway and literally shoved this HUGE bowl of ramen at me. I stared at it. The thing was as big as my head! How the heck was I supposed to eat that? I looked up and saw Henry grinning at me underneath his mask, his eyes crinkling, giving me a pair of one-use chopsticks still in the paper sleeve. He said, “Sorry, I had to get a lid for it, we can eat in the cab. We need to get back to the dorms. The guys want to meet you!”

Sheez, he sounded like such a little kid. He was literally bouncing on his heels. I allowed myself a small smile. “Fine. But you get to carry my bags.”

He harrumphed. “Fine, follow me. Oh, and you might need this.” He pulled out a blue surgical mask out of his pocket and it at me. Startled, I took it, my carryon and the two ramen cups, and he took my bags from me in exchange.

“Why do I need this?” I asked. “As a matter of fact, why does every single freaking person seem to be wearing one?”

“It’s Hwang-sa, or yellow dust season, here right now,” he replied smartly. “Everything gets covered with this icky yellow dust in the spring, and it’s terrible to breathe. You don’t want to get a respiratory infection, do you?”

I sighed, then set down the ramen cups and tied the blue piece of fabric over my mouth and nose, feeling like a total dork. Well, a dork going to the hospital or something. “Good, now that that’s over… Do you know how to call a cab?” he asked, walking out of the crowded airport.

I jogged a bit to catch up with him, scowling behind my mask. “No. Don’t you get it? I don’t know how to do anything in this country!” Then I immediately regretted my harsh-sounding words; I wasn't supposed to burst out like that.

“I’m gonna teach you, Ryn! Chill, it's really easy," Henry said, not noticing my tone and words. "Like, for instance in a restaurant, to call a waitress all you have to do is yell ‘yeogiyo.’ Like, imagine calling for Yogi the bear, and add ‘yo’ at the end. Get it?” He dragged my bags to the curb outside.

I thought for a minute, examining the yellow sky (strange, for how late it was) and the fine dust that seemed to be coating the ground. Guess he was right about yellow dust season, as much as I hated to admit it. “Yeogiyo?”

He smiled again. “See? Now you know how to do something in this country!” He flagged down a cab, waving his hand in a really weird way, kinda like he was pulling something overhand towards himself, and when it pulled over he popped the trunk and placed my bags in the back. I slung my backpack onto the floor of the cab and slid into the backseat, balancing the things of ramen, while Henry hopped into the front seat. He then said something to the driver in Korean, and soon we were off.

I let myself take a peek at the nutrition facts of the larger ramen cup as soon as Henry turned his back, and I nearly choked on my tongue. 479 calories?! Holy crap! I thought to myself.And 75 grams of carbs, and 15 grams of fat?! That’s it, I’m not eating this. I plopped the two ramen cups onto the floor of the cab, resolving to make a salad at, well, wherever we were going. I leaned my head against the window, watching the city go by. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier. I fought it; after all, who wants to fall asleep in the backseat of…a…zzzz……

~~~~~~

I startled myself awake when I heard a car door slam. I blinked, wondering for a second where the heck I was, then saw the cups of ramen and my backpack carryon on the floor of the car, and felt a surgical mask covering my mouth and nose.

Right.

I’m in Korea.

Six thousand miles away from home.

And six thousand miles away from the man.

To be happy or annoyed?

I opened the car door and stumbled out, one hand on my backpack, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. Going around to the back, I saw that dear Henry had already pulled my two bags out of the trunk. “Henry?” I asked sleepily, my voice muffled by the mask, staring up at the huge building behind the gate. “Where are we?”

He spun around, knocking over my rolling suitcase in the process. “Ryn! I thought you were asleep!” he said.

“I was. Now, where are we?” I asked again, starting to get a little irritated but trying not to let it show.

“Oh.” He looked up at the building. “This is where you’ll be staying this week!”

I stared up at the building skeptically. “Are you sure?” I asked. “This looks really… well, fancy and expensive.”

He laughed. “I don’t live here alone. Actually, I don't even really pay for it. Now, can you grab your ramyun out of the cab? It needs to leave, and we need to get inside as quickly as possible.” He put a hand on my duffel bag.

I didn’t move. “Henry Lau.”

He turned towards me again, a bit startled. “What is it?”

I grit my teeth, reaching around for the car door. “Mom and Dad never said anything about me staying with more than just you. Who do you live with?”

He looked a little uneasy, and grabbed my bags while mumbling, “Um, my group and two girls.”

“Uh-huh. And how many are in ‘your group’?” I asked, making my voice neutral, grabbing the two cups of ramen from the floor of the cab and slamming the door again.

He paid the cab driver and started walking towards the big building, my bags in tow. “Eleven!” he tossed back over his shoulder.

I groaned. Really? I was going to be in the same room as fourteen other people, twelve of whom were guys? Really? I let out an annoyed hiss between my teeth, swung my backpack over my shoulder, and followed that idiot of a brother into the building.

Was history going to repeat itself?

~~~~~~

Hey guys! So, I just realized that Super Junior, Alex, and Uki won't be appearing until at least chapter 4. Oh well. Anyway, I hope this is acceptable. Please tell me if I made any mistakes related to Korea. (I'm looking at you, jjini0216. ^^) The next chapter's going to be rather short, though, sorry in advance. Oh yeah, and if you don't know one of Taryn's "issues" by now, shame on you. Seriously. I made it painfully obvious.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy :) Comments are greatly appreciated, so please comment! :)