“Ikitakimasu!” I yelled over my shoulder as I headed out the door.  “Saranghae!”

I stepped out onto the sidewalk, a flash of color catching my eye.  I turned around, finding Youngmin leaning against the side of the building.  When I faced him, he pushed off the wall.

“Ohaiyo Youngmin,”  I greeted.

He blinked.  “What does that mean?”

“Ohaiyo?  It means ‘good morning’ in Japanese,” I informed.

“And what did you say when you were leaving, just before you said ‘I love you?’”

“Ikitakimasu, that means ‘I’m leaving now’ in Japanese.”

“Do you usually mix the languages you know?”

“Quite frequently.  My parents get annoyed sometimes when I go all multilingual on them because they can’t keep up.  It also doesn’t help that I know more than they do.”

“So your parents don’t speak Korean?”

“No, they do, actually better than me,” I corrected.  “But they don’t speak any Japanese at all, but they get the gist of what I’m saying depending on the context.”

We started down the street, side-by-side.  My stomach did a strange flip-thing and I thought that maybe I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast that day. 

“Where is Kwangmin and Hye Soo?” I asked.  This was the second time Youngmin had walked to school without his brother.

“They went ahead.  I decided to stay back and walk with you.”

My cheeks colored at that comment, unsure what he meant by it.

Don’t let it get to your head, Jin, I warned myself.

“Are you still good for today after school?” he asked.

I nodded my head excitedly.  “I’m all prepared.”

My heart raced inside my chest, thumping so loudly I was afraid he would be able to hear it.  We walked to school, chatting amiable with each other and he asked me more questions and teased me.  I didn’t mind the teasing; for once I was actually glad for the attention.  My dad was hardly ever home and all my mom did was fuss over me, and that got annoying pretty quick.  Then suddenly Youngmin asked an uncomfortable question.

“Jin, why do you have a Korean name?  If you are American, then why don’t you have an American name?” 

I suppose it was a normal enough question, derived purely out of curiosity, but it hit a sensitive spot inside me.  I looked away from him, afraid he would see the pained expression on my face.  I looked forward instead and sighed in relief when I saw the huge school building looming in front of us across the street.

“Look, Youngmin, the school!  Let’s go so we can join up with Kwangmin and HyeSoo!” I went for a distraction, and it worked somewhat.  I dragged Youngmin along and I heard him mutter something behind me.

“It’s not like they’re dying waiting for us.  I’m sure they’re just fine by themselves.”  Then, a bit clearer said, “I have a better idea.  Since we’re a bit early, we have time to go to the greenhouse.”

I grinned excitedly and dragged him harder, wanting to see the pretty building again.  Youngmin laughed at my exuberance and kept pace with me.  When we stopped just in front of the school, I looked around, unsure.

“Um, which way is it again?” I asked hesitantly.

Youngmin laughed at me again and I decided I really liked his laugh.  “This way,” he said, this time dragging me.  His hand on my wrist slid down to my hand and his fingers laced with mine.  I blushed and thought about pulling back, but ultimately decided against it.  The action might seem rude and might hurt his feelings.  Besides, he was just guiding me, right?  No big deal.  But I couldn’t ignore the way my heart pounded at the simple touch or how it became harder to breathe suddenly.

We reached the greenhouse without incident and Youngmin held the door open for me.  Ducking inside, I again marveled at the beauty of all the plants around me.  It was just so peaceful.  For a moment, I forgot about Youngmin and admired a large rose with perfume rolling off of its petals.  Careful of the thorns, I cupped the flower in my hand and gently sniffed the aroma.  I heard a small chuckle behind me and turned around.

“Is that your favorite flower?” Youngmin asked with his mouth fixed in a smile.

I shook my head, peering around me.  “I don’t think my favorite flower is in here.”  I began searching, hoping it would distract him from his earlier question.

“What is your favorite flower?” he asked, coming up behind me.

“Lily,” I answered briefly, pretending to be distracted so he wouldn’t catch how much I noticed him, how acutely my brain registered his presence, how my skin tingled on my neck from his hot breath, or how my heart raced when he placed one hand lightly on my waist.

“You mean like this?” he gestured toward a white flower floating in a small pool of water.

I shook my head, “No, not a lotus.  A lily.”

We both looked around the greenhouse and Youngmin came across another bunch of white flowers.  “Aren’t these lilies?”

Hesitating, I said, “Well, yes, but those are cal lilies.  They’re different from my favorite lily.”

“Oh,” Youngmin almost looked embarrassed.  “I guess you know more about flowers than I do.”

I laughed.  “Well, I suppose that’s natural, considering I’m a girl and take interest in those sorts of things.”

He nodded, for once quiet, and then, “So about my question earlier, you never answered it.”

“What question?” I asked, dodging a response.

“If you’re from American descent, then why do you have a Korean name?” he asked again.

I refused to meet his gaze, my heart dropping as the memories came rushing back at me.  Youngmin seemed to understand my hesitation.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” he muttered.

I cringed, not missing the slight hurtfulness in his voice.  “Youngmin-sunbae…” I began.

“No, it’s fine,” then he stopped, looking at me curiously.  “Sunbae?  What happened with just Youngmin?  Or oppa?  Why don’t you call me oppa?”

“What’s wrong with Sunbae?”  I asked.  “And isn’t oppa only used for family?  I don’t understand.”

“Aish!  This girl.” It sounded like he was talking to himself.

“Yah!  ‘This girl’ is standing right here,” I pointed out.

“Okay, you’re right,” he said.  “It’s just that, guys like it when pretty girls call them oppa.  It makes them feel… I don’t know… closer.”

I blushed.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Can’t we just be friends?  You seem really distant.  Let loose, open up.”  Youngmin flipped the bangs away from his dark eyes.

“Distant?  I thought I was being friendly enough.”  I was surprised at his unexpected words.

“Friendly, sure,” he admitted, “but you put up this wall that makes it seem like you don’t want anybody to get close to you.”

“I’ve been here three days.  How would you know?  Maybe I’m just shy.  Ever thought of that?” I demanded, anger getting the best of me.

“Shy?  You didn’t seem shy when you were talking to all those people.”

“You barely know me!” I cried.  “And did you ever think that it might be hard for me to talk to all those people?  That I hate it when I’m the center of attention?  No, because you don’t know me.  I’ve been trying to make acquaintances so that I’m not lonely here.  I was afraid that I’d be ostracized because I’m foreign, or that the language barrier would be too great.  I’ve been,” I sighed, looking away from him again, “I’ve been scared, okay?  I’ve been scared I wouldn’t fit in.  Just…scared.”  My voice trickled away as I finally revealed to someone what had been eating at me for a long time.  Then I glared hard at him.  “And so what if I decide not to tell you something about my past?  About me?  Look, I appreciate you being kind to me, and helping me out, but don’t pry.”

I pushed past him, grabbing my bag and heading for the door.

“Jin!” I heard Youngmin call after me.  I felt his hand grip my elbow.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it, I didn’t know.  Jin, I’m sorry.”

I shrugged him away, too mad to even respond.  I stalked off, ignoring his pestering as he followed.  He just kept apologizing as I gave him the cold shoulder.  I heard the warning bell ring as I climbed the stairs, Youngmin still at my heels.  We entered the classroom and sat down.  I pulled out my books and Youngmin finally shut up when Mr. Lee walked in.  I knew I was being a jerk, but he just pissed me off so much.  Why did he have to ask me questions like that?  Why did he have to act like he knew everything?  Youngmin kept passing me notes throughout class and I kept ignoring them.

Somehow I made it through the lessons with my sanity still intact.  When the bell rang for lunch, I quickly gathered up my books and fled from the room.  Ara Cha found me in the bathroom, leaning over a sink, my head ducked down.

“Jin,” she approached me hesitantly, “are you alright?  What’s wrong?  Are you and Youngmin fighting?”

I gave a hard laugh that sounded more like a sob.  “Yeah, yeah I guess you could say that,” I muttered.  “Ara Cha, why do boys have to be so infuriating?”

She gave me a sympathetic look.  “I wish I knew the answer to that,” she said softly.  “But you know something?”  She came up next to me, hugging my shoulders.  “The ones who are worth it always make it up.”

I stayed silent, pondering her words.

“Do you want to come to eat lunch with me?  The other girls would really enjoy your company,” she offered.

“Thank you Ara Cha, but I’m not hungry,” I said.

“You don’t have to eat.  Besides, I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

I gave her a small smile and nodded, following her out the door and into the noisy cafeteria where I was able to compose myself with the others. 

Soo...I've finally updated ^_^" Sorry for the long wait. I hope this chapter makes up for it.

Please, please, please, please comment! I want to know what you guys are thinking. No silent readers! I want some feedback.