Ri Ah’s alarm rang at its usual time, 6 am, and she performed her usual routine. After breakfast, Mrs. Park handed Ri Ah her lunch and dinner and she headed for the bus stop. Her first class wasn’t till 10, but Ri Ah left at 8 to go to the library and start on her homework from yesterday’s classes.

As 9:45 approached, Ri Ah got her stuff together and headed to her first class that day, Intermediate English. She was required to take a foreign language as part of her premed track so she chose English because she decided to continue with it from high school, and it seemed the most practical. Her next class was at 11 and after that, she had 2 hours till her last class, Biology, at 1.

She used that time to do homework in the library and eat her lunch. She wasn’t keeping track of the time so when she realized it was already 12:50, she quickly packed up and ran to her Biology class. The classroom was set up desk style, but each desk could hold two students. When she looked around, she didn’t see Chan Yeol and each desk was either full or already taken up by one ther student. She sighed to herself. I couldn’t save a seat for Chan Yeol-ssi, she pouted to herself.

Ri Ah walked down the row of tables and stopped at one with a girl tapping her pencil on her notebook, her head resting in her hand, as she waited for class to start.

“Excuse me, is it alright if I sit with you?” she asked the girl.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Go ahead,” she answered brightly.

Ri Ah sat down and pulled out her notebook and pencil.

“I’m Lee Hye Ri, what’s your name?” the girl asked with a smile.

“My name is Lee Ri Ah. Nice to meet you,” she answered back with a smile.

“You too.”

The room quieted down as a middle-aged man with balding hair entered and closed the door behind him. “My name is Professor Kim Sang Ho,” he said as he wrote his name out on the board. “Welcome to Biology 101,” he put the chalk down and turned around to continue his introduction.

The classroom door suddenly opened and Chan Yeol rushed in, panting. All eyes were on him.

Professor Kim stopped talking and looked at him.

“Sorry,” Chan Yeol panted. “I had trouble finding parking.”

Professor Kim walked over to him and sternly stared at him. He reached only up to Chan Yeol’s chin, but Chan Yeol still gulped in fear at his intense gaze. Professor Kim turned to the class and smiled.

“It looks like we have someone to demonstrate what happens when you are late to class. What is your name, student?” he asked turning back to Chan Yeol.

“Park Chan Yeol, sir,” he answered in embarrassment.

“Okay Mr. Park Chan Yeol,” he said as he walked over to his briefcase to pull out a small object. “Please come here and roll this die,” he said handing it out to him. Chan Yeol nervously walked over to him and took the die. He rolled it onto the desk.

“3,” Mr Park read. “Alright Mr. Park Chan Yeol, please do the three bears dance in front of the class.”

“Excuse me?” Chan Yeol asked thinking he heard wrong.

“You don’t know the three bears dance?” Professor Kim asked dubiously.

“Uh, I do know it,” Chan Yeol answered in hesitation.

“Great, and make sure to sing it loud and clear,” Professor Kim replied with a smile.

Chan Yeol slowly walked to the center and put his backpack down. He heaved a sigh before starting [Note: Imagine Chan Yeol doing Rain’s Three Bears dance from Full House (Here)].

The class started laughing and Ri Ah felt bad for him, but she was also trying to hold back her laughter at his funny dancing mixed with his deep voice singing a children’s song by biting her lower lip.

“Thank you Mr. Park Chan Yeol, you can now take a seat,” Professor Kim said when he was done. Chan Yeol grabbed his backpack and looked around the class that was mostly full. He spotted Ri Ah who mouthed, “Sorry,” to him, already sitting next to someone. He gave her a meek smile before heading to an empty seat next to a guy who was still smiling from Chan Yeol’s little show.

“So class, if you’re late to class, or disturb the class in any way, you’ll have to roll a die and take whatever punishment associated with it. As you can see, a 3 is the three bears dance. I won’t tell you what the other numbers correspond to. You’ll have to wait till one of your classmates volunteers to disturb the class. Alright, now that we have that covered, why don’t we actually start learning some biology?” Professor Kim said as soon as Chan Yeol sat down.

Class went by fast, partly due to the shortened length from Chan Yeol’s punishment, but Professor Kim was also a fun teacher that knew how to keep the students interested and engaged. Well, all except one. Chan Yeol didn’t dislike people easily, but he couldn’t help but be a little angry at Professor Kim for embarrassing him on the first day.

After class was over, Lee Hye Ri, Ri Ah’s desk partner, turned to her, “Ri Ah-ssi, do you have class now?”

“No, this was my last class. Why?”

“Do you want to grab some food, or maybe some coffee?” she asked eagerly.

“I don’t really like coffee, but I don’t mind getting tea,” Ri Ah replied.

“Ri Ah,” Chan Yeol whined as he walked over to her table. “That was so embarrassing!”

Ri Ah laughed at his pouting face. “I thought it was really cute Chan Yeol-ssi. Oh yeah, this is Lee Hye Ri,” she introduced her when she noticed Hye Ri staring at them. “And this is Park Chan Yeol.”

“Nice to meet you Hye Ri-ssi,” Chan Yeol said with a grin as he held his hand out to her.

“Nice to meet you too, Chan Yeol-ssi,” Hye Ri responded with a smile as she shook hands with him.

“We’re going to get some coffee and tea, do you want to join us, Chan Yeol-ssi?” Ri Ah asked him.

“Oh really? I actually have a class now,” he said with a disappointed sigh.

“Oh?! Then you better get going Chan Yeol-ssi! What if the professor for your next class has a tardy policy?” Ri Ah said in worried shock.

Chan Yeol looked at his watch and panicked. “Aish, you’re right! Well I’ll see you later Ri Ah! And it was nice meeting you Hye Ri-ssi!” he said with a big grin before dashing out of the room.

“He’s a very expressive person,” Hye Ri remarked as she and Ri Ah walked out of the classroom

Ri Ah laughed, “Yes, he is,” she agreed.

“What’s your relationship with him?”

“Well, he’s the son of the family I’m staying with while going to college,” Ri Ah answered her.

“You live with him?” Hye Ri asked in shock.

“Yes,” Ri Ah responded not understanding that her situation might seem abnormal to others. “So, where did you want to get a drink from?”

Hye Ri shook off her shocked face before answering, “Oh, how about the Starbucks on campus?” [Note: they do have Starbucks in Korea…I Googled it…as usual.]

“Okay, that sounds good,” Ri Ah said with a smile and the two walked to the coffee shop. Hye Ri ordered a caramel macchiato and Ri Ah decided to try a green tea latte. Ri Ah wasn’t really a coffee shop girl since they were expensive and she didn’t like coffee, but she didn’t want to turn down a potential new friend.

“So, what year are you?” Hye Ri asked as she sipped her drink.

“I’m a freshman. What about you?” Ri Ah asked as she took a sip of her drink and shuddered inside at the taste. Green tea is better left alone, she thought to herself.

“I’m a freshman too. What did you think of Professor Kim?”

“I thought he was a very good teacher. He’s really funny and I think he engages the students really well,” Ri Ah told her honest analysis of him.

“And he has a unique punishment strategy,” Hye Ri remarked with a smile.

Ri Ah let out a small laugh, “Yes, he does.

“I really feel sorry for Chan Yeol-ssi, though. I would have cried in embarrassment if I had to do something like that,” Hye Ri added.

“I don’t think Chan Yeol-ssi is one to cry easily. He’s a really goofy person. I always see him laughing or smiling,” Ri Ah said as she thought about Chan Yeol.

“You two seem very close. How long have you known each other?” Hye Ri asked curiously.

“Actually, our parents have known each other since before the two of us were born, but Chan Yeol-ssi and I haven’t really gotten to know each other until a few days ago when I moved in with his family,” Ri Ah answered.

“Really?!” Hye Ri asked with wide eyes. “Wow, you two seemed so close I thought you must have known each other for a few years.”

Ri Ah chuckled, “I think Chan Yeol-ssi is the type to be very friendly and comfortable around everyone he meets. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts getting touchy feely with you soon.”

“Touchy feely?!” Hye Ri asked with a shocked face.

“Oh, no, I meant that he likes to put his arm around people’s shoulders,” Ri Ah answered in a fluster when she realized how her statement might be misunderstood.

“Oh, I see,” Hye Ri calmed down and started nodding her head in agreement. “So Ri Ah, is it okay if I call you just Ri Ah?”

“Yes, go ahead,” Ri Ah answered with a smile.

“Ri Ah, do you want to become Biology study partners? I think it might be helpful to compare notes and ask each other questions about the material.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Ri Ah beamed genuinely. “When do you want to meet?”

“How about after class since we both are free? But let’s do it only on Mondays and Wednesdays. I don’t like the idea of studying on Friday,” Hye Ri said with a scrunched up face.

Ri Ah giggled at her expression. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Then I guess our first meeting officially starts Monday since we didn’t really cover much today,” Hye Ri responded with a smile. She looked at her watch, “Oh, I have to get going. I have a class at 3. I really don’t like having such a late class, but that’s what I get for signing up for the afternoon section instead of the morning one. I’m really bad at waking up early,” she said with a chuckle as she stood up, picked up her bag, and took her empty cup to the trash can.

Ri Ah also picked up her stuff and her half-full green tea latte that she had been drinking slowly in small sips and followed Hye Ri out.

“You’re not going to throw your drink away?” Hye Ri asked pointing to Ri Ah’s cup.

“I’m still not done,” Ri Ah answered in slight embarrassment.

“Okay, well then I guess I’ll see you Friday. Oh yeah, do you mind giving me your phone number?” Hye Ri asked as she held out her phone to Ri Ah.

“Oh, sure, and can you give me yours?” Ri Ah said as she took out her phone and gave it to Hye Ri, who also put her number in. They handed each other their phones back when they were done.

“Bye Ri Ah!” Hye Ri waved to her.

“Bye Hye Ri-ssi!” Ri Ah yelled back with a wave.

Ri Ah heaved a content sigh. “I made a new friend,” she said as she smiled to herself. She headed towards the library to work on her homework and received a text on the way:

Let’s sit together again! Whoever gets to class first can save a seat for the other. – Hye Ri

Ri Ah smiled and answered happily: Okay!

She entered the library, found the books she needed, and started doing her homework while slowly sipping the rest of her latte until she received another text around 4.

Ri Ah, I made it through another day! Let’s celebrate! How about we eat out? My treat :)

Yay! But I’m sorry Chan Yeol-ssi, I can’t eat with you :( I’m doing homework in the library.

Aww, but you have to eat.

I’m going to eat the food your mom made me. Don’t worry :)

Okay :( …..How much longer are you staying in the library?

Until I finish my homework.

Alright….I’ll see you at home then.

Ri Ah stayed in the library until 7 and ate her dinner in between. She heaved a sigh of content as she closed a textbook she was reading and started gathering her things. She picked up the library books and started putting them away on the shelves.

She was about to put away the last book, Arang and the Magistrate, when she heard someone call her name and she turned around to see who it was.

Author's Note

I’m so sorry for embarrassing you like that Chan Yeol-ah! But maybe you should try waking up earlier, lol! Can you guys guess who called Ri Ah at the end? I bet it’s pretty obvious.

So, I have to be honest here. I’m kind of not having fun writing Hye Ri’s character. I already have other characters which haven’t even been introduced that need to be developed for future plots, and having to make a friend for Ri Ah that’s a girl is just another burden. But it wouldn’t be realistic if she didn’t have any female friends, would it? Actually, it’s more realistic if she made female friends in her other classes too, but please bear with me as I focus on Hye Ri as Ri Ah’s girl friend (friend that's a girl).

Oh my gosh, someone actually responded to my question last chapter! Thank you nasomi2011-ssi! That’s a very good and interesting guess you have there. Actually, I didn’t think anyone would really reply so I kind of already mentally chose the BEAST member that will make an appearance in my story. I’m so sorry for not believing in my readers! I will change my ways for future questions!

And Hamachi-ssi, I’m glad to hear that you want to know more about Ri Ah’s one and only Oppa (or is he?). And you will find out more…..later…..when the time is right…..and you’re old enough to understand….Okay, I haven’t figured out when he’ll be formally introduced with a name, but he will eventually show up. Please look forward to it! – 6/22/12 4:24 PM