Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul , Feburary 1st 2012

“Crap! I’m going to be late!” Maria jumped off the bus and ran to the DKNY store which she worked at.  Being a first year medical student at Seoul National University was hard, her step father paid her school fees and she had to pay for her own living expenses. Every month however, her step father and mother would send her 1000000 won check to her apartment. Maria never spent that money and put it in a separate bank account, preferring to use the money that she earns herself. Working at the DKNY store wasn’t the best job she could have, many people envied her for getting a job that most women want- she was also a medical student and many of the women working with her would look down at her since she had no interest in fashion. Of course being a foreigner and being the step daughter of one of the richest men in South Korea did not help her popularity level rise.

Maria slowly opened the door, checking the clock behind the counter as she sneaked across the store and tiptoed into the backroom next to the racks of designer clothing. “Try not to be late again; Se Na had to work an extra twenty minutes because of you. As it is your first time being late, I won’t deduct anything from your salary.” Lee Min Jung, the manager at the store Maria worked at smiled at her. Maria walked towards the lockers and locked away her jacket and rucksack which had all of her class notes in.

“Sorry, class was longer than I expected. I can work extra today if you want.” Maria walked towards the drawers in the corner of the room and searched for her name tag.

“It’s okay, we’ve got a new girl coming in today and I’m getting some of the other girls to stay behind. You should go get some rest, being a medical student and having a job must not be easy. Go help out at the counters for an hour or so and go home.” Lee Min Jung patted Maria on her back and walked out of the room, mot letting Maria even try to reply to what she had said.

“It’s not like I’m dying of exhaustion, manager Lee is being too nice. I only have one job and she’s paying me like I’m working three jobs… Do I look really desperate?” Maria looked at her reflection whilst talking to herself. “I need to start revising for my exam tomorrow… it’s a good thing I get home early…” The young woman stood up taller and walked out of the door, smiling at customers picking out clothes whilst walking to the counters. The other girls at the counter turned their bodies away from Maria, avoiding conversation and eye contact. Maria sighed and started to call the customers waiting to pay to her small section of the counter.

One hour later

“Thank you, Manager Lee!” Maria thanked her manager, who was helping a customer pick out an outfit. Manager Lee smiled at Maria and waved her goodbye, not stopping her discussion with the customer. Maria walked out of the store and walked to the bus stop.

“Oh my shisus. That was Key! Wasn’t he hot? I wonder why he was on the bus this morning. Oh my key. Oh my gosh. I can’t breathe!” Several teenage girls were hugging each other and squealing together about something. Maria giggled after seeing a couple of girls practically drooling over their photos on their phones.

I wonder who key is… He must have come out of that building… crap, I hope these fangirls don’t come on my bus, I’ll have to put up with their screaming all the way home.

Maria stood by the bus stop and tapped her feet; she smiled as she saw the bus coming. When the empty bus stopped, Maria got on and tapped her phone onto the small metallic surface underneath the bus driver’s window. She walked towards the seats but was pushed aside by a young male, “sorry!” he quickly apologised as he sat down at the back of the bus. He was wearing designer clothing but had a hat which hid most of his face.

“Bastard, you could’ve just walked behind me. I don’t walk that slowly.” Maria said under her breath. She rolled her eyes as she sat in the row in front of the mysterious man; he smiled secretly as she said that. As the bus started moving, screams were heard from outside- Maria turned to look outside and saw the fan girls try to run after the bus.“Whats going on…?” Maria turned and stood up to look at the back of the bus where there was a huge window, letting Maria have a full view of what was going on outside.

“It doesn’t matter!” The only other passenger on the bus stood up and blocked Maria’s view. He laughed awkwardly and sat back down, scratching his head as he stared at the young woman in front of him.

“O-okay…?” Maria was confused about this weird man; she looked at him again before she sat down and got out her iPod. For the rest of the journey, Maria kept looking back curiously at the man. The half an hour journey was silent- apart from the music coming out of Maria’s headphones. When the bus was near Maria’s bus stop, she silently got up and got ready to go.

“Do you come on the bus every day?”

Maria turned round and took out her headphones.

“Yes, apart from Sunday. I work at the DKDNY store after class.” Maria found herself replying to the man without thinking about the reason behind the question. “Why do you ask?” The bus came to a halt when they reached the bus stop.

“Just curious… I guess I’ll see you around then.” The man smiled at her and lifted his hat a bit, letting Maria see his eyes from underneath his bangs.

“See ya!” Maria smiled back as she jumped off the bus, not forgetting to tap her phone onto another metallic plate next to the bus’ exit door. She turned around as soon as she got off and smiled at the man through the window. He waved at her and Maria couldn’t help but wave back.

Whilst walking home, Maria couldn’t stop think about that man. He was just so… mystifying. She remembered him lifting his head and shifting his hat so she could see his eyes. His eyes were dark brown, almost black- he had single eyelids and he had make up on. Maria snorted as she remembered his makeup. What guy wears makeup, haha it’s not like he’s a movie star or anything. The makeup didn’t even make his eyes look bigger. I should stop thinking about him, it’s not normal! Maria slapped herself a few times on her head, trying to make the thought of that man go away. Stupid, it’s not like you’re going to meet him again. Stop thinking about him!  Maria spent the rest of the walk home trying to forget him and his captivating eyes.

As Maria got home, she went to the shower and then got ready to study. “I’ve got an exam tomorrow… I don’t even remember what it’s about… I really need to study…” Maria talked to herself and spent the next few hours memorising all the bones in the body, what their functions were and what muscles and tendons they were connected to. She studied without thinking about that man on the bus, forgetting everything that had nothing to do with her exam tomorrow.

It was 1am when Maria decided she needed a break; she went into her kitchen and got some fruit from the fruit bowl on top of the small table in between the kitchen and the living room. She ate the fruit whilst trying to recite the bones in the hand and walked back into her room. “I’m so tired; I’ll just wake up earlier tomorrow to revise… I need a good night’s sleep.” Maria turned off the lights, not bothering to pack away her books- she crawled into bed and thought about the past 24 hours.

The man on the best obviously came into her thoughts first, the memory of his eyes staring right at her etched into her brain. She remembered his awkward laugh and the way his arms moved when he tried to block her looking through the back window of the bus. “Aish!! I thought I finally forgot him whilst studying…!” Maria screamed and sat up. “I wonder if I’ll see him tomorrow…” Maria then shook her head, coming back into reality- “no! I mustn’t think of him!” She dropped back down onto the bed and buried her head underneath the pillows, still thinking of that handsome, mystifying young man on the bus when she shut her eyes for the last time that day.